Eight Spider Lances
Both sides fell silent for a moment.
Tang San took a step forward and said, "Teacher Zhao, let's return the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent to them. We can find another Soul Beast ourselves; it won't take much longer. Besides, this Soul Beast isn't suitable for Oscar."
This was to give Zhao Wuji a way out, so that he wouldn't be embarrassed and the stalemate wouldn't continue.
Tang San had thought it through. The Soul Skill provided by the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent was flight, and it could only be used for short periods of time. It was designed entirely for the Soul Master Tournament.
Oscar's role as a support is quite useless. In the late game, when facing strong enemies, the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's flight speed and distance are simply not enough. It's not as useful as amplification-type Soul Rings.
Because of this timeline, Tang Hao never appeared to beat Zhao Wuji, and Zhao Wuji didn't know Tang San's identity, so he couldn't use Tang Hao to intimidate him.
The Dragon Duke and Snake Granny are quite well-known on the continent, and Shrek Academy is no match for them. It's better to avoid trouble.
Zhao Wuji pondered for a moment, then nodded, his expression relaxing.
He never wanted to clash with the Snake Granny, but he was too proud to back down first. Tang San's suggestion gave him a way out.
"Alright, this Soul Beast isn't really suitable for Oscar. Let's give it back to them."
Seeing that Zhao Wuji had relented, Tang San had a thought and used his Blue Silver vines to drag the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent to Meng Yiran's feet.
Meng Yiran and the Snake Granny exchanged a glance and nodded to each other. Meng Yiran squatted down, drew a dagger from her waist, and plunged it into the head of the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent.
The snake's body stiffened abruptly, then slowly softened, and a purple Soul Ring rose gently from its body.
Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang nodded to Zhao Wuji, her tone softening considerably. "Thank you. I, Snake Granny, will remember this favor. If you ever need my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."
Zhao Wuji cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said politely, "You're welcome. Now that the Soul Ring has been assigned, we won't disturb you any longer. Farewell!"
After saying that, he turned around and walked into the depths of the woods.
Ignoring Meng Yiran and the other person who were about to absorb Soul Rings, the Shrek Academy members followed Zhao Wuji and quickly disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.
Two more days passed. During these two days, Tang San was searching for the Man Faced Demon Spider that had produced the Eight Spider Lances External Soul Bone.
Tang San remembered that the Man Faced Demon Spider from the original story should be nearby. As he walked, he used his Blue Silver Grass to sense his surroundings, not missing a single corner.
These past two days, as he walked in the group, his eyes constantly scanning the surrounding trees and bushes, as if searching for something.
Xiao Wu noticed Tang San's unusual behavior; he seemed distracted. She leaned closer and whispered, "Third Brother, what are you looking for? You've been looking around a lot these past few days."
Tang San didn't answer, but just smiled and gently patted Xiao Wu's head, signaling Xiao Wu not to ask any more questions.
On the afternoon of the third day, Zhao Wuji finally found a suitable Soul Beast: a venomous insect-like Soul Beast that was entirely pink and resembled a scorpion.
"Pink Lady," Zhao Wuji whispered, "This kind of Soul Beast is rare. Its attack method is to release a stimulant toxin, causing its opponent to fall into a state of euphoria and lose their mind. It's about 1,500 years old, suitable for Oscar. Everyone be careful, don't let it get away."
The crowd cautiously surrounded them, forming a semi-circular encirclement.
The Pink Lady seemed to sense a threat; her body tensed abruptly, and she charged forcefully in one direction.
But the encirclement was already in place, and the group divided the work: Tang San controlled the situation, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing restrained the enemy, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun dealt damage, and Ning Rongrong amplified their attacks. They quickly subdued the Pink Lady.
Oscar stepped forward, pulled out a dagger, and personally ended Pink Lady's life.
A purple Soul Ring slowly rose from the corpse of the Pink Lady.
Oscar sat cross-legged and began absorbing the Soul Rings.
Tang San stood under a tree not far away, seemingly resting with his eyes closed. But the Blue Silver Grass's senses were fully activated, like an invisible net covering an area of several hundred meters.
