Spider God Possession, Final Victory!

The Human-Faced Demon Spider was enraged by that slash.

It let out a piercing screech. All eight spider legs exerted force at once, and its massive body charged at Ning Chen like a moving hill, astonishingly fast.

A spider spear pierced straight toward Ning Chen's chest with a howl of wind. Its tip gleamed with a dark green light—the color of its deadly venom!

Ning Chen sidestepped, and the spider spear grazed his clothes before punching a fist-sized hole through the tree trunk behind him.

Before he could counterattack, another spider spear swept toward him, forcing him to raise his blade to block.

Bang!

The tremendous force sent him flying, and he slammed heavily into a large tree. A sharp pain shot through his back.

Was this the strength of a thirty-thousand-year Human-Faced Demon Spider?

Ning Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, yet his eyes showed no trace of retreat.

He kicked off the ground and closed in again. The Fierce Slash Blade carved a blazing arc through the air as it cleaved toward the Human-Faced Demon Spider's head!

The battle entered its fiercest stage from the very beginning.

Ning Chen pushed his speed to the limit. The azure glow of the Wind-Chasing Boots and the starlight of the Starlight Bracer complemented each other, making his figure flicker constantly through the forest.

The fiery blade light of the Fierce Slash Blade struck the Human-Faced Demon Spider again and again.

Though every slash left only a shallow wound, the damage accumulated. More and more wounds appeared across the Human-Faced Demon Spider's body, with dark green fluid continuously seeping from them.

Yet the Human-Faced Demon Spider's counterattacks were just as vicious.

Its eight spider spears were like eight different weapons, their offensive relentless and unending.

The slightest mistake would see Ning Chen struck. Every collision made his blood churn, and several wounds had already been added to his body.

The deepest was on his left ribs, grazed by a spider spear. The edges of the wound had begun to blacken—a sign that the poison had entered his body!

Ning Chen gritted his teeth. He circulated the Nine Yang Divine Skill to dispel the poison while continuing his fierce assault.

He knew he could not stop. Once he did, the Human-Faced Demon Spider's counterattack would become even more ferocious.

His only chance of victory was to use the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's enhancement and the endurance granted by the Endless Life talent to wear down this enormous monster.

The battle lasted an entire incense stick's time.

Ning Chen was covered in blood, with no fewer than a dozen wounds across his body, yet his offensive showed no sign of weakening.

The Nine Yang Divine Skill's restorative power, combined with Endless Life's passive boost, gave him endurance far beyond that of Soul Masters at the same level.

Although the Human-Faced Demon Spider possessed hard armor and savage attacks, Ning Chen's relentless war of attrition had begun to reveal its fatigue.

Its movements had slowed slightly, and its spider spear thrusts were no longer as sharp as they had been at the start.

Ning Chen seized the opportunity!

He lunged forward, deliberately exposing an opening to lure the Human-Faced Demon Spider into thrusting a spear at him.

Just as the spider spear was about to hit him, he shifted slightly, allowing it to graze past his shoulder. At the same time, the Fierce Slash Blade in his right hand came down viciously. Crack!

The slash struck the joint gap of the spider spear, finally severing one of its legs!

The Human-Faced Demon Spider let out a pained screech as dark green fluid gushed wildly from its severed limb.

Just as Ning Chen was about to press his advantage, a sudden warning surged through his heart!

A strange layer of dark red patterns began to emerge across the Human-Faced Demon Spider's body. They spread like blood vessels, covering its entire form.

An aura far more terrifying and violent than before poured from its body, as though something sleeping within it were awakening.

Ning Chen's pupils contracted sharply. This was the Human-Faced Demon Spider's ultimate skill—Spider God Possession!

He had heard of this innate ability of the Human-Faced Demon Spider.

Once activated, it could boost its strength to nearly that of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. However, the price was one year of cultivation for every second it remained active.

This thirty-thousand-year Human-Faced Demon Spider had been driven into a corner. It was willing to burn its cultivation just to kill him!

An extreme sense of danger washed over his entire body like icy water.

Ning Chen did not hesitate. The starlight on the Starlight Bracer erupted at full power. Illusory Stars!

Countless dazzling rays of starlight flew from the bracer, transforming into specks of light that drifted toward the Human-Faced Demon Spider.

The starlight interwove and shifted in midair, forming a brilliant, dreamlike tapestry of light and shadow that shrouded the Human-Faced Demon Spider's senses.

The Human-Faced Demon Spider's movements paused slightly, and the dark red patterns spread more slowly. Illusory Stars had successfully disrupted its perception, buying Ning Chen precious time.

But only for a few breaths.

Given the Human-Faced Demon Spider's cultivation, Illusory Stars' control effect could last at most two or three breaths.

Ning Chen took a deep breath, and his heart suddenly jolted.

Thump!

Endless Life, activate!

His heartbeat abruptly intensified like war drums pounding, driving the blood throughout his body into a faster rush.

A vigorous life force surged from his heart and flowed through his veins to every part of his body. The wounds on him stopped bleeding and scabbed over at a visible rate.

At the same time, nearly every one of Ning Chen's attributes—strength, speed, reactions, defense, and more—received a comprehensive boost. His aura instantly rose to an entirely new height.

A silver phantom of a heart appeared behind him.

Gripping the Fierce Slash Blade, he launched his final charge toward the Human-Faced Demon Spider, whose Spider God Possession was nearly complete!

The Human-Faced Demon Spider broke free of Illusory Stars' control and let out an earth-shaking roar. Its remaining seven spider spears thrust out at once, like a blossoming flower of death that sealed off every path of escape.

Ning Chen did not dodge.

He allowed two spider spears to pierce through his left shoulder and right abdomen. Blood sprayed everywhere, and the excruciating pain nearly made him black out.

Yet he clenched his teeth and used the force of the piercing spears to propel himself right up against the Human-Faced Demon Spider.

With a flick of his left hand, six Azure Flame Pearls appeared between his fingers—his final six remaining.

He poured Soul Power into them madly, compressing the energy within the Azure Flame Pearls to the utmost limit before viciously stuffing them into the Human-Faced Demon Spider's mouthparts!

"Explode!"

Boom!

A heaven-shaking explosion erupted from inside the Human-Faced Demon Spider's mouth.

Azure flames burst from its mouthparts and eye sockets, engulfing its entire head in blazing fire.

The Human-Faced Demon Spider released a despairing wail. Its enormous body convulsed violently several times, and the dark red patterns of Spider God Possession dissipated like a receding tide before they could fully spread.

Its seven spider spears finally drooped powerlessly, and its enormous body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Ning Chen was also dragged down by the spider spear that pierced his body, his blood staining a broad stretch of ground red.

He lay in the pool of blood, gasping for air. There was not a single part of his body that did not hurt.

But he had survived.

A thirty-thousand-year Human-Faced Demon Spider was rare not only in Sunset Forest, but likely even in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Such cultivation was already troublesome enough, yet with the Fierce Slash Blade, the Starlight Bracer, the enhancement of his two Martial Souls, and the formidable endurance granted by the Nine Yang Divine Skill, he had barely managed to contend with it.

If it had truly completed Spider God Possession, Ning Chen would have faced certain death.

Fortunately, he had consumed the Autumn Water Dew beforehand, and with the Starlight Bracer's Illusory Stars, he had finally interrupted the Human-Faced Demon Spider's Spider God Possession.

It had been a dual blessing of strength and luck. Had either been lacking, he would likely have perished in the spider's belly.