Seeing Yang Wudi launch his attack, Gu Li immediately activated his Martial Soul Avatar.
A perfectly normal person suddenly transformed into a monster after summoning his Martial Soul.
The skin on Gu Li's upper body was covered in a layer of grey armor, and even his face was obscured by a piece of carapace. Below his eyes, four small eyes sprouted out. Three pairs of grey spider legs emerged from his back, his arms transformed into similar grey spears, and his lower body was completely enveloped in a layer of grey light. At the same time, eight standard Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and four black—appeared and floated around him.
Gu Li, an eighty-sixth-level Control System Battle Soul Douluo, Martial Soul: Cave Demon Spider.
With the Martial Soul Avatar complete, the second purple Soul Ring on Gu Li's body lit up immediately.
Gu Li's fourth Soul Skill, 'Cave Spear Array', was activated.
In an instant, countless pitch-black, rock-hard spider silk spears erupted from the ground in the open space before the cave, thrusting directly at Yun Ming and the others without the slightest warning.
Seeing the incoming attack, everyone began to utilize their abilities.
Niu Gao activated his Martial Soul Avatar; his already broad frame expanded rapidly, his skin turned black in an instant, and an extremely thick layer of keratin suddenly emerged to cover his body. Without making any other moves, his first three Soul Rings lit up, and he directly braced himself against Gu Li's attack.
Ya Li's method of defense was similar; she pulled Yun Ming close to her, activated her Wish Angel Spirit, and triggered her third Soul Skill, 'Holy Wing Guardian'.
An Angel Phantom appeared behind Ya Li. The phantom embraced the two of them, its wings overlapping like a shield to block the attack for them.
"Ding, ding, ding, ding--"
A series of spider silk spears struck Niu Gao's pitch-black, gleaming keratin and Ya Li's shield. It was like poking at a steel plate; aside from producing crisp clanging sounds, they had no other effect.
As for Yang Wudi, seeing the pitch-black spider silk spears attacking from all directions, he hurriedly stopped and lit up his two Soul Rings—one yellow and one purple.
His first Soul Skill, 'Zhen', and his third Soul Skill, 'Bao', were activated.
As the Soul Skills triggered, he slammed the tip of his spear into the ground. A muffled boom erupted from the ground within a meter of Yang Wudi, and the spider silk spears shattered one after another.
This was the effect Yang Wudi had intended, but he hadn't paid much attention to the environment; there was a cave entrance not far from where he stood, which meant the ground here might not be solid.
Yang Wudi's explosion didn't just shatter the spider silk spears; it also caused the ground beneath his feet to collapse. Caught off guard, he fell directly into the cave.
Seeing Yang Wudi fall into the cave, Niu Gao shouted.
"Old Goat!"
At the same time, he raised his hands and exerted force through his feet, smashing all the surrounding spider silk spears. Ya Li also manipulated her angel wings to spread out, shattering all the surrounding spears.
Yun Ming first sensed Yang Wudi's condition and, finding that his aura was not weakening for the time being, turned to look for Gu Li. However, Gu Li was nowhere to be seen where he had been standing; only a large hole remained in the ground, with faint traces of Soul Power lingering at the opening. Gu Li's destination was self-evident.
Seeing this situation, Yun Ming arranged:
"Grandfather Niu, you go find my grandfather first! It seems there is a powerful Soul Beast over there. The two of us will go after Gu Li."
Niu Gao nodded and said in a deep voice:
"Alright, you two be careful. I will meet up with you once I find Old Goat."
After speaking, Niu Gao leaped down into the large pit Yang Wudi had blasted open. He knew a bit about Yun Ming's combat strength, so he wasn't overly worried.
Yun Ming and Ya Li also flickered, diving directly into the ground through the hole Gu Li had made.
After entering the cave, Ya Li slightly channeled her Soul Power, making the white Angel Holy Light on her body shine a bit brighter to illuminate the dark world underground. Yun Ming also raised his hand to summon the Atlas Divine Spear to guard against the unexpected.
