Nine Bend Vine Dragon

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Nine Bend Vine Dragon (九曲藤龙)
Alias(es)	Xiao Qing
Species/Race	Mutated Plant System Martial Soul; later a god-tier Martial Soul
Affiliation	Lin Rong's Martial Soul, independent avatar, and combat partner
Occupation/Role	Domain controller, summon, protector, and aerial mount
Status	Active 459
First Appearance	Chapter 2

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Initial awakening	2	Awakened as a fusion mutation of the Dragon Soul Vine and Thousand Leaf Banyan. It possessed the Vine Dragon Domain and Innate Full Soul Power through Lin Rong.
First Soul Ring	5 6	Absorbed a 525-year Thousand Leaf Banyan ring. Gained Dragon Soul Awakening, establishing its life-force affinity and root-based combat style.
Complete awakening / Three-ring Soul Elder	43	After absorbing rings from the Thousand Leaf Banyan, Kongqing Bamboo, and Azure Vine, it fully awakened. It gained spatial properties, an independent consciousness, and the second stage of the Vine Dragon Domain.
Fourth Soul Ring	70 71	Absorbed the Thunderclap Nether Vine's ring, gaining thunderclap, destruction, and lightning-element control.
Fifth Soul Ring	85	Absorbed the Ten Thousand Year Green Wood Twin Lotus ring and gained Dragon Soul Clone; it also acquired wind and water attributes.
Life Dragon Scale evolution	144	Its Reverse Scale absorbed life energy from the Blade of Life and became the Life Dragon Scale. Its Martial Soul Origin began evolving toward god-tier.
Lifebound Spirit Ring	175	A Three Hundred Thousand Year Lifebound Spirit Ring was condensed; the remaining energy elevated its first four rings to black.
God-tier evolution	192	Lin Rong's Divinity and bloodline fused, allowing the Nine Bend Vine Dragon to become a true god-level Martial Soul with divine power.
Time attribute awakening	211	Absorbed the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's corpse as nourishment, awakening the time attribute.
Eighth Soul Ring	274 275	Absorbed the Sky Azure Bull Python's Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring, gaining highly compatible wood, water, wind, thunder, and Life attributes.
Ninth Soul Ring	406 407	Assisted in absorbing the Azure Sting Dragon's Hundred Thousand Year ring, adding illusion and destiny-related power.
Destiny-enhanced form	409	After Lin Rong's final Marrow Cleansing Scripture breakthrough, it emitted the Power of Destiny; gold patterns appeared within its moon-white Reverse Scale.

Background / History

The Nine Bend Vine Dragon was created when Lin Rong's Dragon Soul Vine and Thousand Leaf Banyan bloodlines underwent a fusion mutation under the influence of the Marrow Cleansing Scripture. Its initial manifestation was a hovering Banyan Forest whose central trunk was coiled by an azure true dragon formed from its main root. Lin Rong named it for the dragon root's nine winding bends. 2

Its first ring came from a 525-year Thousand Leaf Banyan, whose life force became exceptionally docile upon entering the Nine Bend Vine Dragon. The absorption demonstrated the Martial Soul's natural authority over life energy and established Dragon Soul Awakening as its first skill. 5 6

Lin Rong later explained that the Thousand Leaf Banyan and Azure Vine represented two “seals” on the Martial Soul's potential. After it absorbed rings from both source-compatible soul beasts, with Kongqing Bamboo serving as the bridge between them, the Nine Bend Vine Dragon completely awakened. Its dragon soul opened its eyes, developed an independent consciousness based on Lin Rong's own, and became an external avatar that Lin Rong could directly control when necessary. 21 43

As Lin Rong acquired further soul rings and divine resources, the Martial Soul accumulated life, wood, space, thunderclap, destruction, wind, water, time, illusion, and destiny-related powers. Its Life Dragon Scale developed from its Reverse Scale, while its source absorbed Divinity and ultimately evolved into a god-tier Martial Soul. 132 144 192 211 407 409

Appearance

The Nine Bend Vine Dragon combines a massive banyan tree with an azure true dragon. Its main root takes dragon form and coils around the banyan trunk, while subsidiary banyans can form a surrounding Banyan Forest. 2 43

