A beauty and a Soul Beast: the Death Spider Emperor emerges!

Now that his slumbering second martial soul had awakened, his soul power had risen straight to level twenty. But he still had no soul rings. His most urgent task was to obtain them and gain access to soul skills.

After several days of jolting travel, he finally arrived at the Sunset Forest.

The damp, rotting leaves gave off a faint earthy smell. Ning Chengyi held his breath as he crouched among the branches of a towering ancient tree, his gaze fixed on the valley below.

During the five years when his soul power could not increase, he had read widely, studying nearly everything about the continent, especially its soul beasts. His target was therefore a Mountain-Treading Black Rhinoceros around seven hundred years old.

He had reached that conclusion after calculating the limits of what his Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide and his physical strength could withstand.

Seven hundred years was a safe threshold. If he recklessly attempted a thousand-year soul ring, the backlash could tear his body to pieces.

Besides, the Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide had not fully awakened. Only faint traces of butterfly dream spirit powder flowed slowly through his meridians.

Ning Chengyi loosely curled his right hand. His soul power stirred, and the outline of a spear flickered beneath his palm, the chill of the Desolation-Suppressing God-Breaking Spear faintly spreading.

He had already spent six full hours lying in wait in the tree, patiently awaiting the Mountain-Treading Black Rhinoceros.

Just then, the world suddenly shuddered. An extremely violent surge of energy erupted from deep within the forest and swept in every direction.

A terrifying, corrosive pressure bore down over everything. The earth trembled with muffled rumbles, shaking the entire woodland.

An ordinary soul master might only have sensed high-level soul beasts fighting, but Ning Chengyi knew the habits and distinctive auras of all kinds of soul beasts. He instantly recognized this uniquely terrifying presence.

His expression tightened. He abruptly raised his eyes and stared toward the depths of the Sunset Forest, shock flashing in his gaze.

"That aura... it's a Death Spider Emperor!"

"And it must be at least fifty thousand years old. Only a Spider Emperor over fifty thousand years old could give off such terrifyingly corrosive, icy energy!"

Ning Chengyi's pupils abruptly contracted, and shock surged through him.

An incredibly well-hidden Death Spider Emperor over fifty thousand years old lurked in the Sunset Forest!

This beast was naturally adept at concealment and lying dormant. It normally buried itself deep underground and suppressed its aura, rarely emerging even over ten thousand years. Such a violent clash of energy could only mean someone had forcibly driven it out of its lair.

"A soul beast over fifty thousand years old has combat strength on par with a human Titled Douluo."

Ning Chengyi swallowed, inwardly alarmed.

Who could be bold enough to attack a Death Spider Emperor?

Filled with uncertainty, Ning Chengyi steadied himself and quietly crept closer to investigate.

He might lack strength, but the Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide could disguise his aura as that of a low-level soul beast, allowing him to slip over and watch without trouble. Besides, curiosity was human nature. If he never witnessed a powerful soul beast battle, would his transmigration not have been wasted?

Now that this great battle had begun, the movements of the surrounding soul beasts had changed. Perhaps they had all gone into hiding, making hunting impossible. He might as well watch the fight and leave with no regrets.

Meanwhile, deep within the Sunset Forest.

A woman wore a close-fitting purple dress that outlined her graceful curves. Her dark hair was simply tied back, a few loose strands falling beside her cheeks. Together with her breathtaking beauty and cool, ethereal bearing, she inspired admiration at first sight.

She was none other than Bibi Dong!

She had come for one reason alone: to kill the Death Spider Emperor, take its soul ring, and complete the ninth soul skill of her first martial soul, the Death Spider Emperor.

And according to her information, this Death Spider Emperor was... a hundred-thousand-year soul beast!

She had only barely discovered traces of its hidden lair after spending months consulting ancient texts in Spirit Hall, using the subtle resonance of her matching martial soul to follow scattered remnants, tracking them step by step.

She had repeatedly assessed the timing and confirmed that the beast was in a vulnerable window after waking from a period of dormancy. Confident of victory, she had dared to come alone, intending to turn this unknown hundred-thousand-year Spider Emperor into her ninth soul ring.

Buzzz!!!

The ground shook violently, as though the entire forest were trembling.

Then a thick cloud of poisonous mist instantly enveloped the entire forest.

An enormous spider crawled out, roughly ten meters tall. Strange dark red markings covered its back, and its scarlet compound eyes were filled with deathly stillness.

Before its appearance could even be seen clearly, its domain engulfed the surroundings. Its naturally corrosive domain withered every nearby plant, while most of the soul beasts in the Sunset Forest prostrated themselves in worship, like pilgrims before their sovereign!

This was the overlord lurking within the Sunset Forest... the hundred-thousand-year Death Spider Emperor.

"Today, your soul ring will be mine."

Bibi Dong's purple eyes were cold. Her expression remained calm, without the slightest trace of panic.

She kept all her soul power contained, boundless ambition and cold ruthlessness hidden deep within her eyes.

The next moment, her soul power surged skyward. An enormous martial soul phantom unfurled, and a hard, purplish-black Spider Emperor carapace covered her upper body. Eight soul rings shone brilliantly.

But before she could strike, the hundred-thousand-year Spider Emperor launched a savage attack.

Damn human, disturbing my rest!

The black mist abruptly contracted, transforming into countless strands of venomous spider silk. They wove an all-encompassing net that descended with terrifying corrosive power, sealing every escape route.

At the same time, its Death Domain spread instantly, continuously eating away at Bibi Dong's protective soul power.

Bibi Dong's expression darkened slightly as she activated her soul skills in succession.

"Sixth soul skill: Blood-Sucking Spider Thorn!"

Faced with a web more terrifying than her own, Bibi Dong's first thought was not to resist it, but to drain the enemy's blood energy to replenish herself, weakening it while strengthening herself in a battle of attrition.

But she had still underestimated the Death Spider Emperor.

Within that terrifying domain, the spider thorns were completely corroded the instant they touched the web. They could not even reach the Death Spider Emperor, which instead let out a hissing laugh.

Seeing that her first skill had failed, Bibi Dong did not hesitate. "Eighth soul skill: Spider Emperor Clone!" A puppet clone possessing her full combat strength instantly appeared.

As soon as the puppet appeared, Bibi Dong's face grew noticeably paler. The strain on her spiritual power was simply too great.

"Second soul skill: Soul-Ferrying Spider Spear!"

Both unleashed the soul skill in an instant, with almost no recovery time, summoning it as readily as moving their own fingers!

Two pitch-black spider spears were hurled with tremendous force, tearing through space as they slashed toward the Spider Emperor's enormous body.

But the spider spears merely grazed the Death Spider Emperor's back, leaving two faint white marks.

Even so, the pain enraged the Spider Emperor, and it let out an earthshaking roar.

Its eight massive legs swept out in turn, every strike carrying enough force to shatter mountains and split the earth.

At the same time, it sprayed green venom without restraint. Plants hissed as the venom corroded them on contact.

The two Bibi Dongs flashed rapidly about, constantly unleashing powerful soul skills to restrain and maneuver around it.

But she had still underestimated the Death Spider Emperor. Against a hundred-thousand-year soul beast at full strength, the gap between it and her eight-ring combat strength grew impossibly wide.

Not only did it possess a formidable body and devastating venom, but its combat intelligence far surpassed that of a ten-thousand-year soul beast. It steadily drained her with its domain and sealed her off with layer upon layer of silk, consuming her soul power and stamina bit by bit.

After several dozen breaths of fierce fighting, the situation had completely reversed.

Bibi Dong had expended over half her soul power, and her protective barrier grew ever dimmer. After enduring the aftermath of several venom attacks, her organs had already been invaded by poison, waves of stabbing pain surging through them. If her carapace had not resisted the external corrosion, she would have given up long ago.

The Death Spider Emperor, by contrast, remained at the height of its power, wreathed in black mist without any sign of fatigue.

"Damn it! How can it be this troublesome? I should have brought the consecrators!" Bibi Dong's gaze darkened, an icy chill settling within her. She had badly underestimated the strength of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.

But before Bibi Dong could recover, the Spider Emperor gathered poisonous mist before itself and formed a pitch-black spider spear. It was even more terrifying than her Soul-Ferrying Spider Spear. Cold light flashed as it drew on the power of its domain and thrust viciously toward her, its speed and ferocity utterly horrifying!

This was its... killing move!

Seeing no way to dodge, Bibi Dong gritted her teeth and activated all her remaining soul power. She unleashed her seventh soul skill at full strength, enhancing all her attributes while preparing to sacrifice her puppet in her place. She intended to withstand this attack head-on!

Boom!!!

A thunderous explosion shook the forest. A terrifying energy storm swept in every direction, snapping every ancient tree within a hundred zhang in half and collapsing the ground into an enormous crater.

Her barrier shattered instantly. The remaining violent force slammed into Bibi Dong's chest, tearing through her Thorn Spider Armor and Spider Emperor carapace. Venom entered her body in an instant. She had still underestimated the Spider Emperor's power.

Pfft!!!

Bibi Dong was sent flying backward, blood spraying from her mouth like a fountain.

Her soul power nearly stopped circulating at that moment. Her blood surged backward, carrying venom through every limb and bone. Her chest heaved unevenly, and her breathing grew weaker.

She forced her badly injured body upright at once, not daring to show weakness, afraid the Spider Emperor would seize the opening and strike again.

Her once cool, exquisite face now looked bedraggled.

For the first time, profound wariness and unwillingness surfaced deep within her icy eyes.

She simply lacked the ability to kill a hundred-thousand-year Death Spider Emperor at full strength alone.

Its physical body and deadly venom completely countered her current abilities.

Not to mention its bizarre domain.

Ahead, the hundred-thousand-year Spider Emperor slowly advanced, its scarlet compound eyes locked on her as it prepared to end the battle.

Bibi Dong clenched her fists tightly, suppressing her surging blood and bitter unwillingness.

But poisonous miasma churned throughout the domain. Its enormous legs carried terrifying force as they sealed every escape route, and its huge mouth bristled with chilling fangs. It was about to crush her body.

"Silent Abyssal Annihilation Art!!!"

With death upon her, Bibi Dong held nothing back and unleashed her final life-saving trump card.

This was one of the life-preserving secret arts kept by Spirit Hall. It could kill a ten-thousand-year soul beast, but could only be used once. It was never deployed unless life and death hung in the balance.

A crystal appeared in her palm. She crushed it lightly, and a pitch-black blade shadow instantly formed at her fingertips. A deep, dark beam as thick as a thumb shot out, making space tremble.

But the Death Spider Emperor reacted instinctively, hastily tilting its head to protect its vital point. The beam struck its feeler precisely instead, severing most of it.

Its feelers allowed the Death Spider Emperor to sense the outside world. The sudden damage sent piercing agony through its entire body.

The Spider Emperor's ferocity surged. All eight legs lashed out together, carrying endless venomous force as they slammed into Bibi Dong's chest again.

Her protective soul power instantly shattered, and Bibi Dong spat out a mouthful of blackish-red blood. Enduring the agonizing pain, she did not hesitate for even a moment. She used her remaining soul power to move, breaking completely free of the battlefield and disappearing into the depths of the forest.

The pain of its severed feeler enraged the Death Spider Emperor. It raised its head and released a savage roar that left the forest shaking.

Its scarlet eyes locked onto the trail of Bibi Dong's fleeing aura. In its fury, it commanded the high-level soul beasts throughout the forest to follow the scent of blood and residual soul power, searching everywhere, determined to kill the human who had injured it.

"That was incredible! Is this what a battle at the Titled Douluo level looks like?"

"That woman was crazy, too. She actually escaped from such a desperate situation. Amazing!"

Ning Chengyi had watched almost the entire battle.

Of course, he had only avoided discovery because the Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide's innate effect concealed his aura, perfectly disguising him as a weak soul beast.

"My priority now is to use the river to hide my scent and leave the Sunset Forest, before I get caught in the crossfire."

After returning to the outskirts, Ning Chengyi was still shaken. The thought of every soul beast going berserk left him trembling with apprehension.

He followed the river downstream. A quarter of an hour later, his pupils suddenly contracted. His gaze fixed on a slender figure in purple lying unconscious beside the shallows. Her eyes were tightly closed, her face deathly pale, and her chest barely rose and fell as the flowing water washed over her from time to time.