Chapter 117: Nine-Curved Snake Vine, Nine-Heart Begonia!
Deep in the Sunset Forest.
The dense trees blocked out the sky, with only a few scattered rays of sunlight leaking through the gaps in the branches and leaves, leaving patches of light.
The air was filled with the fragrance of moist soil and the faint scent of grass and trees.
Lin Yang and Ye Lingling walked one after the other, stepping on fallen leaves as they moved deep into the dense forest.
They had come this time mainly to find a suitable fourth Soul Ring for Ye Lingling, and it had to be a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
Nowadays, both Xiao Wu and Dugu Yan's fourth Soul Rings were Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, and Xiao Wu's fourth Soul Ring age had even reached nineteen thousand years.
With Lin Yang and Dugu Yan to set her off, Little Rabbit's condensation of an over-limit Soul Ring was clearly not so prominent.
Moreover, given their current strength, it was rare for anything to force them to use their full power.
This resulted in the other members of the battle team not being very clear about their Soul Ring configurations.
Ye Lingling was the same.
Following by Lin Yang's side, she had not drunk few body-tempering potions, plus she practiced the Flower Breathing Technique.
Her physical strength was long past what a conventional support system Soul Master could compare to.
Her third Soul Ring was a four-thousand-year-old Star Flower; absorbing a Soul Ring that was just over ten thousand years for her fourth should not be difficult.
Ordinary Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts meant nothing to Lin Yang, so Ye Xuanyin was very relieved to entrust Ye Lingling to Lin Yang.
As the two walked, Lin Yang suddenly stopped and turned his head to say to Ye Lingling, "Lingling, have you been trying to activate the Demon Slayer Mark recently?"
Ye Lingling was slightly silent for a moment, then nodded gently, "I want to try, but I always feel like I'm missing something."
The trick to activating the Demon Slayer Mark was not complicated; Cultivating the Breathing Technique to the "Constant State" was just the entry level, and controlling body temperature and heart rate was not difficult either.
But the most important thing was one's state of mind.
Ye Lingling's Flower Breathing was already very proficient, having even reached the "Constant State" stage early on, but she had been slow to activate the Demon Slayer Mark.
The biggest reason was that she still regarded herself as a support system Soul Master, not a swordsman wielding a blade.
Her swordsmanship was only used for sparring, not for killing enemies.
And users of the Demon Slayer Mark all had a very similar characteristic.
That was, when facing the line between life and death, they never lacked the courage to stand with their blades and live towards death.
This was also what Ye Lingling lacked the most right now.
Lin Yang looked at her, his tone calm, "If you want to activate the Demon Slayer Mark, then try to defeat it."
Huh?
Ye Lingling had not yet understood what this sentence meant when her vision blurred, and Lin Yang's figure suddenly disappeared.
In its place, a vine like a long snake lashed out through the air!
She instinctively dodged backward, and the thick vine slammed heavily onto the ground, causing the soil to explode and leaving a deep gully.
Only then did she see the full appearance of the attacker.
The surface of the long vine had patterns similar to python scales; looking from afar, it was like an extremely agile python.
This is... the Nine-Curved Snake Vine!
It was a notoriously vicious creature among plant-type Soul Beasts.
Any creature that intruded into its hunting range would be strangled to death alive, its bones turning into nutrients for its growth.
Clang—!
With a light chime, Ye Lingling pulled out the long blade at her waist with a backhand, facing the snake vine that was whistling towards her again, she blocked it horizontally with her blade.
Bang!
So heavy!
A terrifying force came from the blade, and the long blade in her hand almost flew out of her grip.
Her body suddenly retreated violently, her feet leaving two long marks on the ground, and only then did she barely dispel that force.
Swish! Swish! Swish—!
The whole forest seemed to come alive, with one vine after another standing upright like vipers ready to strike.
One, two, three—
A full nine snake vines locked Ye Lingling firmly within its hunting range.
Ye Lingling's face turned slightly pale, and she gripped the hilt of her blade tightly.
This kind of terrifying Soul Beast... is this really something she can defeat?
There was no time to think; the Nine-Curved Snake Vine had already moved.
Nine vines launched an attack at the same time, the offensive as continuous as a storm, seemingly endless.
Hiss—!
Ye Lingling gritted her teeth, a hiss emitting from her nasal cavity.
