Ye Wen's expression remained calm, as if Blue Silver King's conditions were entirely within his expectations. He simply nodded.
"It's acceptable. Moreover, I can guarantee that after you offer yourself as a sacrifice to me, your soul can remain within your original seed. I will cultivate both you and the Blue Silver Emperor back to the hundred-thousand-year level. What do you think?"
These words once again stunned everyone present.
The idea of cultivating two hundred-thousand-year plant-type spirit beasts sounded impressive, but Dugu Bo quickly realized that with their faction's Ice-Fire Dual Yin Yang Well—a treasure of unparalleled value—reaching this goal might not be such an insurmountable challenge.
At this moment, the Blue Silver King's expression turned curious. "Human, it seems you have a deep understanding of hundred-thousand-year plant-type spirit beasts."
Ye Wen nodded without hesitation and directly replied:
"I've studied them extensively and analyzed the information. Although records about hundred-thousand-year spirit beasts are scarce, they do exist. I came across an ancient text in my youth that explained the three possible destinations for a spirit beast's soul after a sacrifice.
First, the soul merges into the soul ring granted to the soul master. If the soul of a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast resides in the soul ring, the soul ring's pattern won't display a simple pattern—it will instead contain a faint soul shadow.
Second, the soul resides in the soul bone. There's nothing more to elaborate on here.
As for the third destination, it naturally returns to the spirit beast's own body.
However, due to the strained relationship between humans and spirit beasts, I doubt any hundred-thousand-year spirit beast would willingly sacrifice itself to a soul master only to revert to a weak ten-year spirit beast. That's why I always thought this record was a joke.
But now, thanks to your existence, Blue Silver Emperor, I've been proven wrong. A spirit beast's soul can indeed return to its own body. Still, I never expected that your sincere devotion would be misplaced on someone like Tang Hao—a complete scumbag. Knowing you're a plant-type spirit beast, he still left you in that pitch-black waterfall cave.
Though my guess may sound far-fetched, I believe Tang Hao probably couldn't face you. He wanted to kill you but couldn't bring himself to do it, so he left you in that desolate place where no one would ever go.
Honestly, this kind of reasoning is truly eye-opening."
By the end, Ye Wen chuckled softly.
Based on the law of energy conservation, the Blue Silver Emperor's reaction turned grim upon having this truth laid bare.
The Blue Silver King, which had been curious just moments ago, became enraged upon hearing the Blue Silver Emperor's plight. Its overwhelming spiritual pressure, accumulated over eighty-five thousand years, surged forth mercilessly. If Dugu Bo hadn't reacted swiftly to shield Ye Wen, he might have sustained minor injuries.
Dugu Bo then unleashed his own spiritual pressure, snapping the Blue Silver King out of its fury. It awkwardly retracted its oppressive aura.
At this moment, the Blue Silver Emperor spoke in a low voice, though loud enough for everyone to hear: "Ah Hao must have had some compelling reason to leave me there. You shouldn't make baseless accusations."
Ye Wen shrugged indifferently, inwardly thinking, 'Love-struck minds truly are beyond saving.'
Meanwhile, the Blue Silver King's expression fell. It couldn't believe its Empress could be so foolishly love-struck. Its face filled with frustration and disappointment.
After all, although the Blue Silver Grass clan started weak, once they grew to the level of the Blue Silver King, they could sense the vastness of the Douluo Continent through their mental links with other Blue Silver Grasses.
Compared to ordinary spirit beasts, the Blue Silver Grass clan had a better understanding of human society. Yet here was the Blue Silver Emperor, whose cultivation surpassed even the Blue Silver King, acting like this! Truly, it was hard to put into words.
Ye Wen now understood the situation clearly. The true decision-maker regarding his proposal wasn't the Blue Silver Emperor but the seemingly more mature and level-headed Blue Silver King.
Thus, Ye Wen consoled it: "Don't worry, Blue Silver King. Human lifespans can't compare to those of spirit beasts. Even if I were to cultivate the Blue Silver Emperor back to the hundred-thousand-year level, it would take countless years. By then, Tang Hao would already be long dead."
The Blue Silver King nodded indifferently. Indeed, hearing this made it feel much better.
However, Dugu Bo couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked, "Xiao Wen, isn't the act of sacrifice exclusive to hundred-thousand-year spirit beasts? This Blue Silver King clearly hasn't reached that level, and your cultivation doesn't support absorbing a fifth soul ring. Are you perhaps a dual martial soul user?"
Ye Wen smiled. Though Dugu Bo hadn't taught him much as a teacher, his protection and support—along with marrying his granddaughter to him and acting as his angel investor—made Ye Wen patient enough to explain.
"Teacher, it's not as complicated as you think. Haven't you noticed that this Blue Silver King, despite not being a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast, can already speak?"
Dugu Bo suddenly realized what Ye Wen meant. During the earlier fight, his adrenaline had been pumping too hard for him to notice, but now, Ye Wen's explanation highlighted the key point.
Still, a new question arose. Dugu Bo asked, "But how does its ability to speak relate to its ability to perform a sacrifice?"
After their brief exchange, the Blue Silver King realized that Ye Wen wasn't malicious. It decided to help clarify:
"Let me explain this.
The so-called act of sacrifice is essentially the spirit beast's application of its own soul power. As long as the soul power manipulation meets the required standard, even a thousand-year spirit beast can perform a sacrifice. It's the same principle as my ability to speak."
Dugu Bo glanced at Ye Wen, silently asking, 'Is this really true?'
Ye Wen nodded. "Just as the Blue Silver King said, although its cultivation hasn't reached the hundred-thousand-year level, its ability to manipulate its branches to produce speech-like effects demonstrates its mastery over its own powers. Therefore, the Blue Silver King is absolutely capable of performing a sacrifice for me."
Pausing briefly, Ye Wen summoned his soul rings and let them circle around his hand.
"As for the issue of insufficient cultivation, it's not a big problem.
According to the ancient texts I've studied, a spirit beast's sacrifice doesn't merely grant the soul master a soul ring or soul bone—it also transfers its own soul power to the soul master. This is why a soul master's cultivation level often increases by several levels after receiving a sacrifice.
Although the Blue Silver King is only eighty-five thousand years old, its strength rivals yours, Teacher. With such a massive difference in soul power, bridging my mere ten-level gap should pose no issue."
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