Thunderclap Hell Vine
Er Ming's eyes widened suddenly. It lowered its head, bringing its golden pupils close to Tang San, filled with scrutiny and wariness. Its nose twitched twice, as if sniffing Tang San's scent. Then it straightened up and let out a dissatisfied snort.
"Boyfriend?" Er Ming's voice rose several octaves. "Xiao Wu, how did you end up with a boyfriend? And a human at that? Do you know how wicked humans are? They hunt our Soul Beasts, steal our Soul Rings and Soul Bones, you..."
Xiao Wu interrupted it, hands on her hips, glaring at Er Ming: "Er Ming, you're not allowed to talk about Third Brother like that! He's different!"
Er Ming snorted, his huge fist clenched so tightly it cracked, his golden eyes fixed on Tang San.
Seeing that Er Ming wouldn't listen, Xiao Wu rolled her eyes and added, "Third Brother is very good to me and has never hurt me. Moreover, to protect me, Third Brother even gave me the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, so from now on, no one can tell that I'm a Soul Beast."
Er Ming paused. Its eyes shifted from Tang San to Xiao Wu, scrutinizing her carefully. Sure enough, the innate Soul Beast aura emanating from Xiao Wu had completely vanished. Now, she was a pure human, inside and out.
"And," Xiao Wu continued, "Third Brother's mother was also Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form, the Blue Silver Emperor. He is the son of the Blue Silver Emperor."
Er Ming's eyes widened again. It looked at Tang San, a look of surprise appearing in its golden eyes.
After a moment of silence, Er Ming slowly squatted down, his huge hands supporting him on the ground, and brought his head close to Tang San's face. "Are you really the son of the Blue Silver Emperor?"
"Yes." Tang San met Er Ming's gaze and nodded.
Er Ming was silent for a moment, then straightened up and let out a long sigh, "Fine, since Xiao Wu chose it, I accept it."
Xiao Wu's lips curved into a wide smile, and she tightened her grip on Tang San's hand. Then, remembering the important matter, she looked up at Er Ming, her eyes full of anticipation.
"Er Ming, we've come here to ask you for a favor."
"What kind of help?" Er Ming asked.
"Third Brother needs a Fourth Soul Ring, from Plant-type Soul Beast that's around 20,000 years old. We've been searching in the forest for over a month, but haven't found a suitable one. Do you know where we can find such a Soul Beast?"
Xiao Wu finished speaking in one breath and looked at Er Ming expectantly.
Er Ming frowned. Of course it knew where they were, but it was unwilling to help humans hunt Soul Beasts. It was the king of the Star Dou Great Forest; how could it possibly help a human hunt Soul Beasts?
Er Ming shook his head and refused, saying, "Sister Xiao Wu, you know I'm already being lenient by not stopping him from hunting Soul Beasts; I will never help humans hunt Soul Beasts."
Xiao Wu's bunny ears drooped, and a look of disappointment appeared on her face.
Just then, ripples appeared on the lake surface again.
The lake water churned, and a massive head emerged from the whirlpool.
It was a bull's head. Its entire body was bluish-black, with horns like crescent moons and deep blue eyes. Its neck rose from the lake, growing longer and thicker until its entire upper body was revealed.
Its body was even larger than Er Ming's, and every inch of its skin was covered with fine scales that gleamed with a cold, eerie light. Lake water slid off its scales and cascaded down like a waterfall.
Sky Azure Bull Python, Da Ming.
When Xiao Wu saw Da Ming, her eyes lit up, and her smile became even brighter. She waved to Da Ming with her other hand. "Da Ming! You're here too!"
"Xiao Wu, you're back." Da Ming's voice was deep.
Da Ming's gaze fell on Xiao Wu, a hint of tenderness flashing in his deep blue eyes. He nodded, his gaze lingering on Tang San for a moment.
It turned to Er Ming and said, "Er Ming, I heard everything you just said. It's true that you don't want to help humans hunt Soul Beasts. But there's one Soul Beast that might not need to be hunted."
