Myriad Heaven Soul Devouring!

In the boundless darkness, Gu Changsheng slowly opened his eyes.

There was no sky here, nor was there any ground. Only twisted human faces floated all around him.

Some of those faces were male, some female; some old, some young. There were Spirit Masters and Spirit Beasts alike. They seemed to have been forcibly sewn into the darkness, their mouths opening and closing as they continuously uttered the same chilling voice.

"Stay..."

"Give me your body..."

"Become part of us..."

Countless black-purple spider threads extended from the darkness, winding toward Gu Changsheng's limbs and the center of his brow.

Gu Changsheng's gaze remained calm.

The Myriad Heaven Book slowly appeared in his palm.

Pale golden light spilled from between its pages, illuminating the space around him and forcing the approaching spiritual threads to retreat.

[Foreign mental contamination detected.]

[Target: remnant soul of the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider.]

[Ability: Thousand-Faced Soul Devouring.]

[Effect: devours the target's consciousness and occupies the target's body.]

Gu Changsheng looked at the words on the pages, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

"So that's how it is."

"You want my body."

The faces around him suddenly became savage, and shrill screams surged toward him like a tide.

The next moment, countless spiritual threads shot out at once, descending like a vast net.

Gu Changsheng did not retreat.

"Myriad Heaven Book, analyze."

Rustle—

The sound of turning pages echoed through the darkness.

The pale golden light suddenly spread outward. Every spiritual thread it touched melted away as swiftly as snow beneath the blazing sun.

[Analysis complete.]

[Spiritual thread composition: fear, greed, remnant soul obsession.]

[Can be decomposed.]

Gu Changsheng raised a hand and pointed.

A golden page flew out and transformed into a sharp blade, severing a vast swath of threads before him.

"Since you're only a remnant soul, stop pretending to be some god or ghost."

He took a step forward, and the golden light expanded with him.

Deep within the darkness, the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's main consciousness finally appeared.

It was the phantom of a gigantic black-purple spider, its back crowded with countless human faces. Every face wailed and cursed.

It glared venomously at Gu Changsheng.

"Human!"

"You're only a Two-Ring Spirit Master. What gives you the right to resist my soul devouring?"

Gu Changsheng answered calmly,

"Because you chose the wrong place."

If the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider had continued circling around him in the outside world, Gu Changsheng might not have been able to end the battle so quickly.

But it had charged headlong into his mental space.

Here, this was the Myriad Heaven Book's domain.

The Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider let out a shriek. Countless faces broke free from the darkness at once, turning into twisted human silhouettes that lunged at Gu Changsheng.

Fear, resentment, greed, despair.

All kinds of negative emotions flooded into Gu Changsheng's mind like a tidal wave.

Scenes appeared before his eyes one after another.

He saw himself abandoned by Spirit Hall.

He saw Hu Liena watching coldly from the sidelines.

He saw Chrysanthemum Douluo expose Xiao Wu's identity and suppress her on the spot.

He even saw himself standing within the Pope Palace one day in the future, regarded as a pawn by everyone.

Those scenes were too real.

So real that they seemed to be fate itself.

The Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's enormous phantom suddenly pounced, its voice sharp and crazed.

"Your fear belongs to me!"

Black-purple spider legs stabbed toward Gu Changsheng's brow.

Yet at the instant they were about to strike, the ripples in Gu Changsheng's eyes vanished completely.

He raised his head, his voice icy.

"You're wrong."

"I have never feared the future."

"I only fear not being strong enough."

As his words fell, the Myriad Heaven Book burst open.

Golden pages flew out one after another, circling around Gu Changsheng and forming a massive scroll formation.

"Myriad Heaven Return to Storage."

"Soul Devouring."

Boom!

A golden vortex formed at the center of the formation, erupting with terrifying suction.

The remnant soul figures rushing toward him were instantly swept into the Myriad Heaven Book.

The Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's phantom trembled violently, and the countless faces on its back released shrill screams.

"No!"

"This is my power!"

"You can't take it away!"

Gu Changsheng showed no mercy whatsoever.

Since it had wanted to devour his soul, he naturally would not hold back either.

Golden pages transformed into chains, instantly wrapping around the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's phantom and dragging it bit by bit toward the Myriad Heaven Book.

[Remnant soul fragments recorded.]

[Mental Illusion structure analyzed.]

[Ability traits extracted: disguise, inducement, Emotional Projection.]

The Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider struggled madly, but without its physical body to support it, it simply could not escape the Myriad Heaven Book's suppression.

Standing amid the golden light, Gu Changsheng slowly said,

"Your illusion ability is pretty good."

"Unfortunately, it belongs to me now."

The Myriad Heaven Book suddenly snapped shut.

The Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider let out one final shriek as its enormous phantom was completely swallowed.

The darkness collapsed.

All the faces dispersed with it.

Gu Changsheng's consciousness began rapidly rising as well.

Outside.

