Chapter 26: Ah Qing Devours an Immortal Herb and Explodes with a Purple Soul Ring!
Several pale-green blades of grass extended from the Blue Silver Grass patterns on his right leg.
Ah Yin's grass leaves hooked onto a thoroughly soaked towel nearby.
Then, with great care, she wiped the bloodstains from his face and body.
Her movements were gentle and practiced.
Clearly, this was not the first time she had done this.
Ever since half a year ago, when Lin Qingmo returned to camp for the first time after hunting a soul beast—his entire body covered in blood—
Ah Yin would proactively emerge to help him clean himself.
At first, Lin Qingmo was very surprised.
He was worried that Ah Yin's existence would be discovered by Bibi Dong.
But later, he realized that Bibi Dong seemed to have known about Ah Yin all along.
She showed no surprise whatsoever, nor did she ask any questions.
Gradually, Lin Qingmo grew accustomed to Ah Yin's care,
And even began actively trying to communicate with her.
"Thank you, Ah Yin."
Lin Qingmo smiled as he let Ah Yin's grass leaves wipe him clean.
Ah Yin's branches gently nodded in response.
Not far away, beneath the shade of a tree—
Bibi Dong stood quietly.
The hood of her black robe still concealed her face,
But the faint upward curve of her lips revealed her satisfaction with Lin Qingmo's performance.
Lin Qingmo's growth rate had far exceeded her expectations.
No matter how harsh the training demands she set,
This little fellow always clenched his teeth and endured, never once complaining.
Although every time he consumed whale rubber, he would become overheated and start touching her all over—
Which left her rather helpless—
Over time, she had grown used to holding him as they fell asleep each night.
This little fellow had gradually become a rare source of warmth in her otherwise cold and lonely life.
Lin Qingmo walked over to Bibi Dong.
There was anticipation and urgency written all over his face.
"Master, I can already hunt three-hundred-year soul beasts on my own, and my physical condition has reached its limit. When can I absorb my first soul ring?"
He could hardly wait any longer.
After half a year of training and accumulation,
He felt fully prepared.
He even believed he could absorb a thousand-year soul ring!
Bibi Dong looked at his eager expression and smiled mysteriously.
"Don't rush. Today, I'll satisfy your wish."
"Really?!"
Lin Qingmo's eyes lit up.
A look of pure joy spread across his face.
"That's great!"
"Master, have you found a suitable soul beast for me?"
Bibi Dong didn't answer.
Instead, she took out a plant from a living-creature storage soul tool.
It looked like a vine.
Its entire body was a pale cyan color.
The vine was slender, with crystalline, translucent leaves.
It radiated rich life energy and a soothing aura.
There was no sign of movement at all.
It didn't look like a living soul beast.
Rather, it resembled a beautifully crafted work of art.
"This is…"
Lin Qingmo froze.
The smile on his face gradually faded.
"Master, this is the soul beast you found?"
"It doesn't look… alive."
"It isn't a soul beast in the true sense."
Bibi Dong said calmly.
"This is an immortal herb called Sky Azure Vine. Its age is roughly two thousand years."
It wasn't that she hadn't wanted Lin Qingmo to absorb a soul ring earlier.
It was just that Yue Guan had only found this Sky Azure Vine yesterday.
When she took it from him, Yue Guan had worn an extremely reluctant expression.
"Sky Azure Vine?!"
Lin Qingmo was stunned.
It was the immortal herb he had been longing for!
It had actually appeared!
He excitedly reached out, wanting to touch it—
Yet he was afraid of damaging such a precious immortal herb.
"A two-thousand-year Sky Azure Vine…"
Immortal herbs were inanimate objects and couldn't be compared to soul beasts.
Their energy was more like medicinal power, not as violent as soul ring energy.
A two-thousand-year limit shouldn't pose much of a problem for him.
But there was one crucial issue.
"But Master, it isn't a real soul beast. It won't produce a soul ring after death. How am I supposed to absorb it?"
This was the key problem!
Soul masters absorbed soul rings by killing soul beasts and absorbing the rings they produced upon death.
But this Sky Azure Vine wasn't a soul beast—it had no soul ring.
Nor was it like the immortal herbs in Douluo II that had grown into ten-thousand- or hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.
