Two-Thousand-Year Fire Lamp Grass

"Roar!!!"

Somewhere on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Mountain Range, a two-meter-tall yellow tiger suddenly leaped out from the nearby brush and pounced at the man and frog.

Yet faced with the tiger's sudden attack, the young noble showed no intention of dodging.

The next moment, a thick green Vine Whip grew from each side of Bulbasaur's body and lashed fiercely at the tiger-shaped Soul Beast that had come seeking death.

"Bang!!!"

In an instant, the two-meter-tall Hundred-Year tiger-shaped Soul Beast was sent flying by Bulbasaur's whip, crashing heavily into a large tree. Flesh and blood splattered everywhere, and it was unclear whether it was dead or alive.

Watching the tiger Soul Beast get flung away, Qing Mu said helplessly, "Looks like I need to find a Fire Lamp Grass of suitable age sooner. Otherwise, any random stray will dare provoke me."

Although Bulbasaur could defeat even powerful Thousand-Year Soul Beasts when going all out, Qing Mu was, after all, only a Soul Grandmaster.

Even without the Wood Spirit Seed concealing it, the aura Bulbasaur gave off was only at the level of a Hundred-Year Soul Beast. This caused some Soul Beasts to misjudge Qing Mu's strength and attack him.

As for Soul Beasts that took the initiative to attack him, Qing Mu would not show mercy as he had with the Crimson Blood Battle Pig.

Even if they were lucky enough to survive a move from Bulbasaur, being severely injured in the perilous Star Dou Great Mountain Range was practically the same as dying.

After shaking his head, Qing Mu took out a book introducing Soul Beasts from his Storage Soul Tool and began flipping through it again.

"Eh?"

Qing Mu suddenly let out a soft exclamation. He looked around at the surrounding environment, then compared it with the descriptions in the book, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Looks like I'm pretty lucky. In just five days, I've found an environment that might have Fire Lamp Grass. Now it depends on whether I can find one that's over a thousand years old."

Although the Star Dou Great Mountain Range was not as vast as the Star Dou Great Forest, it was still enormous. Moreover, Qing Mu was hunting for his Third Soul Ring, making the search even more difficult.

Generally speaking, it was common to spend ten days or half a month in a Soul Beast Forest in search of a suitable Soul Ring. Those with poor luck might even stay there for one or two months.

Qing Mu then reminded Bulbasaur beside him, "Bulbasaur, be more careful from here on. We might encounter Thousand-Year Soul Beasts."

"Da Na, Da Na~"

Bulbasaur nodded. Another Vine Whip extended from its neck, guarding against any unexpected situations.

Several hours later, Qing Mu and Bulbasaur finally discovered a small crimson tree growing from a field of charred ash, its fruit resembling a tiny sun.

"Damn, that's ruthless."

Seeing that everything within nearly a thousand meters of the crimson tree had been burned to ash, Qing Mu could not help but sigh.

Competition among Soul Beasts was cruel and direct. Take this Fire Lamp Grass before them, for example. Relying on its extraordinary resistance to flames, it would even actively set fires and burn away all the surrounding plants.

This not only physically eliminated its competitors, but also turned them into nutrients to nourish its own growth.

But the Fire Lamp Grass's proud advantage had now become an accomplice that made it easier for Qing Mu to find it. It was hard to say whether that was a blessing or a curse.

"Da Na, Da Na~"

At the same time, Bulbasaur felt somewhat uncomfortable as it looked at the Fire Lamp Grass.

As a Wood-attribute Bulbasaur, it greatly liked the presence of plants. Naturally, it was extremely displeased by the Fire Lamp Grass's habit of setting fires and burning the mountains.

Qing Mu carefully observed the Fire Lamp Grass in the distance again and frowned slightly. "It's actually two thousand years old? That's a little high, but still acceptable."

Normally, it was safer for a Soul Elder to absorb a Soul Ring just over a thousand years old. However, Qing Mu's body had long been transformed by the continuous alterations of the Wood Spirit Seed. Absorbing a two-thousand-year Soul Ring would not be difficult for him.

Qing Mu then said to Bulbasaur beside him, "Bulbasaur, start Growing!"

"Da Na, Da Na~"

Bulbasaur immediately nodded. Then, beneath the sunlight, its body rapidly swelled in size.

The Fire Lamp Grass was, after all, a two-thousand-year Soul Beast and primarily Fire-attribute, giving it an attribute advantage over Bulbasaur. They had to make thorough preparations.

A moment later, Bulbasaur had fully stacked its Growth move, and its body had reached nearly two meters in height.

Because Bulbasaur was going all out, the aura it emitted also made the Fire Lamp Grass sense a powerful threat, causing it to assume a defensive posture.

"Bulbasaur, charge in quickly, then use Seed Bomb to blast it apart!"

Seeing that Bulbasaur was ready, Qing Mu immediately used their Mind Link to speak to it.

"Da Na!!!"

The next instant, Bulbasaur turned into a blue-green blur. With the speed boost from Chlorophyll, it rushed toward the Fire Lamp Grass.

Qing Mu was not idle either. He followed closely behind Bulbasaur, his First Soul Ring lighting up as waves of pale green energy radiated from his body. Large amounts of green shoots immediately broke through the ash-covered ground.

In just a few breaths, Qing Mu and Bulbasaur entered their attack range. Massive seeds glowing green shot from Bulbasaur's back, bolstered by Qing Mu's Grassy Terrain as they streaked toward the two-thousand-year Fire Lamp Grass.

Naturally, the Fire Lamp Grass was not going to sit still in the face of Bulbasaur's attack. Several Fireballs shot from its sun-like fruit, intending to neutralize Bulbasaur's assault.

Under normal circumstances, the Fire Lamp Grass's decision would have been correct. After all, Fire had an innate and overwhelming advantage over Wood.

But now, it faced a Bulbasaur that had fully stacked both its physical and special attack. Therefore, that seemingly obvious decision was no longer so correct.

Boom—

Just before the moves collided, the foremost Seed Bomb exploded.

The violent blast immediately affected the Fireballs launched by the Fire Lamp Grass. Not only did it directly detonate some of the Fireballs, but it also knocked the rest away.

Then, under the cover of smoke, the remaining Seed Bombs successfully approached the Fire Lamp Grass and exploded in an instant.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"...

As explosions rang out one after another, the Fire Lamp Grass's body was blasted to pieces, leaving it in a miserable state.

Even so, Qing Mu and Bulbasaur still did not consider it safe enough. They immediately fired even more Seed Bombs, crazily bombarding the Fire Lamp Grass's former location like artillery shells. Only after their Soul Power was nearly depleted did they finally stop.