Destroying Tang San's Fortuitous Opportunity

Dusk wove a dark net through the canopy. Shen Lian held Zhu Zhuqing as they hovered thirty meters above the ground amid the crown of a tree fern. The Vermilion Bird Wings had drawn in to a faint crimson-gold gleam, and even the sound of their flapping had been wrapped in Soul Power, becoming silent ripples.

Shen Lian watched Tang San and Meng Yiran compete with hidden weapons in the clearing below. The Bone-Piercing Nail thrown by the young man struck the bullseye with precision, yet his fingertips trembled slightly as he withdrew his hand—a sign that his Soul Power was about to break through a bottleneck.

"Did you see the flush in the web of his thumb?"

Shen Lian's fingertips brushed across Zhu Zhuqing's collarbone, his voice softer than the night wind, before he continued:

"At most, Tang San should break through to level thirty within half an hour."

Shen Lian's spiritual power spread out like a spiderweb, simultaneously catching three layers of presence:

Oscar's aura as he absorbed a Spirit Ring and broke through, the thunderous crash of the Titan Giant Ape trampling shrubs three kilometers away, and, deeper in the forest, the aura of an arachnid Soul Beast carrying the scent of rust.

Zhu Zhuqing followed his gaze and happened to see Oscar, who had already finished absorbing his Spirit Ring.

At that moment, Shen Lian suddenly tightened his arms. He had sensed an inhuman roar coming from the depths of the distant forest—not from the Man Faced Demon Spider, but from something far more massive.

"It's the Titan Giant Ape. It caught Xiao Wu's scent."

Shen Lian's pupils shrank into cold stars in the night, and he continued thinking:

The next part will be lively: the Giant Ape takes Xiao Wu, Tang San chases into the core zone, and then...

He did not continue. He merely held Zhu Zhuqing and silently shifted to a more concealed branch.

In the clearing below, the Shrek group had already fallen into chaos because of the Titan Giant Ape's disturbance. Zhao Wuji unleashed his Martial Soul to withstand the shockwave, while Tang San, just as Shen Lian had expected, chased into the darkness like a madman.

"Follow him."

Ice edged Shen Lian's voice.

The Vermilion Bird Wings silently spread, and the two followed a hundred meters behind Tang San like Gui Mei.

The deeper they went into the forest, the darker it became. Fluorescent mucus occasionally seeped from beneath the rotting leaves, a sign that a Man Faced Demon Spider was nearby.

When Tang San's path was blocked by a cluster of giant spiderwebs, Shen Lian suddenly stopped beneath a huge tree with an umbrella-like crown. The Dragon-Slaying Blade glowed crimson in his palm.

"This is the place."

Shen Lian pointed ten meters ahead. The ground there was covered in dark-red fuzz, while twelve compound eyes flickered behind the Vines.

The Man Faced Demon Spider had clearly been disturbed by the Titan Giant Ape's movements, and with someone pursuing it, it anxiously ground its venomous fangs together. Yet Tang San's bloody scent drew it back in.

"Zhuqing, get ready to disrupt its neural center."

Shen Lian placed Zhu Zhuqing on a thick branch, then clung to the trunk like a gecko. When Tang San's Blue Silver Grass bound the spider's legs and the Man Faced Demon Spider opened its mouth to spray a corrosive web, he moved.

The Dragon-Slaying Blade left its sheath with a sharp cry that tore through the air, but it did not strike the Demon Spider. Instead, it cleaved precisely into the pile of hundred-year Soul Beast corpses behind it.

The foul stench stirred up by the blade wind instantly overwhelmed Tang San's bloody scent. At the same time, Shen Lian used his spiritual power to mimic the roar of the Titan Giant Ape.

Already terrified by the Giant Ape's appearance, the Man Faced Demon Spider was struck by this double provocation and abruptly spun around, frantically spewing silk at the empty pile of corpses.

"Now!"

Shen Lian shouted.

