The True Face of the Eight Spider Lances, the Miserable Little Wretch

"Long Yuan. What use do you have for this Soul Beast?"

"It's just a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. You don't really think I'd suffer any loss over this, do you?"

Tang San said calmly.

It was merely a dispute born of youthful pride. He only wanted to claim this Soul Beast.

It was only a Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

When the time came, he could simply ask Teacher Zhao Wuji to help him hunt another one.

He did like this Soul Beast a great deal, but it was not indispensable.

On the other hand, Long Yuan was merely wasting his own time.

"Just a Thousand-Year Soul Beast."

Gu Linyuan repeated Tang San's words, the corner of his mouth curling beneath his hood into a meaningful arc.

"You're right."

He turned and walked toward the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse, the hem of his Black Mysterious Robe fluttering gently in the wind.

"A Thousand-Year Soul Beast means nothing to me either."

Gu Linyuan stopped before the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse.

The Thousand-Year Soul Beast Tang San had killed lay quietly at the edge of the forest clearing. Its eight long spider legs were curled at its sides, and its dark green blood had already congealed, giving off a sweetly fishy stench.

He lowered his head and looked at the massive spider corpse, his gaze beneath the hood calm and focused.

Tang San's pupils suddenly contracted.

"What are you doing?"

His voice involuntarily rose.

Gu Linyuan did not answer.

He raised his right hand, and the Scepter of Destruction appeared in his palm out of thin air.

Its staff was pitch-black, its gemstone dark red, and three Soul Rings slowly revolved around it—purple, black, black.

Tang San's gaze was fixed upon those three Soul Rings: one purple and two black.

One Thousand-Year Soul Ring, two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings.

Three rings, Rank 32.

He took a deep breath and suppressed the shock in his heart.

Gu Linyuan raised the Scepter of Destruction, aiming its tip at the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse.

Black Destruction Soul Power surged from the staff like countless black threads, piercing into the joints of the Man Faced Demon Spider's eight legs.

Then—

"Crack."

The first sound.

"Crack."

The second sound.

"Crack, crack, crack."

Eight crisp cracks rang out in succession, like bamboo snapping apart.

The eight spider legs broke away from the Man Faced Demon Spider's body at once, rolling onto the ground and kicking up dust.

Gu Linyuan withdrew the Scepter of Destruction, crouched down, and laid the eight spider legs side by side on the ground.

Everyone watched him, unable to understand what he was doing.

Tang San's expression had already changed.

A terrifying thought was taking shape in his mind, but he refused to believe it.

No way.

Impossible.

How could something like that appear on a Thousand-Year Man Faced Demon Spider?

Gu Linyuan extended his left hand. Dark golden blades covered his five fingers—the Dark Gold Terrorclaw.

He lightly drew the blades across the shell of a spider leg.

"Hiss—"

The thick shell of the spider leg was split open down the middle, revealing its interior.

Dark green flesh rolled out, carrying a dense, fishy smell.

Gu Linyuan activated his Destruction Soul Power and shattered the flesh on the spider legs.

Pitch-black Destruction Soul Power flooded into the spider legs. Under the erosion of destructive power, the dark green flesh rapidly withered, shattered, and peeled away, turning into black ash that rustled down from the shells.

Once the flesh fell away, something inside was revealed.

Long, translucent purple-black bones lay quietly within the shattered shells.

The bones resembled spider legs magnified countless times. Their joints were distinct, their lines smooth, and their surfaces were covered in a purple-crystal-like sheen that reflected an eerie yet beautiful glow beneath the sunlight.

Gu Linyuan removed one of the purple-black bones from its shell and held it in his hand.

The bone was light, so light that it seemed nearly weightless. Yet it was also incredibly tough. Gu Linyuan clenched it hard, but it did not move in the slightest, nor did it make any sound.

The corner of Gu Linyuan's mouth rose slightly.

"I finally have you. Eight Spider Lances..."

"From now on, I'll remake you into a true Destruction God Spear. Together with my Destruction God Claw, you will become my most perfect accompanying weapons..."

At this moment, even Gu Linyuan could not help showing delight.

He could disregard ordinary Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones. But even Gu Linyuan wanted as many External Soul Bones as possible, the kind that could continue growing alongside a Soul Master.

"External Soul Bones are inferior to Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones only because even the most talented Soul Masters can barely cultivate them beyond the power of Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones. But I am different..."

"In my hands, an External Soul Bone will surely possess power no less than a divine artifact in the future. Besides, ordinary Soul Bones never truly merge with a Soul Master's body. They will always remain separate. But when cultivated to their limit, an External Soul Bone becomes one of the Soul Master's organs..."

Gu Linyuan muttered.

"An External Soul Bone! This is an External Soul Bone?"

Tang San's eyes abruptly widened, and his pupils shook violently.

An External Soul Bone.

