"Could this be..."
Lu Chen seemed to realize something, and his eyes instantly lit up.
Looking at the Soul Beast, Dugu Yan said, "I can't believe this is a Man Faced Demon Spider!"
The Man Faced Demon Spider was one of the Evil Soul Beasts, known as "the nightmare of small Soul Beasts." Even at the hundred-year level, it could fight Thousand Year Soul Beasts. Its weakness was its eyes!
To confirm his suspicions, Lu Chen's fourth Soul Ring lit up.
Asura Berserk Devour, activate!
Bloodflame blazed around Lu Chen as he swung the Asura Demon Sword in his hand straight down at the Man Faced Demon Spider.
The Man Faced Demon Spider raised its two three-meter-long legs, like steel spears, to shield itself.
"Crack—!" The sharp snap rang out!
The Man Faced Demon Spider's front two legs shattered instantly. Purple Black Blood splattered across Lu Chen's clothes, and wisps of white smoke rose from them.
"Shriek—!" Its piercing cry rang out, painfully sharp.
Wounded, the Man Faced Demon Spider thrust its remaining legs at Lu Chen.
When Lu Chen saw that it hadn't tried to block him by spewing webbing, his suspicions grew stronger.
A flash of light gleamed from his left hand. The Asura Purgatory Claw struck without hesitation!
Five streaks of crimson-gold light flashed past.
A series of crisp cracks rang out, and the remaining legs were all cut off.
With nothing left to support it, the Man Faced Demon Spider crashed to the ground. Lu Chen landed steadily on its body.
He raised the Asura Demon Sword and was about to plunge it into the Man Faced Demon Spider's abdomen.
Suddenly, a hoarse shout rang out. "Stop!"
Lu Chen didn't hesitate. He drove the Asura Demon Sword straight into the Man Faced Demon Spider's abdomen.
"Shriek—!" After one last piercing cry, the Man Faced Demon Spider fell silent for good.
A Purple Soul Ring slowly appeared above its corpse.
Then two figures emerged from the place where the Man Faced Demon Spider had come rushing out.
They appeared before the group.
One was old and one young, and both were women. The older one looked to be in her sixties or seventies, with neatly combed white hair.
Though advanced in years, she was still vigorous and alert. She gripped a three-meter-long Snake Head Cane in her right hand, and six Soul Rings moved up and down around her.
Beside the old woman stood a pretty young girl with short hair that reached her ears. She looked about sixteen or seventeen.
Her snug, practical outfit hugged her well-developed figure.
Her dark brown eyes were fixed on Lu Chen, full of undisguised anger.
She, too, held a Snake Head Cane, though it was shorter than the old woman's—only two meters long. She had just two hundred-year Soul Rings.
The newcomers were Snake Dowager Chao Tianxiang and her granddaughter, Meng Yiran!
Chao Tianxiang's gaze swept over Dugu Bo, standing behind Lu Chen, and her eyes narrowed. She had evidently recognized him.
Suppressing her alarm, Chao Tianxiang forced a gentler expression. "Esteemed Poison Douluo, I am Chao Tianxiang. I apologize for the disturbance. We'll take our leave."
A cold sweat had already broken out across Chao Tianxiang's back. She hadn't expected to encounter Dugu Bo, rumored to be "narrow-minded and fond of bullying those weaker than himself," in the Star Dou Great Forest.
She had spoken out of turn in a moment of panic. She could only hope Dugu Bo wouldn't take offense!
Watching Chao Tianxiang, Meng Yiran was full of resentment, but she knew the people before her were not to be provoked. She pressed her lips together and kept quiet.
Lu Chen suddenly spoke up. "Senior Chao Tianxiang, this Man Faced Demon Spider is around two thousand years old. I'm afraid your granddaughter won't be able to absorb its Soul Ring."
As he spoke, Lu Chen pushed the Purple Soul Ring toward Chao Tianxiang.
His words sounded particularly grating to Meng Yiran.
Annoyed, Meng Yiran said, "What makes you so sure I can't absorb this Soul Ring?"
Feeling the pressure emanating from it, Chao Tianxiang sighed. "Yiran really can't absorb it."
"Grandma!" Meng Yiran's face flushed red with anger and frustration.
Chao Tianxiang said no more. She bowed respectfully to Dugu Bo. "Poison Douluo, we'll take our leave."
Dugu Bo nodded slightly.
As Meng Yiran left, she turned and glared fiercely at Lu Chen.
Lu Chen didn't mind. All he wanted was to confirm whether this was the same Soul Beast that had given Tang San an External Soul Bone in the original story!
Lu Chen bent down and plunged his hand into the Man Faced Demon Spider's abdomen.
Purple Black Blood gushed out.
The next moment, to Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan's astonishment, Lu Chen pulled out a Soul Bone.
It was a translucent section of spine, made up of eight vertebrae. Each one was like condensed purple crystal, refracting sunlight into a Seven-Colored Halo. Faint fluctuations of Soul Power spilled from it.
Looking at the Man Faced Demon Spider's Spine Soul Bone in his hand, Lu Chen could barely hide his delight. Just as I thought!
Curious, Dugu Yan looked at the External Soul Bone in Lu Chen's hand. "What kind of Soul Bone is that? It looks so unusual."
"An External Soul Bone!"
Seeing that his granddaughter was puzzled, Dugu Bo explained, "An External Soul Bone is a remarkable thing, a special kind that exists beyond the six major categories of Soul Bone. The odds of an ordinary Soul Bone appearing on a Soul Beast are one in a thousand. For an External Soul Bone, they're less than one in ten thousand!"
Lu Chen handed the Man Faced Demon Spider's External Soul Bone to Dugu Yan and said slowly, "Yan Zi, this Man Faced Demon Spider's External Soul Bone isn't right for me. You can have it!"
As for the condition Yu Xiaogang had mentioned—that you had to absorb the Soul Ring of the Soul Beast that dropped the Soul Bone before you could absorb the External Soul Bone?
Huo Yuhao and Tang Wulin hadn't absorbed a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's Soul Ring in the future, yet they had still fused with a Dark Gold Dread Claw Right Palm Bone.
How many of Yu Xiaogang's theories weren't bogus?
Looking at the Soul Bone in her hand, Dugu Yan's eyes lit up. She threw herself into Lu Chen's arms.
Just as Dugu Yan was about to kiss him, Lu Chen pressed two fingers against her soft lips and said helplessly, "Yan Zi, Senior Dugu is still here!"
Dugu Yan glanced at Dugu Bo. He disappeared from the spot in an instant, his presence vanishing without a trace.
"Now no one's going to get in our way, right?"
Excitement shone in Dugu Yan's eyes as she pressed Lu Chen beneath her...
It was a long while before Dugu Yan got up from Lu Chen and, blushing, straightened her disheveled clothes.
Following Lu Chen's instructions, she sat cross-legged nearby and began quietly absorbing the External Soul Bone.
Dugu Bo returned to Lu Chen's side and looked at the resentment in his eyes.
Dugu Bo spoke slowly. "Boy, don't be ungrateful. You didn't resist, either."
Lu Chen rolled his eyes at him. Did he think Lu Chen hadn't wanted to resist?
If he actually hurt Dugu Yan, the old poisoner would probably fight him to the death.
Just then, the Shrek group appeared before Lu Chen and Dugu Bo again.
This time, however, Ma Hongjun was missing.
The atmosphere immediately turned awkward.
Tang San's gaze fell on Dugu Yan, meditating beneath a tree, and an inexplicable sense of emptiness rose in his heart.
It was just like how he'd felt back then when he learned that Xiao Wu had slept with Lu Chen!
Before you continue