A Clever Plan to Destroy the Poison Vine, Bai Ge's First Soul Ring

After feeding on the Fresh Blood of a Flower Horn Deer that had been injected with Blood Coagulation Potion, the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine showed no obvious reaction at first. But as time passed and the Blood Coagulation Potion began to take effect, the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine could no longer hold on.

Under the effects of the Blood Coagulation Potion, the blood-patterned channels that transported blood within the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine became clogged. Though the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine was a plant, as a Spirit Beast, it possessed physical characteristics similar to those of animals and humans in a sense.

For the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine, the blood sac within its body was its heart, while the blood patterns spread throughout its body were its blood vessels. As the Blood Coagulation Potion took effect, not only were the "blood vessels" throughout its body blocked, but even the blood within its heart-like blood sac began to coagulate into clumps.

This immediately caused the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine indescribable agony.

Because it had no mouth, the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine could not scream. Yet from its violently trembling vines, Bai Ge could still see its pain.

But Bai Ge felt no pity, because this world was one where the strong devoured the weak. If he wanted to become the strongest and take control of his own fate, he would inevitably have to climb upward over the corpses of other living beings. The Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine was the first, but it would never be the last!

"Bai Ge, quickly! Go kill that Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine!"

Seeing the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine in the distance suddenly stiffen after trembling violently, Grandmaster hurriedly called out.

Plant Spirit Beasts did not possess fatal weaknesses like animal Spirit Beasts, which would die immediately once their brains or hearts were destroyed. However, due to its unusual anatomy, the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine's blood sac served as a weakness much like the heart of an animal Spirit Beast. Though it would not die immediately after its "heart" was destroyed, once its heart was ruined, it would not live much longer.

"Yes."

Hearing Grandmaster's words, Bai Ge quickly pulled out the dagger Tang San had returned to him earlier and charged toward the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine.

Although the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine looked like it was already on the verge of death, Bai Ge still summoned his Cloud-Soaring Vine Martial Soul for safety's sake. Several Black Purple vines abruptly grew from beneath his feet, instantly binding several of the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine's main and secondary vines, exposing the blood-red area beneath its largest main vine.

That was the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine's blood sac!

"Pfft!"

Seeing the blood sac right before him, Bai Ge immediately drove the dagger in his hand down.

As Bai Ge stabbed down with his dagger, large amounts of semi-coagulated Fresh Blood burst from the wound. At the same time, the entire Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine suddenly began trembling violently once more.

But this violent trembling lasted less than two seconds. In the blink of an eye, the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine completely lost all signs of life.

"Bai Ge, how did it go?"

Seeing that Bai Ge seemed to have succeeded, Grandmaster and Tang San also approached from nearby.

"I think it's dead?"

Pulling the dagger from the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine's blood sac and watching large masses of semi-coagulated blood pour from the wound, Bai Ge said uncertainly.

"It's already dead. The Spirit Ring is about to appear."

Seeing faint yellow specks of light emerging from the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine's corpse and gathering into the shape of a Spirit Ring, Grandmaster reminded him.

"Mm, it's completely dead!"

Seeing that the Spirit Ring was about to emerge, Bai Ge nodded as well.

This was Bai Ge's first time seeing a Plant Spirit Beast. Unlike animal Spirit Beasts, it was hard to tell whether a Plant Spirit Beast was dead unless it produced a Spirit Ring. But since the Spirit Ring had appeared, it was definitely dead.

"Bai Ge, this Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine has already begun growing the beginnings of a fifth main vine. Its cultivation is likely between four hundred and twenty and four hundred and thirty years. It may have exceeded the limit I mentioned for the Spirit Ring that a Spirit Scholar can absorb upon advancing to a Soul Master. Are you sure you still want to absorb it?"

As the Spirit Ring formed, Grandmaster examined the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine's age. He discovered that it did not have merely four hundred years of cultivation, but likely exceeded four hundred and twenty-three years, which made him somewhat worried.

But they had finally found such a perfect target. If they switched to another one, there was no telling whether they would find another suitable choice. More importantly, their provisions were almost gone.

"Absorb it!"

After thinking it over, Bai Ge still answered firmly.

In truth, Bai Ge knew more accurately than Grandmaster that this Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine had four hundred and thirty years of cultivation. It had indeed exceeded the four-hundred-and-twenty-three-year Spirit Ring absorption limit Grandmaster had mentioned.

