"Up ahead is where the life force is the strongest."
Xiao Yexuan was now heading in one direction, and his speed had increased significantly.
However, upon arriving, Xiao Yexuan became more cautious.
Even though he was strong, if Tang Hao happened to be there, and if he couldn't defeat him, Tang Hao could still escape.
That would be troublesome.
So, Xiao Yexuan stopped using the aura of life from a distance to avoid alerting Tang Hao in case he was around.
He was afraid that changes in the forest might cause Tang Hao to sense something unusual.
Xiao Yexuan sent a weak soul beast to scout the area.
After checking it out, Xiao Yexuan was pleased to find no sign of any person.
Tang Hao wasn't here, and that put Xiao Yexuan at ease.
He extended his aura of life to cover the area and found the Blue Silver Grass that A Yin had transformed into.
With Xiao Yexuan's power, reviving A Yin back to her hundred-thousand-year soul beast form would be an easy task.
But he wasn't in a rush. In fact, he didn't plan on reviving her just yet.
Xiao Yexuan wanted Tang San and A Yin to reunite first—let Tang San get emotionally attached—then execute A Yin right in front of Tang San.
Just like what he did with Xiao Wu.
And since Tang San was an orphan, reborn into this world, he craved familial love deeply.
It wasn't that Xiao Wu wasn't like family—but in Tang San's eyes, she had almost become an enemy.
But what about a biological mother? Even if Tang San might see her as someone to use, there needed to be a transitional period.
That period… would be a time of pure anguish for Tang San.
So Xiao Yexuan expanded the territory in this region.
He planned to wait until Tang Hao came to visit A Yin, and then capture him.
A trap for Tang Hao.
As for A Yin…
Xiao Yexuan used his power to transplant her to a place closer to Tang San.
So that later, when Tang San emerged from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he could quickly find A Yin.
And receive a mother's love there.
Tang San's location was quickly discovered by Xiao Yexuan.
At the moment, Tang San was lying beside a river, legs crossed, sunbathing after a full meal.
Truly a leisurely little life.
But… those leaves he was wearing—was she serious?
Xiao Yexuan didn't want Tang San to know he was being watched or that his location was known.
It would interfere with future plans. So after moving A Yin under a crooked-neck tree nearby, he went into hiding.
A Yin had a new home, unaware of what had happened.
Soon, however, she felt a familiar bloodline energy.
Even though she was just a blade of grass, she still retained a bit of consciousness.
She remembered she had a child—and now she could sense that child's bloodline. That could only mean her child was nearby.
She had felt it before, being summoned again and again—now the presence was close. A Yin became excited.
She began calling out to Tang San.
Though it seemed like Tang San was just sunbathing, she knew well—she was simply resting.
After eating, Tang San had played in the river, naked, which had stirred up certain thoughts.
So, in the river, Tang San had done something that made her very happy.
Then she overdid it.
Totally exhausted, but thanks to the flowing water, all traces of her bad behavior were washed away.
So she didn't need to waste energy cleaning up.
Just as she began to rest, Tang San once again felt that warm sensation—a summoning like a mother's touch, like the joy of eating spicy rabbit heads at night.
In any case, it was a call she couldn't resist.
So Tang San followed the direction of the sensation, hoping it could free her from Xiao Yexuan's control.
"Eh?" Tang San looked at a massive Blue Silver Grass ahead, dazed.
Blue Silver Grass could grow this big?
Was it a plant spirit?
Tang San looked at her right hand, where a warm sensation was rising.
A mark of Blue Silver Grass slowly appeared. Her eyebrows rose—her Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul had been summoned.
But wasn't her power sealed by Xiao Yexuan?
Otherwise, she would've used Blue Silver Grass to chop down trees for food instead of going hungry.
With her martial soul out, the Blue Silver Grass under the crooked tree trembled even more.
Then a soft tendril of Blue Silver Grass reached out to Tang San.
Tang San didn't resist. She felt it—this Blue Silver Grass was gentle, held no malice.
And now Tang San was sure—this was what had been calling her.
The Blue Silver Grass wrapped around Tang San's wrist. In that moment, Tang San seemed to see a beautiful mature woman standing before her, gazing gently.
"Xiao San~ my child~! Truly my good child~!"
A Yin's voice rang in Tang San's ears, full of emotion and excitement.
Tang San didn't question it. When the woman called her "my child," she didn't feel the urge to fight.
She had never had a mother, and her father was a drunkard.
That loving gaze—she'd only seen it once before, in Grandpa Jack.
"You… you're my mother…"
Tang San reached out to touch her—but it was only a projection.
Suddenly uneasy, Tang San glanced around in a panic. Was this just an illusion?
She didn't hesitate. She was about to lift a leaf below to test with pain if this was reality or not.
But A Yin's words stopped that dangerous move.
"Xiao San, turns out you're a little girl~ and Hao geigei~ said you were a little boy? That old man, always lying!"
A Yin placed her hand on Tang San's head and spoke.
Tang San felt the sensation—real and vivid. Not like a hallucination.
"You… you're really my mom?" Tang San's eyes turned moist.
"But… why… your body, and that Blue Silver Grass outside? What's going on?"
"Xiao San, as you see, that Blue Silver Grass out there is my true body. I'm a hundred-thousand-year-old Blue Silver Grass that cultivated into human form. After I met Tang Hao, we had you."
A Yin explained.
"So… my Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul came from that."
Tang San suddenly remembered—when she first showed her martial soul to Tang Hao as a child, why was he so emotional?
It was because her mother… was a hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Grass.
She wasn't motherless after all. She had a mom! She wasn't an orphan!
She had maternal love now!
Suddenly! Tang San realized something. If A Yin was a soul beast turned human, why did Xiao Wu remain in human form, but her own mother was… a literal plant?
Could it be that her father, Tang Hao…
Wow. The man had… interesting tastes.
(End of Chapter)