"Trying to run?"
Xiao Xuan flicked the blood from his spear tip, his gaze icy.
All three demon spiders that had ganged up on him were dead. There was no reason to spare the last one.
The next second, Xiao Xuan stayed hot on the heels of the Man Faced Demon Spider fleeing ahead, giving chase with the speed of wind and lightning!
The Man Faced Demon Spider had already been scared out of its wits by Xiao Xuan's fierce attack. Its eight spear-like legs clawed frantically through mud and rubble!
It charged wildly ahead, not even caring when thorns pierced its carapace!
But it had been badly wounded by Xiao Xuan's earlier counterattack. Mucus streamed from several joints, and its speed had fallen sharply in its panic.
It had only fled a little over a hundred meters when Xiao Xuan sprang into the air off a tree trunk and darted sideways like a ghost, cutting off its path!
Realizing its escape had been blocked, the demon spider's scarlet compound eyes flashed with ferocity!
Fighting like a cornered beast, it twisted the human-face pattern on its abdomen violently. Its two sharp forelegs stabbed forward with a sickly green, foul-smelling gust, while its mouth spewed out a huge shower of deathly pale poison needles!
"Dying struggles."
Xiao Xuan remained impassive as he pushed forward with both hands, turning the shaft of his spear smoothly in midair.
Mist in the air gathered along the spear's path into a semicircular curtain of water, sweeping down and scattering every poison needle flying at him.
Xiao Xuan then turned sideways to evade the spider's thrusting legs and drove his bamboo spear straight through the opening!
"Air-Breaking Thrust!"
The nascent spear force merged with water force. The spear tip tore through the spider's hard facial shell and drove straight into its brain!
With a muffled burst, the two-thousand-year-old Man Faced Demon Spider convulsed violently twice. Its eight spear-like legs went limp and sagged, and its life was extinguished.
Several breaths later, an unexpected change occurred.
A deep, dark-purple light slowly rose from the demon spider's back.
Then, accompanied by the faint sound of growing bone, eight long, sinister spider legs resembling black crystal spears emerged from gaps in its back armor!
They were crystal clear from end to end, radiating an icy, savage baleful presence.
An External Soul Bone-the Eight Spider Lances!
Looking at the eight bone spears floating above the corpse, Xiao Xuan's eyes flashed with irrepressible delight.
He had spent days searching and hunting in the Star Dou Great Forest, and had even nearly thought he had missed the right time and place.
He had not expected this External Soul Bone to end up safely in his hands after all!
Xiao Xuan took the Eight Spider Lances in his hands.
They felt cool and heavy to the touch, their bony surfaces covered in fine, resilient natural poison markings.
But he did not rush to fuse with them. Instead, he carefully stowed them in the Soul Tool he carried.
Xiao Xuan then considered the time. He had stayed in the Star Dou Great Forest for quite a while, and it was time to set off and report to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Without further delay, Xiao Xuan turned back, left the Star Dou Great Forest, and returned to the supply town on its outskirts.
As he passed the town entrance, he happened to meet a coachman preparing to leave.
Xiao Xuan stopped him at once. "Mister, is your carriage going to Heaven Dou City?"
The man glanced at Xiao Xuan and paused at his youthful appearance before saying, "Heaven Dou City... that's a little too far..."
Before the man could finish, however, Xiao Xuan took out five Gold Soul Coins.
"I'll hire your carriage. Take me to Heaven Dou City."
Xiao Xuan had just looked around. This was the only carriage at the town entrance, and he was in a hurry. That amount of money was nothing to him.
Seeing how generously Xiao Xuan spent, the coachman's eyes flashed with greed. His wrinkles bunched into a flower as he grinned and bowed repeatedly. "All right! Please, sir, step inside!"
With a broad smile, the coachman ushered Xiao Xuan into the spacious carriage and set off.
But the carriage had traveled only a little over a kilometer along the main road when-
The coachman suddenly flicked the reins, leaving the broad, level road and turning the carriage straight onto a rarely traveled forest path.
