The Clear Sky Hammer's First Spirit Ring

Early the next morning, since Xiao Wu had said yesterday that she didn't want to go, Gu Tian simply didn't wake her. After preparing breakfast for her and Na'er, he set off with Gu Yue. The four of them gathered at the school gate and headed toward the Soul Hunting Forest.

Tang San had changed into a crisp, neat outfit today. Although his left arm still throbbed with pain, his eyes held a desperate, all-or-nothing resolve.

"Teacher, my target this time is a soul beast over four hundred years old." Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang, his tone carrying a hint of pleading. "The Clear Sky Hammer requires extreme power or attack attributes; it absolutely cannot be handled as carelessly as the Blue Silver Grass."

"Rest assured, Little San." A confident smile squeezed onto Yu Xiaogang's stiff face, and he didn't forget to glance at Gu Tian, who was strolling leisurely to the side. "With Gu Tian here to hold the line, as long as we encounter a suitable one, we are bound to succeed."

Stepping into the Soul Hunting Forest once again, Tang San was surprised to find that the atmosphere in the forest was completely different from last time.

It was no longer as deathly silent as before, where one couldn't even spot a hundred-year soul beast; it had become vibrant and full of life. Agile birds darted through the trees, and the rustling of large creatures moving through the bushes could be heard faintly.

"Strange, when I came last time, it clearly felt like a dead zone." Tang San muttered to himself in confusion. "That was truly a day of bad luck!"

"Hehe, Little San, this is the metaphysics of luck." Yu Xiaogang stood with his hands behind his back, feigning profoundness as he explained. "The distribution of soul beasts is influenced by seasons, climate, and even certain magnetic fields. Our luck was indeed poor last time, but today, it seems the forest is in an active period."

Tang San took it for the truth and sighed. Little did he know that last time, it was the pressure of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Er Ming that had scared all the soul beasts within a few miles into hiding in their dens, while this time, Gu Tian had deliberately suppressed his aura just to watch the show.

"Luo Luo, Luo Luo--!"

Yu Xiaogang summoned Luo Sanpao. The round soul beast wagged its tail, its little nose sniffing incessantly at the air, leading the group straight into the depths of the forest.

After traveling for about two hours, Luo Sanpao suddenly stopped. Its fur stood on end, and it let out an anxious bark toward a dark, damp patch of bushes ahead.

"Careful, a big one is coming." Yu Xiaogang's expression turned stern, signaling the group to be on guard.

The dense bushes were pushed aside by a pair of sharp hooked claws, and a terrifying body emitting a faint purple glow crawled out slowly.

It was a massive spider. Its entire body was a deep, profound purple. Its eight long legs were like eight sharp spears, each limb covered in a hard cuticle and fine, dense poisonous hairs. Its eight eyes were hidden beneath the hair, exuding a cold, sinister aura. Most chilling of all, beneath its fat abdomen were white markings that formed the shape of a twisted human face, which was currently wearing a hideous grin at the group.

"It's actually... the nightmare of small soul beasts, the Man Faced Demon Spider!" Yu Xiaogang gasped, a complex look flashing in his eyes.

"Little San, look closely." Yu Xiaogang retreated while explaining rapidly. "The Man Faced Demon Spider is a notorious killer in the soul beast world. They are inherently cruel, preying not only on other soul beasts but even on their own kind. Because of its highly toxic and piercing spider legs, this four-hundred-year-old Man Faced Demon Spider can even rival an ordinary thousand-year soul beast in combat power. The human face under its abdomen is its weakness, but it also hides its most lethal silk-spinning orifice."

Looking at this killing machine before him, Tang San felt no fear; instead, he felt an unprecedented excitement—a craving for powerful strength.

"This is the one! My Clear Sky Hammer needs this kind of extreme attack power!"

Tang San let out an angry shout and struck first.

"First Soul Skill, Bind!"

Blue Silver Grass shot out from his hands, carrying his Silent Sleeve Arrow. The pale white ten-year soul ring looked exceptionally glaring at this moment. However, the vines that were usually invincible against human soul masters were instantly severed like tofu the moment they touched the Man Faced Demon Spider's sharp legs.

"Hiss--!"

The Man Faced Demon Spider let out a sharp hiss, its body springing up like lightning, its front chelicerae lunging straight for Tang San's chest.

"Do it!" Gu Tian's eyes turned cold as he signaled to Gu Yue.

"Water Element Control." Gu Yue's expression was indifferent as she lightly brushed her right hand through the void.

Gu Yue manipulated the surrounding water elemental power, condensing the water vapor in the air into a swirling vortex. An extreme chill erupted in the air instantly. The Man Faced Demon Spider's lightning-fast charge stalled mid-air, and a layer of crystalline blue ice rapidly covered its eight legs, freezing them firmly to the ground.

"Luo Luo! Second Soul Skill, Fart as Smoke—Hypnotic Sleep Luo Sanpao!"

