C6 Spiritual Vine Core

After activating his defensive divine power, Zhang Lingfeng felt a surge of confidence. Without dodging, he swung his thick and sturdy Snake Tail like a blade, creating an impenetrable barrier around him. The air was filled with a series of muffled "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" as the Snake Tail repeatedly struck the encroaching vines.

Once the cacophony ceased, the area around Zhang Lingfeng was littered with severed vine segments. These fragments, displaying remarkable vitality, writhed on the ground as if alive, oozing a green liquid reminiscent of blood. Realizing the vines weren't as resilient as he had anticipated, Zhang Lingfeng breathed a sigh of relief.

He then took a moment to utilize the system's capabilities to assess the strength and attributes of the plant creature before him. The system revealed:

Species: Green Blood Poison Vine (Plant Monster)

Level: First Grade Demon General (Level 2)

Quality: Top Quality

Age of Growth: 500 years

Function: The roots contain a potent poison

Description: A plant monster that has absorbed the energies of the heavens and earth, formed by chance. Its strength is inferior to that of demonic beasts at the same level.

With this information at hand, Zhang Lingfeng understood why he had effortlessly sliced through the vine's tendrils with his Snake Tail. His brief skirmish with the Green Blood Poison Spirit Vine had given him a good measure of its combat capabilities, which were on par with an ordinary level 10 Demon Soldier.

Despite his own cultivation being at the level of a level 9 Demon Soldier, Zhang Lingfeng's two innate divine abilities meant his true combat strength was more than a match for a genuine Demon General. The Green Blood Poison Spirit Vine, though a fortuitous creation, was still a precious natural resource, and its quality far surpassed that of similar spiritual vines.

Determined not to let such a valuable treasure slip through his fingers, a fiery determination glinted in Zhang Lingfeng's eyes. He abandoned his passive defense, leaping into action and launching an offensive against the Green Blood Poison Spirit Vine. His body might have been that of a Demon Beast, but his soul was human, and his intellect far surpassed that of any lower-level Demon Beast.

Plants and vegetation have an innate fear of fire.

This Green Blood Poison Spirit Vine, despite having evolved into a plant demon, was no exception to this fear. In plain terms, fire was its bane.

With this realization, Zhang Lingfeng soared into the sky, pushing his formidable demonic power to its peak and unleashing his innate divine ability, Explosive Flame.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Balls of fire, scorching hot and brimming with immense power, burst forth from Zhang Lingfeng's serpent mouth. They struck the massive Green Blood Poison Spirit Vine with precision, each impact resonating with a deep thud.

The flames engulfed the vine's trunk, burning wildly as if doused in gasoline, and the heat intensified, causing the air around to swelter.

Grasses nearby, their moisture instantly vaporized, were reduced to ash in moments.

Casting a wary eye on the Dark White Ganoderma growing on a nearby tree stump, Zhang Lingfeng, concerned for the safety of this treasure, leaped beside it and stowed it safely in his System Backpack, breathing a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, the ignited Green Blood Poison Spirit Vine thrashed its thousands of branches in a frenzied attempt to snuff out the flames. The friction between the branches created a cacophony of grating noise, sending shivers down one's spine.

In the midst of its struggle, the vine lashed out with dozens of new tendrils towards Zhang Lingfeng, who had just secured the ganoderma.

"Trying the same old trick? Futile. Just give up!"

Feeling the gusting winds around him, Zhang Lingfeng silently remarked, swinging his snake tail with sword-like precision.

Puff, puff, puff, puff...

A succession of muffled sounds followed as the attacking tendrils were severed mid-strike.

Dark green sap sprayed in all directions, and the severed vine limbs writhed on the ground, a chilling sight.

Without pause, Zhang Lingfeng continued to summon his demonic energy, relentlessly spewing Explosive Flame from his maw, setting ablaze every part of the Green Blood Poison Spirit Vine's enormous trunk.

Finally, after Zhang Lingfeng had expended about half of the Demon Energy within him, the resilient Green Blood Poison Spirit Vine ceased its struggles, no longer thrashing about.

Its massive trunk was now mostly charred, having been thoroughly scorched to death.

In his recent demon beast hunts, Zhang Lingfeng had refrained from casually using Explosive Flame, primarily due to its overwhelming destructive power. If the demon beast's physique wasn't sufficiently robust, it would be reduced to ashes in no time.

Without the vital essence of the demon beast's bloodline, there would be no increase in his lifespan.

Yet, when confronting this formidable vine, Zhang Lingfeng unleashed the Explosive Flame without holding back.

This was because the vine was saturated with lethal toxins, making it inedible. Any careless handling would undoubtedly lead to a fatal poisoning.

Although the vine's combat abilities were modest, its venom was potent enough to be classified as second-tier, capable of effortlessly killing a Stage Two Demon General.

Even a Stage Three Demon Beast, at the "Master Demon Beast" level, would suffer greatly if impaled by the vine's poison.

While the vine itself couldn't be absorbed, Zhang Lingfeng had gleaned from the system's analysis that its underground roots had formed a core essence.

This core essence was tantamount to the Green Blood Poison Spirit Vine's Demon Core.

Despite the core essence being laced with intense poison, it was entirely consumable and could even aid in Zhang Lingfeng's evolution.

So, once the Green Blood Poison Spirit Vine lay motionless, Zhang Lingfeng wasted no time. He approached its growing site and, using his Snake Tail as a makeshift shovel, began to excavate.

Digging down hundreds of meters, he unearthed an irregularly shaped wooden root the size of an adult's head, jet-black and pulsating with energy. It was the core essence of the Green Blood Poison Spirit Vine.

By consuming this core wood, he would evolve once more.

Furthermore, the core was brimming with energy, on par with a second-tier Demon Core.

Coupled with the recently acquired Mysterious White Ganoderma, Zhang Lingfeng sensed that a breakthrough to the rank of a Level Ten Demon Soldier might be imminent.

By then, Zhang Lingfeng would be just a single step away from reaching the rank of a Stage Two Demon General.

The thought filled him with excitement and anticipation.

He had barely ventured a few dozen kilometers in, and already, his gains were substantial.

Who knew how many more treasures lay hidden in the deeper reaches of the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range?

It was clear that his decision to delve further in was absolutely the right one!