13: Soul Bone

Deep in the dense forest, beside the ruined stream bank from yesterday, the Ten-Thousand-Year Ghost-Faced Demon Spider was indeed still there.

From how long it had pursued yesterday, it was clear this devil spider held extreme grudges and sought revenge for the smallest slight, so waiting by the stream bank for its enemy was perfectly reasonable.

The scorched black hole on its abdominal carapace, blasted open by Liu Erlong’s Scarlet Flame Dragon Tooth Strike, remained gruesome, and the smell of burnt internal organs mixed with the stench of its venom permeated the air.

Evidently, this devil spider had also suffered severe injuries; its movements were far less swift than yesterday, its eight long legs moved with noticeable sluggishness, and its pale ghost-faced pattern twisted, full of pain and resentment.

But it was still a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast. When it saw the crimson figure reappear, it let out a resentful, ear-piercing shriek, its spinnerets on its abdomen convulsing wildly, and several purple-glowing spider webs carrying paralyzing venom instantly shot out, immediately covering all possible attack routes for Liu Erlong.

A sharp glint flashed in Liu Erlong’s eyes! She did not retreat in the slightest; her third spirit ring lit up: “Third Spirit Ability! Fire Dragon’s Roar!”

A crimson fire pillar, even more condensed and violent than yesterday, roared out, instantly incinerating the several venomous webs attacking head-on. The high-temperature flames even singed several of the devil spider’s front legs, emitting a sizzling sound like roasting meat.

However, the devil spider’s cunning far exceeded expectations. It seemed to have anticipated Liu Erlong’s strong attack. While spewing venomous webs, a scythe-like long leg, hidden in the shadows and completely intact, silently stabbed towards Liu Erlong’s ribs from an extremely tricky angle, like a venomous snake.

Although its speed was not at its peak from before it was injured, it was still as fast as lightning.

Liu Erlong, having just expended her old strength and not yet generated new, and focused on incinerating the frontal venomous webs, was about to be pierced by this insidious attack.

On the treetop, Mo Yuhan’s pupils constricted, almost crying out in alarm. He instinctively moved to rush out but was gently held back by a slightly cool hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t rush.”

Bibi Dong’s voice carried a hint of playfulness, and her other hand, hidden in her sleeve, flicked almost imperceptibly at her fingertips.

Just as that fatal scythe-like long leg was about to strike Liu Erlong—

“Chh!”

A tenacious, almost transparent dark-purple spider silk, wrapped around a large pebble by the stream bank at some unknown point, and the tip of the Ghost-Faced Demonic Spider’s outstretched long leg happened to trip on this silk.

Its movement suddenly paused.

Although it was an extremely brief delay, less than 0.1 seconds, for a battle fanatic like Liu Erlong, it was enough.

Though she didn't fully understand why, her battle instincts allowed Liu Erlong to seize this fleeting opportunity. She forcefully twisted her waist, her honey-golden abdomen bursting with astonishing resilience, and her body slid sideways at an incredible angle. The sharp tip of the scythe grazed the beast hide at her waist, tearing off a few strands of fur.

She narrowly dodged the attack.

Liu Erlong broke out in a cold sweat, but more than that, she was filled with furious indignation at being toyed with. Her crimson eyes instantly locked onto the scorched wound on the devil spider’s abdomen, exposed because its attack missed.

“You damned beast, die! Fourth Spirit Ability—Scarlet Flame Dragon Tooth Strike!”

This time, there was no holding back. The deep black ten-thousand-year spirit ring erupted with an unprecedented dazzling light. Liu Erlong’s entire Soul Power surged like a volcano, all of it pouring into her right fist.

Her entire right arm was instantly covered in crimson, lava-like dragon scales. The power condensed at her fist was no longer a phantom but a nearly materialized, incandescently burning, monstrously huge dragon tooth.

The terrifying high temperature caused the surrounding air to wildly distort, and the stream water beneath her feet instantly evaporated into a large cloud of white mist.

Like a falling meteor, carrying wrath and a will to kill, she transformed all her Soul Power into this world-destroying punch, fiercely smashing it into the scorched hole in the devil spider’s abdomen!!

“Roar—!!!”

Incandescent flames, accompanied by the terrifying sound of the carapace completely shattering and internal organs instantly vaporizing, violently exploded. The Ghost-Faced Demonic Spider finally let out an earth-shattering shriek, filled with endless pain and despair.

Its massive body was sent flying off the ground by this utterly violent force, crashing heavily onto the stream bank. Its eight long legs convulsed wildly a few times, and its pale ghost-faced pattern twisted and melted in the intense flames, finally losing all luster.

The Ten-Thousand-Year Ghost-Faced Demon Spider had finally fallen completely.

The smell of burnt flesh permeated the air.

Liu Erlong knelt beside the devil spider’s charred corpse, gasping for breath. Sweat streamed like rivulets down her honey-colored skin, mixing with the blood seeping from her ruptured wounds.

Her already torn fiery-red leather armor was singed black at the edges by the high temperature, almost unrecognizable, clinging tightly to her rapidly rising and falling full chest and taut waist, outlining breathtaking curves.

Her crimson eyes stared fixedly at the devil spider’s corpse, burning with the satisfaction of revenge, but more so with the exhaustion of spent strength.

Just then, a deep black spirit ring slowly rose from the devil spider’s charred corpse, emitting powerful and chilling energy fluctuations—it was precisely the Ten-Thousand-Year Ghost-Faced Demon Spider’s spirit ring.

From the charred, broken corpse of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ghost-Faced Demon Spider, Liu Erlong looked at the energy of this deep black spirit ring, hesitating whether to take a chance and absorb it, as it was, after all, a ten-thousand-year spirit ring.

Even if it didn't perfectly match her Spirit and its age clearly exceeded what was suitable, she was still somewhat tempted.

And as she hesitated, with the swirling energy of the spirit ring, a sudden anomaly occurred on the devil spider's corpse.

Buzz!

A condensed ball of light, emitting a faint purplish-black glow and shaped like a small scythe, suddenly shot out from the dissipating dust.

It hovered in mid-air, slowly rotating, emitting a chilling, tenacious aura with strong spiritual fluctuations.

At the core of the light cluster, a crystal-clear bone, seemingly carved from black jade, was vaguely visible.

The bone's shape perfectly matched the joint structure of a spider's foreleg, with dark-purple energy patterns flowing across its surface, as if living creatures moved within it, exuding a heart-pounding pressure.

Ten-Thousand-Year Ghost-Faced Demon Spider Left Arm Spirit Bone!

This sudden turn of events caused Liu Erlong, whose face was still slightly pale, to suddenly open her crimson eyes wide.

Spirit Bone!

Her breathing quickened, her honey-colored skin glistening with sweat in the morning light, her taut waist rising and falling with her rapid breaths. The mark where the venomous web had grazed her seemed to take on a mysterious hue under the illumination of the Spirit Bone’s light.

Her wild instincts almost made her reach out to grasp this treasure so close at hand.

However, just as her mind was surging, a lazy voice with undeniable authority sounded beside her:

“A Ten-Thousand-Year Ghost-Faced Demon Spider’s Spirit Bone, and a left arm bone at that. Your luck isn’t bad.”

Bibi Dong had appeared beside her at some point, her dark-purple, luxurious robe sleeves unmoving in the morning breeze.

A playful smile graced her beautiful face. Her gaze did not fall on the Spirit Bone but rather looked at Liu Erlong with interest, then glanced at Mo Yuhan, who stood silently, half-hidden behind her.

“This Spirit Bone has a sinister and tenacious attribute, with added spiritual resistance and paralyzing venom. For your Fire Dragon Spirit, it’s barely an extra, not a perfect match.”

Bibi Dong’s tone was dismissive, as if evaluating an ordinary item. “But… since Yu Han led you here, and assisted you in escaping the pursuit, allowing you to kill this beast, this Spirit Bone… seems like a ‘reward’ specially dropped for you?”

Her voice trailed off, with a clear hint of teasing. Her beautiful eyes flitted between the wound on Liu Erlong’s honey-colored skin and Mo Yuhan’s tense face, finally settling on Liu Erlong’s crimson eyes, filled with wariness and doubt.

Mo Yuhan was actually also puzzled. He and Bibi Dong had been watching perfectly fine, and somehow, he had been brought by her to Liu Erlong’s side.

He hadn't thought that Bibi Dong saw the Spirit Bone and wanted to claim it for herself. As the Saintess of Spirit Hall, what kind of Spirit Bone hadn’t she seen? She wouldn’t be so greedy even for something like this.

As for him, it was simply because he was still young and couldn't fully utilize the Spirit Bone's advantages, which was why he hadn't absorbed a Spirit Bone yet.