In the dense forest, Fang Chang swiftly darted through the trees. Whenever he encountered obstacles, he used his "Leap" skill to effortlessly jump over them, exuding a carefree and unrestrained vibe.
His initial plan had been to hide in a thicket, waiting for an opportunity to take out his pursuers one by one and use their corpses as bait to attract nearby soul beasts.
However, the fat man had unwisely walked right into his trap, leaving Fang Chang unable to resist striking first.
Just as he relaxed his guard slightly, a slender black shadow emerged behind him.
The black shadow resembled a flat, slithering snake gliding along the ground. Twisting and turning, it quickly maneuvered in front of Fang Chang.
Fang Chang plunged his spider leg into the ground, abruptly halting his forward momentum.
The black shadow stopped as well, then slowly extended in all directions under his watchful gaze. Soon, it transformed into a stunningly voluptuous woman.
Name: Du Hongxue
Race: Human
Soul Power: Level 39 Soul Elder
Martial Soul: Shadow Spider
Fang Chang immediately checked the newcomer's information. When he saw that her martial soul was also a type of spider, he froze for a moment.
Looking at her current form...
Du Hongxue remained in her martial soul-possessed state. Her already alluring figure had grown even more captivating. Sharp, meter-long spider legs protruded from her back, and her forehead bore two rows of vertically aligned eyes.
With her fiery red gown draped loosely over her body, the addition of her beastly, untamed aura made her seem irresistibly dangerous.
It wasn't surprising that Bai Yu, in his naive youth, had abandoned Xue Wu for her.
"Hmph, I thought I was dealing with something impressive, but it's just an ordinary…" Du Hongxue narrowed her eyes at Fang Chang.
She was about to call him an ordinary Man-Faced Demon Spider, but—what in the world was ordinary about this thing?
The creature before her indeed resembled a Man-Faced Demon Spider at first glance, with a similar size and general appearance. Its lower abdomen even had the signature "human face" marking of the species.
But its front spider legs were flattened like shields, and its body armor didn't look like the usual exoskeleton. Instead, it resembled metallic structures grown from within.
A mutant soul beast? The term surfaced in her mind.
Just as martial souls could mutate, soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest had a slim chance of undergoing mutations.
Such mutations could either result in beneficial evolution or harmful regression, but most cases were determined at birth.
Fang Chang didn't fit this mold, however. He was simply fortunate enough to possess a "System" that allowed him to decide his evolutionary path.
The two stared at each other as if silently reaching an agreement, neither making the first move.
Fang Chang was wary of Du Hongxue, whose level-39 soul power posed a considerable threat.
Typically, a level-40 soul ancestor could single-handedly take down a 1,000 to 6,000-year-old soul beast.
Du Hongxue, at level 39 and backed by the powerful Spirit Hall, posed a danger he couldn't afford to underestimate.
Du Hongxue, for her part, was not like the more academically inclined soul masters. Spirit Hall's rigorous training had given her extensive combat experience.
Facing such a cunning opponent—possibly a mutant soul beast—she chose the safest approach: Stalling him until her companions arrived.
She had another motive too. Having been personally instructed by the Spirit Hall's Supreme Pontiff, Bibi Dong, she knew that her mentor particularly valued rare mutant soul beasts.
And this one was a spider...
If she could capture it alive, she might earn her mentor's favor and rise to prominence within Spirit Hall.
Fang Chang, however, had already figured out half of her plan.
Back at the camp, he had deduced from their auras that the group consisted of five people. With one injured, that left four.
This woman had reached him first with her peculiar soul skill, but the others would soon catch up.
Fighting her alone was already troublesome. If he delayed any longer, the situation would only worsen. Fang Chang quickly calculated his options and leaped toward another direction, neither confronting Du Hongxue head-on nor wasting time in a stalemate.
Du Hongxue frowned. She had encountered her share of cunning soul beasts, but none as clever as this "Man-Faced Demon Spider."
She glanced at the direction he had fled and marked the trees with arrows before morphing back into a shadow to give chase.
Not long after she left, a man and a woman arrived at the scene.
Bai Yu leaned against a tree, clutching his waist and panting heavily. Xue Wu stepped forward to support him, helping him stand upright.
His exhaustion from the previous day hadn't yet subsided.
In truth, he was somewhat grateful to the Man-Faced Demon Spider. Without it, he might not have survived the previous ordeal.
"Thank you, Xue Wu," Bai Yu said, glancing at the marks Du Hongxue had left on the trees before wrapping an arm around Xue Wu's waist. "Let's keep chasing."
"Damn it, where are those two slackers?"
Far away, Du Hongxue glared at Fang Chang, who had once again changed direction and evaded her pursuit. It was as if he knew she wouldn't dare attack recklessly, toying with her by running circles in the forest.
Even more infuriating were her companions, who were inexplicably delayed and hadn't caught up.
Grinding her teeth, she marked another tree before transforming into a shadow to continue her chase.
After several hundred meters, she reverted to her human form. This time, she didn't hold back. A ball of black light formed in her hand and shot toward Fang Chang.
The black light moved with astonishing speed, striking Fang Chang's lower right abdomen almost as soon as it left her hand.
The impact threw his spider body off balance, slamming him against an old tree.
HP -80
Just one attack had reduced his health bar by nearly a tenth.
The black light carried a piercing effect that countered him perfectly.
At this critical moment, Bai Yu and Xue Wu finally arrived, blocking Fang Chang at the base of the tree.