Concerned about leaving Li Xun and the other two in an unsafe spot, Sword Douluo dared not approach the cliff alone.
Instead, he used his spiritual power to investigate the situation ahead from where he stood.
"I don't sense the presence of a 100,000 Year Soul Beast," Li Xun's thoughts raced as he repeatedly muttered this phrase to himself.
Every time a 100,000 Year Soul Beast undergoes a tribulation, it faces a life-and-death trial. They would undoubtedly exert their full strength, fighting with everything they have.
It's impossible for their aura to be completely concealed.
Moreover, with Sword Douluo's cultivation at the 97th level, his perception couldn't be wrong.
"Lightning... tribulation, lightning!" A flash of insight struck Li Xun, and he thought of a possibility.
Among Soul Beasts, besides undergoing tribulations, there's another situation that could summon such heavenly might.
"Could it be the Thunder Hell Vine?" Li Xun's eyes gleamed with excitement, his heart pounding.
The Thunder Hell Vine is one of the pinnacles of plant-type Soul Beasts, a destroyer among plants.
It's said that the Thunder Hell Vine possesses the bloodline of the Thunder God, born with intelligence, fundamentally different from the plant-type Soul Beasts Li Xun had previously chosen.
"No wonder it came to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. If this Soul Beast were to grow, it would spell disaster for the Star Dou Great Forest."
Li Xun quickly pieced everything together.
Although the Thunder Hell Vine is exceptionally gifted, its growth conditions are extremely stringent. These two points, though contradictory, are indeed traits that exist in this Soul Beast.
Unlike ordinary Soul Beasts, which can grow into high-level beings by steadily accumulating power over time, the Thunder Hell Vine requires a continuous absorption of thunder energy to develop. Despite this limitation, it gains immense strength as a result.
But this leads to another issue: its instability.
Due to the Thunder Hell Vine's unique bloodline and its reliance on lightning as the source of its cultivation, its destructive power is terrifying.
Every time it acts, it often causes irreversible damage to an area. And as its cultivation increases, its range of attack grows larger and larger.
If it were just about having astonishing destructive power, that would be one thing—after all, which strong individual doesn't have some trump card or formidable killing technique?
The main issue is its fatal flaw.
As the Thunder Hell Vine's cultivation increases, the thunder energy within its body gradually compresses and solidifies. Given its plant-type physical constitution, it's difficult to suppress such a violent energy.
This leads to the possibility that it could lose control of its power at any moment, resulting in self-destruction—commonly known as self-detonation.
And once this compressed thunder energy erupts, its power often exceeds its own attacks by more than tenfold.
With such an unstable bomb by its side, even Soul Beasts couldn't sleep soundly. After all, no one wants to ascend to heaven while sleeping.
Therefore, the Thunder Hell Vine often doesn't live long enough to be hunted by humans; it's recognized and eliminated by other Soul Beasts while still in its infancy.
"Sword Grandpa, the lightning in the cliff area might not be caused by a Soul Beast undergoing a tribulation, but by a Thunder Hell Vine cultivating."
Li Xun's face was filled with barely contained joy.
"This Soul Beast is extremely rare, usually only hiding in remote places. How could it appear in the Star Dou Great Forest?"
Although Sword Douluo hadn't deeply studied the types of Soul Beasts, he was aware of some of the continent's powerful Soul Beasts with strong bloodlines or abilities.
"Sword Grandpa, I'm eighty percent sure."
In order to increase his credibility, Li Xun's expression and eyes all conveyed a sense of "trust me."
"Alright, then Sword Grandpa will carefully investigate."
Out of trust in Li Xun, Sword Douluo didn't say anything more. He pressed his fingertip to his forehead, and his spiritual power extended continuously toward the cliff.
Under normal circumstances, Sword Douluo wouldn't dare to use his spiritual power so recklessly for detection.
This method not only consumed a huge amount of energy but also easily alerted high-level Soul Beasts.
If he were alone, it wouldn't matter, but the key was that there were three children with him.
However, they were now not far from the cliff, just within the range of Sword Douluo's detection.
As his spiritual power probed, the scene at the top of the cliff was transmitted into Sword Douluo's mind.
There, a dark purple vine stood at the peak, its golden-veined leaves swaying in the wind.
Perhaps it hadn't yet fully absorbed the thunder energy, as violent arcs of electricity occasionally crackled around the purple vine.
From a distance, the purple vine seemed to be dancing amidst the lightning.
"It really is the Thunder Hell Vine! And judging by its aura and appearance, it should be breaking through the 30,000-year threshold."
Sword Douluo rubbed his slightly swollen temples. Using spiritual power for detection was too taxing; even he found it overwhelming, let alone an ordinary Soul Master.
"So it's been secretly advancing here." Li Xun's eyes lit up: "Sword Grandpa, you must keep an eye on it and not let it escape. I've decided to make it my Fourth Spirit Ring.
Now that it has just broken through, its energy won't be too condensed yet. This is the perfect time to absorb it."
This Thunder Hell Vine had managed to survive in the Star Dou Great Forest for 30,000 years, so its intelligence must far surpass that of ordinary Soul Beasts.
This time, it had no choice but to expose itself to advance. Once it finished digesting the thunder energy, it would surely leave this area quickly.
"Xiao Xun, come up quickly. It's already showing signs of trying to escape." Sword Douluo controlled his Flying Sword to descend rapidly.
"No need, Sword Grandpa. You go ahead and intercept it; I'll catch up."
Li Xun chuckled: "I forgot to tell you, but the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone has granted me another ability."
"Flight." Li Xun smiled as he slowly rose from the ground.
What?!
Sword Douluo, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing stared at Li Xun, suddenly feeling a sense of unreality.
In the Soul Master world, aside from Martial Souls with flight abilities, one needed to reach the Title Douluo level to walk in the air.
Yet now, Li Xun, with just a 100,000-year Soul Bone, had gained a privilege reserved for Title Douluos. This truly stimulated their nerves.
Watching Li Xun suspended in the air, Sword Douluo's eye twitched, and he sighed.
The child has grown up a bit; it won't be as fun from now on.
Li Xun no longer needed his supervision, so Sword Douluo turned his gaze to Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.
"Your Brother Li Xun doesn't need me to look after him anymore. Let's go." Sword Douluo sighed, but as he finished speaking, he noticed that Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong weren't paying any attention to him.
Sword Douluo's expression stiffened, feeling somewhat like he had been cast into the cold palace.
The two of them were looking up at Li Xun in the air, their eyes flashing with a strange light.
Zhu Zhuqing, who had always been reserved, simply stood there quietly watching.
Ning Rongrong was quite lively, constantly clamoring for Li Xun to take her on a flight to experience the feeling of flying.
Sword Douluo watched their antics and couldn't help but feel speechless.
So, when I took you on a sword ride, that wasn't considered flying, huh?
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