"Grandpa! Let's go with this Earthvein Amethyst Ganoderma!"
"Its cultivation is exactly twenty thousand years—just right!"
In the distance, nestled at the mouth of a mountain range, stood a towering purple plant. Though originally a type of Ganoderma, it had grown as massive as a tree, with a crystalline, jade-like sheen and radiant violet glow—it was the Earthvein Amethyst Ganoderma.
At long last, Ye Yu had found a plant-type spirit beast with just the right attribute, age, and power. He was thrilled.
"Emerald Phosphor Serpent Emperor, Possession!"
Once Ye Yu confirmed the target—
Dugu Bo appeared in a flash, summoning his Emerald Phosphor Serpent Emperor martial soul and entering possession state. Just like with the Thunder Hell Vine, he immediately unleashed his eighth soul skill: Time Freeze!
The moment the Earthvein Amethyst Ganoderma was immobilized to prevent its escape—
Dugu Bo followed up with a chilling command: "Shatter!"
A devastating strike heavily wounded the beast.
Next, he unleashed a barrage of soul skills—Emerald Phosphor Flame (1st skill), Corrosive Black Wyrm Serpent (3rd skill), and Emerald Phosphor Poison Array (5th skill).
First, the roots of the Earthvein Amethyst Ganoderma—its lifeline to the earth—were incinerated with poison fire, crippling its regenerative abilities.
Then, Dugu Bo used the Corrosive Black Wyrm Serpent and Poison Array to grind down its life force, leaving it barely hanging on.
Now, it was Ye Yu's turn.
With a proper offensive soul skill at last—
He prepared to switch out his old tactics. It was time for something more powerful—no more relying on "Dagger Bro" and "Rock Bro."
He would finish this with Tribulation Ascension, his new third soul skill.
Summoning his Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vine, Ye Yu let out a low shout and activated his ability:
"Third Soul Skill: Tribulation Ascension!"
At once, his third soul ring—a dazzling ten-thousand-year ring—lit up around him.
Above, dark clouds surged and gathered. Thunder rolled, and lightning flashed violently within the swirling mass of black.
From the ground below, crystal-clear vines, glimmering like blue sapphires threaded with gold and stardust, shot forth.
These Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vines, wrapped with icy-blue, crimson-red, and dark violet lightning patterns, tore through the earth and waved like thunder-attracting rods.
The next instant—
Countless bolts of lightning tore across the sky like roaring silver serpents, pulled down from the heavens toward the Earthvein Ganoderma below.
The plant beast, massive like a tree, had already collapsed to the ground. Its trunk was shattered and pitted from Time Freeze, further eaten away by corrosion and charred black from poison flames.
Yet even so—
Ye Yu was startled to see that many of the lightning bolts channeled through the beast's body were being absorbed by the earth itself.
Still, with only a sliver of life left, the Earthvein Ganoderma couldn't withstand the relentless heavenly lightning for long.
In the end, it was struck down and killed by the storm.
Thick black specks of light drifted from its broken body, forming a single, pitch-black soul ring above its remains.
If Grandpa hadn't weakened it so heavily, Ye Yu thought to himself, my lightning from Tribulation Ascension might not have hurt it at all.
With the beast dead—
Ye Yu walked up to its body, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes.
He began channeling his Internal Core Cultivation Technique and entered deep meditation.
Under the circulation of his soul power—
The twenty-thousand-year soul ring was drawn toward him, fitting snugly onto his body.
In the next instant, a massive wave of soul power surged into his body—
Along with the inevitable soul shock from the spirit beast's lingering consciousness.
However, as a plant-type soul beast, the Earthvein Ganoderma had naturally weak spiritual intelligence, and thus its soul shock was equally mild.
For Ye Yu, who had refined and tempered his spirit through the Internal Core method—
It was nothing he couldn't handle.
In fact, although his body had already been strengthened by the previous soul ring from the Thunder Hell Vine, the soul power of this twenty-thousand-year ring posed a new challenge.
The energy flooded his body and meridians with a fierce tingling and painful pressure.
However, compared to the vicious soul power of the Thunder Hell Vine—
The Earthvein Ganoderma's soul energy was actually gentler.
This time, his skin no longer cracked open, bleeding from countless gashes as it had before.
Thanks to his enhanced regenerative abilities—
The process of absorbing this soul ring became more like a strengthening body refinement.
By the time the soul ring was fully absorbed, Ye Yu's physical constitution had reached an entirely new level.
When the absorption was complete—
Ye Yu slowly opened his eyes and stood up.
Dugu Bo approached, stroking his silver beard, a sinister grin on his face as he asked—
"Xiao Yu, let's take a look—what soul skill did you gain from the Earthvein Ganoderma?"
"Alright!"
Ye Yu was just as excited. He once again summoned his Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vine.
After absorbing the new ring—
Its thickness had increased noticeably.
The vine, which was once a near-celestial blue, now had a stunning hint of purple running through it.
Its long, narrow leaves had thickened, resembling the fleshy texture of a Ganoderma.
More importantly, Ye Yu could feel that its vitality had grown dramatically.
Upon testing, he discovered something incredible—
The Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vine had inherited a portion of the Ganoderma's characteristics—
Even if its roots, stems, or leaves were detached, they could regenerate into new individuals on their own.
Its survivability had skyrocketed.
After further testing his new skill—
Ye Yu named his fourth soul skill: Geospiritual Link.
Its effect: draw power from the earth and convert it into soul power and life force, accelerating the growth and recovery of the martial soul—
And even feeding soul power back to Ye Yu himself, greatly boosting his soul power recovery rate.
While in the Geospiritual Link state—
The Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vine could also merge with the earth, redirecting damage into the ground to reduce its own injuries—
Especially effective against lightning-type attacks.
Once Ye Yu finished absorbing the Earthvein Ganoderma's soul ring—
Dugu Bo handed him a soul power crystal to test his level.
This time, as Ye Yu placed his hand on the crystal—
It flared with dazzling brilliance.
Judging by the intensity of the light—
He had reached Rank 47.
"Rank 47 Soul Ancestor?"
Dugu Bo murmured to himself, a bit regretful.
If he could've reached Rank 50, he would have become a Soul King… at thirteen!
That would've been truly one-of-a-kind in the world.
Still, a thirteen-year-old Rank 47 Soul Ancestor was already an absolute monster.
From his trip to the Star Dou Great Forest, over just a few months—
He had hunted four spirit beasts in a row!
From a mere Rank 10 novice to Rank 47 Soul Ancestor!
Ye Yu, deeply satisfied, prepared to return to the Heaven Dou Imperial Capital with Dugu Bo.
But due to the abnormal number of soul rings on his Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vine, and its heaven-defying configuration—
He couldn't risk exposing it.
Such a revelation would bring endless trouble and danger.
So on the road, Ye Yu kept experimenting—
Exploring how to use the Blue Silver Domain to disguise his soul ring colors and quantities, and to conceal his aura.
Perhaps due to his innate talent—
Or perhaps the Internal Core technique had boosted his spiritual power.
Soon, Ye Yu found the method—
How to use the Blue Silver Domain to perfectly mask his soul ring count and color, and conceal his presence entirely.