Zhu Zhuqing leaped down from the tree, her Nether Claws carrying Soul Power as they stabbed toward the joints in the Demon Spider's legs.

The sudden attack drove the Demon Spider completely mad. It abandoned the seemingly weak Tang San and instead pounced on Zhu Zhuqing, whose aura was stronger.

"Tang San, run!"

Shen Lian deliberately shouted as the Dragon-Slaying Blade swept across the Demon Spider's abdomen.

The instant the blade grazed its carapace, he planted a Disorder Mark within the Demon Spider using his Soul Power.

This Soul Beast, which should have been hunted by Tang San, was now completely out of control under the interference of two outside forces. It rampaged through the woods, shredding the surrounding spiderwebs to pieces.

Tang San stood frozen in place, watching Shen Lian and Zhu Zhuqing work together to lure the Man Faced Demon Spider deeper into the forest, his eyes filled with confusion.

He could feel that his Soul Power had already broken through, but the sudden turn of events made him hesitate.

Shen Lian and Zhu Zhuqing watched from afar as the Demon Spider repeatedly slammed into rocks because of the Disorder Mark within it. Then Shen Lian thought:

Kill the Man Faced Demon Spider outright without absorbing its Spirit Ring. Even if I cannot obtain the Eight Spider Lances myself, I must never let Tang San have them.

Shen Lian then finished off the Man Faced Demon Spider with a single slash, thinking:

Some people's fates should be rewritten from the moment they meet me.

Tang San was still standing where he was, sensing the restless Soul Power within his body, completely unaware that his fortuitous chance to obtain the Eight Spider Lances had been utterly severed by the two people in the distance.

Night deepened over the Star Dou Great Forest. In darkness thick as ink, the corpse of the Man Faced Demon Spider lay collapsed amid the twisted remnants of its webs.

Its carapace had completely cracked under the erosion of Shen Lian's Soul Power. Dark-green blood seeped into the earth, steaming into wisps of white mist with a fishy-sweet odor.

Shen Lian stared at the gradually dissipating purple Spirit Ring. Its light dimmed like fireflies before finally turning into specks of starlight and vanishing into the void.

Shen Lian knew that the Eight Spider Lances, which should have belonged to Tang San, had completely disappeared from this world with the Soul Beast's death.

"So that's how it ends?"

Zhu Zhuqing asked softly. Her silver hair was stained with spiderweb mucus, reflecting an eerie sheen beneath the moonlight.

Shen Lian did not answer, but an inexplicable palpitation rose within him, as though something important were calling to him.

He crouched and ran his palm over the Man Faced Demon Spider's shattered carapace. His fingertips met a cold, rough texture.

When he felt around the Demon Spider's head, his palm suddenly touched a protruding hard lump.

Shen Lian's gaze sharpened. He poured Soul Power into his fingertips and carefully peeled apart the Demon Spider's fractured exoskeleton.

A diamond-shaped bone fragment glowing with a dim crimson light was revealed. Its surface was covered in dense spiderweb patterns, with faint Soul Power fluctuations flowing through every line.

"A Head Spirit Bone!"

Shen Lian cried out in surprise, unable to hide his delight, though he would not absorb this Spirit Bone.

Yet he had never expected that although he had severed the opportunity to obtain the Eight Spider Lances, this Man Faced Demon Spider had actually nurtured another precious Head Spirit Bone.

Zhu Zhuqing also stepped closer, surprise and curiosity gleaming in her silver eyes.

Shen Lian stored the Spirit Bone in his Storage Ring. The faint clink of metal sounded especially clear in the silent forest.

"Let's go see Tang San."

Shen Lian rose to his feet and dusted himself off. The Vermilion Bird Wings spread slightly, stirring a weak current of air.

Following the aura they had left behind earlier, the two soon found Tang San.

Tang San was leaning against a large tree, his face as pale as paper. His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul flickered in and out beside him; clearly, the earlier upheaval had drained him greatly.

Shen Lian looked at Tang San, killing intent surging within him. As long as he acted, he could completely change this protagonist's fate.