At this moment, her mind was blank, leaving only one thought: Defeat it, survive!
Flower Breathing · Third Form · Plum Blossom Shadow Defense!
Blade light flashed, and layers of plum blossom-like barriers protected her body; the long blade in Ye Lingling's hand danced so tightly that not even wind could pass through.
But no matter how fast she was, she only had two hands.
And there were nine Nine-Curved Snake Vines; the attack frequency alone was not on the same level.
So the defense of Plum Blossom Shadow Defense only lasted for a short two breaths before it was smashed apart.
Bang!
A vine lashed heavily against her body, sending Ye Lingling flying sideways; she spat out a mouthful of blood, and a gruesome wound appeared on her chest.
After gritting her teeth and climbing up from the ground, the Nine-Heart Begonia appeared in Ye Lingling's left hand.
The three Soul Rings on her body shone brightly, and three streams of light instantly acted upon herself.
The seemingly terrifying wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The terror of the Nine-Heart Begonia's healing ability was displayed vividly at this moment.
Before the wound could fully heal, the attack of the Nine-Curved Snake Vine had already arrived again.
This time Ye Lingling had become smarter; she did not choose to clash head-on, but began to use the surrounding environment to constantly move and dodge.
On one hand, it was to buy time for healing;
On the other hand, it was to leave herself some room for observation and to look for an opportunity to counterattack.
Lin Yang, standing in the shadows, nodded slightly, a hint of satisfaction appearing in his eyes, "Not too stupid yet!"
Swish!
Accompanied by the sound of breaking air, the vine lashed out heavily.
Ye Lingling dodged sideways, and the vine brushed past her arm and struck the ground, sending earth and stone flying and kicking up clouds of dust.
Opportunity!
Flower Breathing · Fourth Form · Crimson Flower Kimono!
Petals danced, condensing into a beautiful arc that instantly severed this vine.
Ye Lingling landed, panting rapidly, looking at the twisted snake vine on the ground.
But very quickly, the severed snake vine withered rapidly, eventually becoming like dead wood.
And at the other end of the cut, a complete vine actually grew back at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Seeing this scene, Ye Lingling was not surprised.
The Nine-Curved Snake Vine appeared to have nine vines, but only one was the main vine; the other eight were just its sub-vines.
Sub-vines could regenerate many times; only by killing the main vine could one completely kill the Nine-Curved Snake Vine.
But the nine vines were true and false, and were extremely agile and flexible; wanting to find its main vine was simply as difficult as ascending to heaven.
However... how would she know if she didn't try?
Ye Lingling's figure shuttled back and forth in the forest, with the Nine-Curved Snake Vine in hot pursuit.
Nine bodies rampaged through the dense forest.
Where they passed, trees toppled and soil flew, like nine independent vipers chasing from different directions.
If one looked closely from above, they would find that Ye Lingling was intentionally guiding the nine snake vines to converge together.
Soon, Ye Lingling's eyes flashed, her long blade danced, and she instantly slashed nine times in succession.
The blade light was cold, faintly condensing into a huge peony.
Flower Breathing · Fifth Form · Peony of Futility!
The reaction of the Nine-Curved Snake Vine was not slow either; the nine vines quickly gathered together and began to whip frantically and indiscriminately.
At this moment, Ye Lingling's pair of eyes turned blood red, and two lines of blood tears flowed from the corners of her eyes.
Flower Breathing · Final Form · Equinox Vermilion Eye!
At this instant, everything around seemed to slow down.
Ye Lingling stared fixedly at the Nine-Curved Snake Vine; the afterimages of the dancing snake vines appeared in her eyes as slow as slices, with every detail clearly visible.
Found it!
Among the nine snake vines, the other eight were all slashed to varying degrees, but only one was well protected; the biological instinct made it subconsciously protect its main vine.
At this moment, it had become the biggest flaw.
Ye Lingling moved; she gathered her remaining Soul Power and slashed at the main vine with one blade.
Flower Breathing · Seventh Form · Nine-Heart Begonia!
And at the position of her collarbone, a pale purple begonia pattern quietly appeared.
The blade light was like a ribbon, truly beautiful.
Just like a blooming begonia flower.
Loving Book So Far? Check Out 30+ Advanced Chapters At PA Treon
patreon.com/FictionOP