Early the next morning, since Xiao Wu had said the day before that she didn't want to go, Gu Tian simply didn't wake her. After preparing breakfast for her and Na'er, he set out with Gu Yue. The four of them met at the school gate, then headed toward the Soul Hunting Forest.
Tang San had changed into a neat, close-fitting outfit that day. Although his left arm still throbbed faintly, his eyes held the grim resolve of someone staking everything on one throw.
"Teacher, this time I'm aiming for a Soul Beast over four hundred years old." Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang, his tone carrying a trace of pleading. "The Clear Sky Hammer needs the utmost strength or attack attributes. I can't be careless with it like I was with Blue Silver Grass."
"Don't worry, Xiao San." Yu Xiaogang forced a confident smile onto his stiff face, then glanced at Gu Tian, who was strolling leisurely nearby. "With Gu Tian backing us up this time, we'll get what we want as long as we find a suitable one."
Stepping into the Soul Hunting Forest once more, Tang San was surprised to find that its atmosphere was completely different from last time.
It was no longer as lifeless as before, when they hadn't seen a single Hundred-Year Soul Beast. Now, the forest was brimming with vitality. Nimble birds darted through the trees from time to time, while the rustling of large creatures could be heard among the undergrowth.
"Strange. Last time, this place felt like a dead land." Tang San murmured in confusion. "What a string of bad luck that day!"
"Heh, Xiao San, that's the mystery of luck." Yu Xiaogang clasped his hands behind his back and put on an air of profound knowledge. "Soul Beast distribution is affected by the seasons, the weather, and even certain magnetic fields. We were indeed unlucky last time, but from the looks of it, the forest is in an active period today."
Tang San accepted his explanation and sighed. He had no idea that last time, Er Ming's pressure as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast had scared every Soul Beast within several miles into hiding in their caves, too terrified to make a sound. This time, Gu Tian had deliberately concealed his aura so he could watch the show.
"Rolo, rolo—!"
Yu Xiaogang summoned Luo Sanpao. The round Soul Beast wagged its tail, sniffing the air with its little nose as it led them straight into the depths of the forest.
They had been walking for about two hours when Luo Sanpao suddenly stopped. Its fur stood on end, and it barked nervously at a shadowy, damp thicket ahead.
"Careful. Something big is coming." Yu Xiaogang's expression turned serious as he signaled for everyone to be on guard.
A pair of sharp, hooked claws parted the dense undergrowth, and a terrifying body glowing with a faint purple light slowly crawled out.
It was a giant spider. Its entire body was a deep purple, and its eight long legs were like eight sharp spears. Each segment was covered in a hard carapace and fine poisonous hairs. Eight eyes lurked beneath its bristles, radiating a chilling aura. Most horrifying of all, beneath its swollen abdomen were white markings shaped like a twisted human face. The markings seemed to grin menacingly at them.
"It's... the nightmare of smaller Soul Beasts, the Man Faced Demon Spider!" Yu Xiaogang cried, a complicated look flashing through his eyes.
"Xiao San, take a good look." Yu Xiaogang explained rapidly as he backed away. "The Man Faced Demon Spider is infamous in the Soul Beast Realm as a killer. It's savage by nature, preying on other Soul Beasts and even its own kind. Its legs are poisonous and can pierce through almost anything. This one has cultivated for four hundred years, yet it can fight on par with an ordinary thousand-year Soul Beast. The human face beneath its abdomen is its weak point, but it also conceals its most deadly silk-spinning orifice."
Looking at the killing machine before him, Tang San felt not a trace of fear. Instead, he was filled with an unprecedented excitement—a longing for immense power.
"That's the one! My Clear Sky Hammer needs this kind of extreme attack power!"
Tang San roared and charged first.
"First Soul Skill, Bind!"
Blue Silver Grass shot from his hand, carrying his Silent Sleeve Arrows with it. The pale Ten-Year Soul Ring looked especially glaring at that moment. Yet the vines that had always served him well against human Soul Masters were cut apart like tofu the instant they touched the Man Faced Demon Spider's sharp legs.
"Hiss—!"
The Man Faced Demon Spider let out a piercing shriek and sprang up like lightning, its front pincers lunging straight for Tang San's chest.
"Move!" Gu Tian's gaze turned cold as he signaled to Gu Yue.
"Water Element Control." Gu Yue's expression was cool as she lightly swept her right hand through the air.
Gu Yue manipulated the surrounding water elements, condensing the moisture in the air into a swirling current. A bone-deep chill burst through the air. The Man Faced Demon Spider's blistering charge abruptly halted in midair, and a layer of crystalline blue ice swiftly covered its eight legs, freezing it firmly to the ground.
"Rolo! Second Soul Skill, Fart Like Smoke—Sleep-Inducing Luo Sanpao!"
Yu Xiaogang seized the opportunity and ordered Luo Sanpao to attack. A cloud of yellow smoke with a strange stench instantly enveloped the Man Faced Demon Spider. Frozen in place by Gu Yue, it inhaled a large amount of the smoke head-on. Its frantic struggles slowed, and the blood-red gleam in its compound eyes began to fade.
