Two months later, deep in a certain dense forest.
"Jee-jee." Suddenly, the little white bird, transformed into a magpie flying high above, let out a chirp and quickly swooped down.
"Did it sense some herbs?" Zhu Wu smiled as the bird landed on his shoulder.
Since awakening, after spending months together, he had long regarded Little White not just as a mere Martial Soul, but as family.
Especially after his grandfather passed away, this feeling had become even more profound.
"Jee-jee." Little White shook its head, then spread its tiny wings, folding them parallel before moving them up and down.
Zhu Wu's expression immediately turned serious.
"There's a waterfall ahead?"
Little White nodded repeatedly.
"Little White, Martial Soul Possession!" Without hesitation, Zhu Wu gave the command.
"Jee!" Little White chirped softly, its body flashing with light before instantly merging into Zhu Wu.
Zhu Wu's skin brightened noticeably, and a seven-colored scale appeared on his forehead. Moments later, a rainbow glow shimmered around him, and a magpie appeared in midair.
"Puchi, puchi." It flapped its wings and soared high.
Soon, Zhu Wu reached a high vantage point to survey the view. Before him were clustered mountains shrouded in mist. Midway stood towering stone peaks, sheer cliffs rising thousands of feet, forming a natural barrier reaching into the clouds. Beyond them, through lush greenery, lay a deep, shadowy valley. Thick fog rolled within it, and faintly, a white streak could be seen shimmering with rainbow hues in the sunlight, appearing quite mysterious.
Zhu Wu's eyes lit up immediately.
The terrain matched the original story's description of Tang San rushing with Tang Hao to A Yin's location.
The surrounding cliffs were nearly vertical, soaring to the clouds, and inside was a nearly 200-meter-high waterfall.
He could sense it was this waterfall.
Might as well check it out, he thought, speeding off without further hesitation.
He wasn't worried about Tang Hao. After all, Tang San was blown up under Tang Hao's watch and later had his Soul Ring Device stolen from the academy dormitory. Someone who could silently creep up to the bedside could easily kill him. The culprit hadn't been found — how could Tang Hao be at ease or dare to go far?
Right now, Tang Hao was probably closely watching Tang San.
This was also one of the reasons Zhu Wu had decided to steal Tang San's Soul Ring Device before leaving.
Deception and diversion — a little Sun Tzu's Art of War!
"Rumble!" As he approached, the roar of the waterfall grew louder, like thunder crashing in his ears.
Zhu Wu accelerated, soon arriving above the waterfall. Looking down, it was indeed nearly 200 meters tall, about 20 meters wide, with a clear pool at the base where the crashing water sent up sprays.
From above, it looked like a cauliflower.
"This is really not easy to rush through," Zhu Wu thought, eyeing the thick curtain of water.
"Besides, who knows if there are traps at the entrance?" The original story didn't specify. From his observation, it seemed unnecessary. The story said the waterfall's middle section — about a hundred meters high — was where the water flow was thickest and fastest, acting as a natural defensive wall. Without breaking through, nobody would imagine a secret door inside.
Unless you already knew about it — like him.
After watching a moment, Zhu Wu turned and flew to the riverbank above the waterfall, ending Martial Soul Possession.
"Little White, sense if there's anything unusual around here." Once Little White appeared, he issued the order.
Even reborn as a seed, the Blue Silver Emperor was no ordinary plant and far from comparable to regular herbs.
Little White nodded. The scale on its forehead suddenly glowed with rainbow light. Moments later, its form shifted into a sparrow and flew to the right.
"Jee-jee-jee," it flew low, chirping.
"Sensed something?" Zhu Wu understood it was signaling for him to follow. He quickly followed, plunging into the dense forest to the side.
Soon, a small patch of stone forest rose above the ground, the tallest about five meters, overgrown with shrubs and weeds.
Without hesitation, Zhu Wu approached and began climbing. Years of rain erosion and sunlight had made the stone forest full of pits, cracks, and many footholds, so climbing wasn't difficult. Before long, he reached the top.
From this vantage point, Little White stood near a three-meter-high rock crevice.
"Jee-jee." It fluttered its wings and poked its head into a water-stained crack.
Zhu Wu immediately climbed down and crouched beside Little White to investigate.
"Is this the stone hole on top of that stone chamber?" he guessed.
