"Found it!"
Beneath the sunlight, a particularly unique stalk of Blue Silver Grass stood out among the ordinary.
Ye Yu's heart surged with excitement as he quickly approached it.
After removing the basket from his back and taking out a small flowerpot, he used a climbing pick to carefully transplant A'Yin into the pot.
During the process, A'Yin's slender roots coiled around Ye Yu's arm, as if unwilling to be taken away.
But unfortunately, even a stubborn arm can't beat a firm will.
Once A'Yin had been safely placed in the pot and stored in the bamboo basket, Ye Yu slung it over his back and began searching the stone chamber's wall for the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone.
He remembered clearly: Tang Hao had sealed the bone inside a lead box.
"Found it!"
Since the stone chamber wasn't very large, Ye Yu quickly located a black square box hidden in a groove on the upper wall. Heart pounding, he took out his climbing staff.
After prying at it a few times, the box finally came loose.
Upon opening it—
Inside lay a dazzling right leg bone, glowing with brilliant blue-gold light. It was as translucent as crystal, speckled with twinkling starlight and radiating a powerful aura of vitality.
The moment the box opened, Ye Yu felt an overwhelming yearning erupt from his Blue Silver Grass martial soul.
Touching the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, Ye Yu was visibly emotional, eyes reddening.
Five years! Five whole years!
I've finally obtained you!
In the original story, even Tang San, a Soul King with Blue Silver Emperor bloodline, took three days to absorb this bone.
Ye Yu, on the other hand, was merely a Soul Scholar with an ordinary Blue Silver Grass martial soul at rank 10.
He was well aware—
Even if it took him ten days or half a month, it would be entirely normal.
Therefore, this was not the place to absorb it.
And certainly not anywhere near Nuoding City!
After securing the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone back into the heavy lead box, Ye Yu made his preparations to leave.
He carefully erased all traces of his presence in the stone chamber.
Then, reaching the entrance, he stood before a waterfall cascading straight down.
Tying a rope securely around his waist again, Ye Yu descended the waterfall, landing in the deep-blue pool below.
Circling around, he returned to the top of the waterfall.
Untying the rope from the tree and packing it into his basket, Ye Yu snapped off a leafy branch and began sweeping away his tracks.
Following his compass and map, he bypassed Nuoding City and arrived at a nearby city called Treasure Sword City (Baodao City).
To reduce his load, Ye Yu discarded his climbing staff, rope, and pick into a river.
All that remained was his bamboo basket—
Inside, hidden beneath tattered clothes and wild fruit-laden branches, were A'Yin in her flowerpot and the lead box containing the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone.
Upon arriving in the city, Ye Yu bought himself a new set of clothes and began preparations to travel to Heaven Dou Imperial City.
Now that he had both the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone and A'Yin, it was time for the next step.
According to his plan, he needed to go to Heaven Dou Imperial City to seek out Dugu Yan and gain access to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—a legendary treasure trove of immortal herbs.
If he could obtain a suitable immortal herb, it would significantly improve his talent and potential.
Moreover, only in Heaven Dou Imperial City could he study advanced soul beast knowledge and determine the ideal plant-type, life-attributed soul beasts to hunt in the future.
However, since Dugu Yan was a student at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, getting close to her would not be easy.
But this didn't trouble Ye Yu.
He already had a plan.
Thanks to his financial resources—
In Treasure Sword City, Ye Yu quickly rented a horse-drawn carriage and hired a team of soul masters as guards, the strongest among them at the Soul Elder level.
Although the Douluo Continent was mostly peaceful, long-distance travel remained dangerous without soul master escorts.
Thus, in a guarded carriage convoy, Ye Yu set off for Heaven Dou Imperial City.
Thanks to Tang Hao's special lead box, which sealed the aura of the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, the journey was uneventful.
One month later.
Ye Yu arrived in the Silvis Kingdom.
Passing through a small city along the way, he ordered the carriage to stop.
After paying the driver and soul master guards, he dismissed them and stayed overnight alone in the city.
The next day, Ye Yu rented a small courtyard.
After scouting a suitable location in the nearby forest, he visited a coffin shop in the city and paid a hefty sum for a high-grade coffin.
He instructed the shop to send men the following day to bury the coffin at a designated spot outside the city.
That evening, Ye Yu brought A'Yin's flowerpot and the lead box into the coffin and climbed inside.
He planned to fuse the 100,000-year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone.
Afraid that the fusion process might produce unusual phenomena and attract attention, he didn't dare do it inside the city.
Even the forest outside seemed too risky.
In the end, he chose to lie inside the coffin and have it buried deep beneath the forest.
Inside the coffin, he would complete the fusion!
Thanks to Ye Yu's money, the coffin shop sent several strong men the next day.
After lightly nailing the lid shut, they carried the coffin out of the city.
Despite the burial location being deep within the forest, the hefty payment ensured the workers were serious and meticulous.
Grunting and sweating, they carried the coffin through the woods for a full day.
Finally, they reached the designated spot.
With much effort, they dug a pit over ten meters deep and placed the coffin inside.
Before sealing it, they even left a few air holes.
Inside the coffin—
Once Ye Yu confirmed he'd been buried and the sounds had faded, he took a deep breath and calmed his excitement.
He pressed the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone against his right lower leg.
Injecting soul power into the bone—
A brilliant blue-gold light burst forth as the leg bone melted into a mass of glowing energy and fused directly into his calf bone.
At that moment, Ye Yu felt an overwhelming surge of soul power and life energy erupt from within.
Closing his eyes tightly, he began cultivating with the Internal Core Method.
Under the guidance of this method, the vast, pure soul power released from the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone was steadily refined and absorbed.
Meanwhile, the rich life force entered Ye Yu's body.
That pure and vibrant blue-gold energy circulated throughout his system, merging into his limbs and bones. It not only nourished and refined his body, purging impurities, but also widened his meridians.
Throughout the process, he felt no pain—
Instead, it felt like resting in a mother's warm embrace: peaceful and comforting.
Even a trace of the life force that leaked from the bone caused an incredible phenomenon—
Above Ye Yu's buried coffin, the Blue Silver Grass and surrounding plants began to grow wildly.
Soon, the area transformed into a lush, dense thicket.
At the same time, within Ye Yu's dantian, his martial soul—
Once a fragile, watermelon-seedling-like Blue Silver Grass—
Began to evolve under the nourishment of the bone's immense life energy.
Its essence was strengthened and elevated—
Its roots thickened, and its leaves became longer and sturdier.
No one knew how much time passed.
Inside his dantian—
That seedling of a martial soul had grown into a thick blue-silver vine, about the width of an infant's wrist. Its surface glowed like blue crystal, pulsing with intense life force.
At last, Ye Yu awoke from his slumber.