With that kick, the Man Faced Demon Spider finally lost all signs of life.
"Huff, huff. The Man Faced Demon Spider really is cunning." Lin Yu finally let out a deep breath.
He knew the Man Faced Demon Spider wouldn't die so easily. After all, he had waited for so long, and the Soul Ring belonging to the Man Faced Demon Spider still hadn't appeared.
"Roar!" At the sound of a beast's roar, a pitch-black figure suddenly appeared and rushed toward the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse.
"The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger!?" Yue Guan and the others, who had been hiding nearby, stared in shock at the creature that had appeared out of nowhere.
Only then did they understand why there were no Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts or even Soul Beasts several thousand years old in this area.
It wasn't because of the roughly five-thousand-year-old Man Faced Demon Spider. It was because of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, which was over ten thousand years old.
Yue Guan and Dugu Bo were still in shock, but Gui Mei had already moved to Lin Yu's side and was warily watching the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was a nearly extinct Soul Beast, one that appeared only once every few years. Whenever one appeared, all the nearby Soul Beasts would join forces to kill it.
According to legend, the God of Evil had descended upon a White Tiger and caused it to mutate, turning its original light attribute into a dark one. It grew a pair of black wings that represented corruption, as well as the Evil God Hook, which resembled a scorpion's tail.
The utterly evil attribute left behind by the Evil God gave it an extremely domineering nature. It didn't grow by cultivating on its own; cultivation was extraordinarily difficult for it.
Only by devouring the Soul Power of other Soul Beasts or human Soul Masters could it rapidly increase its strength. Its body was also exceptionally tough.
This top-level Soul Beast could challenge opponents a whole rank above itself. In other words, a ten-thousand-year Dark Demon Evil God Tiger might even be able to challenge a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast.
And if the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger cultivated to its utmost, it had a very real chance of becoming an Evil God.
Facing the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger alone, Gui Mei didn't dare make a move. Yue Guan and Dugu Bo finally snapped out of their shock and joined Lin Yu, standing guard against the tiger.
Even the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger didn't dare act rashly when Yue Guan and Dugu Bo appeared out of nowhere.
If it had only been Gui Mei, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger wouldn't have feared him at all. But with two more Titled Douluo, the tiger knew it couldn't take them on.
After thinking it over, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger decided to retreat.
It glanced regretfully at the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse, then turned and disappeared from sight.
"I never thought the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger would appear again." Yue Guan stared grimly at the place where it had vanished.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger increased its strength by devouring human Soul Masters and Soul Beasts. Once discovered, it would be attacked by Soul Masters and Soul Beasts alike.
But the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was simply too powerful, so Yue Guan and the others hadn't made a move.
"Xiao Yu, absorb the Man Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring as soon as possible. We need to leave the Star Dou Forest quickly.
"Old Poison, go find a suitable Soul Beast for Dugu Yan." Yue Guan glanced at Dugu Bo.
Dugu Bo didn't waste time answering. He immediately left to look for a suitable Soul Beast for Dugu Yan.
Lin Yu didn't waste any time either. He sat cross-legged beside the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse and began absorbing its Soul Ring.
With Lin Yu guiding it, the roughly five-thousand-year Soul Ring belonging to the Man Faced Demon Spider slowly entered his body.
This time, however, the absorption didn't go smoothly.
Once the Soul Ring had fully entered Lin Yu's body, his expression turned extremely strained.
"It looks like a five-thousand-year Soul Ring is still a bit too much for him." Seeing Lin Yu's expression, Yue Guan sighed.
He wasn't worried that Lin Yu would fail to absorb it. With a Titled Douluo like himself there, he could make sure nothing went wrong.
"But Xiao Yu doesn't look like he's reached his limit yet. Let's wait a little longer." Yue Guan didn't intervene. He simply watched Lin Yu with concern.
Sure enough, before long, Lin Yu's expression calmed again. This was because his Martial Soul suppressed the Man Faced Demon Spider, and because some of the power from the Immortal Herb he'd taken earlier remained in his body, still unabsorbed.
