Er Ming's frustration boiled over as he scolded Su Ming, "And yet, you have the arrogance to say you can revive Xiao Wu's mother, asking her if she believes you? Who do you think you are?"
But before Su Ming could respond, Xiao Wu firmly declared, "I believe him!"
Er Ming was shocked, seeing Xiao Wu's unwavering trust. Was her soul bewitched by this human? She suddenly seemed so foolish!
Su Ming, however, chose not to argue with Er Ming. There was no point. After all, in the original story, when Xiao Wu sacrificed herself for Tang San, Da Ming and Er Ming did eventually offer Tang San a method to bring her back. Though the method wasn't entirely accurate, they knew a part of the resurrection process.
Right now, Er Ming didn't trust Su Ming's capabilities. They would never expect Bibi Dong to willingly return the 100,000-year spirit ring that came from Xiao Wu's mother, nor complete her missing spirit rings. Besides, so much time had passed that Xiao Wu's mother's body was probably no longer intact.
The method for resurrection was something Da Ming and Er Ming never shared with Xiao Wu because they didn't believe it was possible.
Su Ming calmly responded to Er Ming, "Er Ming, don't be so quick to dismiss me. Since I dare to say it, I naturally have a way. As a 100,000-year soul beast, you should know that under certain conditions, it's possible to revive a fallen soul beast, right?"
Xiao Wu's eyes were glued to Er Ming as she listened to Su Ming. Why hadn't she known this before? Then she remembered Su Ming had mentioned it in his diary—how in the original story, she sacrificed herself for Tang San but later became his Asura Sword Scabbard, meaning she did come back to life. Now, with Su Ming's subtle hint to Er Ming, could this method be what Da Ming and Er Ming had told Tang San? And why hadn't they told her?
Er Ming's heart skipped a beat. How does this human know that? Xiao Wu was staring at him intently. What was he supposed to do now?
With no choice, the Titan Giant Ape mumbled, "Yes, I know of a few ways to revive a soul beast, but the conditions are extremely rare, and only 100,000-year soul beasts can be brought back since their spiritual power is strong enough."
Xiao Wu, hearing Er Ming's confession, angrily questioned, "Er Ming, if you knew how to bring my mother back, why didn't you ever tell me? You know how much losing her hurt me!"
Feeling bitter inside, Er Ming sighed. Forgive me, Da Ming, he thought, before explaining, "Xiao Wu, the resurrection process is incredibly harsh, and Da Ming and I decided not to tell you because it's practically impossible."
Before Xiao Wu could respond, Er Ming continued, "First, to even begin the process, the soul beast must be at least 100,000 years old—that's the minimum requirement. While your mother qualifies, her body isn't intact anymore."
Er Ming paused briefly before continuing, "Let's talk about plant-type soul beasts first. When plant-type soul beasts reach 100,000 years, their life force is tenacious, and they usually have many seeds. If they happen to fall, they can use those seeds to regrow and start cultivating all over again. This can be considered a type of revival, but they have to start from scratch."
"While this method of revival is the easiest, it only costs time. The problem is that all their previous cultivation is lost, and once they start over, they're weak and vulnerable. They could die again at any time."
Ah Yin: Are you talking about me?
Ah Yin was an example of this—after she fell, she became a Blue Silver Grass and had to start over from zero. If she were to die before reaching 100,000 years again, that would be the end of her.
"But your mother was an animal-type soul beast, and reviving an animal-type is much harder than a plant-type. Her body would have to be completely intact after death. And now, after so much time, I doubt her body still exists."
"Even if her body were intact, Da Ming and I discussed it, and three things are required for resurrection: the Saint Soul Grass to awaken the soul, a 10,000-year-old Nine-Rank Ginseng King to restore her human form, and the ancient beast core of a primordial spirit beast to merge the soul and body."
"Da Ming and I can find the Saint Soul Grass, but we don't know where to find a 10,000-year-old Nine-Rank Ginseng King. These types of immortal herbs are highly sentient and can appear anywhere. As for the third item, the beast core, we've never even heard of it."
Su Ming thought to himself, Of course Da Ming and Er Ming wouldn't know about beast cores. Soul beasts on this continent don't have cores, and when they die, they turn into spirit rings.
Su Ming knew of two types of beasts with cores: the Ten-Headed Fierce Yang Serpent in the Slaughter City, which was likely brought from another dimension by the Asura God as part of his trial, and the Dark Evil God Tiger in the Star Dou Forest. When Tang San killed the Dark Evil God Tiger, it transformed into a black orb and escaped—probably a form of a core.
The Dark Evil God Tiger was rumored to have an inheritance linked to an Evil God. If true, it was unfortunate that Tang San never got his hands on that black orb.
Xiao Wu, after hearing the three conditions, said, "If you had told me earlier, I could've at least tried to preserve my mother's body!"
Er Ming sighed heavily, knowing this would be her reaction, and explained further, "Even if you gathered all three of those items, there's still one final step to complete the resurrection, and it's even harder than the others."
Xiao Wu, curious, asked, "What's the final step?"
Er Ming, his voice heavy, replied, "The final step is that Bibi Dong must return your mother's 100,000-year spirit ring and spirit bones, and she must forcibly remove her first six spirit rings and attach them to your mother. Only then can she be fully revived."
"If Bibi Dong does that, it would cripple one of her martial spirits. Losing spirit rings cannot be compensated for, and it might even damage her foundations. And most importantly, why would Bibi Dong help you?"
In the original story, Da Ming and Er Ming shared this method with Tang San as a last resort, hoping for a miracle because of his deep bond with Xiao Wu.