The Crane and the Clam

"Sanpao, lead the way!"

"Luo-luo!"

On the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest, Yu Xiaogang summoned his martial soul, Luo Sanpao, to clear the path ahead while he explained knowledge regarding soul beasts to Tang Sanmei.

"Look here, Sanmei. This is a ten-year Solitary Bamboo. Although it isn't very aggressive, the Solitary Bamboo itself possesses a toughness attribute, which is very suitable for your Blue Silver Grass."

"If we truly cannot find anything more suitable later, choosing this would be a decent option."

"Didn't Teacher say that a Soul Master can absorb a soul ring of up to four hundred and twenty-three years? Isn't this ten-year one a bit too low?" Tang Sanmei's eyes twitched slightly, showing her dissatisfaction.

"That is why I said it is a fallback option. According to my Martial Soul Mimicry Theory, a plant-type martial soul does not necessarily have to absorb a soul ring from a plant-type soul beast."

Yu Xiaogang walked leisurely through the forest with his hands behind his back. "My requirements for you are extremely high, so I will try my best to aim for a soul ring near the limit."

"Only in this way will you be worthy of being my disciple!"

"Luo-luo!"

At that moment, Luo Sanpao, who was scouting ahead, issued a warning.

"Purple Demon Eye!"

"Brother, be careful. It seems there are two soul beasts fighting ahead." Tang Sanmei reacted even faster than Yu Xiaogang. The moment Luo Sanpao sounded the alarm, she activated her Purple Demon Eye, then moved to Tang Yin's side and whispered a warning.

"It's a Datura Snake. Judging by its length of nearly four meters, its age is around four hundred years." Yu Xiaogang leaned down, pushed aside the dense bushes, and a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.

"Sanmei, your soul ring has been found."

"This Datura Snake's age is infinitely close to four hundred years, and it possesses the characteristics of toughness, toxicity, and paralysis."

"According to my Martial Soul Mimicry Theory, there is a high probability that your Blue Silver Grass will also acquire these attributes after you absorb its soul ring." Yu Xiaogang became more excited as he spoke; he hadn't expected his luck to be this good.

Under normal circumstances, with his own Soul Power Level of 29 and his trash martial soul, Luo Sanpao, he would have turned and fled the moment he encountered this Datura Snake.

He hadn't expected to be so lucky today, happening upon the Datura Snake while it was fighting another soul beast, giving them a great chance to pick up the spoils.

Tang Yin raised an eyebrow slightly at this. He hadn't expected that his arrival would change the timing of the soul ring hunt from the original story, yet they still encountered the Datura Snake.

Although he wasn't sure if it was the same one from the original story, it still stirred some emotions in Tang Yin.

However, he naturally wouldn't let Sanmei actually listen to Yu Xiaogang and absorb the Datura Snake.

"Sanmei, let's go take a look." Tang Yin pulled Tang Sanmei to the concealed position where Yu Xiaogang was, carefully pushing aside the leaves.

At this moment, on a patch of grass about a hundred meters away from the three of them, dense green vines spread out over ten meters. Between these vines, a snake-like soul beast with a dark green triangular head flickered its tongue, constantly dodging and weaving through the vines.

"Jade Evergreen Vine. Judging by its size, it's nearly five hundred years old."

Tang Yin's eyes flickered slightly. The Jade Evergreen Vine was one of the plant-type soul beasts he had chosen for Tang Sanmei, though he hadn't held much hope for it originally.

Jade Evergreen Vines were only distributed in the inner regions of the Tiandou Great Forest.

Those who could venture deep into the Tiandou Great Forest were high-level Soul Masters, and any they hunted would be at least a thousand years old. The Soul Hunting Forest was specifically a place for primary Soul Master Academies to raise soul beasts, so it was unlikely they would put a thousand-year soul beast inside.

He hadn't expected that someone had actually ventured deep into the Star Dou Great Forest and brought back a five-hundred-year-old Jade Evergreen Vine; this was an unexpected joy.

After about half an incense stick's worth of time, the Datura Snake and the Jade Evergreen Vine finally showed signs of deciding a winner.

Although the Datura Snake was an extremely powerful individual within the Soul Hunting Forest—possessing fast movement speed and potent venom—it was a local hegemon.

However, its advantages were all countered by the Jade Evergreen Vine. The Jade Evergreen Vine had immense vitality and was not afraid of the snake's deadly poison. Even the snake's advantage in speed was restricted by the dense network of the vine's tendrils, and on top of that, it was older than the Datura Snake.

Therefore, as time passed, the Datura Snake gradually fell into a disadvantage, suffering dozens of wounds from being whipped and constricted by the vines.

"Hiss~"

The Datura Snake's body was whipped by the vines once more, emitting a painful hiss, its eyes revealing a hint of human-like trepidation.

It already had the intention to flee.

However, the Jade Evergreen Vine, which held the upper hand, clearly did not intend to let it go. More vines spread out from the ground, instantly sealing off a radius of over ten meters, while several vines whipped toward the Datura Snake.

"Hiss~"

With another shrill hiss, the Datura Snake, struck by the vines again and seeing no way to escape, revealed a trace of resentment and madness in its eyes.

"Hiss~ Hiss~" The Datura Snake was finally pushed to its limit, abandoning its flight. It reared up its front half, and its abdomen suddenly expanded rapidly.

"Puchi~"

A stream of deep purple, fishy-smelling liquid shot out from the Datura Snake's mouth, striking toward the roots of the Jade Evergreen Vine like a sharp sword.

After releasing such a large amount of venom, the Datura Snake's already battered form became even more withered, swaying and even collapsing slightly.

The Jade Evergreen Vine, being a plant-type soul beast, naturally could not dodge. It only had time to retract some of its vines to weave a protective wall in front of its roots.

Sizzle, sizzle~

As soon as the venom touched the vines, it was like pouring hot water onto ice; the vine wall instantly dissolved in parts, and some of the venom even splashed through the gaps onto the roots of the Jade Evergreen Vine.

In an instant, the surrounding vines, which had been waving and writhing, paused slightly before contracting violently, clearly having suffered significant damage.

Even so, the Jade Evergreen Vine remained in the lead.

Possessing immense vitality, although its roots were injured by the Datura Snake's counterattack, it only needed to retract most of its vines and use the saved vitality to resist the toxins. Retaining a small portion of its vines was more than enough to deal with the now extremely weak Datura Snake.

Seeing that the Datura Snake was about to be killed, Yu Xiaogang grew anxious. He knew that if he didn't act now, he would waste a soul ring that he believed was perfectly suited to verify his theory, so he could no longer afford to hesitate.

"Third Sister, Tang Yin, now is the time. Put on your masks and stay behind me, and be sure to protect yourselves." Yu Xiaogang handed the prepared masks to the two of them, and after leaving those words behind, he charged toward the battlefield of the two spirit beasts with Luo Sanpao.

"Fart like thunder, heaven-shaking and earth-splitting Luo Sanpao!"

A distance of a hundred meters was nothing but a fleeting moment for a spirit master; Yu Xiaogang unleashed his spirit skill the instant he burst into action.

"Luo-luo~"

Luo Sanpao, who had been charging ahead of Yu Xiaogang, immediately sprang into the air upon receiving the command. A yellow spirit ring manifested around its body, and it pivoted in mid-air, aiming its rear directly at the main body of the Jade Evergreen Vine, which was just about to control its vines to finish off the Datura Snake.

Boom~

A sound like a thunderclap rang out, and a yellow ball of light streaked toward the center of the battlefield at high speed.

Crash~

The vines that had been striking at the Datura Snake were blasted apart by the single shot.

"Thank goodness we made it in time!" Yu Xiaogang had now arrived ten meters away from the Jade Evergreen Vine; he breathed a sigh of relief, yet he dared not slacken his guard.

"Fart like mist, hypnotic slumber Luo Sanpao." Grandmaster unleashed another major move, and a cloud of yellow gas erupted from Luo Sanpao's rear, enveloping the Jade Evergreen Vine in the blink of an eye.

The Datura Snake, already weak, went stiff the moment it touched the mist; its body, which had been struggling, suddenly went limp as it collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness.

In comparison, the hypnotic mist had little effect on the Jade Evergreen Vine. Its main body merely paused for a moment before more than a dozen vines, each as thick as a child's arm, shot out from the mist to strike at Yu Xiaogang.