Chapter 286: Soul Lotus Bloom

"Feiliu, yes, it really has been a long time, you've grown quite a bit." Duan Zilin said with a chuckle, looking at the Ning Feiliu of today, satisfied beyond measure.

However, she looked at Ning Feiliu's short white hair with some curiosity and asked, "But your hair..."

"I had some fortuitous encounters... Hehe, Xue Di." Ning Feiliu called out to Xue Di once again.

Xue Di transformed into a stream of light and appeared before everyone.

Ning Feiliu repeated the fortuitous encounter he had fabricated, saying that his hair changed color due to Xue Di's influence.

Only then did Dugu Xin and Duan Zilin stop being suspicious.

"And this is..." Dugu Xin, however, looked at Ye Lingling with curiosity again.

He and Duan Zilin had not met Ye Lingling yet, so unlike Dugu Bo, they did not know that Ye Lingling had always been a good friend of Dugu Yan and Ning Feiliu.

"Dad, she is Lingling! Ye Lingling, my classmate, and also the best friend of Feiliu and me." Dugu Yan jumped out proactively this time and said with a smile.

Ning Feiliu had originally been on the verge of speaking but stopped; in fact, he had some intentions of bringing Ye Lingling over to confess directly.

Ye Lingling had also originally intended to confess to Dugu Bo, but now that Dugu Yan had said so, neither of them said anything more.

"Oh? Is that so?" Dugu Xin and Duan Zilin did not overthink it.

"Hello, Uncle and Aunt." Ye Lingling immediately greeted the two of them politely.

"Hello, Lingling." Dugu Xin and Duan Zilin also greeted her with smiles.

And just at this moment...

"Master!" A voice filled with excitement came from the other side.

Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling looked over and discovered that not far away, that originally huge and lush Spirit Blossom Tree had, at this moment, actually... grown a kind and gentle face!

It was looking at Ning Feiliu excitedly; clearly, the voice just now had been emitted by it.

"Is this the Spirit King?" Along the way, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling had also learned from Ning Feiliu why such changes had occurred in the Sunset Forest, as well as the matter of the Spirit King gaining sentience.

"Kid, this tree suddenly came to life; it nearly scared me to death." Dugu Bo said unhappily at this time, "What exactly is going on here?"

"Teacher, didn't I say? As long as you plant these one thousand Spirit Blossom Trees, you can allow Uncle and Aunt to continue appearing in this world." Ning Feiliu said with a smile, "And once the number of Spirit Blossom Trees reaches one thousand, the Spirit King can activate its own unique domain—the Soul Barrier."

"But how did it... suddenly have its soul power skyrocket?" Dugu Bo frowned and asked.

It had been less than ten years since the Spirit King's original body, that Spirit Blossom Tree, was planted, but now it was clearly over ten years, having evolved directly to the level of a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast.

In reality, because the Spirit Blossom Tree belongs to a "plant-type Soul Beast" that had never appeared on the Douluo Continent before, it is difficult to judge the soul power and age of a Spirit Blossom Tree.

Dugu Bo could only judge from its aura and the sentience the Spirit King had developed that it was at least at the level of a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast.

In reality, the Spirit King has already reached a soul power level of over fifty thousand years.

"It's thanks to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, I suppose." Ning Feiliu said, "Because of the unique environment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, when the Spirit World opened and the Spirit King gained sentience, it could actively and rapidly absorb the nutrients and free-floating soul power and spiritual power here to grow."

Actually, the main reason was that the Spirit King absorbed a portion of the origin power of the two great Dragon Kings beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and then it directly advanced to a fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast.

One must know that the nine great Dragon Kings were all God King-level powerhouses, except for the Golden Dragon King and Silver Dragon King, who were only at the half-step God King realm.

Although the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King had fallen, the bit of origin power slightly leaked from their remains created such a unique and peerless treasure land as the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

In reality, there was still very powerful origin power within the remains, and the Spirit King only absorbed a portion of that power, which is why it directly broke through fifty thousand years of soul power.

"So that's how it is..." Dugu Bo suddenly realized.

Just at this moment, the Spirit King also spoke up, "Yes, this place is very unique; just as Master said, only here could I improve so quickly... Also, Master, I have something to give you."

"Something to give me?" Ning Feiliu was stunned for a moment and asked curiously.

Everyone else was also quite curious.

"Yes, Master, this is a gift I present to you." Seeing this, a bright pink light suddenly lit up on the Spirit King's massive tree trunk body, constantly converging like flower petals, and finally gathering into a dazzling ball of light that was impossible to see clearly.

