Chapter 24: Intercepting the Fierce Fire Barbaric Bull
Lazy Tree.
As the name suggests... it's very lazy.
Well, actually, it's because the Lazy Tree's growth rate is very slow that it's called a Lazy Tree.
...
After the twin brothers finished absorbing the soul rings, it was already late in the day.
In the night of the Soul Beast Forest, based on past experiences, many powerful soul beasts would awaken to hunt.
Considering the safety of Su Yun and the other two students, Teacher Xiong decided to camp on the spot for the night with a campfire and his protection.
With the warmth of the fire and Teacher Xiong's watchful eye, Su Yun and his companions rested peacefully that night.
The next day.
In the early morning, the figures of Su Yun and his group of four traversed through the Soul Beast Forest and headed towards its depths.
Most of the soul beasts in the Soul Beast Forest are captive, so they are mostly at the ten or hundred-year-old level. Thousand-year-old soul beasts are extremely rare.
Since last night was nighttime and for safety reasons, Teacher Xiong decided not to venture deeper. But now, it was daytime with good visibility.
With his strength as a Soul Master with two soul rings, he wasn't afraid of single soul beasts, unless he encountered a multi-headed hundred-year-old soul beast ambush.
"Su Yun, are you really going to find the Lazy Tree as your first soul ring?"
Teacher Xiong's voice came from the front of the group: "I've heard that Lazy Tree, as a plant-type soul beast, is not only rare but also has strong side effects on the soul master as a soul ring."
"I advise you to hunt another soul beast, like the Lonely Bamboo. I think that kind of soul beast would be more suitable for your Blue Silver Grass martial soul."
When Teacher Xiong learned that Su Yun wanted to find the Lazy Tree, he was surprised. As someone who had organized groups in the Soul Beast Forest, Teacher Xiong naturally understood what kind of soul beast the Lazy Tree was.
The Lazy Tree, extremely slow in its growth.
A hundred-year-old Lazy Tree is only about one meter tall.
Yes, only one meter tall.
And after a hundred years, the height of the Lazy Tree increases by only ten centimeters.
Quite peculiar.
This is also why it's named Lazy Tree.
As a soul beast, Lazy Tree has only one method of attack.
That is its leaves.
Although the Lazy Tree grows very slowly vertically, its leaves renew at an extremely fast rate.
On average, a Lazy Tree drops leaves every day, and the area covered by these fallen leaves is enough to fill a two-meter radius.
Over time, due to the terrain and the wind, the leaves of the Lazy Tree form a complete circle, protecting the Lazy Tree.
Due to the fragrance they emit, the leaves of the Lazy Tree often become food for some soul beasts.
However, once these soul beasts step on the leaves of the Lazy Tree, the residual soul power inside the leaves immediately plays its role.
Deceleration!
Yes, as soon as anything touches the leaves of the Lazy Tree, it immediately slows down by thirty percent for a duration of three seconds.
The object decelerated will also carry the fragrance of the Lazy Tree leaves, which lasts for three minutes.
If the leaves of the Lazy Tree are eaten, the duration of deceleration remains the same, but the duration of the fragrance is extended to ten minutes.
Having a body filled with fragrance is like revealing one's location to other soul beasts in the forest, especially for those not skilled in hiding.
Once contaminated, one can only wait to be discovered by natural enemies.
It is through these means that many weak soul beasts dare not approach the Lazy Tree.
Of course, not all soul beasts are afraid of the Lazy Tree.
Because of its rarity, finding a mature Lazy Tree in a small forest like the Soul Beast Forest is quite difficult.
Therefore, some powerful soul beasts, after finding a Lazy Tree, usually keep it captive and use it as their food storage.
The reason Teacher Xiong advised Su Yun not to use the Lazy Tree as his first soul ring is also because he has seen some soul masters whose first soul ring was obtained from the Lazy Tree.
The results, however, were disappointing.
Not only did they not inherit the advantages of the Lazy Tree, but they also inherited its disadvantages.
For example, some have first soul skills that emit a fragrant aroma or directly slow themselves down.
Others have tree martial souls that do produce leaves, but those leaves must be manually plucked by the soul master.
Surprisingly, those leaves still have an effect on the soul master's body.
This can only be said to be that the soul skills bestowed by the Lazy Tree soul ring are very peculiar, and some might even consider them garbage.
Su Yun naturally knew this knowledge; Ah Yin had already told him about it and assured him not to worry.
