**Chapter 33: Thorn Technique**
"Crack!"
A sudden thunderclap exploded in the air.
The entire shantytown was enveloped in gray mist, with dark clouds covering the sky. Pedestrians in the alleys gradually disappeared.
A sudden torrential downpour began to fall over Green Sun Market and the shantytown.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Qin Ming had just been concentrating on accelerating the growth of the black withered vine when he was startled by the sudden rainstorm!
He took shelter under the eaves.
His gaze was fixed intently on the black withered vine.
Under the effect of the [Ripening Acceleration] trait, it began to grow slowly.
This was completely different from the frenzied speed of the spirit plants he had previously accelerated.
Gradually,
The black withered vine sprouted three or four ink-black tendrils, covered with sharp thorns that emitted an eerie black glow.
Just by looking at it, Qin Ming knew the thorns were highly toxic!
When the black vine grew to about ten feet long, its growth came to a complete stop.
On it, more than a dozen ink-black flower buds had formed.
Two of them suddenly produced two golden traits:
- **Name**: Witherblood Poison Vine | **Trait**: Thorn Technique (Maturity 1%)
- **Name**: Witherblood Poison Vine | **Trait**: Abundant Blood and Qi Energy (Maturity 1%)
"Witherblood Poison Vine?"
A flicker of confusion passed over Qin Ming's face.
He had never seen this type of spirit plant mentioned in any book.
He immediately pulled out *The Spirit Planter's Compendium of Wonders* by Shi Yenong, a renowned spirit planter of the older generation, and began searching through it.
After a long while,
Qin Ming still couldn't find any mention of the 'Witherblood Poison Vine' in the book.
"Could it be that even the spirit planting master doesn't know about this vine?"
What shocked him even more was—
After using the [Ripening Acceleration] trait, all it did was make this Witherblood Poison Vine bloom.
If this had been Golden Spirit Rice, it would have been fully mature and ready for harvest by now.
It was clear how long the maturation period of this Witherblood Poison Vine was.
But the two traits that appeared made Qin Ming extremely eager to experiment further.
In his consciousness, he still had nine [Ripening Acceleration] traits left.
Qin Ming steeled his resolve and used another [Ripening Acceleration].
Time slowly passed.
The flower buds of the Witherblood Poison Vine gradually bloomed in the rainstorm.
The black flowers looked eerily beautiful, resembling withered hands.
The next day,
The effects of one [Ripening Acceleration] trait were exhausted.
The maturity level of the Witherblood Poison Vine reached 20%.
"Does it consume so much?"
Qin Ming was astonished.
"It seems one acceleration isn't enough."
"Increase the dosage!"
Qin Ming used another [Ripening Acceleration] trait.
…
For seven consecutive days, Qin Ming didn't sleep or rest.
He used up five [Ripening Acceleration] traits in total, finally bringing the fruits of the Witherblood Poison Vine to full maturity.
More than a dozen walnut-sized crimson fruits had formed on it.
Qin Ming carefully picked these fruits.
Instantly, two green trait leaves appeared in his consciousness.
- **Thorn Technique**: Casting requires a spirit plant seed as a medium.
The seed can be buried underground.
When demons or cultivators step on it, they will be entangled by thorny vines.
The seed can also be thrown directly to trap enemies.
The power of the spell depends on the strength of the spirit plant seed—the stronger the seed, the better the effect.
"Still comes in sets, huh?"
Qin Ming casually cracked open one of the Witherblood Poison Vine's fruits.
Inside, he found tiny black spirit seeds, each about the size of a sesame seed.
Even in this single fruit, there were twenty to thirty spirit seeds.
With such a large number of spirit seeds from the Witherblood Poison Vine, Qin Ming would have enough to use for quite some time.
He immediately focused his thoughts on the [Thorn Technique] trait.
A surge of spell knowledge filled his mind, and he quickly grasped the casting method.
"I need to find a place to practice this."
"After all, this black vine is impervious to water and fire, indestructible by blades or spears."
"And it carries deadly poison. Its power shouldn't be too weak, right?"
Thinking this,
Qin Ming grabbed his spirit shovel and stepped out of the house.
He didn't dare go too far.
Near the spirit fields, he found a secluded spot in the woods and hid himself.
Not long after,
A black-furred wild boar appeared in his line of sight.
It was leisurely rooting around here and there.
Qin Ming narrowed his eyes slightly.
He formed a hand seal and cast the Thorn Technique, flicking one of the Witherblood Poison Vine's spirit seeds toward the wild boar!
Hiss!
Suddenly, a thick cluster of black vines erupted from beneath the boar's legs, covered in thorns, tightly wrapping around it!
The wild boar didn't even have time to squeal.
The eerie black poisonous thorns instantly pierced through its tough hide.
In an instant,
The wild boar's eyes turned white, losing their luster as if its soul was being rapidly stripped away by some force.
It froze in place, unable to struggle at all.
In just two breaths of time,
What had been a living wild boar moments ago became a shriveled corpse.
Then, the cluster of black thorny vines swiftly retreated, transforming into a dark red blood bead that fell to the ground.
A strange glint flashed in Qin Ming's eyes.
He waved his hand, drawing the blood bead into his palm.
Using his spiritual sense to examine it, he discovered that not only did it contain all the essence blood of the wild boar, but its spirit was also imprisoned within.
"What use is this?"
Suddenly, inspiration struck him! He instinctively thought of the Witherblood Poison Vine planted in the flower bed.
"Could it be…"
After this test, Qin Ming was extremely excited.
He now had a new understanding of the power of the Thorn Technique.
Though everything had happened very quickly,
Qin Ming still managed to catch it.
"The poison of this Witherblood Poison Vine seems capable of directly corroding the soul."
"This technique will surely become a lethal trump card in the future!"
"When used unexpectedly, even late-stage Qi Refining cultivators might stumble."
"Hehehe!"
Qin Ming returned to the house.
He placed the blood bead near the Witherblood Poison Vine.
As soon as the vine sensed the blood bead, it seemed ravenous.
Its tendrils whipped out, wrapping around the blood bead.
It was instantly digested and absorbed.
Afterward, the Witherblood Poison Vine returned to its calm state.
Its black poisonous thorns glowed even more eerily.
"As expected, the Thorn Technique cast by this vine's spirit seeds..."
"...can feed back into the main body of the Witherblood Poison Vine."
"Though I used up five [Ripening Acceleration] traits, this was worth it!"
At the same time,
Qin Ming could feel that his connection with the vine had deepened further.
This Witherblood Poison Vine still had significant room for growth.
Qin Ming was quite hopeful about it.
He pondered for a moment, considering his future plans.
Next, he would prepare to accelerate the growth of Blood Locust Rice again.
He now had two [Quality Improvement] traits.
He was eager to try the taste of top-grade Blood Locust Rice.
Just as he was thinking this, the communication talisman on his body vibrated.
It was a message from the Spirit Feather Sect's administrative hall.
"Fellow Daoist Qin, you have successfully cultivated three different mid-tier first-level spirit plants this year, meeting the qualifications to advance to a mid-tier spirit planter. If you have time, please come to the administrative hall for assessment."
"Additionally, the lease for the Ruan family courtyard has expired, and the restrictions have been lifted. Fellow Daoist Qin may move in at any time."
(End of Chapter)
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