Thunder Prison Hell Vine

The sky was choked with dark clouds, and thunder rolled overhead. Nothing grew on the charred earth. A withered tree had just sprouted a tender shoot when lightning struck it from above, reducing it to ash.

The sacred grounds of lightning-attributed Soul Beasts—the Thunder Canyon. Su Zhen and the others had stepped into it once more.

"Xiao Zhen needs a fifth Soul Ring between thirty and fifty thousand years old. Let's head to the deepest part of the canyon. We should find what we're looking for there."

Qian Daoliu led Su Zhen and Oscar to the place where they had hunted the Thunder Spirit before. The traces of Su Zhen's battle with the Thunder Spirit had yet to fade, and the air still teemed with concentrated lightning energy.

"Teacher, my Martial Soul is yearning for something. Our target is definitely deep in the canyon."

Su Zhen wasn't lying this time. He summoned the Thunder Prison Qilin, and the lightning coiling around its ink-jade body seemed to want to break free and race toward the depths of the canyon.

With Su Zhen leading the way, the three ventured deeper into Thunder Canyon. The farther they went, the more desolate the landscape became. They saw no Soul Beasts, trees, or even a single blade of grass. The earth and sky were stained black, and craters from lightning strikes pocked the ground and the cliffs on either side.

"Brother Zhen, are you sure the Soul Beast you want is really in here? I can't even find a bird dropping."

The farther they went and the more desolate it became, the more Oscar grumbled. He kept his eyes peeled, hoping to find even the slightest sign of life.

"We'll find one. My Martial Soul wouldn't lie to me. Besides, the farther we go, the denser the lightning energy feels."

Black lightning gathered in Su Zhen's hand. The lively lightning energy in the air made its aura far stronger than before.

The three journeyed deep into Thunder Canyon for who knew how long before finally stopping—not because they had found a suitable Soul Beast, but because a cliff face blocked their path.

"That's as far as it goes. Looks like the Soul Masters from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan have hunted all the Soul Beasts in the depths of Thunder Canyon. Great-grandpa, Brother Zhen, let's go back. We can try our luck in Star Dou Forest in a few days."

Oscar took Qian Daoliu by the hand and turned toward the canyon's entrance. The desolation of the canyon had given him a whole new understanding of what a lifeless wasteland could be.

Are there really no Soul Beasts here?

Su Zhen carefully sensed the changes in the Thunder Prison Qilin within him. It gave no response; that yearning from before had vanished completely. Seeing no sign of anything, Su Zhen prepared to turn around and leave.

Boom—

A bolt of lightning struck the cliff above them. The thunderclap halted Su Zhen mid-turn. At last, his Thunder Prison Qilin responded. The source was—

"Teacher, fly up!"

Su Zhen cried out, activating Martial Soul Possession as he sensed the location of the aura he'd just felt.

Six white-gold angel wings appeared behind Qian Daoliu. With a beat of his wings, he soared upward, reaching the top of the cliff in the blink of an eye.

"What's this? Great-grandpa, what kind of Soul Beast is that? I've never seen one before."

"I've never seen or heard of this kind of Soul Beast either."

Qian Daoliu and Oscar stared at the Soul Beast in confusion. It was one they had never seen—or even heard of.

"Teacher, Oscar, we've really struck it rich. This is the undisputed overlord among lightning-attributed Soul Beasts."

"The Thunder Prison Hell Vine!"

Su Zhen stared at the top-tier Soul Beast below them, his eyes blazing as he called out its name.

On the cliff above the deepest part of Thunder Canyon, a thick, purplish-black vine, four meters across, had taken root and spread across the ground. Its bamboo-jointed body looked like a gigantic stalk of bamboo knocked to the earth, with countless fine barbs rooted along it, each wrapped in arcs of lightning. Branches as thick as arms spread out joint by joint, pushing toward every side. Lightning patterns ran over its entire body, flickering bright and dim with sharp crackles. Its sparse leaves, like dark purple swords, stirred without a breeze.

"The Thunder Prison Hell Vine is a top-tier lightning-attributed Plant-type Soul Beast, born with the bloodline of the Thunder God. It has innate intelligence and can draw lightning to cultivate. Every hundred strikes of lightning count as one year of cultivation for an ordinary Soul Beast. Judging by the vine's body, this one has cultivated for forty thousand years."

Su Zhen excitedly explained the basics of the Thunder Prison Hell Vine to the other two.

"Brother Zhen, if the Thunder Prison Hell Vine is so powerful, why has it never appeared in the Soul Master World? There isn't even a trace of information about it."

Oscar voiced his question.

"The Thunder Prison Hell Vine formed when a drop of the Thunder God's blood fell onto a vine after the god's death. Each one is extremely rare and powerful. Though they have innate intelligence and can draw lightning to cultivate, they're still Plant-type Soul Beasts, and their vines can't withstand too much lightning. Around fifty thousand years, the lightning within them overloads and makes them explode. On top of that, they only grow where lightning is thick, so ordinary Soul Masters would have a hard time finding one. You could say the Thunder Prison Hell Vine is far more compatible with me than the Thunder Spirit."

Su Zhen's voice gradually calmed as he explained, but the longing in his eyes only grew stronger.

"Xiao Zhen, where did you learn this? Is the information reliable?"

"Teacher, Senior Di Tian told me before, though he didn't expect me to actually find a Thunder Prison Hell Vine."

Qian Daoliu nodded, and the Angel Holy Sword appeared in his hand.

"If that's the case, then it's destined to become your fifth Soul Ring."

Qian Daoliu finished speaking and raised his sword, ready to help Su Zhen hunt the Thunder Prison Hell Vine.

"Child, you've come."

A voice like rolling thunder came from within the Thunder Prison Hell Vine.

Qian Daoliu stopped and turned to look at Su Zhen.

Su Zhen slowly stepped forward and raised a hand to stop Qian Daoliu from coming to protect him. He felt a sense of kinship from the Thunder Prison Hell Vine.

"You knew I would come?"

"Yes. I sensed your aura when you awakened your Martial Soul six years ago. I knew then that I would meet you, though I never thought it would be now."

Su Zhen's pupils trembled. The Thunder Prison Hell Vine had known about him six years ago.

"From the way you put it, you've been waiting for me?"

"Yes, child. I've been waiting for you to come to me, waiting until your body could withstand my sacrifice."

"Sacrifice!" the three exclaimed in unison.

The Thunder Prison Hell Vine's words stunned all three of them. Only Soul Beasts that had cultivated for a hundred thousand years could offer a sacrifice. In a sacrifice, a Soul Beast gave everything it had—its Soul Power, Soul Bone, and even its soul—without holding anything back. The recipient suffered no harm, and didn't have to endure the pain of absorbing a Soul Ring. It was the perfect way to absorb one.

And now, this Thunder Prison Hell Vine was saying it would sacrifice itself to Su Zhen. How could the three of them not be shocked?

"Why?"

Su Zhen asked, unable to believe it. He couldn't imagine why a Thunder Prison Hell Vine he'd just met would be so kind to him.

"Child, as you said, most of my kind can't last until fifty thousand years. They explode because they can't withstand the lightning. That was supposed to be my fate, too."

"But six years ago, I changed my mind, because you awakened your Martial Soul."

"Because of me?"

"Yes, child. Your Martial Soul is the most extraordinary one on the entire Douluo Continent. Even the Angel Martial Soul of the blond boy beside you can't compare to your Thunder Prison Qilin in some respects."

"What did you say? What's so special about my Martial Soul?"

Su Zhen was shocked by the Thunder Prison Hell Vine's words. He couldn't imagine what was so unusual about his Martial Soul.

"Child, you'll know when the time comes. You're still too weak now, and you aren't qualified to explore the secrets of your Martial Soul."

After listening to the Thunder Prison Hell Vine, Su Zhen fell silent, sinking into deep thought.

"One last question. Why not try to break through fifty thousand years? What if you survived? And what are the conditions for your sacrifice?"

"I can't hold on any longer. That bolt of lightning just now was the last one I had to endure for my forty-thousandth year. If another strikes, I have no chance of surviving it with my current strength. Sacrificing myself to you is my only way out. As for the condition, just remember to revive me after you become a god."

"Come, child. Accept my gift!"

The Thunder Prison Hell Vine finished speaking and, before Su Zhen could react, began the sacrificial ritual.

Its body abruptly exploded, turning into a violent bolt of lightning that struck Su Zhen.

"With the sacrifice of my ten-thousand-year lightning-forged body, I call upon the thousand bolts of thunder to help you reach the summit and inherit the Power of the Thunder God!"

The Thunder Prison Hell Vine's voice rang out within the depths of Su Zhen's soul.