Sensing the threat Chen Mo posed, it lashed its remaining vines at him from three directions like venomous snakes.
The vine on the left swept toward Chen Mo's waist, the one on the right stabbed straight at his chest, and the one in front smashed down from above, trying to pound him into a meat pancake.
Chen Mo's gaze sharpened, and he turned slightly sideways, dodging the vine on the left.
At the same time, Chen Mo raised his right hand and unleashed his First Soul Skill!
"First Soul Skill, Life Drain!"
A beam of emerald light shot from Chen Mo's palm and struck the vine on the right.
The Soul Devouring Vine's tendril instantly withered as Chen Mo absorbed its vitality.
The vine in front had already reached his head. Chen Mo pushed off with both feet and flipped backward, narrowly avoiding the blow.
The vine slammed into the ground with a thunderous bang, leaving a large crater.
After landing, Chen Mo charged forward again without pausing.
He condensed a ball of rich life force in his left hand while activating Life Drain with his right.
The Soul Devouring Vine's main body had already been injured by Dugu Bo and moved slowly.
Chen Mo charged to within five meters of the Soul Devouring Vine's main body, then pushed hard off the ground with both feet and sprang into the air.
He spun in midair and chopped downward with his right hand. The light of Life Drain slashed into the Soul Devouring Vine's main body like a blade.
At the same time, he pressed the ball of life force in his left hand against the Soul Devouring Vine's main body.
"Burst!"
The ball of life force erupted inside the Soul Devouring Vine, instantly bursting its main body apart.
Green sap splattered everywhere. The Soul Devouring Vine let out a piercing screech and died completely.
A purple Soul Ring rose from the Soul Devouring Vine's corpse.
A 4,200-year purple Soul Ring.
Chen Mo landed on the ground, panting slightly.
Although Dugu Bo had already injured the Soul Devouring Vine, killing it himself had still taken considerable effort.
Dugu Bo walked over, admiration in his eyes.
"Not bad, young friend Chen Mo."
Dugu Bo said, "Your combat instincts are excellent. You know how to take advantage of your Soul Skills' properties, and your finishing blow was clean and decisive."
"You flatter me, Senior."
Chen Mo smiled. "Sorry for the trouble, Senior. I'll begin now."
After speaking, Chen Mo sat cross-legged and began absorbing the Soul Devouring Vine's Soul Ring.
The power of the 4,200-year Soul Ring was more than four times as violent as that of the thousand-year Man-Eating Flower.
The instant the Soul Ring's power surged into his body, intense pain shot through Chen Mo's meridians.
But after body tempering with essence gelatin and nourishment from his innate level 20 Soul Power, Chen Mo's body was far stronger than an ordinary person's.
He gritted his teeth and activated his Divine Tree of Creation Martial Soul, beginning to break down the Soul Ring's power.
The Divine Tree of Creation's roots grew wildly, absorbing and breaking down the violent power of the Soul Ring bit by bit.
Dugu Bo watched nervously from the side, ready to intervene and interrupt at any moment.
But he noticed that although Chen Mo's breathing was rapid, it remained steady, and his face showed no sign of excessive pain.
Half an hour later, the Soul Ring was fully absorbed.
Chen Mo opened his eyes and sensed the Second Soul Skill within him.
Second Soul Skill: Vine Binding.
Effect: summoned Soul Devouring Vine tendrils to bind enemies. The vines had barbs and a paralyzing toxin, continuously inflicting paralysis on those bound while also being able to trigger the First Soul Ring's effect.
Chen Mo was overjoyed.
This Soul Skill was so practical!
Control + paralysis + recovery-it was practically a divine artifact in battle.
"Did it work?" Dugu Bo asked excitedly.
"It worked, Senior."
Chen Mo smiled.
"Good! Good! Good!"
Dugu Bo said "good" three times in succession:
"Young friend Chen Mo, you truly are a genius! You actually absorbed a 4,200-year Soul Ring so easily!"
