"This is..."
As everyone stared in shock at the shattered remains of the Undying Laurel Tree, a glimmering object slowly materialized—a soul bone.
They quickly approached.
As they drew closer, Ye Yu finally got a clear look at the soul bone that had dropped from the Undying Laurel.
It was clearly an external soul bone—
But its shape was... unexpected. It resembled a heart, translucent and milky white like jade, with intricate vein-like patterns coursing across its surface, emitting a faint silver glow like moonlight.
"A heart-shaped... external soul bone?"
Ling Zhantian blinked in disbelief.
He had heard of vertebra-shaped, scapula-shaped, metacarpal-shaped soul bones...
But a heart-shaped external soul bone? That was truly unheard of.
"Clan Head Dugu, Ye Yu," Ye Zilan said softly after the initial shock wore off.
"Per our agreement—since the soul bone from the Blade-Mantis went to Zhantian... then this one from the Undying Laurel should go to you two."
Her graceful face softened with a warm smile as she looked toward Dugu Bo and Ye Yu.
"But I recommend that Ye Yu be the one to absorb it."
"Since he'll be absorbing the Undying Laurel's soul ring next, I've heard that when a soul master absorbs both a soul ring and soul bone from the same beast, their soul skill and soul bone ability can resonate—enhancing both."
"This soul bone, being from the Undying Laurel, is clearly best suited for him."
"That's obvious," Dugu Bo agreed without hesitation.
"But since soul bone fusion takes time, let's focus on the soul ring first—if we wait too long, it may dissipate!"
With that, Dugu Bo promptly urged Ye Yu, "Quick, put away the soul bone and absorb the ring first!"
"Yes, Grandpa."
Ye Yu felt a wave of warmth in his heart. He hadn't expected Dugu Bo to give him the soul bone without the slightest hesitation.
He gently picked up the external soul bone—Heart of the Undying Laurel, he decided to name it—and placed it into his Jade Dragon Bracelet.
Then, beside the charred remnants of the Undying Laurel, Ye Yu sat cross-legged.
Summoning his Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vine Martial Soul, he closed his eyes and began circulating his Inner Core Method.
Above the tree's corpse, a dark soul ring shimmered into existence, drawn by Ye Yu's aura.
It floated down toward him—
And settled over his Martial Soul.
Instantly, an immense surge of soul power poured into Ye Yu's body.
The flow was as vast and turbulent as a mighty river, roaring through his body and meridians—
But he quickly realized: it was well within what his body could handle.
After a full year of lightning-tempered body cultivation, Ye Yu's physical resilience had become far stronger than he had ever imagined.
Several hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Ye Yu finally opened his eyes, having fully absorbed and refined the Undying Laurel's soul ring.
"Xiao Yu!"
—came three simultaneous cries from Dugu Bo, Ye Zilan, and Ling Zhantian, their voices filled with excitement.
Ye Yu quickly looked down—
And saw his Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vine had undergone a stunning transformation.
What was once as thick as an adult's wrist had now expanded to half a meter in diameter—almost tree-like in scale.
Not only that, the vines had sprouted branches and twigs, their leaves broader and more lush than ever, with delicate silver-white flowers blooming across them.
The outer surface still shimmered with fiery red, icy blue, and violet lightning-like patterns.
But within, where once only blue-violet and starry light had sparkled like a dream—
There now glowed a silver-white brilliance, gentle as moonlight.
"Xiao Yu, your soul ring evolution theory has been proven right!" Dugu Bo laughed heartily, his eyes gleaming with joy.
"After absorbing the Undying Laurel's soul ring, your Martial Soul evolved again!"
The sight was just as shocking for Ye Zilan and Ling Zhantian.
Watching Ye Yu's Martial Soul evolve a second time after absorbing a soul ring was nothing short of astonishing.
Ye Zilan's feelings turned deeply complex.
Could it be... that the curse of our Nine Heart Begonia Clan will end with Ye Yu?
With the soul ring absorbed and the Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vine now fully evolved—
Ye Yu gave it a new name:
Blue Silver Spirit Jade Tree.
Its appearance was now more tree-like than vine, with roots, trunk, branches, and leaves.
To test its changes, Ye Yu activated his newly acquired fifth soul skill.
After observing its effects, he named it:
Undying Body
Upon activation—
The Blue Silver Spirit Jade Tree's regenerative capacity became near-immortal—just like the Undying Laurel.
Any damage inflicted on it would heal almost instantly.
Even more surprisingly—
Due to the Rooted Regeneration ability granted by his earlier soul ring from the Earth Vein Ganoderma, all parts of the Martial Soul had become fully biologically active.
Branches, roots, and stalks could grow independently into full clones of the Martial Soul.
Now combined with the undying recovery property of the Undying Laurel ring—
Even if a tree was chopped apart, the severed parts could regrow and fuse together again, forming a larger, sturdier Blue Silver Spirit Jade Tree!
Ye Yu couldn't help but think of the legendary techniques used by "the Big Pillar" (Hashirama from Naruto):
Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique,
Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands,
Wood Release: Sage Art: Deep Forest Emergence...
The possibility left him genuinely thrilled.
If he could fully develop this immortal-fusion trait—
Perhaps it really could reach that level!
With the fifth soul ring fully absorbed—
Ye Yu moved on to his next task: fusing the External Soul Bone – Heart of the Undying Laurel.
He retrieved the soul bone from his Jade Dragon Bracelet.
Staring at the heart-shaped object in his hand, Ye Yu couldn't help feeling a little strange.
"'Soul bone'... It's called a bone for a reason," he murmured.
"But this thing looks exactly like a heart. Weird."
Then he remembered—Huo Yuhao from Legend of the Divine Realm (Sequel to Douluo Dalu II) had a soul bone that resembled an eye.
If an eye soul bone could exist...
Then a heart-shaped soul bone wasn't too far-fetched either.
So, Ye Yu placed the Heart of the Undying Laurel against his chest—
And began to channel his soul power into it.
Immediately, a soft silver radiance burst from the soul bone as it transformed into pure light and merged into his body.
He could clearly feel the soul bone moving within him—
And ultimately fusing directly with his heart.
A soul bone fused with the heart?
That made Ye Yu feel... even more unsettled.