Although the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ginseng wasn't an Immortal Herb, it was still extremely precious and held great appeal for Soul Beasts.
Ling Feng had only waited a short while before he sensed a disturbance.
His spiritual power was stronger than Bibi Dong's, so he detected the Soul Beast's movements first.
"Be careful! A Soul Beast is approaching!" Ling Feng warned her through a mental transmission.
The two watched the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ginseng, ready to act at any moment. But just then, Ling Feng sensed that something was wrong.
"Under our feet!"
The Soul Beast wasn't going after the Spirit Ginseng at all. It had come straight for Ling Feng and Bibi Dong.
Ling Feng had no time to hide his aura. He used Martial Soul Possession, spread his spider wings, and flew into the air with Bibi Dong.
The moment they leaped up, a huge cage appeared where they had been standing.
The bars forming the cage were shaped like spider legs, covered in sawteeth and bristles as sharp as steel needles. It was the Crypt Demon Spider's signature move.
If a Soul Master who wasn't good at defense were trapped inside, the Crypt Demon Spider would crush them into minced meat and devour them.
Bibi Dong reacted quickly. As Ling Feng carried her into the air, she released her Martial Soul as well.
The third Soul Ring beneath her feet flashed, and she shot a web at the Crypt Demon Spider, binding it in an instant.
Bibi Dong yanked hard. Like pulling up a radish, she dragged it straight out of the ground, allowing them to see the Soul Beast's entire form.
"Something's wrong. This isn't a Ten-Thousand-Year Crypt Demon Spider—it's only a thousand-year one!" Bibi Dong said.
"Our Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ginseng!"
The Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ginseng was extremely precious to human Soul Masters, too.
Tang San had once used a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ginseng to open the meridians of his disciple Jixiang, who had no Innate Soul Power, enabling him to enter the path of cultivation.
"Don't panic!" Ling Feng reassured her.
Ling Feng's powerful spiritual strength had already alerted him that something was off.
That was why, after flying up, he didn't immediately attack the Demon Spider beneath them. Instead, he kept part of his attention on the Spirit Ginseng.
What Soul Beast could resist the temptation of a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ginseng?
Sure enough, after Bibi Dong attacked, the earth where the Spirit Ginseng lay began to churn. Several spider legs stretched out, reaching to snatch it away.
But at that moment, an invisible shockwave struck the Soul Beast, making it falter.
After Ling Feng's Martial Soul had been bathed in Rakshasa Divine Power, his Fiery Golden Eyes had gained a new ocular skill: Soul-Eating Light.
This skill mainly dealt a spiritual shock. It consumed Soul Power as well as spiritual power.
Ling Feng's face turned pale. This was his first time using an ocular skill against a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and it had cost him a great deal of spiritual power.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Crypt Demon Spider faltered, exposing an opening.
Bibi Dong shot out another web. The skill consumed little, so she could use it repeatedly.
But her target wasn't the Crypt Demon Spider. She was after the Spirit Ginseng. Her web snatched it back, and she stored it in her Soul Tool.
Ling Feng carried Bibi Dong straight toward the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
An ink-black aura enveloped the Crypt Demon Spider. It was Ling Feng's Martial Soul domain.
The terrifying aura suppressed it outright.
Faced with the superior Rakshasa Spider Emperor and Bibi Dong's Death Spider Emperor, its strength was suppressed by forty percent.
Bibi Dong shot out another strand of webbing, binding it for an instant. Then she unleashed countless spider spines against the trapped Crypt Demon Spider.
The spines carried the Death Spider Emperor's poison, corroding its armor. With a hundred-year Soul Skill, she had actually wounded this Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Seeing it held in place, Ling Feng's Soul Rings lit up one after another.
His first Soul Skill, Demon Spider Rage, strengthened his body. It was as if he were wearing a suit of spider armor.
His third Soul Skill, Death Light Blast, fired a beam of black light that corroded straight through the Ten-Thousand-Year Demon Spider's defenses.
BOOM! Black and green Soul Power and spider poison exploded, taking half the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's life with them.
"Bibi Dong, quickly!" Ling Feng urged.
He was afraid that the Crypt Demon Spider might die because of him, leaving Bibi Dong unable to absorb its Soul Ring.
"Okay!" Bibi Dong cautiously stepped forward and finished off the Demon Spider.
A moment later, a black Soul Ring appeared, and only then did the two relax.
Ling Feng's face was rather pale.
Using a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill and a mental attack against a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast while only at the Soul Elder level had taken a heavy toll on him.
The other, thousand-year Crypt Demon Spider had sensed the two's terrifying auras and fled without a trace.
"Bibi Dong, I'll recover my Soul Power first, then stand guard for you!" Ling Feng said.
Looking at Ling Feng, exhausted from the battle, Bibi Dong felt both heartache and gratitude. He was only a Soul Elder, yet he had dared to face a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast for her.
Fortunately, both their Martial Souls could suppress and even counter Demon Spider Soul Beasts. Otherwise, the battle would never have been so easy.
"All right. Hurry and recover!" Bibi Dong said.
She still had Shadow Guards protecting her. Even without Ling Feng standing guard, she could absorb the Soul Ring.
Ling Feng swallowed a Dragon Ganoderma Leaf, sat down nearby, and began to recover his Soul Power.
Bibi Dong walked up to the Soul Ring, released her Martial Soul, and began absorbing the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
No one knew how long had passed before a powerful wave of Soul Power jolted Ling Feng awake from his cultivation.
He opened his eyes and saw what looked like a gust of wind swirling around Bibi Dong, blowing away the scattered remains of Soul Beasts nearby.
The disturbance continued for quite a while. The terrifying Soul Power even put pressure on Ling Feng.
His spiritual strength had long surpassed that of an ordinary Soul King. With power like this, Bibi Dong was likely about to break through level sixty.
Before long, Bibi Dong emerged from her cultivation state.
A gleam flashed in her eyes, and a delighted smile spread across her face. She couldn't wait to say, "Ling Feng, I've reached level sixty!"
Sure enough, after absorbing the Soul Ring, she drew in the Soul Power that the Lovesick Heartbreak Red had stored in her body and broke through ten levels at once.
And because this Immortal Herb had enhanced her along the proper path, it wouldn't damage Bibi Dong's foundation.
"Congratulations! You'll soon be a Soul Emperor!" Ling Feng said.
Once she became a Soul Emperor, she could enter the Capital of Slaughter to temper herself. After she came out, she would be ready to absorb a Soul Ring and become a Soul Saint.
Bibi Dong's cultivation journey was smooth sailing.
"I have to thank you for the Lovesick Heartbreak Red!"
Becoming a Soul Emperor at eighteen or nineteen was unprecedented.
Bibi Dong knew she owed her achievements to Ling Feng's help.
"Why are we being so polite with each other? Besides, the fact that the Lovesick Heartbreak Red acknowledged you as its master means you were destined for it."
If the Lovesick Heartbreak Red hadn't acknowledged Bibi Dong as its master, Ling Feng might have hesitated over whether to give her another Immortal Herb.
Inside Ling Feng's Sea of Consciousness, Rakshasa Bibi Dong watched the scene and found herself feeling a little envious of the Bibi Dong of the present.
"Hmph, destined for it? If I were destined for the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, that Immortal Herb wouldn't have gone to that damn rabbit in my previous life!"
Only Rakshasa Bibi Dong knew that everything was because of Ling Feng.