The Human-Faced Demon Spider before them seemed to be over two thousand years old. Although it might not rival a Titan Giant Ape of the same age in terms of strength and bloodline, it was still a rare treasure in the entire Star Dou Great Forest. Especially valuable was the spirit bone it possessed, the Eight Spider Lances, considered one of the most powerful spirit bones in the past ten thousand years.
Lin Gong had a trace of helplessness on his face. Suddenly, countless purple bamboo stalks sprouted around the Human-Faced Demon Spider, instantly wrapping its entire body and rendering it immobile.
This was the Purple Radiance Bamboo, a top-tier plant-type martial soul. It was powerful in both control and offense, to the point that it could even be considered a defensive-type martial soul.
At Yang Xiong's command, the Purple Radiance Bamboo exerted its strength, snapping all eight legs of the Human-Faced Demon Spider. The spider collapsed to the ground, barely clinging to life, its condition appeared extremely miserable.
To a Spirit Douluo-level expert, a thousand-year spirit beast was hardly a threat. It was hard to understand why the Dragon Duke and Snake Lady kept letting spirit beasts escape.
Looking at the gravely injured spider, Yang Xiong retrieved two steel nets from his soul tool and tightly wrapped it up. Then he pulled out a giant chain, locked the spider, and stored it inside his soul tool, the Hundred Herb Pouch, which was capable of keeping living creatures.
Spirit beasts usually had very strong vitality, especially top-tier ones like the Human-Faced Demon Spider. Even when severely injured, they could survive for quite a long time, particularly with their power suppressed by Lin Gong.
Lin Gong, puzzled, asked, "Yang Xiong, do you value this Human-Faced Demon Spider that much?"
Yang Xiong smiled. "The Human-Faced Demon Spider is one of the most toxic spirit beasts out there, arguably the strongest of its type. It's extremely beneficial for my body training."
In fact, in terms of combat strength, the spider might have been even stronger than Yang Xiong himself, but capturing it came with almost no effort.
Lin Gong asked, "Are we still going into the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest? You should have enough toxins collected by now."
Yang Xiong stepped closer and asked, "Teacher Lin, can anyone overhear us right now? Especially a Titled Douluo?"
Lin Gong let out a cold chuckle. Immediately, countless Purple Radiance Bamboos sprouted and encircled them. Yang Xiong felt as if his perception and soul power were completely cut off from the outside world.
Lin Gong smiled and said, "Within the cover of my Purple Radiance Bamboo, not even a Titled Douluo could hear us."
Yang Xiong looked at the surrounding bamboo in surprise. He hadn't realized this martial soul had such capabilities, none of this was recorded in the books.
At that moment, Yang Xiong's expression turned grim. "Teacher Lin, we'll continue our pursuit shortly, but when we run into that classmate of mine, I want you to take her back to the sect."
Lin Gong gave him a look of disdain. "What are you up to? You're still young, just because you like a girl doesn't mean you should go that far."
Yang Xiong's face darkened. "That's not what I meant. There's something unusual about her. Bring her back to the sect and you'll understand. She might bring me a huge surprise in the future. But if that Titled Douluo we ran into last time appears again, then forget about the girl."
Lin Gong had never seen Yang Xiong so serious before, so he simply nodded silently.
After their brief exchange, they resumed heading deeper into the forest.
After just a few kilometers, they unexpectedly encountered the Dragon Duke and Snake Lady, and from the looks of it, the two sides knew each other from before.
The Dragon Duke appeared as a lean old man with a head of silver hair. He held a long staff with a dragon head carved on top, looking very lifelike.
Snake Lady She Xiang seemed to sense the presence of the Human-Faced Demon Spider from Yang Xiong.
"You again, brat from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Why do I sense the aura of a Human-Faced Demon Spider on you?"
Yang Xiong was surprised, apparently she could detect the residual aura from when he captured the spider.
He gave a polite bow. "Senior Snake Lady, I did indeed encounter a wounded Human-Faced Demon Spider earlier. Seeing such a dangerous spirit beast in the forest, we dealt with it immediately."
Snake Lady grew furious. "You from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect really know how to push people around. That was a spirit beast we had been chasing for a long time, and now you've cut us off twice."
Yang Xiong was speechless. You're a Spirit Douluo and Spirit Emperor duo, how do you keep letting thousand-year spirit beasts slip through your fingers? That's not exactly how experts in the soul master world should behave.
Lin Gong laughed from the side. "Meng Shu, She Xiang, what kind of joke is this? A Spirit Douluo and a Spirit Emperor, and you still can't catch a thousand-year spirit beast? That's just embarrassing."
The Dragon Duke's dragon-head staff slammed the ground, radiating a powerful pressure. "Lin Gong, I didn't expect you to still be the same after all these years. Hiding out in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect waiting to die, and now you dare show yourself. Aren't you afraid of those people coming after you?"
Lin Gong looked unimpressed. "I fear neither heaven nor earth. I'm certainly not afraid of those rats. But you? You've clearly grown backward with age. You're a Spirit Douluo who gets outplayed by others while hunting soul beasts. Maybe it's time for retirement."
The Dragon Duke was enraged. "You…"
"Oh, right, I almost forgot. Back then, weren't you chased like a stray dog? If not for hiding in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, there'd be weeds growing on your grave by now."
Lin Gong grew furious as well. "Say what you want, but at least I'm upright and fearless. Not like you, cooped up in that Exotic Beast Academy all these years. If it weren't for your ties to the Barak Royal Family and the Heaven Dou Empire, I bet those people would've taken care of you a long time ago."
The two old men, despite being powerful Spirit Douluos, completely ignored their status and started quarreling like bickering rivals. Yet, curiously, they didn't actually come to blows, it was clear they had a long history of animosity.
After their argument, the Dragon Duke turned to Yang Xiong. "Don't tell me you came out just to protect this Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect kid. You really have low standards."
Lin Gong sneered. "And you call yourself the dean of Exotic Beast Academy? You can't even identify the correct age of a soul beast. You're just misleading your students."
The Dragon Duke's expression darkened. "What do you mean by that?"
Lin Gong replied with contempt, "The Human-Faced Demon Spider you've all been chasing has already passed two thousand years in age. Were you planning to get your precious granddaughter killed?"
The Dragon Duke was shocked. "Are you serious?"
Lin Gong snorted. "You've always been ignorant. I didn't expect your knowledge of soul beasts to be this poor. Seems like the Meng clan's future is looking bleak."
Snake Lady She Xiang seemed completely unfazed by their argument, clearly used to it by now.
Meanwhile, Yang Xiong found himself increasingly curious about Lin Gong. The eccentric old man was mysterious and unpredictable. Perhaps one day, he would truly surprise him.
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