Faced with Meimei's question, Xiao Lin said there were three possible solutions.
It was just that none of the three methods were absolutely reliable.
Still, they offered at least some degree of assurance.
Looking at the land that Meimei was continuously improving, Xiao Lin spoke of the first method.
1. Plundering the Earth's Life Energy
"The first method is naturally plundering."
"Plundering?"
Meimei looked at Xiao Lin in confusion, waiting for an explanation.
"Yes. Plundering."
"Matter cannot appear out of thin air. Energy cannot either."
"If the method you use to increase life force isn't converting your own energy, then the only option is to plunder life energy from the earth itself," Xiao Lin explained.
"That sounds strange… It feels a bit like an evil attribute. Like devouring?"
"Absolutely not devouring. Devouring others' life force harms living beings."
"But… doesn't the earth have life too?"
Meimei's face was full of doubt.
She had unexpectedly raised a philosophical question.
Xiao Lin pondered briefly before offering a new explanation.
"I don't know whether the earth itself has life. But the earth is selfless. Since it can give life energy to other living beings, then naturally we can also obtain some."
"And besides, how much energy does an individual like us really require compared to the earth?"
Even as he said this, Xiao Lin looked a little embarrassed.
After all, soul masters already absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to convert into soul power. They are, by nature, already plundering the planet's strength.
For one's own growth, taking energy from the earth could hardly be called evil.
Moreover, Xiao Lin had his own moral standards.
He had long considered plundering energy from other planets to replenish the Douluo Continent in the future.
As a member of Douluo Star, that would count as a great contribution (even if it was only in the future).
Besides, at the end of the day, Meimei wasn't a plant-type soul beast. Otherwise, he would absolutely have her learn to absorb solar energy and convert it into life force.
Compared to a tiny soul master on Douluo Star, the sun's energy should be inexhaustible.
The amount of energy the sun radiates and "wastes" daily was far more than they could ever use.
2. Creating a Cultivation Technique
"Alright then. What about the other two methods?" Meimei asked curiously.
She had already been persuaded and was willing to try developing such an ability.
After consuming the Earth Dragon Golden Melon, plundering earth energy shouldn't be a problem.
"The first method is the simplest, but it has a prerequisite — the earth's energy must contain enough life force."
Xiao Lin believed the earth's energy did contain life force, but whether its purity was sufficient remained uncertain.
"The second method is for you, Meimei, to create a cultivation technique. Or fuse the Mysterious Heaven Skill with earth energy to develop a technique that continuously increases life force."
How wonderful would it be if a soul skill were essentially a life-enhancing cultivation method?
This idea wasn't random.
Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill was fundamentally an orthodox Daoist technique. It already possessed longevity and healing properties.
What would happen if it merged with earth-attribute energy?
A "Creation Everlasting Spring Art"?
"Create a cultivation technique? My lord, do you think I'm that talented?"
Although Xiao Lin's proposal had feasibility, the biggest obstacle was Meimei herself.
Not to mention creating a technique — could a soul beast even master a human cultivation method?
When Meimei raised the issue, Xiao Lin was briefly stunned.
But it wasn't unsolvable.
If she couldn't learn a human technique, then she could simply transform into a human.
Xiao Lin's own Mysterious Heaven Skill had been altered by his martial soul characteristics, transforming into the Indestructible Vajra Divine Art.
If Meimei transformed into a human and awakened a martial soul, she might achieve something similar.
This also tied into Xiao Lin's third method.
3. Self-Condensing Soul Rings & Heavenly Tribulation
The key moment would be when Meimei transformed into a human and self-condensed her soul rings.
That would be the turning point to evolve the Mysterious Heaven Skill into the "Creation Everlasting Spring Art."
However, the flaw of this third method was that Xiao Lin was unwilling to lower his moral bottom line.
In his view, once a soul beast transformed into a human, it should count as half-human.
Upon reaching maturity, they would be virtually no different from humans.
Though admittedly, when a soul beast at maturity dies, it still drops a soul bone and soul ring…
"Sigh. If you can't manage that, I have one more method."
Xiao Lin waved his hand and, before Meimei could respond, revealed another rather unorthodox approach.
"Compared to the previous conventional methods, this one is more… crooked."
"This method relies on the so-called Heavenly Dao. When a soul beast reaches one hundred thousand years, it undergoes a heavenly tribulation. If it survives, it can live another hundred thousand years."
"That heavenly tribulation is the key. During it, a soul beast can glimpse the laws of heaven and earth. If you can discover a law that increases life force, you'll succeed."
"As for the danger of the tribulation, you don't need to worry. I'm very skilled at controlling lightning. My Qiu Dragon Staff is the best lightning rod."
Xiao Lin crossed his arms confidently.
No matter how talented a soul beast was, could it surpass the laws of heaven and earth?
His approach was basically cheating — directly reading the game's source code, understanding the underlying logic of reality.
"My lord, I understand. Once I reach one hundred thousand years of cultivation, I'll actively observe the laws of heaven and earth."
With Xiao Lin's protection, what was there to fear?
Heavenly tribulation itself was an opportunity for soul beasts to defy fate.
With Xiao Lin backing her, Meimei even felt she could endure it longer to comprehend more laws.
"The methods can be carried out simultaneously. Copy whatever you can perceive. And if possible, use one of your spiritual-attribute soul skills to observe the laws of heaven and earth."
Meimei's eyes lit up instantly.
"I'll listen to you, my lord."
Hearing her voice in his mind, Xiao Lin nodded in satisfaction.
He couldn't help feeling proud of his own intelligence. If he were a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, he might have defied fate and achieved invincibility.
And if Meimei truly developed as he envisioned, her potential might even surpass Lei Lei's.
After all, Lei Lei hadn't survived a heavenly tribulation.
Though perhaps not — Lei Lei had two ancestor-like beings guiding him.
Preparing to Accelerate the Wangchuan Qiushui Dew
After a while, Xiao Lin began preparing to "activate acceleration mode" for the Wangchuan Qiushui Dew.
First step: remove the dragon aura surrounding it.
Originally, Xiao Lin planned to use a soul bone to absorb the dragon aura, creating a temporary vacuum around the plant.
But since he had learned the Dragon Might Domain from the two Dragon Kings, he himself was the best machine for absorbing dragon aura.
Similarly, to infuse the Wangchuan Qiushui Dew with ice and fire spiritual energy, Xiao Lin would act as the medium.
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Lin summoned the Battle God Cloak.
Soon, under his control, the blood-red cloak transformed into a silk ribbon dozens of meters long.
The ribbon spun and danced in midair, gathering the surrounding ice and fire spiritual energy while blocking dragon aura.
Divine artifacts were truly convenient!
(End of Chapter)