• Its fully awakened banyan body has faint golden threads flowing through its bark patterns and leaf veins. 43
• The dragon soul has lively azure eyes and resembles Lin Rong's gaze. 43
• It can shrink into a palm-sized, adorable miniature dragon or expand into a majestic azure dragon large enough to carry passengers. 99 163 252
• Its neck bears a distinctive moon-white Reverse Scale, later known as the Life Dragon Scale. 144
• After gaining destiny-related power, gold patterns became visible within the Life Dragon Scale. 409

Personality

Although born from Lin Rong's consciousness and fundamentally obedient to him, Xiao Qing possesses its own thoughts, habits, and preferences. It is loyal enough to follow mental commands immediately, protect Lin Rong during cultivation, and assist with Soul Ring absorption and soul-bone searches. 99 149 274

It is also proud of its dragon identity. It resents being mistaken for a sea snake, refuses to let anyone except Lin Rong ride on its back, and regarded allowing Yun Gui to stand on it as an exceptional concession. 169 201 226

Xiao Qing displays childlike curiosity and mischief when unsupervised, such as teasing the Blue Silver Grass while Lin Rong meditated. Lin Rong also considers it increasingly intelligent but somewhat lazy, as it delegated a restraint task to its Dragon Soul Clone rather than doing it itself. 99 265

Abilities & Skills

Vine Dragon Domain

The Nine Bend Vine Dragon possesses the innate Vine Dragon Domain, which grows stronger as the Martial Soul evolves.

• At its first stage, allies within the domain gain a 10% all-attribute increase, while enemies lose 10% of all attributes. 2
• Upon its complete awakening, the domain advanced to its second stage: allies gain 20% to all attributes and enemies lose 20%. 43
• The domain can empower surrounding vegetation into a sealed Banyan Forest, blocking escape routes and changing the battlefield. 143 175
• Within a fully manifested Banyan Forest, Lin Rong can monopolize control over the power of heaven and earth in the covered area. 459

Life Dragon Soul

Life Dragon Soul is the Vine Dragon Domain's exclusive effect.

• Converts attacks received by Lin Rong into pure life force over time, restoring him. 2
• Freely converts life force, Soul Power, and spiritual power into one another without loss. 2
• Its conversion speed increased more than tenfold after the Martial Soul's complete awakening. 43
• It can replenish Lin Rong's Soul Power by drawing life force from the domain's vegetation, sustaining extended combat. 87
• It can transform destructive energy and poisons into life force, including the Seven-Colored Splendor poison. 70 381

Dragon Soul Awakening

The first Soul Skill, Dragon Soul Awakening, is a low-consumption self-buff that awakens the Martial Soul's inherent dragon power.

• Base effects: +100% toughness and +50% strength, speed, and sharpness; each effect increases by 1% per Soul Power Level. 6
• At Soul Power Level 15, it granted +115% toughness and +65% strength, speed, and sharpness. 6
• Grants Dragon Might, which frightens weaker opponents and is especially effective against dragon-type Martial Souls and spirit beasts. 6
• Its Soul Power consumption is nearly negligible, while the Nine Bend Vine Dragon's natural recovery can exceed that expenditure. 6

Evil-Breaking Dragon's Roar

Evil-Breaking Dragon's Roar is a wide-range soul and spiritual domain skill awakened with the Vine Dragon Domain's second stage.

• Removes negative effects from all targets within its range. 43
• Inflicts soul tremors and Spiritual Impact on designated targets. 43
• Its power scales with Lin Rong's soul and spiritual power relative to the target's. 43
• It restored the sanity of the destruction-corrupted Thunderclap Nether Vine and later stunned the Earth God's divine soul. 70 451

Spatial and Elemental Powers

The Martial Soul's rings and absorbed resources granted it a broad elemental foundation.

• Kongqing Bamboo granted spatial properties, enabling skills such as Green Leaf Mark and spatial teleportation. 43 165
• Thunderclap Nether Vine granted thunderclap, destruction, and lightning-element control. 71 132
• Green Wood Twin Lotus granted wind and water attributes. 132
• The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's remains awakened the time attribute. 211
• By the ninth ring, its manifested elements were Life, Destruction, wood, wind, thunder, water, space, and time. 407

Dragon Soul Clone

The fifth Soul Skill, Dragon Soul Clone, separates a second Nine Bend Vine Dragon from the original.

• The clone shares the main body's behavior, thoughts, and habits, but follows the main body's authority. 277
• Two Vine Dragons can use enhancement skills simultaneously, greatly multiplying their combat amplification. 86 87
• The clone can independently restrain enemies, as seen against the Void Jellyfish King. 265
• One dragon soul may remain within the banyan's main root while the other manifests as a solid true dragon. 459

Dragon Transformation Art

Dragon Transformation Art fuses the Nine Bend Vine Dragon with Lin Rong, producing a full-body dragon transformation comparable to a beast Martial Soul's possession. 277

• Lin Rong gains azure-gold vertical pupils, dragon horns, wings, dragon scales, and a visible moon-white Reverse Scale. 277
• The skill was one of the two Hundred Thousand Year abilities gained from the Sky Azure Bull Python's Spirit Ring. 277
• It allows Lin Rong to wield the Martial Soul's power directly while the dragon later separates back into an independent form. 277

Banyan Roots and True Body

The Banyan Forest and its roots serve as the Martial Soul's primary physical weapons and battlefield-control tools.

• Its roots can crush and scatter large groups of targets across the ground. 6
• Their toughness can restrain even Tai Tan in Martial Soul Avatar form, though sharp-attribute opponents of comparable strength are a stated weakness. 86
• The Banyan Tree true body can root into corpses and convert them into nutrients, as it did with the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. 211
• Its forest aura can accelerate banyan growth and awaken planted trees into intelligent plant spirit beasts. 143

Relationships

• Lin Rong — Master, source consciousness, and telepathic partner. Xiao Qing obeys his commands, guards him during absorption, and can sense fluctuations in his mental state. 43 99 149
• Dragon Soul Clone — A duplicate produced by the fifth Soul Skill; the main body holds higher authority and can order the clone to act. 277
• Old Butler Yu Yuan — Trusted ally of Lin Rong whom the Nine Bend Vine Dragon carries, protects, and fights beside. 99 163
• Yun Gui — Allowed to stand on its back out of respect for Lin Rong, but was not permitted to touch it. 169
• Three-Eyed Demon Whale King — Lured from Sea God Island and led into Lin Rong's prepared Prison Heaven Array. 226 228
• Void Jellyfish King — Restrained by the Dragon Soul Clone during Lin Rong's battle with the sea spirit beast. 265

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Martial Soul Awakening — Appears as Lin Rong's fusion-mutated Martial Soul and grants him the Vine Dragon Domain. 2
• Sunset Forest Soul Hunts — Receives its first source-compatible rings from the Thousand Leaf Banyan, Kongqing Bamboo, and Azure Vine, achieving complete awakening. 5 21 43
• Thunderclap Nether Vine Hunt — Helps incapacitate the Thunderclap Nether Vine, finds its left-leg soul bone, and gains thunder and destruction-related power. 70 71
• Clear Sky Sect conflict — Its Domain, clone, roots, and Thunder True Dragon combination enable Lin Rong to overwhelm Tai Tan and defeat the Clear Sky Sect's Seventh Elder. 87 106
• Sea God Island expedition — Travels underwater to lure the Three-Eyed Demon Whale King into a prepared island battlefield. 226 228
• Star Dou Great Forest campaign — Absorbs the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's remains, gains the Sky Azure Bull Python's ring, and enables Lin Rong's Dragon Transformation Art. 211 274 277
• Ninth Ring breakthrough — Assists Lin Rong with the Azure Sting Dragon's absorption and the acquisition of destiny-related power. 406 407
• Late-stage divine battles — Manifests with its enormous Banyan Forest body and supports Lin Rong's divine-level battlefield control. 451 459

Trivia

• The Nine Bend Vine Dragon is fundamentally a Plant System Martial Soul, despite possessing a true dragon soul and later enabling full-body dragon transformation. 6 277
• It can fly and swim comfortably; entering the sea is described as a dragon returning to its natural home. 226
• Its Dragon Might is powerful enough to make even the million-year Deep Sea Demonic Whale King feel instinctive fear and submission. 406
• It can handle mundane tasks independently, including searching for soul bones and absorbing Spirit Rings on Lin Rong's behalf. 70 274