Looking at the labyrinthine underground world before him, Yun Ming sensed Gu Li's Soul Power fluctuations. He looked toward the tunnel on his left and said to Ya Li:
"Stay close to me."
With that, he led the way into the tunnel, and Ya Li followed closely behind.
But they had barely stepped ten meters into the tunnel when countless spider silk spears erupted from the floor, ceiling, left, and right of the entire space, suddenly thrusting toward them.
Yun Ming's eyes narrowed as he rapidly swung the Atlas, severing all the spider silk.
Looking at the fragments of spider silk scattered on the ground, Ya Li said seriously:
"What an insidious Martial Soul ability!"
Comparing it to the Man Faced Demon Spider, the Cave Demon Spider belongs to the same top-tier existence among spider-type Soul Beasts, but it follows a very different path. The Man Faced Demon Spider is known for its formidable attack power and potent poison, while the Cave Demon Spider hunts its enemies in a different way. Although its reputation is not as great as the Man Faced Demon Spider's, nor is it as bloodthirsty, its insidiousness is incomparable.
The Man Faced Demon Spider excels in terrifying, swift, and domineering attacks, while the Cave Demon Spider is best at utilizing various terrains to create traps for its opponents, relying on its special skills to ambush and kill them. Its spider silk is completely different from that of the Man Faced Demon Spider. It has no toxicity, but it can take on various forms, unlike the single-purpose webs of the Man Faced Demon Spider, and is used to trap and kill opponents.
In a direct head-on confrontation, the Cave Demon Spider would certainly be no match for the Man Faced Demon Spider, but if it were in familiar terrain or at a certain distance, the one to die would definitely be the Man Faced Demon Spider.
Compared to the Man Faced Demon Spider, the Cave Demon Spider's silk is slightly thicker. Although it contains no toxins, its toughness exceeds that of the Man Faced Demon Spider's silk. Furthermore, it is coated with an extremely viscous liquid that solidifies upon contact with air; in an instant, the silk becomes as hard as steel, forming a true spider prison.
Moreover, the Cave Demon Spider's silk has a very special characteristic: it has no warning or energy fluctuations when activated. Therefore, no matter how strong one is, there is always a possibility of falling into the trap.
Yun Ming didn't speak; he simply held Ya Li's hand and continued forward. Although the Cave Demon Spider's abilities were more troublesome for him than those of Power Attack System Martial Souls, by using his Spiritual Power and five senses to perceive changes in the surrounding environment, it didn't have much of an impact on him.
On the other side of the cave, Gu Li sensed that his trap had been triggered, and his expression grew increasingly grave. He had been discovered far too quickly.
In addition to its special spider silk, the Cave Demon Spider has another very special ability: Concealment. It is not an invisibility skill, but rather, by controlling its own aura, it can completely suppress its presence for a short period, making it easier to hide, ambush opponents, and escape.
Gu Li had thought he had hidden his aura well enough to buy more time, but he hadn't expected the other party to arrive so quickly.
I must speed up! Thinking of this, Gu Li continued toward his destination without stopping.
As Gu Li dug his way toward his destination, he left spider silk traps along the way to obstruct Yun Ming and the others. Yun Ming, for his part, followed his own perceptions, dismantling traps while tracking his target.
Meanwhile, on the other side, with Yang Wudi and Niu Gao.
Niu Gao found Yang Wudi, who was unharmed, but they had encountered some new trouble.
Yang Wudi stared intently at the object in front of him and asked Niu Gao:
"Where is that bastard Gu Li?"
Niu Gao stared straight ahead and said casually.
"The two juniors went to chase him."
Upon receiving the answer, Yang Wudi nodded and spoke with a grave expression.
"We must get rid of this big guy quickly; I still want to kill Gu Li with my own hands!"
After seeing Yun Ming in action, he did not believe that Gu Li, at the Soul Douluo realm, could last long against him.
However, seeing the small eyes emitting a scarlet glow across from them, Niu Gao spoke up.
