Chapter 329: Thunderous Hellfire Vine
After Yang Xiong communicated with Ning Fengzhi and Lin Gong, he left Jialing Pass alone, preparing to return to the Body Sect.
Now, with the three great empires in a stalemate, rather than staying at the front lines to slowly heal, it would be better to return to the sect, where perhaps other opportunities would arise.
Of course, Yang Xiong also made sure to inform Ning Fengzhi and Lin Gong that the war had reached this point where neither side had a sure victory. There would likely be a prolonged stalemate with neither side able to crush the other.
Therefore, for both the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Body Sect, the priority now was to conserve their strength. After all, half of their soul masters, including most of their Title Douluo, were at the Jialing Pass front. If they all perished, it would severely affect the development of the sect in the future.
Yang Xiong also clarified that the Tiandou Empire could be supported, but it must remain under their control. Otherwise, everything would only benefit others.
This decision came after careful consideration. In the original work, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect paid an enormous price for the Jialing Pass battle, even losing the Sword Bone Douluo.
But thousands of years later, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was no longer one of the top sects in the world. It had become an ordinary sect, vastly inferior to the top three powers of the current era. It had little influence in the soul master world and had no divine inheritances left.
The situation was even worse for the Sword Bone Douluo, whose legacy had not been passed down. Not only had their martial soul not been inherited, but there were no descendants either.
In a sense, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had not developed as well as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. At least the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had produced numerous extraordinary powerhouses.
Even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's martial soul, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, gradually faded into obscurity by the time of Douluo II. It no longer had the reputation of being the world's number one auxiliary martial soul from a thousand years ago.
Originally, Queen Xueke and Tang Xiao had wanted to keep Yang Xiong, but he refused, citing his injuries and the need to return to the sect to rest.
With the war reaching this point, the three great empires seemed to have begun contemplating a ceasefire. The Star Luo Empire, despite its intense attacks on the Tiandou Empire, had gained little, with millions of soldiers being suppressed outside the Tiandou gates.
After the deaths of the Xue Ye Emperor and Marshal Ge Long, the Tiandou Empire's morale was shaken, and the newly crowned Queen Xueke was still stabilizing her position. The Spirit Empire had been overtaken by a coup, with Bibi Dong returning to Spirit City and Qian Renxue continuing to recover from her injuries. The one truly handling affairs was the Saintess Hu Liena.
Given the current morale of the three empires, peace talks seemed to be the best option. If they continued to fight, it could threaten the foundations of the empires and even lead to their collapse.
According to Ning Fengzhi, he had learned that the three empires were secretly negotiating peace. Unfortunately, there had been no progress yet, as all sides had suffered heavy casualties, and making peace too hastily might affect internal morale.
After returning to the Body Sect, Yang Xiong didn't return to his main peak but instead made his way to the depths of the Thunder Canyon.
The Thunder Canyon covered a vast area, with the Thunder Nine Peaks towering into the sky, a rare natural stronghold in the world.
Yang Xiong had long since scanned the entire Body Sect with his divine sense. The Thunder Nine Peaks had no hidden dangers, but the Thunder Canyon had always been difficult to approach.
At this moment, Yang Xiong, holding the Asura Magic Sword, walked towards the depths of the Thunder Canyon like an ordinary person.
When Yang Xiong stopped, he had reached the spot where he had encountered the Thunderous Hellfire Vine.
In the past, this Thunderous Hellfire Vine had been over 100,000 years old, especially in the unique environment of the Thunder Canyon, where it was covered in lightning. Each vine alone stretched up to 80 miles.
The vine had dozens of such branches, each filled with immense power, occupying almost the entire width of the canyon, blocking any intruders.
Yang Xiong snorted. "Move aside. Don't force me to kill you. With your strength and age, you should be able to understand me."
A loud thunderous roar echoed throughout the canyon. "Human, this is my territory. No one is allowed to pass."
Yang Xiong smiled. "Did you make a mistake? The entire Thunder Canyon is now my territory. Everything in it belongs to the Body Sect, including you."
The massive Thunderous Hellfire Vine flashed with countless bolts of lightning, gathering at its roots. In the center of the roots, a figure made of lightning appeared, resembling the face of a rugged middle-aged man.
"Young man, I've been here for tens of thousands of years. No one can break through me, and no one can make me listen to you."
