Watching the ever-changing expressions on Sword Douluo's face, Li Xun felt an immense sense of satisfaction.
Since childhood, he had suffered countless hardships at the hands of these old fogies due to their constant flying journeys. Today, he finally had the chance to turn the tables.
"Sword Grandpa, you go ahead first. We'll catch up soon," Li Xun said, showing off a bit before slowly descending from the sky and extending his arms towards Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong.
"..." Sword Douluo forced a smile.
At this moment, he actually felt somewhat out of place here. "Xiao Xun, be careful of your surroundings while flying. Watch out for Soul Beast attacks."
"Got it, Sword Grandpa. I'll be careful," Li Xun nodded obediently.
He knew he had to quit while he was ahead, or else he might find himself in trouble later.
Seeing Li Xun so compliant, Sword Douluo had no choice but to let it go.
Controlling the Flying Sword beneath his feet, he quickly ascended into the sky, transforming into a streak of light as he sped towards the cliff.
He didn't want to stay here a second longer.
Suppressing a smirk, Li Xun wrapped his arms around the two women and took off after him.
Sword Douluo flew alone at an incredible speed.
Li Xun had only been chasing for a short while when he saw the streak of light representing Sword Douluo plunge straight into the cliff.
Suddenly, thunder roared from the cliff, and dark clouds quickly filled the sky.
Bolts of lightning danced wildly across the land like furious serpents, as if the apocalypse had arrived.
"Ah!"
"..."
"Phew, good thing we didn't ride Sword Grandpa's Flying Sword. If we had gone with him, we might have suffered a bit," Li Xun and the two women gasped as they took in the hellish scene before them.
"According to the records, when the Thunder Hell Vine reaches ten thousand years of cultivation, it can alter the weather..."
Li Xun held the two women in mid-air and paused. "This isn't just altering—it's outright controlling the weather!"
Deliberately slowing down, Li Xun leisurely approached the edge of the thunderstorm.
He planned to wait until Sword Douluo had mostly dealt with the Thunder Hell Vine before moving in.
The current situation was far beyond what a Soul Grandmaster like him could handle.
A thirty-thousand-year Thunder Hell Vine was capable of wreaking havoc on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The lightning it controlled now hung over the heads of the Soul Beasts in the area like divine punishment.
The stronger Soul Beasts could either endure or flee.
The weaker ones, however, were in dire straits, forced to cower on the ground and pray that the wrath of heaven wouldn't fall upon them.
As Li Xun and the two women hovered in mid-air, watching the Soul Beasts scatter in panic below, they couldn't help but gain a new understanding of the Thunder Hell Vine's power.
At that moment, Sword Qi surged from the cliff, and lightning flickered wildly.
Just as Li Xun and the two women were marveling at the Thunder Hell Vine's ferocity, a beam of Sword Qi shot up from the cliff's peak.
The Sword Qi was vast and sharp, like a sword of dawn tearing through the darkness, leaving a massive scar in the cloud-covered sky.
A ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, spilling from the gash in the sky. The thunderous prison began to melt away like spring snow the moment the sunlight appeared.
"Phew... he really showed off," Li Xun muttered, deeply impressed by the scene before him.
After collecting himself, Li Xun slowly guided the two women towards the cliff.
On the cliff, Sword Douluo stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance, lost in thought.
Not far from his left foot, a dark purple vine struggled weakly, clearly on its last legs.
"Grandpa Sword, you've worked hard," Li Xun said as he gently set the two girls down and jogged over to Sword Douluo with a cheerful smile.
As the saying goes, a wise man knows when to yield.
With Sword Douluo's 97th-level cultivation, dealing with a 30,000-year Soul Beast shouldn't require such a powerful skill. It was likely that he had been provoked earlier by Li Xun.
"Xiao Xun, you weren't like this earlier. Now you remember I'm your Grandpa Sword?" Sword Douluo turned around, looking at Li Xun with a teasing smile.
"Hehe, of course not. My respect for you is as steadfast as the sun and moon," Li Xun replied, scratching his head with a silly grin.
As the saying goes, those who eat others' food are short-tongued, and those who take others' gifts are soft-handed.
Given the combat prowess displayed by the Thunder Hell Vine, Li Xun estimated that even a 70th or 80th-level expert might not be able to defeat this Soul Beast, let alone help someone obtain a Spirit Ring.
"Your respect is there, but I wonder how much of it remains," Sword Douluo initially wanted to tease Li Xun a bit more.
But suddenly, he sensed a violent aura approaching from afar. He quickly turned around, focusing his gaze in that direction.
"Xiao Xun, hurry and absorb the Spirit Ring. There's an extremely powerful aura heading our way," Sword Douluo said with a serious expression, slowly stepping onto the Seven Kill Sword.
He had been very measured in his actions, with only the final strike carrying a hint of personal emotion. Otherwise, he hadn't released any significant aura fluctuations.
How could such a powerful Soul Beast be attracted?
An extremely powerful aura?
Seeing Sword Douluo's tense demeanor, Li Xun's heart grew heavy.
Only a peer of the same level could make a Super Douluo react like this.
This wasn't something he could get involved in. Without further ado, Li Xun used his plant control to bind the Thunder Hell Vine.
The Thunder Hell Vine never imagined that, as a top-tier plant-type Soul Beast, it would one day be killed by plants.
This feeling was utterly humiliating.
Its life, which had already been gradually fading, suddenly burst forth with extraordinary strength under the influence of this emotion.
Arcs of electricity began to surface on the Thunder Hell Vine's body, and the sound of thunder echoed above the cliff.
The plants wrapped around its body turned into countless broken branches and fell to the ground the moment the lightning appeared.
After breaking free from its restraints, the Thunder Hell Vine didn't choose to flee or attack Li Xun. Instead, it began compressing the energy within its body.
"Not good, it's going to self-destruct!" Sword Douluo, hearing the commotion, turned around abruptly.
He saw the originally purple Thunder Hell Vine glowing brilliantly, like a bolt of lightning lingering in the mortal world.
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, witnessing this sudden turn of events, were startled. Panic flashed across their faces.
Li Xun, with a grave expression, reached out to stop Sword Douluo from intervening.
He switched his Thousand Hands technique to his second Martial Soul, the Kunai, and relying on his memory, located the previously injured spot on the Thunder Hell Vine.
He sent the Kunai flying.
Sss—
The Kunai instantly pierced through the Thunder Hell Vine.
Upon being attacked, the Thunder Hell Vine's entire body froze, and even the energy compression came to a halt.
Before it could react, a second attack followed, then a third, and a fourth.
As the attacks continued, the Thunder Hell Vine could clearly feel its body becoming riddled with holes.
The lightning on its surface gradually dimmed, and the energy it had previously gathered began to leak out through these holes.
When the last spark of electricity faded, a pitch-black Spirit Ring slowly rose from its body.
Seeing the Spirit Ring appear, the four of them finally let out a sigh of relief.
Unlike Sword Douluo and Ning Rongrong, who already knew about Li Xun's second Martial Soul.
Zhu Zhuqing, while relaxing, watched the Kunai disappear from Li Xun's hand, feeling a sense of astonishment.
Zhu Zhuqing hadn't expected that Li Xun actually possessed Twin Spirits.
With time pressing, Li Xun couldn't afford to worry about anything else.
Sitting cross-legged beside the Thunder Hell Vine, he summoned the True Several Thousand Hands and began to draw in the Spirit Ring.
(End of Chapter)