"Then the two of us had better step it up. You destroyed its home, and it doesn't seem like it wants to let us off."
Watching the small, shuffling steps of the creature opposite them, Yang Wudi said with a murderous look.
"Then let's slaughter it."
As his voice fell, the two old brothers tacitly launched an attack. Seeing the two move, the beast flashed with gray light, and countless Spider Silk Long Spears, just like the ones before, rapidly grew within the cave, intending to trap them.
This was a genuine Spiderweb Prison, the full-power version from a 70,000-year Cave Spider Emperor.
The place Gu Li chose for the final battle was naturally not random. Besides the fact that it contained the thing he mentioned, another very important point was that this place was the nest of a Cave Spider Emperor. The environment here was interconnected, which was not only very suitable for his combat style but also provided him with a "helper."
Originally, Gu Li had intended to lure Yang Wudi and the others down here to shift the trouble onto the Cave Spider Emperor, but he hadn't expected Yang Wudi to take the initiative, collapse the ground, and come over himself, saving him quite a bit of effort.
Just like that, Yang Wudi and Niu Gao were held back by the Cave Spider Emperor.
Back to Yun Ming's side.
As Yun Ming cut through these unoriginal spider silk traps one after another, he drew closer and closer to Gu Li.
"Snap, snap—"
Sensing that the Soul Power fluctuations in these Spider Silk Long Spears were a bit more intense than before, Yun Ming spoke.
"We should be almost there."
"Then let's hurry! We still don't know what the situation is with the two grandfathers," Ya Li said with some concern.
Yun Ming nodded, and the two continued to advance.
Before long, they walked through the final stretch, entered a relatively large cavern, and saw Gu Li once again.
Seeing the protagonist arrive, Gu Li said expressionlessly.
"To be able to find your way here so quickly, you really aren't simple."
Yun Ming looked at Gu Li and said casually.
"You, on the other hand, are quite simple. The traps along the way were all that same unoriginal spider silk; I was quite bored dismantling them."
Afterward, he scanned the surroundings and said offhandedly.
"Tell me, by luring us here so deliberately, what have you hidden here? Although I don't think it can save your life."
Gu Li was not surprised that Yun Ming could detect that something was wrong here; if the other party hadn't noticed after he had been so obvious, they would have been truly stupid. However, he still said coldly.
"If you want to know what's here, then survive my hands first!"
As he spoke, he activated Martial Soul Avatar and lunged fiercely at Yun Ming, the gray spears formed by his arms thrusting directly at Yun Ming's heart and waist.
Seeing the other party act so decisively, Yun Ming didn't say anything more, raising the Atlas Divine Spear to meet him. Aiming at the position of the spider spears, Yun Ming unleashed two lightning-fast stabs at the spear tips.
"Clang, clang—"
The moment the Atlas Divine Spear made contact with the spider spears, Gu Li's expression changed. He spat a mouthful of black "phlegm" directly at Yun Ming—this was cave spider silk. The silk condensed rapidly upon contact with the air, turning into a short arrow that shot straight at Yun Ming's face.
Yun Ming dodged the arrow, his offensive stalling for a split second. Gu Li took this opportunity to retreat rapidly, looking at the spear tips that had just touched the Atlas Divine Spear. The spider spears, which had looked exceptionally sharp, now had two small nicks on the tips after just a moment of contact, and faint traces of blood were seeping out.
Gu Li looked back at the Atlas Divine Spear in Yun Ming's hand, his eyes full of vigilance. Although his spear tips were formed from the front legs of his martial soul, the two foremost legs of a Cave Demon Spider were naturally exceptionally thick and sharp, comparable in strength to a high-level Weapon Spirit of the same rank. Even when encountering a martial soul focused on attack like the Soul Breaking Spear, he could put up a fight. Yet now, after just one head-on clash with Yun Ming, his spear tips were damaged. What exactly was the deal with the opponent's martial soul?
