One day earlier.
When Fu Qin chased after the Titan Giant Ape and left the Shrek group.
Not long after he had left.
A sudden change struck!
"Careful, we're being watched!!"
Flender's face changed dramatically. His body, which had only just recovered enough to draw a breath after the Titan Giant Ape's devastating blow, tensed up in an instant. A massive black shadow shot out from the bushes.
It was a spider whose legs spanned more than a dozen zhang. Dark purple fuzz covered its body, and its eight legs gleamed with a ghostly green poison, sharp as scythes. It was none other than a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider!
"Get out of the way!" Zhao Wuji roared as he lunged forward, forcibly activating his Immovable Bright King Body in an attempt to shield everyone.
But the injuries from the Titan Giant Ape's palm strike were simply too severe. As soon as he mustered his Soul Power, he couldn't help spitting out a mouthful of blood, and cracks instantly spread across his protective Soul Power barrier.
Flender followed close behind, unfurling his Golden Roc Wings, but could only just manage to hold back the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider's assault.
Tang San's gaze sharpened. He instantly activated his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, his figure darting back like a ghost as he narrowly dodged the spider leg sweeping toward him.
Though he carried memories of his past life, his Soul Power had only just broken through level thirty. Faced with the pressure of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, he still felt a pang of fear.
But Oscar, standing beside him, wasn't so lucky.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Spider attacked far faster than he could react. Its ghostly green leg whistled through the air, stabbing straight toward his chest.
The shadow of death descended in an instant. Oscar's pupils contracted, and only one thought remained in his mind.
Survive!
"Thud!"
"Ah—!!!"
"Argh—!!!"
A dull thud rang out alongside two screams.
The others watched in horror as, at the very last moment, Oscar suddenly reached out with both hands, grabbed Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun beside him, and shoved them straight into the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider's attack!
Dai Mubai had just started to activate his White Tiger Martial Soul to counterattack when a tremendous force dragged him off balance. He could only watch as the ghostly green spider leg pierced the left side of his abdomen, blood gushing out in an instant.
Ma Hongjun was in an even worse state. The spider leg scraped beneath his lower abdomen, tearing away a huge patch of flesh. The piercing pain made him curl up on the ground, howling like a slaughtered pig.
Oscar, meanwhile, used the force of his shove to roll clumsily aside, saving his own life.
He looked at the two men writhing in agony on the ground. A trace of guilt flashed in his eyes, but it was soon replaced by relief at having survived.
His selfish nature, fostered in the Divine Realm, was plain to see. Faced with life and death, he had sacrificed his teammates without the slightest hesitation.
"Oscar! I'll kill you!" Dai Mubai clutched his bleeding abdomen, his Evil Eye bloodshot, his voice brimming with boundless hatred.
He had never imagined that the brother who had once fought shoulder to shoulder with him would betray him at such a critical moment!
Ma Hongjun lay on the ground, blood pouring from his lower body. His whole body convulsed with pain, and he glared at Oscar like a blade dipped in poison.
"Oscar... I'll curse your ancestors to the eighteenth generation! I won't let you off even as a ghost!"
Oscar's face went pale. His lips moved as he tried to explain, but Flender's furious roar cut him off. "You bastard!"
Seeing this, Flender and Zhao Wuji burned with rage.
They had never expected Oscar to be so selfish and despicable. But with the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider still watching them hungrily, the two could only suppress their anger and launch their full attacks.
Flender's Cat-Eagle Wings and Zhao Wuji's Gravity Control intertwined, forming a fierce offensive that slammed into the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider.
"Squelch!"
Though the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul-Devouring Demon Spider was formidable, it ultimately couldn't withstand the full force of two Soul Saints.
Several of its legs were severed, dark purple blood sprayed everywhere, and its massive body crashed to the ground, completely lifeless.
It was only a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, after all. It stood no chance against high-level Soul Saints like Flender and Zhao Wuji.
Just as everyone thought the danger had passed, a second wave of foul wind suddenly swept toward them.
Another Soul-Devouring Demon Spider crawled out from deep in the forest. It was a size smaller than the previous one, but its aura was just as fierce.
This was a three-thousand-eight-hundred-year-old Soul-Devouring Demon Spider!
"Damn it! Why's there another one?!" Zhao Wuji cursed. He had just been through a fierce battle, and his Soul Power was nearly spent. He could barely manage to stand.
Still, taking down this thousand-year-level Soul-Devouring Demon Spider wouldn't be difficult.
Soon.
Flender and Zhao Wuji worked together and beat it until it was grievously wounded and on the verge of death.
After seeing that it no longer posed any danger.
Flender's expression turned grave. He looked at Tang San. "Xiao San, kill it quickly!"
Tang San nodded firmly, a crazed light gleaming in his eyes.
As he looked at the dying three-thousand-eight-hundred-year-old Soul-Devouring Demon Spider, a bold idea welled up inside him.
He was a God King reborn, with experience absorbing Soul Rings beyond the usual limit from his past life. A three-thousand-eight-hundred-year-old Soul Ring was nothing to him!
"Dean, Teacher Zhao, leave it to me." Tang San's voice held a hint of barely concealed arrogance. "This Soul Beast is mine. I want it as my third Soul Ring!"
Before the words had even left his mouth, he charged toward the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider. Flender and Zhao Wuji's faces changed, and they tried to stop him, but it was already too late.
They knew that a level-thirty Soul Elder absorbing a three-thousand-eight-hundred-year-old Soul Ring was no different from suicide. But Tang San was simply too fast—he had already reached the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider.
"Tang San! Have you gone mad? Get back here!" Flender roared, but could only watch as Tang San raised his Blue Silver Grass, infused it with Soul Power, and began absorbing the Soul Ring glowing a deep purple.
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun lay on the ground, watching Tang San. Their expressions were complicated.
They felt jealousy, resentment, and a trace of schadenfreude.
Though they acted polite toward Tang San, deep down, they weren't convinced by him.
In their eyes, everyone was now standing at the same starting line. Why should Tang San be a cut above the rest?
They would be more than happy if Tang San failed to absorb the Soul Ring, had his Soul Power backfire, and became a cripple.
Oscar walked over to the two, his face wearing a false look of apology. He summoned a Recovery Big Sausage and a Detoxifying Little Sausage in his hand.
"Mubai, Hongjun, I'm sorry. I acted in a moment of desperation just now. Hurry and eat these sausages to treat your wounds."
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun glared at the sausages he offered, their eyes full of hatred, but they had no choice but to open their mouths.
The pain from their wounds left them no choice. Seething with anger, they could only eat the sausages Oscar handed them.
The sausages' energy flowed into their bodies, easing the pain of their wounds a little, but their hatred only grew stronger.
"Oscar, you'd better remember this. I, Dai Mubai, will repay today's grudge a hundredfold!" Dai Mubai ground his teeth as he thought, the wound in his abdomen still aching faintly.
Ma Hongjun endured the pain too, cursing Oscar in his heart until he was blue in the face.
He could clearly feel that his manhood had been severed. It wasn't completely gone, but it would definitely affect his happiness in the future.