Chapter 19: Plans Change — Preparing to Snatch the Eight Spider Lances!
The night deepened, ink-black darkness spreading across the sky. A crescent moon drifted quietly overhead, while starlight scattered like falling sparks.
Inside the hotel room—
"Tomorrow, we head out to hunt soul beasts. Before we leave, there's a choice I want you to make."
After their brief warmth, Bai Lu withdrew his hand and looked at the girl with a slightly serious expression.
"What choice?"
Zhu Zhuqing's expression returned to calm as she waited quietly for him to continue.
"If you had to choose between a ten-thousand-year third soul ring… and an external soul bone, which would you pick?"
Bai Lu asked slowly.
"Why would I have to make that kind of choice?"
Zhu Zhuqing froze, confusion flickering in her eyes.
"Didn't we say we were going to hunt a ten-thousand-year soul ring? Why are we suddenly talking about an external soul bone?"
"That's just how the world works. Plans never keep up with changes."
After the sacrifice incident, the first decision Bai Lu made was to have Zhu Zhuqing ignore Dai Mubai and Shrek entirely, seize the timing gap, and directly steal the Blue Silver Emperor.
After that, their next objective had been to hunt a ten-thousand-year soul ring.
With Zhu Zhuqing's current strength, although the hunting process would be difficult, there were always more solutions than problems.
Absorbing a lower-end ten-thousand-year soul ring afterward wouldn't pose much of an issue.
But all of this rested on one premise—
They did not encounter Tang San.
The moment they met Tang San, Bai Lu knew the plan had to change.
Since they had already stolen Tang San's mother and her soul bone, unless they could disguise themselves for a lifetime, they were essentially standing on Tang San's opposite side.
Given that—
Even if they couldn't intercept the Eight Spider Lances, they absolutely could not allow Tang San to obtain them.
Otherwise, if that thing ended up in Tang San's hands and he were ever pushed into a corner and escaped again, turning into the forefather of evil soul masters and devouring everything mindlessly… that would truly be unbearable.
As for whether the Eight Spider Lances might not suit Zhu Zhuqing's twin martial souls?
Let's put it this way—
The Eight Spider Lances were extremely sinister. Not only were they highly poisonous, but they could also devour the bodies of soul beasts.
Meanwhile, the slaughter skull bone devoured souls.
One devoured flesh, the other devoured soul—one internal, one external. Perfect complementarity.
Besides, if Tang San in the original story could eventually transform the Eight Spider Lances into the Sea God's Eight Wings, why couldn't he imitate that?
During his previous battle against the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, the opponent's Evil God Wings had left a deep impression on him.
Yes.
He was tempted.
"If you choose the ten-thousand-year soul ring, once we find a suitable target soul beast, we can secure it with relative certainty."
"But if you choose the external soul bone, whether we even find the right soul beast is one matter. And even if we defeat it and absorb the soul ring, there's only a fifty percent chance of obtaining the external soul bone."
After laying out the pros and cons of both options, Bai Lu handed the decision to Zhu Zhuqing.
"So. If you had to choose, what would it be?"
"The external soul bone."
Zhu Zhuqing answered without the slightest hesitation.
As if hesitating even a second would be disrespectful to an external soul bone.
An external soul bone, second only to a hundred-thousand-year soul ring in rarity!
Once absorbed, it was equivalent to gaining a powerful "weapon" that would grow stronger alongside the soul master's own cultivation.
Even if she failed, the worst outcome would merely be obtaining a mediocre soul skill.
It didn't matter.
Right now, what she lacked the least were soul skills.
More importantly—
She trusted Bai Lu's judgment.
He wouldn't harm "himself."
"Excellent."
Bai Lu was extremely satisfied with the girl's trust.
"Since you've made your choice, we'll go try our luck. If things truly don't work out, we can always look for a ten-thousand-year soul beast afterward."
The two happily reached an agreement.
They slept peacefully through the night, and before long, dawn arrived.
Morning light filtered softly across the horizon. A gentle breeze stirred the air.
The small town near the Star Dou Forest had already awakened.
Various hunting groups and merchants bustled about the streets.
Zhu Zhuqing left the hotel early, trailing several li behind the Shrek group as they headed toward the Star Dou Forest.
"Why are we following them? Can't we search on our own?"
She couldn't help but ask in her heart.
"You wouldn't understand, and I don't blame you."
Bai Lu smiled mysteriously. "Some things are extremely metaphysical. I can't really explain them. Let's just say those who understand, understand. Those who don't, won't understand even if I explain. Knowing too much isn't a good thing. All I can say is, many things are involved here. It's best if you don't understand. Do you understand?"
"???"
Zhu Zhuqing was stunned.
She could understand every individual sentence.
But somehow, when combined, she understood nothing.
Before she could press further, Bai Lu's praise followed immediately:
"Smart. As expected, you understood!"
"???"
Zhu Zhuqing let out a speechless smile:
So… what exactly had she understood?
"Since you understand, just follow my instructions. Don't ask too many questions."
"…Alright."
Seeing that Bai Lu had no intention of explaining, Zhu Zhuqing obediently closed her mouth.
Why ask so much?
Bai Lu took in the subtle changes in her expression but offered no clarification.
Why follow Shrek?
To try their luck, of course.
To find the Man-Faced Demon Spider.
He wanted to see whether, with himself as such a massive variable, events could still unfold according to the original trajectory.
Tracking Shrek was no easy task. After all, there was a Soul Saint among them. Zhu Zhuqing didn't dare follow too closely and could only trail them from a distance.
After a long trek, she finally entered the Star Dou Forest behind them.
Returning here once again this time, with Bai Lu deliberately concealing her presence, no soul beasts detected her.
Time quickly passed until noon.
Rustle!
Whoosh!
While Zhu Zhuqing was eating dry rations to fill her stomach, she suddenly heard the sound of something slicing through the air nearby.
Her vigilance instantly spiked. She turned and saw a shadow streak rapidly past.
Focusing her gaze, she saw a massive serpent roughly six to eight meters long. It bore pale red wings on its back and a huge fleshy crest atop its head, bright red like blood.
It looked as if it were fleeing for its life, paying her no attention at all as it sped toward the direction of the Shrek group.
"A thousand-year Phoenix Tail Crest Serpent. Aside from its speed and flight ability, it's not especially useful."
"Given how fast it's flying, it's probably being hunted."
Bai Lu relayed the information, inwardly thinking:
It matches the original storyline perfectly.
If that's the case… Meng Yiran should be showing up soon.
"Oh."
Since it had nothing to do with her, Zhu Zhuqing ignored it and calmly continued eating on the rock.
Whoosh whoosh!
Before she could take more than a few bites, two figures, one old, one young, leapt out from the direction the serpent had come.
"Little girl, did you see a Phoenix Tail Crest Serpent that ran this way?"
Chao Tianxiang, holding a snake-headed cane, asked kindly.
"That way."
Zhu Zhuqing raised her hand calmly and, without hesitation, directly sold out the Shrek group.
"Many thanks, little friend."
Chao Tianxiang smiled and swiftly pursued with Meng Yiran.
"..."
After the two left, Zhu Zhuqing resumed chewing her dry rations expressionlessly.
But beneath her martial soul possession, her cat ears twitched slightly—
Revealing that her heart was far less calm than her face suggested.
End of Chapter