But Yun Ming clearly wasn't going to give him the answer. After dodging the hidden arrow, Yun Ming raised his spear to attack again. At the same time, one yellow and one black Spirit Ring lit up beneath his feet, and his Battle Armor manifested once more.
Yun Ming activated his Fourth Soul Skill, Atlas Overlord Spear, and his Third Soul Skill, Void Power.
Yun Ming entered a power-up mode; endless Void Power surged into his body, and his aura began to climb rapidly.
Regarding Gu Li, Yun Ming didn't actually have many thoughts. To him, Gu Li was just a piece of trash, and he just wanted to kill him quickly and be done with it.
As Gu Li felt the aura of Yun Ming surging in an instant, his expression changed drastically.
In a flash, Gu Li saw a silver light flicker, and Yun Ming appeared before him.
Gu Li looked into those golden-silver heterochromatic eyes, filled with killing intent and devoid of any warmth, and his heart trembled violently. But what chilled him even more was the Atlas Divine Spear thrusting rapidly toward him again; just looking at the brilliant Spear Light on the Atlas Divine Spear made his eyes ache.
He couldn't care about anything else, and three Spirit Rings—one yellow, one purple, and one black—lit up together beneath his feet.
Gu Li activated his first, third, and fifth soul skills simultaneously. The first, third, and fifth skills were Spider Silk Manipulation, Armor Enhancement, and Beast Spirit Amplification, respectively.
As the soul skills activated, the blood-colored patterns on Gu Li's entire suit of armor lit up and became increasingly thick. The spider spears formed by his arms were also rapidly covered in a layer of black keratin, making them look even tougher and sharper.
By the time he was ready, Yun Ming's attack was already right before his eyes. Seeing Yun Ming's strike, Gu Li only had time to cross his spider spears in front of his chest, attempting to resist the edge of the Atlas Spear.
Seeing this, white light flickered in Yun Ming's eyes, and a ring of White Flame was added to the Spear Light of the Atlas Divine Spear.
"Clang—"
The Atlas Divine Spear tapped against the spider spear, and Gu Li felt an incomparably sharp, world-suppressing peerless Spear Intent surging toward him from the weapon.
Gu Li's face flushed crimson, the veins on his forehead bulging as he struggled with all his might to resist the Atlas Edge of Yun Ming. It was useless, however; even with his full strength, both his spider spear and the armor on his body were slowly shattering.
"Crack, crack—"
The sound of breaking echoed incessantly until, finally, Yun Ming exerted more force and let out a thunderous shout.
"Break!"
Golden light flared brilliantly from the Atlas Divine Spear, and endless Spear Light erupted from the tip, piercing through his arms and engulfing Gu Li's entire body. It shattered his armor to pieces and slammed him into the cave wall with a deafening boom.
"Boom!"
Embedded in the cave wall, Gu Li's Soul Skill was broken, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. Of course, given that he was covered in wounds from head to toe and bleeding profusely, one more mouthful hardly mattered.
Covered in blood, Gu Li lifted his head slightly to look at Yun Ming, who was walking slowly toward him, and said in disbelief.
"How is this possible! How could you be this strong!!"
Yun Ming only had Level 59 Soul Power; even with buffing Soul Skills, he shouldn't have been able to defeat him so easily. It was completely illogical!
However, for Gu Li, who had carelessly taken a direct hit from Yun Ming while in his powered-up state, this result was only natural. The last person to take an attack of this magnitude was the Howling Sky Douluo Tang Xiao, who possessed the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul. For a Control System Soul Douluo like Gu Li to dare take such an attack head-on, he was naturally going to suffer the consequences.
Yun Ming did not answer him, instead saying.
"It's over."
Seeing Yun Ming treat him as if he were nothing, Gu Li could no longer take it and shrieked at the top of his lungs.
"Die! Everyone just die!!"
As he spoke, his Fourth Soul Skill lit up once more, and a massive object was pushed up from underground by spider silk before it began to rapidly dissolve.—
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader