The Second Death Tribulation

They opened their invisible mouths and let out silent shrieks, their limbs struggling wildly. Some tried to lunge at the Necrotic Demon Spider, but the ashen aura bound them fast. All they could do was watch as they were slowly stretched apart and torn to pieces.

The white light in the Necrotic Demon Spider's four eyes grew brighter. An invisible force of attraction emanated from them, and the struggling wraiths were drawn in like fallen leaves swept into a whirlpool. One by one, they turned into flecks of light and were swallowed by all four eyes.

As it devoured the death energy and wraiths, dark patterns slowly lit up across the Necrotic Demon Spider's white armor, and the armor's color deepened.

Each time it swallowed a wraith, the Necrotic Demon Spider let out a low hiss and stamped its spider leg against the ground, cracking the hard earth beneath it. The two smaller eyes below gradually brightened, too.

Once everything had been devoured, the Necrotic Demon Spider began spinning a web around itself.

Unlike the Man Faced Demon Spider, the Necrotic Demon Spider couldn't Spit Up a Spider Web, and it wove one very slowly. But the death energy on its threads concealed its presence well and could also drive away other Soul Beasts.

Even if another Soul Beast wandered in, the death energy would invade its body and drastically weaken its life force.

When the web was finished, the ashen aura it had released instantly drew back and enveloped the Necrotic Demon Spider, forming a cocoon of light.

The sounds of bones cracking and reforming came from within the cocoon. Patterns across its surface flared gold one moment, then flashed crimson the next, while an unsettling pressure radiated from within.

After about the time it took an incense stick to burn, the cocoon burst with a bang. A wave of air expanded outward, sweeping away every fallen leaf and pebble on the ground.

The spider had grown to twice its former size. Its once-white armor had turned ashen gray, and its shape had become more vicious. Its armor now covered its back and chest as well.

Its eyes had increased from four to six, each glimmering with a cold, ashen light.

The two smaller eyes below had grown as large as the two above. The two new eyes, meanwhile, were tiny and dim, as if they couldn't see at all.

Dugu Bo asked, "It's finished evolving. It'll probably leave soon. Do you want me to step in?"

Xing Tian's eager stance already made his answer clear. "No. Just seal off this area so it can't escape. Hunting Soul Beasts yourself is what makes it fun!"

Then Xing Tian spoke with an unusually grave and serious expression. "No matter what happens in a moment, don't move and don't interfere. Don't be surprised, and don't worry about me. I can handle everything."

While Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan were still bewildered, Xing Tian summoned his Martial Soul and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

Seeing a human suddenly charging at it, the Necrotic Spider King was thrilled. Human Soul Masters were far more nourishing than Soul Beasts, and Xing Tian also possessed the Death Attribute, which made him even more beneficial. It would never let such a choice morsel get away.

The Necrotic Spider King immediately set its rear six legs in motion and charged at Xing Tian. Its front two legs slashed at him like the Death Scythe, and Xing Tian simply raised his hand to block them head-on.

Surprise flashed in the Necrotic Demon Spider's six eyes. Its attacks relied on straightforward physical combat, and after evolving, its strength was nearly unmatched among Soul Beasts of the same rank. Yet Xing Tian had managed to hold back its attack.

An incense stick's time later, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan swallowed hard as they stared at the scene before them, unable to speak for a long while.

Dugu Bo's eyes were full of confusion. He opened his mouth, but after a long moment, all he managed to say was, "I can't understand it at all. Bizarre and absurd—those are the only words for it."

Dugu Yan was in tears. Grabbing Dugu Bo's large hand, she asked anxiously, "Grandpa, are we really supposed to listen to him and do nothing?"

"Trust him, Yanyan. This isn't the first time. It's hard to understand, but he's so confident, so we should trust him. I think I've figured out some of it... After all, this isn't the first time..."

Dugu Bo gently comforted Dugu Yan. She buried her face in his arms, turning her back to Xing Tian and not daring to look.

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

At that moment, Xing Tian was gripping the Necrotic Spider King's two sickle-shaped forelegs with all his might. They were thrust straight into his chest.

Black blood dripped from the spider legs. Xing Tian's body shook violently, yet he bared his teeth in a savage grin.

The dark Soul Power around him churned wildly as he drove the Nine Deaths Reincarnation Evil Art to its limits. The resentment of the wraiths inside the Necrotic Spider King poured into his body through its legs as if they had found an outlet.

"This is practically self-mutilation."

Dugu Bo didn't dare say the words aloud. He was afraid Dugu Yan would hear.

But his assessment was spot-on. Xing Tian was mutilating himself. This was the side effect of the Nine Deaths Reincarnation Evil Art. To unleash the art's full power and potential, he had to do this.

As the resentment of the wraiths continued to pour into him, Xing Tian's face grew paler and paler, and the Soul Power in his body began to run wild.

But Xing Tian didn't stop. He didn't use the Nine Deaths Reincarnation Evil Art to digest the resentment. Instead, once he had absorbed it all, he pulled out the spider legs, and blood gushed forth like a spring.

The next moment, Xing Tian sat cross-legged and drew the Necrotic Spider King's Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring toward himself, beginning to absorb it.

His grievously wounded body, the resentment of hundreds of wraiths, the Soul Power impact of a top-grade Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, and Soul Shock—Dugu Bo believed that no human could endure such agony.

Physical and mental torment swept through Xing Tian like a tidal wave. His meridians seemed to be pierced by thousands upon thousands of steel needles. His mind was filled with the shrieks and malice of the wraiths, and his sanity hovered on the brink of collapse.

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

Dugu Yan clamped her hands over her ears as tears streamed down her face. Dugu Bo held her tightly, his whole body cold and rigid.

Then Xing Tian suddenly let out a roar. Purple currents burst simultaneously from nine major acupoints—Shanzhong, Shenque, Qihai, Guanyuan, Huiyin, Mingmen, Zhiyang, Lingtai, and Baihui—shrouding him before rapidly flowing into every part of his body.

Dugu Bo immediately understood. "He's releasing the cultivation he sealed before? So that's it! He's been building it up for four years, all for today!"

In truth, Dugu Bo was wrong about one thing: Xing Tian hadn't been preparing for today.

Xing Tian had indeed been accumulating power to break through the Second Death Tribulation, but he certainly hadn't planned to do it today. He was simply incredibly lucky today. The conditions here were perfect.

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

But every blessing carried the seed of disaster. Though the environment created by the Necrotic Spider King had become a perfect breeding ground for his power, it had also magnified the backlash of the evil art and the pain Xing Tian had to endure.

"H-he's... about to go berserk!"