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"Yes," Ye Lingling replied, a glimmer of anticipation in her eyes. "Our Nine Heart Begonia spirit lineage has always had only one successor per generation. Only two Nine Heart Begonia Spirit Masters can exist at any given time.
When one dies, another descendant can appear. My father once told me that the plant Spirit Beast itself was extinct. But the healing Spirit Skill you used that day felt exactly like our Nine Heart Begonia's power, maybe even stronger. Where did you find it?"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it caught everyone's attention. All eyes turned to Tang Chuan. Even Bai Baoshan and Qin Ming looked surprised and curious.
Tang Chuan was silent for a moment before he spoke calmly. "You're right. The Nine Heart Begonia plant is incredibly rare, almost extinct. But it wasn't just luck that I found it."
He slowly raised his right hand. A shimmering, blue-gold Blue Silver Grass vine sprouted from his palm.
"Everyone knows the Blue Silver Grass is a trash spirit, but it's the most common plant spirit on the entire continent," he explained. "Through a certain opportunity, I gained a special ability.
It lets me create a subtle mental connection with every Blue Silver Grass vine in the world. Using that connection, I can sense the aura of other plant Spirit Beasts nearby, even the extremely rare ones. As long as it's within the range of a Blue Silver Grass vine, I can probably find it."
Tang Chuan was careful not to mention that this ability came from the 100,000-year-old Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone he had absorbed. It wasn't as strong as a true domain, but it was far better than normal mental perception, and his senses for plants were exceptionally keen.
"That wasn't the only reason, though. The real reason I found the Nine Heart Begonia was because a friend gave me an ancient book.
It contained information about almost every type of plant Spirit Beast on the continent, including the areas where the Nine Heart Begonia might still exist. By using the book and my sensory ability, I was able to find a Nine Heart Begonia plant in the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest."
Meanwhile, in Saint Spirit Village, it was high noon. The sun was hot and bright.
A cold wind swept through the village entrance, and a dark figure appeared from thin air. It was a tall, thin old man in a black robe. He was Gui Mei, also known as Ghost Douluo, an Elder of Spirit Hall.
With eyes as sharp as an eagle's, Ghost Douluo scanned the quiet village. "Blue Silver Grass Spirit, Saint Spirit Village, Tang San and Tang Chuan," he murmured to himself. "This must be it." After some investigation, he had found his crucial clues.
For the past fifteen years, only two people had awakened the Blue Silver Grass spirit with more than one level of innate spirit power: Tang San and Tang Chuan.
Tang San was already a special target for Spirit Hall. Not only was he born with full innate spirit power, but his cultivation speed rivaled or even surpassed some of the geniuses in Spirit Hall.
Tang Chuan's information, however, seemed much more ordinary. According to the records from Nuoding City's Spirit Hall, he had only awakened with a single level of innate spirit power. His cultivation had only reached level thirteen, and he had come to collect his Spirit Master subsidy every year.
Ghost Douluo didn't know that every time Tang Chuan came to get his subsidy, he would use his Simulation Spirit Skill to hide his true aura, making him seem like an average Spirit Master. Because of this, Spirit Hall's records considered him to be a Blue Silver Grass Spirit Master with decent but unremarkable talent.
Ghost Douluo walked into the village and stopped a middle-aged man who was carrying water.
"Come here for a moment," Ghost Douluo said in a low, commanding voice.
The villager was startled. Seeing the old man's powerful aura, he quickly stopped and carefully walked over. "Sir, how can I help you?" he asked respectfully.
"Did the two brothers, Tang San and Tang Chuan, once live in this village?" Ghost Douluo asked, his gaze indifferent.
The villager immediately nodded. "Tang San and Tang Chuan? Yes, they used to live here. But Tang San hasn't really been back since he went to the Spirit Master Academy. Tang Chuan comes back to visit the village chief sometimes."
Ghost Douluo's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do they have any relatives still living in the village?"
The villager scratched his head. "Sir, their family wasn't originally from Saint Spirit Village. They came here twelve years ago. The village chief felt sorry for them and let them stay."
"They fled here?" Ghost Douluo frowned, a thought crossing his mind.
"Yes," the villager confirmed. "Their father had just arrived with the two children. He looked like he had been through a lot. After Tang San and Tang Chuan went to the Spirit Master Academy, their father, Tang Hao, also disappeared and never came back."
Tang Hao? The name made Ghost Douluo's eyes sharpen. His pupils constricted, and his face instantly became solemn. "What did you say their father's name was?" he asked, his voice low and filled with alarm.
"Tang Hao," the villager repeated, confused by the sudden change in Ghost Douluo's expression. "Sir, what's wrong? His father is Tang Hao, everyone in the village knows him.
He's just a blacksmith, always drinking or sleeping, a complete good-for-nothing. Sometimes I'd scold him for being lazy, and he never even dared to talk back. Are you a friend of his? Should I tell him you came looking for him when he returns?"
"No need," Ghost Douluo said, waving his hand. After a moment, his face returned to calm. He took a small, heavy pouch from his sleeve and handed it to the villager. "Take these gold Soul Coins and use them. But remember, don't say a word about me being here today, okay?"
The villager was stunned. He took the pouch, and the weight of it shocked him. As an ordinary person, he instantly recognized it as a Spirit Hall money bag. Just from its weight, he knew there were at least dozens of gold Soul Coins inside—a huge amount of money for him.
"I... I understand, sir," the villager said, nodding and bowing cautiously. "I didn't see anything, I didn't hear anything. I promise I won't say a word!"
Ghost Douluo gave him a cold look, nodded, and without another word, he flickered into a black shadow and vanished.
A few hours later, at the Papal Palace in Spirit City.
The sky had already darkened, but the Papal Palace was still brightly lit. Golden candlelight cast long shadows on the walls, making the hall feel solemn and majestic.
Bibi Dong sat on the main throne. On the stone table in front of her were two neatly arranged scrolls with Spirit Master information. At the top of each scroll were two names: Tang San and Tang Chuan.
And on their personal data, one section stood out, circled heavily in red ink:
Father—Tang Hao!