"Fart like thunder, Earth-Shattering Luo Sanpao!"
As more than a dozen vines burst out of the smoke, Yu Xiaogang panicked and hurriedly gave Luo Sanpao an order.
He hadn't expected the Jade Evergreen Vine to have such tenacious vitality. After taking the Datura Snake's desperate strike and Luo Sanpao's Soul Skill, the Jade Evergreen Vine had far fewer vines left to use, yet it was still so powerful in battle.
"Sure enough, Luo Sanpao is still too weak as a Martial Soul."
He grumbled to himself once more. The instant Yu Xiaogang gave his order, he also began to retreat.
Luo Sanpao could only fire three shots in a short time. He had already fired all three, and if he stayed where he was, he'd likely lose his life.
Yet Yu Xiaogang had still underestimated the Jade Evergreen Vine.
Seeing the human who had suddenly appeared and ruined its plans trying to escape, the Jade Evergreen Vine gave up resisting the poison in its body and instead poured out even more vitality.
After Luo Sanpao had crushed the original dozen or so vines, dozens more shot out in an instant.
"Ah!"
Yu Xiaogang cried out and ran even faster, but he still couldn't shake the dense mass of vines behind him.
"Grandmaster, watch out!" Seeing this from his hiding place nearby, Tang Sanmei hurriedly called out a warning, but it did nothing to help Yu Xiaogang now.
A vine crawling along the ground first wrapped around Yu Xiaogang's thigh, making him stumble. Then more vines clung to his body like maggots burrowing into bone.
In the blink of an eye, Yu Xiaogang was wrapped up like a dumpling and slowly dragged back toward the Jade Evergreen Vine's main body.
"Brother, are we still not going to help?"
Seeing this, Tang Sanmei's face flashed with anxiety. Grandmaster could be pretty eccentric at times, but he was helping them obtain Soul Rings, after all, and she was still grateful to him.
"I didn't expect Grandmaster to be so helpless," Tang Yin said with an awkward smile, rubbing his nose.
Earlier, Third Sister had wanted to help Yu Xiaogang, but he had held her back, saying they shouldn't get in Grandmaster's way.
But they couldn't really leave him to die, so he decided to make a move.
"Okay, Third Sister, I'll take the lead. While I keep most of its attention on me, circle around to its main body."
"Remember, use the Clear Sky Hammer with all your strength and unleash Chaotic Cloak. Build up the Chaotic Cloak strikes using the vines around you as you approach its main body, then finish it with one decisive blow."
"Mm." Third Sister paused briefly, then nodded. She didn't know how her brother had learned the essence of Chaotic Cloak, but there was no time to worry about that now.
"Projection!"
As Tang Yin gave a low cry in his mind, light flashed across both his hands, and two weapons appeared, one long and one short.
The short blade in his left hand was the very same one Tang Sanmei had seen not long ago. In his right hand was an ancient-looking sword nearly a meter long. Its markings were identical to those on the short blade, clearly projected by the same method.
The long sword was for offense and the short blade for defense. He had given the two weapons the rather ostentatious names Gan Jiang and Mo Ye.
Tightening his grip on the two weapons, Tang Yin's expression grew serious. Then he flashed out of sight, and Tang Sanmei followed close behind.
Rustle~
The Jade Evergreen Vine had naturally spotted the two of them nearby, so the instant Tang Yin attacked, it sent several more vines their way.
Crack, crack~
Like chopping melons and vegetables, Tang Yin's long sword continuously cut through the vines blocking his path, while every swing of his short blade killed a vine that tried to attack from an unexpected angle.
But the Jade Evergreen Vine was famed for its vitality as a Plant-type Soul Beast. Even after enduring three successive waves of attacks from Soul Beasts and humans, it kept fighting. Especially when it sensed the pressure Tang Yin posed, it sent wave after wave of vines at him. Naturally, that meant fewer vines elsewhere.
Following behind Tang Yin, Tang Sanmei summoned the Clear Sky Hammer. Without drawing attention, she used the occasional vine that lashed at her to build up her Chaotic Cloak strikes.
Before long, the two of them were drawing closer and closer to the Jade Evergreen Vine's main body.
"My level's still too low. I don't have enough Soul Power!"
They were now only a few meters from the Jade Evergreen Vine's main body, but the vine had grown even more ferocious.
Tang Yin's Soul Power, limited by his current level, was still too meager. Against this dense mass of vines, it was bound to run dry eventually.
Crack~
With a crisp sound, the long sword in Tang Yin's right hand finally shattered as his Soul Power gave out.
"Third Sister, is this close enough?" Switching the short blade to his right hand, he cut down the vines attacking him and turned to look at Tang Sanmei.
Since she had been behind him the whole time, Tang Sanmei hadn't used much Soul Power.
"Mm, it's enough. Leave the rest to me, Brother." Tang Sanmei had noticed Tang Yin's condition long ago and was anxious. Now, hearing him, she gauged the distance, gritted her teeth, and nodded.
"Good. Make your move!" After saying this, Tang Yin narrowly dodged several vines and shifted aside.
The moment Tang Yin moved, Tang Sanmei lifted the Clear Sky Hammer, which she had been dragging along the ground, and gripped it with both hands. Her momentum poured forth like floodwaters bursting through a dam.
"Chao—tic Cloak!"
Everywhere the Clear Sky Hammer passed, countless intercepting vines vanished in an instant. Its momentum undiminished, it slammed into the Jade Evergreen Vine's main body.
Boom!
With a thunderous explosion, the shockwave from the collision between the Clear Sky Hammer and its target instantly swept away the dense vines around them. Even Tang Yin was blown onto his backside.
The Clear Sky Hammer, empowered by stacked Chaotic Cloak strikes, was already this terrifying. How powerful would it be with Ring Detonation to boost it?
Novels were just novels. After feeling the Clear Sky Hammer's power so directly, Tang Yin would have been lying if he said he wasn't envious.
"Brother, I did it!" Tang Sanmei braced both hands on the Clear Sky Hammer's handle and panted heavily, looking at Tang Yin like a student who'd just scored a hundred and was eager for praise.
"Mm, well done!" Tang Yin gave Tang Sanmei an encouraging smile.
"Hehe!" Tang Sanmei was delighted at first, but then seemed to remember something and hurriedly asked, "By the way, I didn't hold back just now, so the noise was pretty loud. How's Grandmaster?"
"Don't worry about anything else yet. Hurry and absorb the Jade Evergreen Vine's Soul Ring. It's nearly five hundred years old, several decades older than the Datura Snake, but you should be fine."
Tang Yin was confident about that. In the original story, Tang San had been malnourished since childhood, yet he could still withstand a Soul Ring from a poisonous Soul Beast like the Datura Snake.
Tang Sanmei had him for a brother. Although their life was still poor, at least she could eat her fill most of the time. And the Jade Evergreen Vine was also a Plant-type Soul Beast famed for its vitality. There was no reason Tang Sanmei would fail to absorb its Soul Ring.
After all, Yu Xiaogang's theory about the age limit for Soul Rings was complete nonsense.
"Okay, Brother!"
Without hesitation, Tang Sanmei walked over to the Jade Evergreen Vine, sat cross-legged, and began absorbing its deep yellow Soul Ring.
Seeing this, Tang Yin first looked around. Once he was sure there was no immediate danger, he got up and went to a tangle of scattered vines, where he found Yu Xiaogang wrapped up like a dumpling.
"Thank goodness, he's not in any danger."
Tang Yin breathed a sigh of relief, then cut through the vines with his short blade.
"How's Third Sister? Has she already started absorbing the Datura Snake's Soul Ring?"
The first thing Yu Xiaogang said after being freed was that. As for how they had all been rescued, he didn't care in the least.
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