The exact reason why the God King of Destruction was so insistent on eliminating the Thunder Hell Prison Vine remained unclear.
Only he knew the true answer.
But regardless—
For the sake of cultivating a million-year soul spirit, they had to go to the Demon Whale Domain.
At that moment, Bo Saixi descended.
She didn't ask any questions.
She simply tossed over a glowing spiritual sphere.
"This contains the sea charts of the waters surrounding Sea God Island. The Demon Whale Domain is marked within it."
"I'll take care of things here."
"Go."
Look at that!
How understanding is she?!
His great-grandfather must have been blind back then to miss out on such an amazing woman!
But…
"I'll be taking a few people with me to obtain soul spirits," Tang Lan announced. "Zhuqing, Bing'er, Yue'er, Rongrong, and Xiaosan—you guys get ready. We're leaving soon."
Bo Saixi's eyes flickered with understanding.
Tang Lan was planning to let them use high-level ten-thousand-year soul rings for their earlier spirit rings.
Then, when they reached their eighth and ninth soul rings, capable of enduring 100,000-year spirit rings,
He would use divine-bestowed rings instead.
Not a bad idea.
Normally—
As the Great Priestess, Bo Saixi would not have allowed such an approach.
After all, divine-bestowed rings were meant to help trial takers complete their assessments faster.
If everyone exploited the system like this…
In any other case, she would have at least judged them "impure of heart" and revoked their divine-bestowed soul rings without hesitation.
But since the Sea God himself had already given Tang Lan special treatment—
How could she, as his great-grandmother, be the one to hold him back?
She only gave a simple warning:
"The first trial's time limit expires in two months. You must return before then."
"Got it, Sister Xi," Tang Lan replied with a grin.
Bo Saixi nodded and left.
Zhu Zhuqing and the others each underwent the Vast Sea Soul Seal, entering the Blue King to wait.
Tang San was the last to step forward.
He looked at Tang Lan hesitantly.
Dai Mubai and the others exchanged glances—
They had a bad feeling.
No way…
Their gazes shifted toward the Thunder Hell Prison Vine.
He wouldn't dare, would he?!
Tang Lan, on the other hand, was delighted inside.
Finally, this brat dares to speak up!
But outwardly, he remained composed.
"Xiaosan, what's wrong?" Tang Lan asked warmly. "No need to hesitate with your big brother—just say it."
Encouraged, Tang San finally revealed his outrageous request—
"Brother!"
"This Thunder Hell Prison Vine is a plant-type soul beast, too."
"Why not let it become my soul spirit instead?"
Good heavens!
Everyone froze in shock—except Tang Lan.
Even Zhu Rong and the others, who had been focused on their tasks, couldn't help but glance at Tang San in utter disbelief.
Just how thick was his skin to say something like this?!
He ate his brother's food.
He used his brother's resources.
Even his cultivation path was practically carried by his brother.
And now, he wanted to snatch from him, too?!
"I disagree!"
Xiao Wu erupted in fury.
"You little brat, I've put up with you for long enough!"
"The past was whatever, but this Thunder Hell Prison Vine is something brother worked tirelessly to nurture!"
"How dare you even ask?"
Her soul rings pulsed aggressively.
If Tang Lan hadn't blocked her, Xiao Wu would have already slammed Tang San with an Eight-Stage Exploding Suplex!
Tang San, realizing he had no moral ground, shrunk back in silence.
Waiting for Tang Lan's decision.
Tang Lan's Unexpected Response
But was Tang Lan really going to be the bad guy here?
Instead—
He let out a long sigh.
Under the incredulous, heartbroken, and extremely jealous gazes of everyone—
Tang Lan pushed Tang San toward the Thunder Hell Prison Vine.
"Soul spirits require mutual compatibility between both sides."
"If Little Lei acknowledges you, then I have no objections."
Tang San's face lit up with joy!
His brother truly loved him!
But the Thunder Hell Prison Vine was utterly dumbfounded.
Wait, hold up!
Even if it didn't reach a full million years, it was still at least 840,000 years by now, right?!
