MTLNOVEL Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Attempts
Half a month had passed. While Fang Chang supervised the ten Blazing Fire Ant Queens laying eggs, he also began to focus on another major task—how to establish his spider forces.
Unlike ants, most spiders are solitary creatures. They dislike living in groups and lack the strict hierarchical structure and division of labor seen in ant colonies.
This was especially true for spider-type soul beasts, which were more wild and powerful. This became the first challenge Fang Chang faced.
He had once tried capturing five small spider-type soul beasts and confining them in the same room, providing them with ample food and water.
But when he checked on them two days later, only one of the five spider-type soul beasts was still alive. The other four had died from fighting each other.
The sole survivor also succumbed to its injuries shortly after, clearly showing that simply gathering them together was not a successful strategy.
Next, he tried keeping one male and one female spider-type soul beast together.
For the first few days, the two spider-type soul beasts coexisted peacefully. But soon, they grew tired of each other and began fighting, resulting in mutual injuries.
As the old saying goes, "One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, unless they are a male and a female." But these spiders couldn't even manage that! Fang Chang was starting to get frustrated.
To make matters worse, Fang Chang discovered that some species of spider-type soul beasts exhibited behaviors like "mother eating offspring" or even "offspring eating mother," which made his plans even more difficult to execute.
Fang Chang felt overwhelmed. If he were dealing with spider-type soul beasts over ten thousand years old, which had some level of intelligence, it might have been easier. But such soul beasts were extremely rare, making it hard to form a sizable force.
To truly establish his envisioned Star Dou Underground Lair, he had to solve this problem first.
After countless attempts, Fang Chang finally found a compromise. He divided the large rooms in the lair into smaller compartments, separating the spider-type soul beasts from one another.
This barely solved the issue of housing, allowing the few soul beasts he had captured to settle into the lair.
But then, he encountered an even more serious problem: these spider-type soul beasts had no discipline and didn't understand how to follow his commands.
When Fang Chang issued orders, the small spiders he had captured would only cower in the corners, trembling. No matter how he demonstrated, they remained motionless.
In a fit of anger, Fang Chang simply devoured them all, returning to square one.
The first attempt had undoubtedly ended in failure, forcing Fang Chang to temporarily shelve his plans for the underground lair.
He now deeply missed the human children in Whitewater City. They were so clever, so obedient, and so easy to manipulate!
Even older humans, as long as they were given a small benefit, would flock to him. These spiders were nothing like that!
After devouring the spiders, Fang Chang removed the spider silk sealing the first storage room and entered.
The four-hundred-year-old Blazing Fire Ant Queen immediately grew extremely tense upon seeing Fang Chang. The egg it was about to lay got stuck, causing it to writhe in pain.
Fang Chang ignored this and efficiently collected the twenty or so eggs that had already been laid, dragging them out of the storage room and resealing the entrance.
He then began devouring the eggs, using the food to numb his nerves and temporarily forget the frustration of his failure.
Evolution Conditions:
- Soul power reaching 50,000 years (Not achieved, current: 43,945 years)
- 300,000 evolution points (Achieved, current: 309,360)
- Devour 10,000 soul beasts (Not achieved, 9,169/10,000)
He glanced at his evolution panel. After hunting for over half a month, his soul power had increased again, and he had met the evolution point requirement.
The final condition of devouring 10,000 soul beasts would likely be met in just two more days.
By then, he could temporarily leave the lair and hunt stronger soul beasts in the deeper parts of the forest.
His current lair was located on the outermost edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, where most soul beasts ranged from a few hundred to three or four thousand years in strength. For Fang Chang now, the gains were minimal.
9,991, 9,992, 9,993… 10,000!
On the third night, after devouring another batch of Blazing Fire Ant eggs, Fang Chang finally achieved the most challenging evolution condition he had ever faced—devouring 10,000 soul beasts.
He looked at the remaining dozen or so eggs in front of him and, without hesitation, devoured them in a few bites.
He then removed the spider silk sealing the ten storage rooms and released the ten Blazing Fire Ant Queens.
Now that his goal had been achieved and the underground lair was temporarily on hold, these Blazing Fire Ant Queens had provided significant assistance. Fang Chang, feeling a rare pang of conscience, decided to set them free.
After this, he identified a direction and returned to the valley previously occupied by the Giant Demon Ape.
The valley had now become a paradise for soul beasts. Small soul beasts from who-knows-where were happily feasting on soul fruits, rapidly growing stronger.
Fang Chang glanced at them but didn't pay much attention. He climbed up the valley and headed toward the area where he had once fought for his life.
Beyond the valley lay the barren land that had once been dominated by the ten-thousand-year-old Earth Demon Spider. Now, it had returned to the control of the burrowing rats, who were frolicking above and below the ground.
These burrowing rats all had soul power exceeding five thousand years, and there were at least twenty of them. But as soon as Fang Chang approached, they all scurried into the ground, disappearing without a trace.
Sighing, Fang Chang shook his head and continued deeper into the forest. He didn't stop at the fourth ring but pressed on toward the third ring, an area he had never ventured into before.
The third ring was home to soul beasts mostly over ten thousand years old, with occasional appearances of twenty or thirty-thousand-year-old soul beasts, or even stronger ones.
Previously, due to his limited strength, he had never dared to enter this area. But now, it had become his ideal hunting ground.
The boundary between the third and fourth rings wasn't as clear as the one between the fourth ring and the outer areas. The most noticeable differences were the richer spiritual energy, the lusher trees, and the significantly stronger soul beasts.
As Fang Chang entered this area, he immediately spotted a thirteen-thousand-year-old Fire Cloud Rhino-Armored Bull quietly grazing by the river.
He quickly activated his "Stealth" skill and quietly approached the Fire Cloud Rhino-Armored Bull. Targeting the unprotected area of its abdomen, Fang Chang thrust his spider leg upward from the ground, striking with full force.
The Fire Cloud Rhino-Armored Bull panicked at the sudden attack and instinctively tried to retreat. But by then, it was too close to Fang Chang, and his attack had already landed.
Crack! The spider leg pierced perfectly into the bull's abdomen, sinking forty to fifty centimeters deep.
Fang Chang took advantage of the momentum, twisting his spider leg inside the bull's body and releasing a surge of venom from the tip.
The Fire Cloud Rhino-Armored Bull struggled for a few moments before collapsing in pain. A ten-thousand-year soul beast had been defeated so easily under Fang Chang's sneak attack.