Aftermath and the Crimson Sentinel
The final blow was clinical. Yao Xuan's dragon claw descended, piercing the cracked carapace of the spider's skull with a sickening crunch. The twitching ceased. The malevolent light in its eight purple eyes guttered out, dissolving into motes of fading data. The grotesque human face on its abdomen sagged, its silent scream eternalized in a final, slack-jawed expression of digital death.
For a moment, there was only the sound of the forest and the sizzle of dissipating venom.
A surge of profound satisfaction, clean and sharp, washed over Yao Xuan. It wasn't bloodlust; it was the fulfillment of a duty, the quieting of a dissonant chord in the natural order. The 110 Gold Evolution Points materializing in his system repository were a tangible validation, but the deeper reward was the confirmation of his path. The Ancestral Dragon's legacy was not passive; it was an active mantle of authority.
Then came the spiritual energy. Unlike the wispy streams from the hundred-year beasts, this was a dense, potent river of power that erupted from the spider's dissolving form. It felt cold, sharp, and tainted with residual malice, but as it surged into him, the Ancestral Dragon bloodline within purged it, refining it into pure, foundational nourishment. His martial soul thrummed, its presence in his spirit sea growing more substantial, more real. He felt its cultivation base solidify and advance—a jump equivalent to a decade of normal meditation.
'The quality is incomparable,' he realized, deactivating his possession. The brilliant scales and claws receded, leaving him feeling momentarily lighter, yet more grounded. 'It's not just about years of cultivation; it's about the density and rank of the soul beast's own spirit. A top-tier predator's essence fuels my growth far more efficiently.'
He glanced at the fading corpse. In the real world, such a creature might have left a priceless soul bone. Here, it was only energy. Yet, the lesson was invaluable. He retreated a safe distance, wary of any latent toxins, and allowed himself a few minutes of rest against a broad tree trunk. The Ancestral Dragon's vitality, intertwined with his own system-enhanced recovery, worked swiftly. Fatigue bled away; his soul power replenished from the deep well of his being. Soon, he was ready to move again, his senses re-engaged, hunting for the next challenge.
Gu Yue, her own simulated forest now quiet, felt the distant, violent signature of the Human-Faced Demon Spider wink out entirely. It was replaced not by nothingness, but by the expanding, calm radiance of Yao Xuan's aura—stronger now, subtly enriched. The tension that had coiled in her own shoulders, unnoticed until that moment, released.
'He succeeded. Efficiently.' Her analytical mind filed the data: combat duration, energy spike patterns, the clean cessation. 'The suppression effect is potent. His spatial ability provides decisive tactical superiority.'
But beneath the cool analysis, a warmer current flowed. Na'er's memories supplied a visceral sense of relief, a quiet joy that he was unharmed and victorious. It manifested in a small, almost imperceptible sigh that escaped her lips and a slight softening around her eyes. For that fleeting second, the mask of Gu Yue was entirely transparent, revealing the girl who had once waited for her brother-figure to return from his daily training. She quickly schooled her features back to neutrality, but the emotional echo remained, a warmth in her chest.
'He is passing every test,' she thought, the sovereign and the girl agreeing for once. 'The winter break cannot come soon enough.'
Yao Xuan ventured deeper, the terrain growing more ancient and dense. The casual aggression of lesser shadow wolves was dismissed with barely a thought, his movements economical, conserving energy for a true trial.
Then the forest opened into a clearing that was not natural. It was a zone of death. In a circle fifty meters across, no grass grew, no saplings survived. The earth was bare, hard-packed, and stained a rusty brown. At its center stood a single, towering tree.
It was wrong. Its bark was the color of dried blood, twisted and seamed like tormented flesh. And upon that bark, dozens of basketball-sized nodules pulsed with a malevolent crimson light. They were not buds or fruit. They were eyes. Lidless, pupilless, they swiveled in unison, fixing their baleful gaze on Yao Xuan as he stepped into the barren circle.
A chill, unrelated to temperature, traced his spine. This was no animal predator; this was a sedentary, ancient malice.
[Eye of Observation: Activate.]
'A thousand-three-hundred-year plant beast,' Yao Xuan assessed, a spark of focused interest igniting. This was a different kind of challenge. Not speed or venom, but overwhelming, area-based artillery. Perfect for testing his agility and precision.
"Ancestral Dragon, possess me!"
The transformation washed over him once more. This time, he also triggered his first soul ring. "Ancestral Dragon Overlord Body!" His internal energy ignited, magnifying his physical prowess. He didn't charge blindly. He began a zig-zag sprint, his movements unpredictable, closing the distance in a series of rapid, jinking advances.
The tree reacted. With a sound like tearing canvas, dozens of its eyes blazed. Beams of concentrated crimson light—thick as a man's wrist and humming with destructive intent—lanced out. They seared the air, leaving brief afterimages of heat haze.
Yao Xuan's world narrowed to the web of incoming death. He did not rely on brute speed alone.
"Ancestral Dragon Shattering Void Step!"
He vanished from one point, a beam cratering the spot where he'd been, and reappeared three meters to the left, already moving. He ducked under a horizontal sweep, felt the heat of another singe the air above his head. He was a phantom of golden scales and silver spatial flickers, weaving through the lethal grid. The explosions behind him—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!—were the percussion to his deadly dance, each crater a testament to a near-miss.
In seconds, he was within striking distance of the monstrous trunk. The air thrummed with hostile energy. A cluster of the largest eyes, centered around one particularly gargantuan orb, swiveled to focus on him at point-blank range. The remaining branches of the tree, thick as pythons and hard as ironwood, whipped towards him in a furious, rattling assault.
Yao Xuan ignored the flailing branches. With the Overlord Body active, they shattered against his scaled forearms or were severed by flashes of his claws. His entire focus was on the central cluster of eyes. He planted his feet, gathered the overwhelming force of the Ancestral Dragon, and channeled it through his first soul skill.
"Ancestral Dragon Sky-Rending Claw!"
His right arm became a blur of nine-colored light. He didn't just strike; he speared. The empowered claws, capable of piercing refined steel, met the hardened, bark-like flesh surrounding the largest Demon Eye.
The sound was a wet, resonant SHLUCK-THUD, like a spear driven into damp, petrified wood. The bark, formidable enough to turn aside soul master weapons, tore apart under the supreme sharpness and force of the dragon's claw. Beneath was not wood, but a gelatinous, blood-red organ that pulsed with vile light—the eye itself.
Yao Xuan's claws sank deep. The eye imploded with a soundless spiritual scream. A torrent of viscous, glowing crimson fluid, more like congealed malice than sap, erupted from the wound, cascading down the scarred trunk and soaking into the blighted earth below.
The Crimson Demon Tree shuddered violently. The remaining eyes blazed in a final, chaotic volley of beams, but their aim was wild, desperate. A deep, agonized creaking echoed from its roots. The battle was not over, but a decisive, crippling blow had been struck. The silent forest clearing was now a battlefield painted in the eerie, dying light of a wounded ancient horror.