Sacrificing itself to become Tang Lan's soul spirit was one thing—
After all, even the Sea God himself had granted him special privileges, not to mention the unmentionable God of Fate.
For others, becoming a god was a gamble.
For Tang Lan, it was a blessed choice between two divine paths.
Following Tang Lan was a guaranteed path to ascension.
Follow Tang San?
What for?
Wait for Tang Lan to become a god, then have him take Tang San along, so it can freeload its way to divinity?
What kind of backward logic was that?!
So—
Before Tang San could even open his mouth,
The Thunder Hell Prison Vine instantly rejected him, loud and clear—
"Aside from Tang Lan, anyone else wanting me to sacrifice myself? No. Way. In. Hell!"
It even shot a bolt of lightning at Tang San, casting him a sideways glance.
It didn't say much, but it said everything.
Tang San's body trembled with rage, yet he couldn't argue back.
—Which only made him even angrier!
Tang Lan had to forcefully suppress the corners of his mouth from twitching.
Was this the legendary—"the more you think about it, the angrier you get"?
Compared to Tang Lan's self-control,
Xiao Wu laughed unrestrainedly, her silver-bell-like giggles ringing in the air.
Her amusement spread to Dai Mubai and the others, who also turned away to snicker.
Tang Lan discreetly used Kyoka Suigetsu to smooth out his expression.
Yet…
Why wasn't the system responding?
That was odd.
Hadn't the Thunder Hell Prison Vinealready refused?
Thinking back,
After ten months of living together, the Thunder Hell Prison Vine had long since figured out Tang San's potential and character.
Compared to Tang Lan, he was completely outclassed.
It never even considered the possibility of choosing Tang San.
So if Tang San was never going to get the opportunity in the first place,
How could Tang Lan be accused of "stealing" his fortune?
Tang Lan let out a breath of relief.
Originally, he had planned to wait until the Thunder Hell Prison Vine reached a million years and use Tang San for one last system reward before the sacrifice.
But if he hadn't witnessed this today—
When the time came, the Thunder Hell Prison Vine might just sacrifice itself to him immediately, leaving him with a major loss!
Good thing he still had time to fix this.
"Ahem!"
Tang Lan looked seriously at the Thunder Hell Prison Vine.
"Little Lei, do me a favor—give my little brother a chance."
"As a promise, I will personally take you to the Divine Realm."
"What do you say?"
Tang San's head snapped up!
He cast Tang Lan a touched glance—this is what a real brother should be like!
Then he stared intensely at the Thunder Hell Prison Vine.
Give it up?
Impossible!
This was a heaven-defying opportunity, and he would never just hand it over!
"Besides, my brother has so many soul spirits already! Losing one won't matter!"
The Thunder Hell Prison Vine gaped at Tang Lan, completely stunned.
—Are you serious?!
Tang Lan met its gaze calmly.
—You think I want to do this? If you don't cooperate, I'm the one losing out here!
The Thunder Hell Prison Vine's expression fell.
—Dammit! I ran into a big-time brother simp!
It had no choice but to hesitate, caught in an intense inner struggle.
On the side,
Xiao Wu bared her tiny fangs, fuming but powerless.
"Brother, seriously?! What's so great about that little brat? You always put him first!"
Dai Mubai and the others nodded instinctively.
Tang Lan was way too good to his undeserving little brother.
Every opportunity, every benefit, he prioritized him.
Yet, no matter how much effort he put in, Tang San was still useless.
Since Tang Lan had spoken so seriously,
The Thunder Hell Prison Vine couldn't reject outright—
It still wanted to be his soul spirit, after all.
But it really, really didn't want to choose Tang San.
So, based on its ten-month-long observations,
It came up with the perfect test—
"Alright, fine. I won't make things difficult for you."
The Thunder Hell Prison Vine spoke confidently—
"When we reach the Demon Whale Domain, if the Deep Sea Demon Whale King appears—"
"You'll go up and stall it for me."
"Once I reach a million years, I'll immediately sacrifice myself to save you."
"Deal?"
(End of Chapter)