Chapter 111: Violent Thunder Pool—Ten-Thousand-Year Thunder Hell Prison Vine!
Lin Qingmo and Bibi Dong flew for roughly the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
Suddenly, a deep, rolling rumble echoed ahead.
It sounded like thunder before a summer rainstorm, but not quite the same.
Denser. More violent.
As if countless bolts of lightning were detonating simultaneously.
It was absolutely unnatural.
"Hmm?"
Bibi Dong frowned slightly and instinctively slowed her pace.
She brought Lin Qingmo down onto the edge of a cliff.
This was already a considerably deep region of the Star Dou Forest. Even soul beasts were scarce here.
The moment he landed, Lin Qingmo sensed something was wrong.
The air was filled with a scorched smell, as if something had been struck by lightning and charred.
He looked up at the sky—it was covered in dark clouds.
The thick layers of clouds hung low, as if one could touch them by raising a hand.
Within the clouds, streaks of blue lightning slithered like silver snakes.
From time to time, thunderbolts crashed down, bright enough to illuminate half the sky.
"Why is the lightning here so dense?"
Bibi Dong murmured, confusion flashing in her violet eyes.
The Star Dou Forest had a humid climate; thunderstorms were common.
But lightning that continuously struck one fixed region like this… that was rare.
The two of them stood at the cliff's edge and looked across.
Opposite them lay a bare mountain wall. The surrounding trees had all been obliterated by lightning.
On that cliff face, a single vine clung stubbornly.
The vine was pitch black, as though it had been burned by fire.
Its surface was covered in fine cracks, fractured like drought-stricken earth.
But if one looked carefully, faint blue arcs of electricity occasionally flickered deep within those cracks.
Weak.
Yet tenacious.
What was even more bizarre was this:
Every time lightning fell from the sky, it struck that vine with absolute precision.
"Crackle!"
Electric light exploded outward, sharp enough to sting the eyes.
The scorched smell grew heavier.
"Is it… actively drawing the lightning?"
A look of astonishment surfaced in Bibi Dong's eyes.
She had lived for many years and seen countless soul beasts.
But a plant that actively attracted lightning to strike itself… she had never heard of such a thing.
"Could it be some kind of special immortal herb?" she guessed softly.
"No…"
Lin Qingmo suddenly spoke.
His voice trembled with barely contained excitement.
"This… this is the Thunder Hell Prison Vine!"
"Thunder Hell Prison Vine?"
Bibi Dong turned to him. "Ah Qing, you recognize it? Is this Thunder Hell Prison Vine a soul beast, or an immortal herb?"
"It's a soul beast! A plant-type soul beast!"
Lin Qingmo's eyes shone brightly, his words tumbling out rapidly.
He stared fixedly at the charred vine, memories and information flashing through his mind.
These were settings he had read about in his previous life in The Legend of the Dragon King.
He hadn't expected it to truly exist!
"Teacher, listen to me—"
He took a deep breath and began explaining.
"The Thunder Hell Prison Vine is a top-tier existence among plant-type soul beasts from the moment it is born."
"It is naturally intelligent, and it only grows in places where lightning is dense."
"Unlike other soul beasts that grow by devouring, the Thunder Hell Prison Vine can only develop during thunderstorms."
"Each time it is struck by lightning, it grows stronger. A hundred lightning strikes equal one year of cultivation for an ordinary soul beast."
Bibi Dong listened quietly, the astonishment in her purple eyes deepening.
"A soul beast that cultivates through lightning… truly unheard of."
"There's more," Lin Qingmo continued, his tone excited.
"At the beginning, its growth is extremely slow because it can only passively wait for lightning to strike."
"Where other soul beasts cultivate for one year, it might need ten years just to accumulate a hundred lightning strikes, more than ten times slower."
"But—"
His tone shifted.
"Once a Thunder Hell Prison Vine reaches the hundred-year stage, everything changes. At that point, it can actively attract lightning!"
"On a stormy night, it can draw down hundreds of lightning bolts in a single night!"
