Snake Root Thorns

Soul Beast: Snake Root Thorns:

A highly venomous plant soul beast, a hybrid of White Snake Root Grass and Golden Iron Thorn.

The venom inherited from White Snake Root Grass could cause muscle tremors and mental paralysis in those it injured, eventually leading to death.

Its body was even stronger than Golden Iron Thorn, incomparably tough and difficult to damage with blades or swords. The dense thorns covering it were even more of a nightmare for anything it attacked.

The accompanying White Snake Flowers were the most venomous, yet they could fight poison with poison and neutralize Mandala Snake Venom.

Soul Power: Under a thousand years. Far exceeds its main body; exact level cannot be detected. (Hint: Snake Root Thorns grow ten meters for every hundred years.)

Soul Skill: Unknown.

Weakness: Fire.

While Qian Bing read the information that had appeared in his mind, Tang San was not idle either.

A flash of purple light lit up in his eyes. He had clearly pushed his Purple Demon Eyes to their limit as he carefully observed everything ahead.

Compared to Qian Bing, his observations were far more comprehensive, not limited to the Snake Root Thorns themselves.

The surrounding terrain, environment, signs of soul beast activity, and more were all within his scope of observation.

Though such objective factors were often overlooked, they were actually extremely important.

For example, Tang San noticed a great many withered, decaying thorny vines littering the ground beneath the Snake Root Thorns.

From this, he deduced that the plant before them was likely no harmless thing. It had most likely slaughtered countless members of its own kind before becoming the final king standing.

Though it now looked as still as a maiden and no different from an ordinary plant, perhaps the moment Tang San and Qian Bing let down their guard, it would suddenly lash out with deadly thorny vines and destroy them as prey.

After silently raising his guard, Tang San slowly shifted his gaze farther back. Sure enough, he spotted a pitch-black hole behind the Snake Root Thorns.

Its entrance was about the size of a soccer ball's cross-section. It was very likely the cave where the Mandala Snake lived.

At that moment, the two of them spoke almost in unison:

"I found the Snake Den!"

"The white flowers on it are the antidote!"

With the antidote right before them, the Snake Den was naturally no longer important. Qian Bing paused briefly before immediately asking:

"Where is the antidote?"

This was a matter of life and death, so Qian Bing naturally did not waste time keeping him in suspense. He immediately told Tang San everything he had just learned.

"It's a plant soul beast called Snake Root Thorns. Do you see the white flowers blooming on it? They're highly venomous, but they can neutralize Mandala Snake Venom.

"If we can kill it, not only can my poison be cured, you can also obtain a plant soul ring more suitable for you than the Mandala Snake's soul ring!"

At those words, Tang San's expression immediately turned joyous. Turning disaster into fortune was already good enough, and the disaster had not even happened to him. This was truly tremendous news.

His voice carried a hint of excitement as he said:

"Really? That's great! Then we need to quickly come up with a plan to kill it."

Knowing that the antidote was right before him, Qian Bing's eyes visibly regained some of their light. However, his tone remained extremely cautious.

"As a Plant Spirit, Snake Root Thorns can definitely attack enemies freely within its reach.

"The reason it is so quiet right now is merely because it is disguising itself as an ordinary plant and waiting for prey to take the bait. We absolutely cannot rush forward recklessly."

Tang San had no objections to Qian Bing's words.

"That's right. Then, Boss, can you tell how old it is? Is it something we can handle right now?"

Hearing Tang San's question, Qian Bing fixed his gaze on the Snake Root Thorns, seemingly calculating something in silence before answering:

"As far as I know, Snake Root Thorns grow ten meters every hundred years. Right now, it has curled its vines into a ball, so I can't estimate it. Why don't you throw a stone over there and make it stop playing dead?"

"Good idea. As long as Snake Root Thorns extends its vines and attacks us, we can roughly estimate its age."

As he spoke, Tang San bent down and picked up a stone. Seeing that he was about to stand up immediately, Qian Bing hurriedly reminded him:

"Xiao San, pick up a few more. One strike might not be enough to make it drop its disguise. Once you alert it, crouching down to pick up more stones will become much more dangerous."

Tang San nodded and picked up a large handful of stones before standing again.

"Boss, I'm starting. Your condition isn't good, so step back and take cover first. We don't know how fast Snake Root Thorns can attack, so it's better to be careful."

Qian Bing also felt that Tang San made sense. He did not know the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step or anything like that. If the two of them ran together, he would definitely be the one left behind and killed first.

So he did not insist and immediately turned around, retreating more than ten meters.

Once Tang San saw Qian Bing widen the distance, he no longer hesitated. A jade-colored sheen appeared over his hand, glimmering beneath the morning light. With a forceful flick of his wrist, he hurled a stone with all his strength.

With his skill in hidden weapons, there was naturally no chance of missing.

With a dull clang, the stone struck one of the Snake Root Thorns' vines dead on.

Under the effect of Purple Demon Eyes, Tang San caught the instant the stone touched the vine. The tips of several thorns bent slightly before snapping back, sending the stone flying far away as well.

Tang San could not help but marvel. These vines were truly incredibly resilient and unbelievably tough!

He had used the Mysterious Heaven Skill together with the Mysterious Jade Hand for that strike. Though he had not gone all out, he was confident that punching through a wall would not have been difficult.

Yet the vine before him had not suffered the slightest damage. This was truly troublesome. It seemed this would not be easy!

At that moment, the trace of happiness that had just arisen in Tang San's heart vanished completely.

If they could not deal with it, then the antidote and soul ring would both be nothing but empty hopes.

No!

To save Qian Bing's life, no matter how difficult it was, he had to find a way to kill the Snake Root Thorns before him as quickly as possible.

Tang San no longer hesitated and immediately flung out three stones. This time, he used fifty percent of the Mysterious Heaven Skill's inner force, finally breaking several thorns off the vines.

However, the Snake Root Thorns remained remarkably patient. Its thorns could break, but its disguise had to continue.

Seeing this, Tang San did not pause and threw another three stones!

Still no reaction? Then another three!

And so, three stones after three stones. If it did not move, then another three.

After three waves, the Snake Root Thorns seemed to realize that its disguise had been completely seen through. Its vines shuddered all over as it finally prepared to bare its savage fangs.

Perhaps because it had lived alongside the Mandala Snake for too long, it had gradually picked up some snake-like habits.

The tips of its vines suddenly rose upright like snakes, shooting more than ten meters into the air. Then they swiftly changed direction, locked onto Tang San's position, and swept toward him like whips.

The vines coiled beneath it stretched out at the same time. At last, the two of them got their wish and saw the approximate length of the Snake Root Thorns.

The image of the vines in Tang San's eyes rapidly grew larger. His expression remained calm as his feet moved like a ghostly shadow, and he swiftly retreated.