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

Huh? Why did the commotion stop?

In a certain part of the forest, Fang Chang noticed that the noise from the valley had suddenly ceased. Curious, he looked up, but the dense foliage blocked his view of what was happening outside the valley.

Should he go back and check? He turned his body toward the valley, hesitated, then turned back.

No matter the outcome of the battle over there, it wouldn't affect him much. If he went to satisfy his curiosity and happened to run into Dugu Bo, that would be a big problem.

His "Stealth" skill could fool most soul masters, but whether it would be equally effective against a powerhouse at the Title Douluo level was something Fang Chang wasn't sure of, and he wasn't willing to test it.

He continued wandering through the forest, this time without using the "Hunting Instinct" skill. After eating slimes for so long, it was time for a change of taste.

The earlier commotion from the valley had drawn out the spirit beasts that usually hid in the shadows of the Sunset Forest. With Dugu Bo's attention focused over there, it was a good opportunity to hunt.

Taking advantage of his "Stealth" skill, Fang Chang swallowed a 1,700-year Soft Bone Rabbit in one gulp. Once the cooldown for his stealth skill ended, he activated it again and continued forward.

He hadn't gone far when, in the center of the forest ahead, a small mound suddenly rose from the ground. The mound grew larger, and a burrowing rat emerged, hopping toward a fallen fruit on the ground.

Just as it was about to reach the fruit, the ground beneath it bulged again, and a large mouth shot out, swallowing both the rat and the fruit in one bite.

When Fang Chang got a closer look at the owner of the mouth, he realized it was also a spider-type spirit beast, half of its body still buried in the ground.

An Earth Demon Spider! Fang Chang immediately recognized it.

This was a case of being in the right place at the right time. Earth Demon Spiders usually stayed underground and rarely surfaced, but this one had just happened to cross his path.

Race: Earth Demon Spider (devourable)

Soul Power: 13,000 years

HP: 3,700/3,700

Strength: 690

Attack: 601

Defense: 689

Speed: 696

As Fang Chang observed it, the Earth Demon Spider chewed on the burrowing rat while twisting its body, preparing to retreat back underground.

Fang Chang wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away. He quickly rushed forward, driving his spider leg hard into the Earth Demon Spider's back.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss!" The Earth Demon Spider, caught off guard, let out a low growl and instinctively tried to burrow deeper into the ground.

But in terms of size, the Earth Demon Spider was much smaller than Fang Chang. In terms of strength, Fang Chang was several times stronger.

Despite its efforts, the Earth Demon Spider remained firmly pinned by Fang Chang. It was like an earthworm caught halfway by a human—no matter how hard it tried to burrow, it was futile.

Listening to its continuous hissing, Fang Chang had an idea. He used his "Telepathy" skill to try and establish a connection with it.

The telepathy quickly received a response, but the messages were fragmented and unclear. "I… don't… kill…"

From these broken messages, Fang Chang could roughly piece together what the 10,000-year Earth Demon Spider was trying to say—it was begging for mercy, hoping Fang Chang would let it go.

Unlike humans, most spirit beasts only began to develop some level of intelligence after reaching the 10,000-year mark. Before that, they survived almost entirely on instinct.

This 13,000-year Earth Demon Spider, in terms of intelligence, was probably equivalent to a three- or four-year-old child. Being able to express itself at all was already impressive.

Fang Chang looked at it, and it turned its head to look back at him. Realizing Fang Chang's overwhelming strength, its eyes no longer held any trace of hostility.

Fang Chang exerted a bit more force with his spider leg, pulling the other half of the Earth Demon Spider's body out of the ground.

Sigh, what a shame. It's a male.

He sighed. This Earth Demon Spider was just unlucky to have run into him. For Fang Chang, who was in desperate need of soul power to grow, he couldn't let such an opportunity slip by.

Besides… in the Sunset Forest, encountering a 10,000-year Earth Demon Spider—how could Fang Chang not devour it?

With that thought, he ignored the Earth Demon Spider's pleas and began injecting paralyzing venom into it through his spider leg.

The Earth Demon Spider felt the pain in its back fade, and half of its body went numb. Panicking, it twisted its head and spat a "Web Prison" at Fang Chang.

The web hardened in mid-air as it encountered the wind, landing on Fang Chang. But at such close range, the Web Prison didn't seem to have much effect.

Fang Chang's spider leg remained firmly lodged in the Earth Demon Spider's back, and the speed at which he injected the paralyzing venom only increased.

The upgraded venom was clearly more potent. In just a short while, most of the Earth Demon Spider's body had gone numb, hanging limply from Fang Chang's leg.

Only its head remained active, continuously spitting webs at Fang Chang. But even its head was gradually losing control.

Soon, it fell completely silent. Fang Chang activated his "Stretchy" skill, enlarging his body by about half, and forcefully broke free from the hardened Web Prison.

Then he opened his mouth, first biting off the troublesome head of the Earth Demon Spider, then slowly devouring the rest of its body.

Having not eaten for several days, Fang Chang naturally took his time savoring the meal, enjoying the satisfaction of consuming his prey bite by bite.

Just then, an uninvited guest ruined the moment.

It was another spider-type spirit beast, a distant relative of Fang Chang's—a 6,000-year Man-Faced Demon Spider.

Seeing Fang Chang feasting on the Earth Demon Spider, it boldly jumped out, thrusting a sharp spider leg straight at Fang Chang's head in an attempt to ambush him and steal his prey.

Facing this sudden attack, Fang Chang raised his head and spat out a "Poison Web." In its panic, the Man-Faced Demon Spider also used the same skill.

The two poison webs collided in mid-air. Fang Chang's web was nearly nine meters wide, with each strand as thick as a finger.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider's web, on the other hand, was only about four to five meters wide, with strands as thin as chopsticks. In both size and quality, it was far inferior.

As expected, Fang Chang's web enveloped the Man-Faced Demon Spider's web and wrapped around it, dragging it to the ground.

Ugh, another male. What bad luck.

Fang Chang glanced at it with dissatisfaction, but soon, his eyes lit up, and his attitude toward the Man-Faced Demon Spider softened considerably.

Could it be… that one?

In the original story, it was in the Sunset Forest that a 6,000-year Man-Faced Demon Spider ambushed Xiao Wu, nearly killing her. Fortunately, the Yearning Heartbroken Red saved her life.

What a disgrace… no, a hero among spiders!

Fang Chang was utterly impressed and immediately decided not to eat it. Such a hero should be left alive.

After all, he had already thrown the Yearning Heartbroken Red into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. If this spider could really pull off something big like in the original story, then…

Of course, even though he wouldn't eat it, it still needed to be punished for ruining his meal. The punishment? Watching Fang Chang devour the Earth Demon Spider bite by bite.