Maybe I'll Change My Mind

Zhuang Hong left the Golden Cloud World and arrived in a relatively peaceful stretch of space, intending to devour this Purple Rising Spirit Beast here.

He first tore off a chunk of meat and tossed it to Xiao Bai, then thrust his hand into the Spider Monster's body and began feeding.

"Gulp, gulp!"

Great streams of nutrients flowed into Zhuang Hong's body through his arm.

The flesh and blood of a Rising Spirit Beast held an enormous allure for Zhuang Hong. Devouring the Spider Monster's flesh and nutrients brought him an unprecedentedly wonderful taste, so pleasurable that he nearly moaned aloud.

Just as Zhuang Hong was feeding happily, he sensed an unusual twitch from the Spider Monster's body.

"Hmm?"

His heart jolted. He immediately stopped feeding, swiftly retreated, and warily watched the Spider Monster's corpse.

"Whimper, whimper~"

Xiao Bai was badly startled by Zhuang Hong's reaction. With the chunk of meat in its mouth, it turned and ran, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Zhuang Hong casually drew the Dragon Tendon Sword from behind his back and slowly stepped forward.

At that moment, a crack split open on the surface of the Spider Monster's enormous corpse. A woman's upper body slowly crawled out from the gap. It was the Half-Beast woman who had previously been attached to the Spider Monster.

Her face was deathly pale, filled with terror and pleading.

After crawling out, she said in a trembling voice, "Don't kill me~ Spare my life. I don't want to die yet..."

She had never imagined that she would be unable to defeat Zhuang Hong. Nor had she imagined that, as a Purple Rising Spirit Beast, she would lose to a Blue Core Combination Insect.

Most importantly, she had never imagined that even after she played dead, he would still try to consume her completely.

She had thought Zhuang Hong would at most eat a few chunks of her flesh before leaving once he was full. She had not expected him to crazily suck away the essence of her flesh and blood in such a terrifying manner.

When she felt the essence of her flesh and blood draining away in great torrents, an unprecedented terror engulfed her body and mind. She panicked.

She had crawled out of the body without regard for anything else, begging him to spare her life.

She knew her chances of surviving this were slim, but if she did not crawl out, she would soon die.

She had no other choice. She could only reveal herself and gamble for a chance to live.

"You're not dead?" Zhuang Hong's face was full of vigilance. He did not dare let down his guard in the slightest.

The Spider Monster pressed both hands against the ground and lowered her head deeply. "Spare me, and everything I have will be offered to you unconditionally..."

Would Zhuang Hong go softhearted because an enemy begged for mercy?

Obviously not. He had not forgotten that, in the Spider Monster's eyes, he was a delicious "Heavenly Material Treasure." Nor had he forgotten that when the Spider Monster attacked him, she had wanted his life.

If he had not been stronger, he would be the one dead right now.

Moreover, Zhuang Hong was certain that if their positions were reversed, and he were the one kneeling on the ground and begging, the Spider Monster would not spare him either.

So Zhuang Hong had no reason to let her go.

If he truly released her, the Void Spirits in this region would perhaps soon learn that there was a "Heavenly Material Treasure" in this direction. Before long, hordes of powerful Void Spirits would come after him, and he might even encounter a legendary Red True Spirit.

Then he would be the one to die.

Therefore, the Spider Monster had to die today.

However, since she was not completely dead, she still had some value to exploit.

Zhuang Hong thought, Trade some useless information for another ten or twenty minutes of life. You're not losing out!

After considering it for a moment, Zhuang Hong grew a large number of spikes from his body and pinned the Spider Monster to the ground. Only then did he say, "I won't kill you immediately. During this time, you'll answer some questions for me, and I'll consider whether to kill you and how to kill you. How about it? Maybe I'll change my mind."

The Spider Monster seemed to have seized a sliver of hope for survival and nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes! As long as you don't kill me, I'll agree to anything. I only wanted to eat your flesh. Other than that, I have no grudge against you..."

Zhuang Hong asked, "Do you know the Dragon Court Mixed Domain? Which direction is it in? Have you heard of the Guan Long True Spirit?"

"I know it. I came from the Dragon Court Mixed Domain. It lies in the direction behind you. The Guan Long True Spirit is the leader of the largest force in the Dragon Court Mixed Domain. He has the final say over almost the entire Dragon Court Mixed Domain..."

"What did you come all the way here from the Dragon Court Mixed Domain for? This region of space is terribly barren."

"I seized a Treasure Pointer, and I followed it here. Wherever the pointer indicates, there must be a treasure. Perhaps the treasure holds something that can allow me to transform into a True Spirit... I've been trapped at the Spirit Ascension Level for a very, very long time. I want to break through. I want to become the greatest and freest 'spirit' in this void... Only by becoming a spirit can one leave this void and travel to a broader world..."

Zhuang Hong asked curiously, "Leave this void? Where do you go after leaving?"

"I don't know. That is a secret known only to true 'spirits.' Void Spirits that cannot break through the 'Rising Spirit Boundary' are merely weak beasts, slaughtered and humiliated by others. Please spare me. I only want to become a true spirit. I don't want to die."

Zhuang Hong held out his hand. "Take out the Treasure Pointer and let me see it."

The Spider Monster hesitated for a brief moment, but she obediently took out the Treasure Pointer and handed it to Zhuang Hong.

Zhuang Hong sent a thread of source power into it, and a red pointer appeared, pointing in a particular direction.

This made Zhuang Hong pause slightly. He discovered that both this pointer and the one in his possession pointed in the same direction.

