A huge mass of yellow mist blasted the Black Spider Web away from the air like an air cannon, then hurtled toward the opposite side.
The Man Faced Demon Spider let out a roar at the sight. Black light glimmered over its forelegs as it swung them forward, sending two black, semicircular slashes crossing toward the dense fog.
The fog was split apart in an instant. The two black slashes continued onward, and they were about to hit Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track again, his figure splitting into three afterimages as he fled.
By now, the Man Faced Demon Spider had learned from experience. It lowered its body to detect his position, then launched an attack.
Its movements flowed seamlessly, completed in almost an instant.
This time, its pursuit was clearly faster than before. Yu Xiaogang would have no time to react after landing. The Man Faced Demon Spider raised its legs, and its eyes grew even bloodier.
But just as its legs were about to touch Yu Xiaogang, a Purple Net suddenly dropped from above, trapping the Man Faced Demon Spider inside.
The Man Faced Demon Spider immediately began to struggle. The Purple Net tightened, trying to bind it securely.
But the Man Faced Demon Spider was not to be underestimated in its enraged state. Black light shone over its forelegs, and it looked as if they might tear the web apart.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang immediately chanted another incantation. Another Purple Net descended from midair, completely wrapping the Man Faced Demon Spider before him into a ball.
After releasing his Soul Skill three times in a row, Luo Sanpao's plump body promptly fell into Yu Xiaogang's arms.
Yu Xiaogang patted Luo Sanpao's head and recalled him into his body.
After advancing to the Soul Elder realm, Luo Sanpao's number of attacks remained limited to just three per day. However, there was no longer any cooldown, so he could use them consecutively.
This continuous control ability greatly boosted Yu Xiaogang's strength.
Yu Xiaogang approached the Man Faced Demon Spider and used up all his remaining Soul Power to unleash the Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul's first Soul Skill, Thunderous Poison Dragon Claw.
A pair of dragon claws nearly half a meter long, crackling with dazzling lightning, extended from Yu Xiaogang's hands.
Yu Xiaogang abruptly exerted force with both hands. The two Dragon Claws pierced the Man Faced Demon Spider's head and viciously churned inside.
[Quest complete. Obtained 2000-year Man Faced Demon Spider External Soul Bone]
In the dormitory, Yu Xiaogang's consciousness had just returned to his body when a streak of purple light flew out of the panel before him and plunged into his forehead.
Yu Xiaogang felt an itchy numbness between his brows, followed by a cool sensation.
He opened his eyes, but the view before him was somewhat unexpected.
His perspective wasn't the usual eye-level view. Instead, he was looking down from high above.
Yu Xiaogang tried controlling it and discovered that he could move his perspective freely, though it couldn't go farther than five meters away.
Just as he was having a great time playing with it, a piece of information surfaced in his mind.
After digesting the information, Yu Xiaogang could barely keep the corners of his mouth from rising.
Unlike the Eight Spider Lances Tang San had obtained, this External Soul Bone wasn't a utility-type Soul Bone. It was an extremely rare mental-type Soul Bone called the Magic Spider Compound Eye.
The Soul Bone came with two Soul Skills. The first was the "Heavenly Eye" Yu Xiaogang had just seen. It allowed him to freely adjust his perspective and observe his surroundings in 360 degrees.
The second was called Spirit Shock. It gathered Spirit Power and released a mental wave that could leave an enemy briefly stunned.
Yu Xiaogang's Purple Demon Eye had already reached the Subtlety Realm. The Spirit Shock unleashed with it was enough to stun Soul Masters below the Soul Saint level. The weaker they were, the longer the stun would last.
As for Soul Saints, the Spirit Power in their minds had already taken shape. With Yu Xiaogang's current level of Spirit Power, he absolutely couldn't shake them.
Perhaps if he cultivated the Purple Demon Eye to its next stage, the Mustard Seed Realm, he might stand a chance.
Yu Xiaogang walked up to the mirror and looked at his forehead.
A purple eye had appeared right in the middle of his brow. Light rippled within it, flowing toward the center like a whirlpool.
With a thought from Yu Xiaogang, the skin on either side of the Magic Spider Compound Eye closed together. It seamlessly fused, as if the scene from moments ago had been nothing but an illusion.
"I wasn't sure how I'd manage the next two trait quests, but now that I have the Magic Spider Compound Eye's Spirit Shock, they should be much easier."
Yu Xiaogang tested it a few more times. Once he was familiar with it, he returned to the bed and took a black case from the Soul Tool on his wrist.
He fiddled with the case, and with a series of mechanical clicks, a crossbow appeared in his hands.
It was the Godly Zhuge Crossbow he'd swiped from Tang San two years earlier.
For this day, Yu Xiaogang had even gone to his beloved disciple and had him replace the bolts with more powerful Bone Piercing Arrows and Seven Kill Arrows. They were enough to threaten a level-sixty Soul Emperor and a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
After making all the preparations, Yu Xiaogang slid across the panel and selected the External Soul Bone Evolution trait.
Once his Magic Spider Compound Eye evolved, the stun caused by Spirit Shock would last longer. By then, he'd be more confident about challenging the Ten Thousand Year Cave Demon Spider.
It was a good plan, but the quest the system displayed caught Yu Xiaogang completely off guard.
[Selected trait "External Soul Bone Evolution." Corresponding quest unlocked: 1. Find a Mental System Martial Soul to devour. 2. Find a wisp of powerful Spider Aura.]
"A Mental System Martial Soul and powerful Spider Aura..."
Yu Xiaogang thought back over the story to come, and his eyes lit up.
During the upcoming Advanced Soul Master Academy Competition, one of the teachers leading Canghui Academy was named Shi Nian.
His Martial Soul was called Remnant Dream, and it was a Mental System Martial Soul.
"That old fool Shi Nian relied on being a Soul Saint and went after Tang San. In the end, he got taken out by a single King of Hell's Post and gave away a Soul Bone for nothing."
"Since he's already giving away a Soul Bone, he might as well give away his Martial Soul too. He can go ahead and see this good deed through."
Yu Xiaogang nodded, then turned his attention to the quest's second requirement.
"As for powerful Spider Aura, there's one ready-made source. It's just..."
Yu Xiaogang clicked his tongue, unable to suppress his reluctance.
In the original story, Yu Xiaogang had once gone to Spirit City alone before the finals to seek Bibi Dong's advice on how to cultivate Twin Martial Souls for Tang San.
Bibi Dong had Twin Martial Souls. Both her Death Spider Emperor and Soul Devouring Spider Emperor were top-tier spider-type Martial Souls. On top of that, she was a Titled Douluo, so she could certainly provide powerful Spider Aura.
But Bibi Dong had become extremely volatile because of her grudge against the Previous Pope. Although she hadn't done anything in the original story, dealing with a madwoman always carried some risk.
Besides, there was nothing Yu Xiaogang needed to ask Bibi Dong, and Tang San didn't need to ask her anything either. So Yu Xiaogang's original plan had been to skip that part of the story.
But now...
"Ah, I guess I'll go after all."
Yu Xiaogang sighed helplessly, steadied his mood, and continued by selecting the next trait on the panel.
[Selected trait "10000 Year Cave Demon Spider Soul Ring." Corresponding quest unlocked: Enter the Illusion Realm and defeat the 10000 Year Cave Demon Spider.]
"With my current strength, I can only try my luck."
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