"Gu Tian, attack its joints and cripple it!" Yu Xiaogang shouted.
Gu Tian helplessly waved a hand. Since he'd agreed to help, he might as well do it properly.
"Fire Dragon King Right Arm Bone Skill: Fire Dragon Mountain-Crushing Force."
Red dragon scales instantly covered Gu Tian's right arm. He didn't use his full strength, instead carefully controlling the flames. Several thin, searing streaks of fire struck the Man Faced Demon Spider's vulnerable joints with pinpoint accuracy.
"Boom—!"
The drastic temperature shift between ice and fire made the Soul Beast's hard carapace crack under the strain. The Fire Dragon King's scorching power seared its venom glands, stripping away all of its ability to fight back.
By then, six of the Man Faced Demon Spider's eight legs had been broken. Its body was charred black, and all it could do was lie on the ground, whimpering faintly. The instant Gu Yue froze it, it knew it had made a mistake. It could have sacrificed a limb to escape, but it hadn't dared.
The draconic pressure radiating from Gu Yue meant something else to the Soul Beast Clan. It usually meant the dragons were hungry and needed to hunt for food. The Soul Beasts chosen as prey could only accept their fate. Otherwise, if they angered the dragons, their entire clans would face annihilation.
"Xiao San, hurry! Its mental defenses have collapsed. This is your chance!" Yu Xiaogang urged anxiously.
Tang San suppressed his excitement and hurried forward. He summoned the Clear Sky Hammer in his left hand. Even without a Soul Ring, it weighed five hundred pounds, and a feverish thrill shone in his eyes.
"Die."
Tang San hurled the Clear Sky Hammer, striking the human face's eye on the Man Faced Demon Spider's abdomen. As foul-smelling purple blood splattered across Tang San's face, the four-hundred-year Soul Beast known as the nightmare of the forest breathed its last.
A deep yellow Soul Ring slowly emerged above the corpse.
Standing nearby, Gu Tian watched Tang San prepare to sit cross-legged and absorb the Soul Ring. In the Sea of Consciousness, he grinned at Chiyan. "For Tang San as he is now, this Soul Ring really is a good fit. But I hope his fragile meridians can withstand all that violent energy."
Tang San had no idea what Gu Tian was thinking. He took a deep breath and began guiding the yellow energy into the black hammer in his hand.
As Tang San absorbed the Soul Ring, Gu Tian had to guard him at Yu Xiaogang's request. He sat cross-legged on the spot, but in truth, he had slipped into the Sea of Consciousness.
"Lin Xi, by the way, why is only the Soul Master who lands the final blow on a Soul Beast qualified to absorb its Soul Ring?" Gu Tian lay against Chiyan's pale, shapely thighs, enjoying the Fire Dragon King's attentive feeding.
"That's because, as I told you before, our Soul Beast Clan cultivates through our innate abilities. When a Soul Beast dies, its life force rapidly drains away. Once it spills out of the body, it forms a ring of Soul Power—that's what people call a Soul Ring. It contains the innate ability the Soul Beast was born with, and only the Soul Master who personally killed it has a chance to absorb that ability. That's why only they're qualified to absorb its Soul Ring." Ao Linxi lifted her teacup and blew across its rim.
"No wonder. So that's how it works." Gu Tian thought for a moment. "Then how do Soul Bones form? Why do some Soul Beasts drop them?"
"Soul Bones form in a similar way. Sometimes, a Soul Beast's innate Soul Power doesn't fully escape its body. Instead, it builds up inside as its blood flows, eventually gathering in the bones and forming a Soul Bone." Ao Linxi took a sip of tea. "That's why there are several types of Soul Bone: Head Soul Bones, arm bones, leg bones, and the precious torso bones. As for Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, they've accumulated such an enormous amount of innate Soul Power that they're certain to produce a Soul Bone."
Gu Tian nodded and opened his eyes, only to find Chiyan's ample bosom nearly pressing against his face.
"By the way, Chiyan." Gu Tian shifted himself upward and began reminiscing about his childhood. "Did you know?"
"When I was little, I always went to the fields with Grandma. Those were such happy days. Grandma planted rice and pulled weeds up ahead while I chased butterflies and caught dandelions along the field ridge. Later, I moved far away, but those childhood memories have always stayed etched in my mind."
"Lying in your arms today, I... miss Grandma in the fields."
Hearing this, Chiyan's maternal instincts overflowed. She patted Gu Tian's head, but the more she thought about it, the more something seemed wrong. "You want to... lick mine..."
"???"
Gu Tian realized Chiyan seemed to have understood his dirty joke. To keep her from giving him a smack on the head, he had already prepared to flee the Sea of Consciousness.
Unexpectedly, Chiyan laughed and revealed Longmi. "Then come on, Xiao Tian... I want to experience that feeling of overflowing maternal love, too!"