Triggering a treasure chest in Douluo Continent

Chapter 21 Man-Eating Vine

Shi Quan spent the morning in the library, had lunch, and it wasn't until the afternoon that Mald returned.

He also brought news that the head of the Spirit Hall in Notting City wanted to meet him in person.

In order not to delay tomorrow's Soul Hunt, Mald briefly explained a few words to Shi Quan and then personally led him to the Spirit Hall.

Unlike the Spirit Hall in small villages, the Spirit Hall in Notting City is magnificent, with a front width of over 100 meters and a height of 20 meters, and it is divided into three floors.

Led by Malde, Shi Quan went directly to a room on the third floor, and without knocking, pushed the door open and entered.

"Dean Ma is back so soon?" A strong voice rang out from inside the room, without any hint of annoyance at being suddenly disturbed.

This is a bright office, a large room of about 70 or 80 square meters. In the middle is a large desk behind which sits a middle-aged man in neat Soul Master clothing, with a badge on his chest engraved with the Five Swords symbol.

Soul Warrior, Soul Master, Great Soul Master, Soul Venerable, Soul Sect Master.

This shows that he is a Soul Master at the Soul Master level, just like Mald.

"I don't want to delay this child's cultivation." Mald pointed to the middle-aged man and introduced, "Xiao Quan, this is Dawson, the Hall Master of the Spirit Hall in Notting City. You can just call him Hall Master Dawson."

"Hello, Lord Dawson," Shi Quan greeted politely.

"You must be Shi Quan. Good, good, good. As expected of a young hero. Come here and let me see you." Dawson's eyes lit up when he saw Shi Quan. He got up from his desk, walked over to Shi Quan, and waved to him.

It was called a look, but it was actually an inspection.

How could someone who could become the head of one of the Spirit Halls be an ordinary person? During the time that Mard was away, Dawson had already learned about Shi Quan's general situation from Su Yuntao, who had helped Shi Quan awaken.

If someone told him that a Soul Master with only one level of innate Soul Power could break through to level ten within a year and a half, his first reaction would be that he was an evil Soul Master.

If Mald hadn't repeatedly assured him and patiently explained things to him all morning, Dawson certainly wouldn't have believed it.

After examining Shi Quan's body and soul power, Dawson also checked Shi Quan's martial soul and even had Shi Quan personally demonstrate his cultivation process.

This was how he initially gained Dawson's trust.

After confirming that Shi Quan's strength was not in question and that it was all due to his own cultivation, the topic returned to the Soul Hunting.

After a brief discussion, Mald and Dawson decided that they would personally take Shi Quan to the Soul Hunting Forest to hunt soul beasts the next day.

After leaving the Spirit Hall and returning home, Mard gave Shi Quan a few more words of advice, telling him to get some rest.

Back in his dormitory, Shi Quan didn't relax and continued his cultivation all night.

The next day, early in the morning, after getting up and getting ready, Shi Quan left the academy with Mald and boarded the carriage prepared by Dawson.

Two Soul Masters hunting a hundred-year-old Soul Beast together is a piece of cake, so the three of them don't need to prepare anything else.

Let's set off immediately.

"Take a look. These are the remaining soul beasts in the beginner-level Soul Hunting Forest. This record was only updated last week, so there shouldn't be any major discrepancies."

As he spoke, Dawson took a booklet out of his pocket and handed it to Shi Quan.

The spirit beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest are all kept in captivity, so the Spirit Hall naturally keeps some simple records of them. In addition to enforcing the law, the law enforcement team in the Soul Hunting Forest also regularly records the situation of the spirit beasts in the forest. This is the origin of the book in Shi Quan's hand. This kind of book is exclusively for the internal use of the Spirit Hall and is generally not shown to others.

Shi Quan flipped through the book in his hand, a hint of surprise in his eyes. The book not only recorded the types of soul beasts that existed in the primary Soul Hunting Forest, but also their approximate age and location. This book was essentially an internal map of the Soul Hunting Forest.

The sound of pages turning kept ringing out. Shi Quan didn't want to turn the pages so fast. But he had no choice. In such a large Soul Hunting Forest, there were very few plant-type soul beasts over four hundred years old. Most of them were beast-type soul beasts. He looked at seven or eight plant-type soul beasts in a row, but none of them were suitable.

"No way... they can't possibly not have what I want, can they?"

