Enjoying the story? Support the translation and get early access to future chapters here: www.patr eon.com/c/FanficTranslator
Thanks for reading!
I have 100+ advanced chapter now on Patreon. I will post 5 advanced chapter on Patreon everyday except Sunday
**
"So, what do you think?"
Hu Liena turned to face Ling Xiao, a playful smile on her lips and an expression that practically begged for praise.
"Haha, very impressive. It seems I really did underestimate you before."
"Hmph! Let's see if you ever dare to look down on me again!" Hu Liena tilted her head back slightly, looking quite proud of herself.
Ling Xiao gave a helpless smile, intending to praise her further to keep her in high spirits, but suddenly, his expression turned sharp.
"Watch out!"
Ling Xiao stomped his foot, lunging forward as his soul power surged violently, radiating from his body.
He threw out his right hand, and amidst a burst of black-red light, the Profound Sky Axe manifested. Reaching Hu Liena, Ling Xiao swept his left arm out, grabbing her firmly by the waist.
With a twist of his hips, he pulled her away from her spot, shielding her behind him while swinging the giant axe in a horizontal cleave with his right arm.
As a yellow soul ring rotated slowly around him, Metal Revolution was unleashed. Currently, at Ling Xiao's level as a three-ring Soul Elder, the characteristics of the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear within his first soul ring were no longer as obvious.
The energy blade formed by Metal Revolution was now primarily black and red, with only a faint layer of golden light. The overbearing axe blade tore through the air, heading straight for a massive purple spiderweb that was flying toward them.
Bang!
Upon impact, the massive web completely enveloped the energy of Metal Revolution. Purple light pulsed across its strands, seemingly trying to dissolve the power of the strike and cancel out its forward momentum.
However, Metal Revolution was not so easily eroded.
Its sharp intent was incredibly condensed; the ten-meter-long axe projection tore the web in half. With its remaining force, it sliced through a hundred-meter-tall tree before finally dissipating.
The giant tree crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom.
A wave of residual energy rippled through the air.
Under the violent agitation of the atmosphere, the shockwave forced the hidden attacker to reveal itself. Perched upon the canopy of a massive tree ahead stood a giant spider.
This spider-type soul beast had used the dense foliage to hide its form while actively suppressing its aura. Even Hu Liena, who excelled in mental power, had failed to notice it initially.
Because Hu Liena had her back turned to the creature and lacked combat experience, she had let her guard down after defeating the pack of enemies. Even though the soul beast had revealed itself slightly by spitting the web, she still hadn't sensed it.
Had Ling Xiao not seen the web and struck it down, Hu Liena would have certainly suffered a major loss.
Is this some kind of Demon Spider soul beast? Its cultivation seems quite high. Even with Nana defeating those Wind Baboons and me standing right here, it actually dared to launch a sneak attack, Ling Xiao thought to himself.
Beside him, Hu Liena hurriedly hid her blushing face. She hadn't noticed the ambush; all she saw was Ling Xiao suddenly rushing forward and grabbing her waist.
In that moment, her body had gone soft, her mind went blank, and her face turned a deep shade of crimson, wondering what on earth Ling Xiao was doing...
Now realizing the truth and that she had misunderstood him, her embarrassment turned to fury. She glared at the spider soul beast and shouted angrily, "Dreadful beast! You dare ambush me? See how I teach you a lesson!"
Shaking his head, Ling Xiao consoled her from the side, "Don't be angry, Nana."
"Your face is all red from rage. In the Star Dou Forest, ambushes are common. This isn't like the sparring matches back at the Academy; here, it's the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest."
Hu Liena glanced at him.
Seeing him speak so seriously, seemingly not noticing her previous girlish fluster, she gave a soft "mm" in response.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind howled as the giant spider soul beast leapt down from the canopy.
Once it landed, its full appearance was finally visible. Its main body was over two and a half meters long, nearly reaching three meters—it was massive. It had eight spear-like long legs, each at least six meters in length.
Though they looked slender, they gave off a sense of being incredibly hard and sharp.
A dense purple soul power light flowed over them; the grass and leaves that touched the legs withered instantly. It appeared that not just its body, but its soul power was also highly toxic.
Its entire body was covered in a glossy purple carapace.
On its underbelly, there were black markings that contrasted sharply with its purple body. These black lines formed the shape of a sinister human face, complete with eight eyes flashing with a glinting green light.
The overall impression was one of extreme malice; it was clearly no benevolent creature among soul beasts.
"This is... a Man-Faced Demon Spider."
Ling Xiao scrutinized it, his voice sinking as he spoke.
His expression grew solemn.
The Man-Faced Demon Spider was a poison-attribute soul beast and belonged to the ranks of high-level soul beasts in terms of bloodline.
Its toxicity was exceptionally domineering; if one could not suppress the poison after being bitten, they would die on the spot shortly after. Not only was its soul power toxic, but its body and legs were also coated in poison.
Beyond its strong corrosiveness, the webs it spat contained a potent paralyzing toxin.
It was one of the "Five Poisons" among soul beasts and a quintessential representative of the Demon Spider species, considered powerful and terrifying even among high-level soul beasts.
Furthermore, the Man-Faced Demon Spider had a notorious reputation in the soul beast world.
As a poison-attribute beast, it also possessed a formidable power of Devouring. It could devour the essence, blood, and soul power of other soul beasts to bolster its own cultivation and recover its energy.
Consequently, the Man-Faced Demon Spider loved slaughter, specifically seeking out and devouring soul beasts weaker than itself—much like how Evil Soul Masters in the human world devoured other Soul Masters.
While killing and eating other soul beasts was common, most did so for hunger, territorial defense, or competing for treasures.
Consuming flesh to boost cultivation was usually incidental and didn't involve a literal "Devouring" power. They didn't actively go on rampages to consume weaker creatures like the Man-Faced Demon Spider did.
If a powerful Man-Faced Demon Spider appeared in a forest and there were no other soul beasts to keep it in check, and no human Soul Masters intervened, it was possible for it to eventually devour every other soul beast in that forest.
Strictly speaking, in man-made forests like the Spirit Hunting Forests, such soul beasts were generally banned. Its presence was a massive threat to both other soul beasts and human Soul Masters.
The reason Ling Xiao took this so seriously wasn't just because of the beast itself, but also because of Tang San. To be honest, seeing this Man-Faced Demon Spider made him involuntarily think of Tang San.
After all, although Tang San possessed the Blue Silver Emperor, a top-tier plant martial soul, he rarely displayed pure and powerful life energy.
Because of the existence of the Eight Spider Lances, Tang San more often showcased poison and devouring powers. In the application of these two forces, Tang San was hardly inferior to a real Man-Faced Demon Spider.
Despite having the twin martial souls of the Clear Sky Hammer and the Blue Silver Emperor, Tang San's fighting style was neither the domineering physical force of the Hammer nor the endless vitality of the Emperor—
It was strikingly similar to the Man-Faced Demon Spider.
**
Enjoying the story? Support the translation and get early access to future chapters here: www.patr eon.com/c/FanficTranslator
Thanks for reading!
I have 100+ advanced chapter now on Patreon. I will post 5 advanced chapter on Patreon everyday except Sunday