"Although a hundred strikes would no longer be enough to raise its cultivation by one level, its growth speed would skyrocket!"
Bibi Dong listened intently.
She looked again at the charred vine clinging to the cliff, her gaze deepening.
"A soul beast that cultivates through lightning… and lightning is among the most violent forces of nature. Its destructive power must be extraordinary."
"You're right, Teacher."
Lin Qingmo nodded.
"Once it cultivates to a certain level, it can alter celestial phenomena, summon thunder upon the world, manipulate lightning, and destroy everything."
"A ten-thousand-year Thunder Hell Prison Vine can turn an entire region into a Thunder Pool."
"The Thunder Pool expands as it grows… until it devours everything around it."
"So terrifying?"
Bibi Dong arched a brow slightly.
"Wouldn't that be a disaster?"
"It is a disaster."
Lin Qingmo gave a wry smile.
"That's why most Thunder Hell Prison Vines grow deep in remote mountain forests, far from human presence."
"But even so…"
He paused, his voice lowering.
"Most of them end up destroying themselves."
"Self-destruction?"
Bibi Dong immediately caught the key point.
"Yes."
Lin Qingmo pointed toward the vine.
"It grows stronger by absorbing lightning. But lightning's power is too violent. Once compressed beyond a certain threshold, it loses control."
"Most Thunder Hell Prison Vines never reach natural death. They perish in the very lightning they absorb, like a bomb ready to explode at any moment."
"…"
Bibi Dong fell silent.
She gazed at the vine, stubbornly standing within the storm.
Again and again, it was struck.
Again and again, it endured.
An inexplicable emotion rose within her heart—a reverence for life.
Even if it was only a plant.
Even if it was destined for self-destruction.
It still struggled.
Still resisted.
Searching for its own path amid the lightning.
"According to what you've said, and judging from this hellish scene that resembles a Thunder Pool… this Thunder Hell Prison Vine should be around ten thousand years in cultivation."
After observing for a while, Bibi Dong spoke slowly.
"But I cannot determine the exact age. Its energy fluctuations are peculiar, different from ordinary soul beasts."
She turned to Lin Qingmo, whose gaze burned with intensity.
"You want to choose it as your fourth soul ring?"
Lin Qingmo did not answer immediately.
He stared at the vine, eyes flickering, rapidly weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
The Thunder Hell Prison Vine's soul ring would undoubtedly be powerful.
In The Legend of the Dragon King, even Tang Wulin had absorbed one.
The ability to control lightning would greatly compensate for the insufficient offensive power of his Blue Silver Grass martial soul.
Moreover, a soul beast that survived lightning tribulations again and again—its vitality had to be terrifyingly strong.
That aligned perfectly with his path of life-based cultivation.
But…
The risk was enormous.
Lightning's power was too violent. Absorbing it would be unimaginably painful. If he failed to endure it, his meridians could be completely destroyed.
And a ten-thousand-year soul ring was already beyond-level for a Rank-40 Quasi-Soul Ancestor.
Adding a Thunder Hell Prison Vine on top of that…
"Then I'll gamble!"
Lin Qingmo gritted his teeth, his gaze turning resolute.
"Teacher, I want to try!"
"Are you certain?"
Bibi Dong looked at him, her tone serious.
"Certain!"
Lin Qingmo nodded heavily.
"Its vitality and lightning power both suit me."
"And—"
He smiled, youthful boldness gleaming in his eyes.
"If I don't take risks, how can I grow stronger?"
Bibi Dong looked at him for several seconds.
Then, unexpectedly, she smiled as well.
It was a faint smile.
"Very well."
She said softly.
"Since you have decided, as your teacher, I will support you."
At that very moment, the mutation erupted!
The dark clouds in the sky suddenly began to disperse. The dense lightning gradually subsided.
But the charred vine on the cliff violently erupted with a surge of berserk lightning power!
"CRACKLE—!"
Blue lightning shot upward like a reverse-flowing waterfall, illuminating the entire cliff!
—
End of Chapter