During a soul beast's sacrificial offering, a "safe zone" is generated.
Until the sacrifice is complete, no one can interfere—
Not unless a god descends in person.
This was a fundamental rule of the world, much like how soul masters had to absorb soul rings to break through bottlenecks.
It was even documented in the Tang Sect Encyclopedia.
So—
Although the Thunder Hell Prison Vine's test was excessively difficult, it was not entirely impossible.
However…
Tang San was only a rank-40 Soul Elder with three rings.
How the hell was he supposed to hold off a million-year soul beast, a demigod-level entity like the Deep Sea Demon Whale King?!
The only chance would be if he convinced all his teammates to help, with Tang Lan assisting from the side.
A tiny sliver of hope.
Almost nonexistent—but not impossible.
But the risk was nearly suicidal—this was basically a death sentence.
And more importantly…
He knew himself.
His reputation in the Tang Sect was… not worth mentioning.
Other than Oscar, who was his disciple and couldn't disobey,
Who else would risk their lives to help him steal Tang Lan's fortune?
Forget personal pride—
Even if he was willing to be shameless,
Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Shui Bing'er would never allow it!
After carefully weighing the pros and cons,
Tang San let out a deep sigh and turned to Tang Lan.
"Brother… just send me in."
He no longer even bothered pretending to get on the Thunder Hell Prison Vine's good side.
System Notification!
🔹 [Host has caused Tang San to lose the 840,000-year Thunder Hell Prison Vine soul spirit, successfully plundering a moderate amount of Tang San's fortune!]
🔹 [Reward: 50,000-Year Emperor Auspicious Beast—Three-Eyed Golden Lion's Head Soul Bone!]
Tang Lan's eyes lit up!
The Emperor Auspicious Beast—the Three-Eyed Golden Lion—was a natural symbol of good fortune.
It was born with intelligence rivaling humans, and its presence doubled the growth rate of all soul beasts in its habitat.
Even better—
It doubled the chances of a 100,000-year soul beast breaking through its bottleneck!
But the best part?
As its name implied, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion'shead soul bone naturally came with three sockets!
Absolutely perfect for Tang Lan!
He was thrilled—
But he didn't let it show.
Instead, he patted Tang San's shoulder reassuringly, used Vast Sea Soul Seal, and stored him inside the Blue King.
Then he did the same with the Thunder Hell Prison Vine.
Tang Lan waved to his team and nodded at Bo Saixi in thanks.
The Demon Whale Domain was over 3,000 nautical miles away.
Flying would take too long.
So—
Tang Lan activated his Life Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, transforming into a streak of blood-red light and vanishing.
However, he didn't enter the Demon Whale Domain immediately.
He stopped at its edge.
After ten months of training with Bo Saixi,
Tang Lan's control over spiritual power had drastically improved.
Unlike before—
Where using Blood Escape over long distances drained him completely,
He could now precisely control its output, speed, and distance.
By feeding himself with his own life force and using his extreme vitality attribute to rapidly recover,
He could replenish all lost life energy in just ten minutes.
With everything in place,
Tang Lan soared straight up, rising into the sky above the Demon Whale Domain, reaching 10,000 meters in altitude.
Beneath his feet—
A raging thunderstorm crackled wildly, filled with an overwhelming amount of lightning energy.
Even Tang Lan felt his heart pounding from the sheer power within the storm.
Compared to the might of nature,
Tang Lan was still slightly inferior.
🔹 Vast Sea Divine Pupil—Activate!
His eyes flashed with blue-gold light.
The energy expanded into a triangular barrier, spreading hundreds of meters in diameter.
🔹 Vast Sea Divine Soul Barrier!
By using the Vast Sea Divine Pupil as the core,
The barrier provided absolute concealment against anything below the divine level.
Even if someone accidentally stumbled upon him—
The dual physical and spiritual defense at the divine level would ensure that even a Rank 99 Limit Douluo couldn't break through before Tang Lan ran out of energy.
He expanded the barrier to cover a section of the thunderstorm,
Allowing the Thunder Hell Prison Vine to absorb the lightning energy freely within the safe zone.
Then, Tang Lan moved the barrier rapidly, constantly replenishing fresh lightning energy.
Like a blackboard eraser,
Wherever he passed—
The violent storm clouds turned into ordinary dark clouds, completely devoid of lightning.
Tang Lan was careful, only absorbing the uppermost layers of the thunderstorm clouds.
The lower layers remained untouched.
This was to delay the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's detection for as long as possible.
Even though he couldn't go all out,
The Thunder Hell Prison Vine was growing a thousand times faster here than on Sea God Island.
In just one day, it had jumped from 840,000 years to 900,000 years!
Unlike soul masters, who faced bottlenecks,
Soul beasts had no such restrictions.
Even if they failed their tribulation, they could continue cultivating.
—After all, if lightning tribulations couldn't sense it, then what could stop it?
Of course—
This method had its downsides.
Once the tribulation lightning locked onto its target,
It would scale up in power based on the soul beast's cultivation level.
But did the Thunder Hell Prison Vine care?
Not at all.
It wasn't even planning to go through the tribulation.
The moment it hit one million years, it would sacrifice itself immediately.
Problem solved.
However—
At 900,000 years, this slow, piecemeal absorption was becoming less effective.
Half a day had passed, and it had only gained 10,000 years of cultivation.
With only a day and a half left, it might only gain another 10,000 years at most.
Not good enough.
Unless—
"What if we release the Vast Sea Divine Soul Barrier?" the Thunder Hell Prison Vine suggested.
"This storm has plenty of lightning energy. If I absorb it at full power, I can hit one million years in just half a day!"
Half a day…
Would the Deep Sea Demon Whale King really allow another soul beast to reach one million years in its own territory?
Tang Lan fell into deep thought.
The Thunder Hell Prison Vine remained silent, waiting for his decision.
"Let's go for it," Tang Lan finally said.
"We're already at 910,000 years. If we take the gamble, we might just win big!"
The Thunder Hell Prison Vine was thrilled!
Now this is a real man!
That cowardly little brat—Tang San—wasn't even worthy to be its host!
Tang Lan first took out the Divine Wind Boat and placed the Thunder Hell Prison Vine on top.
"Protect this Divine Wind Boat," he instructed.
"If the Deep Sea Demon Whale King shows up, I'll engage it below."
"If I can't hold my ground, or if you hit one million years, immediately start the sacrifice."
"Got it?"
The Thunder Hell Prison Vine nodded without hesitation.
Every second it could freeload more power, it was a win.
It wrapped its roots tightly around the Divine Wind Boat.
Tang Lan gave the signal.
The Vast Sea Divine Soul Barrier—deactivated.
The Thunder Hell Prison Vine took a deep breath.
From the boundless thunderstorm below,
Countless years of accumulated lightning energy erupted—
Rushing upward like a galactic waterfall,
Surging into every leaf and vine of the Thunder Hell Prison Vine.
The sheer terrifying power of the absorption
Forced Tang Lan to step back cautiously.
At the storm's core,
The Thunder Hell Prison Vine's aura was skyrocketing!
Tang Lan estimated—
It wouldn't even take half a day.
In just four hours, it would reach one million years!
But then—
"WOOOOOO—"
A deep, resonant whale cry shook the sky.
A massive figure tore through the storm clouds, emerging from below.
It was colossal, over 200 meters long,
Its rocky, magma-like skin riddled with scars and craters.
Its enormous eyes, each four times the size of Tang Lan,
Burned with an intimidating pressure.
But what caught Tang Lan's attention the most—
Was the deep scar across its left eye.
That was the wound Sea God had inflicted all those years ago!
Tang Lan's gaze shifted to its right eye.
He felt an itching temptation…
Should he do something crazy?
(End of Chapter)