Chapter 868: Ninth-Rank Thorn Sword Grass! Terrifying Power!

"Aaaah——"

"Roar——"

"......"

In the Source Water Wasteland Zone, as the Thorn Sword Grass began its breakthrough.

Waves of Yuan energy surged into the Thorn Sword Grass like hurricanes.

The powerful aura radiating from it caused all the ferocious beasts in the forest to let out suppressed roars.

The psychics nearby searching for ferocious beasts instantly paled and fled hastily.

Under Xu Jingming's spiritual force observation, he detected a peculiar substance beginning to coalesce within the Thorn Sword Grass!

Its vines and leaves underwent profound transformation under the influence of this peculiar substance!

"Is that the Imperishable Substance?" Xu Jingming sensed the vigorous life force emanating from this substance.

He had never felt such a thing on the Fate Divine Messenger before.

Boom——

The Yuan energy hurricane swept across a radius of over ten kilometers.

Countless forest trees were uprooted, leaving behind craters on the ground.

The Source Water Supply Base had already detected the anomaly and stood ready, prepared to repel any possible invasion.

The transformation lasted for more than two hours before ending.

When the Yuan energy hurricane gradually faded, what appeared before Xu Jingming's eyes was a colossal entity!

The Thorn Sword Grass had grown to over forty meters tall, each vine and branch stretching seven or eight kilometers long.

The sword-shaped leaves growing on its branches were wider than ordinary alloy swords!

The chilling gleam reflecting under sunlight left no doubt of its terrifying sharpness.

"Is this the ninth-rank Thorn Sword Grass?"

Beneath its shadow, Xu Jingming looked up at this colossal entity.

Just its size, combined with the potent aura unique to the ninth rank, radiated overwhelming pressure.

"Master..."

A slightly awkward voice echoed in Xu Jingming's mind.

"Huh? Are you... Xiao Jian?"

Xu Jingming stared in surprise at the Thorn Sword Grass before him.

Previously, the Thorn Sword Grass could only transmit simple spiritual force fluctuations to express itself.

But it had never been able to articulate words so precisely—especially in Daya language.

"Y-yes, it's me."

The Thorn Sword Grass joyfully swayed its branches, causing the ground to tremble violently again.

"I've never seen a ninth-rank plant life before."

Su Qingli and Ling Shuang were both curiously observing; Xu Jingming smiled and asked:

"Xiao Jian, what changes have you felt after reaching the ninth rank?"

"I feel my life force has become vastly more vigorous—I seem capable of infinite vine growth, and even if severed, they regenerate swiftly."

"Also, my core sword leaves have grown to 1064."

The spiritual force transmission echoed in the minds of Xu Jingming, Su Qingli, and Ling Shuang.

After the initial awkwardness, the Thorn Sword Grass's voice had become much smoother.

"Rapid regeneration is naturally a trait of plant life."

"But now that you've broken through to the ninth rank and possess the Imperishable Substance, this trait will likely become even more terrifying."

Su Qingli murmured in amazement.

Every ninth-rank being possesses the Imperishable Substance, differing only in quantity.

Enhancement-type psychics, with their powerful physiques, gain abundant Imperishable Substance upon breakthrough.

Elementalists like her, by contrast, gain far less Imperishable Substance upon reaching the ninth rank.

However, elementalists have Elementalization, which compensates for their lesser Imperishable Substance.

Plant life, inherently possessing extraordinary vitality, must have even more Imperishable Substance than ordinary enhancement-type psychics.

"Also, plant life can transform into battle armor, with defense comparable to invincibility."

Before his disappearance, Su Qingli's father Su Tianrui had left her many valuable items.

He had left her plant life too—but unfortunately, they were too low-ranked, only seventh-rank, utterly useless.

"That's true."

Xu Jingming smiled and asked again: "How powerful is your sword leaf attack?"

"Ordinary sword leaves aren't particularly strong—but those 1064 core sword leaves..."

"With them, a few would easily obliterate enemies like you used to face, Master."

The Thorn Sword Grass swung one of its vines.

With a sharp sonic boom, over a dozen core sword leaves shot out like lightning, blasting a massive crater into the ground.

"Easily obliterate a Fate Divine Messenger?" Xu Jingming's eyes widened.

He felt the Thorn Sword Grass was now stronger than he was!

"Once we enter the Wasteland Zone, we can test your strength."

Xu Jingming nodded in satisfaction, then looked at its massive form and asked:

"Can you still shrink this size to become a plant battle armor?"

"Of course."

Whoosh—

The thorn sword grass, about the size of a building, rapidly contracted and shrank.

It then wrapped around Xu Jingming, transforming into a thin layer of dark green battle armor.

"Expanding and shrinking by tens of thousands of times in an instant — I wonder how the Flower God cultivated such a peculiar lifeform."

Xu Jingming sighed inwardly.

The law of conservation of energy from his previous life seemed to have failed at this moment.

But then again, the various transformations of an Esper's abilities had long since diverged from those rules of his previous life.

"Since the Thorn Sword Grass has successfully transformed, Teacher Ling, let's head back too."

Xu Jingming said with a smile.

"Alright."

Hearing Ling Shuang nodded slightly.

Space force spread out, and the three of them vanished from the spot in an instant, leaving only the surrounding wreckage.

Teleported back to the villa, Su Qingli and Jiang Chuxuan had already finished their cultivation.

Seeing Su Qingli, they immediately bowed and greeted her:

"Hello, Curator Su."

Even though they were already more than familiar with the eighth-rank superior Hearing Ling Shuang,

upon seeing this authority figure of the Lei Ting Martial Hall, the two women could not help but feel a little nervous.

"Don't be so polite — you are Hearing Ling Shuang's sisters, so just call me Su-jie from now on..."

The moment Su Qingli finished speaking, she immediately realized something was off and quickly corrected herself:

"Just like Jingming, you can call me Su Laoshi."

It's all Xu Jingming's fault.

Almost messed up the generational hierarchy of address...

"Hello, Su Laoshi."

Seeing Su Qingli's gentle attitude, Su Qingli and Jiang Chuxuan also breathed a sigh of relief.

And Su Qingli, after looking at the two women and then at Hearing Ling Shuang, could not help but let out a heartfelt sigh:

"Jingming, you really are a lucky dog when it comes to the ladies."

These three women — whether in figure or looks — were all top-tier.

Yet now they all belonged to Xu Jingming alone.

As for talent and strength, all three were S-rank Espers.

Although Su Qingli and Jiang Chuxuan were currently only fourth-rank, they would be able to catch up quickly afterward.

With this arrangement, Xu Jingming's side had one SSS-rank and three S-ranks.

If they formed a family and fully grew, they would probably be several times more formidable than that Li family.

"Right, tonight is your welcome banquet, Jingming. After it's over, what are your plans?"

Su Qingli's clear, big eyes looked toward Xu Jingming as she asked softly.

PS: Typed this on the subway this morning, was missing a few hundred characters, just finished filling them in. The project is urgent, still have to work overtime on Saturday, but should be able to clock in and out on time, will make up the updates for everyone then.