Chen Mo smiled and said, "Senior, let's continue."
"Continue?" Dugu Bo froze. "Aren't you going to rest?"
"No need," Chen Mo said. "I feel great. Let's keep looking for my Third Soul Ring."
Dugu Bo hesitated, then said, "Then... how old do you want your Third Soul Ring to be?"
Chen Mo thought for a moment and said, "Around 9,500 years."
"What?!"
Dugu Bo's eyes widened:
"9,500 years?! Young friend Chen Mo, have you gone mad? A 9,500-year Soul Ring is already close to ten thousand years!"
"Even a Soul Ancestor would be in danger absorbing it, and you've only just reached level thirty!"
"Senior, don't worry."
Chen Mo said earnestly:
"When I absorbed that 4,200-year Soul Ring just now, it felt easy. I still had plenty of room to spare."
"I should be able to withstand a 9,500-year Soul Ring."
"No!" Dugu Bo shook his head firmly. "It's too dangerous! If anything happens to you, who will help Yanyan and me remove our poison?"
Chen Mo thought for a moment, then said:
"Senior, I think that if I can absorb this 9,500-year Soul Ring, I'll be able to completely remove the poison from you and Yanyan."
"Besides, won't you be there? If I can't absorb it, you can interrupt me immediately. How about that?"
Dugu Bo froze.
Completely remove the poison?
That was something he had dreamed of!
Dugu Bo hesitated for a long time before finally nodding.
"All right. I agree."
Dugu Bo said earnestly:
"But if any danger arises during the absorption, I'll interrupt you immediately. Don't blame me when that happens."
"No problem." Chen Mo nodded.
Dugu Bo took a deep breath and began searching for a Plant-type Soul Beast around 9,500 years old.
After searching for about half an hour, Dugu Bo finally found a target.
"There's an Ancient Tree of Life around 9,500 years old up ahead."
Dugu Bo said quietly:
"But this Ancient Tree of Life will reach ten thousand years in a few more years. It's highly intelligent and won't be easy to deal with. Are you sure you want it?"
Chen Mo's eyes lit up.
(A year of growth for a high-quality Soul Beast could even surpass decades or even centuries of life for low-tier Soul Beasts like Blue Silver Grass and Soft Bone Rabbits. My setting here is the same as for the Dark Wellclaw Bear, except it leans more toward life.)
An Ancient Tree of Life! This was good stuff!
Chen Mo had also leafed through some Soul Beast reference books over the past two days. An Ancient Tree of Life's Soul Ring could greatly enhance vitality and healing abilities.
Moreover, absorbing a highly intelligent Soul Beast yielded a stronger Soul Skill.
"That's the one I want, Senior," Chen Mo said earnestly.
Dugu Bo nodded and led Chen Mo toward the Ancient Tree of Life.
Soon, the two saw the Ancient Tree of Life.
The ancient tree was about ten meters tall, with a thick trunk and luxuriant branches and leaves, radiating abundant vitality.
The faint outline of a human face could be seen on its trunk.
That was the Ancient Tree of Life.
"Humans, what are you doing here?"
The Ancient Tree of Life spoke in an aged, imposing voice.
"Taking your life," Dugu Bo said coldly, releasing his Martial Soul.
"A Titled Douluo?" The Ancient Tree of Life was startled. "Why do you want to kill me? I've done nothing to provoke you!"
"Enough nonsense." Dugu Bo snorted coldly. The phantom of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor lunged out, biting toward the Ancient Tree of Life.
The Ancient Tree of Life dared not let its guard down. Countless branches extended from its trunk and lashed toward the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor.
But a 9,500-year Soul Beast was nowhere near enough to contend with a Titled Douluo.
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor sank its fangs into the trunk, injecting a large amount of venom into the ancient tree.
The Ancient Tree of Life let out a pained roar, its branches lashing wildly, but the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor easily dodged them all.