Domain Overlap, Death Spider Emperor

Yan Lingji nodded as if she understood, her gaze falling upon the tiled house, lost in thought.

Bibi Dong, however, watched Zhao Linchuan with eyes that shone brightly, his figure reflected in her clear pupils.

She realized that the man before her seemed to possess an invisible magic that drew her in, making her unable to resist wanting to get closer, to understand him, and to keep watching him just like this.

As for herself... she seemed to have fallen long ago.

Bibi Dong suddenly recalled Yan Lingji's earlier remark about "who secretly washes their undergarments every morning," and her face flushed red again. She hurriedly lowered her gaze, staring at the tips of her toes.

"Lord Spirit Master!"

A moment later, a youthful voice came from behind, breaking the delicate silence.

The boy ran out from the house, his eyes rimmed with red. He rushed to Zhao Linchuan and dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Lord Spirit Master, are you leaving?"

"What is it?" Zhao Linchuan asked calmly.

"Lord Spirit Master, may I work for you?"

The boy raised his head, looking at Zhao Linchuan with burning eyes, as if afraid of being refused, and rushed to add:

"I don't need any payment!"

"You cured my mother's illness, and I want to repay you!"

As he spoke, he knelt down again, his forehead touching the ground, yellow soil staining his brow.

"Lord Spirit Master! Please, take me as your servant!"

The three of them exchanged glances and remained silent for a moment, as if weighing something.

The wind outside the courtyard passed through the branches of the old willow tree, making a rustling sound.

In the distance, the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs rose and fell, adding a touch of vitality to the silence.

After a moment, Zhao Linchuan spoke slowly: "What is your name? What is your martial soul? What is your innate spirit power level?"

"Answering the Lord Spirit Master!" The boy knelt on the ground, not daring to lift his head, his voice trembling slightly. "This lowly one is called Gou'er... my martial soul is a stone, and, and I have no innate spirit power."

His voice grew quieter and quieter, until it was almost inaudible at the end.

He dared not look up, seemingly afraid that once Zhao Linchuan heard he had no innate spirit power, he would not want to take him as a servant.

"If you are to follow me, the name Gou'er will not do."

Zhao Linchuan's tone was flat, without a hint of disdain, as if the fact that he had "no innate spirit power" was not worth mentioning at all.

"How about this." Zhao Linchuan looked down at him. "Your martial soul is a stone, so from now on, take 'Shi' as your surname."

"I bestow a name upon you; from now on, you shall be called Shi Ruijin."

He took the Pope Token of Bibi Dong out from his spirit tool and reached out to hand it to Shi Ruijin.

"Take this, go to the nearest Spirit Hall, and have them send you and your mother to Spirit City."

"Just say it was arranged by Saintess Bibi Dong."

"Th-thank you, Lord Spirit Master!"

"Go." Zhao Linchuan waved his hand. "Don't keep your mother waiting. We have matters to attend to, so we won't linger."

"Gou'er... oh no! Ruijin sees the three lords off...!"

Seven days later, the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.

This area was already very close to the core region. Ancient trees towered into the sky, blocking out the sun, and the light could barely penetrate the dense, layered canopy.

The air was filled with a damp, decaying scent mixed with the smell of soil and withered leaves. Occasionally, the chirping of unknown insects drifted from the depths—hoarse and long, like an echo drifting from another world.

A Death Spider Emperor, about ten meters in length, was hanging quietly on a massive web.

The web spanned between several thousand-year-old trees, with a diameter exceeding thirty meters. The silk was as thick as an infant's arm, shimmering with a dark purple luster in the gloom.

It had just finished feeding. Not far away on the ground lay the remains of several spirit beasts; their flesh and blood had been drained, leaving only shriveled skins and stark white bones that looked particularly terrifying in the dim light.

The Death Spider Emperor let out a burp, exhaled a cloud of purple-black mist, and then slowly closed its compound eyes, preparing to enjoy a peaceful afternoon.

Screech—!

Suddenly, a crisp bird cry tore through the deathly silence of the forest!

The sound was clear and sharp, like an invisible sword piercing the stillness of the dense woods, shooting straight into the clouds.

The Death Spider Emperor's eight compound eyes snapped open, blood-red light flickering within them.

Immediately following, a sky full of white fire rain descended!

They fell from the sky like a meteor shower, dense and overwhelming, shrouding a radius of several hundred zhang around the Death Spider Emperor.

The fire rain landed on the ground, but instead of igniting the grass and trees, it transformed into walls of pearly-white fire. They quickly connected and merged, forming an impenetrable domain of flames.

The Death Spider Emperor sensed that scorching, sacred aura; its eight long legs curled slightly, and its body tensed.

At the same time, two distinct domains swept toward it from the north and south simultaneously.

To the north, a golden ocean spread forth like a rising tide.

Wherever that golden halo passed, the vegetation, the earth, and the rocks were all coated in a thin film of gold—seemingly gentle, yet sharp as a sword.

To the south, a purple-gold domain surged forward like a tide from a dead sea, resembling an abyss opening its massive maw to swallow every living soul.

Three domains simultaneously shrouded the Death Spider Emperor; under this triple superposition, the Death Spider Emperor's strength was forcibly suppressed by more than half.

Its eight long legs began to tremble, its pair of massive chelicerae hung down powerlessly, and the intricate patterns on its carapace grew dim and lusterless.

It attempted to move, only to find its body bound as if by countless invisible chains, its movements becoming numb and sluggish.

The flame domain and the golden light domain, in particular, exerted such immense pressure upon it that a primal fear welled up from the depths of its marrow.

It was a sensation akin to encountering a natural nemesis; no matter how it struggled, it could not shake off that suffocating aura.

It opened its chelicerae and let out a hiss that sounded nothing like a human, a sharp and piercing cry that echoed through the dense forest, startling countless soul beasts hiding in the shadows.

Just as it prepared to make a move—

Seven golden and one white, eight streaks of light flashed past it like lightning!

The speed was so extreme that the Death Spider Emperor's compound eyes could not even track the trajectory of those streaks.

It felt only a series of sharp, wind-tearing sounds assaulting it from all directions, followed by the crisp sound of its carapace shattering reaching its ears.

The streaks of light landed, and eight figures fanned out around the Death Spider Emperor, forming a perfect encirclement.

Among those eight figures, six were clones created by Zhao Linchuan's sixth soul skill, "Surprise Phantom."

The other two were Zhao Linchuan and Yan Lingji themselves.

Zhao Linchuan held his sword in his right hand, the blade of the Supreme Ease Golden Edge radiating a warm golden light in the gloomy forest.

Yan Lingji stood by his side, holding a slender, vermilion-red sword in her hand.