Yun Ming looked at the object suddenly pulled out by Gu Li, his face filled with suspicion as he said uncertainly.
"This is... the Death Spider Emperor?!"
Although it was merely a corpse and somewhat decayed, the distinct characteristics—the purple-black outer shell and the green spider hair—remained clearly visible.
Hearing Yun Ming identify the object, Gu Li shrieked in a frenzy.
"That's right, this is the corpse of a Death Spider Emperor. I never wanted to go this far, but you forced my hand!"
"Soon, the corpse will sublimate into the Death Spider Emperor Origin Poison. No matter how much of a genius you are, you'll have to accompany me to the grave!"
After speaking, he pulled himself out of the wall, took out a bottle containing a black-purple liquid, and splashed it directly onto the Death Spider Emperor remains. As the corpse touched the liquid, its rate of dissolution accelerated instantly.
This was Gu Li's trump card: the remains of a 100,000-year Death Spider Emperor. As for how he had obtained it, that went back to when he first learned of the Liquidation Operation.
About six days ago.
Through reports from his subordinates and various sources, Gu Li learned that Yun Ming and Ya Li were working with the Elder Hall to purge those involved in the events of that year. He also figured out their selection criteria and immediately realized he was likely on the liquidation list.
Originally, he had wanted to flee Martial Soul City before Yun Ming and the others arrived. After all, the Elder Hall held a lofty status within Martial Soul Hall, even overriding the Pope; their power was great enough to depose a Pope. If he were targeted by them and didn't run, it would be certain death.
Given the abilities of his Cave Demon Spider spirit and the time he had, he actually had a decent chance of escaping. Unfortunately, Yun Ming and the others were well-prepared and had anticipated Gu Li's few weaknesses in advance.
Perhaps due to the influence of his spirit, while he was not a good man, he was unexpectedly protective of his children. Ya Li had simply sent others to keep an eye on Gu Li's family first, and Gu Li was left trapped.
Although Ya Li had no intention of doing anything to them, Gu Li dared not gamble on her humanity; the variables were too great. Thus, Gu Li was trapped in Martial Soul City.
Afterward, for the safety of his children, he approached his direct superior, Bibi Dong (as a member of the Hall of Papal Knights, his leader was naturally the Pope), hoping she could protect him. However, Bibi Dong did not agree; regarding the current matter with Gu Li, the Elder Hall had concrete evidence, and she could not protect him.
Hearing Bibi Dong explicitly state she could not help him, Gu Li had to settle for second best, hoping she would protect his family. Bibi Dong agreed and offered him half a chance at survival.
Bibi Dong would protect his family and help him escape Martial Soul City, but in return, he had to help her kill Ya Li.
Bibi Dong already harbored extreme hatred for those of the Angel lineage. Qian Renxue was her own daughter, so there was nothing to be done there. Ya Li, however, was different, and the fact that she wanted to meddle in the power of Martial Soul Hall made Bibi Dong despise her even more. Now that an opportunity had arisen, how could she not lay a trap?
To increase his success rate, she told Gu Li the location of the 100,000-year Death Spider Emperor remains she had once hunted, and gave him a bottle of Accelerated Dissolution Potion and a bottle of Antidote Potion as his trump cards. However, once the Death Spider Emperor remains were used, the area within a ten-mile radius would be shrouded in lethal poison, becoming a forbidden zone. If Gu Li could not escape before being poisoned to death, he would end up dying there himself.
If he could kill Ya Li before his trump card ran out, Gu Li would have a chance at life; this was the half-chance at survival Bibi Dong had given him. Otherwise, even if he tunneled underground to escape the poison, his family would certainly die, and he himself would face a manhunt by Bibi Dong's forces. Even fleeing to Slaughter City would be useless, as Bibi Dong was a Slaughter God.
After unleashing his ultimate move, Gu Li immediately launched an attack on Yun Ming and the other.
He let out a loud roar.
"Brat, go to hell!"
Ignoring his injuries, his Seventh Soul Ring lit up, and his Spirit Avatar was activated.
Gu Li's figure expanded rapidly, transforming into a massive, gray-armored, red-eyed Cave Demon Spider with eight-meter-long legs. A barrage of Spider Silk Thread Bullets shot violently from his mouthparts toward Yun Ming and Ya Li.
He had learned of Yun Ming's space-attribute abilities from Bibi Dong and knew how troublesome he was, so he intended to dictate the rhythm, keeping Yun Ming busy with defense so he couldn't use his abilities to teleport away.
However, for Yun Ming, who was determined to take Gu Li's life, running away was never an option. The spear light emerged once again on the blade of the Atlas Divine Spear.
"Swish, swish, swish—"
Yun Ming swung his long spear rapidly, severing all the Spider Silk Thread Bullets. After cutting through them, he immediately lunged toward Gu Li, intent on killing him.
But while Yun Ming slashed quickly, Gu Li spat just as fast. Even if he didn't cause any real damage, he kept up the constant assault.
Furthermore, after realizing the strength of Yun Ming's close-quarters combat, he had no intention of getting close. Instead, he consumed a cyan potion and retreated violently, standing within the Death Spider Emperor Origin Poison and suppressing Yun Ming with long-range firepower.