Yu Xiaogang seized the opportunity and commanded Luo Sanpao to attack. A yellow mist with a strange, pungent odor instantly enveloped the Man Faced Demon Spider. Unable to move because of Gu Yue's ice, the spider inhaled a large amount of the gas. Its frantic struggling slowed down, and the blood-red ferocity in its compound eyes began to dissipate.

"Gu Tian, attack its joints and cripple it!" Yu Xiaogang shouted loudly.

Gu Tian waved his hand helplessly; since he had promised to help, he had to see it through.

"Fire Dragon King Right Arm Bone Skill: Fire Dragon Mountain-Crushing Force."

Gu Tian's right arm was instantly covered in crimson dragon scales. He didn't use his full strength, but precisely controlled the intensity of the flames. Several thin, scorching hot fire lines struck the Man Faced Demon Spider's fragile joints with pinpoint accuracy.

"Boom--!"

The violent temperature difference of ice and fire caused the soul beast's hard carapace to emit a sound of unbearable shattering. The Fire Dragon King's scorching power instantly scorched its poison glands, completely stripping it of all ability to resist.

At this moment, the Man Faced Demon Spider had six of its eight legs broken and its body was charred black. It could only lie on the ground, letting out weak whimpers. It had known it made a mistake the moment Gu Yue froze it; it could have chosen to break off a limb to escape, but it didn't dare.

The dragon clan pressure emanating from Gu Yue held a different meaning for the soul beast race. It usually meant they were hungry and needed to hunt for food, and the chosen soul beast could only accept its fate. Otherwise, angering the dragon clan would be a catastrophic disaster for their entire race.

"Little San, hurry! Its mental defenses have collapsed; this is your chance!" Yu Xiaogang urged anxiously.

Tang San suppressed his inner excitement and stepped forward. He summoned the Clear Sky Hammer in his left hand. Even without an attached soul ring, the hammer weighed five hundred pounds. His eyes held a look of morbid pleasure.

"Die."

Tang San threw the Clear Sky Hammer, and the five-hundred-pound hammer smashed into the eyes of the human face on the Man Faced Demon Spider's abdomen. As a foul-smelling purple blood splattered onto Tang San's face, this four-hundred-year-old soul beast, known as the nightmare of the jungle, breathed its last.

A ring of deep yellow light slowly emerged from above the corpse.

Gu Tian stood to the side, watching Tang San, who was preparing to sit cross-legged to absorb the soul ring. In his Sea of Consciousness, he smiled at Chiyan: "The power of this soul ring is indeed potent for the current Tang San. But I hope his fragile meridians can withstand this violent energy."

Tang San, unaware of Gu Tian's thoughts, took a deep breath and began to guide the yellow energy into the black hammer within his body.

Seeing Tang San absorbing the soul ring, and since Gu Tian had to guard him at Yu Xiaogang's request, Gu Tian sat cross-legged on the spot and actually dove into his Sea of Consciousness.

"Sister Linxi, tell me, why is it that only the soul master who lands the final blow on a soul beast is qualified to absorb its soul ring?" Gu Tian lay on Chiyan's soft, white thighs, enjoying the feeding service provided by the Fire Dragon King.

"That is because, as I said before, our soul beast race cultivates based on innate ability. When a soul beast dies, its life force dissipates rapidly in a very short time, overflowing from the body to form a ring-shaped soul power—this is what is called a soul ring. It contains the innate ability they were born with. Only the soul master who kills the beast with their own hands has the chance to absorb this innate ability, and thus becomes qualified to absorb the soul ring." Ao Linxi raised her teacup and blew on the rim.

"No wonder, so that's how it is." Gu Tian thought for a moment. "Then where do soul bones come from? Why do some soul beasts drop soul bones?"

"The cause of soul bones is similar. The innate soul power within a soul beast doesn't always overflow completely; sometimes it accumulates in the body, flowing with the blood until it eventually merges into the bones, forming a soul bone." Ao Linxi took a sip of tea. "Therefore, soul bones are divided into various types, such as head bones, arm bones, leg bones, and the precious torso bone. For a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the innate soul power accumulated in its body is already so vast that it will definitely produce a soul bone."

Gu Tian nodded and opened his eyes, only to find that a certain part of Chiyan was about to press against his face.

"By the way, Chiyan." Gu Tian shifted his body upward, beginning to recall the experiences of his childhood, "Did you know?"

"When I was little, I always followed Grandma to the fields. It was so blissful back then; Grandma would be in front planting rice seedlings and weeding, while I chased butterflies and caught dandelions along the ridges. Later, I moved far away from home, but those childhood experiences remained carved into my heart."

"Lying in your arms today, I find myself... missing Grandma in the fields."

Hearing this, maternal love overflowed in Chiyan's heart as she stroked Gu Tian's head. However, the more she thought about it, the more something felt off. "Missing... licking my..."

"???"

Gu Tian realized that Chiyan seemed to have understood his cold joke. To prevent Chiyan from giving him a blow to the head, he had long since prepared to escape the Sea of Consciousness.

Unexpectedly, Chiyan let out a laugh and revealed Longmi. "Well then, little Tian, come on... I want to experience the feeling of overflowing maternal love too!"