Everyone cried out in alarm, but they could not save Ye Ye's life.
What appeared before their eyes was a giant spider Soul Beast, black and crimson!
Its carapace was predominantly dark red, densely covered with fine black thorns, looking like a savage suit of armor.
The main body of the spider was less than a meter in diameter, but its eight spider legs stretched out to more than three meters like long spears.
The most terrifying part was the legs, which were all embedded in the tree trunk.
It pulled its legs out of Ye Ye's corpse; the blood-red tips were extremely sharp and reflected light like mirrors.
They weren't even stained with a speck of blood!
Eight scarlet, ghostly eyes were distributed on both sides of its body, with a thin, unsettling slit in the middle.
"This is bad," Zhao Liuyun muttered, activating the Purple Demon Eye and taking in every detail.
Judging by its appearance, it would be difficult to deal with.
What kind of Soul Beast was this?
"It's already spotted us, prepare for battle!" Tian Wenlong roared. The anger over their teammate's death ignited instantly.
Mercenaries prioritize their own lives and should scatter and flee driven by the will to survive.
However, the forest was rugged and difficult to traverse; how could two legs outrun eight?
There was no option but a desperate, mortal fight.
Zhao Liuyun's expression was grim. His mind raced, recalling the Soul Beast illustrations and biographies he had browsed in the library, but he couldn't find a matching record.
One thing was certain: it wasn't poisonous.
There were no signs of poison contamination on Ye Ye's fallen body.
Sensing the energy level emanating from it, it was roughly below the seven-hundred-year mark.
"Non-venomous, should be under seven hundred years old. Its body is larger than its peers, its legs are longer. Its combat strength likely relies mainly on its sharp spider legs and that hard, ferocious carapace."
"If any of you recognize it, share the information."
Zhao Liuyun spoke his judgment extremely fast.
"Since we've been spotted, we can't escape. And attacking from below is difficult. We retreat and find a relatively open area."
As he spoke, he had already distributed the antidote to everyone.
Since the spider was non-venomous, its resistance to toxins might be low. Perhaps they could use poison to defeat the enemy.
The team members silently accepted the pills and swallowed them, slowly retreating while maintaining a posture ready for battle.
They could not turn their backs. With the spider Soul Beast's speed in the complex forest environment, showing even a slight flaw would be courting death.
"Ghost-Eyed Demonic Spider!"
Tian Wenlong slowly exhaled, his eyes full of gravity. He had recognized the origin of this Soul Beast.
"Liuyun is right, it really isn't venomous."
"The Ghost-Eyed Demonic Spider wanders everywhere and rarely attacks directly. It chooses a hunting ground to wait at its ease."
"It prefers to deliver a fatal blow when its prey is weakened. Its strongest weapons are those eight spear-like sharp spider legs."
Zhao Liuyun's heart tightened.
They had unknowingly stepped into the Ghost-Eyed Demonic Spider's hunting ground.
This cunning Soul Beast had decided to kill them when they were tired. Ye Ye, climbing the tree to observe, had happened to run into its deadly claws.
"It's practically extinct, so why did we have to run into one?" Tian Wenlong spat, feeling incredibly unlucky.
Despite being non-venomous, the Ghost-Eyed Demonic Spider was still a ferocious predator and shouldn't appear in this part of the Soul Hunting Forest.
Were the Spirit Hall's cleanup teams sleeping on the job?
The large scarlet-eyed spider slowly descended.
The group retreated step by step, their breaths held taut.
The Demonic Spider seemed impatient with the wait and suddenly leaped.
"It's jumping down!"
Zhao Liuyun's pupils instantly contracted. He saw the eight spider legs suddenly bend, exploding with terrifying force like fully charged springs.
"Crack! Crack!"
Like a huge cannonball being fired, branches snapped and leaves shattered in the wake of the black and crimson spider. Tree branches as thick as bowls cracked and splintered like paper under this brute force.
"Danger! Get back!" Tian Wenlong roared, pulling back rapidly.
They couldn't meet it head-on!
Without his reminder, everyone had already quickly retreated, their speed increasing with each step.
Zhao Liuyun threw out a handful of toxic powder. He lightly tapped his feet using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step, his body drifting backward like a falling leaf. In an instant, he shielded everyone, just like Han Tianzun.
As a Control System Soul Master whose direct combat power wasn't strong, he should naturally stay behind the Assault System Soul Masters and cast his skills.
