Ghost Vine!

As she spoke, she deliberately winked, a faint pink glow flashing through her eyes.

Though she had not used any soul power, she already displayed a measure of the beguiling charm and liveliness unique to the Demon Fox martial soul.

"Group control!"

Su Yu was rather surprised. Her first soul skill was already a group-control skill?

Bibi Dong nodded approvingly as well. "Excellent. This soul skill is very practical. A three-second stun might seem brief, but in a duel between soul masters, it's enough to decide victory or defeat."

"It seems choosing this Demon Charm Fox's soul ring was the right decision."

With Teacher's and Su Yu's approval, Hu Liena smiled even more brightly. She trotted over to Bibi Dong, took her sleeve, and shook it.

"Then, Teacher, is it time to help Brother Su Yu find a soul ring?"

"Yes." Bibi Dong looked at Su Yu.

"Your body can withstand a soul ring of considerable age. Let's go a little deeper and find a suitable thousand-year soul beast."

The soul beasts kept in the various duchies' Soul Beast Forests were mostly intended to provide soul masters with their first and second soul rings.

They searched for three straight hours and saw quite a few soul beasts seven or eight hundred years old, but did not encounter a single thousand-year soul beast.

"Teacher, are there really thousand-year soul beasts in the Soul Beast Forest? Why haven't we seen even one?"

Hu Liena kicked at a pebble by her feet, somewhat discouraged.

"Nana, there are only one or two thousand-year soul beasts in the Soul Beast Forest. Let's keep looking!"

"All right!"

Hu Liena answered and skipped toward a thick patch of bushes ahead.

"Nana, be careful! Don't run off!"

Seeing this, Bibi Dong hurriedly called out a warning, her feet already following instinctively.

Before Bibi Dong's words had fully faded, Hu Liena's frightened cry rang out from the bushes ahead.

"Teacher!"

"Nana!"

Bibi Dong's expression changed abruptly. Grabbing Su Yu, she rushed over.

She parted the bushes, and the sight before her made her heart tighten-the danger she had imagined was nowhere to be seen, nor was Hu Liena.

"Nana?!"

She called out, a barely perceptible trace of urgency in her voice.

"Teacher, I'm up here!"

The voice came from overhead. Bibi Dong and Su Yu looked up at the same time.

Hu Liena was hanging upside down in midair from a dark purple vine.

Her arms and legs were tightly bound, her little face flushed red as she struggled to squirm free.

Following the vine with their eyes, they saw an ancient tree standing nearby, its trunk thick enough for one person to encircle with both arms, with countless dark purple vines wound around it.

The vines constantly curled and writhed like living creatures. Their surfaces were covered in fine barbs, and they gave off a cold, sinister aura.

"It's a ghost vine! And a thousand-year one at that!" Bibi Dong recognized the soul beast, a hint of delight appearing on her brow.

Ghost vines were parasitic plant-type soul beasts that usually lived on other plant-type soul beasts.

In their early growth, they absorbed the soul power of their host plants. After a hundred years, they would hunt small soul beasts to supplement their nourishment.

The vines of a thousand-year ghost vine were exceptionally tough and carried a mild toxin.

Upon reaching a thousand years of age, ghost vines became far more aggressive, usually hunting small and medium-sized soul beasts that passed through their territory.

Both this ghost vine's attributes and its age made it suitable as Su Yu's soul ring. Fortune and misfortune truly leaned upon each other!

"Teacher, I can't move..."

Hu Liena called out plaintively, trying to summon her soul power to break free, but the ghost vine's tendrils only tightened further.

"Don't be afraid, Nana," Bibi Dong soothed her, then looked at Su Yu. "Xiao Yu, step back."

Before her words had faded, soul power surged at her fingertips. A keen purple blade of light tore through the air, slashing precisely at the vine binding Hu Liena.

"Riiip-"

The vine snapped at the sound. Hu Liena fell with an "Ow!" and Bibi Dong swiftly caught her.

"Thank you, Teacher..."

Still shaken, Hu Liena wrapped her arms around Bibi Dong's neck.

After its vine was severed, the thousand-year ghost vine seemed thoroughly enraged.

Several dark purple vines shot from the tree trunk with a swish, slicing sharply through the air as they lashed toward them!

Bibi Dong shielded Hu Liena and Su Yu behind her. Her gaze hardened, and her voice turned icy.

"You don't know when to fear death."

The soul power around her suddenly surged. A pale purple halo spread outward, forming an invisible barrier.

The wildly attacking vines slammed into the barrier and were instantly shattered, turning into a skyful of fine purple dust.

"Xiao Yu, this ghost vine's age and attributes both suit you. Use it for your first soul ring."

Bibi Dong spoke without turning her head, her tone decisive and beyond question.

"Yes! Thank you, Teacher!"

A flicker of excitement crossed Su Yu's eyes, and he nodded firmly.

Bibi Dong moved her fingertips slightly, and several purple blades of light sliced through the few attacking vines that had slipped through the net.

"Watch Nana. Don't let her run off. I'll be right back."

Before her words had faded, Bibi Dong vanished from their sight.

Su Yu immediately stepped forward, shielding Hu Liena behind him.

About three minutes later, the vines ahead stopped dancing, and the thousand-year ghost vine's main stem slowly withered.

Bibi Dong appeared before them, holding a fist-sized ball of light in her palm.

A luminous green glow wreathed its surface, and they could faintly make out tiny vines tangled within.

This was the ghost vine's Vine Heart-the core of this kind of soul beast.

"Xiao Yu, this is that ghost vine's Vine Heart. Kill it, and you'll be able to absorb the ghost vine's soul ring."

Su Yu took the Vine Heart from Bibi Dong. "Thank you, Teacher!"

"All right, hurry and absorb it!"

"Yes!"

Su Yu took a short knife from the Soul Tool at his waist and plunged it into the ghost vine's Vine Heart.

"Squelch-"

A crisp cracking sound rang out, and green sap slowly trickled down the blade, carrying the rank scent of vegetation.

As the Vine Heart was pierced, the green light on its surface dimmed at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The tiny vines inside also lost their vitality and withered completely.

Within moments, a deep purple soul ring slowly rose from the withered Vine Heart.

After circling once in the air, it came to rest before Su Yu.

Su Yu looked up at Bibi Dong. Seeing her nod slightly, he hesitated no longer.

He sat cross-legged, steadied his breathing, and began guiding the soul power within him to establish a connection with the purple soul ring.

The purple soul ring slowly descended and enveloped his body. A tremendous power surged through him.

Su Yu clenched his teeth, veins twitching faintly on his forehead as the blue-green light of his Wood Release martial soul lit up over his body.

Bibi Dong stood quietly by his side, keeping constant watch over his condition with her spiritual power to guard against any mishap.

Hu Liena also held her breath, watching Su Yu nervously, her small hands tightly clutching the hem of her clothes.

Time slipped by, second after second. Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves and branches, casting dappled light and shadow over Su Yu.