Lin Feng gently pulled his arm out of Qian Renxue's embrace and shook Ling Yuan, who was lying on his other side.
Compared to Qian Renxue's restless sleeping posture, Ling Yuan was much more composed.
She lay quietly on her back beside Lin Feng, opening her eyes and blinking at him.
Her voice was soft:
"Are you going to make breakfast?"
She glanced at the still-sleeping Qian Renxue:
"I'll go with you."
"Alright."
Lin Feng carefully covered Qian Renxue with the blanket and then got up to leave the tent with Ling Yuan.
"Today, we're having lean meat porridge."
Lin Feng looked at Ling Yuan, who was washing up nearby. Her black hair cascaded down, and her delicate face carried a hint of drowsiness from just waking up.
Hmm, she looked more like a cat that had just woken up.
Ling Yuan walked over with a smile in her eyes.
"What can I do to help?"
Lin Feng thought for a moment:
"You can cut the meat. I'll handle the rest."
"Mwah."
As she passed by Lin Feng, Ling Yuan lightly kissed the corner of his mouth and then pinched his cheek.
"Okay~"
Unlike Qian Renxue, who liked to nuzzle Lin Feng's face, Ling Yuan seemed to prefer pinching his cheeks.
After sprinkling some special repellent around the campsite to keep soul beasts away, Lin Feng began preparing the morning meal.
Amid the rustling sounds, Qian Renxue pushed open the tent and stretched lazily.
"Xiao Feng, why didn't you wake me up?"
"You were too tired last night, so I let you rest a bit longer."
Seeing the teasing look in Lin Feng's eyes, Qian Renxue's cheeks flushed, and she fell silent.
The three of them, along with Chrysanthemum Douluo, who had snagged a bowl of porridge midway, finished breakfast.
Lin Feng then began constructing his fourth soul vein.
The deep purple soul ring moved from the Innate Treasure Pearl to his lungs.
The lungs are associated with the metal element, which is externally yin but internally yang.
With extreme yin as its foundation and containing the essence of extreme yang, it becomes firm and unyielding.
It has the power to renew and purify.
The moment the fourth soul vein formed, a light point reappeared in Lin Feng's dantian.
This time, Lin Feng was prepared. Anticipating the light point's appearance, he had been waiting for it.
He focused his spiritual power, carefully observing its formation and disappearance.
The light point expanded and contracted repeatedly, gradually dimming.
"This feeling…"
Lin Feng had a sudden realization and sent the Innate Treasure Pearl into his dantian.
Instantly!
The light point seemed to have found its anchor, glowing brightly for a moment.
At the same time, Lin Feng's four soul veins began circulating on their own, without his conscious control.
It felt as if the light point was pushing them, like a newborn child struggling to move mountains.
Though it was extremely difficult, the light point was indeed moving the mountains.
The light point seemed to have a will of its own, growing more excited and exerting itself even harder. Its light flickered, growing fainter.
Finally, as the fourth soul vein was fully activated, the light point dissipated once more.
Lin Feng frowned.
He had a feeling that even if he formed a fifth soul vein, this light point would still dissipate.
Ever since the third soul vein, associated with the earth element and its life-giving properties, had formed, this light point had appeared.
Now, although it still couldn't fully manifest, its function was becoming clear.
It could activate all four soul veins, and Lin Feng speculated that it served as a core.
He wondered what it would look like once fully formed.
"Is it like a soul core? No, it seems more like a central hub."
Thinking of soul cores, Lin Feng paused. The primary function of a soul core was to condense soul power, allowing complete control over one's energy.
In battle, a rotating soul core acted as an anchor, a tool for mastering one's strength.
But such a function…
Didn't his soul veins already achieve that?
Moreover, his soul veins were capable of growth, and their construction was likely simpler than forming a soul core.
Lin Feng retrieved the Innate Treasure Pearl from his dantian.
The pearl, now surrounded by a golden aura, had gained a new layer of metallic essence.
"Just one more soul vein to go. Once I complete the five elements, my dantian and the Innate Treasure Pearl should undergo a significant transformation."
Lin Feng stood up and stored the Innate Treasure Pearl.
Ling Yuan and Qian Renxue approached:
"Xiao Feng, how do you feel?"
Lin Feng waved his hand, indicating that he was fine.
The process of forming soul veins was now second nature to him, and his control over the Innate Treasure Pearl had steadily improved. With the pearl's assistance, constructing soul veins had become a straightforward task.
"Let's go. It's time to return to the Spirit Hall. Sister Ling Yuan is close to breaking through to level 90, and it's a good opportunity for Grandpa Ju to return as well."
Ling Yuan was taken aback:
"I've only just reached level 89 a few months ago. Breaking through to level 90 is the hardest hurdle. How can I achieve it so quickly?"
Qian Renxue smiled:
"Don't worry, I'll handle it. I'll ask Grandpa to give you another soul bone. We can trade the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear's left arm bone with him. He'll be getting a rare soul bone, so it's a great deal for him."
Lin Feng couldn't help but laugh:
"Xiao Xue, you're really Grandpa's little sweetheart, aren't you?"
Qian Renxue smirked:
"Grandpa definitely has more soul bones stashed away. If he won't give one, I'll just ask the other elders. A soul bone over 50,000 years should be easy to get."
"Then thank you, Xiao Xue."
"Let's get going. We need to leave the Star Dou Forest before nightfall. On the way back, we might pass by a waterfall. Keep an eye out for a large patch of Blue Silver Grass."
"Blue Silver Grass? Why are you looking for that?"
Lin Feng pondered for a moment:
"I read about a place in an ancient text. It's a forest filled with Blue Silver Grass, the home of the Blue Silver Grass.
I'm just curious and want to see it for myself, though it's unlikely we'll find it."
As Lin Feng had predicted, they didn't find the Blue Silver Forest near the waterfall.
He sighed inwardly, frustrated. The original story provided too few details about the location of the Blue Silver Forest.
Moreover, the Blue Silver Grass in the forest seemed to have the ability to camouflage itself.
From the outside, it probably just looked like an ordinary meadow or a barren plain.
Or perhaps it was hidden within a regular forest.
As they approached the town, Lin Feng lowered his head in thought:
"It seems I'll have to find Ah Yin first and use her to locate the Blue Silver Forest."
Tang Hao…
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes. By now, Tang Hao should have completely given up and settled in Holy Soul Village. It was about time to bring him to justice.
After returning from the Spirit Hall, it would be time to deal with him.
And at this point in time…
Bibi Dong should be close to obtaining her ninth soul ring and becoming a Title Douluo.
As for whether her second martial soul's soul ring came from Xiao Wu's mother, Lin Feng sometimes felt helpless.
There were too many conflicting versions. Bibi Dong herself had said that Xiao Wu was a survivor, but in the God Realm arc, Xiao Wu mentioned that her mother had followed her father to the core of the Star Dou Forest and was killed there.
The contradictory accounts left Lin Feng feeling a bit overwhelmed.
But this was also a good opportunity. Based on the timeline, Bibi Dong should be preparing to add her soul rings.
Coupled with the recent message from the Spirit Hall recalling Chrysanthemum Douluo, it was likely related to this matter.
The Pope's Hall only had jurisdiction over two Title Douluos—Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo.
If Bibi Dong wanted to hunt a 100,000-year soul beast, she would need a Title Douluo to accompany her. However, she couldn't seek help from the Douluo Hall, so she had to recall Chrysanthemum Douluo, who had been temporarily assigned to Lin Feng's group.