Chapter 1: If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them
Is there any opening more hellish than this?
Nan Feng stared at the half-broken spider leg he had left and couldn't help but curse inwardly.
Transmigrating into a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, the Death Spider Emperor sounded awe-inspiring on paper, ruling over the Death Canyon like an overlord.
But the reality?
He was currently in a near-death, AFK state, hanging on by a thread, just waiting to be "looted."
Bibi Dong.
That woman was practically a master of kite tactics.
Over the past year, she had used every trick imaginable: traps, poison, even provoking other soul beasts to gang up on him, slowly grinding down this so-called top-tier BOSS until he was left with only a sliver of life.
Right now, through the spiderweb-like spiritual sense spreading across his territory, Nan Feng could clearly feel it:
That woman had entered Death Canyon again!
And she was rushing straight toward his nest.
Run? Don't joke.
With this crippled body, if he stepped outside his domain, those rival soul beasts eyeing his territory would teach him how to be a spider within minutes.
Fight? That would be suicide.
"Am I seriously going to drop dead the moment I transmigrate?"
Nan Feng stared at the faint light filtering into the cave entrance, his mind racing.
No. There was still one way.
If you can't beat them, join them!
Bibi Dong's martial soul was also the Death Spider Emperor. According to the fragmented memories lingering in this body, there was an extremely special bloodline resonance between identical martial souls and soul beasts.
This wasn't just predator and prey.
It was perfect compatibility.
Since he couldn't avoid the blade, he might as well choose a different way to live.
If the Tianmeng Iceworm could preserve its consciousness through sacrifice and reside within a human body, then why couldn't he, who possessed equally top-tier spiritual power and vitality, do the same?
"You want my soul ring and soul bone, right?" Nan Feng endured the searing pain as he forced his broken body upright. "No need for you to do it. I'll sacrifice myself!"
...
At the same time, Bibi Dong passed through the poison-misted Death Canyon and silently infiltrated the enormous underground nest of the Death Spider Emperor.
She knew very well that cornered beasts were the most dangerous.
Especially a hundred-thousand-year soul beast with the innate skill "Undying Body." Its dying counterattack could easily drag even a Titled Douluo down with it.
So she had waited.
She had waited until the Death Spider Emperor was so weak it wouldn't even be able to self-destruct.
Now was the moment.
Holding her breath, the phantom of her Soul Devouring Spider Emperor martial soul flickered behind her, ready to deliver the fatal strike.
But when she stepped into the core area of the nest, her pupils suddenly shrank.
Empty?
That mountain-sized spider body was gone!
Only pools of dark green blood remained on the ground, not yet dried remnants of its previous grievous injuries.
"Escaped? Impossible. Injured like that, how could it escape my perception?"
Alarm bells rang in Bibi Dong's mind as an intense sense of unease surged up.
Just as she was about to release her spiritual power to search the surroundings...
A terrifying pressure that made her soul tremble erupted behind her without warning!
"Shh!!!"
Accompanied by a piercing screech, a colossal shadow engulfed her instantly.
She spun around sharply.
There, clinging upside down to a shadowed rock wall behind her, was the Death Spider Emperor.
Its previously broken legs had fully regenerated, sharp as spears and gleaming with cold light.
The once-cracked carapace was now smooth and flawless, purple-black radiance circulating across its body. The evil, domineering aura was even stronger than when she had first encountered it.
Near death?
This was clearly its peak state!
"How is this possible?!"
A storm raged in Bibi Dong's heart.
Half a month ago, she had personally watched three top-tier ten-thousand-year soul beasts tear half its body apart. Even its proud "Undying Body" had failed due to exhausted soul power.
That was a foundational injury.
Not even ten years of recuperation might have healed it.
Had it been feigning weakness this entire year? Luring her deep inside, waiting to reverse-kill her within this sealed nest?
A bead of cold sweat slid down Bibi Dong's temple.
Facing a peak-state hundred-thousand-year Death Spider Emperor, even as a twin martial soul genius, her chance of victory wasn't even thirty percent.
What she didn't know:
At this very moment, Nan Feng was panicking like crazy inside.
'Stay calm! I must stay calm! If I show even the slightest flaw, that lunatic woman will tear me apart!'
Just moments ago, he had forcibly burned his life origin to activate the repair effect of "Undying Body."
This was nothing more than an empty shell.
If earlier he might still have had a chance to fight Bibi Dong head-on, now?
He would be utterly crushed.
But he had no choice.
If he lay there like a dead dog begging for mercy, "Spare me, heroine! I'm willing to sacrifice!"
With Bibi Dong's suspicious and ruthless personality, she would stab him to death first and absorb the soul ring later at her leisure.
After all, A dead soul beast was the safest kind.