Gu Changsheng stood where he was, his eyes shut tight, his entire body shrouded in a layer of black-purple mist.

Hu Liena's face was pale. Her Mental Power approached again and again, only to be repelled by the Black Mist each time.

"Junior Brother..."

Her voice was filled with unconcealable worry.

Xie Yue stood beside her, his Moon Blades still drawn as he stared coldly at their surroundings.

"His mental fluctuations are still there. That means he isn't dead."

Yan clenched his fists irritably.

"But we can't just keep waiting, can we?"

Hu Liena gritted her teeth.

"We can't act recklessly. Mental battles are most vulnerable to outside interference. If we forcibly interrupt it, we might hurt him."

Not far away, Xiao Wu looked at Gu Changsheng, who was enveloped in Black Mist, her expression somewhat complicated.

She had merely been plotted against by the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider and accidentally dragged into this battle.

But Gu Changsheng had first helped conceal her aura, then reminded her to avoid the spider threads during the fight. Strictly speaking, she already owed him twice.

Xiao Wu pressed her lips together and asked softly,

"He'll be all right, won't he?"

Hu Liena glanced at her, her tone less than friendly.

"Of course he'll be all right."

Xiao Wu gave a soft snort.

"I never said he wouldn't be."

Though she said that, her eyes never left Gu Changsheng.

At that moment, a gentle yet dangerous voice came from the distant treetops.

"Nana, do you need me to intervene?"

Chrysanthemum Douluo, Yue Guan, had appeared at some point.

He stood atop a branch, his robes fluttering softly in the wind. His gaze fell on Gu Changsheng before sweeping over Xiao Wu almost imperceptibly.

Xiao Wu's body stiffened ever so slightly.

Faced with a Titled Douluo, she instinctively sensed danger.

Hu Liena immediately said,

"Elder Yue Guan, there's no need for now. Junior Brother should be battling the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's remnant soul."

Yue Guan narrowed his eyes.

"A Two-Ring Spirit Master battling the remnant soul of a Five-Thousand-Year Mental-Type Spirit Beast is no small matter."

As he spoke, he looked toward Xiao Wu.

"But how did an extra little girl appear here?"

The air fell silent at once.

Xiao Wu's fingers unconsciously clenched.

Just as Hu Liena was about to explain, the black-purple mist around Gu Changsheng suddenly churned violently.

The next moment, pale golden light blossomed from within the Black Mist.

The Black Mist rapidly dispersed.

Gu Changsheng slowly opened his eyes, and it seemed as though pages flickered through the depths of his gaze.

At his feet, the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's enormous corpse completely lost all signs of life, while a deep Purple Spirit Ring slowly rose from it.

Gu Changsheng exhaled a breath of stale air.

"I'm fine."

Delight flashed through Hu Liena's eyes.

"Junior Brother!"

Yan also let out a sigh of relief and grinned.

"I knew you were hard to kill, brat."

Xie Yue put away his Moon Blades.

"It's good that you're awake. Hurry up and absorb the Soul Ring."

Gu Changsheng nodded, but he first turned to Chrysanthemum Douluo and gave a slight bow.

"Elder Yue Guan, I've made you worry."

Yue Guan sized him up, surprise flashing through his eyes.

"You actually won?"

Gu Changsheng answered calmly,

"Just luck."

Yue Guan chuckled softly.

"A Mental Attribute Spirit Beast's final desperate counterattack cannot be explained by luck."

Gu Changsheng did not respond. Instead, he naturally changed the subject.

"Elder, this young lady was only misled here by the Spiritual Mist and is not an enemy. She also helped us just now."

Xiao Wu was slightly stunned.

She had not expected Gu Changsheng to take the initiative to speak for her.

Hu Liena nodded as well.

"Elder Yue Guan, that is indeed the case."

Yue Guan looked at Xiao Wu for a moment before finally smiling faintly.

"Since that's the case, we'll let it go."

Xiao Wu secretly let out a sigh of relief.

Gu Changsheng walked over to the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's corpse and sat down cross-legged.

A deep-purple Soul Ring slowly floated before him, radiating intense spiritual fluctuations.

The Myriad Heaven Book unfolded before him.

[Beginning Soul Ring absorption.]

[Soul Ring source: Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider.]

[Age: Five Thousand Three Hundred Years.]

[High spiritual attribute compatibility.]

[Residual soul impurities purified in advance.]

[Soul Skill mutation simulation in progress...]

Gu Changsheng closed his eyes.

The deep-purple Soul Ring slowly settled around his body.

Pale golden light intertwined with purple Soul Power, and his aura began to rise bit by bit.

Not far away, Xiao Wu quietly watched the scene.

She should have left.

Yet for some reason, she suddenly wanted to see what kind of Soul Skill this human boy, who had concealed her identity for her, could obtain from this Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider.

The dense fog gradually dispersed.

The Star Dou Great Forest returned to silence.

And Gu Changsheng's Third Soul Ring was slowly taking shape.