Douluo Dalu: Starting Evolution as the Man-Faced Demon Spider

While Qian Renxue and her group encountered a god, the other two parties, led by Fang Chang and Bibi Dong, had yet to face any anomalies on their respective routes.

Fortunately, it was only a single god. Dealing with it wasn't much trouble for Qian Renxue's team, given their combat strength, so they didn't even bother to send a signal.

After dispatching the god on their own, they continued their journey, pushing forward along the western route.

On Fang Chang's side, he and Gu Yue were the strongest to begin with. Unaccompanied by other gods, they had already pioneered their way into the core circle of the Land of Extreme North.

As they ventured deeper, the falling snow seemed to grow heavier, and the accumulated drifts thickened. The ground, which previously showed patches of bare, black earth, was now a complete blanket of white.

Aside from the occasional appearance of an ice-type soul beast, there were almost no other signs of life.

"Gu Yue, are we almost there?" Fang Chang asked, holding Gu Yue's small, cool hand as they strolled across the snow as if in a leisurely courtyard. Not a single footprint was left in their wake.

Gu Yue closed her eyes again, concentrating on the subtle connection she felt with the Goddess of Life, only to eventually shake her head.

"Not yet. I feel like the distance between us hasn't shortened much from before," Gu Yue said with a frown.

They had been in the Land of Extreme North for over two hours, yet it seemed they were still a long way from the location of the Goddess of Life.

However, this kind of perception was too mysterious to be fully trusted. Furthermore, the Goddess of Life could potentially use this sense to deliberately distract them, so they couldn't rely on it completely.

"Then let's keep searching," Fang Chang said, once again leading Gu Yue onward.

Spending too long in such an environment could easily affect one's mood. Fortunately, he had Gu Yue with him, which kept things from becoming too tedious.

"Wait, something's coming," Gu Yue said, suddenly pulling Fang Chang to a halt just as they had taken a few steps. Her gaze shifted towards a small snow mound ahead.

Following her words, Fang Chang extended his divine sense in that direction and immediately detected a figure approaching them.

It was about one and a half meters long and shaped like a scorpion. Its two front pincers were an icy white, while its body was a translucent, emerald green.

This was an Ice Jade Empress Scorpion with a soul power close to four hundred thousand years—most likely the "Ice Empress" from the original story.

So, it's her... A playful glint flashed in Fang Chang's eyes. He still had some impression of this proud and cute character from the original work.

With his current strength, Fang Chang paid little mind to a small scorpion of less than four hundred thousand years, which was why he hadn't noticed her approach.

Beside him, Gu Yue had already assumed a battle stance.

Perhaps influenced by the two small spiders back in Sun Moon City, she now couldn't help but want to attack any female soul beast that approached Fang Chang.

"Mortals, leave the Land of Extreme North at once. You are not welcome here." The Ice Empress's cold voice arrived before she did.

To avoid being detected by the Goddess of Life, Fang Chang and Gu Yue had suppressed their auras as much as possible. To an outsider, they now appeared to be two ordinary mortals without any soul power.

What a proud little thing. Such a big tone, Fang Chang laughed to himself upon hearing her words.

A mere soul beast whelp of less than four hundred thousand years dared to issue an eviction notice to two major gods?

Gu Yue's reaction was more aggressive. "Get lost," she snapped. The surrounding snowdrifts churned with her furious shout, rolling in an instant towards the small snow mound.

The mound collapsed with a whoosh, revealing the little scorpion hiding behind it.

The Ice Empress seemed stunned by this move, freezing for a moment before reacting. "Insolent humans! How dare you act so wildly on my territory! See if I don't make you my dinner tonight!"

Seemingly enraged, the Ice Empress charged towards them, a layer of brilliant diamond-like particles coating her two front pincers.

"Hmph, a little girl dares to call herself 'my lady'?" Gu Yue's temper flared as well. One of her hands transformed into a dragon claw, striking out to meet the Ice Empress's attacking pincers.

"Take it easy, she's still useful," Fang Chang quickly transmitted to Gu Yue through their mental link, seeing the excessive force in her attack.

"What, feeling protective of the fair maiden?" Hearing Fang Chang's words, Gu Yue grew even more irritated, but she still subconsciously lessened the force in her hand.

Boom! The collision of the Ice Empress's pincers and Gu Yue's dragon claw produced a world-shaking sound. The scorpion's body was sent flying back dozens of meters, carving a long trench in the snow.

"You... you are not human." The Ice Empress supported herself with her front pincers, struggling to climb up from the ground. If Gu Yue hadn't pulled back at the last moment, that single claw strike would have likely been enough to end her life.

Her body swayed a few times, and under the watchful eyes of Fang Chang and Gu Yue, she slowly transformed into the guise of a human girl in an emerald dress.

She blinked her large eyes, watching them warily as she kept her distance. "What are you doing here? I've never seen you before."

Seeing that they weren't human, but soul beasts like herself, her attitude improved considerably, though a deep sense of caution remained.

"We're looking for someone," Fang Chang said, his body flashing as he teleported in front of the Ice Empress, startling her and causing her to jump back several steps.

"Looking for someone? Who?" the Ice Empress asked, her cheeks puffing out. "There are no... people... in the Land of Extreme North."

Her voice clearly dragged when she said "no people," indicating she likely knew something.

Gu Yue moved over at this point, deliberately and yet inadvertently positioning herself between Fang Chang and the Ice Empress. She knew all too well that Fang Chang had a soft spot for naive, young soul beasts like this one.

There were already enough gods in the Divine Realm carving up Fang Chang's attention; she didn't want any more troublesome hindrances in this Douluo plane.

"You should tell us what you know. We won't harm you," Fang Chang's voice was gentle, which couldn't help but make the Ice Empress feel a sense of goodwill.

"Are you looking for those guys who sealed themselves in ice?" the Ice Empress mumbled, her voice sounding sweet and childlike, with a strong loli tone.

"They aren't human. They're much stronger than us."

"Oh, right. I've dealt with some of them before. They called themselves gods. They almost drove my sister and me out of the Land of Extreme North back then."

As she spoke, her expression was a mixture of anger and helplessness. A group of people had barged into the home she had lived in for hundreds of thousands of years and nearly kicked her out. Anyone would hold a grudge.

"That's right, it's them! Do you know where they are? Take us there quickly," Gu Yue became excited upon hearing this and pressed her repeatedly.

"I know where they are, but..." the Ice Empress said nervously, "they are very strong, and they are extremely wary of any other life forms approaching."

"Do you think we are weak?" Fang Chang asked, holding back a smile as he looked at the little girl's disbelieving expression.

"Umm... I guess you're about as strong as they are," the Ice Empress said after a moment of thought, looking between the two of them. "Alright, I'll take you there."

"If you can drive those guys away, you'll be doing us a huge favor."