To sacrifice and preserve his consciousness like the Tianmeng Iceworm, becoming her "cheat," one prerequisite had to be established: Deterrence.
He needed to make her believe that killing him would come at a catastrophic cost—possibly mutual destruction.
Only when she couldn't win or when the price was too high would she consider listening to a "win-win" proposal.
Nan Feng looked down from above, eight ghostly green eyes locking coldly onto Bibi Dong. He suppressed the dizziness caused by rapidly draining life force.
He didn't attack immediately.
Instead, he slowly opened his massive chelicerae. A sovereign-level spiritual fluctuation surged violently into Bibi Dong's mind:
"Human. Do you desire my power?"
Bibi Dong's heart trembled violently.
She already knew that hundred-thousand-year soul beasts possessed intelligence no less than humans, sometimes even more cunning.
But this was the first time in over a year of relentless pursuit that the Death Spider Emperor had initiated communication.
A hundred-thousand-year soul beast was at least comparable to a rank ninety-five-plus Super Douluo.
Such an overlord carried absolute pride in its bones.
Once cornered, they would rather self-destruct than let humans succeed.
That was precisely why she had never pushed too far.
Now, this old spider appeared to have "recovered to peak condition." Instead of killing her, it was initiating dialogue?
Bibi Dong did not respond.
Her body remained tense, soul power circulating quietly, ready to retreat at any moment.
Against a peak-state Death Spider Emperor, she had no chance.
For revenge, she had to endure. She could not die here.
If hunting failed, she would wait a few more years if necessary...
"You need not rush to leave. Nor be so tense."
Sensing her intent to withdraw, Nan Feng's enormous compound eyes glimmered faintly. His spiritual transmission carried a hint of teasing:
"In truth, ten years ago, when you first stepped into the outer perimeter of Death Canyon to train, I had already noticed you."
Bibi Dong's pupils contracted slightly.
Ten years ago?
Back then, she was still the Saintess. To break through the bottleneck of Soul Saint, she had ventured alone into Death Canyon to hunt a Death Spider Emperor for her seventh soul ring.
Had he been watching her even then?
"At that time, you were weak, but your martial soul piqued my interest. The Death Spider Emperor… it is quite rare for such a martial soul to appear in a human."
Nan Feng continued calmly.
"After you took the seventh soul ring and left, you vanished for years. I assumed you had died outside."
At those words, Bibi Dong's expression instantly turned pale.
Then a terrifying chill erupted from her body, not aimed at Nan Feng, but born of deep-rooted hatred and venomous resentment.
She had returned triumphantly to Spirit Hall with her seventh soul ring—
Only to be violated by that beast named Qian Xunji, imprisoned in a dark chamber, forced to give birth to the daughter she regarded as humiliation.
Until she learned to disguise herself, to bury her hatred deep within, that man finally lowered his guard and released her.
Afterward, she rushed into the Slaughter City like a madwoman, numbing herself in endless slaughter.
From above, Nan Feng could feel the chaotic fluctuations in her aura.
"Seems I touched upon something unpleasant."
His massive chelicerae tapped lightly against the rock wall, producing a crisp metallic sound. His tone shifted, growing meaningful:
"But my interest in you is not only because of your martial soul…"
His enormous head leaned forward slightly, eyes locked onto her.
"It is because of the aura on you."
"The aura of Rakshasa."
Bibi Dong froze.
The inheritance of the Rakshasa God.
This was her greatest secret—the opportunity she had risked her life for in Slaughter City. The ultimate trump card for her revenge against the Angel lineage.
No one else in this world should know.
How could this soul beast possibly sense it?!
"Surprised?"
Nan Feng seemed to relish her reaction. His compound eyes gleamed strangely as he continued his seamless performance.
"I have lived on this continent for more than fifty thousand years. Do you think I cannot recognize mere remnants of divine power?"
"Thirty thousand years ago, when the Rakshasa God ascended to the God Realm, that evil and majestic aura—I still remember it vividly."
He paused deliberately, tone turning playful.
"I simply didn't expect the Rakshasa aura to appear again. You must have already obtained the Rakshasa God's recognition… though you have yet to formally begin the divine trials."
"Let me guess… Rakshasa and Angel are mortal enemies. The condition to activate the Rakshasa divine trials, or perhaps the greatest obstacle, must involve the Angel lineage, correct?"
Bibi Dong was completely frozen.
If "Rakshasa aura" could be attributed to sharp perception, then linking it to the Angel lineage was no coincidence.
The condition to open the Rakshasa secret realm was to devour the soul of a Six-Winged Angel martial soul possessor.
He knew everything.
What kind of existence was this soul beast?!
Nan Feng watched her expression like she had seen a ghost and felt secretly delighted.
Good.
The more shaken she was, the smoother the upcoming "cooperation" would be.
—
End of Chapter