The summit wasn't a flat expanse but resembled a pile of massive rocks, forming various protrusions of different sizes and shapes.
To prevent the cave from being submerged by the river, the opening couldn't be located in a low-lying area.
Nangong Lingyun aimed at those protrusions, focusing his detection on each one.
Before long, his eyes lit up, and a surge of joy erupted in his heart.
"Haha, found it."
Just to the right of the river, about one hundred and fifty meters away from him,
on the largest and relatively smoothest protrusion in the vicinity,
a small hole, roughly the thickness of an infant's arm, was clearly visible in the center.
His vision followed the hole downwards, where a Blue Silver Grass with slender branches and leaves was swaying gently.
It looked significantly more extraordinary than ordinary Blue Silver Grass.
Its surface had a distinct glazed and jade-like texture, making it seem less like a plant and more like a sculpture carved from a single piece of top-quality sapphire.
In particular, the leaves and branches were adorned with golden, mysterious fine lines, undoubtedly confirming it was the Blue Silver Emperor.
Nangong Lingyun carefully sensed it.
He discovered that the life force within was already quite weak, like a faint spark, a dim candle flame that could be extinguished at any moment.
It was inferior to many flourishing century-old plant Spirit Beasts with similar attributes.
If not for the extremely high level and essence of that life force, it would have been difficult to persist until now.
Even with two lifetimes, and having criticized Hao Zi in Douluo fan fiction in his previous life,
Nangong Lingyun couldn't help but give a thumbs up with both hands upon seeing this scene, sincerely praising, "Awesome."
It was simply too damn awesome.
The Blue Silver Emperor was a Spirit Beast, that's true, but it was even more so a plant, and a plant seed left behind after sacrificing all its power.
Planting a heavily injured plant in dire need of nourishment to recover, in a stone cave carved out of a rocky mountain range,
leaving it neither touching the sky above nor the earth below.
The soil was merely a small pile of dirt,
and sunlight could only barely shine on that tiny beam when the sun happened to pass directly overhead, with the light aligned with the hole,
and even then, it could only last for a brief moment.
Nangong Lingyun absolutely didn't believe that a Titled Douluo wouldn't even know how plants needed to grow.
A three-year-old would think you were insulting their intelligence.
Wasn't this calculated so that
the extent was just enough to barely maintain a weak life force, but not enough to accumulate sufficient nutrients and energy to revive?
With no way to ascend to heaven or descend to earth, unable to seek life or even death,
this wasn't a place for recuperation at all, but a meticulously crafted, airtight prison.
As for the purpose, it wasn't hard to guess,
it was simply to keep Ah Yin alive, preventing the world from producing a new Blue Silver Emperor, so that his son could inherit the throne when he grew up.
Amazing!
Incredible!
The epitome of creation!
So amazing that even he, a staunch critic of Hao Zi, couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle.
Nangong Lingyun didn't dwell on complaining for long.
The instant he confirmed it was the Blue Silver Emperor, he immediately used his Space ability to transfer Ah Yin and the hundred-thousand-year Life Right Leg Bone from the nearby compartment into his Beast Taming Space.
Then, he guided some water flow to wash over the reef he had been standing on, destroying any possible traces.
Controlling objects was also one of the basic abilities of a Soul-type Spirit, so this wasn't difficult for him.
Then, he activated Space Transfer again, appearing a thousand meters away, back where he had come from.
The entire process was as smooth as flowing water.
Before leaving, he silently sighed in his heart:
"Ah~~ Thank you for nature's gift!"
After putting on his clothes and changing back into his original shoes, Nangong Lingyun suppressed the excitement in his heart and pretended to continue running as if nothing had happened.
When he returned to Saint Spirit Village, Tang Hao was still sound asleep, clearly unaware that anything was amiss.
However, he didn't regret doing so much "useless work."
Even if he had to do it again, he would still be so cautious.
All day long, Nangong Lingyun behaved as usual, exercising and helping Old Jack dig the ground for a while.
Only after dark, when he went to bed, did he secretly enter the Beast Taming Space.
Stealing Ah Yin was only the first step; the more important thing was to complete the Beast Control contract and make her a part of this Space.
Once the contract was successfully bound,
it would mean being inseparable in life and death, having a telepathic connection, and sharing the same soul and fate, something neither Hao Zi nor San Zi could ever take away.
Beast Control contracts weren't casually bound.
First, spirit power had to reach levels of ten, twenty, thirty, etc., every ten levels, just like the rules for obtaining spirit rings.
Second, the target Spirit Beast had to voluntarily enter the contract or be in a state where it couldn't resist.
Third, if the other party's bloodline level exceeded the Supreme God King level of the Spirit quality, or if their soul power exceeded the host's mental force intensity by ten times,
they could only enter the contract voluntarily, even if they were seriously injured, dormant, feigning death, or suppressed.
Fortunately, Ah Yin perfectly met all three conditions.
The initial environment in the Beast Taming Space was very simple: a rocky ground, a forest, a lake, an earthen hill, and a river of magma.
They were distributed in some extremely mysterious formation, and their auras sensed each other in great harmony, giving off a feeling of endless life.
Nangong Lingyun first transplanted the Blue Silver Emperor into the center of the forest.
Then, following the System's guidance and his own subconscious feeling about his Beast Soul, he condensed and inscribed a strange magic array with his mental force,
enveloping the area where the Blue Silver Emperor was located.
In the next instant, a feeling of soul connection suddenly appeared, very magical, like suddenly growing an extra hand or leg.
He could clearly sense that he could control the other party to make various actions.
At the same time, a gentle voice filled with deep surprise also came through that connection.
This was Ah Yin's soul being stimulated and awakened.
"May I ask, who are you...?"
How gentle, even when faced with such an inconceivable and terrifying thing as having her soul bound, she still used honorifics.
Such a gentle woman, and extremely beautiful, deserves to be mine.
Hehe!
Nangong Lingyun's heart stirred slightly, and he immediately introduced himself:
"Hello, my name is Nangong Lingyun, and I am a Beast Tamer; you have now become my partner.
A Beast Tamer is a special Spirit Master who fights by nurturing, summoning, commanding, and assisting their pets.
They possess an extremely special Spirit called the Beast Taming Space,
This type of Spirit can greatly increase the growth rate of Spirit Beast cultivation, the recovery speed after injury or consumption,
and can also help them break through bloodline limits, strengthen and optimize various abilities, and constantly evolve to higher levels.
You only need to sense it slightly, and you can discover many things.
By the way, what is your name?"