Fang Chang carefully used one of his spider legs to cut open the robe of the Spirit Hall Soul Elder. He then tore apart the inner garment, thoroughly searching the body inside and out.
Finally, he laid out the items he had found in front of him.
There was a quiver made from the hide of some unknown soul beast, a plain-looking black iron badge, a few faded soul coins...
And a letter, which Fang Chang discovered tucked into the sole of the man's shoe.
The stench made Fang Chang instinctively take a step back. His sensory organs recoiled as he gingerly opened the letter with another spider leg.
The smell was atrocious. The combination of extended activity in the forest and unwashed feet made it almost unbearable.
The contents of the letter were written in Douluo Continent's script. Fang Chang stared at it for a long time but couldn't make sense of it. Reluctantly, he decided to save it for later.
To ensure the man was truly dead, Fang Chang jabbed another leg into his chest. The body was already cold, and the temperature had dropped significantly, but Fang Chang wasn't about to take any chances.
Back in his original world, there were countless methods to feign death and deceive opponents—let alone in a world like this, where soul power could perform miracles.
Better safe than sorry. The last thing he wanted was for this guy to jump up and shoot him in the back.
After confirming the kill, Fang Chang turned back toward the Four-Eyed Golden Horned Snake's body. He stared at it briefly before tearing off a large chunk of flesh with his fangs.
The snake meat was tender and flavorful, melting in his mouth. It reminded him of tuna, though with a slightly firmer texture.
Since arriving in this world, Fang Chang had primarily eaten rabbit and cat soul beasts. Rabbit meat was gamy, and cat meat had a sour aftertaste—neither was particularly enjoyable.
But this Four-Eyed Golden Horned Snake was different. Snake meat was considered a delicacy, and this one had cultivated for thousands of years, making its flesh rich with essence.
In just over an hour, Fang Chang devoured almost the entire snake, which was more than three times his size. All that remained was the golden-horned head.
Not wanting to waste anything, Fang Chang licked his lips and bit into the snake's head.
Suddenly, a burst of golden light erupted from the snake's head. The golden horn detached completely, falling to the ground.
Item Acquired: External Soul Bone – Thunderlight Golden Horn
Skill: Purple Lightning Flash
Description: Fires a powerful lightning attack from the golden horn.
Restriction: Usable only by humans or soul beasts in humanoid form.
"An external soul bone!" Fang Chang was stunned. External soul bones were treasures second only to 100,000-year soul rings for soul masters.
However, this one came with a restriction—it could only be used by humans or soul beasts in humanoid form.
Fang Chang sighed in frustration. "What kind of logic is this? Why can't soul beasts use external soul bones?"
Unwilling to give up, he tried pressing the golden horn against his head, but there was no reaction.
With a resigned sigh, Fang Chang stored the external soul bone alongside the letter.
Status
Name: Fang Chang
Species: Ghost Armored Demon Spider
Soul Power: 6,395 years
Evolution Points: 34,160
HP: 1,903/2,460 (slowly recovering)
Strength: 638
Attack: 646
Defense: 935
Speed: 701
Sitting beside the skeleton of the Four-Eyed Golden Horned Snake, Fang Chang glanced at his system panel. Devouring the snake had increased his soul power by 560 years.
As his strength grew, devouring high-level soul beasts became increasingly easier. The speed of his advancement was bound to accelerate in the future.
Once he evolved again, he could consider targeting even stronger ten-thousand-year soul beasts—perhaps even the Dark Devilgod Tiger.
When his strength was sufficient, neither Spirit Hall nor the detestable Tang San would pose a threat to him.
When the time came, he would settle all old scores once and for all.
With these thoughts in mind, Fang Chang opened the system's evolution panel.
His current evolution path showed three options, with the top two rows—the original Man-Faced Demon Spider and its first evolution, Dark Armored Demon Spider—already blacked out.
Under his current form as a Ghost Armored Demon Spider, three new evolution paths had appeared:
Path 1: Ghost Armored Demon Spider Emperor
Requirements: Soul power of 10,000+ years 100,000 evolution points
Rewards: Major attribute enhancements Full recovery Transformation of some racial skills
New innate skill: Ghostification
This option seemed straightforward and appealing, especially with the innate skill Ghostification. It was a direct upgrade from his current form, requiring no complex conditions—just continued hunting and gathering evolution points.
However, this path would eventually lead to becoming a God Devouring Evil Spider Emperor, which didn't align with Fang Chang's ultimate goal of becoming an Immortal Evil Spider Emperor. It conflicted with his cautious, survival-oriented philosophy.
Path 2: Hive Spider Requirements: Soul power of 10,000+ years 50,000 evolution points Devour one 5,000+ year Abyss Demon Spider, Heavenly Bamboo Spider, and Dark Hive Spider each
Rewards: Major attribute enhancements Full recovery Transformation of some racial skills
New innate skill: Nest Creation
At first glance, this path seemed promising. Fang Chang liked the sound of Nest Creation, which fit his farming-oriented aspirations.
However, the evolution requirements were troublesome. Of the three required spider-type soul beasts, Fang Chang had only encountered an Abyss Demon Spider so far.
"Should I go back and devour her after all?" Fang Chang momentarily regretted letting her go earlier.
But upon seeing the next evolution stage, he shook his head immediately.
The final form of this path was Earth Queen Hive Spider, whose innate skill was Egg Laying.
"Nest Creation followed by egg laying... it makes sense, but I'm a male spider!" Fang Chang shuddered at the thought and promptly dismissed this option.
Path 3: Shadow Evil Spider Emperor
Requirements: Soul power of 10,000+ years 100,000 evolution points Kill 10 human soul masters of Soul Elder rank or higher (Current: 1/10)
Rewards: Major attribute enhancements Full recovery Transformation of some racial skills
New innate skill: Telepathy
This path stood out due to its unique requirement: killing human soul masters instead of devouring soul beasts.
If this had been presented to Fang Chang when he first arrived in the Douluo Continent, he would have rejected it outright. But now, he saw little difference between humans and soul beasts.
Most importantly, this path was the only one that led to his desired final form: Immortal Evil Spider Emperor.
Given this, Fang Chang felt he had no other choice.