Within the mist, the crackling of bones rang out at irregular intervals, each sound sending a heart-stopping jolt through everyone nearby. Yet the third Soul Ring that should have manifested with the absorption still hadn't appeared. This proved that Tang San hadn't yet fully absorbed the Man-Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring.
Dai Mubai whispered worriedly to Zhao Wuji, "Teacher Zhao, if this keeps up, Tang San could be in real danger."
Zhao Wuji's brows were just as tightly knit. "I know. But we absolutely cannot interrupt him now. If we do, the consequences will be far worse. All we can do is rely on his willpower. The energy granted by this Soul Ring should be within what he can absorb—it's just that his body isn't in peak condition, and the Man-Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring is far too violent in nature. That's why this is happening. Let's hope Tang San can push through this. Otherwise…"
The agony Tang San was enduring was known only to himself. Under the onslaught of the Man-Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring's energy, he felt as though his entire body were being sliced apart by countless blades. Every organ burned with pain, and the savage energy continued to tear at his body, keeping him locked in unrelenting torment.
Actually, Zhao Wuji had gotten one thing wrong. Because Man-Faced Demon Spiders were so rare, even the Great Master would have found it difficult to determine its true cultivation range. A Soul Master's third Soul Ring could absorb a maximum of roughly seventeen hundred years' worth of cultivation. Only at the fourth Soul Ring could one absorb a ring with around five thousand years of cultivation. The upper limit for the fifth Soul Ring was approximately twelve thousand years. For the sixth, it was twenty thousand years. The seventh ranged between thirty and fifty thousand years, depending on the Soul Master's attributes. Only at the eighth Soul Ring could one potentially absorb a Soul Beast with over fifty thousand years of cultivation. And only with the ninth and final ring was there a possibility of absorbing a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast. Of course, among all known Soul Masters, no one had ever succeeded in absorbing a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast as their final ring.
The Man-Faced Demon Spider that Tang San had killed had a true cultivation exceeding two thousand years. Though it had barely crossed that threshold, it still surpassed the maximum limit for a Soul Master's third ring. This was precisely why, even though the Great Master knew the Man-Faced Demon Spider could greatly benefit Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, he hadn't been particularly supportive of Tang San seeking this kind of ring.
During the battle, Tang San had made a rough estimate of the Man-Faced Demon Spider's strength, but he'd overlooked one detail: the spider had already been wounded by the Grandmaster of the Dragon, Meng Shu. Meng Shu was an extraordinarily powerful figure, and the injuries he had inflicted would have significantly weakened the creature.
Tang San's situation was different from most Soul Masters'. Because he possessed a Twin Martial Soul and practiced the Mysterious Heaven Skill recorded in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, his body was far more resilient than an ordinary person's. Under normal circumstances, if it had been a more common Soul Beast, absorbing a third Soul Ring with around two thousand years of cultivation wouldn't have posed too great a problem. After all, his physical advantage was clear.
But the Man-Faced Demon Spider was no ordinary Soul Beast. Its innate violence and ferocity made the Soul Ring equally tyrannical, and combined with Tang San's less-than-optimal condition, he was plunged into a dire crisis.
If Tang San's current state could be calculated, then the outcome could only be one: his body would fail to withstand the energy surge from the Man-Faced Demon Spider, and he would explode and die. After all, that energy had already exceeded the range he could absorb.
But some things couldn't be calculated. Willpower, for instance. Or conviction.
When a person's willpower was resolute enough, or when they held an unshakable belief, miracles often occurred.
In this moment, despite enduring incomprehensible pain, Tang San held within the depths of his heart one fiercely unwavering conviction: he had to go rescue Xiao Wu.
Fueled by that belief, he forced himself to withstand wave after wave of agony. Though blood was already seeping through his skin, he continued to resist the tyrannical energy within the Man-Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring.
In a sense, Xiao Wu being taken away by the Titan Giant Ape had, paradoxically, worked in Tang San's favor. Absorbing a Soul Ring beyond one's limits certainly invited enormous danger, but if one succeeded, the rewards were equally immense.
The violent surges of energy continued to intensify, and the bloody mist surrounding Tang San's body grew thicker and more visible. Within that crimson fog, a faint metallic tang could be detected—whether it was impurities being expelled from Tang San's body or toxins belonging to the Man-Faced Demon Spider, no one could tell.
Just as the others were growing frantic as ants on a hot griddle, a light, nimble footstep suddenly drew Zhao Wuji's attention.
"Who goes there?" Zhao Wuji's icy gaze snapped toward a source as he rapidly gathered his Soul Power. At this critical juncture, Tang San could not be disturbed by anyone or anything—not a person, not a Soul Beast.
"Teacher Zhao." A slender figure darted out from the trees. Seeing her, not only did Zhao Wuji freeze, but everyone else did too. The one who had just rushed out of the forest was Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu looked somewhat disheveled. Her clothes were torn in several places, her once-neat scorpion braid had come undone and hung in disarray, but her cheeks were flushed with color, and she actually looked a bit more mature than before.