"Rumble... rumble..."
The ground beneath Chrysanthemum Douluo's feet trembled ever so slightly. Then—crack!—the earth split open as thick tree roots, still slick with fresh soil, burst from underground. Like a swarm of serpents, they surged toward him from all directions!
"Controlling plants? Interesting..." Chrysanthemum Douluo said calmly, showing no panic at all. He didn't even summon his Martial Soul. Instead, he turned lightly on his feet, and soul power gathered around him, blooming into petal-shaped blades that slashed in all directions.
"Hsshh-hsshh-hsshh—!!"
The incoming roots, though vast and overwhelming, were sliced apart effortlessly by the spinning blades of flower petals.
"Hm?" He narrowed his eyes. "These aren't ordinary roots."
With the discerning gaze of a Titled Douluo, Mei Guan could tell at a glance—those roots weren't just typical forest plants. Even from the way they'd split, he could tell they were extraordinarily tough. If a Soul Elder at level 30 got entangled in those… escape would be near impossible.
Still, the ground kept erupting with more roots. The ones he had cut were immediately replaced by newly grown vines, endlessly lunging toward him.
Chrysanthemum Douluo's rich combat experience kicked in. He knew staying rooted in place would only give Yunchuan the upper hand. With a flick of his foot, he vaulted free from the entangled ground and shot toward the trees in the distance.
In a blink, he vanished into the forest.
But that was exactly what Yunchuan had been hoping for.
"RUMMMMBLE—!"
Within a three-hundred-meter radius, every tree around them seemed to wake from slumber. The forest began to quake as if it were alive.
Trees that had stood still for possibly centuries now moved, their branches twisting and extending like serpents. Vine-like tendrils whipped through the air and lashed out toward the airborne Chrysanthemum Douluo.
"Well played, you little rascal."
He suddenly realized his mistake—he'd ignored the nature of Yunchuan's plant domain. Retreating into the trees had put him at a huge disadvantage. In response, he shot upward into the sky, ascending fast in an effort to escape the reach of the predatory forest.
But the trees chased him.
Branches and vines sprang skyward, growing taller and longer with terrifying speed—stretching after him like giant creature tentacles.
Even as he flew upward, Chrysanthemum Douluo had to keep waving his arms, slashing away the endless vines snapping at him. When he finally reached two to three hundred meters in the air, the trees below stopped following—finally hitting their growth limit.
From above, it looked like he'd escaped.
Indeed, based on Yunchuan's current cultivation, the trees within his domain could only reach that height. But—he didn't need them to reach that high to attack.
Creative solutions would always break hard limitations.
Suddenly, the trees below stopped moving. Everything fell quiet again... for a second.
Then, one by one, the trees began to blossom—rapidly! Beautiful, vibrant flowers bloomed across the canopy in a dazzling display… and just as quickly, withered.
From their place bloomed giant fruits—round, dense, and bursting with spiritual energy.
Chrysanthemum Douluo narrowed his eyes but did not strike. This was still only a test, not a life-and-death battle. He floated still in the air, calmly observing.
The huge fruits turned their pointed ends toward him.
Then—
BOOM!!
"Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh—!"
Each fruit exploded, releasing a torrent of seeds—countless dense pellets erupting into the sky like a hailstorm of bullets, shooting straight toward him with explosive speed!
Prepared this time, Chrysanthemum Douluo casually summoned a glowing soul power barrier around himself. The rain of seeds slammed into the shield like a storm.
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG—!
Even his Titled Douluo-level soul barrier trembled under the onslaught. Slight vibrations ran through it, a testament to the sheer intensity of the strikes.
"These seeds… each one packs the strength of a level 30 Soul Elder!" Chrysanthemum Douluo was full of admiration. From what he'd seen so far, even without a soul ring, Yunchuan's domain alone was powerful enough to easily kill Soul Elders. With strategy and stamina, even a grounded Soul King could be worn down to death inside this relentless forest!
"Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh—!"
Below, the forest hadn't stopped blooming. The mutated trees kept bursting with flowers, producing new explosive fruits and unleashing even more waves of bullet-like seeds—all without pause, like nature-powered machine guns.
Far off to the side, Bibi Dong and Ghost Douluo had been watching the whole engagement in silence.
They had seen all they needed.
"That's enough, Chuan'er. Stand down," Bibi Dong's gentle voice echoed.
At her words, the trees stopped. The seed barrages ceased. The forest, moments ago alive and attacking with primal fury, slowly settled down. The trees stood still once more—quiet and unmoving. It was just that... the region's trees were now far taller, thicker, more twisted than the ones beyond. From afar, the area looked like a strange, untamed jungle amid a regular woodland.
Chrysanthemum Douluo lowered his shield and flew back toward Bibi Dong and Ghost Douluo.
Yunchuan stepped out of hiding with a flash—his small figure instantly appearing next to Bibi Dong. He grabbed her hand excitedly and beamed, "Mom! How was that? Was I amazing!?"
"You were brilliant, Chuan'er," Bibi Dong replied with a loving smile, gently ruffling his hair.
"Little Chuan's plant domain is quite something!" Chrysanthemum Douluo praised with a rueful chuckle. "He can control any plant within that field, change its form at will… and the best part? Manipulating those plants doesn't drain his soul power!"
"That means as long as he maintains the domain, he can launch countless attacks—nonstop." He added, "True, the individual attacks aren't very strong. Any Soul Elder with enough power can likely break free… But for those who can't fly? They'll be trapped here endlessly, battered by waves of plants. Even Soul Kings will be exhausted over time."
However, once enemies reached the Soul Emperor realm and beyond, their destructive power was too overwhelming. Such enemies could slice their way out effortlessly, escaping the domain's range with sheer force.
At the end of it all, Yunchuan's plant domain wasn't invincible—but no doubt, it was already terrifying. With greater cultivation, stronger plants, and broader range...
Someday, it could become an utterly unbeatable force.
End of Chapter