Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

"Logically speaking, shouldn't a top-quality spider soul beast like the Man-Faced Demon Spider be smarter than the average thousand-year soul beast? But why do I feel like this particular Man-Faced Demon Spider is even dumber?"

Chen Ming looked at Dugu Bo with some confusion and asked.

"I don't know. Maybe this Man-Faced Demon Spider is just special—one of those naturally dumber individuals," Dugu Bo replied hesitantly after pondering for a moment. He had encountered Man-Faced Demon Spiders before, but none like this one.

Individual differences are normal.

For example, some people are born stronger than others, and some are born smarter. Similarly, in the world of soul beasts, some are naturally dumber than their peers. However, such creatures rarely grow to maturity.

Since the Man-Faced Demon Spider was already dead, the two decided not to dwell on the matter further. Chen Ming used his Spiritual Eye to observe the changes inside the spider's corpse. After carefully examining it, he discovered a peculiar soul power cluster in the spider's head—something that hadn't been there when it was alive.

Chen Ming stepped forward, used the tip of his tail to pry open the Man-Faced Demon Spider's head, enveloped his hand in soul power, and extracted the unusual soul power cluster.

Sure enough, this cluster of soul power, which hadn't existed while the spider was alive, turned out to be a soul bone—specifically, the rare and precious head soul bone. Because it came from the Man-Faced Demon Spider's head, it was one of the rarest and most valuable types of the six major soul bones.

"Maybe it died from anger? Or perhaps it just had bad luck?" Chen Ming wondered. Unfortunately, the drop wasn't the highly coveted external soul bone, the Eight Spider Lances, which could grow with the user. This left him somewhat disappointed.

"A... soul bone?" Dugu Bo gasped as he looked at the item in Chen Ming's hand. He wanted to say something to express his excitement but ultimately held back, realizing he wasn't as thrilled as he thought he'd be.

After all, why did soul bones, supposedly rare treasures, seem to be appearing more and more frequently lately? First, there was the external soul bone, then the torso bone, and now this head bone. It was starting to feel like they weren't as rare as they used to be.

"Wait, a spider dumber than its peers can still drop a head soul bone?" Chen Ming asked, staring at the soul bone in his hand, still puzzled by the situation.

Typically, a head soul bone enhances mental power. But would a head soul bone from a fool of a soul beast only increase skull hardness instead?

"The world is full of wonders. Who knows?" Dugu Bo replied, unable to explain the phenomenon himself.

"Man-Faced Demon Spiders rarely drop soul bones. Even when they do, it's usually offensive arm bones. Head soul bones like this are almost unheard of," Dugu Bo explained, somewhat hesitating before continuing.

"Chen Ming..." Dugu Bo's tone grew serious. "This head soul bone is decent in quality, but its age is too low. The Man-Faced Demon Spider isn't a soul beast known for mental abilities, so this soul bone likely won't grant any outstanding soul skills. While it's valuable, I suggest you don't absorb it just yet.

With your talent and strength, you'll have much better opportunities in the future."

Dugu Bo didn't want to outright say that he intended for Chen Ming to inherit his head soul bone after he died. Even for someone as unrestrained as Dugu Bo, that was a somewhat awkward topic.

But the implication was clear.

"Grandpa, I understand. This head soul bone is just a pleasant surprise, a nice bonus. But for me, its quality is too low. I definitely won't absorb it," Chen Ming reassured him.

Chen Ming toyed with the Man-Faced Demon Spider's head soul bone, which resembled an infant's skull, and used his spiritual senses to slowly analyze the unique laws within the soul bone.

He could feel that the soul bone contained a soul skill that the Man-Faced Demon Spider hadn't displayed during its life, and it seemed to be of decent quality. However, whether it was Spider God Possession or some stealth skill, he couldn't say for sure.

Perhaps, when he had time in the future, he could study the head soul bone and see if he could replicate the soul skill within it.

Seeing that Chen Ming wasn't tempted to absorb the soul bone, Dugu Bo breathed a sigh of relief. After examining the head soul bone briefly, Chen Ming handed it to Dugu Bo, who stored it in his Hundred Treasures Pouch. Then, Chen Ming turned his attention to the Man-Faced Demon Spider's soul ring.

After observing it for a moment, Chen Ming shook his head.

Even though it was the type of soul beast he'd been looking for, its age was far too low—about half of what he could currently absorb. Even if he could enhance the soul ring's age, it wasn't worth it.

Moreover, none of the Man-Faced Demon Spider's abilities particularly appealed to him.

Its devouring ability was more of an innate talent than a true devouring soul skill. Its poison wasn't potent enough to provide significant benefits, and its close-combat abilities were mediocre. Overall, everything about it was just slightly below average.

If his martial soul were a spider, attaching the Man-Faced Demon Spider's soul ring might have been worthwhile, as it would enhance venom potency and improve web quality.

Unfortunately, while scorpions and spiders might share a common ancestor, scorpions don't spin webs.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider's corpse had little value. In this era, most of it couldn't be utilized. Only its legs and venom glands were worth anything.

While normal spider soul beasts' silk sacs could fetch a decent price, the Man-Faced Demon Spider only produced three strands of silk per day, all of which had been used up earlier. Its empty silk sac was worthless, so Chen Ming casually removed it and stored it in his soul tool as a memento.

As for the corpses of the Wind Demon Wolves that had been slaughtered earlier, Chen Ming examined them briefly. Despite their miserable deaths, their low quality and age meant none had dropped a soul bone. Chen Ming quickly lost interest.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider wasn't a great creature, nor were the Wind Demon Wolves. After all, the infamous wolf thieves of Douluo Continent were born from Wind Demon Wolves defiling humans.

When the Wind Demon Wolves encountered the Man-Faced Demon Spider, it was just one small disaster meeting a larger one. It didn't matter which died; no one would feel sorry for them.

After resolving the small incident with the Man-Faced Demon Spider, Chen Ming and Dugu Bo continued toward the Emerald Gecko's territory.

Unlike normal geckos that live in deserts or forests, the Emerald Gecko's habitat was a wet, poisonous swamp—a complete contrast to the typical gecko environment.

Perhaps it was due to the dragon bloodline in their veins. These creatures resembled lizards more than geckos.

The poisonous swamp was a deadly zone for soul masters below the Soul Ancestor rank. Its harsh environment and abundance of venomous soul beasts made it a place few dared to enter.

But for Dugu Bo and Chen Ming, this environment was advantageous. Being here even seemed to energize their soul power.

After casually dispatching some venomous insects and poison-type soul beasts that crossed their path, the two entered the heart of the Emerald Gecko's territory.

Unlike the small family groups of Dark Illusion Scorpions, the Emerald Geckos formed a massive colony with widespread distribution in the swamp.

However, for some reason, the Emerald Geckos near the outskirts were mostly at the hundred-year level, with barely any reaching the thousand-year mark. It was as if the higher-age Emerald Geckos had all disappeared.

"This doesn't make sense," Dugu Bo muttered, puzzled by this abnormality. His vigilance increased, and he prepared to take Chen Ming and retreat at a moment's notice.

As they ventured deeper into the Emerald Gecko's territory, Dugu Bo was shocked to discover that the several ten-thousand-year Emerald Geckos that should have been living there were all dead. In their place was a tiny but exceptionally peculiar-looking scorpion.