After the Man Faced Demon Spider was drawn over by the scent of the spirit herb, it seemed to sense the presence of humans.
It looked around. Although it found no enemies, it remained on guard.
The next moment, it vanished from Ling Feng's sight.
Ling Feng's eyes widened. He hurriedly searched for it with his spiritual power, but still couldn't find it.
"Is this what a Ten-Thousand-Year Man Faced Demon Spider is like? Good thing I didn't act rashly!"
Once the Man Faced Demon Spider had gone into hiding, even Ling Feng couldn't detect it. They could only wait for it to eat the spirit fruit.
If it didn't eat the fruit, Ling Feng would take Liu Erlong and withdraw. Otherwise, the two of them would have a hard time defending against its assassination attempt.
"Ling Feng, it's coming. It's right beside the spirit herb!" Liu Erlong sent him a mental message.
"You can see it?" Ling Feng asked.
Even with his spiritual power, he couldn't find the Man Faced Demon Spider. He hadn't expected Liu Erlong to be able to detect it.
Liu Erlong nodded. "I have your Earth Dragon Golden Melon to thank for that. It helped me connect with the earth."
"I can only find its location by relying on the earth's perception."
"I see!" Ling Feng suddenly understood and thought, It seems I was right to give Liu Erlong the Earth Dragon Golden Melon.
"Good thing you were willing to help me hunt Soul Beasts. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'd have no way to deal with this Man Faced Demon Spider," Ling Feng said.
"Where is it now?" Ling Feng asked.
Liu Erlong closed her eyes and carefully sensed the Man Faced Demon Spider's location.
"It's standing right beside the spirit fruit. It hasn't moved at all," Liu Erlong said.
What a beast. It's actually this clever? Ling Feng thought.
"What do we do now?" Liu Erlong asked.
"Wait! We'll see who has more patience. Since the Man Faced Demon Spider is guarding the spirit herb, that means it hasn't found us!"
"I broke the fruit's skin. Its medicinal properties will start to dissipate soon. I don't believe that beast will be willing to waste a spirit fruit!"
"Besides, a stealth ability like that must consume its strength. Once it's exhausted, we can make our move!"
If the Man Faced Demon Spider really was clever enough to resist eating the fruit, then turn and run, Ling Feng would accept that.
"Okay! I'll listen to you!" Liu Erlong said.
Liu Erlong closed her eyes and sensed the Man Faced Demon Spider's location, making sure it didn't sneak up beside them and try to assassinate them.
Sure enough, after a quarter of an hour, the Man Faced Demon Spider finally couldn't hold back any longer.
The spirit fruit on the ground had vanished. It seemed the Man Faced Demon Spider had eaten it.
If it waited any longer, the fruit's medicinal properties would dissipate.
"Eek!" A shrill scream rang out, and the Man Faced Demon Spider appeared.
It angrily lashed out with its spider legs, felling a swath of towering ancient trees around it.
"Ling Feng, was the spirit fruit poisonous?" Liu Erlong stared in shock at the Man Faced Demon Spider as it went berserk.
The Man Faced Demon Spider's humanlike face, mouthparts, and esophagus were all damaged. One side was burned while the other was frozen—a true world of ice and fire.
"The fruit wasn't poisonous. Otherwise, it wouldn't have dared eat it. I just tampered with it a little!"
"What a pity. If it had swallowed the fruit, its guts would have been torn to shreds!" Ling Feng said.
Ling Feng had stuffed a small bottle of water from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well inside the fruit. Even Titled Douluo weren't willing to touch that stuff directly.
"What do we do now? Should we attack?" Liu Erlong asked.
"Let's wait a little longer. Once its strength is exhausted and its injuries worsen, we'll go in!" Ling Feng said.
Liu Erlong had no experience facing Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts either, so she decided to follow Ling Feng's lead.
The Man Faced Demon Spider rampaged for a while, leaving the forest outside its territory in utter ruin.
But its body had been corroded by the ice-and-fire spring water, and it soon couldn't keep going.
It activated its stealth ability again and vanished from sight.
"Erlong, where is it now?" Ling Feng asked.
"It's still right there! It's lying in wait for us. What a clever Soul Beast!" Liu Erlong said.
"Looks like this beast still wants revenge. Let's keep playing this game with it for a while longer. If it tries to run, we'll chase it!" Ling Feng said.
So this is another way to deal with Soul Beasts? Liu Erlong thought.
In the past, she had always charged straight in, tearing apart every enemy with her dragon claws. Following Ling Feng today had opened her eyes.
After a while longer, the Soul Beast finally couldn't hold out and ran toward its territory.
"It's running! Let's go after it!" Liu Erlong said.
The two of them finally emerged and pursued the Man Faced Demon Spider.
The Soul Beast seemed to know the game was up. It didn't dare turn and face them, and the chase continued through the forest.
The outskirts of Sunset Forest.
Two burly men were fighting a Diamond Demon Ape. The ape was covered in wounds and on the verge of death.
But just then, it seemed to sense some terrifying presence. Its body trembled with fear.
It beat its chest, then ran in the opposite direction, toward the source of that terrifying presence.
"Tai Shi, don't let it get away! Let's hurry after it!" one of the burly men said.
"Yes, young master!"
The two burly men chased after the Diamond Demon Ape, but they hadn't gone far when they witnessed a terrifying sight.
A gigantic Man Faced Demon Spider appeared. When the Diamond Demon Ape ran straight into it, it pierced the ape's body with one of its spider legs.
Before long, it had drained the Diamond Demon Ape dry.
"My Soul Ring!" the young, burly man roared and prepared to charge at the Man Faced Demon Spider and fight to the death.
"Young master, that's a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! You're no match for it. Run!" Tai Shi shouted.
The young master had a strong build but looked simple-minded. Even so, he now understood just how terrifying the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was.
"Young master, run! I'll hold it off and draw it away!"
"Uncle Stone, you're a Soul King. Can't you beat it?" the sturdy young man asked.
"Young master, I may be a Soul King, but I don't have a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill. I'm definitely no match for it."
The young master finally realized how serious the situation was. "Uncle Stone, I'll go first. Be careful!"
Not far away, Ling Feng and Liu Erlong followed behind the Man Faced Demon Spider and watched it devour a thousand-year Soul Beast to replenish its strength.
"Ling Feng, the Man Faced Demon Spider is going to eat people. Should we still wait?" Liu Erlong asked.
She hadn't rushed in to save them because the burly man was a Soul King and shouldn't be killed by the Man Faced Demon Spider right away.
Otherwise, with her hatred of evil, she couldn't stand by and watch a Soul Beast eat people.
These two men and that beast have ruined my plans! Ling Feng thought.
He had planned to wear the Man Faced Demon Spider down, but he hadn't expected this unexpected turn.
"Those two aren't a match for the Man Faced Demon Spider. We'd better step in," Ling Feng called to Liu Erlong.
He wasn't worried about those two men's lives. He was afraid the Man Faced Demon Spider would recover its strength and heal its injuries after devouring them.
Then all the effort Ling Feng and Liu Erlong had put in would have been wasted.