He remembered that the Blue Silver Emperor was planted in a stone chamber with a hole above it. When Tang San first entered the secret door, the corridor was pitch dark and needed a gem to illuminate it. But inside the stone chamber, it was bright — likely because the stone hole connected to the outside. Sunlight streaming in lit up the chamber and provided the Blue Silver Emperor the light it needed to grow.
"So, why not just transplant it back home, into the territory of the Blue Silver Emperor?" he wondered.
He really couldn't understand.
"Little White, transform into the blind snake and go in," he ordered without hesitation. "There's a stone cave inside with a Blue Silver Grass leaf marked with golden veins on the ground. Next to it is a box on the stone wall. Bring everything out."
"Jee!" Little White stretched its neck, acknowledging the order.
The rainbow glow on its forehead flashed, transforming it into a blind snake no thicker than a chopstick, crawling into the crevice.
"So, should I thank nature for this gift?" Zhu Wu murmured, watching Little White slip in easily. Over the past two months, he had traversed the mountains around Saint Soul Village, gathering herbs and encountering many strange creatures. The blind snake was one of them — at first he thought it was an earthworm, but it was actually a snake.
He didn't know the local name, but in his previous life, this creature was called a blind snake — the world's smallest snake.
Two months — that was a long time! But what could he do without a map?
Shaking his head, Zhu Wu stood quietly waiting.
After about fifteen minutes, a small blind snake crawled back out. Zhu Wu immediately sensed something and crouched.
"Little White, did you bring everything?"
The blind snake nodded its head, signaling the task was complete.
"Well done, Little White!" Zhu Wu smiled.
Any plant could be stored and nourished in Little White's internal space; the Blue Silver Emperor was no exception.
No need to eat it — not to mention whether its soul might awaken early and shock Little White. Its physical body was sacrificed, leaving only seeds, so little energy remained. More importantly, eating it would barely help his Dragon God bloodline — or maybe not at all.
"Little White, want to eat that Blue Silver Grass?" he asked out of curiosity.
If it were helpful, he wouldn't hesitate.
But Little White shook its head repeatedly, radiating rejection through its mental waves.
"Looks like my guess was right — the restored A Yin body really has no medicinal power, or at least nothing beneficial," Zhu Wu thought.
"That's fine — it still has value if kept. Yeah, a man's word is his bond; let's get this done, damn it!"
"Besides, Tang Hao has the Shura God's divine consciousness, so killing him is risky. But what about A Yin?"
Zhu Wu imagined in his mind that Tang Hao had not associated him with a hundred-thousand-year-old soul beast but regarded him as an unusual mutant Blue Silver Grass. Seeing him stored with a piece of the ancient bone in the same chamber, Tang Hao got curious and took him away. But after leaving the cave, seeing nothing special, he just discarded him.
Then the scene of Tang Hao getting ambushed or poisoned by A Yin popped into Zhu Wu's mind.
"Hmm, I need to carefully plan, prepare, and direct this." Thinking this, he looked down at Little White and nodded slightly.
"Little White, let's go — heading to the Starry Forest!"
With the Blue Silver Emperor in hand, it was time to consider getting the second Soul Ring.
He was also looking forward to the boost from absorbing the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone.
Rainbow light shimmered as Little White transformed back into a sparrow, soaring high to guide Zhu Wu out of the forest.
That night, inside a cave halfway up a mountain.
Moonlight was clear, streaming through a narrow crack above and spreading a layer of shimmering light on the ground. Zhu Wu sat cross-legged, half bathed in moonlight, staring at the floor beside his feet.
With a soft snap, Little White opened its internal space, releasing a heavy lead box and the Blue Silver Emperor.
Zhu Wu took a ceramic basin from his Soul Ring Device, refilled soil, and transplanted the Blue Silver Emperor's exposed roots.
"As expected, its consciousness is still dormant," Zhu Wu said quietly, feeling no mental fluctuations. According to the original story, A Yin only regained some awareness after Tang San obtained the Blue Silver Domain and it was influenced by that field.
"Little White, retract your mental space and keep it nourished," he said.
Little White nodded, bowed slightly to bring its forehead close, and the rainbow glow flashed as the Blue Silver Emperor and the basin disappeared.
Zhu Wu then turned his gaze to the lead box, reaching out to gently open the lid.
As soon as it opened, bright blue-gold light burst forth, mixed with a strange energy wave. Both Zhu Wu and his Martial Soul shivered, instinctively leaning forward.
Cool and comfortable, refreshing and soothing — that was Zhu Wu's sensation.
"Comfortable!" was Little White's feeling.
"Little White, you can head back first. I'm going to absorb this Soul Bone now," Zhu Wu said.
Little White nodded and vanished.
"If I ever find that place, this Soul Bone will be perfect for assisting with my amputation and bone replacement," Zhu Wu's eyes gleamed as he picked up the Soul Bone and slowly pressed it to his right leg.
In the next moment, the crystal-clear Soul Bone radiated intense light, turning into streams of blue-gold energy with a cooling aura flowing into his leg.
In the blink of an eye, the Soul Bone disappeared, and Zhu Wu's entire right leg was enveloped in a blue-gold glow.
Cool, comfortable, with no resistance or discomfort.
Sitting cross-legged, Zhu Wu closed his eyes, serene. Using this rare opportunity and the pure energy fed back into his body from the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone, he faced the moonlight and focused on cultivating his Longevity Skill.
Before long, a layer of fluorescent light covered his body.
Zhu Wu felt a coolness on his forehead, but no drowsiness; instead, his mind was remarkably clear.
"It really works — life attribute energy does counteract the Yin cold energy somewhat."
"Truly worthy of the Blue Silver Emperor's top-tier life attribute!"
He was very satisfied.
Tang San, your mother. Tang Hao, your wife's Soul Bone — really useful!
Time passed by, moon faded, sunrise poured in. Zhu Wu switched to cultivating his Diamond Skill.
Spring warmth was gentle. Even at noon, the sunlight was not harsh. He could feel the mild intensity of the sunlight entering his body. The Soul Bone's energy constantly supplied internally was enough to dissipate the heat, just like absorbing the moonlight's energy last night. Spring nights were warm, with little Yin energy.
Of course, the key was that the leg bone energy was continuously supplied.
He was still weak now, so his efficiency absorbing sun and moon essence wasn't high. This formed a balance, offsetting negative effects.
Time ticked by, and four days later, Zhu Wu opened his eyes with some regret.
Level 5.
His soul power had increased by five levels — from level 13 to 18.
He was still so weak — only a first-ring Soul Master — and a hundred-thousand-year Soul Bone, while mostly improving physical strength, shouldn't have raised him so little, right?
But the truth was, he was full, truly full. If he took in more, he'd vomit. His body was saturated.
Clearly, it wasn't the Soul Bone's energy but his own physical digestion. His body was too weak to assimilate so much energy. It was like having a feast laid out but only being able to eat two bowls. Having three thousand beauties but only managing a fraction.
The greatest pain for a man is not being able to win over the goddess he likes, but being weak when passion runs high.
The sorrow of a middle-aged man — who would have thought I'd face this so young? How tragic, how frustrating. Zhu Wu was helpless.
"Luckily, Soul Bone energy doesn't dissipate. It remains within the Soul Bone, accompanying me in another form. And through absorbing this Soul Bone, my physical strength, mental strength, and soul capacity have all at least doubled."
"This time, the improvement is huge!"
Thinking this, his mood balanced out.
"So, where's Little White?" he wondered. He'd absorbed plenty of sun and moon essence these past days.
He opened his hand and quickly summoned.
White light shimmered in his palm as Little White appeared.
Its size hadn't grown much, but a faint seven-colored sheen glowed on its back, like diluted oil on white jade.
"Not bad — a little closer to evolving into a Dragon God form." He felt satisfied.
Little White was happy too, bobbing its head proudly, as if saying, "See? I got stronger."
Zhu Wu smiled, placed Little White on his shoulder, stood up, packed his things, and left the cave to continue on.
Having absorbed the Soul Bone, he now felt fully energized!
He pushed off with his foot, activating the Soul Bone's flying skill. With a "whoosh," he soared into the treetops, weaving through branches.
"A single grass can produce such a great flying skill — amazing," he marveled inwardly. "And like wildfires that never die, spring breezes that revive them again."
"With these two skills, my survival chances have significantly improved."
"This forest is deserted — perfect for practice and stealth."
"Jee-jee." After a moment's check, Little White transformed into a little bird and flew alongside its master.
Man and bird soared through the mountains, speeding toward the distant horizon.
After an unknown time, without warning, a loud shout echoed through the forest, startling the birds into flight:
"Starry Forest, here we come!"
"Jee-jee."
(End of chapter)
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