The Martial Soul of Zhi Lin, the dean of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy, is the Azure Vine.
As a Martial Soul capable of growing to the 83rd level, the strength of this plant is beyond doubt.
Its characteristics include excellent extensibility, rapid growth, and remarkable toughness.
These attributes align well with the properties of Li Xun's second Spirit Ring, the Solitary Bamboo.
Both plants are known for their rapid growth and exceptional toughness. However, one possesses a hidden reproductive talent, while the other excels in extension.
"The Azure Vine? Not bad," Dugu Bo nodded, "But choosing a five-thousand-year Soul Beast as your third Spirit Ring seems a bit too risky, doesn't it?"
He knew that Li Xun couldn't be judged by the standards of an ordinary Soul Master. However, selecting a five-thousand-year Spirit Ring for the third one was indeed excessive.
"Don't worry, I'm confident," Li Xun said with a smile.
"It's not that I'm worried; I just feel it's unfair to other Soul Masters," Dugu Bo snorted lightly, seeing Li Xun's cheerful demeanor.
As they chatted, the two headed towards the outskirts of the Yin Yang Well.
They were currently at the very center of the Sunset Forest. Although the location was excellent, finding a suitable Soul Beast for Li Xun in the vast forest was still a daunting task.
After searching for a long time, they either found Soul Beasts that were too young or too old.
Finally, Dugu Bo grew impatient. He grabbed Li Xun under his arm and soared into the air.
"Grandpa Dugu, I'm actually not in a hurry," Li Xun said, trying to lift his head to avoid getting a rush of blood to the brain.
"Hmph, now you're complaining," Dugu Bo said with a playful expression. "Kid, when you become a Title Douluo, even if you want me to fly you around, I'd have to think twice."
Right now, he didn't even need to do it.
Li Xun rolled his eyes, feeling dizzy from the blood rush to his head. Just as he was considering whether to vomit on Dugu Bo, he suddenly noticed something.
Below them, a vine was slowly moving, coiled around a colorful cat.
"Grandpa Dugu, stop!"
Li Xun wiped his mouth and patted Dugu Bo.
"Kid, you're quite lucky," Dugu Bo said, not minding Li Xun's small gesture. "This Azure Vine is collecting corpses as nutrients. If we follow this vine, we can find its main body."
After saying this, Dugu Bo descended with Li Xun.
Instead of directly searching for the main body of the Azure Vine, the two followed the vine with interest.
"The extensibility of this Azure Vine is indeed impressive. Just this section alone is probably around thirty meters long," Li Xun nodded as he watched the slowly moving vine.
The reason he chose the Azure Vine was precisely for this attribute.
Although Wood Release had a similar effect, the wood itself was hard, didn't extend far, was slow, and lacked flexibility.
It was easy for other Soul Masters to dodge.
Following the vine, they soon encountered the main body of the Azure Vine.
"Judging by its age, this Azure Vine is likely close to six thousand years old. I suggest you play it safe," Dugu Bo frowned upon seeing the Azure Vine.
"Do you remember my self-healing ability?" Li Xun grinned. "This Soul Beast hasn't reached six thousand years yet; it won't kill me."
He had deliberately revealed his self-healing ability during alchemy.
This was to prepare Dugu Bo mentally, so he would agree to Li Xun absorbing a higher-level Spirit Ring.
Dugu Bo was momentarily stunned, then nodded as he thought of Li Xun's self-healing ability. "It seems your second Spirit Ring was obtained through the same method, right?"
Li Xun chuckled but didn't explain.
"Since you already have experience, I won't stop you," Dugu Bo said. As he spoke, his Jade Phosphor Serpent Spirit manifested, and nine Spirit Rings appeared beneath his feet: two yellow, two purple, and five black.
"Red Iron Python Strangulation."
As the second Spirit Ring lit up, Dugu Bo unleashed two streams of energy that transformed into two dark green pythons, charging straight toward the Azure Vine.
Perhaps sensing danger, the ground around the Azure Vine suddenly sprouted dozens of vines, which swiftly entangled the dark green pythons with lightning speed.
Li Xun was startled.
He hadn't expected the seemingly ordinary Azure Vine to conceal such a technique.
Judging by the power of the vines, even a Soul Grandmaster would face certain death if caught.
While Li Xun was still in shock, the two energy pythons shattered the vine blockade and charged directly at the main body of the Azure Vine.
With Dugu Bo's strength as a Titled Douluo, even a low-level Soul Skill was more than a mere five or six thousand-year Soul Beast could withstand.
Just as the Soul Skill was about to hit the Azure Vine's main body, Dugu Bo quickly reduced the force to avoid killing it in one strike.
"Kid, you can finish it off now," Dugu Bo said, slightly raising his chin and standing with his hands behind his back.
Looking at the now weakened Azure Vine, Li Xun nodded.
"Thank you, Grandpa Dugu."
Instead of approaching, Li Xun summoned his Martial Soul in place. "Wood Release: Tree World Genesis."
Dozens of trees suddenly sprouted around the Azure Vine, quickly binding and entangling it.
The main body of the Azure Vine trembled slightly.
It had always been the one entangling others; it had never imagined the tables would turn today.
It twisted its main body, extending outward, and several more vines emerged from the ground, attempting to entangle the branches around it to break free.
Li Xun's heart tightened, and he increased the intensity of his technique.
As the trees tightened their grip, the Azure Vine gradually lost its resistance, and the surrounding vines slowly slipped away.
A purple Spirit Ring emerged above the Azure Vine.
Li Xun glanced at Dugu Bo.
"Kid, what's with that look?"
Dugu Bo was annoyed. "If it weren't for you, a single dose of Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison would have ended its life."
"Grandpa Dugu, I didn't say anything!"
Li Xun's eyes were clear as he blinked, calmly walking toward the Azure Vine.
This move made Dugu Bo grit his teeth in frustration.
Li Xun walked beneath the Spirit Ring, summoned his Martial Soul, and sat cross-legged, using his Soul Power to draw the purple Spirit Ring toward him.
Under the pull, the Spirit Ring quickly floated to the top of Li Xun's head, then suddenly shrank into a small ring, drifting straight toward the Thousand-Hand Buddha.
As the purple Spirit Ring settled onto the Martial Soul, a wave of pain instantly spread throughout Li Xun's body.
The pain felt like being soaked in boiling water or having hot oil poured over him.
Li Xun quickly focused on his internal condition.
He discovered a vast energy rampaging through his body, continuously destroying his flesh and meridians.
Fortunately, this Azure Vine wasn't over six thousand years old, or I might have been in mortal danger.
Sweat covered Li Xun's forehead, and upon closer inspection, one could see faint traces of blood in the beads of sweat.
The energy from the Spirit Ring continued to ravage his body.
The energy was too overwhelming, and his self-healing ability couldn't keep up with the damage.
Li Xun had no choice but to control his Spiritual Energy and follow behind this energy, carefully performing the repair work.
This wasn't because the self-healing ability of Wood Release was weak, but because Li Xun's cultivation time was still too short, far from reaching the level of self-healing of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
After all, his total cultivation time was less than two Kun years.
With Dugu Bo's cultivation level, how could he not see Li Xun's current state? However, no matter how anxious he was, he couldn't intervene at this moment.
"Kid, you have to hold on," Dugu Bo
said with a grave expression, one hand tightly clenched.
Crack—
An extremely faint sound was heard.
Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes, instantly summoning his Martial Soul, and looked behind him: "Who's there!"
(End of Chapter)