"Quick, find a healing Soul Master."
Dai Mubai clutched his swollen, piglike face and spoke indistinctly.
"Okay, I'll take you back."
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing supported the three of them and quickly left the area.
Before leaving, Tang San shot a furious look in the direction Zhou Tong had gone.
Star Dou Forest.
Dugu Bo, Zhou Tao, Dugu Yan, Ning Rongrong, Ye Lingling, and the others made their way into the depths of the forest.
"Apprentice, five-Ten-Thousand-Year Thunderous Hell Vines are incredibly rare."
"I'm afraid it'd be hard to find one anywhere in the entire Star Dou Forest."
Dugu Bo furrowed his brows, his voice tinged with worry.
Generally speaking, Thunderous Hell Vines grew by absorbing the power of lightning. Once they reached between twenty and fifty thousand years, they would risk exploding from an overload of lightning.
A fifty-thousand-year Thunderous Hell Vine was one in ten thousand—an exceptionally rare find.
"That's all right. We'll search according to the records in the books. We're bound to find one."
Zhou Tong couldn't explain it outright. Since the divine trial said there was a fifty-thousand-year Thunderous Hell Vine, then there had to be one.
After all, the Thunder God wouldn't set a trial that was impossible to complete by requiring a creature that didn't exist.
Besides, Zhou Tong had found plenty of records about Thunderous Hell Vines in Xue Qinghe's collection.
Following the information in those records, Zhou Tong searched the forest for his target.
When they reached the inner regions of Star Dou Forest, they finally discovered a place teeming with lightning.
Thunderous Hell Vines usually lived in areas with abundant natural lightning.
As they ventured in, they spotted many lightning-attribute Soul Beasts.
"We found it! A Thunderous Hell Vine!"
In a vast gorge stretching ten thousand meters in both length and width stood a massive vine, over a hundred meters tall.
A churning mass of dark clouds hung over the vine. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed within, and bolts of lightning repeatedly crashed down onto the vine below.
"This Thunderous Hell Vine is at least fifty thousand years old."
"Let's take a closer look."
Faced with this strange sight, Zhou Tong was overjoyed.
He led the others into the gorge.
Before long, the dark clouds slowly parted, revealing a vine sprawled across the cliff below. Its entire body was deep purple, arcs of electricity and flashes of lightning dancing across it.
It really was a Thunderous Hell Vine!
Zhou Tong was thrilled. This was one of the most powerful Plant-type Soul Beasts—and the very target of his journey.
The Thunder God Divine Trial's Third Trial required him to hunt a fifty-thousand-year Thunderous Hell Vine and obtain its Soul Ring.
He'd finally found one.
The Thunderous Hell Vine had just endured a lightning strike. Several spots on its vines had been charred, but it wasn't dead.
Once the vine recovered from the lightning strike, it would grow even stronger.
"This is the one!"
"Teacher, this Thunderous Hell Vine is a perfect match for my Martial Soul."
After all, Zhou Tong's Martial Soul was the Thunderous Hell Vine.
This vine could greatly strengthen his Martial Soul's attributes.
To come across this Thunderous Hell Vine—and have it be exactly fifty thousand years old—was incredible luck.
Seeing Zhou Tong choose the vine, Dugu Bo felt a headache coming on.
A lightning-attribute Soul Beast like this was a natural counter to someone with his poison attributes.
What's more, the Thunderous Hell Vine was a top-tier Plant-type Soul Beast. A fifty-thousand-year one was at least as powerful as an ordinary two-hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast.
But there was no helping it. Since his grandson-in-law had his heart set on it, Dugu Bo would bring it down even if it cost him his life.
"Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, possess me!"
Dugu Bo's expression grew grave. With a mighty shout, he finally summoned the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor to possess him.
He went straight for his most powerful attacks.
"Eighth Soul Skill, Time Solidification!"
"Ninth Soul Skill, Jade Phosphorus Divine Light!"
The Thunderous Hell Vine was frozen in an instant. Then a brilliant beam of divine light struck it, leaving it badly wounded.
After that, Dugu Bo unleashed the Jade Phosphorus Poison Array, using its deadly poison to reduce the Thunderous Hell Vine to its last breath.
Only then did Dugu Bo tell Zhou Tong to deliver the finishing blow.
A pair of enormous thunderous wings appeared behind Zhou Tong, and he flew straight to the Thunderous Hell Vine's roots. A flash of lightning later, its roots were utterly smashed.
Countless black specks drifted out of the Thunderous Hell Vine's "corpse" and gathered into a black ten-thousand-year Soul Ring.
Zhou Tong sat cross-legged at the bottom of the cliff and began absorbing it.
The Thunderous Hell Vine's ten-thousand-year Soul Ring was drawn toward him and abruptly settled over his body.
The next moment, a vast surge of violent energy, like a flood of lightning, poured into Zhou Tong's body.
At the same time, a powerful mental shock struck his mind.
This was the mental shock unique to ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts.
This time, the Soul Power released by the Thunderous Hell Vine's Soul Ring surpassed that of the previous one in both quality and quantity.
As the violent Soul Power surged through him, Zhou Tong felt as if his body were about to tear apart. His skin split, and bright red blood seeped out.
But Zhou Tong had the recovery Soul Skill granted by the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone: "Wildfire can never be extinguished; the spring breeze will bring it back to life!"
With the help of the recovery Soul Skill, Zhou Tong's body quickly healed.
The mental shock gave him considerable trouble, but Zhou Tong's mental strength and willpower were far greater than before. He overcame it in no time.
Just as Zhou Tong was about to finish absorbing the ten-thousand-year Soul Ring, a strange mass of Soul Power surged out of the Thunderous Hell Vine's Soul Ring and swiftly entered his body.
At last, the mass of Soul Power flowed to his spine.
A dazzling, deep-purple light appeared from within his spine, then bulged outward as if something were about to burst through.
"Crack!"
A section of deep-purple bone, crystalline as jade and patterned with lightning markings like those of the Thunderous Hell Vine, rapidly spread across his entire back.
Finally, a deep-purple cylinder grew out of his body, transforming into armor that covered his entire chest.
Lightning patterns covered the armor, which completely encased Zhou Tong's upper body.
"It's an External Soul Bone!"
"Heaven Lightning Vine Armor!"
"Made with Thunderous Hell Vine tendrils as its framework and the power of lightning as its protection, it provides two layers of defense."
"The entire armor is an External Soul Bone."
"It can protect the vital parts of the body."
"Not bad!"
Zhou Tong nodded. This External Soul Bone suited his needs perfectly.
If he layered his second Soul Skill, Blue Silver Tyrant Emperor Armor, over it, it would be even stronger.
At the same time, Zhou Tong also gained a new Soul Skill.
"Fourth Soul Skill, Thunder God Whip!"
It could transform the Thunderous Hell Vine into a whip crackling with lightning. One lash could smash even the strongest defenses to pieces.
This Soul Skill had a powerful armor-piercing effect.
It was practically made for Zhou Tong.
"There's also a ten-thousand-year left leg bone!"
Overjoyed, Zhou Tong picked up the left leg bone and attached it to his left leg to absorb it.
Before you continue