Poison Eruption

As Snake Root Thorns exposed its vicious fangs and lunged at Tang San, Qian Bing, hiding behind him, took the chance to estimate its length. He cried out joyfully:

"Great, Xiao San! This Snake Root Thorns is just over thirty meters long. It should be slightly younger than the Mandala Snake, but its soul ring suits you better."

In truth, Qian Bing's display of joy was partly an act. Although he believed Tang San would certainly do his best to save him,

if Tang San were offered a soul ring that suited him especially well as a reward, he would naturally try even harder. That would give Qian Bing a better chance of surviving.

It was beneficial to both of them, so he had no guilty conscience about it.

In fact, after spending this much time together, Qian Bing no longer really wanted to play any more tricks on Tang San.

Over the past few days, their bond had indeed deepened. They were comrades who had entrusted their backs to each other.

Qian Bing's schemes against Tang San, as well as his covetousness toward Tang San's cultivation method, had gradually faded away.

But now that his life hung by a thread, Qian Bing truly had no choice but to fight for even the slightest extra chance of survival.

After all, nothing was more important than staying alive.

If anyone had noticed Qian Bing's condition at that moment, they would have realized that he could no longer stand steadily.

Though he could still remain upright, his entire body was trembling faintly without pause.

This was clearly a sign that the Snake Venom had worsened and was flaring up.

Even an outsider to poison like Qian Bing could clearly sense that death was drawing closer and closer.

Forget three hours—with how quickly the poison was progressing, he feared that in less than an hour and a half, his life would be in danger.

So now, he had to pull Tang San into an all-out fight.

Fortunately, after resting for the night, Qian Bing's Soul Power, which had nearly recovered to fifty percent, had reached seventy percent. He could summon Pidgeotto to fight again.

At last, he no longer had to be a useless burden who contributed nothing. Raising his right hand, he summoned his Spirit Ball Spirit and released Pidgeotto.

Who knew what Pidgeotto had experienced within the Spirit Ball Spirit? It had clearly looked half-dead last night, yet now it had recovered its vigor completely.

The instant it appeared, it spread its wings and soared straight into the sky.

Qian Bing immediately ordered:

"Pidgeotto, keep a safe distance from Snake Root Thorns and use Gust! Don't get close—you're no match for it."

"Chirp!"

Pidgeotto let out a cry in response to Qian Bing. Air currents immediately surged beneath its wings.

A moment later, it swung down a wind blade over two meters long.

Snake Root Thorns was currently lashing viciously at where Tang San stood, plowing deep furrows into the ground one after another.

Amid the rampant whipping shadows, Tang San moved like a ghost, constantly shifting and changing positions. Each time, he narrowly evaded the attacks at the very last moment, making Qian Bing's heart pound in terror.

Before long, Tang San successfully retreated more than twenty meters. Combined with the dozen or so meters he had initially kept from Snake Root Thorns, he finally escaped the thorny vines' attack range.

Whoosh—whoosh!

Amid the howling gale, Pidgeotto's Gust finally came roaring down.

Snake Root Thorns had strong survival instincts. Its extended vines instantly recoiled like springs, their tips winding around one another in circles to form a wooden shield that firmly protected its roots beneath it.

The massive wind blade arrived the instant it assumed its defensive posture. Its sharp currents savagely sliced against the vine shield.

Screech!

Amid a teeth-grinding sound like saw teeth scraping together, fine dust seemed to drift down from the vines.

Tang San, who had just retreated to Qian Bing's side, immediately activated his Purple Demon Eyes at full strength. Seeing this scene, a flash of delight crossed his eyes as he said:

"It's working. This wind blade seems capable of cutting through the vines!"

"Great!"

Hearing Tang San's words, Qian Bing finally relaxed a little, and a smile appeared on his face as well.

It seemed he still had hope!

But before they could celebrate for long, the entire Snake Root Thorns plant suddenly erupted with a dense yellow glow.

Its originally dark bluish-green coloring slowly transformed into a faint reddish-gold, as though it were made of metal.

Clearly, it had begun using its Soul Power and was displaying its true strength as a soul beast.

"Damn it!"

Watching the transformation occurring to Snake Root Thorns, Qian Bing's face darkened, and he could not help cursing.

On Douluo Continent, Pidgeotto's growth seemed capable of surpassing the limits of the Pokémon World.

After this period of growth and experience, especially after several instances of soul rings merging with its body, it had gained far greater insight into controlling some of its own skills.

Sensing the change in its opponent, Pidgeotto immediately began condensing its wind blade.

The wind blade's length quickly shrank from around two meters to roughly one point three or one point four meters. This was already the limit Pidgeotto could achieve with its current strength.

The originally colorless air currents turned faint green, and the piercing screeching produced as they clashed with the vines instantly became even louder.

Yet although the commotion on the battlefield had grown much greater, it had not produced the slightest effect!

Tang San watched the situation, his tone grave as he said:

"Not good. After Snake Root Thorns used its Soul Power, its body turned metallic in color. Its toughness is clearly on an entirely different level from before. The wind blades can no longer affect it at all."

Qian Bing's heart turned cold at those words, and his face immediately went pale.

"It's over. If Gust can't cut through the vines, how can we kill it?"

Qian Bing knew very well that Tang San had been able to kill the Mandala Snake mainly because he had seized the right moment and used the right method.

Throwing the Short Sword into the snake's belly had happened to be a fatal move the Mandala Snake could not take any measure to remedy. That was why they had been able to defeat the strong while weak and find a chance at victory.

But a plant soul beast like Snake Root Thorns was not a flesh-and-blood creature like the Mandala Snake, one that could be killed through clever tricks.

The various hidden weapon techniques Tang San relied on were practically useless against it.

If even Pidgeotto's wind blades could not harm it in the slightest, Qian Bing could not imagine how they could possibly kill Snake Root Thorns and obtain the White Snake Flower growing alongside it to cure his poison.

At that thought, Qian Bing, who had been putting on a strong front despite being frantic over his injuries, felt the breath he had been forcibly holding suddenly give out.

His body trembled more and more violently. His mind abruptly went blank, and his legs gave way as he collapsed limply.

Only then did Tang San notice the abnormality in Qian Bing's condition. He reached out to support him by the waist and gently laid him on the ground.

With Tang San's knowledge and experience in poison, he naturally understood what had happened to Qian Bing without needing to ask. He rebuked him anxiously:

"Boss, why didn't you tell me earlier that your poison was acting up this badly? I could have helped slow down your injuries!"

As he spoke, Tang San sat cross-legged behind Qian Bing, propped up his upper body, and pressed a palm against his back, continuously channeling the Mysterious Heaven Skill into Qian Bing's body.