The ball of light floated over and flew directly into Ning Feiliu's body, then merged into one with his physique.

The light slowly receded and finally gathered at Ning Feiliu's heart.

"This is... a soul bone?!" Ning Feiliu felt that unique, powerful, yet gentle new heart and said, full of shock.

This was actually a soul bone, an external spirit bone he had never seen before—in the heart area? He did not remember there being soul bones for the heart area on the Douluo Continent.

They were all external spirit bones like ribs, palms, claws, and eyes.

However, thinking about it carefully... a soul bone indeed... does not necessarily have to be a bone.

Huo Yuhao's Evil Eye external spirit bone was also not a bone, but an eye.

Therefore, theoretically, any part of the human body can be a soul bone.

"Yes, Master, this is the life origin of my Spirit Blossom Tree clan, named the Soul Heart." The Spirit King said respectfully, "It can replenish the life origin you are missing, Master, and at the same time, it can allow you to see through any spiritual illusions and disguises, and also allow you to control this Spirit World."

Ning Feiliu moved his mind, and sure enough, he felt that his life force, which had been slightly deficient due to using the Resurrection Forbidden Spell, had become full again.

Then... his soul power suddenly broke through another level; this was the feedback given to Ning Feiliu by the Soul Heart.

At the same time, he felt that the Small Spirit Realm, which was temporarily merged with the Sunset Forest, was now entirely under his control.

Within this Small Spirit Realm, the revitalization or slumber of any spirit, or even the scattering of a soul, was all within his single thought.

However... it was not just that; Ning Feiliu also felt that this Soul Heart came with a soul skill.

Soul Lotus Bloom—based on the obsession in the opponent's heart, it creates a special mental illusion, which can either guide them toward tranquility and eliminate their inner demons, or lead them to go astray and fall into a desperate situation.

Ning Feiliu can actively guide it, but if the opponent's obsession is too strong, he cannot control the final outcome.

This is a soul bone skill that is not considered very strong, but it is beneficial for Ning Feiliu to create the legend of the Spirit World reincarnation in the future.

"Thank you, Spirit King." Ning Feiliu said with a smile.

"Without Master, there would be no me today." However, the Spirit King remained very humble and said, "This is as it should be." If Ning Feiliu had not helped it become the initial Spirit Blossom Tree, it would have been nothing more than an ordinary old tree; how could it have gained sentience, and how could it have its current soul power? Although the Spirit King did not have sentience before becoming a Spirit Blossom Tree, its gratitude toward Ning Feiliu appeared the moment it was born, and it has kept it firmly in its heart ever since.

"Is it actually another external spirit bone? And a heart?" Dugu Yan leaned over at this time, pressing directly against Ning Feiliu's heart area, listening to the sound of the heart beating within, and said curiously.

Ning Feiliu now already had three soul bones, and they were all the most precious types of soul bones, namely a torso bone and external spirit bones.

These are the most precious among all soul bone positions! Unlike Dugu Yan, Dugu Yan also had a soul bone, but it was just a "less valuable" limb soul bone; that was far from the value of a head soul bone, let alone a torso bone or an external spirit bone.

However, she was not jealous; on the contrary, she was somewhat happy that Ning Feiliu was becoming stronger and stronger.

"Yes, so I must thank the Spirit King." Ning Feiliu was also somewhat happy; the soul bone given by the Spirit King could be said to be a significant improvement for him.

However, the subsequent help will be significant.

"You're welcome, Master," the Spirit King said again, very respectfully.

"You brat... your luck is truly good," Dugu Bo clicked his tongue and said to Ning Feiliu.

But in truth, everyone knew that Ning Feiliu was not relying on luck, but rather on his own talent.

Yet what they did not know was that Ning Feiliu felt this was not his talent at all; he just had a cheat.

Or rather, perhaps the cheat had exhausted all his luck.

In any case... I, Ning Feiliu, have achieved what I have today entirely through my own hard work! Cheat! Go on a mission ()!

So he did not refute it either, and said with a chuckle, "Yes, my luck is indeed very good. By the way, Teacher, we actually have another intention for coming here this time."

"Speak, what do you want now?" Dugu Bo snorted coldly and said directly.

"We actually... want to go out for training. This time, I want to go with Sister Yan and Lingling," Ning Feiliu said embarrassedly, "But don't worry, with me... er, with Xue Di here, Sister Yan will not suffer any harm!"

