Shadow Sky Demon Spider

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Chapter 18: Shadow Sky Demon Spider

Zhang Lexuan had used a secret art that instantly ignited the power of her Martial Soul. It was somewhat like frenzy or bloodlust soul skills, but not nearly so wild or extreme. If Soul Power were water, her current state had brought that water to a boil.

Her Soul Power consumption rose dramatically, but in return, her Martial Soul became far more powerful.

As the crescent moon overhead became a full moon, the area bathed in moonlight expanded. Ye Xixuan and Zhang Lexuan finally discovered the culprit behind the silver threads hanging in the air.

More precisely, those silver threads were spider silk, but they differed from the silk of ordinary demon spider Soul Beasts. Free of any poison or mucus, they were fine and translucent, seemingly poised between illusion and substance, concealed within the void.

Had Zhang Lexuan not used her secret art, they would have been almost impossible to see with the naked eye. Even their presence could not have been sensed.

Silver spider silk filled the air, linking the tree trunks throughout the area into an enormous web.

At its center crouched a silver spider whose body measured over three meters across, with ten spear-like legs more than six meters long. Its entire body gleamed, its contours elegant and beautiful, without any of the hideousness typical of spider Soul Beasts.

The only chilling feature was the dense black pattern covering its carapace. That combination of silver and black instead exerted even greater psychological pressure.

Zhang Lexuan's beautiful eyes widened in surprise.

"Is that a Heavenly Demon Spider?"

"A Heavenly Demon Spider?" Ye Xixuan looked equally surprised. He had learned about all kinds of Soul Beasts since childhood, yet he had never heard of the Heavenly Demon Spider Zhang Lexuan had mentioned.

As far as he had previously known, the most powerful demon spider Soul Beasts were the Soul Devouring Demon Spider, Death Demon Spider, Man Faced Demon Spider, and Cave Demon Spider.

The first two had been the twin Martial Souls of the Rakshasa God who had fallen ten thousand years ago, while the latter two had considerable ties to a certain selfless God King.

The silver spider stood on its silk, its equally silver legs long and sharp, making it appear to hover in midair. An eerie, unsettling light flickered in its eight small eyes. Its two foremost legs moved slightly, dragging the thousand-year Scale Armor Beast from earlier up into the air.

Both sides had noticed each other. They faced off, neither making a rash move.

"According to the academy's records, Heavenly Demon Spiders were already on the verge of extinction in ancient times. For at least the last several thousand years, no Soul Master has discovered one in a wild Soul Beast habitat. Of course, it's also possible that every Soul Master who saw one remained in the Soul Beast forest forever," Zhang Lexuan explained solemnly to Ye Xixuan.

"Heavenly Demon Spiders don't possess the deadly venom of other demon spider Soul Beasts. They are an exceedingly rare venomless variety, because they are already powerful enough without it. They possess the mysterious spatial attribute, and their standing among demon spider Soul Beasts is almost equivalent to that of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear among bear Soul Beasts. That is why they are also called heavenly spiders."

The silver light in Zhang Lexuan's eyes grew brighter. She promptly made her decision.

"Judging by the black markings on its carapace and its aura, this Heavenly Demon Spider must have mutated to gain darkness abilities. Perhaps Shadow Sky Demon Spider would be a more fitting name. Its cultivation age should be around three thousand years, which meets our requirements perfectly. Xixuan, let's choose it for your Second Soul Ring."

"All right!" Ye Xixuan's eyes immediately lit up. A target Soul Beast like this far exceeded his expectations. Naturally, he would not refuse his senior sister's suggestion.

A Shadow Sky Demon Spider with both darkness and spatial attributes...

Bound all over by the Shadow Sky Demon Spider's silk, the thousand-year Scale Armor Beast kept letting out anguished howls, yet its body could not move an inch. The brute strength it took such pride in had become utterly useless.

The Scale Armor Beast's howls masked the faint sound of the silk contracting. At some point, the enormous silver web had silently shrunk to a fraction of its original size, sealing off Ye Xixuan and Zhang Lexuan's escape routes from every direction.

Just then, a deep black gleam lit up the Shadow Sky Demon Spider's eight small eyes. Its ten dazzling legs instantly changed from silver to an icy black, and the web overhead took on the same color.

;psme&;psme&

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Its legs moved rapidly, and the crisscrossing black silk abruptly began contracting faster, shredding everything in its path.

Thick trunks, branches, and leaves were sliced apart by the dense silk without the slightest resistance, not even making a sound as they were cut. For that instant, everything seemed deathly silent.

Holding Ye Xixuan, Zhang Lexuan leaped into the air. The black Soul Ring in the seventh position shone with a dense radiance. Immediately afterward, the bright moon overhead grew larger.

Seventh Soul Skill, Silver Moon Avatar!

Now that she had locked onto her target, she would hold nothing back from the outset. Before an absolute disparity in cultivation, even the mightiest innate abilities seemed no more than empty illusions.

Ye Xixuan clearly saw Zhang Lexuan's body turn entirely silver-white. Incandescent radiance descended from the sky, illuminating every last detail of their surroundings. The bright moon above them swelled at an astonishing speed, exceeding a hundred meters in diameter in the blink of an eye, as though the true silver moon had fallen into the mortal world.

Its light covered a terrifying area thousands of meters across, turning it into a world of stark white.

Not only did shattered branches fall from high above all around them, but even the Shadow Sky Demon Spider's silk was dyed silver-white. Everything melted away without a sound. ;psme&;psme&

A circular clearing appeared out of nowhere in this part of the Ming Dou Great Forest's outskirts, like a reflection of the silver moon overhead.

The Shadow Sky Demon Spider fell stiffly to the ground. With the surrounding tree trunks and dense foliage gone, it seemed to have no escape left.

"Hiss, hiss-"

A piercing screech rang out. The Shadow Sky Demon Spider first cast a terrified glance at the graceful figure beneath the silver moon, then drove the ten black legs around its carapace sharply downward. A mass of black shadow immediately covered the ground strewn with yellowed leaves and other plant debris, expanding as it writhed.

Starting with its ten legs, its body rapidly sank downward. It was about to merge into that shadow.

Zhang Lexuan first tightened her left arm, securing Ye Xixuan against her chest, then raised her right hand high toward the silver full moon behind her. Her first and third Soul Rings lit up in succession.

First, a shaft of moonlight fell on her, enveloping her entire body in radiance. Then another shaft illuminated the Shadow Sky Demon Spider.

Most of the shadow beneath the Shadow Sky Demon Spider dissolved in an instant, and its sinking motion briefly faltered.

As the chosen successor to the Sea God Pavilion Master two generations down the line, Zhang Lexuan's talent was plain for all to see. How could she let such an opening slip away?

The glow of her Seventh Soul Ring gradually dimmed, replaced by the light of her fifth Soul Ring. Before she voluntarily released her secret art and Silver Moon Avatar, ten golden waxing crescent moons instantly plunged from the sky.

Please remember our domain,

Fifth Soul Skill, Moonfall!

Where the moonlight passed, all ten of the Shadow Sky Demon Spider's legs were severed at their roots. Its aura, too, was suppressed beneath that light until it was utterly feeble.

Zhang Lexuan and Ye Xixuan drifted down from the sky and landed steadily on the ground.

Ye Xixuan did not rush to inspect the Soul Beast chosen for his Second Soul Ring. Instead, he turned back, staring in a daze at Zhang Lexuan's breathtaking face beneath the moonlight.

(End of chapter)