The sky had already darkened. Cheng Xiao sat under a large tree, and after a period of meditation, the shadow power in his body, which had diminished to less than ten percent, had mostly recovered.
Qian Renxue still sat there, not leaving. Even though the night had fallen, her body continued to emit a sacred light that instilled fear in the soul beasts around them.
Cheng Xiao felt a bit of a headache. He hadn't expected Qian Renxue to really stay, but he wasn't about to give up either. If he could turn the Three-Eyed Demonic Ape into a shadow soldier, its powerful mental abilities would be a great asset in disrupting future enemies, making things much easier for him.
Besides, they had come this far. Leaving now would be a huge waste. Without hesitation, Cheng Xiao once again summoned his shadow soldiers. He wasn't sure if Snake Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo had truly left, so he decided to send the Human-faced Demon Spider, which excelled at stealth and assassination, to test the waters. Then he would decide whether to have the shadow soldiers collectively distract Qian Renxue, ideally leading her far away.
Upon receiving Cheng Xiao's command, the Human-faced Demon Spider's eight legs moved rapidly. After a series of afterimages, it disappeared in an instant.
However, Cheng Xiao was directly connected to his shadow soldiers, so even though the Human-faced Demon Spider vanished from his sight, he still knew exactly where it was.
At this moment, the Human-faced Demon Spider had successfully used its formidable stealth abilities to approach Qian Renxue, who was sitting cross-legged on a stone, eyes closed in meditation.
Without any hesitation, the Human-faced Demon Spider lifted its front legs, two sharp, thin spider legs glinting coldly, and attacked Qian Renxue in a stealthy strike.
This move was completely silent. As a top-tier killer, it naturally had its own unique strengths.
However, just as the spider's legs were about to touch Qian Renxue, her body emitted a bright golden light as her first soul ring activated. The golden light enveloped her body, and then all of it converged in an instant towards her fist. With a sudden turn, she punched out, forming a golden shield.
Qian Renxue's first soul skill created a golden shield during an attack. This skill was both offensive and defensive and came with a sacred energy that could dissolve soul power and suppress her enemies.
Although the Faceless Demon Spider's legs were sharp, its power was far inferior to Qian Renxue's. So, even in a head-on clash, it gained no advantage.
Soul masters can sense the strength of soul beasts, and similarly, soul beasts can gauge the power of soul masters. Even though the Human-faced Demon Spider, now a shadow soldier, knew it wasn't a match for Qian Renxue, its loyalty and devotion to its king gave it the courage to face this human soul master head-on.
Thus, the spider ignored the golden glow of Qian Renxue's fist. Its two sharp front legs continued to stab downward, attempting to probe whether the enemy its king feared was still around.
Clang! Clang!
The two sharp legs of the spider struck Qian Renxue's golden shield, creating sparks of golden light.
Then, with a dull thud, the Human-faced Demon Spider's front legs snapped. Qian Renxue's glowing fist smashed into its legs, causing the spider to lose its balance and start falling. However, Qian Renxue didn't give it the chance.
Golden soul power condensed in her hand, forming a sacred sword of holy energy. In a flash, a golden sword light split the spider's body in half.
Hiss—
A shrill scream came from the spider's mouth, its piercing cry echoing through the night forest.
As Qian Renxue looked at the bisected spider in front of her, her eyes narrowed slightly. This soul beast matched the description given by Snake Spear Douluo—its entire body black as ink, as if armored.
Now, after its death, the spider didn't release a soul ring like other soul beasts. Instead, it dissolved into black mist, vanishing, just like the soul beasts she had seen when absorbing her sixth soul ring—a most eerie occurrence.
"It seems the one summoning these strange soul beasts is still after the Three-Eyed Demonic Ape's corpse," Qian Renxue muttered as she sat back on the stone. She was curious to see what the one hiding in the shadows had left up his sleeve.
As he watched Qian Renxue return to her stone seat, purple light flickered in Cheng Xiao's eyes. The earlier test had confirmed that the two Titled Douluo had indeed left. Since that was the case, he could now act freely.
"A difference of half a soul power level, huh?" Cheng Xiao narrowed his eyes, extending his right hand. Black mist surged from his palm, and then fifteen shadow soldiers burst from the forest, charging directly towards Qian Renxue.
Cheng Xiao himself darted out amidst the clamor created by the shadow soldiers. His plan was to extract the shadow of the Three-Eyed Demonic Ape while Qian Renxue was distracted with the shadow soldiers. If successful, with the shadow soldiers' harassment and his stealth, Qian Renxue might not be able to catch him easily.
As the fifteen shadow soldiers rushed forward, the ground trembled. Qian Renxue, still sitting on the stone, saw this and a faint smile curved on her lips. It seemed the mysterious figure hiding in the dark was ready to forcibly seize the prize.
Golden light flickered in Qian Renxue's bright eyes. In the next second, four golden wings unfolded from her back, and her entire body began to emit an intensely radiant light. In that moment, she resembled a true angel descending to earth, exuding holiness and sanctity.
"Fifth soul skill, Holy Sword!"
With a soft cry, a long sword formed from sacred flames appeared in Qian Renxue's hand. Then, a golden sword aura swept forth from the sword, splitting the earth and sky as it surged towards the oncoming shadow soldiers with an unstoppable momentum.
The shadow soldiers could sense the terrifying energy contained in the sword aura. If they were hit by it, they would likely be annihilated in one strike. However, just as Qian Renxue thought she would easily dispatch them, the Nether Tiger leading the charge used its innate skill—Shadow Clone. Following closely behind, Fangs activated its own ability.
As Fang let out a primal roar, the shadow soldiers immediately entered a berserk state. In the blink of an eye, their speed multiplied, and they tried to evade the unstoppable golden sword aura with sheer speed.
Unfortunately, they failed. All but the Nether Tiger were sliced into black mist by the sword aura.
Seeing the Nether Tiger closing in on her, Qian Renxue's expression changed slightly. With a swift turn of her Angelic Holy Sword, she charged towards the incredibly fast soul beast.
"First soul skill, Angelic Assault!"