Looking at Bibi Dong, Qian Daoliu set down his utensils, wiped his mouth, and said,
"Our target is a Man Faced Demon Spider Emperor with fifty thousand years of cultivation."
Bibi Dong stopped what she was doing.
"Fifty thousand years?"
Qian Daoliu nodded, then continued,
"An ordinary Soul Master can absorb a Soul Ring under fifty thousand years old for their seventh Soul Ring, but you're no ordinary Soul Master."
"With twin Martial Souls, your body was already stronger than most. After being tempered by the Muscle-Tendon and Marrow-Cleansing Pill, handling fifty thousand years will be easy. You could even go a little higher."
Qian Daoliu paused, then said,
"What matters most is compatibility. There are relatively few kinds of Soul Beasts your Death Spider Emperor can absorb, unless it's a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast whose powerful attributes can make up for the mismatch."
Most of Bibi Dong's Soul Rings came from spiders, which made her Martial Soul purer.
Absorbing animal Soul Rings with a plant-type Martial Soul like Blue Silver Grass, as Tang San did, was not impossible. He could produce unexpected effects that way.
But if Tang San had taken a different approach and absorbed compatible Plant Type Soul Rings instead—Plant Type Soul Beasts were rare, but they certainly existed—might his Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline have awakened earlier?
Surely the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was tied to life no matter how one looked at it, especially given the nature of grass:
Wildfire could never burn it all away; with the spring breeze, it sprang to life again.
"Dong'er, tell me what you know about Man Faced Demon Spiders."
Qian Daoliu thought he should not do all the talking. He needed to see how much his disciple knew about Soul Beasts.
Wiping her little mouth with a handkerchief, Bibi Dong thought for a moment before speaking.
"Man Faced Demon Spiders have glossy, jet-black shells, with white markings on their abdomens forming hideous human faces. Those faces are also their weak points. Their venom is usually a lethal neurotoxin."
"They're known as the Nightmare of Small Soul Beasts. Savage by nature, they kill indiscriminately and devour living creatures to increase their cultivation."
"But precisely because of this, other Soul Beasts won't tolerate them. Powerful Soul Beasts often band together to hunt them down. A Man Faced Demon Spider that has reached fifty thousand years of cultivation must be quite extraordinary."
Qian Daoliu nodded in praise. "You've memorized your books well. It's just a pity it isn't a Death Spider Emperor. As your seventh Soul Ring, that would give you an even greater boost."
"Teacher, enough about that. What about you? You have twin Martial Souls now too. Have you thought about how old a Soul Beast you want for your first Soul Ring?"
"I haven't decided yet. We'll see when we encounter a powerful Soul Beast. You also have twin Martial Souls. Judging by your current physique, once you become a Titled Douluo, the Soul Rings you add to your second Martial Soul should start at fifty thousand years at the very least."
"The future belongs to youngsters like you. People like us are only here to protect you until your wings have fully grown. Once Dong'er becomes Supreme Pontiff, we'll spend our twilight years in peace at Spirit Hall."
Qian Daoliu spoke with perfect composure.
"Teacher, I'm only twenty! It's far too early to talk about becoming Supreme Pontiff, and you're already thinking about retirement."
Lately, Bibi Dong had been learning to handle administrative affairs from Qian Xunji, and it had been utterly exhausting.
"Hahaha."
"All right, enough of that. Finish your food first. This bear paw is a delicacy, especially since it came from a Soul Beast. It's beneficial to Soul Masters too."
Everyone then finished the remaining bear paw and returned to their rooms to rest.
The night was as clear as day.
As soon as the sun peeked over the horizon, Qian Daoliu and his party ate a little at the Branch Hall, then headed straight into the Star Dou Great Forest.
Upon entering the Star Dou Great Forest, they were greeted by fresh air mingled with the fragrance of plants.
Under Qian Daoliu's lead, they headed directly from the outskirts toward the inner region.
This Soul Beast was rather interesting. According to the location provided by the system, it kept roaming along the boundary between the inner and outer regions. With fifty thousand years of cultivation, it could not enter the core, but it could still find somewhere to get by in the inner region.
Yet it insisted on ambushing weaker Soul Beasts on the outskirts.
"We're almost there. This Soul Beast keeps roaming between the inner and outer regions. It looks like it plans to retreat into the inner region whenever it encounters something it can't beat."
Qian Daoliu warned the others, then looked at Bibi Dong.
"Dong'er, we'll stand guard for you. Go hone your skills."
Bibi Dong nodded, calming her breathing and focusing her mind.
Soon, they approached the inner region and stopped beneath several towering trees.
"That Soul Beast is a thousand meters away."
Qian Daoliu pointed Bibi Dong in its direction.
Then Qian Daoliu and the others wrapped themselves in their spiritual power and vanished from Bibi Dong's sight.
Bibi Dong took a deep breath, then let her first Martial Soul possess her. Six black Soul Rings appeared. Fortunately, the trees concealed them, making their black glow less noticeable.
In the distance,
Qian Daoliu and the others stood on the branches of a large tree. They were already just over a hundred meters from the Demon-Faced Pearl Emperor, but they all kept their spiritual power focused on Bibi Dong.
Soon, Bibi Dong entered the Man Faced Demon Spider Emperor's hunting range.
Through the feedback from her little knowledge aid, Bibi Dong spotted the three-meter-long Demon-Faced Pearl Emperor crouching on the ground beneath the shade of the trees. More than a dozen webs stretched among the large trees surrounding it.
Why was this fifty-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider Emperor even smaller than the ten-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider I absorbed for my third Soul Ring?
All Bibi Dong felt in this area was a sinister chill.
Without dwelling on it, Bibi Dong locked onto its direction with her spiritual power. The closer she drew, the more cautious she became.
With just over fifty meters between them, the Demon-Faced Pearl Emperor seemed to sense something and prepared to move elsewhere.
Seeing her target move, Bibi Dong thought she had been exposed and activated her first Soul Skill, Death Spider Thorn!
She launched venomous spikes at the Demon-Faced Pearl Emperor in a long-range attack.
Unfortunately, the Man Faced Demon Spider reacted with incredible speed. Although Bibi Dong's attack came without warning, its body was only three meters long. Its legs thrust against the ground, springing its entire body into the air to evade the spider thorns.
Then Bibi Dong's third and fourth Soul Rings lit up in succession.
Third Soul Skill: Death Spider Web Restraint!
Fourth Soul Skill: Thorn Spider Armor!
Death Spider Web Restraint spat out a deep-purple web that swept toward the Man Faced Demon Spider Emperor in a cloud of purple poison mist, but the creature blocked it with its forelegs and flung it aside.
Thorn Spider Armor was an individual defensive Soul Skill. It covered Bibi Dong in a layer of purple armor studded with venomous purple spikes, without affecting her speed.
Trying to trap a spider with a web was not particularly suitable, but the attack still delayed the Demon-Faced Pearl Emperor.
When the Demon-Faced Pearl Emperor's eight eerie blue eyes spotted the six black Soul Rings around Bibi Dong, it was instantly alarmed, believing it had encountered a powerful opponent.
Bibi Dong's fifth Soul Ring lit up.
Fifth Soul Skill: Death's Kiss!
Bibi Dong condensed enormous Spider Emperor blades in both hands. With a swift movement, she appeared in front of the Man Faced Demon Spider Emperor and slashed.
This time, the Demon-Faced Pearl Emperor did not dodge. It raised its forelegs to block, taking the Soul Skill head-on.
With a quick dash, Bibi Dong rapidly opened up the distance.
After taking a fifth Soul Skill, the Man Faced Demon Spider Emperor looked down at its forelegs and found cracks spreading across them.
Its eerie blue eyes fixed on Bibi Dong. With only six Soul Rings, she had nearly battered its supposedly indestructible forelegs into this state.
The Man Faced Demon Spider Emperor began to think of retreating. Suspicious by nature, it knew Bibi Dong was strong, yet for some reason, it kept feeling that an even more terrifying presence lurked nearby. Without the slightest hesitation, it turned away from Bibi Dong and fled headlong toward the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest's inner core.
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