Ye Tianfan and his companions were unaware that Tai Chu Zhen Ren was not astonished, but terrified.
Indeed, there had never been anything that could cause Tai Chu Zhen Ren such fear.
Now, upon seeing this vine monster, Tai Chu Zhen Ren finally understood what it means to have a protagonist template.
Because even Ye Tianfan, whom Tai Chu Zhen Ren considered the most talented, could not compare with this barrier-defying creature, the vine monster, in terms of innate abilities.
It's important to know that in every world, the ability to seize others' abilities is truly defying the odds.
Because once someone gains an ability, no matter what it is, it can generally enhance their combat capabilities, and some abilities are incredibly powerful.
However, even the most powerful abilities have their counters; there are always abilities that can negate them.
Only the ability to seize others' abilities, to devour them, has no countermeasure, for devouring is an ability with almost no weakness.
Even if there is an ability to restrain devouring, if one devours an ability capable of blocking it, or an ability that counters it, they can immediately turn the tables.
This is the power of devouring; even if restrained, one can quickly find a way to counter the restraint, making it nearly impossible to deal with this barrier-defying creature.
At this moment, Tai Chu Zhen Ren could not think of any way to combat this vine monster. After all, Tai Chu Zhen Ren didn't know what abilities this vine monster possessed. With its myriad abilities, Tai Chu Zhen Ren believes that any ability he can think of, this vine monster surely has, and even abilities he cannot envision, this vine monster will also possess.
Therefore, Tai Chu Zhen Ren believes that facing this vine monster alone is completely unrealistic, not a bit realistic; it's impossible to deal with an entire vine monster, much less a single vine from it.
After all, Tai Chu Zhen Ren took a cursory glance and saw that one vine of this vine monster had approximately a hundred runes, and this vine monster has seemingly countless vines, meaning it possesses almost countless abilities.
To deal with one or two abilities, Tai Chu Zhen Ren could barely manage, given the vine monster's inherent strength, which already surpasses Tai Chu Zhen Ren.
The power mentioned here is not about having many abilities, but the sheer energy intensity and physical prowess which are far superior to Tai Chu Zhen Ren's. So, dealing with one or two abilities of this vine monster is feasible; if it were someone else, they couldn't handle even one.
If one's inherent strength is not greater than the opponent's, then if the opponent employs a special ability, they can dispatch you directly.
This greatly illustrates Tai Chu Zhen Ren's prowess, yet even at his level, he was no match for the vine monster.
Moreover, Tai Chu Zhen Ren realized that if anyone is to defeat this vine monster, the primary condition is that they must engage in combat with someone who possesses more runes than this vine monster.
Each person must also have a unique ability or Magical Treasure to counter the vine monster's special abilities, and even then, it requires individuals whose power is about equal to Tai Chu Zhen Ren's. Only then does Tai Chu Zhen Ren think it's possible to tackle this vine monster.
At this moment, regardless of the conditions or anything else, nothing is adequate; not even close. Even if the numbers were sufficient, finding a matching power with Tai Chu Zhen Ren remains elusive.
Who is Tai Chu Zhen Ren? He is the number one in the inner wall cultivation realm.
To find a comparable power is nearly impossible; even the second best in the world pales compared to Tai Chu Zhen Ren.
There once was a saying in the inner wall: Even the second to tenth ranked in the world combined couldn't defeat the number one ranked Tai Chu Zhen Ren.
This legend indirectly depicts Tai Chu Zhen Ren's formidable power, although reality doesn't fully reflect the tale, as no one knows whether the nine together could overcome Tai Chu Zhen Ren, since they've never fought.
Moreover, after this rumor spread, none of the sects from the second to tenth ranks ever refuted it, despite Tai Chu Zhen Ren modestly saying in public that he couldn't beat them combined, nor the second and third together, although no one took his words seriously, believing them merely humble expressions.
In fact, people believed that even if the second through the tenth rank combined forces, they couldn't defeat Tai Chu Zhen Ren, nor could ranks two through twenty, even thirty or fifty collectively challenge him.
Of course, Tai Chu Zhen Ren only smiled at such exaggerations without explaining, for the more explained, the more others suspect humility, so Tai Chu Zhen Ren chose not to elaborate, as explanations were futile, only making him seem falsely modest. Hence, seeing no rebuttal from Tai Chu Zhen Ren, people firmly believed that the world's number one, Tai Chu Zhen Ren, could overcome anyone combined.
Naturally, Tai Chu Zhen Ren remained indifferent to increasingly hyperbolic claims.
Some might believe the earlier rumors, but few would believe the latter tales unless their thinking was flawed, yet some people are convinced due to their blind admiration for Tai Chu Zhen Ren.
Thus, they believe Tai Chu Zhen Ren absolutely could defeat everyone in the world.
Now, as Tai Chu Zhen Ren gazes upon the vine monster before him, he finds himself in conflict because leaving is impossible; he senses the entirety of the vine monster's runes targeting him. Any movement would trigger all runes to illuminate, and the abilities they represent would instantly strike him.
If that moment came, Tai Chu Zhen Ren would have no chance of survival, as countless abilities striking simultaneously would challenge even an Immortal.
Tai Chu Zhen Ren suspects that this barrier-defying creature might be a ruler-level entity from beyond the walls.
Otherwise, why would this vine monster wield such overwhelming power?