Chapter 520: The Ultimate Poison King! The Web-Spun Gray Spider!

Chapter 520: The Ultimate Poison King! The Web-Spun Gray Spider!

'Hissss!'

'Chirp, chirp, chirp!'

'Cackle, cackle, cackle...'

A series of sounds, accompanied by the probing of the spatial detector, echoed from the display screen into the ears of everyone present.

These chilling sounds, coupled with the almost gory and brutal scenes on the screen, caused Qin Xiaoxue, who had relatively less exposure to such experiences, to furrow her brows and abruptly turn her head away, followed by a bout of dry heaving.

This was a bloody world of slaughter and consumption.

Within the grayish interior of the cauldron.

It was as if an indescribable, peculiar force controlled all the insects that entered the cauldron's space.

Venomous snakes, silkworms, moths, bees, and various other species, even those of the same kind,

all had bloodshot eyes, frantically fighting and devouring one another.

Even more horrifying, some insects were still biting into the corpses of other venomous creatures when they themselves became prey, devoured by another attacker that seemed to appear out of thin air.

This scene of pure slaughter was entirely different from the beastmaster battles Qin Xiaoxue had witnessed.

It was a genuine case of survival of the fittest.

This was precisely what made it difficult for Qin Xiaoxue, who had mostly lived within the confines of an ivory tower, to accept.

She wasn't inexperienced, having encountered numerous simulations and real-life assessments in secret realms, and even witnessed quite a few of these.

But the brutality, cruelty, and bloodiness of these insects, coupled with the chilling atmosphere, were indeed shocking.

Su Ping glanced at Miss Qin with disdain,

completely forgetting that when he first understood the purpose of this object, he was only slightly more knowledgeable than Miss Qin.

On the other hand, the others nearby were truly experienced and well-traveled, showing no signs of disturbance.

In fact, Master Yin even commented with interest:

"Within the Venom Cauldron, beastmaster blood and spiritual power can be converted into a special energy that influences venomous insects.

Allowing these insects to fight and devour each other is truly fascinating. What kind of energy is this? I wonder how the Venom Cauldron creates such energy!

The ancient beastmasters were also not to be underestimated. The forging techniques of artifacts like the Venom Cauldron, as well as the inheritance of beastmaster feng shui masters, have been largely lost!"

The old man sighed.

It was clear that he was amazed by the wonders of the Venom Cauldron.

However, Master Yin's astonishment came a bit too early, as the subsequent situation still exceeded his imagination.

Amidst the ongoing battle, the number of insects in the arena gradually decreased.

The space was filled with pus and blood, countless remains, and terrifying toxins that continued to corrode,

transforming this area into a deadly wasteland.

Nevertheless, within this deadly zone, several powerful insects managed to survive.

Those that had endured until this moment were undoubtedly formidable.

At this point, Liu Fuhai, standing nearby, spoke up:

"Ladies and gentlemen, shall we place some bets and gamble once more?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present, except for Qin Xiaoxue, who exchanged a glance, showed signs of interest.

It was evident that those who had been watching from the beginning had, at an early stage, identified several powerful insects they favored.

Of course, those that had survived until this point were primarily distinguished by their realm.

Even in the wildest and most remote areas within the human domain, there were regular patrols by legions.

Here, the Archon Rank was the upper limit.

Monarch Rank beasts like Tai Shan, who would be captured upon discovery.

Therefore, at this moment, the powerful insects that remained within the Venom Cauldron, occupying their own territory, were mostly of the Archon Rank.

Although it might seem cruel, one couldn't deny that activities like cricket fighting or cockfighting had endured for so long for a reason.

As if on cue, everyone nodded in agreement:

"Yes!"

As the words fell, Liu Fuhai pointed at a small green snake on the screen.

"I choose the Jade Green Snake! A lower-ranked companion beast of the Emerald Leaf Snake King! I'll bet on a Monarch Rank resource!"

"A good choice," Master Yin commented with a relaxed demeanor, clearly not concerned about Su Ping's selection. "Looks like you've also set your sights on something, Master Su."

Su Ping smiled and nodded, pointing to a unique companion beast beside him:

"I choose the Ghost-faced Moth."

Everyone's attention turned to the Ghost-faced Moth, its body covered in various bloodstains, and its ghostly face on the wings appeared even more sinister beneath the fresh blood.

