Qian Renxue?

"Is it going to fight me to the death?" Lan Si's expression stiffened. Hardening his heart, he stowed the AK47 into his Soul Tool while channeling the Five Thunders Heart Art. Lightning surged through his left hand as he summoned the Clear Sky Bamboo Shoot.

Gathering his entire thirty-level soul power into his left hand, he instantly injected it all into the small black hammer, which was covered in intricate, bright golden spiral patterns.

In an instant, the small black hammer expanded several times in his grip, its handle reaching a meter in length. The patterns upon it suddenly sharpened, flickering with highly explosive blue electric arcs.

With a full-force swing of his left hand, the tip of the bamboo shoot pointed downward. Carrying terrifying lightning, the Clear Sky Bamboo Shoot slammed directly toward the face of the Soul-Eater Demon Spider.

The Soul-Eater Demon Spider instinctively sensed danger and raised its two front legs to block.

Unfortunately, though it had been on guard, it could not have predicted that Lan Si's Clear Sky Bamboo Shoot possessed the ability to break through defenses.

The tip of the Clear Sky Bamboo Shoot struck the intersection of the Soul-Eater Demon Spider's two front legs with unerring accuracy.

Crack.

The front legs snapped upon impact. Lan Si's lips curled slightly; seizing the advantage, he refused to let up. Reversing the hammer head, he unleashed the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, slamming it violently toward the Soul-Eater Demon Spider's face once more.

One hammer, two hammers, three hammers.

In an instant, the area where Lan Si and the Soul-Eater Demon Spider stood was filled with rising dust and dense lightning.

When the thirty-sixth hammer fell, Lan Si was exhausted. A brief opening appeared, and he immediately retreated dozens of meters, recovering his strength while patiently waiting and observing in silence.

As the dust settled, a massive crater appeared on the ground. The Soul-Eater Demon Spider lay in a miserable state within the pit. Of its eight spider legs, only four remained intact; the two front legs had been severed, and the third leg on the left and the second on the right were reduced to stumps. Its once pitch-black, glossy head was entirely caved in, and of its eight eyes, only three remained, dim and lifeless. Purple fluid continuously leaked from the broken legs, head, and ruptured abdomen.

It lay there limply, looking as wretched as could possibly be.

Watching the Soul-Eater Demon Spider in this state, Lan Si did not lower his guard, for as long as a soul beast had not produced a soul ring, it meant it was still alive.

With a wave of his right hand, the Cyan Lotus Blade that had been knocked away earlier shot up again, thrusting fiercely toward the Soul-Eater Demon Spider.

The Soul-Eater Demon Spider seemed to have been prepared. The moment Lan Si controlled the blade, its four remaining legs sprang up, leaping over Lan Si's head and fleeing rapidly toward the inner regions of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Soul Masters could sense the strength of soul beasts within a certain range, and soul beasts could do the same. In the perception of this Soul-Eater Demon Spider, Lan Si's aura was clearly that of a mere ant, far weaker than itself.

Yet, he had repeatedly seized the initiative: first using his martial soul's flight to create distance for long-range attacks, angering it into spraying webs, then using the opening to deploy a strange weapon to shatter the abdomen it relied on for storing webs, and finally unleashing an incredibly powerful second martial soul to cripple it until it had no strength left to fight back.

In the end, even its attempt to play dead had been seen through.

This Soul-Eater Demon Spider could not understand how it, already powerful and cunning among soul beasts, had suffered such a crushing defeat.

It was unwilling to accept this. It had to escape. As long as it escaped, relying on its devouring talent—which surpassed that of a Man Faced Demon Spider—to consume smaller soul beasts, it would surely recover to its peak in time and return to take revenge on this weak human.

"A cunning one, indeed. But do you think you can get away?" Lan Si sneered. Without hesitation, he put away the Clear Sky Bamboo Shoot, recalled the Cyan Lotus still hovering in the air, tapped his toes on the ground, and leaped onto the Cyan Lotus Pedestal, controlling it to fly rapidly toward the Soul-Eater Demon Spider.

The two sides chased and fled, gradually penetrating deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest, the distance between them closing steadily. During this time, Lan Si had used his semi-automatic pistol to fire more than once, but although the Soul-Eater Demon Spider's speed was greatly reduced due to having only four legs, its agility and perception remained at their peak. Driven by a powerful will to survive, it dodged Lan Si's bullets time and again.

However, Lan Si was not discouraged, as the distance between them was closing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

One hundred meters, fifty meters, thirty meters... it was getting closer, closer still.

When the distance dropped to less than twenty meters, Lan Si's body shuddered violently. He suddenly sensed a soul-stirring, bone-chilling coldness from the depths of his soul, as if he would die on the spot the moment he continued to pursue.

Lan Si looked ahead, a cold sweat dripping from his forehead. Five hundred meters away, a blonde woman was sitting cross-legged beside a massive soul beast. Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—five brilliant soul rings flashed around her, and a sixth black soul ring was slowly emerging. It appeared she was in the middle of absorbing her sixth soul ring.

He could be certain that this danger did not come from the Soul-Eater Demon Spider, nor from the blonde woman. Looking from afar, the woman's clothing and appearance were not those of a commoner, but rather a noble. Thus, there was only one possibility: someone was hidden in the shadows, protecting her.

Should he leave? Or continue the chase?

If he left, he was unwilling to give up such a high-quality soul ring. Furthermore, once the blonde woman woke up, she might think he had driven the Soul-Eater Demon Spider toward her with the intent to harm her. In her rage, she might even order her subordinates to hunt him down.

If he continued the chase, he might be attacked by the woman's protectors. The blonde woman was already a Soul Emperor; the person protecting her must have a higher soul power—at least a Soul Saint, perhaps even a Soul Douluo, or even a Titled Douluo.

Moreover, being able to possess such strength at this age, Lan Si could roughly guess the identity of the blonde woman.

For a moment, Lan Si was caught in a massive dilemma.

Could it be that he hadn't checked the calendar before leaving today? First, he encountered a little kitten being hunted by a big cat, leading to a "hero saves the beauty" scenario.

Then, he immediately ran into a mysterious woman. Is this really a case of "can't look cool for more than three seconds"?

At the same time Lan Si discovered the blonde woman, the Soul-Eater Demon Spider discovered her as well.

But unlike Lan Si, who was secretly lamenting his luck, the Soul-Eater Demon Spider was far more excited. It sensed an aura within the blonde woman that was both repulsive and powerful. Its instincts told it that as long as it devoured this human woman, it would surely gain an unprecedented boost, perhaps even healing its wounds and pushing its cultivation directly into the ten-thousand-year realm.

Taking a deep breath, just as Lan Si was filled with uncertainty, an Angel Phantom about three meters tall suddenly appeared behind the blonde woman. The angel had six wings on its back, a face not of this world, and radiated a holy and noble golden halo. Suddenly, Lan Si felt as if his soul had been purified.

Seeing this scene, Lan Si could confirm that the person before him was Qian Renxue.