Tang San and Xiao Wu had been caught up in a moment of deep intimacy when a sudden attack interrupted them. The earth spikes pursued them relentlessly, burrowing through the ground like maggots gnawing at bone, clearly determined not to let them go until they struck home.
Tang San snorted coldly and spun in midair, swinging the Sea God's Trident directly down at the pursuing earth spikes.
With a muffled thud, there was no suspense at all — the earth spikes shattered instantly. Tang San landed on the ground with Xiao Wu, and the golden trident drove into the earth with a tremendous impact. That was a weight of one hundred and eight thousand jin. The ground convulsed violently as a deafening roar echoed through the area. There was no need to look with his eyes — the instant the attack had launched, Tang San's spiritual power had already pinpointed the Cave Spider's location. A surge of formidable energy erupted, and with a thunderous boom, a massive dark shape was blasted out of the ground by the sheer force of the golden trident.
Just as Tang San had judged, it was indeed a Cave Spider — and an exceptionally large one at that. Its body stretched over five meters in length, several times larger than a round table. Its pitch-black carapace shimmered with gray patterns, and its swollen lower abdomen bulged ominously, storing silk and energy within. Its small eyes glowed with an eerie blue light as they stared in terror at Tang San and Xiao Wu. It clearly understood by now that it had run into something far beyond its depth.
However, this Cave Spider reacted with astonishing speed. Even as its body was forcibly ejected from the ground and still partially paralyzed, it managed to twist around. Its tail whipped forward, and a vast wave of golden-yellow light surged toward Tang San and Xiao Wu — the Cave Spider's ultimate technique, the Web Cage.
Unlike the ten-thousand-year Cave Spider from which Tang San had once absorbed a Soul Ring, the web emitted by this one was a crystalline yellow, translucent and brilliant. When it unfurled in an instant, it gave the impression of blotting out the sky and the sun, revealing just how enormous its coverage range was.
From this alone, Tang San could determine that this Cave Spider was far more than a mere ten-thousand-year beast. While it couldn't possibly be a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast, neither was it ordinary — it had to be a Cave Spider Emperor with over fifty thousand years of cultivation. The power of its Web Cage was at least five times greater than that of the ten-thousand-year Cave Spider he had faced before.
Sensing the Cave Spider Emperor's strength, Tang San was not alarmed — he was delighted. Among the Soul Beasts of this era, those of the hundred-thousand-year level were exceedingly rare. Besides Xiao Wu and her mother, who had either died or transformed into human form, the only other two hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts Tang San knew of were the King of the Great White Sharks, Little White, and the Deep Sea Demon Whale King. He had never harbored fantasies about amassing a huge number of hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings. With five already on his person, he had exceeded his own projections. So, although he was capable of absorbing hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings, before this trip he had deliberately set his sights on ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts — to use the Soul Rings formed by ten-thousand-year beasts to replenish what his body needed. Under those circumstances, naturally the higher the cultivation of the ten-thousand-year beast, the better the results. Of the five Soul Rings he had lost while saving Xiao Wu, aside from the one originally formed by Xiao Wu herself, the other four had to come from the same species as the ones he had originally hunted. The appearance of this Cave Spider Emperor with over fifty thousand years of cultivation was the perfect opportunity to replenish his fourth Soul Ring. How could Tang San possibly let such a gift slip by?
He didn't set Xiao Wu aside — at his side, she was safest. Facing the massive crystalline yellow web bearing down on them, Tang San gripped the Sea God's Trident, which was embedded a foot deep in the ground, using it to support his body. He flipped himself over abruptly and kicked his left leg straight into the oncoming web.
A fierce red light blazed from his left leg. The crimson glow flickered as a devastating axe blade curled upward through the air. With a sharp tearing sound, the incredibly tough crystalline yellow web was sliced cleanly in two, the halves flying off in opposite directions.
This Cave Spider Emperor's innate skill was powerful, indeed — but what it faced was a hundred-thousand-year skill born from the Evil Spirit Left Leg Bone Tang San had obtained from the Evil Spirit Orca King: the Evil Spirit Whale Axe. A skill of devastating linear destruction. How could it possibly escape? Tang San was now capable of slaying hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts on his own. A fifty-thousand-year Cave Spider Emperor meant nothing before him.
The Cave Spider Emperor let out a piercing shriek. It had known from the moment Tang San blasted it from underground that it was facing an opponent it could not overcome. Once a Soul Beast reached the ten-thousand-year level, it possessed a considerable degree of intelligence — and this was a Cave Spider Emperor with over fifty thousand years of cultivation. The moment it unleashed its Web Cage, it turned without hesitation to flee toward the forest. But could it truly escape in front of Tang San?
Watching the Cave Spider Emperor's bloated body spin and bolt, Tang San couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation. Running away? That wouldn't be so easy.
A faint blue glow flickered from between his brows and vanished, as boundless spiritual power spread outward like a vast ocean. The Cave Spider Emperor was fleeing desperately when it suddenly discovered, to its horror, that the two humans had somehow appeared directly in its path. An overwhelming wave of spiritual force pressed down upon it, and the powerful spiritual suppression immediately slowed its speed dramatically.
The Cave Spider Emperor had never been known for its speed to begin with. Seeing Tang San and Xiao Wu blocking the way, it frantically tried to veer off to the side. At the same time, surging masses of dark light erupted across the ground, and countless pitch-black earth spikes shot up from the surface — an area-of-effect spike formation, much like Tang San's fourth Soul Skill, the Blue Silver Thorn Formation, an evolved version of the Blue Silver Cage. Except the attacks launched by this fifty-thousand-year Cave Spider Emperor were far more powerful.
Tang San snorted coldly, released his left hand from around Xiao Wu, and clenched it into a fist. A fierce crimson radiance burst outward from his body. The ground beneath them cracked open instantly. The black earth spikes, before they could even reach Tang San and Xiao Wu, crumbled and shattered to dust, returning to the earth. The Cave Spider Emperor's body was also slammed downward as if struck by a tremendous invisible force, driving half of it into the ground.
What Tang San had used was one of the two skills granted by his Titan Giant Ape Left Arm Bone — the Gravity Quagmire. The skill's effect: within a certain range, instantly increase or decrease gravity. The magnitude of the increase or decrease varied depending on the Soul Power the user invested.
This skill had been derived from the Gravity Control Domain of the Titan Giant Ape, Er Ming. While it could not cover as vast an area as Er Ming's domain, within its effective range the gravitational force was even more fearsome than Er Ming's original domain had been. The earth spike formation had been crushed by the suddenly intensified gravity, and the Cave Spider Emperor had been forced into the ground by gravity increased to more than twenty times its normal level.
The Cave Spider Emperor struggled free from the soil with a violent wrench. It no longer attempted to flee. Instead, it whipped around and fixed Tang San and Xiao Wu with a savage glare. It understood now — if it couldn't destroy these two enemies, there would be no escape. Only by fighting with everything it had did it have a chance to survive.
Tang San stared back at it with a provocative look and did not attack again. He was in no hurry to kill the Cave Spider Emperor. His past experience hunting Soul Beasts had taught him that the more unwilling and furious a Soul Beast was at the moment of death, the better the resulting Soul Ring would be. Just like the first Man-Faced Demon Spider he had killed — it had died in a state of extreme rage, and that was why it had given Tang San the external Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances. A fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast had a much higher chance of producing a Soul Bone than an ordinary one. Although Tang San might not necessarily need it, he still had his companions, and Xiao Wu needed a Soul Bone. This Cave Spider Emperor was already meat on the chopping block. There was no rush at all. He had to provoke the creature into a frenzy before killing it to extract maximum benefit.
Whether it was a Cave Spider Emperor or a Man-Faced Demon Spider, these were all exceptionally evil Soul Beasts that specialized in hunting Soul Masters and weaker Soul Beasts, devouring their energy to strengthen themselves. Xiao Wu would show no mercy to such creatures.
Squeak, squeak — the Cave Spider Emperor shrieked twice in fury. Suddenly, its entire body plunged into the ground once more. The sight before Tang San and Xiao Wu was utterly astonishing — a creature with a body five meters in diameter had burrowed into the earth in the blink of an eye. What was most remarkable was that during the entire process, the ground barely showed any disturbance, with only faint traces of displaced soil.
With a soft thud, the earth around them erupted. Massive quantities of soil were hurled into the air, carrying with them countless plants rooted in the ground. And then, to Tang San's surprise, he lost his spiritual lock on the Cave Spider Emperor.
Hmm? What happened? Tang San looked around in astonishment. The instant the soil had surged upward, the Cave Spider Emperor seemed to have vanished completely from his spiritual net — not even a trace remained.
Xiao Wu asked, "Brother, what's wrong?"
Tang San smiled faintly. "This Cave Spider Emperor has over fifty thousand years of cultivation — it's clearly different from a ten-thousand-year Cave Spider. It must have some evolved abilities I'm not familiar with. My spiritual power can no longer sense its aura. How interesting!"
Xiao Wu blinked. "Even your spiritual power can't detect it? Then its skill must be similar to your Abyssal Protection Shield, right?"
A flash of inspiration struck Tang San. Of course! Only an ability comparable to the Abyssal Protection Shield could possibly render him unable to detect it. He lowered his head and pressed a kiss to Xiao Wu's soft, delicate cheek. "Wife, you're the smart one."
Xiao Wu blushed slightly. "Who's your wife? I haven't married you yet."
Tang San pulled her into a possessive embrace. "What difference does it make? In my heart, you've been my wife for a long time."
Chatting and laughing casually while facing a fifty-thousand-year demonic beast — there were probably very few people in the entire Soul Master world who could manage that. With Xiao Wu's reminder, Tang San had already made his precise judgment. The Cave Spider Emperor had most likely used a stealth skill — and one that could block spiritual detection as well. However, its skill could not possibly compare to the Abyssal Protection Shield he had obtained from the Heart of the Sea God, and his spiritual power was extraordinarily vast. If he could not sense the creature's presence at this moment, there was a strong possibility that the Cave Spider Emperor was remaining perfectly still.
That would explain the massive eruption of soil from earlier. The Cave Spider Emperor had probably already surfaced from underground and used its energy to throw up all that soil as a diversion, to prevent him from locating its position. As long as it waited for Tang San and Xiao Wu to leave, it could naturally flee and escape the hunt. High-level Soul Beasts were indeed clever. A pity that it had run into him.
Tang San smiled faintly, thinking to himself: Cave Spider Emperor, oh Cave Spider Emperor — with such an enormous body, even if you remain invisible and motionless, do you really think I can't find you? If I can't even handle a single Soul Beast like you, what right do I have to seek vengeance against the Spirit Empire?
Just as Tang San was about to use his methods to force the Cave Spider Emperor out, his expression suddenly shifted. He said in a low voice, "Someone's coming. Eight of them. All Soul Masters. Four of them have at least Soul Saint-level strength, and one appears to be a Soul Douluo. They're probably a Soul Master squad that specializes in hunting Soul Beasts."
With her man to rely on, Xiao Wu didn't even want to think. "What do we do?"
Tang San smiled calmly. "Let's watch first and see what happens. Wait and observe."
As the two of them conversed, eight figures from another direction had already arrived rapidly before them. Among the eight, four wore white fitted garments, three wore yellow robes, and only one was dressed in the standard black long robe of a Soul Douluo. Tang San had seen this attire before on the three commissioners of the Tian Dou Imperial Academy — a noble black robe embroidered with gold thread. However, Tang San's gaze quickly turned cold. A Soul Master squad hunting Soul Beasts might not have concerned him, but these eight people who had suddenly appeared all bore two ancient golden characters embroidered on their left shoulders: Martial Soul. Between the two characters was a golden longsword.
Tang San knew this emblem all too well. It was the mark of the Spirit Empire. That golden longsword represented the Holy Sword, the weapon transformed from the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul. After his battle with Qian Renxue, Tang San had understood why the Spirit Hall token featured this sword emblem in its most prominent position.
Clearly, these eight people before him were Soul Masters from the Spirit Empire. But this was territory belonging to the Tian Dou Empire — they had actually dared to venture into the Sunset Forest to hunt Soul Beasts. Their audacity was truly remarkable. They must have been confident in their own strength.
All of them were over fifty years old. The four in white fitted garments were Soul Emperors at the sixth rank or above. The three in yellow robes were Soul Saints. The one in black was, without question, a Soul Douluo from Spirit Hall. This Soul Douluo appeared to be around seventy years old, with dark, sallow skin and sinister eyes that carried a brooding, oppressive light. The moment he appeared, his gaze locked onto Tang San and Xiao Wu.
The black-robed elder saw how young Tang San and Xiao Wu were and raised his head with an arrogant expression, gesturing dismissively to his companions.
In the world of Soul Masters, strength was the foundation of everything. As a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse, it was perfectly normal for him to look down on young people like Tang San and Xiao Wu.
A white-clad Soul Emperor walked toward Tang San and Xiao Wu. Seeing Xiao Wu's breathtakingly beautiful face, a flash of greed passed through his eyes, and he swallowed secretly.
Among these Soul Masters, he was the youngest — only fifty-five years old. Soul Masters' bodies were far sturdier than those of ordinary people, and even at seventy or eighty, enjoying the pleasures of women was no problem at all. A girl as pure and stunningly beautiful as Xiao Wu was something he had never encountered before. Having grown accustomed to bullying others within the Spirit Empire, how could he not be tempted?
"Hey, you two — come here and answer some questions." He stopped about thirty meters in front of Tang San and Xiao Wu with an exaggerated swagger, waving at them as if summoning servants, then pointing at the ground before him. His manner could not have been more arrogant.
Xiao Wu curled her lip, not even sparing the white-clad Soul Emperor a glance. She leaned against Tang San's chest and even closed her eyes.
In truth, it was simply these Soul Masters' misfortune. For Soul Masters of the Spirit Empire, the primary hunting grounds for Soul Beasts were in the Star Dou Great Forest — that was, after all, the place on the entire continent that produced the most Soul Beasts. But when Bibi Dong had gone to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt the Titan Giant Ape and the Azure Bull Python, she had issued a strict decree forbidding any Spirit Hall Soul Master from entering the Star Dou Great Forest, temporarily banning all Soul Beast hunting there.
In the Spirit Empire, who would dare defy the Empress's orders? Yet when a Soul Master's rank reached its ceiling and they needed Soul Rings to make a breakthrough, how many could truly hold back? This was also an important reason why the Great Master's theory — that delayed Soul Ring acquisition would not affect the growth of Soul Power — had never been widely discovered.
These seven before them had all reached a bottleneck and come out to hunt Soul Beasts. Though the Sunset Forest was small in area, it was known for producing exclusively high-level Soul Beasts. These seven together formed a considerably powerful force. Unable to restrain their urge to advance in strength, they had followed the Soul Douluo's lead and secretly slipped into the territory of the Tian Dou Empire, sticking to remote and secluded paths. Not long ago, they had entered the Sunset Forest.