After several hundred meters, the carriage gradually slowed.
In the middle of a clearing ahead, three fierce-looking, burly men with sharp blades had surrounded a large, ornately carved carriage in a triangular formation.
Seeing the coachman arrive, a hulking, scar-faced man looked up and laughed. "Fourth! Have you got a dog's nose, boy? The prey only just got here, and here you are!"
Fourth grinned and let out a strange chuckle.
"Don't rush, big brother! I've got a fat sheep in my carriage too! He handed over five Gold Soul Coins just like that! And he's headed to Heaven Dou City, so he must be some family's young master!"
"Since you three brothers have a big catch, I won't share this little one with you!"
With that, Fourth threw open the curtain and looked at Xiao Xuan inside, a vicious expression on his face.
"Kid, heh-heh! Blame your bad luck!"
Just then, a woman's gentle, clear voice came from the luxurious carriage.
"This is your last chance to repent. Turn around and leave now, and you can still live. Otherwise, you won't be able to leave even if you want to later."
The three robbers froze for a moment, then looked at one another and burst into raucous laughter.
Their leader was even more arrogant. "The three of us are Soul Ancestors! Why would we be afraid of a young woman with a child?!"
They had already found out exactly who was inside. Apart from the dead coachman, only a young woman and a girl of about ten remained in the carriage.
Fourth turned to Xiao Xuan smugly. "Kid! Did you hear that? All three of my brothers are Soul Ancestors! If you know what's good for you, hand over your valuables!"
With that, Fourth drew the short knife at his waist and approached Xiao Xuan with a cold sneer.
At the same time, the other three closed in on the luxurious carriage, each wearing a sinister grin.
Inside his carriage, Xiao Xuan leaned against the cushions, rubbed the spot between his brows, and let out a long sigh.
"You just had to cause trouble when I'm in a hurry."
Before the words had finished leaving his mouth, the bamboo spear was already in his hand.
Fourth's eyelid twitched. Before he could even make out the spear's outline, its tip came stabbing toward his face like thunder breaking through the air!
There was a soft, wet sound.
The bamboo spear pierced Fourth's throat without resistance. A hidden force erupted, snuffing out his life on the spot.
At the same time, a towering storm of wind suddenly erupted in the clearing outside!
A powerful figure clad in thick, heavy armor descended from the sky. The overwhelming pressure of a Soul Saint poured over the entire clearing like Mount Tai crashing down!
"You dare ambush a carriage of the Nine Heart Begonia Family? You're tired of living!"
A violent blast of air slammed down. The two robbers in front had not even fully summoned their Martial Souls before the Soul Saint guard's palm wind smashed them into the mud. Their bones broke and tendons snapped, and they vomited blood before losing consciousness.
The remaining robber chief saw this and turned to flee!
Just then, Xiao Xuan stepped out of the carriage carrying Fourth's corpse, blocking his path by chance.
The robber chief's eyes blazed with ferocity. "Out of my way!"
In the next instant, the robber chief possessed himself with his Beast Martial Soul and punched at Xiao Xuan, intending to kill him quickly and flee for his life.
Inside the carriage, Ye Lingling could not help crying out at the sight.
"Look out!"
However-
Xiao Xuan remained calm. With a slight twist of his wrist, he thrust his spear forward like a long rainbow piercing the sun!
The spear tip instantly pierced the robber chief's Soul Power shield, while the water force carried by the attack poured into his body all at once.
A muffled thud sounded.
The robber chief died on the spot!
But even in death, he could not understand how a mere youth who had not even used a Soul Ring had so easily broken through the Soul Power shield of a mighty Soul Ancestor like him.
Ye Nishang and Ye Lingling, inside the carriage, saw the whole scene.
The concern in Ye Lingling's eyes instantly turned to shock. Her eyes widened as she stared at Xiao Xuan in disbelief.