With a mix of trepidation and nervousness, Shi Quan continued flipping through the book.

"This is!"

Shi Quan's movements finally came to a stop.

"Found a suitable one?" Mald curiously tilted his head to look at the book in Shi Quan's hand.

"Man-eating vine?" When he saw the description of the age limit, Mald immediately frowned. "Around 550 years, that's too long."

"I think we can give it a try." Shi Quan's gaze was fixed on the man-eating vine.

The name "Man-Eating Vine" sounds frightening, but it is actually a very common soul beast. In its normal state, this vine will coil up into a ball with a beautiful appearance. If a person or someone gets close to it, the vine will open up instantly and grow several times in a short time, like a big mouth that will engulf the person or soul beast and entangle them tightly.

The man-eating vine is quite special. Its toughness is not particularly strong or thick compared to other vine spirit beasts of the same level, and it is not poisonous. However, its vine has a very special characteristic: growth. As long as it cannot break free from its entanglement in one go, its broken vines can quickly heal and continue to grow.

Fast growth and the ability to heal—these two characteristics, when applied to plant-type soul beasts, represent their vigorous vitality.

Shi Quan wanted a soul beast with high vitality, and the characteristics of the man-eating vine could also satisfy his need for the first soul skill.

In fact, according to Shi Quan's speculation, given his current situation, he could also successfully absorb some more powerful top-level soul beasts within the same time limit. However, he could challenge the limit of the second soul ring's age of more than seven hundred years with this ordinary low-level soul beast, but he could not.

If the age limit he absorbs is too high and the quality of the spirit ring is too strong, his true situation will be questioned. Therefore, he must make some choices regarding the first spirit ring of the Blue Silver Grass spirit to make himself stand out, but not too abruptly.

Therefore, disregarding the age and strength of the spirit ring, his requirement for his first spirit ring is to obtain a support skill that satisfies him!

The characteristics of the man-eating vine meet Shi Quan's requirements. If he absorbs the man-eating vine soul ring, the Blue Silver Grass will most likely gain a soul skill that enables rapid growth.

Although internal force can be used to extend the length of Blue Silver Grass, the soul power required will increase exponentially with the increase in distance. If there were a growth skill, it would not only reduce the consumption of Blue Silver Grass extension, but also perhaps increase the attack and control range of Blue Silver Grass.

"Let's see if there are any other suitable ones?"

Shi Quan wasn't in a hurry to make a decision. He also wanted to see if there were any other more suitable soul beasts. However, after reading through the entire booklet, considering all aspects, the most suitable one was the Man-Eating Vine. With Shi Quan's insistence, they finally decided on the Man-Eating Vine as their target for this trip.

Nottingham City is several hundred miles away from the nearest Soul Hunting Forest. It's not too far, but it's not too close either. The carriage traveled all the way until noon the next day when the group finally arrived at the small town on the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest.

"Let's form a group to hunt down speed-type soul beasts..."

"Seven warrants..."

Various shouts and cries filled the air, and as far as the eye could see, there were also numerous shops of all kinds targeting Soul Masters.

"So many people." Through the carriage window, Shi Quan couldn't help but look around curiously.

The carriage did not stop in the market town. When Shi Quan saw the vast forest in the distance, he couldn't help but show a look of shock.

The towering trees stretched out in clusters, a scene that even the primeval forests of my previous life could not compare to.

Outside the forest, there was a huge steel fence. Outside the fence, soldiers of the Spirit Hall, dressed in full iron armor and carrying long spears, patrolled in strict military formation.

The carriage drove all the way to the Spirit Hall soldiers' camp before stopping. The carriage had the Spirit Hall's special markings, so there were no checkpoints along the way.

After getting off the carriage, the three of them did not linger. They walked towards the entrance of the Soul Hunter Forest, and Mald began to give instructions on some precautions for the Soul Hunter Forest.

As they spoke, the three of them arrived at the entrance to the Soul Hunter Forest.

Dawson, who was walking at the front, took out a token from his pocket and showed it to the guards. At a loud shout, the soldiers quickly made way for him and personally led Dawson into the forest.

"Sir, the location you mentioned should be in this direction." The soldier respectfully pointed southeast.

Dawson nodded and looked at Mald beside him. "Mold, delay might cause problems. Let's finish this quickly."

