As the Blade-Mantis charged forward, Ye Yu, who had long been prepared, flipped his right hand—
A flash of silver-blue light gleamed as he summoned his Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vine Martial Soul.
In an instant, all four of his first soul skills activated at once!
Radiant and crystalline like blue crystal, the vines shimmered with an ethereal luster like starlight. Golden veins and glittering star-like specks adorned their interior, while fiery red, icy blue, and electric patterns coiled around the outside. The wide, elongated leaves swayed as the Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vines burst into rapid growth, spreading outward at high speed.
Their tips sharpened like spears—
Thousands of vines transformed into Blue Silver Lances, piercing fiercely into the ground.
Moments later, dense roots erupted forth underground, deeply embedding themselves into the soil—
Absorbing earth nutrients and leyline energy, transforming it into vitality and soul power.
The vines exploded into frenzied growth, continuously splitting and spreading.
In the blink of an eye, countless vines sprouted from the ground all around the Blade-Mantis, erupting from near and far in waves—madly surging toward their prey.
Screeeee!
The Blade-Mantis shrieked, slashing with its razor-sharp arms to unleash waves of inky-black energy blades, severing the incoming vines in all directions.
But, like so many before it, the Blade-Mantis quickly realized—
Cutting the vines was useless!
The severed vines, once fallen, immediately took root in the soil—
Absorbing sunlight and regenerating rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, each became a new adult Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vine, continuing to spawn more vines to swarm the Blade-Mantis.
Soon, the area surrounding the mantis had become a dense Blue Silver forest—
A living cage of crystalline vines, as solid as iron walls, enclosing the beast in all directions.
No matter how the Blade-Mantis furiously slashed its arms, sending blade after blade of dark energy—
It was useless.
There were too many vines—cutting them did nothing.
In desperation, the Blade-Mantis attempted to take flight and escape above—
But Dugu Bo immediately soared into the sky, activating his Bi Phosphorus Snake Emperor Martial Soul, using his soul skills to slam the beast back down.
Eventually, the Blade-Mantis was completely engulfed—
Entombed inside a massive sphere of twisted Blue Silver Vines.
The vines tightened like serpents, relentlessly coiling and constricting—
Until the mantis's shell cracked and shattered, crushed within.
With one last piercing, agonized screech—
The Blade-Mantis died.
Once Ye Yu canceled the vine sphere, the mass of silver-blue vines dispersed into starlight—
The mantis's broken body, still clad in fragments of its dark carapace, collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
And from its corpse—a pitch-black soul bone dropped alongside it.
Ye Yu, Dugu Bo, Ye Zilan, and Ling Zhantian all froze for a second—then burst with excitement.
"A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Bone?!"
Rushing over to inspect it—
They found it was a right arm bone, from the Blade-Mantis.
"Uncle Ling, this soul bone is best suited for you," Ye Yu said after some thought.
The Blade-Mantis was known for its dual bladed arms as its main offensive tool.
Given that, this soul bone would synergize best with Ling Zhantian, whose Bloodthirsty Berserker Blade Martial Soul was also blade-based.
Ye Yu's own Martial Soul was the Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vine, a plant-type.
Even though he also had the External Soul Bone – Thunder Hell Infernal Spear for close combat—
To be honest, he wasn't particularly interested in the Blade-Mantis bone.
After all, he had already fused a 100,000-year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone.
As for his other potential soul bones—
For a skull bone, Ye Yu had his eyes on the Wisdom Skull Bone, the legendary prize awarded to the champion of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament by Spirit Hall.
For the torso and remaining limbs, he had even more ambitious targets:
Titan Giant Ape
Sky Azure Bull Python
Devil Orca King
All were 100,000-year soul beasts, and all were within reach.
So this Ten-Thousand-Year Blade-Mantis Right Arm Bone simply didn't hold much appeal for him.
"This Blade-Mantis was killed by you and Brother Dugu," Ling Zhantian said quickly. "Since a soul bone dropped, it rightfully belongs to you. How can I accept it?"
"This wouldn't be right!"
Even though he knew the soul bone suited him well, he hadn't contributed much in the fight and felt it inappropriate to claim the reward.
Meanwhile, Dugu Bo—
Though still lacking a soul bone capable of storing his Bi Phosphorus Poison, and in dire need of one—
Had to admit that the Blade-Mantis arm bone wasn't suitable for that purpose.
And they were all friends.
Even Dugu Bo, the infamous "Old Poison," had his principles.
"Brother Ling," he smiled, stroking his white beard, "just take it."
"This soul bone doesn't suit me or Ye Yu. You're the best fit."
"And the Undying Laurel is still ahead of us—it might drop a soul bone too."
"If it does, we'll take that one instead!"
With Ye Yu and Dugu Bo both urging him—
Ling Zhantian finally accepted, somewhat embarrassed, and fused the Blade-Mantis Right Arm Bone.
He later named its soul bone ability:
"Edge of the Blade"
It boosted attack speed and power, while also enhancing the sharpness of his Martial Soul.
An exceptionally practical skill.
Watching Ling Zhantian successfully fuse the bone—
Even knowing it wasn't right for him, and that using it solely to store poison would be a waste—
Dugu Bo couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy.
Ye Yu, of course, understood.
His grandfather still had no suitable soul bone for storing Bi Phosphorus Poison.
He did possess the Medusa Skull, but channeling that poison into it would be suicide.
Was there a perfect soul bone for Dugu Bo mentioned in the original novel?
Yes, there was.
But obtaining it wouldn't be easy—
It would require careful planning and timing.
After Ling Zhantian finished fusing the Blade-Mantis Soul Bone—
It was time to help Ye Yu slay the Undying Laurel Tree.
As a divine-grade plant-type soul beast, the Laurel was notoriously hard to kill.
Its regeneration was terrifying, and it had formidable attack power.
Thankfully, they had Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, on their side.
And he had a secret weapon:
His Eighth Soul Skill: Time Freeze—perfect for annihilating weaker targets.
Against the Undying Laurel, Dugu Bo opened with Time Freeze—
Locking the tree's trunk in stasis, then shattering it with a single blow.
Afterward, he bombarded it with his First Soul Skill: Bi Phosphorus Poison Flame, burning the tree's trunk and roots to prevent regeneration.
He burned it for half a day.
Only then was the Undying Laurel fatally wounded.
At that moment, Ye Yu summoned his Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vine—
And activated his Third Soul Skill: Tribulation Ascension.
Thunderclouds rolled in as black lightning crashed down from above—
A final heavenly strike that brought the Undying Laurel Tree down.
In that instant, a brilliant silver light, radiant as moonlight, burst from the remains.
Amid the scorched, fragmented trunk—
A soul bone slowly emerged, glowing like polished white jade, radiating a luminous silver aura.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin