The matter finally came to an end. The Dragon Duke and Snake Granny, and Meng Yiran disappeared into the depths of the dense forest, and the heavy atmosphere dissipated.
" Lin Kong, thank you, you... helped me again." Tang San walked to Lin Kong's side, his tone full of sincere gratitude.
If Lin Kong hadn't suppressed Meng Yiran again, preventing her from causing trouble, he wouldn't have been able to absorb the Man Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring in peace. At this moment, his gratitude towards Lin Kong completely dispelled the resentment he had felt due to jealousy.
Lin Kong simply nodded and responded with a "Mm."
He had no time for pleasantries; all his attention was focused on the corpse of the Man Faced Demon Spider not far away, his heart filled with urgency—he desperately wanted to obtain the Eight Spider Lances's External Soul Bone.
" Brother Lin, what are you staring at the corpse of the Man Faced Demon Spider for?" Oscar suddenly came over and curiously followed his gaze.
Lin Kong skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm and quickly changed the subject. " Tang San, when do you plan to start absorbing Soul Ring?"
This statement was perfectly timed, drawing everyone's attention to Tang San. No one would delve into what he had been looking at earlier; they would simply assume he was concerned about Tang San absorbing the Soul Ring.
Tang San pondered for a moment and said, "Let me adjust my state first, and start when my Soul Power is stable."
Lin Kong glanced at Oscar without showing any emotion, inwardly surprised: This kid's eyes are so sharp?
" Brother Lin, you're amazing!" Oscar, oblivious to Lin Kong's strange behavior, continued gossiping with great interest, "You actually managed to charm that girl Meng Yiran! Was that kiss you particularly satisfying? How was it? How was it?"
Ma Hongjun immediately chimed in, winking and teasing, "Yeah, yeah, how does it feel to be kissed by a beautiful woman? Tell us about it!"
Lin Kong's eyes flickered, and he quickly avoided the gossipy gazes of the two guys. But as soon as he turned his head, he accidentally met Ning Rongrong's gaze, and then his eyes met Zhu Zhuqing's cold gaze.
He quickly turned his head to the side, looked at the sky, and scolded in a serious tone, "You two shut up and stop talking nonsense."
"Eh~~" Oscar and Ma Hongjun exchanged a smile, deliberately dragging out their words in an ambiguous tone.
"Okay, okay, I won't say anymore." Although they said that, the smiles on their faces didn't diminish at all.
After a while, Tang San finally adjusted his state, sat cross-legged, and began to guide the purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring, preparing to absorb it.
Lin Kong could no longer contain himself and said to everyone, "I'm going to dissect the corpse of the Man Faced Demon Spider and look for its Soul Bone."
"Oh." Everyone had long lost interest in it, and responded casually, with no one following them.
After all, previous searches had yielded nothing, and no one believed that this Man Faced Demon Spider would actually drop Soul Bone.
Only Lin Kong himself knew that this trip was destined to bring him tremendous gains.
In the Soul Master World, what happens once a Soul Hunting team discovers Soul Bone?
The answer is almost certain—a fierce battle is likely to erupt until only one person remains in the team, and only the survivor will be entitled to this incredible opportunity.
Of course, Lin Kong and his group wouldn't go so far as to kill each other over a single Soul Bone.
But without fighting, how should the Soul Bone be distributed?
Generally speaking, there are only three options:
Firstly, the Soul Ring and Soul Bone belong to the same person. Just like now, the Soul Ring of the Man Faced Demon Spider belongs to Tang San, and naturally the Soul Bone is also given to him;
Secondly, it belongs to the strongest member of the team, Zhao Wuji. Given his Soul Saint strength and status, no one would object to him obtaining the Soul Bone.
Thirdly, everyone gives up and sells the Soul Bone for Gold Soul Coin, with everyone sharing the profits.
Back to reality, it's just a piece of Thousand-Year Soul Bone, valuable enough, but not enough to drive someone completely mad.
Xiao Wu wasn't present and wasn't qualified to participate in the allocation; Tang San was focused on absorbing Soul Ring and knew nothing about the outside world; Ning Rongrong was arrogant and wouldn't even consider Thousand-Year Soul Bone; Zhao Wuji, as Soul Saint, looked down on Soul Bone of that level; Oscar was Support System Soul Master, so we won't discuss him.
Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, and Zhu Zhuqing did want it, but they all knew that tearing each other apart over a Soul Bone would only ruin their image within the team, which was simply not worth it.
Unbeknownst to everyone, what Lin Kong held was not an ordinary Soul Bone, but an extremely rare External Soul Bone!
This was Lin Kong's opportunity.
But he was even more aware that he had to maintain the image of the team's core members and never let anyone see his covetous intentions.
so...
"Look everyone! What's this?!"
Lin Kong's voice suddenly rang out, filled with undisguised excitement and elation. He raised his right hand high, even standing on tiptoe to hold the strangely shaped object in his hand as high as possible, the Soul Power emanating from it reaching everyone's senses.
" Soul Bone! I found the Soul Bone!" Lin Kong shouted again, his voice filled with joy.
"What?!"
Everyone was startled by the shout and turned to look in Lin Kong's direction.
Lin Kong stood on tiptoe, raised the object in his hand higher, and deliberately swayed it from side to side to fully reveal the shape of the Eight Spider Lances, firmly attracting everyone's attention.
Several people jumped up from the ground, craning their necks, their eyes filled with disbelief.
Ma Hongjun's eyes turned bloodshot, and he was so excited that he lost his mind. Without even thinking, his legs moved instinctively, and he ran wildly towards Lin Kong, shouting, "Holy crap! It really is Soul Bone!"
" Soul Bone?!"
"Really?!"
" Thousand-Year Soul Beast actually dropped Soul Bone?"
"We're so lucky!"
The reactions varied, but a hint of fervor flashed in everyone's eyes.
Ma Hongjun rushed forward the fastest, reaching Lin Kong in the blink of an eye. He excitedly jumped up and reached out to snatch the Eight Spider Lances from Lin Kong's hand, his thoughts simple—he wanted to take a good look at such a precious treasure.
But he rushed too fast and crashed hard into Lin Kong.
Lin Kong was prepared; he deftly moved to the side, thus deflecting the impact.
"Ah--"
A piercing scream suddenly rang out.
Lin Kong suddenly jumped to the side, his left hand gripping his right upper arm tightly. He ripped the sleeve open, revealing a dark wound on his right upper arm. Thick black energy was gushing out of the wound and spreading outwards. A pungent, fishy smell filled the air, and black blood was dripping continuously from the wound.
"I've been poisoned!" Lin Kong shouted in a voice filled with terror.
" Oscar!" Zhao Wuji exclaimed in shock.
"Here it comes!" Oscar was terrified and rushed to Lin Kong's side. He activated his Second Soul Skill, and the Detoxifying Sausage appeared, which he hurriedly stuffed into Lin Kong's hand.
Lin Kong snatched it, stuffed it into his mouth without hesitation, and swallowed it whole.
Three seconds later, the black aura on the upper arm seemed to pause for a moment and stop spreading. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the poison had been suppressed.
But the next second, the black energy erupted again, spreading even faster than before!
Oscar's face was filled with despair, and his voice trembled. "The toxin was too potent... My antidote sausage didn't work..."
After all, his Second Soul Skill came from Hundred-Year Soul Ring, while the Man Faced Demon Spider was a genuine Thousand-Year Soul Beast. The difference between the two was not even a little bit.
"You fatso!"
Zhao Wuji was so angry that he trembled all over and slapped Ma Hongjun hard across the face.
"Smack!"
The crisp sound of a slap echoed through the woods. Ma Hongjun was spun around on the spot, half of his face swollen and bruised, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
"It's all your fault! If you hadn't recklessly rushed over and bumped into him, how would he have touched the Man Faced Demon Spider's remains, how would he have been poisoned!" Zhao Wuji roared furiously.
Yes, Lin Kong had been dissecting the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse for so long without any problems, but Ma Hongjun bumped into him and accidentally touched the spider's leg, which was still laced with venom, leading to this terrible ordeal.
This was Lin Kong's plan: to take a risk, no, even risk his life, to personally test the venom of the Man Faced Demon Spider.