The Aggrieved Millennium Undying Thunder Vine

"Besides, the Undying Thunder Vine possesses a powerful lightning attribute, making it well suited to you."

Zhou Tao's heart trembled.

The Undying Thunder Vine rooted itself underground, granting it inexhaustible vitality?

Didn't that mean an endless supply of lightning power?

Once this Spirit Skill was unleashed, he would practically be born invincible.

Just imagine it: Zhou Tao transformed into a Lightning King continuously discharging electricity. Any Spirit Master would have a headache dealing with him!

With Ah Yin, the Blue Silver Emperor, around, he really had been spared a great deal of trouble.

"Do you know where the Undying Thunder Vine is?"

Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Zhou Tao responded calmly within his Consciousness Sea.

"It is on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. It is not dangerous."

"After you enter the Star Dou Great Forest, I will communicate with the Blue Silver Grass and help you sense its location."

"That's good."

"How old is this soul beast?"

Zhou Tao then asked the crucial question.

"It has only just broken through a thousand years," Ah Yin replied.

Zhou Tao froze instantly. For a first Spirit Ring, one could generally absorb a soul beast of at most around five hundred years.

A thousand-year soul beast was far too outrageous!

"A thousand years is too high!"

He was not the Child of Luck, Tang San. No matter how recklessly Tang San sought death, regardless of how high the age of the Spirit Ring he absorbed was, he always had some cheat keeping him alive.

Zhou Tao was an ordinary person with no background, no talent, and no cheat. He could not take such a risk.

He had long decided that he would take every step carefully and steadily, growing stronger step by step.

Zhou Tao was even beginning to doubt Ah Yin. Was this auntie trying to set him up?

"After absorbing the right leg bone, your physique underwent a major transformation. The age of soul beasts you can absorb has increased by at least double."

"A thousand-year soul beast is exactly within the range you can endure."

Only then did Zhou Tao nod. Ah Yin's words made some sense.

With the Blue Silver Emperor's enhancement, his vitality far surpassed that of others his age.

Still, he felt that absorbing a thousand-year soul beast was somewhat risky.

Zhou Tao fell into deep thought.

"Whale Rubber!"

Zhou Tao thought of this treasure.

In this era, Whale Rubber was used to enhance bedroom pleasures and was favored by nobles and wealthy merchants.

Yet it contained immense energy and could greatly strengthen one's physical constitution.

Zhou Tao immediately went to a shop and bought a small piece of Millennium Whale Glue.

Taking Whale Rubber would generate an enormous amount of heat.

For this, Zhou Tao dug a large pool in the courtyard, diverted flowing water into it, and poured in blocks of ice.

Only then did he enter the pool and begin absorbing the Whale Rubber.

"Let's begin!"

He picked up the bowl and gulped down the heated Whale Rubber in one go.

The gelatinous substance slid down his throat, carrying a heavy fishy stench.

Not long afterward, he felt a burning heat rise from his abdomen to his heart.

The skin across his body turned bright red.

A surge of energy flowed from his abdomen into his limbs and bones, washing over his flesh.

Fortunately, ice water enveloped his entire body, temporarily easing the burning heat within him.

But the effects of the Millennium Whale Glue lasted longer than he had expected. He could only barely endure it through sheer willpower, resisting the scorching sensation.

Fine beads of sweat kept emerging on his forehead, while it felt as though countless little insects were crawling through his blood vessels...

Zhou Tao knew that this was the Whale Rubber taking effect and remaking his body.

Three hours passed before the burning sensation gradually faded.

In its place came an unprecedented feeling of comfort.

"I feel much stronger!"

"My body feels much lighter, and my Soul Power flows more smoothly."

"It worked!"

"Now I have the confidence to hunt a thousand-year soul beast!"

Zhou Tao rested for a day before setting off once more.

He learned the Undying Thunder Vine's approximate location, then went hunting alone.

For safety's sake, he placed Ah Yin in the cellar beneath the small courtyard.

After this incident, Zhou Tao realized that Ah Yin posed a certain hidden danger.

He kept Ah Yin so that, once she grew stronger in the future, she could offer him a Spirit Ring through sacrifice.

But she might go back on her word. If she caused trouble while he was absorbing a Spirit Ring, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Therefore, it was better to keep her under control.

He went to a shop and bought a hoe, a long blade, and some necessary supplies.

Zhou Tao dared to enter the Star Dou Great Forest without a first Spirit Ring because:

First, he possessed a flying Spirit Skill. If he could not win, he could flee immediately. Unless he provoked a Titled Douluo, no one could catch him.

Second, plant-type soul beasts were not adept at attacking. They were easier to kill and did not pose much danger.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick.

He arrived at the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

From the outside, the Star Dou Great Forest was filled with towering ancient trees. The damp scent of soil and rotting leaves rushed toward him.

From within the woods came the roars of soul beasts from time to time.

He leaped straight into the air and flew into the Star Dou Great Forest.

As for the guards' inspection, they could not detect Zhou Tao at all, so naturally there was no need for one.

Zhou Tao was not a rigid person. Since he could fly, why would he still walk?

Following the direction Ah Yin had described, he headed toward the southeastern outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"The Undying Thunder Vine grows in a damp place, next to a swamp."

Holding a map, he searched step by step. Two days later, he finally stopped before an enormous gray-green swamp.

The soil here was soft and loose, making him uneasy as though he were stepping on rotting flesh.

He looked around and spotted a purple vine flickering with lightning, swaying atop a small hill.

"Haha, heaven is helping me. Luckily it isn't in the swamp, or I really would have no way to deal with the Undying Thunder Vine."

"Flight!"

With a light step, he flew beside the Undying Thunder Vine.

"Hehe, let's begin."

He took out a small hoe and dug a twenty-centimeter-deep trench around the Undying Thunder Vine.

The trench extended all the way to the Undying Thunder Vine's roots.

As Zhou Tao vigorously dug into the earth, the Undying Thunder Vine did not react in the slightest.

It seemed not to understand what Zhou Tao was doing.

Immediately afterward.

Zhou Tao took two large barrels of Fierce Fire Oil from his Soul Tool and poured the dark-brown, viscous liquid into the trench.

He used a torch to ignite the Fierce Fire Oil at once. A fierce blaze shot skyward and burned along the trench all the way to the Undying Thunder Vine's roots.

Then Zhou Tao stood fifty meters away from the Undying Thunder Vine.

And waited for good news.

The Undying Thunder Vine had clearly never encountered such a situation.

Zhou Tao had simply used Fierce Fire Oil to burn it without even attacking directly. The Undying Thunder Vine did not even have a chance to resist.

"Rustle, rustle~"

The huge patch of purple thunder vines that had lain quietly along the ground suddenly moved like a tide. Clusters of vines and leaves rolled frantically, as if trying to extinguish the flames on their body.

But once Fierce Fire Oil stuck to something, it would keep burning until all the fuel was exhausted.

As the Undying Thunder Vine was scorched by the blaze, it instinctively revealed its vicious true form. Roots writhed like tentacles, releasing purple arcs of lightning as they rapidly curled toward Zhou Tao.

"Trying to attack me?"

"Not a chance!"

Zhou Tao stood calmly where he was without moving at all.

The instant each vine extended outward, the raging fire around the perimeter ignited it, producing crackling sounds of burning.

The Undying Thunder Vine cried out in pain and quickly withdrew all its vines.

A faint, barely noticeable smile crossed Zhou Tao's face.