Azure Vine (Please Recommend If You've Bookmarked)

The next day!

The sun rose over the eastern horizon, lighting up Sunset Forest. Mist drifted upward as the miasma dispersed.

Outside Sunset Forest, Lin Feng stood tall and still.

Before long, Dugu Bo arrived, leaping swiftly through the trees. His brow was furrowed, his expression puzzled.

He spotted Lin Feng from a distance and immediately joined him.

Dugu Bo had a head full of questions.

For one thing, the antidote Lin Feng had given him really worked.

But he had examined it over and over yesterday and was certain the so-called antidote was nothing more than a restorative tonic.

How could it neutralize poison?

Skeptical but curious, Dugu Bo had tried taking it.

And wouldn't you know it—it worked!

As the medicine took effect, he alternated between burning hot and freezing cold. One moment, it felt as though he were submerged in lava; the next, as though he stood in a frozen wasteland.

The repeated swings between fire and ice had put him through hell, but they had also cleared a small portion of the poison from his organs.

Because the antidote worked, Dugu Bo had come to meet Lin Feng outside Sunset Forest first thing that morning.

He still needed Lin Feng's antidote to clear the poison from both himself and his son.

At last, Dugu Bo could no longer contain his curiosity.

"Lin Feng, what exactly is going on with that antidote? I examined it many times. It's nothing but a restorative tonic."

"Did you add something else? That strange energy, both scorching and freezing, must be what neutralizes the poison."

Lin Feng only smiled.

He had added his own blood to the tonic. Could he tell Dugu Bo that? Of course not!

One look at his expression told Dugu Bo he would get no answer.

He felt both baffled and frustrated. He was a master of poisons, yet an outsider had neutralized the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison that even he could not cure.

He took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening. "Fine. I won't ask."

"Then we have a deal. I help you hunt Soul Beasts for their Soul Rings, and you prepare the antidote for me. If you can't produce more of it later, don't blame me for turning on you."

Lin Feng chuckled. "Don't worry, senior. I can make as much as you need."

With that, he headed deeper into Sunset Forest.

"Follow me. I scouted the place yesterday. Help me take down that Soul Beast, and I'll hand over today's antidote."

Dugu Bo held his temper and followed.

The two entered Sunset Forest one after the other and soon vanished behind the trees and undergrowth.

Half an hour later!

Dugu Bo gaped at the emerald-green vines sprawling across a small stretch of forest like living jade.

He rounded on Lin Feng in exasperation.

"Lin Feng, are you serious?"

"That's an Azure Vine more than fifty thousand years old! Azure Vines are top-tier plant Soul Beasts to begin with. At that age, an ordinary Soul Saint wouldn't stand a chance against it."

"A Soul Ring of that caliber would be more than enough for a seventh or even eighth Soul Ring. You want it as your First Soul Ring? Have you lost your mind, or have I?"

Lin Feng's expression stayed cool. Dugu Bo's outburst did not faze him.

His original First Soul Ring had come from a four-hundred-year-old Azure Vine.

Now that he was absorbing Soul Rings anew, he could only absorb a Soul Ring from an Azure Vine. That was why he had chosen one over fifty thousand years old.

His Martial Soul was a Peacock, but unlike his father, he had not hunted wind-attribute bird Soul Beasts.

Instead, he had chosen Soul Beasts of the metal, wood, water, fire, and earth attributes to complete his Peacock Martial Soul with all five elements. His ultimate goal was the path of the Five-Element Divine Light.

The Five-Colored Divine Light could sweep away anything. If he succeeded in following that path, there was no telling how far he could go.

Lin Feng took the bundle off his back. Inside were two Jade Bottles, one holding an unidentified red liquid and the other an unidentified white liquid.

They held water from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—his trump card for hunting Soul Beasts.

Dugu Bo was only a Soul Saint. Lin Feng had no intention of pinning all his hopes on him.

He had made his own preparations.

"Senior, I wouldn't have chosen this Soul Beast if I weren't confident I could absorb its Soul Ring."

"I'm no ordinary Soul Scholar. Before my Soul Power and Soul Rings were destroyed, I was a Soul King. I've absorbed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring before."

"There's no time to explain. Please make your move!"

Dugu Bo glared at him. So the antidote was not going to come easily after all.

He had expected to hunt a Hundred-Year Soul Beast or perhaps a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Instead, he had to take on a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast—and one fifty thousand years old at that!

Dugu Bo drew a deep breath and said irritably:

"I can try, but I can't promise I'll kill it."

"Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul Possession!"

"Seventh Soul Skill: Jade Phosphorous Serpent Avatar!"

Dark green light erupted around Dugu Bo. Within it, he transformed into a twelve-meter-long Jade Phosphorous Serpent.

Facing a fifty-thousand-year-old Azure Vine, Dugu Bo had gone all out from the start.

"First Soul Skill: Jade Phosphorous Poison Flame!"

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent breathed like a dragon, spewing great sheets of jade-green fire. Poisonous smoke billowed from the flames as the forest ahead became a sea of fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Azure Vine erupted into motion. Thick vines thrashed and tore ancient trees up by the roots. The smaller plants on the forest floor stood no chance.

The flames and poison dealt the Azure Vine considerable damage, but its vitality was formidable.

Braving the Jade Phosphorous Poison Flame, thick vines lashed toward Dugu Bo.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

They snapped through the air with explosive force!

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent moved swiftly and nimbly, weaving between the vines rather than meeting the Azure Vine head-on.

"Third Soul Skill: Corrosive Black Witch Serpent!"

Dugu Bo was a control-type Soul Master. The only solution he could think of was to use poison to eat away at the Azure Vine's vitality.

He had to weaken it first. Otherwise, he had no chance of winning.

Meanwhile, Lin Feng activated his Peacock Martial Soul Possession. A five-colored radiance flashed, and he soared high into the air.

The mental power enhanced by the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew spread outward, gradually enveloping the forest ahead.

The Azure Vine's vitality is too strong. No matter how many vines we destroy, we won't damage its core. Only by finding and destroying the roots it has buried underground can we deal it a fatal blow.

"Senior Dugu Bo, I'll leave it to you to keep the Azure Vine occupied."

Dugu Bo darted between the vines, drawing more and more of them into a frenzy. From a distance, it looked as though the entire forest had come alive.

Lin Feng's eyes brightened. Good. The more it moved, the easier it would be to find the roots the Azure Vine had hidden.

A long time passed. Even Dugu Bo was panting from exhaustion when Lin Feng's gaze sharpened. At last, he had found the roots.