Soul Beasts in Cahoots, Spare the Bird?

Rustle, rustle!

The sound of vines scraping and slithering echoed around the team.

Dozens of black vines covered in sharp thorns coiled toward Xu Huxiao's group like living creatures.

Screech!

Xu Huxiao, wielding a short blade, slashed down a vine reaching toward him. Sap splattered from the severed vine, which thrashed about and actually let out a snake-like hiss!

"Everyone, be careful. Hold onto the hem of the person in front of you. Don't panic. This is a Ghost Vine that has reached the thousand-year level, but I can handle it."

[Soul Beast]: Ghost Vine

[Age]: 2,600 years

[Innate Abilities]: 1. Parasitic Entanglement; 2. Paralyzing Toxin

[Path to Death]: Ghost Vine, Ghost Monkey—names chosen for death. Birds of a feather. Send them all down the path to death!

Xu Huxiao activated Martial Soul Possession. Under the control of the True Stabilized Turtle-Breathing State, the colors of his soul rings had changed. What had originally been one yellow and one purple ring became two bright yellow soul rings, pulsing up and down around his body.

His arms transformed into Platinum Dragon-Scaled Arms. Though he could not use Soul Skills at the moment, Martial Soul Possession still enhanced his overall physical condition.

He unleashed a variation of Revisiting the Dragon, swung his right leg in a semicircle, and stomped down.

Shocking a Hundred Miles!

A ring of vibrating ripples forced back the vines winding toward them from the ground.

At that moment, Ghost Monkeys screeched endlessly from afar while the Ghost Vine steadily closed in nearby. Fortunately, the Ghost Vine's entangling speed was not fast.

Xu Huxiao watched the black vines winding across the ground. At such a slow speed, unless they were wrapping around a stationary target, they could be avoided as long as they were detected.

Detected? Seen?

The Ghost Vine dealt almost no damage, but it could strip away vision through spiritual control. Its dark vines were slow, yet poisonous.

These two kinds of soul beasts seemed to have formed a tacit partnership.

And that was indeed the case. Enchantment Forest had many tangible yet immaterial soul beasts. Their offensive power was generally weak, but once they reached the Ten Thousand Year level, they could evolve and transform into physical forms with formidable attacks.

Before then, however, these tangible yet immaterial soul beasts often had fixed partners. The Netherworld Ghost Monkey's partner was the Ghost Vine, which possessed Parasitic Seeds. The Ghost Vine had control abilities that were easy to evade, but if its target could not see, they would almost certainly be ensnared and parasitized.

The two hunted in this manner. Once they caught prey, the Ghost Monkeys ate only the prey's eyeballs and brains, while the Ghost Vine absorbed the flesh and remains.

At that moment, panicked voices rose from the team.

"Huxiao, I think my foot's been caught by some thorny vine. I can't move!"

"Me too! My arm is numb. The thorns on this vine are poisonous."

"My thigh and waist are caught too. Senior Brother, be careful!"

Xu Huxiao swung his blade and stomped heavily. The ripples from Shocking a Hundred Miles once again forced back the attacking Ghost Vine.

"Don't worry. This is the Ghost Vine's Parasitic Seeds ability. We must have picked up Ghost Vine seeds while moving forward. But the toxin doesn't have much effect on the body; it only causes paralysis."

"Nana, let go of my clothes first. I'll cut down this Ghost Vine, then help you remove the parasitic vines."

Hu Liena obediently let go. "Senior Brother, be careful."

"Don't worry. It'll be quick."

Xu Huxiao tore the parasitic vines from his chest and arms. Because of Martial Soul Possession, his arms' defense had greatly increased. The Ghost Vine's thorns could not leave a single mark on them.

His chest, however, had been scratched with several bloody lines. Yet the moment the numbness appeared, it immediately vanished without a trace.

The Nine Yang Divine Skill rendered him immune to all poisons!

Though his Yang Origin Soul Power was still only at the level of the second Golden Sun, it was more than enough to deal with this mild paralyzing toxin.

After tearing away the vines on his body, Xu Huxiao swept his gaze around and spotted the Ghost Vine's main body clinging to a tree trunk ten meters away.

He strode forward, hacking continuously with his blade. When he neared the tree, three pitch-black thorny vines with a metallic sheen shot toward him in a tangle.

Xu Huxiao slashed with his blade, but he failed to cut them apart. Instead, the short blade was twisted and snapped by the three obviously reinforced vines.

"Looks like these three vines are the Ghost Vine's main limbs."

Xu Huxiao intended to end the battle quickly. Plant-type soul beasts had strong vitality, but their methods of attack were singular. This Ghost Vine's main abilities were its paralyzing toxin and its python-like constricting strength.

But the toxin was useless against Xu Huxiao, and strength happened to be his specialty.

Xu Huxiao grabbed the black-gold vine winding toward him. Its thorns could not pierce his dragon-scale-covered palm at all. The black vine wrapped around his arm and gradually tightened.

It dragged him toward the tree, and Xu Huxiao went along with the pull.

Seeing that the Ghost Vine had succeeded, the Ghost Monkeys darting around nearby screeched even more urgently and excitedly.

When he reached the tree trunk, Xu Huxiao saw the Ghost Vine's true body. Its main vine was as thick as a bowl's rim and deeply embedded in the tree trunk. It had no roots and no thorns; instead, countless tiny rootlets were inserted into the trunk.

Three main branches extended from it. Two bound Xu Huxiao's Twin Arms, while the other wrapped around his waist.

Like three pythons, they continuously coiled and tightened.

A sharp constricting pain came from his arm and waist muscles, yet Xu Huxiao's expression remained unchanged.

Now that he had found the main body, all he had to do was destroy it.

Just as faint dragon-shaped force rose around Xu Huxiao, Xu Bayan's unhurried voice came from behind him.

"Son, how is it? Need your dad's help? This Ghost Vine has split into three branches, so it's at least around 2,500 years old."

"No need, Father. I can handle it."

The moment he finished speaking, dragon roars rang out from Xu Huxiao's arms. His muscles tensed as he took a step back, ignoring the vines wrapped around his arms.

Yang Origin Soul Power circulated to its limit, dyeing the dragon-shaped force gold. Xu Huxiao thrust both palms toward the spot where the black Ghost Vine's main body was wrapped around the tree, which was so thick that two people could barely encircle it.

Roar!

The sheer weight of power—Double Dragons Fetch Water!

Boom!

An enormous, irregular crater was blasted through the middle of the trunk, while the Ghost Vine was utterly shattered.

The Ghost Vine was dead.

Xu Huxiao's Double Dragons Fetch Water was the most powerful strike in the Dragon-Subduing Palm. Amplified by his Essence Intent Realm, its already fierce palm force doubled in might, enough to sever metal and shatter stone.

The surrounding Netherworld Ghost Monkeys stopped screeching, seemingly frightened by the brutal attack.

With a thought from Xu Huxiao, his inner sight transformed into Outer Force. Faint transparent ripples instantly spread outward. Every Netherworld Ghost Monkey touched by them shuddered, then scattered and fled in all directions.

At that very moment, the blasted-open tree toppled over.

When the tree fell, the monkeys scattered!

His Outer Force was weak and possessed only a slight binding effect, but as special tangible yet immaterial phantom soul beasts, the Ghost Monkeys had never felt any outside influence apart from fighting their own kind.

The spread of Xu Huxiao's Outer Force, combined with the sight of him blasting the Ghost Vine to pieces, scared the entire group of Netherworld Ghost Monkeys out of their wits.

Xu Bayan and Luo Ming both nodded in satisfaction.

One thought, As expected of my son!

The other thought, As expected of Young Master Huxiao!

Jin Huan and Xiao Kong, meanwhile, looked at each other. Their shock was impossible to hide. A tree that required two people to encircle had been blasted apart, and he had not even used a Soul Skill.

Th-this was something a level-twenty Soul Grandmaster could do!?

Xu Bayan laughed heartily, patted the two on their shoulders, and said, "Haha, my son was born with divine strength. Nothing surprising, nothing surprising."

Xiao Kong had no particular reaction, but Jin Huan's eyes shifted. He immediately suppressed his shock and congratulated him, "A tiger father has no dog son. Congratulations, Your Excellency. Young Master Huxiao has inherited Your Excellency's talent and possesses unparalleled gifts."

Xu Bayan glanced at Jin Huan. "Enough. No need to flatter me. Huxiao wants to cultivate quietly, understand?"

Jin Huan immediately bent lower at the waist. "Yes, yes. Jin Huan understands."

He knew of the grudge between the Xu Family and Flash Mongoose Douluo five years ago. It seemed Demon Bear Douluo still feared that incident, so he did not want others paying too much attention to his son's talent.

With the Netherworld Ghost Monkeys no longer affecting them, everyone in the group regained their vision.

They had not seen Xu Huxiao's powerful palm strike, but even if they had, they would not have felt much about it.

Huxiao's strength was already absurd enough. No matter what else he did, it would not be surprising.

Because the Ghost Vine's paralyzing toxin was not particularly powerful, the seven rested briefly before mostly shaking off its effects and continuing to explore the forest.

However, they did not continue deeper into the forest. A single Ghost Monkey and Ghost Vine had caught them off guard. Without Xu Huxiao, once they lost their vision, all they could have done was call for help.

There were surely soul beasts deeper in the forest with stranger and more powerful abilities. Since thousand-year soul beasts had already appeared here, this area was the most suitable place to search.

If they truly could not find anything suitable, they could head deeper later.

Just as Xiao Kong had said, it was not easy for Soul Masters to find soul beasts suited to them. Soul Masters like Xu Huxiao, who had clear goals and successfully carried them out, were rare.

The seven-person team did not encounter any suitable soul beasts until evening.

Either their age was too low, or their attributes did not match.

Still, it had been more than enough for their first forest adventure. They had gained a great deal, especially in teamwork and dealing with various kinds of soul beasts.

Such experience could not be learned from books.

Xu Bayan, however, had made some gains of his own—gains in ingredients: two green deer with springy, tender meat.

At dusk, the clouds glowed like fire, streaked with seven-colored light.

Just as everyone was preparing to leave the deserted island and board the boat, Xu Huxiao's ear twitched. Then he looked into the sky.

A fiery red bird with three colorful tail feathers was flying toward their island at incredible speed.

Three seconds later, Xu Huxiao grabbed Xu Bayan and said, "Father, catch that bird. It's a rare Phoenix-Feathered Red Demon Bird, 780 years old. It's perfect for Jingjing's second Soul Ring!"

"Oh? Are you sure?" Xu Bayan looked over at once.

Xu Huxiao did not answer immediately. Instead, he said to Bao Jingjing, "Jingjing, if your second Soul Ring comes from that Phoenix-Feathered Red Demon Bird, it will at least give your Abalone a detoxifying trait. If you're lucky, there may even be an unexpected gain."

"What do you think?"

"Detoxification? Brother Huxiao, then I want it." Bao Jingjing answered firmly. When facing the Ghost Vine's paralyzing toxin earlier, she had wished her Abalone possessed detoxifying abilities so she could help the team.

Now that such a good opportunity had appeared, she naturally had to seize it.

After receiving her answer, Xu Huxiao looked to his father to confirm it.

But Xu Bayan did not make a move. Instead, Jin Huan volunteered. Seven dazzling soul rings lit up, and Jin Huan's round body swelled another size as his jaw and mouth enlarged.

Croak, croak~

His third purple soul ring lit up.

Radiant Gold Entanglement!

Jin Huan raised his head and opened his mouth toward the Phoenix-Feathered Red Demon Bird still far away in the sky. A brilliant golden frog tongue shot out over an extreme distance.

It struck the demon bird with perfect accuracy!

Shriek!

Then the tongue twisted and wrapped it up tightly. No matter how the demon bird flapped and cried, it could not break free.

"Return!"

The brilliant golden frog tongue retracted. Jin Huan's second soul ring lit up, and a foot kicked at the demon bird's head from seemingly nowhere.

The pitiful Phoenix-Feathered Red Demon Bird fell unconscious.

Xu Huxiao handed the short blade to Bao Jingjing, signaling that she could deliver the final blow.

Bao Jingjing stepped forward. Looking at the enormous, beautiful demon bird before her, she raised her blade toward its neck.

A deep shout suddenly rang out from the sky.

"Stop! Spare the bird!!"