The Second Death Tribulation

They opened their invisible mouths, emitting silent roars as their limbs struggled frantically. Some attempted to pounce on the Necrotic Demon Spider, only to be tightly bound by the grey-white aura, left to watch helplessly as they were slowly stretched and torn apart.

The four eyes of the Necrotic Demon Spider shone with an even brighter white light. An invisible gravitational force radiated from them, and those struggling souls, like fallen leaves sucked into a vortex, were transformed into tiny specks of light, all swallowed by the four eyes.

As it devoured the death energy and souls, dark patterns slowly lit up on the Necrotic Demon Spider's white armor, and the color of the armor deepened with each passing moment.

Every time it swallowed a soul, the Necrotic Demon Spider would emit a low hiss and stomp its spider legs hard against the ground, cracking the solid earth, while the two smaller eyes below gradually began to brighten.

When everything had been devoured, the Necrotic Demon Spider began to spin a web in the surrounding area.

Unlike the Man Faced Demon Spider, the Necrotic Demon Spider could not spray webs, and its weaving speed was quite slow, but the death energy on the silk could effectively mask its presence and be used to drive away other soul beasts.

Even if a soul beast were to intrude, the death energy on the web would invade the beast's body, drastically reducing its vital functions.

Once the web was set, the previously released grey-white aura instantly retracted, enveloping the Necrotic Demon Spider and forming a cocoon of light.

Sounds of bones breaking and reforming constantly emanated from the cocoon, while the patterns on its surface flickered between gold and blood-red, emitting a heart-palpitating pressure.

About the time it takes to burn a stick of incense later, the cocoon exploded with a "bang," sending a shockwave outward that blew away all the fallen leaves and gravel on the ground.

The spider's body size had doubled, its original white armor had turned grey-white, its form was more ferocious, and the coverage had expanded to its back and chest.

Its eyes had increased from four to six, flickering with a cold, grey light.

The two smaller eyes that were originally below had become as large as the two above, while the two additional eyes were very small and dim, as if they could not see anything at all.

Dugu Bo asked, "Its evolution is over, and it will likely leave soon. Do you need me to intervene?"

Xing Tian's eager posture already made his stance clear: "No need, just seal off this area and don't let it escape. It's much more satisfying to hunt soul beasts yourself!"

Then, Xing Tian said with an unusually solemn and serious expression, "Whatever happens in a moment, don't move, don't interfere, don't be surprised, and don't worry about me. I can handle everything."

Just as Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan were left confused, Xing Tian summoned his martial soul and charged out like an arrow released from a bow.

Seeing a human suddenly charging at it, the Necrotic Spider King was also exceptionally excited. After all, human soul masters were far more nourishing than soul beasts, and since Xing Tian also possessed the death attribute, it was even more beneficial to the spider. It would never let such a high-quality supplement go.

The Necrotic Spider King's rear six legs immediately began to rhythmically move, charging toward Xing Tian. Its front two legs slashed at Xing Tian like a Death Scythe, but Xing Tian simply raised his arms to block them head-on.

A look of surprise flashed across the Necrotic Demon Spider's six eyes. Its primary means of attack was straightforward physical combat, and after its evolution, its strength was unrivaled among soul beasts of the same level. It had not expected Xing Tian to be able to withstand its attack.

A stick of incense later, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan swallowed hard, looking at everything before them, unable to speak for a long time.

Dugu Bo's eyes were filled with bewilderment. He opened his mouth, but after a long while, he only managed to squeeze out one sentence: "Completely incomprehensible. Bizarre, absurd—those are the only two words to describe this."

Dugu Yan was already streaming with tears. She tugged at Dugu Bo's large hand and said anxiously, "Grandfather, do we really have to listen to him and do nothing?"

"Trust him, Yanyan. This isn't the first time. Although it's hard to understand, since he is so confident, we should believe in him. I have some guesses... after all, it's not the first time..."

Dugu Bo comforted Dugu Yan in a soft voice. Dugu Yan buried her face in Dugu Bo's chest, turning her back to Xing Tian, not daring to take even a single look.

She was afraid—afraid that if she looked, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from rushing over.

At this moment, Xing Tian was tightly gripping the two scythe-like front legs of the Necrotic Spider King, which were plunged straight into his own chest.

Black blood dripped down the spider legs. Xing Tian's body trembled violently, yet he bared his teeth in a ferocious grin.

The dark soul power around him circulated frantically, and the Nine Deaths Reincarnation Evil Art was pushed to its limit. The resentment of the souls within the Necrotic Spider King seemed to have found an outlet, surging wildly into his body along the spider legs.

"This is practically self-mutilation."

Dugu Bo dared not voice his thoughts, fearing Dugu Yan might hear him.

But Dugu Bo's assessment was accurate; Xing Tian was indeed self-mutilating. This was the side effect of the Nine Deaths Reincarnation Evil Art. To exert the power and potential of the technique to its limit, one had to do exactly this.

As the resentment of the souls continued to pour in, Xing Tian's face grew paler, and the soul power within him began to fall into chaos.

However, Xing Tian did not stop there. He did not immediately use the Nine Deaths Reincarnation Evil Art to digest the soul resentment; instead, after the absorption was complete, he pulled out the spider legs, and blood immediately gushed out like a fountain.

The next moment, Xing Tian sat cross-legged and drew the ten-thousand-year Soul Ring of the Necrotic Spider King onto himself, beginning the absorption.

A severely wounded body, the resentment of hundreds of souls, the soul power impact and spiritual shock of a top-tier ten-thousand-year Soul Ring—Dugu Bo believed this was a level of pain no human could endure.

The physical and mental agony swept through Xing Tian's entire body like a tsunami. His meridians felt as if they were being pierced by ten thousand steel needles, his mind was filled with the roars and malice of the dead, and his sanity hovered on the brink of collapse.

In a sense, this time was dozens of times more painful than it had been four years ago.

Dugu Yan covered her ears tightly, tears streaming down her face. Dugu Bo held her firmly, his entire body cold and stiff.

At this moment, Xing Tian suddenly erupted with a roar. Nine major acupuncture points—Danzhong, Shenque, Qihai, Guanyuan, Huiyin, Mingmen, Zhiyang, Lingtai, and Baihui—simultaneously spewed out a stream of purple energy, enveloping Xing Tian and rapidly merging into his limbs and bones.

Dugu Bo immediately realized, "He is releasing the cultivation he previously sealed? So that's it. He accumulated it for four years, all for this day!"

In truth, Dugu Bo was wrong about one thing: Xing Tian had not done this specifically for today.

Xing Tian had indeed accumulated his power to attempt the second Death Tribulation, but it was certainly not meant for today; it was just that his luck today was too good, and this environment was too perfect.

This land, soaked in blood and death energy, was the perfect breeding ground for nourishing the Nine Deaths Reincarnation Evil Art.

But fortune and misfortune are intertwined; while the environment created by the Necrotic Spider King became a hotbed for power growth, it also amplified the backlash of the evil art and the pain Xing Tian had to endure.

"He... he is going to suffer a cultivation deviation!"