"No problem," Mald agreed, then picked Shi Quan up and hugged him tightly. "Let's go!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the two figures shot out. Both of them were Soul Masters in terms of soul power, and a hundred-year-old soul beast posed no threat to them.

The two traveled swiftly, encountering mostly low-level ten-year-old soul beasts, with few hundred-year-old ones. Dawson, leading the way, released the unique soul power fluctuations of his Soul Sect, and along the way, no foolish soul beasts bothered them.

Several hours later.

"It should be around here." Dawson's speed gradually decreased.

The surrounding area was still dense jungle. After walking for a short while, Dawson stopped. "Found it."

Following Dawson's gaze, there was a dark red flower, shaped like a ring of the sun, as beautiful as a blazing sun. However, upon closer inspection, the petals that looked like a flower were actually made up of long, thin vines.

"That red flower is it." Dawson said, tilting his chin slightly forward while glancing at Mald.

Mard strode forward, his turbid gaze instantly turning sharp. A dark golden iron rod appeared in his hand, and with the surge of soul power around him, four soul rings—white, yellow, yellow, and purple—rose from beneath him.

Whoosh! The long staff was swung, creating a gust of wind.

Before the powerful blow landed, a rustling sound of branches and leaves vibrating rapidly rang out. The dark red flower exploded, and a large number of dark red, slender vines suddenly spread out and wrapped around the long stick.

"Is this a soul beast?" Looking at the man-eating vine that suddenly sprang up, Shi Quan felt a chill run down his spine.

Immediately, an image flashed in my mind of someone curiously stepping forward to examine the creature, only to be wrapped up like a vine cocoon by the suddenly emerging man-eating vine.

Seeing the attack methods of soul beasts and the battle between soul beasts and soul masters for the first time, Shi Quan couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

He silently put himself in the other person's shoes and considered how he would respond in such a situation.

Mald's response was simple and brutal: with each swing of his powerful, dark gold iron rod, a large number of vines were directly broken.

The most troublesome thing about the man-eating vine is that its vines can regenerate continuously, but its disadvantage is also obvious. Because its vines are relatively thin and long, and not very tough, a strong offensive weapon spirit master like Mald can easily crush it as long as his spirit power is slightly higher.

Under the powerful swing of the long staff, the regeneration speed of the man-eating vines could not keep up with Mald's destructive speed. Moreover, the vines of the man-eating vines could not regenerate indefinitely, as that would require the expenditure of soul power.

Under Mald's violent blows, the man-eating vine was quickly reduced to its last stalk, trembling limply on the ground, its occasional movements appearing extremely weak and powerless.

"Alright, Xiao Quan, come here." Mald held the long staff and checked him over before speaking.

Hundred-year-old soul beasts don't have much intelligence; they only have animal instincts. So, generally, there's no need to worry about soul beasts feigning death to retaliate before ten thousand years ago.

"Thank you, teacher." Shi Quan immediately came to his senses. He hadn't expected that Mald, who usually seemed gentle and stubborn with a bit of a boss-like demeanor, would fight so fiercely.

Lost in thought, Shi Quan strode over to Mald's side, and Mald immediately took out a long dagger from his waist and handed it to Shi Quan.

Shi Quan took the long dagger, squatted down, and thrust the dagger diagonally into the vines at the center of the cannibalistic pain.

After a final, desperate struggle, a faint yellow light slowly emerged from the man-eating vine's corpse, gradually transforming into a yellow spirit ring.

"Be careful." Mald patted Shi Quan's shoulder worriedly. Now that things had come to this, all he could do was cheer Shi Quan on.

Shi Quan nodded, sat down cross-legged, took a long breath, and then summoned his martial spirit.

The blue light intersected with the yellow light in mid-air. The yellow spirit ring in mid-air, drawn by the Blue Silver Grass, quickly floated down to the top of Shi Quan's head, then rapidly shrank, eventually becoming the size of a golden bracelet and falling straight down to the Blue Silver Grass in Shi Quan's hand.

The next moment, Shi Quan's body suddenly trembled violently.

Mald and Dawson, standing to the side, kept their eyes fixed on Shi Quan.

"The energy of the spirit ring is starting to surge, Xiao Quan, hang in there!" Mald's fists were already clenched, and his gaze towards Shi Quan was filled with more expectation than worry, hoping for Shi Quan's success!

(End of this chapter)