"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The Soul Locking Grass looked at Zhou Hong, scrutinizing him with curiosity and vigilance.
"I'm lost. I didn't know this was your territory. My apologies for the intrusion."
"Lost? Hmph, although I don't know much about you humans, you can't fool me that easily. Your mental energy is not right. Tell me the truth."
"Alright, in that case, I'll tell you the truth. I came here specifically to find Soul Locking Grass."
"Looking for me?"
"No, just looking for Soul Locking Grass."
"What do you want Soul Locking Grass for?"
"It has its uses, of course."
"You've found it now. I am the spirit of Soul Locking Grass. I should be even more effective. Are you going to attack me?"
"No, no!" Zhou Hong shook his head.
"That's good, then. However, if you're sincere, I can help you."
Zhou Hong wondered if he had misheard. This Soul Locking spirit actually offered to help him.
"I'm not quite sure I understand. What do you mean by helping me? Are you going to help me find Soul Locking Grass?"
"How could I? Although other Soul Locking Grass are just plants and not spirits like me, and there's a fundamental difference, we are still of the same origin. How could I help you harm them?"
"Oh, so what do you mean?"
"I don't know why you need Soul Locking Grass, but whatever its purpose for you, it's related to the soul. I can give you some essence of Soul Locking Grass. You can still use that."
"Really?" Zhou Hong was incredibly excited.
"Of course."
"Thank you. Why are you helping me?"
"I... I don't know. I rarely take human form. Seeing you today, I just felt a special affinity for you. I don't know why I feel this way."
Zhou Hong chuckled inwardly. It seemed this Soul Locking spirit was quite naive, like a blank slate when it came to interacting with humans. As for why she found him so appealing, it was likely his good looks. Since she had transformed into a woman, she naturally possessed feminine thoughts and emotions. It wasn't strange for her to feel curious about attractive members of the opposite sex. It seemed Zhou Hong was the first man she had encountered in her human form. If she had seen many, she wouldn't have this feeling.
"Why are you smiling?" the Soul Locking spirit asked.
"I know why you find me so appealing."
"Why?" The Soul Locking spirit blinked in confusion.
"Because you like me!"
"Like? What does 'like' mean?" The Soul Locking spirit seemed puzzled, perhaps hearing the word for the first time.
"This... it's a bit difficult to explain."
"It's alright, we have plenty of time. Explain it properly. It will also help me get familiar with humans. Now that I'm a spirit, I'll eventually have to live and cultivate in a human body. Understanding humans better will help me interact with them in the future."
"Liking... it means love!" Zhou Hong's eyes darted around, as if contemplating something. He looked like an uncle trying to trick a little girl.
"What is love then?"
"That's also hard to explain. By the way, your body? Is it fixed? Or can you transform into various bodies? Like, can you become a man?"
"How is that possible? I am a female Soul Locking Grass. Each plant spirit's human form is predetermined by nature. This is my appearance, or rather, the appearance I live in as a human."
"Oh, oh, then you're quite beautiful!" Zhou Hong smiled, glancing at the completely naked Soul Locking spirit. He noticed her skin was fair and tender, like that of a newborn baby. Zhou Hong had never seen such an innocent woman before and couldn't help but swallow.
"Why are you looking at me and drooling?" the Soul Locking spirit suddenly asked.
"I'm not!"
"You're still being stubborn! I saw it. But I'm also curious, why do I feel so comfortable looking at you right now?"
"That's right. You have a good impression of me, but you just don't understand this feeling, or perhaps you've only recently become a spirit and are acting purely on instinct, with a blank mind."
"Oh, oh, maybe. By the way, what should I call you?"
"My name is Zhou Hong."
"Zhou Hong, I'll remember you. If you have time in the future, you can come here to visit me. I'm not familiar with humans yet and don't dare to go to your settlements."
Zhou Hong had a sudden idea. If he could take this Soul Locking spirit away, it would be incredibly convenient for refining puppets in the future.
"Soul Locking spirit, would you be willing to come with me?" Zhou Hong asked boldly.
"Come with you? To where?"
"To the city where humans live, of course."
"No, I don't dare to. Grandma Black Vine told me the human world is very complex, and anyone who goes there will die. We prefer to remain spirits in the mountains." The Soul Locking spirit refused.
Zhou Hong asked with some curiosity, "Who is Grandma Black Vine you mentioned?" Sudannovel.com
"Oh, she's like me, a plant spirit. But she's older than us. She became a spirit millions of years ago. She has a granddaughter named Si Teng, and we are good friends."
"Wow, I didn't expect there to be so many spirits in the mountains!" Zhou Hong was a bit surprised.
"You don't know this? In these vast mountains, there are many plant spirits. Of course, compared to you humans, their numbers are pitifully small. Heaven has been too unfair to us plants. We have to grow from a tiny plant to become a mountain spirit. Some take tens of thousands of years, even hundreds of thousands. Even ordinary spirits take several thousand years."
Zhou Hong immediately sat down in front of the Soul Locking spirit, as if wanting to have a good chat and understand the world of spirits.
"And you? How long did you live before becoming a spirit?" Zhou Hong quickly asked.
"Over a million years."
"Wow, why did you have to live so long to become a spirit?"
"Do I need to say? The higher the grade, the longer it takes. Lower-grade plants can become spirits within ten thousand years, but after becoming spirits, they are just ordinary little spirits with no abilities, and any common human can capture them."
"Then you spent over a million years to become a spirit, you must be extraordinary. You must have been very powerful when you became a spirit."
"I don't know about that, but dealing with you is no problem."
Zhou Hong chuckled and said, "You used a mental attack on me earlier, but I wasn't affected."
"That was only because I let you go. Because I found you appealing! That's why I let you go," the Soul Locking spirit said bluntly.
"Damn it!"
Zhou Hong felt that this Soul Locking spirit was no less than a powerful demonic artifact!