In other words, Hei Jinhua, whom he had encountered before, and this Spider Monster were searching for the same treasure.

Hadn't Hei Jinhua said there was only one Treasure Pointer for this treasure?

There was definitely something fishy going on.

"Is there only this one pointer for that treasure? Could someone have gotten there first?"

"Generally speaking, a treasure only creates one pointer. And the Treasure Pointer is the key to opening the treasure. Once the treasure is opened, the Treasure Pointer loses its effect. Since this Treasure Pointer can still be used, the treasure should still be there. If you're worried, take me with you. I can be your guard and lead the way. I'll clear the path ahead and won't let you encounter any danger..."

Zhuang Hong said, "I see."

He was now certain that there was definitely something suspicious about the treasure indicated by the pointer in his hand.

And Hei Jinhua and the Spider Monster's so-called "chance acquisitions" might not have been chance acquisitions at all.

Zhuang Hong then asked in detail about Void Spirits, treasure artifacts, treasures, rank stages, and other information. The answers he received were largely the same as what Hei Jinhua had told him.

As if suddenly recalling something, Zhuang Hong asked, "Right, don't you Void Spirits need Cultivation Methods to cultivate? What is your Cultivation Method? Take it out and let me have a look."

"My Cultivation Method belongs exclusively to our Half-Beast Spider race. It is called the Thousand Spider Spirit Cultivation Method. If you are interested in our Half-Beast Race, you can cultivate this method and transform into a Half-Beast Spider."

"Heh heh. Tell me exactly how it is cultivated first."

Zhuang Hong had no interest in becoming some Half-Beast Spider, but he was very interested in the cultivation methods of Void Spirits.

When the Spider Monster heard Zhuang Hong chuckle, she thought her cooperation had made him very happy, so she became very happy as well and slowly explained the Thousand Spider Spirit Cultivation Method.

She also described in detail the minor stages of the Blue Core Combination Level and Purple Spirit Ascension Level.

Every level was divided into nine stages, from the lowest Stage 1 to the highest Stage 9. For example, someone who had just advanced from the green Clear Pattern Level to the Blue Core Combination Level would be at Core Combination Level Stage 1. After continuously accumulating source power and reaching Core Combination Level Nine, the next step would be advancing to Spirit Ascension Level Stage 1.

The difference between stages was not great, but they could be distinguished by subtle differences in the shade of their colors. The darker the color, the higher the stage.

For example, the Spider Monster's "Orchid Purple" was Rising Spirit Fourth Stage. Zhuang Hong's current "lake blue" was Core Combination Level Stage 2.

After listening, Zhuang Hong gained a rough understanding of the cultivation ranks and strategies of Void Spirits.

Simply put, they used consciousness to guide and stimulate their bodies, gradually altering their structures to form certain special circuits. This generated source power and nourished it.

The process was extraordinarily long. Even accumulating a tiny bit of source power required a great deal of time.

Fortunately, Void Spirits had extremely long lifespans and did not care about that.

Zhuang Hong thought, The cultivation strategy of Void Spirits does have its merits, but unfortunately, this is a Half-Beast race's Cultivation Method. I can't use it.

After asking for some more information, Zhuang Hong cut down the Spider Monster with a single slash.

The Spider Monster could not imagine that Zhuang Hong would simply kill her with one strike. Her eyes widened, and with the last of her strength, she asked, "Why...?"

Zhuang Hong said, "You wanted to eat me."

After the Spider Monster died, Zhuang Hong did not devour her immediately. Instead, he quickly made a circuit around the area and returned with more than a dozen lively little spiders.

He chuckled. "Were these sent out to call for help? Unfortunately, after awakening Secret Awareness, my senses became exceptionally sharp. Your little tricks still didn't escape my eyes."

With a casual squeeze, he crushed the little spiders to death and tossed them carelessly aside. "Xiao Bai, dinner time. These are all yours!"

"Woof woof woof!"

Before long, Zhuang Hong had completely devoured the Spider Monster.

Once again, he experienced that long-lost feeling of fullness.

Ever since advancing to the Blue Core Combination Level, even swallowing two Void Spirits in succession had failed to give him the satisfaction of being full.

Yet today, after devouring just one Void Spirit, he felt an unprecedented satisfaction.

The nutritional quality of a Purple Rising Spirit Beast was indeed higher, and its flavor was better as well.

After finishing the Spider Monster, Zhuang Hong unexpectedly found sixteen incomparably sharp blades within her body.

The blades were bright white, only two fingers wide and fifty centimeters long. They were the Spider Sword Blades that had previously been embedded at the ends of the Spider Monster's segmented limbs.

During their earlier battle, these blades had endured many of Zhuang Hong's powerful chops without suffering any damage, while repeatedly shattering the great blade he had condensed from his carapace.

This showed just how sharp and tough they were.

"They're even a set of treasure artifacts that can travel through space at will. Not bad, not bad. They're mine now."

With a thought, Zhuang Hong activated his Manipulation ability.

The next moment, the sixteen blades rose into the air and slowly revolved around him, looking exactly like the legendary cultivators' Flying Swords.

Zhuang Hong casually pointed at a large boulder some distance away.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

All sixteen blades shot forth, piercing through the boulder before turning around and flying back to Zhuang Hong's side.

The effect was exceptionally flashy.

They were not reliable for dealing with Void Spirits, since the blades might be snatched away after being fired. But they would be more than enough to intimidate ordinary people.

Zhuang Hong was extremely satisfied with this harvest. After tidying up, he headed toward the Golden Cloud World. "When I get back, I'll have Dancer find someone to custom-make a Sword Case for me!"