As the Blue Silver Emperor, Su Yun believed that with Ah Yin's skills in manipulating and absorbing the traits of soul rings, dealing with the Lazy Tree's abilities should be a piece of cake.
Perhaps, with the characteristics of the Blue Silver Emperor, they could even evolve the skills of the Lazy Tree.
The group searched the forest for a long time but had yet to spot the Lazy Tree.
This was normal.
Lazy Trees are not tall, making them hard to find in dense vegetation. Coupled with their rarity, finding a Lazy Tree without catching its fragrance was quite challenging.
"Hey, is that a scent?" The twin brother suddenly sniffed and excitedly exclaimed.
"Hmm? It does seem like the scent of the Lazy Tree," Teacher Xiong confirmed after catching a whiff.
Su Yun, walking at the rear of the group, also smelled it.
Hmm... the aroma of malt.
In Su Yun's mind, memories of an ancient advertisement surfaced.
"Well, since you have your own thoughts, Su Yun, I won't stop you. Let's go straight there," Teacher Xiong said. "But be careful. There might be a powerful soul beast guarding the Lazy Tree."
"These kinds of soul beasts usually consider the Lazy Tree as their private possession. So, we need to be quiet and, most importantly, avoid touching the Lazy Tree's leaves."
Lazy Tree leaves sometimes floated in the wind, and Soul Masters walking in the forest could easily get contaminated. This could attract not only various soul beasts but also some ill-intentioned Soul Masters.
As Teacher Xiong led the way, he continued to caution them: "If we encounter a thousand-year-old soul beast, we'll leave immediately."
Su Yun nodded, not objecting.
Even Tang San, relying on hidden weapons and the Clear Sky Hammer, barely managed to kill a thousand-year soul beast. Now, their strongest combat force was only Teacher Xiong.
Including Su Yun and his companions, the three of them had a combat power equivalent to five, which was almost negligible.
Moreover, if they got into a melee, the deceleration effect of the Lazy Tree leaves would become a key factor restricting their movements.
So, leaving was the best choice.
Following the unique scent of the Lazy Tree under Teacher Xiong's leadership, Su Yun and his team passed through several patches of the forest.
Along the way, they also saw Lazy Tree leaves.
Following Teacher Xiong's reminder, Su Yun naturally observed the appearance of the Lazy Tree leaves.
The emerald green leaves didn't seem large, about half the size of a baby's palm.
Thin as cicada wings, the emerald leaves flew in the air, and sunlight shining through revealed their jade-like texture.
"No wonder soul beasts like to eat it. Just the appearance is worth a five-star rating," Su Yun silently praised in his heart.
"We're here!" Teacher Xiong's voice suddenly rang out.
However, he lowered his volume slightly to avoid startling the soul beast guarding the Lazy Tree.
Su Yun and his two companions quickly caught up, arriving by Teacher Xiong's side.
Looking in the direction pointed out by Teacher Xiong, about fifty meters away from them, a tree with a jade-like appearance was rooted silently in the ground.
Its height was estimated to be around 1.3 meters just by visual inspection.
"About four hundred years?" Su Yun murmured.
This age of soul ring was just right for him now.
In Su Yun's opinion, given Tang San's practice of the Xuantian Gong since childhood and his physical qualities, absorbing a soul ring of five hundred years or more should not be difficult.
If he could have started cultivation earlier, the soul beast he might hunt today could have a higher age of soul ring.
After all, the higher the age of the soul ring, the greater the intensity of the soul skill it brings.
"I can only hope that when I absorb my second soul ring, my physical qualities will improve a bit."
While reminding himself in his heart, Su Yun looked around the Lazy Tree.
Around the Lazy Tree, just as Teacher Xiong said, there were Lazy Tree's emerald leaves everywhere.
These leaves looked like glass, shining brightly in the sunlight, attracting not only soul beasts but also women.
Some noblewomen had wanted to take the leaves of the Lazy Tree back for decoration or even to make jewelry.
However, unfortunately, Lazy Tree leaves were disposable. Unless they touched the soil, they would immediately take effect, slowing down whoever touched them.
"Teacher, why haven't we seen any soul beasts?" the twin brother asked in a low voice.
"You little brat, do you think soul beasts that have lived for hundreds of years are fools?"
"Even if their intelligence is not as good as ours, they have their own ways of survival."