"Hmph! How long have you been back? Not even half a year, and you want to run off and go wild again?" Dugu Bo snorted coldly and said, "I didn't expect you to be so restless... always thinking about running outside, right?"

"Teacher... I..." Ning Feiliu immediately heard the implication in Dugu Bo's words and thought he would not agree.

However, Dugu Bo changed the subject and said again, "But Yan Yan does need to go out and see the world. Staying in Heaven Dou City all the time, she won't learn anything more..."

Then he stopped talking.

Ning Feiliu waited for a long time, but seeing he did not continue, he asked curiously, "Then Teacher, your meaning is..."

"Dad's meaning is that it's a good thing for you to take Yan Yan out for training," Dugu Xin said with a smile from the side, "That's right, Yan Yan is such a big girl now, she needs to go out and see the world."

"Yes, although Heaven Dou City is the imperial capital, there are many landscapes and many Spirit Masters on the Douluo Dalu that are not found in Heaven Dou City," Duan Zilin also said with a smile, "And with you, Feiliu, we are actually very at ease."

"Mom! Dad! You are so kind!" Dugu Yan immediately gave a giggle and said, feeling somewhat moved.

"Then Teacher... we will set off in half a month," Ning Feiliu immediately tried saying.

"Go, go, go, what does it have to do with me when you go?" Dugu Bo rolled his eyes and said, "You young people can decide for yourselves. You're not small anymore, you're seventeen! Just decide for yourselves. Why? Do you still need to bother me?"

Ning Feiliu gave an awkward smile and said, "How could that be... I was just telling Teacher to put your mind at ease."

"You just want me to worry even more!" Dugu Bo said irritably, "You want me, an old man, to plant trees myself? You want to tire me out, right?"

"No... how could that be? Teacher can still live for a long time, and you still have to help me and Sister Yan with our great-grandchildren and even great-great-grandchildren!" Ning Feiliu said quickly.

"Look! Xin'er, Zilin, this brat just wants to tire me to death! He even wants me to look after great-grandchildren!" Dugu Bo still looked irritable, but the undisguised smile at the corners of his eyes completely betrayed him.

He was eager for that day to come, for Dugu Yan to give birth to several children so he could properly raise them.

Dugu Xin and Duan Zilin were also looking forward to that scene; they no longer prayed for resurrection, but just hoped to continue like this, talking to Dugu Bo in the form of spirits, seeing Dugu Yan, and watching her marry Ning Feiliu and have children.

This... was already enough.

It was just that they were now smiling as they watched Dugu Bo make things difficult for Ning Feiliu.

Ning Feiliu also wore an innocent face, not knowing what else to say.

They stayed at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for a while longer, and Ning Feiliu went to check on the growth of the Immortal Herbs, and then he discovered...

Not only was the Qiluo Tulip growing faster and faster, but other Immortal Herbs... their broken roots had actually sprouted some new seedlings.

This proved that these Immortal Herbs were also going to grow back.

However, without that special growth potion, their growth speed would not be very fast; it would take at least a thousand years to return to their original appearance.

But the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was naturally endowed by nature, and the time required for those Immortal Herbs to grow to maturity here was actually not thousands or tens of thousands of years.

All plants growing here could be said to mature in a few hundred years, and in ten thousand years, they could develop intelligence like a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast.

The Immortal Herbs of the Peerless Tang Sect era were a typical example; they all developed self-awareness.

After seeing that there were no problems, Ning Feiliu chatted with Dugu Bo, Dugu Yan, and the others for a while longer.

Until the time was about right...

"Teacher, Uncle, Aunt, we have to go back first," Ning Feiliu said, "Lingling still has to go home."

"I'm also going back to Heaven Dou City with Feiliu and the others... Grandpa, Mom, Dad..." Dugu Yan stood up at this time, stuck her tongue out at Dugu Bo, Dugu Xin, and Duan Zilin, and said embarrassedly.

"Sigh... it's true that you can't keep a granddaughter once she's grown up." Dugu Bo pretended to sigh, then waved his hand at them and said, "Go back. Having Xin'er and Zilin accompany this old man is enough. You young people have your own affairs."

"Thank you, Grandpa!"

"Thank you, Teacher..." Dugu Yan and Ning Feiliu both said to Dugu Bo.

"Senior... this junior takes their leave." Ye Lingling bowed to say goodbye to Dugu Yan, Dugu Xin, and Duan Zilin.

"Go on," Dugu Bo waved his hand.

(End of chapter)