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

After completing his task, Fang Chang turned back for one last look at the ten-thousand-year-old Abyss Demon Spider. She was still incapacitated, unable to move, yet Fang Chang felt a reluctant pang as he left her behind.

Beyond the desolate area, the forest resumed its usual lushness. Trees grew thick and verdant, and the air was filled with the faint presence of soul beasts once more.

Among them was a 6,000-year-old Earth Digging Rat—an impressive feat for such a weak species to reach this level of cultivation.

The rat had appeared during Fang Chang's battle with the Abyss Demon Spider, watching from a safe distance but never daring to approach.

Now, seeing Fang Chang walking toward it, the rat instantly burrowed into the ground with a sharp "shk!" giving him no chance to catch it.

"How boring." Fang Chang sighed. He had hoped to replenish some of the energy and fluids he'd lost during his earlier fight.

Logically, this part of the forest, being just inside the outer rings, should mostly house soul beasts around the 5,000- to 6,000-year mark. A ten-thousand-year beast like the Abyss Demon Spider would typically reside closer to the inner rings near the third circle.

The Earth Digging Rat triggered a thought. The desolation Fang Chang had just left behind seemed too extensive for a single Abyss Demon Spider to create. However, if it had been overrun by a large group of Earth Digging Rats, that would explain it.

Perhaps the Abyss Demon Spider was an outsider, recently arriving and seizing the rats' territory.

But what had driven her out of the forest's deeper regions?

Fang Chang couldn't figure it out. He simply resolved to tread cautiously and avoid the deeper forest until his strength had fully developed.

In a circular valley not far away, Yan pointed at a large pile of bones with a look of astonishment.

"Nana, look!" he exclaimed.

"I'm not blind; I see it," Hu Liena retorted irritably, rolling her eyes as she stepped closer.

She crouched down and picked up a small fragment resembling a finger bone, examining it closely and giving it a sniff.

Judging by the size, shape, and location of the skeleton, it wasn't hard to identify it as the remains of the Giant Demon Ape they had fought earlier.

To think that only a short while after their departure, this behemoth had ended up in such a state.

Standing up, Hu Liena's gaze swept over the five human soul master corpses strewn across the ground. Her eyelids twitched slightly.

"The marrow in these bones hasn't dried yet, and the blood has only just begun to coagulate. The mutated Man-Faced Demon Spider hasn't gone far," Hu Liena said, turning to Yan and Xie Yue with a serious expression.

Her eyes scanned the valley carefully before settling on the steep cliff face.

"Damn it!" she cursed under her breath, drawing the attention of both Xie Yue and Yan.

"What's wrong?" Yan asked, his tone soft and timid, like a child testing the waters after failing an exam.

Without sparing him a glance, Hu Liena tugged on Xie Yue's sleeve. "Brother, let's go."

The sky was already tinged with the red hues of dawn, signaling the arrival of a new day. Their mission was effectively a failure.

This mission had been personally assigned by the Pope herself—her teacher, Bibi Dong. The thought of their failure made Hu Liena grind her teeth in frustration, particularly at Yan's overconfidence.

Trailing behind, Yan looked dejected but maintained a subtle distance from the siblings. He followed closely enough to not lose them but far enough to avoid angering Hu Liena further.

"Nana must still like me, right?" Yan thought to himself with a silly grin.

While the three prepared to climb the circular valley's walls in pursuit of Fang Chang, he had already ventured deeper into the forest.

His attention was now fixed on a 5,600-year-old Four-Eyed Golden Horned Snake.

This soul beast resembled a greatly enlarged king cobra, its name derived from the two pairs of eye-like markings on its neck. When in combat mode, the markings resembled a set of four glowing eyes—two above and two below.

Additionally, the snake sported a golden horn on its head capable of unleashing thunderous attacks, making it one of the stronger snake-type soul beasts.

The specimen Fang Chang had found was over ten meters long, its body as thick as three or four adults hugging it together. Its sheer size was imposing.

However, it was clearly injured. Five deep wounds marred its body—two older and three fresher ones, still oozing blood.

The snake lay motionless near a boulder by the riverbank, its breathing slow and rhythmic as it slept.

Species: Four-Eyed Golden Horned Snake (Devourable)

Soul Power: 5,600 years

HP: 452/2700

Strength: 565

Attack: 591

Defense: 435

Speed: 469

Fang Chang glanced at its stats. While comparable to the Giant Demon Ape, its health was critically low.

"Cleaning up leftovers like this? Who wouldn't enjoy it?" Fang Chang smirked.

He crept toward the snake, suppressing his footsteps, his mind already strategizing how to consume the creature.

Up close, the snake's massive size was even more intimidating. Fang Chang's three-meter-long body was barely a third of its length. He looked like a child next to it.

But that didn't deter him. Fang Chang raised one of his spider legs, aiming directly at the snake's abdomen, where one of its wounds lay.

With a sharp whoosh, he plunged his leg into the snake's body, piercing the existing wound.

The snake, jolted awake by the searing pain, arched its body violently, transforming from a semi-straight line into the shape of an upturned boat.

Its head whipped around in rage, red eyes locking onto Fang Chang as it struck toward him with its fangs bared.

Fang Chang held his ground, continuing to inject his paralyzing venom into the snake's wound.

Raising his shield-like front legs, he prepared to block the snake's attack.

But the expected strike never landed.

Just as the snake's head neared, an arrow shot from the dense forest, piercing through its right eye and exiting through its left.

The snake collapsed, lifeless, before its head could reach Fang Chang.

Yet, before Fang Chang could process what had happened, another arrow whizzed through the air—this time, aimed at him.