Subduing Ghost Lantern Vine

"Who awakened me?"

Lu Zeming looked around. Seeing no one else, he said, "Is there anyone here besides me? You don't seem very bright!"

Ghost Lantern Vine seemed to have been insulted for the first time. It took a long moment to react.

"Insignificant human, you will pay for your arrogance!"

Lu Zeming twirled his blade and urged, "Enough talk. Let's fight. I've got plenty of other things to deal with!"

"Die!"

Countless black vines coiled toward Lu Zeming like a swarm of snakes.

Lu Zeming retreated swiftly, slashing again and again at the approaching vines.

A series of metallic clangs rang out.

His blade couldn't cut through Ghost Lantern Vine's defenses.

"Oh, not bad. Let's see if you can withstand my blade once I channel Spiritual Power into it."

The blade in Lu Zeming's hand gleamed coldly.

As the vines struck, Lu Zeming swung again.

This time, his blade pierced their defenses, but the cuts were shallow.

Lu Zeming was genuinely surprised. Even at half strength, he couldn't sever them. Since reaching Foundation Establishment, half his strength had been enough to lift a four-ton boulder.

By his estimate, Ghost Lantern Vine could shrug off any attack below Elite Jonin level.

Having tested its defenses, Lu Zeming wanted to test its fighting strength.

He stopped retreating and went on the offensive.

Countless Kunai flew out and spun around him at high speed, forming a drill that bored straight toward Ghost Lantern Vine's main trunk.

Vines surged toward him. Lu Zeming pressed on, his blade flashing.

He severed vine after vine, spilling green sap. Ghost Lantern Vine clearly felt the pain and roared curses at him.

"Bastard! I'll drain you into a husk, then grind you to dust! There won't be so much as a trace of your bones left!"

Lu Zeming paid it no mind and kept attacking. His target was clear.

The octagonal lantern on the main trunk.

The closer he got to the trunk, the thicker the vines that struck at him became.

He stopped trying to cut straight through them, darting between the thrashing vines and sometimes even running along them.

To Ghost Lantern Vine, Lu Zeming was like a mosquito in summer: impossible to shake off, hit, or evade.

"If you're so eager to die, don't blame me!"

The flame on Ghost Lantern Vine's trunk suddenly changed from blue to red. Countless Runes raced along the trunk and spread into its branches.

When Runes lit up on the vines near Lu Zeming, he felt an unfamiliar consciousness forcing its way into his mind.

Lu Zeming might have fallen for it before reaching Foundation Establishment, but now that he had awakened his Divine Sense, he had nothing to fear.

He condensed his Divine Sense into a needle and drove it into the invading consciousness.

Ghost Lantern Vine screamed and froze in place.

Lu Zeming seized the chance to fly up to the main trunk.

By then, Ghost Lantern Vine had recovered.

Seeing Lu Zeming so close, its features twisted with an unfamiliar expression: fear.

"What are you going to do?"

Lu Zeming gave it a wicked grin. "You'll find out soon enough!"

He rapidly formed a hand seal.

"Let the soul carry the consciousness. Soul brand, enter!"

Ghost Lantern Vine felt as though a red-hot iron had been driven into its soul.

It could neither stop nor resist it. The pain deep in its soul made its entire body tremble and convulse.

It went on for more than ten minutes.

When the branding was done, Lu Zeming was pale and unsteady on his feet. He sank to the ground.

Ghost Lantern Vine had lost all its earlier fury. Every vine lay sprawled across the ground like a dead snake, utterly still.

It could clearly sense something new in its soul.

Instinct told it that this was very bad!

"Damn you! What did you put inside me?"

Lu Zeming took out his waterskin and drank before answering at his leisure. "A soul brand. You probably haven't heard of it. All you need to know is that you work for me now. If you disobey or dare to resist, I won't even have to lift a finger. One thought, and you're dead!"

"Like the Hyuga clan's Caged Bird?"

"Mine's more advanced. It has no range limit! Want to try it?"

"No!"

"Oh, I think you do!"

The next instant, Ghost Lantern Vine felt as if a fire had ignited deep in its soul. Its entire body twisted and writhed in agony.

The pain lasted only three or four seconds, but Ghost Lantern Vine looked as though it had narrowly survived a catastrophe. When it looked at Lu Zeming again, its eyes were filled with dread.

He's a devil!

"Sorry. I just wanted you to understand the position you're in."

Ghost Lantern Vine struggled to control its emotions and put on a fawning expression.

"Yes, yes! Thank you very much. I understand now. From this day on, you're my master. Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do it. No questions asked!"

"Then start by introducing yourself. Name, where you're from, how many family members you have, what they do—and what other abilities you have besides the one you just used."

"My name is Ghost Lantern Vine. I've never seen another of my kind in all the time I can remember. I've always lived in the Misty Forest in the north of the Land of Grass. Besides what I just showed you, I can absorb an enemy's Chakra to strengthen myself!"

"Oh? Not bad. Go on, then. See if you can absorb my Chakra."

"Have mercy, Master! Little Lantern wouldn't dare lay a hand on you, not even with a hundred lives!"

"I told you to try it. Enough excuses!"

Trembling, Ghost Lantern Vine extended a vine as thin as a finger and laid it against Lu Zeming's wrist.

As it began absorbing, a surge of extraordinarily pure energy flowed into its body.

It felt as if it had sunk into a hot spring. Warmth and comfort spread through its body, as though even its soul had been uplifted.

Ghost Lantern Vine wanted to absorb more, but reason warned it that if it didn't stop, it would die horribly.

After it stopped, it gazed at Lu Zeming like a lecher staring at the woman of his dreams.

"Master, you smell wonderful!"

"Get lost. Look at me like that again, and I'll skin you and make clothes out of you. Got it?"

Ghost Lantern Vine hastily dropped its lecherous look.

"Master, why do you have Natural Energy in your body? No, it's a little different—purer and gentler."

"Secret!"

"Oh. All right!"

"What do you usually eat?"

"Beast flesh or Chakra. Without enough of either, I fall asleep. Of course, Master, I'd be very grateful if you gave me a little more of your power."

"Do you have any requirements for where you live?"

"None. I can take root anywhere plants can grow!"

"Then you can come home with me!"

"What about my old home?"

"Gone!"