An External Soul Bone even rarer than a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

He had once heard his teacher Yu Xiaogang speak of this special kind of Soul Bone. A Soul Master could possess at most six Soul Bones, but External Soul Bones were special. Even an External Soul Bone produced by a Thousand-Year Soul Beast was second in value only to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

The value of an External Soul Bone was not tied to the Soul Beast's age!

"No wonder I always felt that this Soul Beast was fated for me."

"So there was an External Soul Bone hidden inside it!"

He felt as though his heart were being cut by knives. His blood surged, and his entire body trembled violently.

It was not trembling from cold, nor from fear. It was an uncontrollable convulsion brought on by rage at its peak.

Right before his eyes, Gu Linyuan stripped away the eight spider legs one by one, shattered their flesh, and removed the bones.

Eight crystalline purple-black spider legs lay side by side on the ground, gleaming with an eerie light beneath the sun.

Tang San felt as though something had tightly seized his heart.

It hurt.

A suffocating ache.

As though something that had originally belonged to him had been forcibly snatched away through his fingers.

After Gu Linyuan finished processing the eight spider legs, he stood and dusted off his hands.

He turned around and looked at Tang San.

Beneath the hood, the corner of his mouth rose slightly, forming a meaningful curve.

"Just a Thousand-Year Soul Beast."

"You didn't really think I came here to play house with you, did you?"

There was a trace of mockery at the corner of Gu Linyuan's mouth.

"That's my External Soul Bone. Long Yuan, you've gone too far. You've humiliated me beyond measure."

Tang San snapped.

Long Yuan was being utterly inhuman.

He had to dismantle such a priceless treasure right in front of him.

This was killing a man and stabbing him in the heart!

Forcibly taking away an External Soul Bone was a hatred comparable to the murder of one's parents!

"Give it back!"

Tang San's voice suddenly rose, sharp and shrill.

"It's mine!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and his refined face was now twisted with ferocity.

He suddenly raised his hand, and countless flashes of cold light shot out from his waist, sleeves, and collar at once.

Hidden weapons descended like Pear Blossom Rain.

Silver needles, Flying Darts, Sleeve Arrows, and Bone Piercing Nails—every one of them had been coated in poison, and every one of them could take a life.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss."

The sounds of tearing through the air merged into one as the projectiles blanketed Gu Linyuan from all directions.

But this time, Gu Linyuan had already been prepared.

He had been injured by Tang San's sneak attack on the Soul Fighting Platform last time because he had been careless. He would not suffer the same loss twice.

The instant Tang San raised his hand, Gu Linyuan had already moved.

Destruction Soul Power surged over his body, forming a layer of black light so thin it was nearly invisible.

"Clang, clang, clang."

The hidden weapons struck the light membrane with a series of dense ringing sounds before being deflected and scattered across the ground.

Not a single silver needle could pierce that black light membrane.

Not a single Flying Dart could approach his body.

All the hidden weapons lost their force three feet before him, as though they had struck an invisible wall.

Tang San charged forward.

His body shot toward Gu Linyuan like an arrow released from a bow. His right hand formed a claw as he grabbed for Gu Linyuan's throat.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon.

He was fast, even faster than he had been on the Soul Fighting Platform. His fury had awakened his potential, making his movement technique thirty percent faster than usual.

But his opponent was Gu Linyuan.

Gu Linyuan looked at Tang San rushing toward him and gave a cold laugh.

He clenched his right hand into a fist, gathering pitch-black Destruction Soul Power over it like a compressed mass of darkness.

Tang San's claw reached before him.

Gu Linyuan sidestepped the claw, then swung his right fist with the motion, striking directly at Tang San's chest.

"Bang."

His fist struck Tang San squarely in the chest with a dull thud.

Tang San's body suddenly arched backward, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips, drawing a horrifying arc through the air.

But his body only paused for a moment. He was not sent flying.

His feet plowed two deep trenches into the ground, and he barely managed to steady himself.

Then he lunged forward again.

He had gone mad.

Tang San had gone mad.

His reason had completely collapsed. Only one thought remained in his mind: take back the Eight Spider Lances.

At any cost.

Gu Linyuan's eyes turned cold.

He did not want to kill Tang San. At least, not yet.

But if Tang San insisted on seeking death, Gu Linyuan did not mind granting his wish.

Tang San rushed at him again. This time, his target was the Storage Soul Tool at Gu Linyuan's waist that held the Eight Spider Lances.

Gu Linyuan raised his right leg and kicked Tang San in the abdomen.

"Bang."

Tang San's body flew backward like a kite with its string cut. He crashed heavily onto the ground, then rolled several meters farther away.

Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, staining his blue martial outfit a darker color.

A section of his chest had caved in. The pain made him curl up on the ground like a boiled shrimp.

"Long Yuan, you bastard! My External Soul Bone!"

Tears, snot, and blood left Tang San's entire face unrecognizable.