Chapter 267 - 162: Appraising the Bloodthirsty Vine King! Off-the-Charts Extraordinary Data! The Stone Claw Eagle in Imminent Danger?

Chapter 267: Chapter 162: Appraising the Bloodthirsty Vine King! Off-the-Charts Extraordinary Data! The Stone Claw Eagle in Imminent Danger?

The viridian crystal embedded in the Green Crystal Bracelet emitted a faint, shimmering glow.

An invisible barrier enveloped Chen Chong, causing the figures of both man and dog to vanish completely within the White Bone Tomb.

Even their auras and scents were erased, as if they had never been there at all.

The Lighting Stone in Chen Chong’s hand was also affected by this Extraordinary Artifact. Its light could shine out, but from the outside, the area remained pitch-black.

It was as if they were in a different dimension.

Not far away, a vine a full meter wide slithered like a giant serpent through the bones.

The continuous rustling sound of its friction was exceptionally jarring in the dead silence of the abyss.

Chen Chong stared intently at the vine.

He was certain this wasn’t an ordinary offshoot, but a tendril extending from the Bloodthirsty Vine King’s main body.

He instinctively activated his Identification Skill, but the result was unexpected.

The skill confirmed it was the Bloodthirsty Vine King, but the information revealed was pitifully scarce.

This was because it wasn’t the Vine King’s core body.

It was like trying to identify a century-old tree by one of its leaves; the result would only tell you it was a leaf from that tree and nothing more.

His current situation was exactly that. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Chen Chong’s heart skipped a beat. ’If this isn’t even its core, then just how colossal is the Bloodthirsty Vine King’s main body?’

The vines before him were already nearly a meter thick, and the barbs covering them were as long as a human forearm.

They were less like barbs and more like curved blades embedded in its flesh.

Chen Chong found it hard to imagine.

’The Vine King isn’t a beast or a bird, after all. Could its main body be even more horrifying?’

’Or is it rooted in the earth like a massive tree?’

’That might actually be it.’

Even as Extraordinary Creatures, plants still needed to be rooted in soil to survive and move.

Perhaps only by finding the main, trunk-like body of the vine would the Identification Skill provide complete information.

At this thought, Chen Chong scanned his surroundings. As his own beast-like instincts flared, a plan suddenly formed in his mind.

’Maybe I can use the Green Crystal Bracelet’s invisibility to follow this vine back to its lair and find out what’s going on.’

Meanwhile, the meter-thick vine continued to spread through the pile of bones.

Though it had no eyes, it repeatedly raised its tip like a snake, probing its surroundings.

It was as if it had sensed the scent of prey, but upon arrival, found no trace...

The Tiger Striped Dog instinctively lowered its body and bared its fangs, but under Chen Chong’s calming influence, it understood its master’s command and didn’t rush out.

It just stared intently at the Bloodthirsty Vine weaving through the bones nearby.

After some time, the vine finally began to retract. It seemed to have given up its search for the vanished scent, once again disappearing into the darkness of the White Bone Tomb.

Seeing this, Chen Chong immediately stood up. Maintaining the Green Crystal Bracelet’s barrier, he led the Tiger Striped Dog and followed, step by step.

Fortunately, the barrier not only concealed their scents but also muffled all sound.

Otherwise, the sound of them stepping on bone fragments and loose rock would have long since alerted the slowly retracting vine up ahead.

The vine retreated slowly. Chen Chong followed closely, using the faint glow of the Lighting Stone to survey his surroundings.

To be safe, he even activated his Perception Ring...

After following the vine around several bends, he finally arrived in a new area.

First, there was a tunnel. After passing through it, a vast cavern wall appeared before him once more.

And there, Chen Chong saw a sight that made his heart tremble...

Even though the light from the Lighting Stone was limited, reducing the distant sight to a blurry silhouette, the shock was in no way diminished.

In the center of the deep cavern grew an enormous plant, but it could hardly be described as "having lush branches and leaves."

Because what appeared to be branches and leaves were, in reality, all vines and barbs!

Everything intertwined in the shadows, resembling a massive tree over ten meters tall.

But on closer inspection, one would find this thing was bizarre in the extreme!

Chen Chong had guessed right. The main body of the Bloodthirsty Vine King was indeed like a great tree, rooted in the rock at the bottom of the abyss.

But its vines could move freely, extending like tentacles for thousands, even tens of thousands of meters. They helped it hunt creatures in the outside world, parasitizing them and devouring their power to nourish the main body.

This vast subterranean space was almost completely encircled by its vines.

They covered the ground, the cavern walls, and even hung suspended in midair...

The main body of the Bloodthirsty Vine King didn’t look much different from a regular Bloodthirsty Vine; it was a blackish-gray color with a faint green tint.

Its trunk—or rather, its vine-stalk—was a full four to five meters thick and over ten meters tall.

Countless vines extended from it, drifting in midair like seaweed in water, moving without any wind.

The Tiger Striped Dog’s natural sense of danger made it realize the terror of the plant before them. Its defensive posture grew more pronounced as it bared its sharp fangs, a low growl rumbling in its throat.

If Chen Chong weren’t doing his utmost to soothe it, the dog would have likely lost control and done something rash.

After calming himself slightly, Chen Chong used his Identification Skill on the Bloodthirsty Vine King’s main body.

[Name: Plant · Bloodthirsty Vine King]

[Type: Extraordinary Creature]

[Rating: A+]

[Abilities: Consumption, Parasitism, Regeneration, Infinite Adaptation, Offshoot Control, Power Perception]

[Description: An incredibly lowly plant that survives by parasitizing other creatures for nutrients. Because it was so common, it evolved a Talent Ability that allows it to adapt to any harsh environment and alter its parasitic methods for different hosts. By chance, it latched onto a dead Extraordinary Creature, consuming its Extraordinary Energy and evolving into an Extraordinary Creature itself. Relying on this adaptability, it continuously parasitized jungle animals, accumulating power and evolving bit by bit until it became a highly intelligent A-Level Extraordinary Creature, just one step shy of S-Class. It is currently adapting to a Stone Claw Eagle. Once the adaptation is complete, it will successfully parasitize the eagle and devour its power...]