Refining Voidrangers

"Stop, stop, stop. I'm not interested in your family ethics drama."

Ye Yun reached out and pinched the fat fox's mouth shut.

The fat fox swished its fluffy tail and obediently closed its mouth, not daring to say another word.

A moment later, faint rustling sounds rose all around them.

One fox after another, their bodies covered in snow-white fur, emerged from the shadows.

[Wow! Are you the seniors who can take human form?]

A small fox padded forward and circled Ye Yun twice, its little nose twitching as it carefully sniffed his scent.

The group was surrounded by Phantom Foxes, who stared at them as if they were some rare treasure.

When had Chen Xin ever seen a scene like this—humans and Soul Beasts living together in peace???

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, who would dare believe it?

[Hey, has anyone seen a Human-Faced Demon Spider?]

[A Human-Faced Demon Spider? I heard Sang Biao mention one. Sang Biao, get over here.]

Then a sturdy fox with a claw scar over its right eye squeezed out from the crowd of foxes.

It raised its head proudly, its tail swaying nonstop.

[A Human-Faced Demon Spider, huh~ That bastard tried to eat me this morning, but I got away. It should be in the northern part of the forest now.]

Ye Yun nodded, then took a piece of roasted meat from his storage ring and held it to Sang Biao's mouth.

"I understand. This is your payment."

Sang Biao glanced at it disdainfully, then reluctantly clamped it in his jaws and ate it.

Hm?!

The instant it entered his mouth, an incredibly rich aroma shot straight to his brain.

Sang Biao immediately began chewing in huge bites. After finishing it, he frantically wagged his tail and sidled up to Ye Yun.

[Big Brother, I'll take you there. Can you give me another piece of that meat from just now?]

"Sure."

Ye Yun didn't refuse. After all, that meat had been specially made for Soul Beast tastes—a meat steak with the flavor of chicken, crunchy with every bite, and ten times the protein of beef.

It could be said that no carnivorous Soul Beast could resist its temptation.

"Wait, Brother Yun. Can I take this little fox back and raise it? It's just too cute!"

Ning Rongrong reached out and hugged the white-furred fox, which was about the size of a human head, in her arms. She looked up at Ye Yun, her voice full of delight.

"You'll have to ask whether its parents agree."

[No problem! Of course we agree!]

What a joke. In this forest, who knew which day they might get eaten by someone else? How could that compare to living freely with this group of big shots?

Although these people didn't care for grown foxes like them, it was still good if they took a liking to their cub!

Ning Rongrong happily held the little fox in her arms and teased it with her hand, while the little fox had not yet developed intelligence and could only make soft yipping sounds.

And so, under Sang Biao's lead, the group slowly headed toward the northern part of Star Dou Forest.

The farther north they went, the gloomier their surroundings became.

The trees that had once been full of life were now covered in writhing vines, as well as Soul Beasts skilled at lurking in ambush.

Fortunately, with the deterrence of Chen Xin's level-96 soul power, they did not dare attack.

Sang Biao also got to experience what it felt like to have a big shot backing him up, strutting ahead with a swagger that disowned all six relatives.

Sang Biao's nose suddenly twitched. His expression instantly turned fierce, and he crouched low, staring fixedly ahead.

[Big Brother, that bastard is right up ahead!]

Chen Xin moved, vanishing from where he stood.

Before long, he brought back a half-dead Human-Faced Demon Spider and said calmly, "This is a Human-Faced Demon Spider of around 6,400 years. I deliberately left it with one breath. Does it meet the requirements?"

"Mm, enough, enough."

Ye Yun looked at the Human-Faced Demon Spider, its whole body covered in sword wounds and oozing foul green blood, and felt somewhat nauseated.

Ning Rongrong, beside him, directly threw up.

Slowly exhaling, Ye Yun stretched out his hand and activated the Refining skill.

Dark-golden Destruction energy slowly poured into the Human-Faced Demon Spider's body.

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss—"

The Human-Faced Demon Spider, which had originally been on its last breath, seemed to sense an extreme danger. Its body suddenly convulsed violently, and it struggled madly, trying to break free of its restraints and flee this place.

Indifference filled Chen Xin's eyes, and a cold snort rang out around them.

A vast, tyrannical pressure of soul power crashed down like a towering mountain, pinning the Human-Faced Demon Spider's body in place and leaving it unable to move an inch.

"Hiss—!!!"

A shrill, piercing screech suddenly exploded.

Dense golden patterns instantly crawled across the Human-Faced Demon Spider's hard black carapace, and a terrifying power madly corroded its body.

Ye Yun's gaze sharpened, and the speed at which he injected [Destruction] energy increased even further.

The Human-Faced Demon Spider completely stopped struggling, lying motionless where it was, its entire body firmly wrapped in a heavy layer of dark golden light.

Its pitch-black carapace, originally covered in sword marks and badly damaged, slowly transformed under the tempering of the golden light, bit by bit turning into some unknown special material that shone all over and carried a cold metallic luster.

Its original eight spider legs rapidly lengthened and extended, their lines sharp and straight, like eight keen spears drawn from their sheaths, radiating a bone-chilling aura of slaughter.

At the same time, clusters of scorching golden flame suddenly ignited over the hideous human-face pattern on its abdomen, its might surging several times over.

In just a few breaths, the transformation was complete.

Then it stood up and quietly remained standing where it was.

Sang Biao watched the horrifying scene and was so frightened that he buried his head in the grass, his whole body trembling nonstop.

Ye Yun patted the Human-Faced Demon Spider's leg in satisfaction, then took out another steak and tossed it to the shivering Sang Biao nearby.

"Sang Biao, this is the steak I promised you."

[Yes!]

Sang Biao, the entire fox, sprang upright in an instant, every hair on his body standing on end, not daring to move at all.

Ye Yun ignored him and turned to look at Chen Xin.

"Grandpa Sword, why don't you test its power?"

Chen Xin's whole body stiffened as he instantly remembered Old Bone's miserable state when testing the Desert Eagle's power.

"Ahem, Xiao Yun, how about we test it after we get back? Old Bone is better at this kind of thing. Defense-type people are good at it."

Ning Rongrong grinned wickedly from the side.

"Grandpa Sword, you're not scared, are you~"

"Nonsense! How could I be scared! Come on!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Chen Xin regretted them, but he could only brace himself and stand before the Human-Faced Demon Spider that had been refined into a Voidranger.

"First soul skill, Sword Spirit Guard."

Countless streams of sword energy gathered in front of Chen Xin, forming a shield, while he also poured in ample soul power without the slightest slackness.

The Human-Faced Demon Spider Voidranger raised its right forelimb, and the human-face flames on its abdomen flowed along the golden patterns into the tip of that limb.

Then, at an extremely fast speed, it stabbed into the shield.

Clang!!

"Sizzle, sizzle—"

"Crack—"

Fine cracks split across the shield, but in the end, it held and did not shatter.

Chen Xin let out a breath of relief.

"This attack has already reached the strength of a sixty-thousand-year Soul Beast. Compared with its original age of just over six thousand years, this is a terrifying improvement."

Ye Yun was not surprised. A six-thousand-year Human-Faced Demon Spider's body still was not enough; it could not withstand more [Destruction] power.

Just as he was deep in thought, a deep, powerful voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Oh? So you were the one who created that power."

When Chen Xin saw the man who had suddenly appeared, his pupils shrank, and he suddenly swung his sword to slash at him.

But in the next second, that man actually reached out with one hand and steadily seized the incomparably sharp Seven Kill Sword in a death grip.

Crack!

An ear-piercing sound of shattering rang out, and the Seven Kill Sword martial soul split apart on the spot.

Bang!

What followed was a heavy punch, landing hard in Chen Xin's abdomen.

Pfft—

Sweetness rose in Chen Xin's throat, and he violently spat out a mouthful of blood. His body swayed, then his vision went black, and he passed out on the spot.

"Hmph! I am Black Dragon Di Tian. You, come with me."