Yang Xiong questioned, "Judging by your age, you should already be stronger than the Sky Blue Bull Python from the Star Dou Forest. And considering your surroundings, you've probably been here for a long time. I'm curious, why has no one ever thought of hunting you to obtain a soul ring?"
"After all, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has always been domineering. If they discovered a 100,000-year lightning-type soul beast, they wouldn't hesitate to expend half of their sect's strength to capture you."
The middle-aged man's face sneered. "Are you talking about those weak little snakes with lightning martial souls? Even their strongest couldn't match me."
"Besides, in this Thunder Canyon, I control the endless lightning. No one here is my match."
Yang Xiong smiled. "I've never heard of a soul beast claiming to be invincible. Even the Emperor Tian and the Deep Sea Demon Whale King from the Star Dou Forest wouldn't dare to act so recklessly in front of me."
"Let alone a mere 100,000-year soul beast like you. You don't even qualify as a fierce beast. What gives you the right to be so arrogant?"
The middle-aged face formed by the lightning appeared increasingly angry. "Human, what do you mean by that? Do you dare to belittle me?"
Yang Xiong shook his head. "I'm not belittling you. I'm just curious. The Thunderous Hellfire Vine is said to be a soul beast rejected by the heavens. Even though it's at the top of the plant-based soul beast hierarchy and the first destroyer of the plant world, it needs to consume lightning to grow. Yet, no Thunderous Hellfire Vine has ever grown beyond 50,000 years."
"Moreover, the legends say the Thunderous Hellfire Vine has the bloodline of the Thunder God, unafraid of heavenly tribulations. It's an anomaly in the entire Douluo world. How is it that you've managed to reach the 100,000-year level? And why can't I perceive your true age? It seems like the Thunder Canyon itself has blocked the world's sense of your presence."
The middle-aged face seemed extremely surprised. "You know quite a lot, but it's useless. In this Thunder Canyon, no one is my match."
Yang Xiong sighed. "Looks like you're really a frog in the well. I'm starting to wonder if the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan deliberately hid your existence. After all, if a 100,000-year soul beast appeared, it would certainly attract a large-scale pursuit. Yet, I've found no record of you in the soul master history."
The Thunderous Hellfire Vine became enraged. "How dare you! Do you really think I won't kill you? A mere human ant, daring to speak like this!"
The vines, like tentacles, rushed towards Yang Xiong. Each vine crackled with lightning, buzzing with explosive power.
At that moment, Yang Xiong's expression changed, and a blood-red killing intent exploded from his body, forming a giant blood-red sword.
The sword fell from the sky, and no matter how powerful the vines were, they were instantly turned to nothing beneath the weight of this blood-red blade.
This was Yang Xiong's self-created soul skill, Asura Slash, a technique derived from his comprehension of the God of Slaughter's domain, sword intent, and killing aura. It was more than enough to deal with a mere 100,000-year soul beast.
Before the Thunderous Hellfire Vine could react, the giant sword was already pressed against its roots, as if ready to kill it.
Even the middle-aged face, which had seemed so fierce, now displayed fear, realizing that its life or death was in Yang Xiong's hands.
"Now, can we speak properly? If you keep speaking nonsense, I won't hesitate to sever all your vines or return you to your original form."
The Thunderous Hellfire Vine quickly spoke, "My lord, I did not know your strength. I apologize for the offense. Please spare my life."
Yang Xiong was puzzled. Normally, the Thunderous Hellfire Vine was known for its dominance. Why did it seem so timid now?
"What do you mean by that? Why are you calling me 'my lord'? Have you seen me before?"
The Thunderous Hellfire Vine replied, "Although I haven't seen you, I can sense the divine power on you. You must be from the Divine Realm. Only the gods from the Divine Realm can possess divine power. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had no chance to resist."
Yang Xiong's expression changed slightly. "Normally, a mere 100,000-year soul beast wouldn't know of divine power, nor would it understand the gap between divine and soul power. Is there something unusual about your origin?"
"Also, how did you break through the 50,000-year limit to reach the 100,000-year level? I can't even perceive your age. You should be at least over 150,000 years old."
The middle-aged face seemed troubled, unwilling to meet Yang Xiong's gaze, as if it had spoken of some taboo.
Yang Xiong said calmly, "If you don't want to speak, I can respect that. But if I'm right, there must be something you wish to protect deep in the Thunder Canyon. That is likely the true core of the entire canyon."
(END CHAPTER)
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