Either you say Emperor Auspicious Beast is the little princess of the Star Constellation Great Forest, or she simply remembers every corner of this chaotic and complex soul beast world with absolute clarity.
After trekking through the forest for a full day, to the point where Huo Yuhao was feeling a bit dazed from the winding paths, Long Qiu'er finally came to a halt.
If Long Qiu'er hadn't pointed out the location for him, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection wouldn't have even discovered it, which showed just how powerful its concealment abilities were.
Once he saw the full appearance of this spider clearly under his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao was instantly stunned.
It was a massive and hideous spider with a sturdy carapace and eight long legs possessing immense piercing power. Its head was even larger, radiating powerful mental fluctuations all around, and its dark green body was almost indistinguishable within the sea of trees.
Eight small blood-colored eyes shifted restlessly, and its hideous mouthparts opened and closed, dripping venom that instantly corroded small pits into the ground. Beside it lay an object wrapped in spider silk, seemingly its prey.
Huo Yuhao blinked, trying hard to recall the soul beast identification knowledge Zhang Lexuan had taught him.
After a moment, he asked tentatively, "Is this... the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider?!"
Long Qiu'er nodded. "It is indeed the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider. It exists as a sovereign among spider-type soul beasts. Things like the Man-Faced Demonic Spider or the Pit Demonic Spider are simply weak compared to it."
"I believe you've felt it too; it has a cultivation of sixty thousand years, and the mental power on its body is very strong, almost not inferior to a mental-type soul beast of the same level. It's likely due to some kind of mutation it underwent."
Indeed, this Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider's cultivation was a full sixty thousand years! But its mental power was not at all weaker than the previous hundred-thousand-year Golden Tortoise.
Huo Yuhao's intuition told him that he had to obtain its soul ring at all costs!
Sixty thousand years... if it were absorbing a soul spirit, it should be fine, but a soul ring might be a bit troublesome.
"Please, Miss Qiu'er, my fourth soul ring will be this one!"
Long Qiu'er nodded decisively. Because soul beasts like the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider sit at the same "table" as the Man-Faced Demonic Spider and the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger in the Star Constellation Great Forest, they are a truly disliked species. Even as the Emperor Auspicious Beast, she had little fondness for such stomach-turning creatures.
Huo Yuhao made a gesture, signaling to flank it, but Long Qiu'er shook her head with a bit of a proud pout.
Then, large patches of golden dragon scales and five black soul rings rose from beneath her feet. The first, second, and third black soul rings lit up simultaneously. Her delicate frame suddenly grew proportionally to two meters in height, her aura so magnificent that even the Spiritual Interference Domain seemed unable to conceal it.
First soul skill: Golden Dragon Body; second soul skill: Dragon's Strength; third soul skill: Golden Dragon Fist.
Upon her right fist, a dragon head appeared—a lifelike golden dragon head—and the elemental energies of [Light] and [Fire] in the surroundings were visibly intensifying.
Huo Yuhao swallowed hard. This kind of aura... was too terrifying. Could there really be such a strong Soul King in this world?
The two said nothing, but Huo Yuhao knew what he had to do. Drawing Elucidator from his waist, deep purple lightning danced wildly upon it, dyeing the pitch-black blade into a deep violet.
As if placing his entire weight onto the sword, a streak of deep purple lightning sword-qi slashed straight toward the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider.
The perception of this Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider was truly powerful; it reacted instantly, crossing two long legs in front of itself to block the strike Huo Yuhao sent with Elucidator, while simultaneously firing two dark green half-moon blades.
Huo Yuhao naturally didn't expect this one move to wound it; it was merely to utilize the special effect of Ultimate Lightning—paralysis.
Even if you are a sixty-thousand-year soul beast, catching a hit from this means being paralyzed by the Ultimate Lightning for a second or two.
While the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider was in a state of paralysis, that golden dragon head carrying golden flames roared and struck directly at its two crossed defensive front legs.
Accompanied by the sound of air being forcibly torn apart, the entire Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider was sent flying backward by this horrific force, smashing through several large trees. Its two front legs were even snapped off by brute force...
The Ultimate Light suppressed its evil nature, while the overload reaction produced by the Ultimate Lightning and Ultimate Fire wreaked havoc on its body. The Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider let out bursts of strange cries, then scrambled up and turned to flee.
Even though its cultivation was higher, it simply ran away.
"Hmph, trying to run!"
A golden halo subsequently appeared beneath her feet, spreading outward to envelop Huo Yuhao and the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider.
Long Qiu'er's innate domain: Golden Dragon Berserk Domain.
Thanks to Tang Wulin, at least people know what soul skills the Golden Dragon King possesses.
This domain allows Long Qiu'er herself to enter a berserk state. In this state, her strength, defense, and speed all double; meanwhile, allies within the domain receive an enhancement bonus, gaining one-third of Long Qiu'er's increase in attack and defense power.
For enemies, it is a full one-third weakening, along with bloodline suppression.
The Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider shrieked within Long Qiu'er's domain, but it naturally had no intention of waiting for death. With its body as the center, the surroundings began to become illusory and unreal, as if a chaotic eye had opened from the void, staring at Huo Yuhao and Long Qiu'er.
Even Huo Yuhao felt a wave of dizziness, feeling as though his spirit and even his soul were being dragged into a spider web by this fellow, unable to move.
So strong! This is the spiritual attack of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider!
Simultaneously, foul-smelling venom and chaotic half-moon light blades were released from the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider as if soul power cost nothing. Massive spider webs instantly shrouded the two, and the violent soul power fluctuations were such that even Long Qiu'er's domain seemed slightly unable to maintain its form.
If it were an ordinary Soul Master, even a Soul Douluo, they would surely be thrown into a frenzy facing the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider's spiritual attack combined with its desperate counterattack; those with insufficient mental power might even fall on the spot.
But unfortunately for the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider, the two people in front of it...
As the Emperor Auspicious Beast, Long Qiu'er was immune to all spiritual attacks. Huo Yuhao had the Skydream Ice Silkworm guarding his Sea of Consciousness, and his own mental power realm was also not low. Furthermore, Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Water could both grant immunity to lethal toxins. One could say they countered this fellow perfectly.
Thus, its attack had very little effect.
Lightning raged around Huo Yuhao, brushing the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider's webs aside. Long Qiu'er let out a soft shout, tapped her toes on Huo Yuhao's shoulder, and soared tens of meters off the ground.
Golden light flashed on Huo Yuhao's left leg, and two golden barriers appeared perfectly on him and Long Qiu'er.
One of the Golden Tortoise left leg soul bone skills: Invincible Barrier.
The Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider's cultivation was a full sixty thousand years, almost equivalent to a powerhouse at the Soul Douluo level among humans. In terms of raw stats, Huo Yuhao and Long Qiu'er were far inferior to it, so a move like the Invincible Barrier was naturally not something to be hidden.
The Invincible Barrier perfectly defended against the half-moon slashes released by the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider. Huo Yuhao stomped his left foot hard again, soul power surging, and a brownish-gold rock pillar shot into the sky. Unlike the usual smooth square pillars, this one was sharp.
Another application of the soul skill [Center of the Earth]: [Precipice Blades].
It perfectly hoisted the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider, which had just finished releasing its soul skill, high into the air, leaving it in a state with nowhere to gain leverage.
How could Long Qiu'er miss such a golden opportunity! The fifth soul ring on her body lit up, and she gripped the Golden Dragon Spear in her right hand. The Golden Dragon Spear actually seemed to melt, turning into liquid that flowed along her palm and into her body, spreading through Long Qiu'er in an instant.
A stirring dragon roar sounded, and a massive golden dragon instantly emerged from her body, charging straight at the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider with an indomitable momentum.
Amidst the scorching and bright flames and the sound of explosions, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but use soul power to seal his ears. It took a full ten seconds or so before it gradually dissipated.
Thud!
A massive object fell to the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
The state of this Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider was indeed pathetic. Its remaining six spider legs hung down as if broken, more than half of its originally thick carapace was shattered, and a strange, foul-smelling purple-black liquid was scattered around. Three of its eight small eyes were bleeding.
Long Qiu'er landed lightly on the ground and walked over quite imperiously.
Her long, beautiful legs were encased in white high-heeled boots, the shafts outlining the perfect lines of her legs, with ten-centimeter sharp heels glinting with a cold light.
Long Qiu'er raised her leg, and her high-heeled boot stepped directly onto the massive head of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider. A soft "crunch" sounded as the sole made contact with the spider's surface. A cold smirk curled at the corner of Qiu'er's mouth as she looked down from above at the trembling spider beneath her feet, her entire being radiating a suffocating dominance.
Huo Yuhao stared unblinkingly at the scene. He didn't doubt for a second that if Long Qiu'er exerted just a little bit of force, that sharp heel would pierce through this Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider's head without any resistance.
Glancing at that ten-centimeter sharp heel, he quietly swallowed. Huo Yuhao still didn't shout out that punch-worthy phrase, "Step on me, Big Sister!!!"
He coughed twice, moved his gaze away from Long Qiu'er's beautiful legs, and said to the deathly-looking Soul-Devouring Demonic Spider on the ground: "Now, you have one chance to live. Want to hear it?"