"It looks like Xiao Yu can absorb this Soul Ring after all." Seeing how Lin Yu was doing, Yue Guan smiled with relief.
"Yan Yan, this Soul Beast is just right for you. You can start absorbing its Soul Ring too." Dugu Bo returned with a roughly two-thousand-year-old Man Faced Demon Spider and brought it to Dugu Yan.
Against a Titled Douluo, a Man Faced Demon Spider only about two thousand years old had no power to resist.
After Dugu Yan killed the Man Faced Demon Spider, she also began absorbing its Soul Ring.
Soon, both Lin Yu and Dugu Yan were in the process of absorbing their Soul Rings.
"It'll take them a while to finish absorbing their Soul Rings. Looks like we'll have to wait." Dugu Bo watched Lin Yu and Dugu Yan with concern.
But his gaze stayed mostly on Dugu Yan.
After all, the limit for a Third Soul Ring was around seventeen hundred years, while this Man Faced Demon Spider was about two thousand years old. He wasn't sure whether Dugu Yan could handle it.
However, Yue Guan had told him that after taking the Immortal Herb, Dugu Yan's Martial Soul had evolved and her physical strength had increased considerably. Absorbing a two-thousand-year Soul Ring shouldn't be a problem.
Even if something did go wrong, they were there to help, so there wouldn't be any danger. Only then had Dugu Bo brought over a Man Faced Demon Spider of about two thousand years.
"Old Ghost, keep an eye on our surroundings. If danger appears, we'll leave immediately," Yue Guan said to Gui Mei beside him.
Gui Mei didn't reply. He simply faded from sight.
About an hour later, Lin Yu finally opened his eyes. By then, his Soul Ring had completely disappeared into his body.
"Xiao Yu, you're awake." Yue Guan was delighted to see Lin Yu open his eyes.
"Now we just need to wait for Dugu Yan to finish absorbing hers." As he spoke, Yue Guan glanced at Dugu Yan.
She was still absorbing her Soul Ring.
"Xiao Yu, what's wrong?" Yue Guan asked, puzzled, when Lin Yu still didn't get up.
But Lin Yu didn't answer. Several ripping sounds came from his back as his clothes tore.
"This is..." Yue Guan stared in shock at the eight spider legs that had appeared behind Lin Yu.
"External Soul Bone—Eight Spider Lances!" Feeling the Soul Bone on his back, Lin Yu was overjoyed.
After all, this Soul Bone was one of the reasons he'd come to the Star Dou Forest.
He'd thought the Eight Spider Lances would only appear on the Man Faced Demon Spider Tang San had killed. He hadn't expected the five-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider he'd killed to drop one too.
"And my Soul Power has reached level thirty-three." Feeling his increased Soul Power, Lin Yu's lips curled into a smile.
"Mm..." Just as Lin Yu was celebrating, a groan suddenly came from beside him.
"Hm?" Lin Yu turned in confusion.
Dugu Yan had finished absorbing her Soul Ring too, and the same thing had happened to her: eight spider legs had sprouted from her back.
But for Dugu Yan, it wasn't a good thing. The eight legs had torn the clothes off her upper body.
Her pale skin was exposed. Yue Guan, Dugu Bo, and Gui Mei immediately turned away, leaving Lin Yu as the only one who kept staring.
"Ah!" Feeling the cold air blow against her uncovered body, Dugu Yan opened her eyes and saw that her top had been completely torn. She cried out in shock.
Only then did Lin Yu realize what had happened. He hurriedly took a shirt from his Storage Ring and draped it over Dugu Yan.
Dugu Yan realized what had happened too. She stopped crying out and looked at Lin Yu, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"All right, now that Xiao Yu and Yan Yan have both finished absorbing their Soul Rings, it's time for us to leave." Yue Guan paid no mind to Dugu Bo's clenched teeth. He took the two of them and raced toward the edge of the Star Dou Forest.
Dugu Bo didn't say anything about Yue Guan's behavior. With a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger still nearby, all he could do was grit his teeth and follow behind him.
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