Its realm was also impressive, at the sixth rank of the Archon Tier.

As a flying companion beast, although insect flight was not as agile as the Divine Wind Sparrow, it still held the advantage in the air.

Seeing another potential candidate being chosen, Zhu Hong quickly pointed to one:

"Then I'll go for the Black Sand Scorpion. That little guy has a clever mind.

"The Black Sand Scorpion, a venomous creature adept at attacking from the shadows, seemed to be the most intelligent among the venomous creatures present. It had not been entirely affected by the madness within the Venom Cauldron, maintaining its own hunting rhythm.

Although everyone could see that as the number of consumed venomous creatures increased, the energy within them was amplifying, the most crucial thing at this moment was to maintain maximum combat power and recovery for the upcoming Puppet King Battle.

Qin Erlong and Meng Yao also stepped up, each choosing a Tyrant Bee and a White Dew Silkworm as their targets.

Su Ping, however, hesitated for a moment: "I say, seniors, you've all chosen high-level, talented ones. What's left for me is a bunch of old, weak, and disabled ones!"

Su Ping looked around and noticed a few Archon Rank creatures among them.

But based on their cultivation realms and displayed combat power, they were still a bit inferior to the choices made by the old veterans.

Su Ping's face was filled with worry.

"Su Ping, I see the battle is about to start, and you still haven't made your choice?" Old Liu said with a smirk.

Su Ping glanced at him speechlessly and, after scanning the area, pointed to one of them: "This one."

Everyone looked in that direction.

It was a gray spider.

It didn't seem any different from the other venomous creatures, and in fact, this gray spider didn't even possess venomous attributes.

It had no excess elemental energy, relying solely on its spider instincts and physical strength.

The Web Gray Spider, a common and widespread insect companion beast.

Indeed, even when this companion beast reaches the Archon Rank, it is still considered common.

Of course, Archon Rank Web Gray Spiders are quite rare.

Yes,

The Web Gray Spider is merely an Elite Rank companion beast.

Elite Rank Tenth Tier is the limit for this creature.

However, within the Venom Cauldron, there exists one that has broken through its racial limit, reaching the Archon Rank First Tier—a relatively rare occurrence.

But it's only relatively rare.

As for whether it can become the ultimate Puppet King, it's highly unlikely.

The Web Gray Spider lacks toxicity, and its strength lies solely in its web-weaving ability.

The web of the Web Gray Spider is more adhesive and sticky compared to ordinary spider companion beasts, and it can impair many of its opponents' abilities.

Therefore, at the Elite Rank, the Web Gray Spider is still quite formidable, especially when waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

However, within the Venom Cauldron, it might not be so simple.

Even when facing other insect companion beasts, it poses some threat, but Su Ping didn't expect to win.

After everyone finished placing their bets, Zhu Hong smiled and remarked, "These little guys probably don't realize that this Puppet King Battle might be the most significant transformation opportunity in their lives!"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement and turned their gazes towards Su Ping.

Su Ping smiled and said, "Let's see if there's any special talent worth cultivating. Otherwise, it'll end up in the Rock Heart, or rather, the Insect Heart, to fend for itself."

Liu Fuhai clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Damn, you're really capable of taming it?"

Su Ping nodded. "One of the functions of the Venom Vase is that when a Puppet King is chosen, it will be attracted to the beast tamer's blood dropped into the vase during its use. Although it's not a soul contract, the beast will still obey commands and have an innate affinity."

With this ability, Su Ping had managed to light up the companion beast manuals for several insect companion beasts in the past few days.

He hadn't unlocked any talents, but when he lit up the Red Devil Snake's 'Red Devil' manual, he gained the talent 'Summoning Technique', which slightly increased his proficiency.

It was clear that this was a complementary skill.

However, the few Puppet Kings that appeared were too weak to make a significant difference.

There wasn't much improvement or change, and the low-level companion beasts used for the experiments weren't worth cultivating, so Su Ping discarded them into the underground cave's Rock Heart, now renamed the Insect Heart, to fend for themselves.

Hearing this, everyone once again looked at the Venom Vase with envy. This treasure was truly invaluable.

Damn it, in the hands of Su Ping, a fickle young man, it was being wasted.

Perhaps a pure insect companion beast cultivator could bring out its full potential.

Of course, this was just wishful thinking, and they understood that with this thing, Su Ping might very well add another title to his many accolades—that of an Insect Cultivation Master.

So, what was said earlier was indeed true.

The Puppet King Contest, in the end, was the greatest opportunity for these insect companion beasts to enter the Heart of All Souls and possibly become the top-ranked companion beast, thus becoming the Bug King. In the future, even the Holy Spirit Rank might not be an issue.

Take the little crow Ya Ya, for example!

That was a true metamorphosis!

So, at this moment, the few people present became even more attentive to the companion beasts they had chosen.

If it really came true, and Su Ping successfully cultivated an extremely powerful companion beast, wouldn't they also share in the credit as witnesses?

It all depended on who could ultimately claim the top spot!

Undoubtedly, this pause in the midst of the Puppet King Contest was invaluable.

The aura within the Venom Cauldron drove all the venomous insects to frantically devour and kill their nearby opponents.

Among these venomous insects, the first to be eliminated was the one that Old Liu had 'cleverly' chosen—the strongest Jade Green Snake.

The reason was simple.

It had the strongest realm, and it had killed the most venomous insects before.

It became the target of everyone's attacks.

However, Su Ping sighed helplessly, as he actually quite liked this Jade Green Snake.

Unexpectedly, it was eliminated so quickly.

Moreover, what was most important was that the Web Gray Spider he had bet on was also involved, and this little guy didn't die.

But four of its eight legs were broken, and it lay on the ground, barely holding on with the silk threads from its rear end, clearly having lost most of its combat power and looking like it was waiting to die.

The second to be eliminated was the Tyrant Bee chosen by Yin Master.

The attacker was the Ghost-faced Moth chosen by Master Yin.

In the end, the Ghost-faced Moth dominated the sky as the sole overlord.

Before the Ghost-faced Moth could stabilize, the battlefield below changed again.

The Black Sand Scorpion tried to ambush the White Dew Silkworm.

Although both were venomous insects, one was Earth-attributed, and the other was Ice-attributed.

The outcome was something neither Meng Yao nor Zhu Hong, who had chosen these two, could have imagined.

Both sides perished together!

Indeed, the strength of the White Dew Silkworm was not weak at all.

Moreover, the strength of its Ice-attributed venom was even beyond imagination.

Just before its death, it managed to infect the Black Sand Scorpion as well.

Furthermore, it even killed quite a few of the other powerful venomous insects that dared to approach, resulting in a mutual destruction.

So, what no one could have imagined was the rapid change in the situation.

In just this short time, aside from some lower-ranked venomous insects that would no longer influence the Puppet King Contest, the final remaining combatants were the Ghost-faced Moth and the Web Gray Spider chosen by Su Ping.

The latter had lost most of its mobility,

but in the absence of threats, it stubbornly managed to survive until the end!

However, Su Ping's eyes soon narrowed as he observed his chosen Web Gray Spider. At that moment, he noticed that the legs that had been broken just ten minutes ago were now moving slightly, and the Web Gray Spider, about the size of a millstone, seemed to be regaining its mobility.

But before Su Ping could observe further, the Ghost-faced Moth, carrying the remains of the Tyrant Bee's wings, turned its emerald compound eyes towards the Web Gray Spider that was hanging in the air and starting to spin its web.

Then, it charged forward.

Indeed, spider-type companion beasts had a significant advantage when dealing with insect-type companion beasts.

If the Ghost-faced Moth had retained its full combat power, it would have been hard to predict the outcome.

In fact, the Ghost-faced Moth had a high probability of winning.

However, the previous battle had exhausted a lot of its energy.

The Web Gray Spider, on the other hand, had no elemental energy and relied purely on its physical strength and the spider's innate web-spinning ability.

Now, the Ghost-faced Moth had flown straight into the web...

Then, to everyone's astonishment, the Web Gray Spider, only at the Overlord Rank, successfully bound the Ghost-faced Moth, at the Archon Rank, in its web, cocooning it!

The ultimate Puppet King turned out to be the Web Gray Spider that Su Ping had chosen on a whim.

Even Su Ping himself was surprised and looked at the little creature with great interest.

It seemed that his connection with this little creature was indeed profound.

Next, let's see what kind of changes this Puppet King will undergo!

Hopefully, it won't disappoint.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end