Tang San sat cross-legged before Han Feng, his face flickering with pain, though his breathing remained steady, leaving Han Feng unconcerned.
As a precaution, Han Feng activated his Concealment Shield to hide both their auras, preventing nearby spirit beasts from detecting them—an unlikely event, but any beast bold enough to enter the Man-Faced Demon Spider's territory would surely be formidable.
In the original timeline, Tang San awoke from absorbing the spirit ring to find Zhao Wuji nearby. Did Zhao Wuji have to fend off other spirit beasts back then?
An entire hour passed with no improvement in Tang San's condition, but trouble soon found Han Feng.
Rustling came from the brush near the Man-Faced Demon Spider's corpse. Han Feng's pupils shrank as an enormous creature, nearly the spider's size, pushed its way through—a beast resembling a bull, with massive horns that prodded the lifeless spider before it bellowed.
The surge of soul power told Han Feng this was a thousand-year spirit beast. Under the moonlight, its scale-covered bulk emerged, red eyes glowing in celebration of the spider's demise.
Han Feng didn't recognize the beast without a teacher like the Grandmaster, but its sheer form suggested it rivaled or even surpassed the Demon Spider in strength and defense.
Thanks to the Concealment Shield, the beast failed to detect them, and Han Feng remained still. He held three hopes: Tang San stayed silent, the beast wouldn't linger, and—above all—it wouldn't start thrashing around. They were mere meters away from the spider's corpse.
Then came the grotesque sight: the beast tore into the Demon Spider's carcass, ripping flesh and spraying venomous blood, all while snarling and devouring.
Suppressing his disgust, Han Feng thought, "Eating a Man-Faced Demon Spider? Why aren't you dead from poison? "
After a stick of incense's time, the spider was gone, the beast showing no ill effects—only satisfaction. Worse, it sprawled out to sleep, clearly claiming the spider's territory.
Han Feng frowned. He couldn't wait forever; his shield drained soul power, and Tang San still had hours to go. His options were few: wait for Zhao Wuji's group to arrive—if they could find him before his energy ran out—or fight now, risking Tang San's life if he failed.
He chose to wait but set a deadline: one hour. When that passed with no sign of Zhao Wuji, Han Feng grimaced. "In the original, they found Tang San quickly… but my shield's hiding us. They're flying blind! "
With his soul power waning, Han Feng sighed. "Fine. Tang San killed the Demon Spider while gravely injured—why shouldn't I handle its predator? "
He secured the shield around Tang San, exposing himself to the beast.
The creature rose warily, red eyes gleaming murderously. Han Feng hesitated, hoping it wasn't truly hostile. But after circling him, the beast roared and charged, its horns like battering rams.
Han Feng met the blow with his blazing Heavenly Shield, invoking Dominion of Fate to root himself against the earth. The force surpassed even Dai Mubai's full power under his third spirit ability.
Not giving it time to react, Han Feng unleashed his strongest form:
"Flame Dragon Armor—manifest! "
"Hollowfication!"
Pure soul power cloaked him in blazing armor; a bony bull mask crowned his face, fiery horns more menacing than the beast's own.
The creature hesitated, unnerved by the sudden transformation. Han Feng didn't. Knowing his hollow state would soon fade, he struck hard, blasting the beast skyward with a charged shield bash.
Between his horns, a crimson orb of light condensed.
Zero!
The beam pierced the beast mid-air, too fast for it to defend.
Far away, Zhao Wuji's head snapped up at the scarlet column lancing skyward.
"Move! " he barked. "I've found Han Feng! "