The Man Faced Demon Spider was dead, its eight legs pointing skyward. Five had been severed, and wounds covered its abdomen, from which dark green blood flowed.
Its white human face looked as though it were weeping tears of blood.
It had died horribly,
anything but peacefully.
"Sisi!"
"Shwish!"
"Roar!!"
Three Soul Beasts surrounded the Man Faced Demon Spider, celebrating a crushing victory.
The Jade Green Bird and White Tiger had rushed over when they heard the commotion, joining forces with the Datura Snake.
Three Soul Beasts, each nearly four thousand years old, had ganged up on a two-thousand-year-old Soul Beast.
It had been child's play.
The White Tiger slapped the spider's face over and over, venting its anger—or, rather, slapping its abdomen.
They had searched for nearly half a year without finding it. They had taken plenty of breaks along the way, but it had still worn them out.
So you had to be so rare!
So you had to be so hard to find!
Xia Yan said, "We're short on time. Let's not dawdle."
He stored the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse in White Tiger Space.
"Help me take out the Spirit Bone."
The White Tiger roared in reply.
"All right. You can come back for now."
The three Soul Beasts vanished in an instant. The Star Dou Great Forest no longer held anything new for them.
They had searched it over and over back then.
Xia Yan had finally obtained the Eight Spider Lances, and the weight lifted from his heart. With that, he had everything he could acquire early on to give him a top-tier advantage: the Blue Silver Emperor, the Blue Silver Emperor Spirit Bone, and the Eight Spider Lances.
Once he reached level forty, he could form a contract with the Blue Silver Emperor. The Blue Silver Domain was a top-tier domain Soul Skill, combining perception, control, recovery, suppression, disguise, and concealment.
He would wait until after leaving Shrek to absorb the Eight Spider Lances,
then evolve them bit by bit.
As for the Blue Silver Emperor Spirit Bone... he would keep it for now. Its two most important abilities were flight and self-healing. He didn't need flight: the Jade Green Bird was faster for now, and in the future, Xia Yan would be able to fly on his own.
Its healing ability was powerful,
but Xia Yan might eventually seek out a dedicated healing-type Soul Beast, whose healing abilities would surely be stronger.
If he couldn't form contracts with Soul Beasts and his Soul Rings couldn't grow,
he would definitely absorb the Blue Silver Emperor Spirit Bone. But now, his Soul Beasts could grow, and their age might far exceed a hundred thousand years.
In that case, the Blue Silver Emperor Spirit Bone would be of little use.
He'd keep it for now and decide later.
They continued deeper into the forest.
After traveling more than ten li,
under the moonlit sky, Xia Yan spotted Xiao Wu hurrying back.
Xiao Wu stood beneath a tree and saw him too. She stared at the approaching figure, stunned, hardly daring to believe it.
Despite the terror of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast... Xia Yan... had come after me...
The moment their eyes met,
Xiao Wu's beautiful eyes reddened.
Everything they had gone through together, every memory from the past, surged into her mind.
Xiao Wu had once thought that Xia Yan had changed after those four years.
She hadn't known how to face him.
But now,
she knew. She was certain—Xia Yan hadn't changed. He was still himself!
He was still the Xia Yan she had known!
Xia Yan saw that Xiao Wu's clothes were torn in several places. Her figure had grown more alluring, and her bearing seemed more mature.
She had already formed her Third Soul Ring.
After absorbing a Soul Ring, a person always seemed to grow a little all at once.
Before Xia Yan could say a word, Xiao Wu could no longer hold back. Tears welled up, and in an instant, she crossed the twenty meters between them and threw herself into his arms.
"Xia Yan!"
At last, she had embraced him! At last, she could feel his warmth!
She couldn't even imagine how much courage it had taken for Xia Yan to overcome his fear of the hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape and come after her!
"You love me!"
"You love me!"
"I knew it!"
All the hope, loneliness, and hurt she had carried for six years, all the feelings she had suppressed for six years, burst forth.
Her tears were scorching.
"Why wouldn't you accept me?!"
