"What is it?" Xie Zhaolin asked softly as she gently released the little one.
Though Teng She was still weak, its emerald eyes shimmered with an unusual light. The moment it touched the ground, it lifted its tiny head, hissing urgently at the cliff wall. Its emerald-green scales still bore scars, yet it twisted its body with surprising excitement. She followed its gaze. A shadowy cave mouth gaped within the cliff face.
"There… is there a serpent-type yin soul inside?" she asked after a moment of thought.
Teng She bobbed its head and let out a series of hisses, as if trying to tell her something more. But its intelligence was still limited. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't fully grasp what it wanted to say. Left with no choice, Teng She slithered to the cliff's edge. It raised its head high and let out a strange hiss. The sound wasn't loud, but it carried a peculiar frequency.
Not long after, several snake-shaped yin souls drifted out from the caves and began gliding toward the cliff top, drawn by Teng She's call.
Xie Zhaolin's eyes widened in surprise.
Back when she first arrived here, Teng She had tried sensing the cliff caves before, but it failed because of the distance. She never expected that after its injury, its sensitivity had actually improved, and now its control over its own kind was even stronger than before.
Another few hisses left Teng She's mouth. The summoned snake souls instantly lined up in a row, obediently waiting for her command.
She studied them with a thoughtful look.
The strongest of the group was emerald green and as thick as an arm, with strength close to Foundation Establishment perfection. The weakest was only as thick as her thumb, with strength at just the third layer of Qi Refinement.
After a short hesitation, she shook her head. "Don't form contracts with them yet. Swallow them directly to heal your wounds."
The little serpent's emerald eyes lit up with joy. It darted forward and sank its fangs into the largest snake soul. The yin soul writhed and struggled violently, but it was swallowed whole within moments.
Xie Zhaolin's gaze stayed locked on Teng She. The moment it finished devouring the soul, the torn gashes on its body began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Most shocking was the deep wound across its belly. Flesh that had been ripped open was slowly closing, and the scales along the wound gleamed with new life.
"This recovery speed…" She widened her eyes in disbelief, her fingertips unconsciously brushing over its scales.
In the past, swallowing yin souls only restored Teng She's soul power. Never had it shown such a dramatic effect on healing.
The little serpent coiled happily in her palm, its emerald eyes shining with contentment.
She turned her gaze back to the honeycomb-like cliff caves, her thoughts swirling. Clearly, these serpent yin souls weren't the same as ordinary ones. Perhaps because they'd lived for so long within the strange environment of the Blackwater Waterfall, their bodies contained some kind of special energy.
"Try it again," she said softly, signaling it to continue.
Over the next three days, Teng She called out two or three snake souls each day.
She let it swallow them all, watching as the little serpent recovered more and more. Its injuries faded until only faint scars remained, and even the most serious wounds were completely healed.
She narrowed her eyes in thought as she studied the little snake's scales, now gleaming with health.
To test her theory, she had it summon a late-stage Qi Refinement snake soul. Instead of letting Teng She consume it, she gravely injured it and then fed it to the still-wounded Bing Jing.
The result stunned her. Bing Jing's recovery speed visibly accelerated. The ice armor along its body regained its luster, and the deep wound across its forepaw began knitting together as shattered ice plates slowly reformed.
Though the effect wasn't as overwhelming as with Teng She, it was far better than feeding ordinary yinsha essences.
Excited, she immediately had Teng She summon more snake souls, which she fed to Bing Jing one after another. With each feeding, Bing Jing's wounds healed faster. By the third day, it could already leave its Soul Nurturing Pearl for short periods.
Watching its recovery, she murmured thoughtfully, "Teng She, do you think other yin souls in these caves might have the same effect?"
The little serpent tilted its head, its emerald eyes filled with puzzlement.
She smiled faintly and sent a clearer command through their contract. "Send those snake souls to look for other types of yin souls—especially foxes, birds, tigers, and minks."
Teng She understood immediately and hissed at the snake souls.
The yin spirits scattered into the cliffside caves, searching. Soon after, one slithered back, dragging a nearly extinguished fox-type yin soul behind it.
Xie Zhaolin carefully fed it to Shuang Ling. At once, the severed tail began to glow faintly, and downy fur sprouted at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"As I thought!" Her eyes lit up. She quickly ordered Teng She to increase the search.
After further testing, she discovered that the effect worked best when the yin soul's species matched the beast soul. Teng She, however, gained the greatest benefit of all when devouring snake souls—an innate talent unique to it, she suspected.
In the following days, Teng She commanded its growing snake soul army through the cliff caves, dragging back yin souls of every kind.
She carefully distributed them to her beast souls according to their nature, watching each recover at incredible speed.
They even tried capturing yin souls from the cliff top and surrounding areas, but only those from the cliff caves had this special energy. The rest were ordinary.
Curious, Xie Zhaolin even tried absorbing one herself.
Holding a weakened snake soul in her palm, she ran her cultivation method to draw out its energy. But strangely, the power slipped away like water through her fingers, dispersing before she could take in a single thread.
"Weird…" She frowned and tested again with different tools.
She tried sealing them with jade bottles, converting them with talismans, but no matter the method, once the yin soul dispersed, its energy faded within moments, as if repelled by a living human body.
After a full day of experiments, she had to give up with a sigh.
Her gaze returned to her beast souls happily devouring yin spirits. "So it only works on soul bodies…"
Since she couldn't use it herself, she decided to focus on raising the strength of her beasts.
At first, she thought about contracting more yin souls, but after reconsidering, she abandoned the idea. Their numbers were limited. Rather than waste them splitting her resources, it was better to pour everything into her five beast souls. They'd been with her for so long, their bond far deeper than any new soul could ever match.
Just as she was mapping out her next move, a snake soul suddenly rushed back in a panic, thrashing in front of Teng She.
Through the contract, Teng She's emotions surged with excitement. It bit Xie Zhaolin's sleeve and tugged, urging her toward the cliff's edge.