Even if he wanted to absorb it, he had no idea how.
Seeing his puzzled expression,
Bibi Dong's eyes gleamed with amusement.
"That's something you'll have to figure out yourself."
"I can help you obtain the Sky Azure Vine, but I won't help you absorb it."
"After all, this is your own destined opportunity."
"Th-this…"
Lin Qingmo fell into deep thought.
This was a real dilemma!
A two-thousand-year Sky Azure Vine perfectly matched his life-attribute path.
And its age far exceeded the limit of a normal soul master's first soul ring—it was exactly what he had always dreamed of!
Yet he was completely at a loss.
Just as Lin Qingmo was racking his brains—
Ah Yin's branches extended out from his collar once more.
Blue Silver Grass slowly spread out and wrapped around the Sky Azure Vine.
She guided it, floating it over to Lin Qingmo.
Lin Qingmo's heart stirred.
Tentatively, he asked, "Ah Yin… do you have a way to help me?"
Ah Yin's branches gently nodded.
Then, her leaves pointed toward his mouth.
"…Eat it directly?"
The method sounded extremely crude.
But Lin Qingmo chose to trust Ah Yin.
He took the Sky Azure Vine,
Opened his mouth and swallowed the entire vine in one go.
The Sky Azure Vine melted the instant it entered his mouth.
Unlike the scorching heat of whale rubber,
Its energy was gentle yet vast.
"So comfortable…"
Lin Qingmo couldn't help letting out a soft moan.
Every pore in his body seemed to relax and open.
But he quickly realized something was wrong!
What he wanted wasn't to absorb the medicinal effects of the immortal herb—
He wanted to condense it into a soul ring!
At that moment, Ah Yin moved.
Her branches began to grow rapidly.
They spread along Lin Qingmo's meridians,
Guiding and condensing the energy of the Sky Azure Vine bit by bit.
Lin Qingmo felt the vine's energy, under Ah Yin's guidance, gradually gather in his dantian, forming an energy core.
That core grew larger and more solid with each passing moment.
"This is…"
Joy surged in Lin Qingmo's heart.
His Blue Silver Grass martial soul began actively touching the core and absorbing its energy.
Gradually…
A soul ring began to form inside his body!
He immediately circulated his soul power, cooperating with Ah Yin's guidance to accelerate the condensation and stabilization of the soul ring.
…
Time passed little by little.
From day into night.
A dazzling blue light gradually radiated from Lin Qingmo's body.
Bibi Dong stood quietly to the side the entire time, observing.
When she finally saw changes occur within him,
She let out a sigh of relief—and at the same time, surprise flashed through her violet eyes.
She hadn't expected Ah Yin to be able to help Ah Qing condense a soul ring in this way.
"This may very well be destiny."
If Ah Yin had been of no use to Lin Qingmo, she would probably have been killed long ago.
After a while—
When the last trace of Sky Azure Vine energy was fully condensed—
A brilliant purple soul ring slowly rose from beneath Lin Qingmo's feet.
Purple!
A two-thousand-year soul ring!
"It worked!"
Lin Qingmo opened his eyes in excitement.
His soul power surged upward from rank 10—
11… 12… 13… 14… 15… 16… 17!
It finally stopped at rank 17.
"I did it! I really did it!"
He succeeded!
He had successfully condensed a soul ring from the immortal herb Sky Azure Vine!
Becoming the first soul master in Douluo Continent history whose very first soul ring was a purple thousand-year ring!
And at the same time, the vitality of his Blue Silver Grass became even more abundant.
"Ah Yin, thank you!"
"Master, thank you!"
Even in his excitement, Lin Qingmo didn't forget to thank them both.
Ah Yin's branches swayed gently, sharing in his joy.
Bibi Dong, too, revealed a rare, gentle, radiant smile.
"Congratulations, Ah Qing."
"From today onward, you are a true soul master."
"And the first on the continent to possess a thousand-year first soul ring."
(This excludes special existences such as Bo Saixi and Qian Daoliu.)
"Mm!"
Lin Qingmo nodded firmly.
He knew that none of this would have been possible without Bibi Dong's guidance and Ah Yin's help.
—
End of Chapter