Tang San, Are You Ready?

It was still that same dark space. The woman in the black dress lay on the ground, fast asleep.

Suddenly, a surge of golden divine power tore through the space and descended like a tiny sun, hovering in the air.

The woman in black furrowed her brow slightly, as if sensing something. Her proud body trembled, and her enticing red lips moved. "Don't rush me, Little Scumbag. Your auntie's just going to nap a little longer, then I'll satisfy you."

"Little Spider, still sleeping? Why don't you take a look at what Little Scumbag is doing with your body?"

The voice came from the golden divine power in the air. Then the power slowly contracted, eventually taking on Feng Yan's form.

The woman in black snapped open her purple eyes, still carrying the dazed look of someone who had just woken up.

She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the red figure in the air. Then she exclaimed in delight:

"God of Fire, you came to see me!"

Feng Yan folded his arms across his chest, then landed on the ground and said calmly, "I didn't come here specifically to see you. I have something else I'd like to discuss with you."

The woman in black's eyes flashed with disappointment. Then she suddenly seemed to think of something and began looking around.

But the figure who spent all day shouting, "You're courting death!" had already vanished. She hurriedly cried, "Oh no! Where did Little Scumbag go?"

Could God of Fire be using Little Scumbag to do something strange again?

The thought crossed the woman's mind. She watched Feng Yan carefully, as if trying to get an answer from him.

Then an even more perplexing thought struck her: why had she woken up in her consciousness space instead of in her own body?

Could it be...?

Feng Yan spoke just then. "You guessed right. Little Scumbag is outside, operating your body."

The moment his words fell, the woman in black's expression changed dramatically. "How dare he!!!"

"He's nothing but a plaything for my amusement, yet he dares to control my body? I'll hang him up and whip him a hundred thousand times!"

Cursing as she spoke, she tried to leave the space with her spiritual power and take control of her body again.

Feng Yan watched her throw a fit in silence, too lazy to explain. She'd stop once she tired herself out. Besides, he was only a faint wisp of divine consciousness; he had time to spare.

The woman in black struggled for quite a while before she seemed to realize something. Tears welled in her purple eyes, and she said aggrievedly, "God of Fire, you're helping Little Scumbag, aren't you...?"

Feng Yan finally spoke. "Little Spider, let's get straight to the point."

The woman in black wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and parted her lips. "The point? What point?"

"Tell me, do you want to become a god?" Feng Yan posed a question that would drive the Man Faced Spider Emperor—and every Soul Beast—to madness.

The woman in black froze. A fleeting look of confusion crossed her purple eyes, followed by suspicion.

"God of Fire..."

Her voice turned cautious. "Are you joking?"

Become a god!

For Soul Beasts, that was a dream beyond reach. Even Di Tian, who was now hailed as the Beast God, had not truly become a god...

Generally speaking, once a Soul Beast reached a hundred thousand years of cultivation, it faced a brutal choice...

Either transform into a human and start cultivating all over again, gambling on the slim, illusory chance of becoming a god.

Or continue cultivating as a Soul Beast, enduring a heavenly tribulation every hundred thousand years until one day it was blasted to ashes.

"When I make a promise, I keep it. If you agree, then the Divine Realm could have a Spider God..." Feng Yan deliberately trailed off halfway.

"The Divine Realm could have a Spider God?"

The woman in black's breathing quickened, and a spark of longing flickered in her eyes. She wanted to become a god more than anything! It was her deepest dream!

The woman in black believed that God of Fire would never harm her.

Otherwise, why would he help her so much? Why would he kindly send her Little Scumbag?

It couldn't be that he wanted her Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone, could it? But why would a god want those things?

At last, a chance had fallen into her lap. She decided to risk it and see if she could turn her humble bicycle into a motorcycle.

"All you have to do is, three days from now..." Feng Yan sent his words directly to the woman in black.

After hearing everything Feng Yan had to say, the woman in black hesitated. "God of Fire, is this really all right?"

Feng Yan said, "A broad road to godhood lies open before you. The choice to walk it is yours."

At that, the woman in black no longer hesitated. "Fine. I trust you, God of Fire. It's only a body, anyway. I'll let Little Scumbag enjoy himself for a few days."

After traveling for a whole day and night and overcoming countless hardships, Tang San finally brought a large group of Man Faced Demon Spiders to the edge of the bamboo grove.

"Goo-goo-ga-ga? (Spider Emperor, didn't you say there'd be a silver party here?)" A Man Faced Demon Spider that had only just passed ten thousand years of cultivation let out a strange sound. Its face looked rather honest.

The other Man Faced Demon Spiders seemed to start talking among themselves too.

"Wai-bi-ba-bu? (I was summoned here. Let me ask, what's a silver party?)"

"Sa-ba-la-xi! (I heard it's some kind of essential ritual for reviving our race!)"

"Enough insolence!" For some reason, Tang San suddenly understood what they were saying. His already-purple spider face darkened even further with anger.

Man Faced Demon Spiders were solitary Soul Beasts. To gather this group as quickly as possible, he had found a ten-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider and used some underhanded methods. Then the news had spread from one to ten, and ten to a hundred...

In the end, most of the Man Faced Demon Spiders in the Star Dou Great Forest had gathered here.

The noise gradually died down.

"I'll make this clear first: there's an extremely powerful senior inside. You must not offend him..."

After speaking, Tang San looked over the Man Faced Demon Spiders behind him. Seeing no objections, he continued, "All right, follow me into the bamboo grove."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tang San took the lead, stepping forward on his eight spider legs and heading into the depths of the bamboo grove.

The many Man Faced Demon Spiders followed in a mighty procession.

As solitary Soul Beasts, they had never gathered in such numbers before. Normally, they kept a natural wariness and distance from one another.

But now, summoned by Tang San, the Spider Emperor, they all suppressed their instinct to kill and surged into the bamboo grove.

In front of the bamboo house, Feng Yan lay on a bamboo chair with his eyes closed. He appeared to be resting, but his mind was racing.

If nothing unexpected had happened, that wisp of his divine consciousness should have reached the Divine Realm by now.

He just didn't know how San Gege was doing. Had he started fighting Destruction yet? If they really were fighting, that would be perfect.

Suddenly, a crowd of Man Faced Demon Spiders arrived in the open space before the bamboo house. The one at their head was Tang San.

Feng Yan wasn't surprised at all. He withdrew his thoughts, slowly opened his eyes, and swept his gaze over the Man Faced Demon Spiders.

There were over a hundred of them, almost all a thousand years old. Only a handful had lived for more than ten thousand years, but for a race on the brink of extinction, that was already pretty good.

Feng Yan asked, "Tang San, are you ready?"