A quarter of an hour later, Tang San sensed some movement about 300 meters to the southeast through the Blue Silver Grass.
The commotion was minor, like arthropods crawling on the ground.
Tang San's heart skipped a beat as he continued to use his Blue Silver Grass to track the movement of the Soul Beast. He quickly discovered that it was a spider-like Soul Beast with Soul Power fluctuations of approximately two thousand years.
He thought to himself: It must be that Man Faced Demon Spider.
Tang San quietly stood up and glanced at the others, who were all gathered around Oscar, completely unaware of the commotion that was so far away.
In the opposite direction, Zhao Wuji sat cross-legged on a rock, also resting with his eyes closed.
Tang San winked at Xiao Wu, pointed to himself, then to the distant woods, and made a "shh" gesture.
Xiao Wu blinked and nodded slightly.
Tang San silently crept towards the Man Faced Demon Spider. His figure moved nimbly and swiftly among the trees, making no sound whatsoever.
In less than a minute, he arrived near the Soul Power fluctuations he had sensed.
It really was a Man Faced Demon Spider.
The Man Faced Demon Spider was perched at the base of a large tree, its abdomen adorned with clearly defined human-face patterns, resembling a ferocious human face, with what appeared to be a sinister smile on its lips.
Tang San took a deep breath.
To avoid making a big commotion and alerting the Shrek Devils, Tang San decided to finish the battle quickly.
He first used the skill "Annihilation Light" from his External Soul Bone, the Dreamlike Illusion Eyes. A beam of purple-gold light shot out from Tang San's pupil and accurately struck the head of the Man Faced Demon Spider.
The Man Faced Demon Spider quickly fell into a brief state of dizziness; its eight legs went limp, and its body trembled slightly.
Tang San unleashed his full power. Two strands of Blue Silver Grass flew out from his palms simultaneously, attacking different parts of the Man Faced Demon Spider.
The two vines hardened in mid-air, transforming into two incredibly sharp spears, their tips gleaming with silver light, aimed straight at the Man Faced Demon Spider's weakest point—its head.
Two spears pierced through simultaneously, making two "plop" sounds as they broke through the armor, and purplish-black blood gushed from the wounds.
At the same time, two more Blue Silver Grass pierced the vulnerable abdomen of the Man Faced Demon Spider from the ground.
The abdomen is the softest part of an arthropod, and the spikes formed from the Blue Silver Grass pierced through it like cutting tofu, penetrating from the abdomen all the way to the back.
Before the Man Faced Demon Spider could even utter a sound, its body suddenly stiffened, its eight legs spread open at the same time, and then slowly and limply drooped down, where it remained motionless.
A purple Soul Ring slowly rose from the corpse of the Man Faced Demon Spider.
Tang San ignored the Soul Ring and immediately transformed the Blue Silver Grass into a sharp blade, carefully cutting open the abdomen of the Man Faced Demon Spider.
The shell was hard, but the blade formed from the Blue Silver Grass cut into the crack as easily as cutting a slightly harder piece of wood.
As soon as the abdominal cavity was opened, a foul, fishy odor wafted out.
Tang San frowned, held his breath, and his Blue Silver vines probed into his abdominal cavity, groping inside.
Soon, he felt himself touch a hard, warm object. It was irregularly shaped and about the size of a palm.
Tang San removed the object from his abdominal cavity.
It was the External Soul Bone, "Eight Spider Lances".
The Eight Spider Lances is a piece of dark purple bone.
The main body is oval-shaped, like a spider's carapace, with eight sharp bony spikes extending from it, each about the length of two fingers, and with a very sharp tip.
Its surface is covered with fine patterns, and it emits a faint purple light, warm and soft, like a polished gemstone, gleaming with a cold luster in the dim forest.
Suppressing his excitement, Tang San took out a water pouch from his Ruyi Hundred Treasures Purse and washed the blood off the surface of the Eight Spider Lances.
He carefully put the Eight Spider Lances into his Ruyi Hundred Pouch.
Tang San stood up, disposed of the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse, and erased any obvious traces.
Then, glancing around to make sure no one else had noticed, he silently walked towards where Oscar was absorbing his Soul Ring.
The entire process, from starting to leaving, took no more than three minutes.