"Those soul beasts may be hiding in some corner, waiting for an unsuspecting soul beast to enter their territory."
Teacher Xiong cautiously stared at the surroundings of the Lazy Tree, afraid of missing any details. "Once slowed down, that soul beast will become a lamb waiting to be slaughtered in the territory of the owner."
"Hiss—" The twin brother took a slight breath and nodded.
He had always thought that soul beasts were only brute force animals. Now, hearing the teacher's words, he realized how terrifying these soul beasts could be.
After waiting in the same spot for about fifteen minutes and sensing that there were indeed no soul beasts guarding, Teacher Xiong's tense nerves finally relaxed.
"Whew—looks like we're lucky. We've come across an ownerless treasure."
"Hey, Su Yun, you're really lucky."
"This Lazy Tree doesn't have any attacking abilities, so it should be easy for you to take it down."
"Judging by the height of that Lazy Tree, it should be at least over three hundred years old, just right for you."
Teacher Xiong patted Su Yun on the shoulder, smiling. "I won't say more. You have your own ideas. Since you want it, go ahead and hunt down your first soul ring."
The twin brothers beside them looked at Su Yun with envy.
To obtain a soul ring effortlessly, without even having to fight a soul beast.
The Plant System martial soul is indeed easy~
Su Yun didn't hesitate, picked up his spear, and prepared to move forward.
However, before he could take a step, a familiar sense of unease surged into his heart through his left hand.
The nearby Blue Silver Grass was warning him!
Danger!
Su Yun paused, took a step back, and whispered, "There's danger, get down!"
Teacher Xiong was the first to react. For some reason, he suddenly found himself trusting what Su Yun said. He quickly pressed down on the twin brothers beside him.
The four people who were originally standing immediately crouched down, revealing only four pairs of eyes looking out from the grass.
Just as Teacher Xiong was about to ask Su Yun what was happening, a tremor from a distance passed through the ground and shook his chest.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With the increasingly intense tremors, a two-meter-tall wild bull, covered with wild flame patterns, appeared suddenly in front of them, stepping on the raging flames.
"Fierce Fire Barbaric Bull!" Teacher Xiong's pupils suddenly contracted.
"It should be attracted by the scent of the Lazy Tree, just like us," Su Yun said, frowning slightly.
This Blazing Flame Wild Ox, just by looking at it, had an age of over six hundred years. In terms of strength alone, even Teacher Xiong by Su Yun's side was inferior to this Blazing Flame Wild Ox.
Moreover, the Blazing Flame Wild Ox's defense was also extraordinary, and it could spew high-temperature flames in battle.
Adding to its stubborn temperament, once it locked onto a target, it would pursue and kill it to the death.
So, ordinary Soul Master teams entering the Soul Beast Forest would try to avoid encountering it.
As soon as the Blazing Flame Wild Ox arrived, its two eyes immediately locked onto the lush green Lazy Tree.
"Moo~"
The Fierce fire barbaric bull showed extreme excitement.
"Su Yun, this Fierce fire barbaric bull is quite tricky. Are you sure you don't want me to help you?" Teacher Xiong looked at the excited Blazing Flame Wild Ox and asked in a low voice.
Even he would need to spend some effort dealing with the Blazing Flame Wild Ox. What's more, Su Yun had no soul skills.
Of course, I want you to help... Su Yun thought in his heart.
"No need, Teacher. I still want to rely on my own strength." Su Yun tightened the spear in his hand and looked at Teacher Xiong with a smile. "If I really can't hold on later, Teacher, please come to my rescue quickly."
Swish!
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Yun's figure instantly turned into an arrow leaving the bow, shooting out!
"Wow! Su Yun is so fast!"
"Is he really a Soul Master with Blue Silver Grass martial soul? Can the Blue Silver Grass really provide acceleration?"
The twin brothers were astonished at Su Yun's speed, which far surpassed that of others.
Teacher Xiong didn't answer but kept his gaze firmly locked on Su Yun.
If Su Yun showed signs of defeat later, he had to intervene immediately.
Thinking of this, the soul power within Teacher Xiong's body slowly circulated again.
"Hum!"
A bit of cold light first appeared, and then the spear shot out like a dragon!
Just as the Fierce fire barbaric bull, full of excitement, approached the Lazy Tree, its speed suddenly slowed down when its hooves touched the leaves on the ground.
At that moment, a sharp sound of a Wind moving rang out!
(End of this chapter)
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