The Ghost-Eyed Demonic Spider landed, directly encountering the poisonous smoke generated by the powder.
Tian Wenlong, as a Soul Elder and the strongest person in the mercenary group, unhesitatingly stood at the forefront.
First Soul Skill, Rock Armor!
Second Soul Skill, Earth Guard Shield!
Rock Armor created a stone armor on his body; being a White Ring Soul Skill, its defense was barely better than nothing.
The second skill was an earth-element shield, possessing the hardness and density of the earth element, offering both energy and physical defense.
"Hah—!"
The Demonic Spider let out a grating shriek, its scarlet eyes bursting with a seductive, blood-red light, and its body instantly swelled to twice its size!
A tyrannical aura pressed upon them like a hurricane.
Its eight legs moved simultaneously, its pace like lightning, charging straight towards the group. Where it stepped, rocks cracked, and murderous intent was palpable.
"It can even amplify itself!" Zhao Liuyun's heart shook.
The tank, Wu Qianming, spoke in a deep voice, "Even so, we must hold the line."
He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Tian Wenlong, like two iron walls blocking the front.
First Soul Skill, Hair Shield: thick, fine long hair with considerable defensive power grew all over his body.
Being a White Ring Soul Skill, not much could be expected of it.
Second Soul Skill, Indestructible Vajra: it could make his body, including his hair, as hard as steel.
Combined with the First Soul Skill, Hair Shield, it was even better at resisting physical attacks than Tian Wenlong's Earth Guard Shield.
The Ghost-Eyed Demonic Spider approached ferociously, reaching them almost in the blink of an eye.
"Just because we're tired, you dare to fight us alone?"
"Don't look down on us!"
Tian Wenlong roared again, activating his Third Soul Skill.
A dense yellow halo condensed around his fist.
Third Soul Skill, Mountain-Shaking Fist, contained the earth-element power of an earthquake.
The yellow light carried a powerful seismic force, specifically designed to strike Soul Beasts with high carapace or scale defense.
Wu Xu, the wild man with the Red-Haired Gorilla Martial Soul, also strode forward.
First Soul Skill, Blood Boil: lowered the sensation of pain and enhanced strength.
Also a White Ring, self-buffing Soul Skill. It was better than Rock Armor and Hair Shield, but only marginally.
Lower-level Soul Masters had no grand future, so they focused on immediate combat power.
Most just absorbed the first suitable Soul Beast they killed, resulting in messy Soul Skills, but this was already considered decent.
Second Soul Skill, Tiger Demon Incarnation: muscles swelled, eyes turned into a pair of tiger eyes, and black and yellow tiger demon stripes appeared on his skin.
It lasted for ten minutes and could enhance defense and attack power considerably. The drawback was an increase in bestiality and a decrease in rationality.
But with danger imminent—a matter of life or death—Wu Xu didn't care about the side effects.
"Kill!"
The three advanced together. The two Agility Attackers and Fang Rui, who was between Agility and Assault, were ready to strike.
As soon as the Assault System Soul Masters tore open a gap, they would launch a surprise attack with the speed of thunder.
Zhao Liuyun was also waiting, waiting for the opportune moment to release his Soul Skill.
The instant everyone engaged in battle, "Cease!"
His only Yellow Soul Ring instantly lit up, and a pale purple ray shot towards the Ghost-Eyed Demonic Spider.
Zhao Liuyun had done his best to focus his spiritual power, extending the Soul Skill's range to twenty meters.
The timing of the release was predicted to be the moment right after the clash between the beast and the men.
However, the earth-shattering collision they anticipated did not come.
The unified attack of the group missed without any warning!
The Ghost-Eyed Demonic Spider's body violently shook like a reflection on water.
"A physical illusion indistinguishable from the real thing! We're in trouble!"
It wasn't an amplification skill; it was a physical illusion that felt genuinely real!
Zhao Liuyun's heart clenched. [Brainstorm] instantly activated, his thoughts spinning like lightning.
Where was its real body hidden?
The spider legs were stepping on the hard rocks, making loud noises. The sound was right nearby!
But Uncle Tian and the others had missed their strike, their moves were spent, and their guard was wide open.
"Sister Qiaoqiao, quickly cover! The position behind the illusion!" Zhao Liuyun commanded urgently.
He had already swiftly approached like a phantom, his spiritual power rapidly spreading out.
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