This potion was the antidote to the Death Spider Emperor Poison, allowing him to hold out in the toxic mist for a period of time.
The final result proved his choice was successful; Yun Ming could not easily enter the toxic mist to reach Gu Li, and for a moment, he was truly at a loss.
Although he could use his space abilities to isolate the lethal poison that hadn't been infused with soul power—just as he had done when he first met Dugu Bo and gambled with him—that was only possible when no one was attacking him. Current conditions did not allow for it.
But if he retreated now, Gu Li might escape. For a moment, Yun Ming was caught in a dilemma.
However, before he could decide on his next move, the lethal poison drew closer, and Yun Ming had to deal with the toxic mist first.
A yellow soul ring lit up at Yun Ming's feet. His First Soul Skill, Source of Void, was activated.
Yun Ming raised the Atlas Divine Spear and traced a pitch-black circle in front of him. All the toxic mist rushing toward Yun Ming and Ya Li suddenly seemed to find an outlet, flowing toward the circle and being swallowed up entirely.
Yun Ming's First Soul Skill derivative, Space Rending, was activated.
Since he couldn't run and couldn't make contact, he would channel all the toxins into the void.
Seeing Yun Ming come up with a solution so quickly, Gu Li naturally wouldn't just watch him break his move. He immediately sprayed layer upon layer of tough spider webs toward the pitch-black circle Yun Ming had drawn.
As a high-level member of Martial Soul Hall, he was well-versed in various rare spirit abilities. The Space Rending circle tore through the spider webs, but it also affected its stability, and it was soon smoothed over by the Great Void of the Douluo world.
After dealing with the Space Rending circle, Gu Li continued his Spider Silk Thread Bullet attack on Yun Ming and the other, and the toxic mist continued to spread toward them.
Just as Yun Ming was considering whether to use his Fifth Soul Ring to suppress the poison, Ya Li tugged at him and spoke.
"I should be able to handle this. Leave it to me."
Ya Li's words reminded Yun Ming of something. His eyes lit up, and he consciously stepped aside. He was so used to protecting Ya Li that he had momentarily forgotten her ability and its miraculous effect on such things.
Seeing his target emerge, Gu Li immediately shifted the direction of his thread bullets and fired a barrage at Ya Li, but under Yun Ming's protection, she remained unharmed.
Ignoring the attacks from across the way, Ya Li's Second Soul Ring lit up. The Angel Holy Light on her body shone brighter, and a pure white Angel Scepter appeared in her hand.
At the same time, a pitch-black soul ring at Ya Li's feet also lit up. She raised the Holy Spirit Scepter in her hand, and golden holy light bloomed from the gem on the scepter. When the light met the poison, it actually made a 'hissing' sound, and the previously violent toxic mist was actually held back.
This was Ya Li's Fifth Soul Skill, Purification Power. The essence of this soul skill was to strengthen the purification attribute of the Angel Spirit, specifically designed to dissolve various powers, especially with double the effect on evil forces, such as malevolent energy, dark power, and so on. 'Poison' was essentially a collective term for various powers harmful to biological organisms, and it also fell within the scope of this soul skill's suppression.
If not for the fact that Ya Li's cultivation was far inferior to this hundred-thousand-year level toxin, the current situation would likely be more than just a simple stalemate.
Gu Li was somewhat dumbfounded to see that Ya Li could actually block it, and was even slowly dissipating the Death Spider Emperor Poison. He could neutralize Yun Ming's space power, but the holy light Ya Li emitted was omnipresent, leaving him at a loss for how to counter it. Use a solid spider silk wall to isolate the poisonous mist from the holy light? That would just be helping the enemy!
Thinking of this, Gu Li mobilized all his soul power, driving it even more frantically to launch Spider Silk Thread Bullets and Spider Silk Long Spears at Yun Ming and Ya Li.
Watching the "Rain of Spears and Bullets" before him, the Atlas Divine Spear in Yun Ming's hand shone brightly, and countless golden spear lights began to flow incessantly along the shaft. Seeing Gu Li's attack about to reach him, Yun Ming slowly thrust his spear forward. A dazzling golden light, like the sun itself, shot out from the spear tip.
"Atlas 'Sun Shooting Light'!"
The spider silk version of the "Rain of Spears and Bullets," which resembled a pitch-black torrent, collided head-on with Yun Ming's "Sun Shooting Light," and was rapidly ground into powder as if tofu had struck steel.
"Rumble--"
A series of grinding sounds rang out rapidly, and soon half of the spider silk torrent was flattened.
However, it did provide a split second of reaction time.
Seeing the "Sun Shooting Light" coming with irresistible force, Gu Li split his focus into three: one part continued to generate sturdy spider silk to block the attack, one part dragged the not-yet-dissolved Spider Emperor Remains out of the attack range, and the final part was used to dig a hole, intending to burrow underground to evade the strike.
In the end, he successfully preserved the remains of the Death Spider Emperor, but since he had never learned "Distraction Control" and was relying on years of experience as a Control System Soul Master to multitask, his execution was a bit rough. This resulted in him failing to completely dodge the attack. He had just finished digging halfway when the "Sun Shooting Light" broke through his torrent of spider silk and ground across his back.
Gu Li's back was swept by the "Sun Shooting Light"; his armor fractured, his flesh and blood vanished, and before the blood could even spill out, it had already vaporized.
Feeling the excruciating pain from his back, Gu Li let out a painful shout.
"Ah!!!"
"Boom!"
Ultimately, Yun Ming's attack struck the inner wall of the underground space, causing the cavern to shake violently. Fortunately, Yun Ming had considered the consequences before attacking and had condensed his energy, otherwise, they might have been buried alive.
Yun Ming swept his spear out, his soul power stirring up a wind that blew away the dust, revealing the scene inside the cavern.
With one strike, even the dense poisonous mist had been partially dispersed, further expanding the already spacious underground area. Beyond that, Gu Li's appearance was also revealed to Yun Ming and Ya Li.
Under the influence of the pain originating from his very marrow, the current Gu Li had already exited his Spirit Avatar state, and the skin, flesh, and bones on his back were completely charred black, though he remained conscious for now.
Looking at the extremely twisted expression on Gu Li's face due to the pain, Yun Ming felt the ache for him, so he decided it was best to finish him off quickly!
Taking advantage of the temporarily receding poisonous mist, Yun Ming had Ya Li cover him with her purifying holy light, then he teleported into the mist, right in front of Gu Li. He thrust his spear straight at Gu Li's head.
It was because of his momentary lapse in attention earlier that so many things had happened; now, it was time to end Gu Li.
Watching the rapidly approaching Atlas Divine Spear, Gu Li's mind began to flash through his life like a revolving lantern.
From joining Martial Soul Hall, fighting and training his way up to become a Soul Saint, to participating in the Martial Soul Hall's campaign to exterminate the four clans, gaining the appreciation of Pope Bibi Dong, rising through the ranks of the Hall of Papal Knights, and later forming cliques, playing politics, and reaping wealth.
Up to this point, he had no regrets at all, feeling that living life to his extent was already worth it. The only thing he was slightly worried about was whether Ya Li would spare his family after he died, as Bibi Dong might not necessarily protect them.
Thinking of this, Gu Li used his ability one last time to gamble on Bibi Dong's integrity. The very next instant, his skull was pierced by Yun Ming's Atlas Divine Spear, and his life force was extinguished.
However, his final ability still took effect; the sturdy spider silk wrapping the Death Spider Emperor began to shrink rapidly, shredding the Spider Emperor Remains into pieces, increasing the surface area in contact with the air and accelerating its sublimation rate.
Seeing the large amount of dense poisonous mist rising from the pit not far from Yun Ming, Ya Li's expression changed, and she exerted her full strength into her Fifth Soul Skill, intending to eliminate the Death Spider Emperor Poison.
But this time the poisonous mist was too dense; even with Ya Li using her full power, the expansion range of the mist was still growing rapidly. Ya Li cried out in alarm.
"Brother Ming, dodge quickly!"
Seeing this, Yun Ming teleported to Ya Li's side, preparing to use "Space Rending" again to swallow all the poisonous gas, but before he could act, the back armor on his back that he hadn't yet retracted suddenly began to tremble slightly, conveying a faint feeling of longing to him.
Sensing the movement behind him, Yun Ming narrowed his eyes.
The material used to craft Yun Ming's battle armor was the External Spirit Bone of the Death Demon Spider stripped from Tang San, and now the origin poison of the Death Spider Emperor they were facing belonged to the same lineage—was there something here? But when the poisonous mist was about to envelop them earlier, the back armor hadn't reacted; why was it suddenly becoming restless now?
Yun Ming pondered these questions while switching tactics. He saw white flames ignite on the Atlas Divine Spear, and his Anti-air Power erupted fully, forming a white barrier that trapped all the poisonous mist inside.
Before finding the reason, Yun Ming intended to suppress the mist first and maintain the status quo to see what the cause was.
Ya Li was somewhat puzzled by Yun Ming's actions. However, seeing Yun Ming close his eyes and sensing the formless Spiritual Power fluctuations radiating from him, she knew that Yun Ming had likely discovered something unusual, so she temporarily stopped her soul skill and waited quietly for Yun Ming to wake up.
Yun Ming's Divine Origin Realm Spiritual Power connected with his back battle armor, silently sensing the thing that had caught its attention.
Having fought for so long, he was certain that the Death Spider Emperor must have been dead for some years. Although the remains still carried dense origin toxins, the spirit bone had been taken away, and things like soul power and spiritual power had long since dissipated, so was there something special in this potent poison that was attracting his back armor?
Ten seconds, twenty seconds. One minute.
After about two or three minutes, under the sensing of Yun Ming's formidable Spiritual Origin, he quickly discovered the secret behind the back armor's agitation.
Sensing the strange fluctuations of that object, Yun Ming opened his eyes, his face showing surprise as he murmured.
"It's actually this thing."
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader