External Soul Bone

Xing Tian said, "It wouldn't have worked before, but Sister Yan's Martial Soul has evolved now. She's also a physically resilient Beast Soul Master, and she's taken my blood. In a sense, her body is perfectly suited to absorbing a Poison-type Soul Ring."

"It'll be harder than an ordinary third ring, but as long as her will is strong enough, she can still pull through."

After Dugu Yan began absorbing the Soul Ring, the crack of bones could be heard now and then. Beads of blood occasionally seeped from the surface of her skin.

Dugu Bo's expression was grave as he said, "Things don't look too bad so far, but this Man Faced Demon Spider has a powerful Grudge. Although it hasn't formed a Soul Shock, it's still increased the Soul Ring's impact."

Another hour passed. A faint layer of gray gradually appeared among the beads of blood seeping from Dugu Yan's skin.

As she absorbed the Man Faced Demon Spider Soul Ring, the source energy it contained forcefully and domineeringly refined her body, cleansing her marrow and transforming her bones. It was simply quite painful.

Another half hour passed, and the Man Faced Demon Spider Soul Ring finally yielded. Dugu Yan's tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and a layer of emerald-green light shone from within her. Then a faint purple glow surfaced beneath her skin.

Dugu Bo exclaimed delightedly, "She did it! The most dangerous moment has passed. All that's left is to convert her Soul Power."

Xing Tian immediately added, "That's not all. The impact of the Man Faced Demon Spider Soul Ring even stirred the medicinal power of the Nine Grade Dragon Mushroom in Sister Yan's body, prompting her to absorb more of it."

Suddenly, Dugu Yan's brows knitted tight. She let out a scream, and her chest thrust upward as her entire upper body arched. If not for her flexible body, her spine might have snapped. The sight was horrifying.

"What's happening?" Dugu Bo cried, his eyes bloodshot.

"Senior Dugu, look!" Xing Tian pointed at Dugu Yan's back.

The skin on Dugu Yan's back suddenly tore open. Four fist-sized bumps rose on either side of her spine.

The eight bumps burst open at once, and eight thick, deep-purple appendages emerged from them. They grew at an astonishing speed. Dugu Yan's body relaxed, though the convulsions continued.

When the deep-purple appendages reached a length of one and a half meters, they paused briefly. Joint-like structures formed at their tips. When they resumed growing, they extended from those joints in a different direction.

"Could this be..." Dugu Bo already had his suspicions, and his tense expression quickly eased.

The eight purple-black appendages continued growing until they were over three meters long. Their surfaces gleamed purple and looked exceptionally smooth. They were thickest where they joined Dugu Yan's back, tapering as they extended outward, with spear-sharp tips.

"Aren't these the Man Faced Demon Spider's legs? They're just a little thinner, and they have a faint, sweet scent." Xing Tian asked, "Senior Dugu, what exactly are they?"

Dugu Bo didn't explain right away. Instead, he said, "Let's wait until Yanyan is fully awake."

By now, Dugu Yan's body had settled. Four of the spider legs supported her, suspending her in midair as her consciousness slowly emerged from the pain.

Her body felt indescribably comfortable, but her back itched.

"Ah—what are these things?" Dugu Yan cried out when she woke and saw the eight spider legs. The four that weren't supporting her seemed just as alarmed, and began flailing around.

Dugu Bo hurriedly said, "Yanyan, don't panic. Imagine these eight spider legs are part of your body. Control them just as you would your own hands and feet. Let your thoughts guide them. Have them lower you, then retract them into your back."

"Okay, I'll try."

Dugu Yan forced herself to calm down, and the four flailing spider legs settled as well.

She gathered her Soul Power and sent it into the spine in her back, directing the eight spider legs to lower her gently. Then the three-meter legs folded slowly, their bent segments pressing together before gradually merging back into her body.

Dugu Yan felt no discomfort, only an itch in her back. All three of her Soul Rings lit up, and her Soul Power drained rapidly.

"Senior Dugu, what exactly are these?"

Dugu Bo explained, "They're called an External Soul Bone, a special kind of Soul Bone beyond the six major types. The six ordinary Soul Bones don't manifest characteristics of Soul Beasts like this. And to absorb an External Soul Bone, you must absorb the Soul Ring of the Soul Beast it came from."

"Ordinary Soul Masters don't fully fuse with the six major Soul Bones. You could call it an attachment. External Soul Bones are different: they can fuse completely with a Soul Master and share their power."

"Because of that, once an External Soul Bone has fully fused with its Soul Master, it can't be used a second time like an ordinary Soul Bone."

"The greatest advantage of an External Soul Bone is precisely that it can fuse completely with its Soul Master. Soul Masters can grow, so an External Soul Bone can grow alongside them, eventually becoming a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone—or even something stronger."

"Yanyan, sense it carefully and see what abilities it has."

Following what she'd done before, Dugu Yan let her thoughts guide the eight spider legs and released them, sensing them carefully.

"They seem to be attached to my spine and eight ribs. The strength in my back has increased a lot, too."

Dugu Bo nodded. "Mm. You haven't fully fused with it yet, so for now you can only sense that it's attached to you. Keep going."

Dugu Yan continued controlling the eight spider legs. They spread around her like eight enormous arms, shielding her in their midst. A faint purple haze surfaced on them, and a deep, dusky purple glow shimmered across their surfaces, making them look like transparent amethyst.

Dugu Yan directed one spider leg to stab into a large tree. Its tip was so sharp that it pierced straight through without the slightest resistance.

A purple layer spread from the spider leg throughout the tree at astonishing speed. Leaves rained down from above, but before they could hit the ground, they turned into wisps of purple powder and vanished in midair.

The tree itself dissolved soundlessly into purple dust, as if melting snow.

Even the shrubs near the tree, touched by the purple powder, turned purple and disappeared. Within several meters, everything became a purple wasteland of deathly stillness.

A faint stream of energy traveled along the spider leg and entered Dugu Yan's body. There wasn't much, but she could feel it clearly.

After gathering her thoughts, Dugu Yan said, "These eight spider legs have incredible piercing power. Even a defensive Soul Elder couldn't withstand them. When I use them, they can increase my strength by fifty percent."

"They've perfectly inherited the Man Faced Demon Spider's Toxicity. Their Corrosion effect is extremely powerful, and they can also devour their target's Soul Power to replenish my own."