But since the system had indicated that this was the Spirit Ring most suited to him, there was no way he would be unable to absorb it. Besides, he was no ordinary Soul Master. He was a Soul Master who possessed both the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill and the Jade Brightness Skill. It was only a few years beyond the limit—there was no reason he could not absorb it.

While he had been speaking with Grandmaster, the yellow Hundred Years Spirit Ring above the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine had gradually condensed into form. Seeing this, Bai Ge immediately copied what Tang San had done earlier. He summoned his Cloud-Soaring Vine Martial Soul, then released his Soul Power and sensed the Blood Pattern Black Thorn Vine's Spirit Ring.

Sure enough, Bai Ge sensed the yellow Spirit Ring floating before him. Drawn by his Soul Power, the Yellow Spirit Ring immediately flew toward Bai Ge.

After flying above the Cloud-Soaring Vine Martial Soul in Bai Ge's right hand, the Spirit Ring, originally as wide as a human head, instantly shrank to the thickness of a wrist before slipping over the Cloud-Soaring Vine Martial Soul in his hand.

At once, Bai Ge felt a terrifying torrent of heat surge out from the Martial Soul in his hand and rapidly spread through his limbs and bones.

The scorching current, like molten lava, flooded through Bai Ge's entire body almost instantly. He felt as if he had been thrown into a hell of flames, the agony of being burned nearly unbearable.

But suddenly, Bai Ge remembered what Grandmaster had said before.

He could not be defeated by pain. Only by overcoming pain could he make perfect use of the Spirit Ring's power!

Of course, these were not Grandmaster's exact words, but rather Bai Ge's understanding of their meaning. Although the phrasing differed, their spiritual core remained unchanged: overcome pain!

Forcibly suppressing the searing agony, Bai Ge felt his mind become clearer than ever under the stimulation of pain. In this extraordinary state, Bai Ge began circulating both the Jade Brightness Skill and the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill.

As the Jade Brightness Skill circulated, a great deal of the heat current was transformed into the Jade Brightness Skill's True Qi. But because Bai Ge had not yet fully absorbed the Spirit Ring, this transformed heat could not merge into the Jade Brightness Skill's True Qi at all. It could only be absorbed by Bai Ge's body as the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill circulated.

Thus, the Spirit Ring's power, the Jade Brightness Skill's True Qi, and the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill's Qi and Blood strangely achieved a perfect conversion.

As the power surging from the Spirit Ring was ultimately transformed into Qi and Blood by the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, Bai Ge felt the muscles and bones throughout his body being strengthened again and again by the heat current. Gradually, the heat no longer caused him pain, instead turning into streams of warmth that strengthened his body.

As the Spirit Ring's power was perfectly suppressed and utilized, Bai Ge's consciousness seemed to enter a mysterious space along with the circulation of the Jade Brightness Skill. Bright yellow flames blazed everywhere within it, and at the center of the flames, a Black Purple vine was undergoing an astonishing, nirvana-like transformation.

"Could this be the Sea of Consciousness?"

Bai Ge was somewhat astonished.

However, Bai Ge was not too worried. He simply watched quietly as his Cloud-Soaring Vine Martial Soul transformed within the blazing bright-yellow flames of energy, becoming thicker and stronger. Thorns began growing all over it, while blood-red patterns began appearing on the originally Black Purple vines.

While Bai Ge's consciousness was immersed in the space within his Sea of Consciousness, outside it, his body continued autonomously circulating the Jade Brightness Skill and the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill.

A Spirit Ring contained the cultivation a Spirit Beast had accumulated throughout its life. Though most of this cultivation condensed into the Spirit Ring to provide the Soul Master with a Spirit Skill, a considerable portion of Soul Power was also released by the Spirit Ring.

Most Soul Masters only absorbed a small portion of the released Soul Power when absorbing a Spirit Ring. Yet with the Jade Brightness Skill and the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, Bai Ge absorbed virtually every trace of energy released by the Spirit Ring without missing a bit.

Time slowly passed.

Bai Ge felt as though he had only spent a short while in the Sea of Consciousness, witnessing the Cloud-Soaring Vine's transformation. But when he opened his eyes, he discovered that dawn had already come.