This small seedling, though frail, carried with it a vibrant vitality.

Wang Wu looked on with a complex expression. At this moment, he could somewhat guess the reason behind it.

Firstly, the Human Race Cultivator, to extract higher quality paralyzing poison, used special means to draw out the essence of this Devil Vine, forming the previous core area of the poisonous mist.

At first, the Devil Vine was gravely injured, but given time, it could have recovered.

However, upon discovering Wang Wu's presence, the Human Race Cultivator, for some reason, went on a mad rampage like a rabid dog, injecting a small amount of two types of Demon King-level poison into the Devil Vine, forming an open trap. Whether or not Wang Wu falls into it, he would suffer significant losses.

These two Demon King-level poisons thus exhausted the last of the Devil Vine's vitality, becoming undoubtedly fatal.

Yet Wang Wu stepped in, spending all his efforts to escape danger.

And in doing so, he managed to save the dying Devil Vine.

As for whether there are remnants of those two Demon King-level mixed poisons, that remains an unsolved mystery.

Looking around, the trees on this hill remained lush green, but Wang Wu felt a sense of demise. If he was correct, by the next morning, all the vegetation in the forest would wither, and all vitality would be contained within that small grass.

There is no doubt that this small grass has likely evolved because after Wang Wu endured the strangulation of two Demon King-level mixed poisons, it must have endured as well.

Of course, another possibility is that it was originally going to be poisoned to death, but Wang Wu absorbed a large part of the core poison, giving it the chance to survive.

And so, it shouldn't be called tender small grass, but rather should be called the Venerable Poisonous Grass, invisible in killing humans and shadowless in killing demons!

"Hehe, you and I have fought in the same trenches, but that's not a reason for me to spare you."

Wang Wu chuckled inwardly and jumped down without hesitation. Such a treasure, this evolved poisonous grass, is precisely what he needs, even if it's just to consume. It might even increase his Poison Resistance.

However, as soon as he approached this vibrant small grass, suddenly it flew up, uprooting itself—a familiar scene resembling the migration flight of a Devil Vine!

So, where do you intend to go?

Wang Wu's eyes widened, rushing forward to catch it, only to let out a yelp a moment later when the seemingly flexible small grass had sharp thorns that pierced into his paw.

Goodness!

This is truly a fierce little poison grass.

Wang Wu opened his mouth wide, prepared to swallow it whole, but reconsidered, thinking it's best to always be cautious. His Satiety was currently at zero, and the Ice Spiritual Qi in the Array Stone was exhausted, unable to endure any turmoil.

It's better to fill his stomach first.

And just then, several lines of information surfaced silently.

"You have captured a Sixth Grade Devil Vine seedling. You can choose to consume it; based on your current Poison Resistance Level, you can roughly gain 3000 Spiritual Qi points, 2 points of Demon King-level Poison Resistance, and a range of related resistances."

"You can also choose to form a Companion bond with it. Based on your Plant Affinity Talent and your current Poison Resistance Level, the success rate of forming a Companion bond is about 99.99%. After successful companionship, the roots of this Devil Vine seedling will grow on your Bear's Paw, or you can expose more body parts to provide habitat."

"The more habitats you provide, the more bonuses you will receive. However, correspondingly, in your future growth, the companion Devil Vine will also impose more burdens on you, even uncontrollable risks, unless your growth can always suppress the Devil Vine."

——

"Oh? I can really form a companionship!"

Wang Wu was surprised. The Cultivation Realm is indeed amazing; it seems everything is possible.

However, deciding whether to consume or form companionship remains a dilemma.

The former represents short-term benefits, and the latter represents long-term gains. It's all about how he chooses to trade-off.

"I currently have no urgent needs, and Life is basically secured. Maybe it's better to form companionship. Future enemies and competitors will surely get stronger and more bizarre; preparing an ace up the sleeve in advance could save my life at critical moments."

Immediately, Wang Wu opened the attribute bar to see beneath the Plant Affinity Branch Bloodline Talent, green spiritual light flickered. Clearly, a major prerequisite, if not the primary one, for forming companionship with the Devil Vine, is having Plant Affinity.

His focus lingered on Plant Affinity for a second, then two sub-options emerged below.

[Suppressed Companionship: Your suppression over the Devil Vine is unquestionable, requiring only one Bear's Paw as its habitat. Thus, it can never counterattack for its entire life, but the trade-off is that its comprehensive combat power, Companion Talent, attribute bonuses, etc., will be weakened by 50%.]

[Equal Companionship: Your suppression over the Devil Vine is minimal, akin to friends loyal to each other. You need to provide a third or half of the body as its habitat, gaining a thriving Devil Vine but needing to enhance your own strength. If your power falls behind the Devil Vine or its growth accelerates too quickly, it could spell tragedy for you.]

——

Wang Wu hesitated for only a second before decisively opting for [Suppressed Companionship]. Being a bear with chronic negative security, he naturally wouldn't pursue potentially uncontrollable options.

Moreover, he maintained some human cleanliness; even transformed into a bear, he still wished not to end up as an indescribable Ancient Bear of the Ke Family.

However, after he made the choice, nothing happened. He paused for a moment before realizing.

The attribute bar only provided some information; how to choose, how to act, it still depended on him.

Just like now, he had to provide a reasonable habitat for the Devil Vine seedling.

Thinking about it, he used his claw to make a small cut on the back of his left Bear's Paw. A few drops of blood reluctantly flowed, and visibly, the wound was about to heal.

Wang Wu quickly grabbed the Devil Vine seedling with his right hand. This thing was like a living creature, stretching its claws and teeth, enough to give someone a scare, definitely quite something.

When he placed the Devil Vine seedling on his wound, its roots instantly burrowed in with a swish. Even though he was mentally prepared, it made his scalp tingle.

It was so creepy.

Moreover, the roots of the Devil Vine were expanding rapidly, and in just a few seconds, Wang Wu's Life Value plummeted by dozens of points.

Damnit!

But just as Wang Wu regretted and wanted to pull it out, he saw that the leaves and branches of the Devil Vine withered rapidly, turning into ash. Immediately following, his wound healed, leaving no visible trace from the outside.

As for the roots that had burrowed into his Bear's Paw, they also went silent, as if entering some strange dormant state.

Fortunately, he still had the attribute bar.

Related information surfaced once again.

"You have successfully completed the Companionship with the Devil Vine. It requires six months of dormancy before it will awaken again, and completely finalize the ultimate companionship. During its dormancy, it will offer you immunity from up to 200 points of any poison damage."

"Due to the successful Companionship with the Devil Vine, your Branch Bloodline Talent, Plant Affinity, has passively increased by 1 level and is now Level 2."

——

"Which means that by next spring, it will formally start to show the effects of Companionship."

Wang Wu wasn't too concerned about this. The matter of Companionship was definitely very complex, very advanced. Even in the Cultivation Realm, it involves battling the big shots of bloodline, gene immunity, and more. Not to mention, had anyone consulted his Level 10 Self-Healing Talent?

In short, this was a battle erupting within his body, just at the beginning.

At this moment, he looked again at the effects of Plant Affinity after advancing to Level 2, still three effects, but slightly improved.

[1: Can receive up to 60 points of plant poison damage immunity, with up to an 80% increase in recovery speed of plant poison erosion damage]

[2: When surrounded by dense plants, even without activating Passive Concealment, concealment effects still increase by 20%, and one's scent will blend more readily with that of the surrounding plants]

[3: Can infuse spiritual energy into certain plants, allowing them to grow healthier and faster]

——

Not bad at all!

Next, just as Wang Wu was about to leave, he suddenly heard a faint call for help coming from beneath the layers of tree roots.

What's going on?

This Devil Vine really has quite the tricks!

Wang Wu raised his guard, then used his claw to cut through the layers of tree roots, removing them. After a while, he finally found something beneath the lowest tree root, about ten meters below the ground, a little spirit that looked similar to a Ginseng Child but slightly different.

This creature had a small grass, two to three centimeters tall, on top of its head, no limbs, just all roots at the bottom. It somewhat resembled the Devil Vine, just much smaller.

However, this little spirit was now completely black, emitting a stench, even the small grass on its head was nearly withered.

"Help! Save me! I'm Cao Li Heng, a Scout among the Grass and Wood Demon Soldiers under Grandpa Xishan Tree! Please give me some spiritual energy to help dispel the toxins, and I will certainly reward you with treasures."

This little spirit weakly cried out, clearly afflicted by the mixed toxins of those two Demon King-level poisons.

Just unlucky to pass by, or some other reason?

Wang Wu thought for a moment and decided to help, because spirits are too mysterious, difficult to even glimpse.

Over the past year, aside from those strange Ginseng Children, had he seen any spirits?

Hence, when opportunity allows, making a good connection is necessary.

He extended a Bear's Paw, passing over some spiritual energy, and visibly, the little spirit Cao Li Heng improved somewhat. But who knew it would barely last a few seconds before being engulfed by a grey and defeated aura again.

Oh man, this is simply treating the symptoms but not the cause. The two Demon King-level mixed poisons are no joke.

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