Er Ming turned his head, looking at Da Ming with shock in his golden eyes. "Big brother, you mean...?"
"Fifty kilometers west of here, there is a Thunderclap Hell Vine," Da Ming said calmly and slowly. "It's only twenty thousand years old, but the compressed Thunderclap energy within it has already exceeded its own limits. In its current state, it will likely go out of control and self-destruct soon. With the Thunderclap power within it, if it self-destructs, it will probably cause devastating damage to the core area. The forest within a radius of dozens of miles will be razed to the ground, and all the Soul Beasts will perish."
Da Ming paused, his gaze falling on Tang San.
"I can negotiate with it. If it's willing, it can sacrifice itself for you. That way, its power won't harm the core area, and you'll obtain a Fourth Soul Ring Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring and is perfectly suited to you. This is the best outcome for it, for this forest, and for you."
Tang San's heart pounded. Thunderclap Hell Vine —this was a legendary top-tier Soul Beast! Tang San froze, his mind racing with information about this kind of Soul Beast.
Thunderclap Hell Vine, a top-tier Plant-type Soul Beast, is on par with, or even more powerful than, the Blue Silver Emperor, and is hailed as "the number one destroyer of the plant world."
It possesses innate intelligence, originating from the bloodline of a fallen thunder Thunder God, and needs to absorb the power of Thunderclap to cultivate. Due to the suppression of the Plane Master, the Thunderclap Hell Vine is unlikely to live for more than 50,000 years, and most of them self-destruct between 20,000 and 50,000 years, causing catastrophic destruction over a large area.
The 20,000-year-old Thunderclap Hell Vine is of extremely high quality; its value is no less than that of an ordinary Soul Beast with 50,000 to 60,000 years of cultivation, or even higher. If one could obtain its Soul Ring, one's Blue Silver Grass would undergo a qualitative leap.
With the addition of its previous immunity to ice and fire, the lightning-attribute Blue Silver Grass will now possess resistance to ice, fire, and Blue Silver Grass, granting it unprecedented vitality.
Tang San took a deep breath, looked at Da Ming, and nodded solemnly. "If I can gain the approval of the Thunderclap Hell Vine, I will be eternally grateful."
Xiao Wu nodded, her eyes full of anticipation. "Da Ming, then take us there."
Da Ming nodded and turned to swim deeper into the forest. Its body moved through the trees, crushing bushes and saplings along the way, leaving a deep furrow in the ground.
Er Ming followed behind Da Ming, while Xiao Wu, holding Tang San's hand, followed at the very back.
Four people, or two people with two Soul Beasts, or one person with three Soul Beasts.
Oh dear, it's hard to explain!
Anyway, there were four creatures. After walking for about half an hour, they arrived at an area that no one had ever set foot in before.
The tree trunks here are covered with charred marks, as if they have been struck by lightning countless times. The air is filled with the smell of ozone, which irritates the nasal passages.
The sky overhead was more gloomy than elsewhere, with dark clouds gathering there. Every now and then, lightning would strike from the clouds, hitting the ground with a deafening roar.
In the center of an open space, a strange plant grows.
It was a vine, as thick as the trunk of an ancient tree, its entire body a deep amethyst color, with lightning Entanglement its surface, forming a "lightning cage".
The surrounding space was distorted by the high-energy lightning field, the ground cracked and lightning crystals condensed, forming a small lightning pool.
Da Ming stopped in front of the Thunderclap Hell Vine, letting out a low whimper. The sound wasn't human language, but Tang San could sense that it was a form of communication, a communication that only Soul Beasts could understand.
The Thunderclap Hell Vine seemed to sense something, and its tendrils trembled slightly.
The sobbing of the Da Ming lasted for a long time; it was explaining its purpose to Thunderclap Hell Vine.
The Thunderclap Hell Vine fell silent. It seemed to be thinking, as if making a final decision.