Lord of Pets

The question before me now is, how do I approach it?

Bai Wushang was lying on the ground in the darkness while racking his brain, unable to think of a suitable solution.

The Ghost Vine did not have organs like eyes and ears, and all of its sensory abilities were concentrated on the black vine tentacles.

When hunting, the vines extended, naturally augmenting the range of senses, and once a suitable prey was found, it would attack fiercely.

In a feeding state like this now, the vines would all retract, and then its perception range would be within about 20-30 meters of the vicinity, and if one came any closer, even if one held the incense bag, they would be counted as an intruder.

After 20 minutes of his silent observation, the Ghost Vine finished enjoying its dinner.

It wiggled its three thick vine tentacles, slowly and lazily protected the bud in the middle, and then stopped all movement. The pod’s color even began to flicker as if it were breathing.

…Wh-what’s happening?

Bai Wushang was stunned—all his knowledge was learned from books or taught by the old teacher in the Mu Family compound, and the Ghost Vine’s current state was not within his knowledge.

After waiting patiently for half an hour, he saw the Ghost Vine was almost motionless, and the bud was flickering more and more slowly.

Could it be that… it’s sleeping? Do Ghost Vines need sleep too???

Bai Wushang was puzzled, and could only rely on the experience he already had to make wild guesses.

After another moment, the situation remained unchanged, and Bai Wushang frowned. Waiting idly was not an option.

I’ll try to get closer quietly…

He began to creep forward inch by inch, his gaze locked firmly on the Ghost Vine, and he would react immediately if anything seemed out of place.

Bai Wushang was patient as he controlled his movements to a minimum, moving only a meter in five minutes on average, never waking the Ghost Vine.

It took a long, long time for Bai Wushang to get within 10 meters of it.

The information about the Ghost Vine was visible in his eyes.

[Name]: Ghost Vine (Wild)

[Race]: Abyssal Realm – Plant Type – Ghost Vine Race

[Life Level]: Late youth form

[Bloodline Quality]: Mortal Bone Level, 7 Stars

[Status]: Extremely full/sleeping and digesting

[Intelligence]: Low 𝙛𝘳𝒆𝒆𝒘e𝗯n𝗼𝘷𝚎𝚕.𝒄૦𝓶

[Characteristics]: Growth/Dark Adaptation/Vine Tentacles (3)

[Skills]: Rooting, Vine Whip, Entanglement, Flower’s Bite

[Gourmet Cell]: 32

I can’t believe it was because it ate so much, and had to aid digestion through sleep…

The corners of Bai Wushang’s mouth twitched, and he almost couldn’t keep his composed expression.

This ludicrous reason instantly brought down the image of the tall and fierce Ghost Vine in his mind.

Next, I have to be ready to make a move any time…

Slowly drawing out the paralyzing poison spear, Bai Wushang advanced at a turtle’s speed while focusing all of his attention on the reaction of the Ghost Vine.

After advancing another two meters, the vine tentacles of the Ghost Vine suddenly twitched twice.

It’s waking up!

Bai Wushang’s thoughts raced like lightning as he stomped his left foot on the ground and jerked up to his feet, using all his muscles to start a short sprint.

The three black vines sensed the intruder, but having just awakened from sleep, the plant moved very stiffly for the first few seconds.

Without giving it a chance to buffer, Bai Wushang clutched the paralyzing poison spear, and with a jump, he thrust it hard into the lower end of the bud.

Pu…

As if stabbing through a layer of silky satin, Bai Wushang’s full strength thrust only penetrated six or seven inches into the bud before it was stuck.

The Ghost Vine let out a creepy, miserable scream that resembled a ghost or a demon, shrill and piercing.

Spurred on by the pain, it came fully awake, and swung out a vine tentacle at the first opportunity, swiping it viciously towards Bai Wushang.

Bai Wushang reacted quickly, and immediately dodged sideways. From his peripheral vision, he saw the wound he had just inflicted, and a ghostly green liquid flowed out and dripped onto the wooden spear, sizzling and smoking.

It really does come with its own corrosive venom… Bai Wushang exclaimed inwardly.

Hastily avoiding the other two vines attacking from the back and front, Bai Wushang grabbed a poison spear from his basket, and instead of retreating, he advanced even closer to the bud’s position.

The distance is rather conducive to the Ghost Vine’s attacks. Staying on the side of the bud, it can’t do much easily, so I can take advantage of that…

Bai Wushang changed his battle strategy temporarily. He had to find a way to stab the bud a few more times to make the Ghost Vine suffer from being poisoned a little more.

Only when the Ghost Vine was pushed to the point where it found it difficult to subdue him with vines alone would the Ghost Vine open its buds and use Flower’s Bite.

At that time, he would throw the heart of the Fireball Snake, and detonate it inside the bud. It would be able to take it down in one go!

Swish…

The swooshing sound of the vines was continuous, and at the cost of a nasty bruise on his left arm, Bai Wushang managed to lodge a mixed poison spear and a paralyzing poison spear into the bud. 𝘧𝗿ee𝚠𝙚𝙗𝑛o𝚟𝐞l.𝐜૦𝗺

The Ghost Vine was pained, and became even more irritable, and the vines either strangled, wrapped, whipped, or smashed, chasing after Bai Wushang in a flurry of blows.

Bai Wushang dodged around the bud, sometimes rolling and crawling, and sometimes twisting and jumping. He was doing his best to avoid being tangled and bound by the Ghost Vine, dodging the rest of the attacks if he could, and resisting them if he couldn’t.

He never stopped thrusting the poison spears during this time, and whenever Bai Wushang caught a chance, a new hole would be added to the bud.

A few minutes later, Bai Wushang gasped for air, and suddenly noticed that the speed of the Ghost Vine had diminished.

When he looked at it, he saw that the words lightly injured, lightly paralyzed, and lightly poisoned had been added to its status column.

“Very good. After all, it didn’t let my injuries go to waste!” said Bai Wushang, his eyes lighting up.

At this time, he was covered in wounds, with as many as a dozen small and large injuries on his body, and his clothes were soaked and soiled with mud and sweat. He looked wretched, and only his spirit was full and stern.

After a moment’s thought, Bai Wushang put down his poison spear, and instead pulled out his dagger. In a slight provocation, he slashed around the bud, cutting several tiny slits.

The Ghost Vine made several attempts to use its vine tentacles to grab the dastardly attacker and dismantle him, but the pain in its body plus its slower reaction time made it feel more and more agitated.

Finally, just as Bai Wushang approached it once more, the Ghost Vine could no longer hold back, and the bud moved.

In the darkness of the night, the dazzling bud blossomed abruptly, revealing the hideous mouthparts, and the main black vine extended slightly, adjusting the angle of the bud and aiming a bite at Bai Wushang.

“Hey… I’ve been waiting for you for a long time!”

The corners of Bai Wushang’s mouth rose in a wide smile as he stopped his footsteps, and took out a crimson fist-sized object, throwing it into the bud’s mouth forcefully.

The foreign object entered Ghost Vine’s mouth, and the Ghost Vine froze, subconsciously closing a sliver of the bud and chewing a few times.

Boom!

In an instant, flames soared into the sky, and a violent explosion shook the ground.

With the Ghost Vine as the center, a strong shock wave radiated in all directions. The ground became scorched black in a snap of a finger, the grass and trees around withered and snapped, and insects and ants fled. It was a picture of a small disaster.

“Cough, cough cough, how come this explosion is more violent than expected… Ghost Vine, hold on, don’t die just like that!”