She wept, her voice choked, and clung tightly to Xia Yan.
"I've waited six years!"
"You can come looking for me now, so why can't you accept me?!"
She sobbed until tears streamed down her face,
pouring out all the hurt she had kept inside for years.
Xia Yan simply held her quietly and let her cry.
A long while later,
Xiao Wu finally ran out of tears, clear tear tracks left on her pretty face.
She sniffed, pouting in grievance as she looked into Xia Yan's eyes, tiny tears still clinging to her lashes.
"Why...?"
She was still sniffling.
Xia Yan held her. "Xiao Wu, are you human?"
"?!"
In Xia Yan's arms, Xiao Wu's petite body trembled. Her wounded expression froze on her face.
Her lashes quivered, and she managed a faint smile on her tear-streaked face.
"Y-you... what are you talking about?"
"How could I possibly be a Soul Beast?"
Soul Beasts and humans had always been enemies, slaughtering each other. Her Soul Beast Transformation was her greatest secret.
She wiped away her tears.
"Let's not talk about that. It's too dangerous here. We should hurry and leave."
Xia Yan spoke as if to himself.
Xiao Wu, I've always known you liked me. You're so beautiful, and you love me so much. I'm the only one in your heart... There's no way I wouldn't feel anything.
Xiao Wu's heart skipped a beat.
Her beautiful eyes were bewildered. She didn't know why Xia Yan had suddenly said that.
She didn't know what expression to wear, or whether she should be happy or afraid.
Xia Yan continued.
One day, a man in a black robe appeared in front of me. He had nine Soul Rings, and one of them was a blood-red color unlike any I had ever seen... He was a Titled Douluo, right there in Notting City.
Xiao Wu's pupils contracted. Her face turned deathly white, and a bone-deep chill made her tremble as though she had fallen into an icy abyss.
A Titled Douluo?!
"He approached with a gentle manner and a smile on his face, and told me to stay away from you..."
"But his expression carried a cold threat."
"At the time, I didn't know why he was threatening me or who he was. I couldn't ask, either. Later, I read a lot of books and learned a lot. Of the people on the continent who had ever been born with Innate Full Soul Power, more than ninety percent had parents who were at least Soul Saints. So behind nearly every person with Innate Full Soul Power, there was almost certainly a powerful figure. At first, I thought he was someone from your family."
"But then, today..."
Xia Yan met her trembling gaze.
"Xiao Wu, why had the Titan Giant Ape, which should have been living in the core of the Star Dou Great Forest, come to the edge of the Mixed Zone? Why had it taken only you? How had you returned safely?"
"..."
Feeling the girl tremble in his arms, he held her close.
"But I don't care who Xiao Wu is. Human or Soul Beast, whatever you are, it doesn't matter. All I know is that you're a girl who likes me, who gets angry because of me, feels happy because of me, and feels hurt because of me..."
Xiao Wu bit her lip, trying hard to hold back her tears, but the corners of her mouth still trembled, and tears silently streamed down her face.
They soaked through both her clothes and Xia Yan's.
Under the moonlit sky, the two embraced, the wind the only sound around them.
A long while later,
Xiao Wu lifted her face from Xia Yan's chest. Her reddened eyes held a fragile tenderness.
"Xia... I... I'm sorry..."
She clung tightly to Xia Yan, afraid he would disappear the next moment.
Pain and struggle, like a final farewell, showed on her face.
"I... I'm sorry."
"I can't go back with you..."
That Titled Douluo must have wanted her Soul Ring and Spirit Bone. She couldn't go back.
"Don't worry. Once I reach the Maturity Period, I'll come find you. Level sixty. It won't take long..."
Xia Yan shook his head.
"I've traveled across the continent these past few years and visited many places. I specifically searched for records about Soul Beast Transformation."
"After transforming, a Soul Beast has to go to the human world. Otherwise, its cultivation will slow to a crawl, almost coming to a stop."
"Without cultivation, you'll live for only a little over a hundred years..."
Xiao Wu knew that, but she had no choice anymore.
How could she possibly face a Titled Douluo?
Before you continue