Ancient Soul Beast: Soul-Devouring Spider

"Whoa, Xiao Xiao, where did you come from?"

Huo Yuyao stared in shock at the spot where the girl had appeared.

"Your door was open. I happened to open mine to see whether you'd arrived, and since the timing worked out, I came in with you."

Although Jiang Nannan felt terribly embarrassed, all she wanted now was to learn what was wrong with her mother and what medicine she needed-or whether the person before her could cure her outright.

"Sorry, um, may I ask-"

But Lin Mo raised a hand to stop her.

"Don't worry. I'll examine her now. If I can't figure it out, we'll ask that elder. He's busy with something at the moment."

"Oh, you know how to examine patients too?"

"Yes, a little."

With that, Lin Mo walked to the bedside and pressed his hand against the top of Jiang Nannan's mother's head. He murmured an incantation, and a moment later, a mysterious gray aura swirled where his hand touched her.

"It's a little discourteous, but since she's already asleep, using the Soul-Searching Technique directly will make it easier to understand how the patient herself feels in this condition."

"Please forgive the intrusion."

A vast flood of information surged into his mind, and he quickly sorted out what he needed.

"Hmm, it looks like simple physical depletion, except any nourishing herbs she takes are used up in an extremely short time."

"She's even taken medicinal herbs meant only for Soul Masters. Those would make an ordinary person's body burst, yet she not only absorbed them but digested them rapidly."

Seeing this, he more or less understood the situation. Although he still had a few questions, he had pieced together most of it.

"Then, next..."

He pressed slightly harder against her head. In her sleep, Jiang Nannan's mother seemed to experience something terribly painful, clenching her jaw as her face twisted.

"Mom!"

Jiang Nannan instantly grew anxious at the sight, but she dared not intervene, afraid her actions would prevent him from completing the examination.

Lin Mo was using the same technique he had previously used to examine Huo Yuyao's soul and body. As for why Huo Yuyao had felt nothing then, while Jiang Nannan's mother was suffering now...

The reason was that one had granted access, while the other was being forcibly accessed.

Since she was unconscious, he could only examine her body by forcing access. Still, it would do no harm; there was merely some pain at the very beginning.

"A depletion constitution. What a shame. It really is a troublesome condition."

After finishing the examination, he addressed Jiang Nannan.

"I've finished examining her. It isn't actually a particularly serious illness, but it is difficult to deal with. Your mother has a depletion constitution. That might not mean much for a Soul Master, but it's more troublesome for an ordinary person."

"Simply put, it's a condition that requires a great deal of nourishment. A Soul Master can continually circulate their own soul power to make up for it, but an ordinary person without soul power can only rely on various herbs and supplements. Treating it is actually quite simple, though. Find a water-attribute medicinal root or rhizome over four thousand years old. After taking it, she only needs to sit quietly in water for an hour each day to recover completely."

"R-really? So it really isn't some terribly serious illness?"

"That's correct, but finding a medicinal root or rhizome that's both water-attribute and over four thousand years old is genuinely difficult."

"Then, may I... may I ask if you have one? I-I can pay, although... although I don't have any money..."

The more she spoke, the less confidence she had. In her eyes, merely having him examine her mother would already cost more than she could earn in a year or two, let alone a medicinal herb over four thousand years old.

Even a hundred-year-old herb would cost her over a month's worth of medicine expenses, never mind that the price doubled with each additional hundred years and doubled again upon reaching a thousand.

"Sorry, I... I may be asking too much..."

"I can offer you a way. It depends on whether you're willing."

Seeing her like this, Lin Mo sighed. Still, if a four-thousand-year-old spiritual herb could secure a genius's unconditional support, it would be worth it.

"Wh-what? Really? You really can? If I just agree to one condition, you can cure my mother?!"

The girl seemed utterly unconcerned about what it might be, immediately answering, "I'm willing."

"Calm down and listen carefully to my requirements. Besides, when did I say there was only one?"

"Yes!"

"My first requirement is that you stay here at the inn for now. Once we return from the Star Dou Great Forest, you'll accompany the elders traveling with me to my academy. You must study diligently there from then on."

"Th-that's a condition?"

"Second."

After saying "second," Lin Mo made no further sound, yet his words still reached Jiang Nannan's ears.

"I want you to study hard and help us as a companion in the future. Think of it as me giving you a job. Don't worry, you'll be paid, though you won't receive any wages for the first two months. Consider that payment for the medicinal herb."

He did not actually need to use soul power to transmit those words privately, but he did so to be safe.

"Yes."

"Third, cultivate diligently. Remember, you're growing stronger for two reasons: first, for yourself; second, for your mother. I can tell that your innate soul power is level eight and your martial soul is the Soft Bone Rabbit. That's excellent talent. With proper cultivation, you'll surely become a powerhouse renowned throughout the continent."

His final words shocked the girl even more. She had never expected the boy before her to know her innate soul power and martial soul, and awe rose involuntarily in her heart.

After all, she and her mother did not live here. She had traveled through many places before arriving, and at present, only she and her mother knew about her martial soul and soul power.

"A-are those really your requirements? They're so simple... No, they don't sound like requirements at all. If anything, why does it feel more like you're helping me?"

"Remember, these are requirements, and they're also the bargaining chips in our exchange. Your bargaining chip is your outstanding talent."

With that, they fell silent, and a pale green rhizome appeared in his hand, blue soul power swirling around it.

As for where it had come from, he had been rather lucky. He had never expected a chance turn of events to put precisely what he needed into his hands.

"Ah, I really do have Elder Kong to thank for this."

He channeled his soul power, condensing the entire rhizome into a tiny drop of spiritual liquid before guiding it into Jiang Nannan's mother's mouth.

Once it reached her abdomen, a strange, clear energy immediately enveloped her body, and both her hands twitched involuntarily.

"What..."

Jiang Nannan's mother slowly awoke from her coma. All she remembered was that her daughter had been taking her to seek treatment before she lost consciousness.

"Thank goodness, Mom! You finally woke up!"

Seeing that more than half the wrinkles on her mother's face had vanished, Jiang Nannan threw her arms around her in excitement. The girl's tears finally spilled over, falling onto her mother's clothes.

Feeling her daughter's embrace, she also noticed that her body seemed to have improved beyond anything she could describe.

"All right, she's only just taken the medicine, so she hasn't fully recovered. Once she's settled, take her inside and have her soak in water up to her chest for an hour. Do that every day. After a week, she'll only need to soak once every one to three days."

"Thank you so much. Thank you so much."

Jiang Nannan bowed in excitement to express her gratitude. Her mother understood what had happened and also tried to bow, but Lin Mo stopped her.

"All right. Considering your age and position, you're my elder. There's no need for this. You can have this room. Come on, accompany me to another guest room."

Lin Mo simply ignored the mother and daughter's words and left the room with Huo Yuyao and Xiao Xiao.

"Wow, I never expected a little town like this to have a Soul Master with level-eight innate soul power."

"Right, neither did I. Most people staying here are ordinary people, or Soul Masters around level ten or twenty."

"All done?"

Jing Hongchen appeared beside the three of them and spoke casually, taking out a new key as he asked.

"Dean, I've found you a genius with level-eight innate soul power and the Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul. That's Xiao Wu's martial soul-one of the Shrek Seven Devils who once became famous throughout the continent and were rumored to have all become gods."

"You really are lucky, brat. Last time you went out, you brought back Ye Guyi. This time, you've picked up Jiang Nannan. I don't know whether to say you have an affinity for geniuses or for women."

After saying this, he paused. Thinking it over, as an elder, he probably should not have said such things in front of the younger generation. They were still young, after all.

Upon hearing those words, Xiao Xiao glanced at Huo Yuyao.

Sure enough, the girl looked a little gloomy, though only for a moment.

"Give me a break."

However oblivious he might be, he still noticed that his little sister did not seem to like remarks of that sort.

"Speaking of which, she's already agreed to my conditions. Dean, you can go talk to her later. Once we leave the Star Dou Great Forest, please take her and her mother back to the academy. Don't worry. Although they're from the Star Luo Empire, struggling families like theirs don't really feel much belonging to an old-fashioned aristocratic empire like that."

"I see. Understood."

With that, Jing Hongchen headed upstairs. Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuyao returned to their room, while Lin Mo likewise went to his new room.

The next morning soon arrived. Lin Mo first left the mother and daughter some silver soul coins, telling them simply to wait for his teacher to collect them. He had initially wanted to give them gold soul coins, but as the old saying went, an innocent man's jade made him guilty.

A mother and daughter who looked poor buying things with gold soul coins would attract far too much attention and invite trouble.

And so, the group officially entered the Star Dou Great Forest.

For the first time, Lin Mo truly learned what bad luck meant.

Over a week had passed since the party entered through the entrance and reached the mixed zone, yet they had only just found soul rings for Nana and Xiao Xiao. The soul skills they acquired were the same as in the original story.

"Let's head a little deeper next. Little Yao's soul ring really is a bit difficult to find, and Ye Guyi needs a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring too."

"All right."

Huo Yuyao continued using her soul skill to conceal everyone's presence and blend them into their surroundings. They steadily advanced deeper into the mixed zone, reducing their encounters with soul beasts.

Another week or more passed before they finally found Ye Guyi's soul ring. Everyone was both delighted and frustrated, since they still had not found anything suitable for Huo Yuyao.

Tian Meng's suggestion was a Purple Spirit Bei around ten thousand years old, but never mind a ten-thousand-year-old one-they had not seen a single Purple Spirit Bei.

"Ugh, our luck is awful."

Xiao Xiao sat beside a rock and sighed.

"?!"

Jing Hongchen and Ye Yulin sensed it as well and instantly acted, activating both their barriers against spiritual attacks and their ordinary defenses.

A moment later, two bangs echoed beside everyone's ears.

Huo Yuyao quickly activated Spiritual Detection Sharing, linking everyone together, and they turned their attention back to the source of the two sounds.

"What is that? A spider?"

Through Huo Yuyao's Spiritual Detection, they saw a deep blue spider fully half the size of a person lying on its back less than half a meter from the soul-tool protective barrier. Its most striking feature was the five-pointed star marking on its belly.

"Is that a Soul-Devouring Spider? Holy crap!"

"Huh? How is a soul beast like this still alive?"

Within the Sea of Consciousness, both the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress looked puzzled. Huo Yuyao hurriedly asked them about the soul beast, while even Lin Mo opened his gateway to listen. After all, it was something absent from the original story.

"By all rights, this soul beast should have disappeared ten thousand years ago. They survive by secretly siphoning other soul beasts' soul power and spiritual power, though that's the flattering way to put it. To be blunt, they're parasites."

"I've heard of this kind of soul beast too. It keeps draining a single soul beast's spiritual power and soul power until its victim gradually withers away. Then it controls the drained corpse to lure in others and waits for the next soul beast."

"Soul beasts like these, which disgust every other soul beast, were ordered exterminated over ten thousand years ago. By all rights, they shouldn't appear anymore."

After hearing the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress's explanation, the first thing that came to Lin Mo's mind was the Dark-Eyed Evil God Tiger.

"The Dark-Eyed Evil God Tiger?"

"That's right. Like the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, it's a soul beast that should have been exterminated."

"But this soul beast is also very suitable for you, Little Yao, because it's a spiritual-type soul beast too. Moreover, it has a special trait: it can clearly see the flow and fluctuations of soul power, spiritual power, and even life force. Not only that, it can also see the elemental particles present between heaven and earth."

Hearing about such astonishing abilities, Huo Yuyao could not help wanting to kill it for its soul ring. But before that thought could fully form, something else suddenly occurred to her.

There had clearly been two sounds just now, which meant there should be another soul beast.

"Wait, there should be another soul beast."

Their exchange with the soul beasts in the Sea of Consciousness had taken only two breaths. When they returned their attention to reality, however, they noticed something wrong with the two Titled Douluos' expressions.

"Dean, Senior Ye, what's wrong?"