His vitality had also reached the current maximum of 9, which meant that as long as Bai Jie consumed a certain amount of venomous creatures, he was highly likely to kick off a new round of evolution!
And he still had four venomous creatures left uneaten.
Bai Jie's appearance had also undergone some changes. The purple iridescent patterns on his back had grown lighter, and the pink at his leg joints had also faded.
The three spider legs torn off by the golden scorpion had regrown.
Most notably, the edges of the patterns on his back now faintly bore a narrow golden border, which inevitably reminded Bai Jie of the golden scorpion's coloring.
What skills would appear in the next evolution? What would he look like?
Bai Jie turned his intense curiosity and anticipation into practical action and began devouring the four venomous creatures.
He ate three in a row, but that familiar drowsiness never came.
What was going on? Could it be that his next evolution required far more venomous creatures and a much higher vitality threshold?
Bai Jie could only pin his hopes on that last lizard.
After all, judging by Zheng Yueling's tone, she had no plans to stream recently — possibly because he'd eaten most of her other exotic pets.
If Zheng Yueling stopped feeding him venomous creatures, that would be disastrous. He was right at the critical juncture of evolution. Not being able to evolve would be torturous.
Finally, after Bai Jie consumed the last lizard, amid his anxious waiting, the system notification arrived. Late, but it came:
[Conditions for Species Evolution have been met. Evolution will now commence.]
...
Afternoon, post-class at Xingchuan University.
"Speak, Long Ge — what do you want with me?"
Zheng Yueling looked at the man before her. He had an effeminate air and a deathly pallor. She spoke flatly.
Today the witch wore a red-and-white striped short-sleeved top with delicate trimming at the cuffs. The round collar revealed beautiful collarbones. Below were pale blue mini-shorts, showing off long, fair-skinned legs. Red canvas shoes kept her look simple and tasteful.
This drew constant glances from passing university students, who also wondered about the man facing her — he looked completely kidney-deficient.
The effeminate man was called Long Ge, but his voice defied his appearance, carrying a deep resonance: "You know exactly why I sought you out."
Zheng Yueling's expression didn't change: "Don't play riddles with me. Spit it out — I've got class this afternoon."
Long Ge said: "Hand that mutant spider over to us, and we can give you ten gu insects."
Zheng Yueling put on a look of sudden enlightenment, which then turned cold. She spat out a single word: "No."
Long Ge furrowed his brow with displeasure, as if her answer had caught him off guard.
"You're just an outer-hall disciple. You neither understand the art of controlling gu, nor do you have the resources to cultivate a venomous creature of that potential. What use is keeping it?"
Zheng Yueling shook her head: "That is a gu insect I personally cultivated. I have the right to do with it as I please."
Long Ge's tone grew heavier: "You can add more conditions."
Zheng Yueling still refused: "In the past, you provided me with venomous insects, and I gave you the lion's share of the livestream revenue. I also helped you run your businesses. Without that, where would you get the money to cultivate gu creatures?"
"The Wu Gu Clan has been in decline for a long time. The fact that you've been able to gain such a steady foothold within the clan so quickly — isn't that precisely because of our cooperative relationship?"
"Now you're thinking of crossing the river and burning the bridge? You should know — I bought Nyx myself. The ownership is mine. If necessary, I can return every single venomous insect you lent me for the streams."
"Are you sure you've thought this through? Let me warn you — a venomous creature like that, you won't be able to keep for yourself," Long Ge said darkly.
"Of course I've thought it through. Besides, how do you know I can't keep it?" Zheng Yueling suddenly gave a radiant smile, like a peach blossom in full bloom.
Long Ge gave her a deep look and said: "A gross waste of a heavenly treasure."
He then snorted coldly and left without looking back.
Zheng Yueling was unmoved, the corner of her mouth curling in a confident and mysterious arc.
At the same time, at a hidden street corner, a tall, lean figure was secretly watching Zheng Yueling's back while speculating about Long Ge's identity.
Seeing Zheng Yueling head into the campus, the tall figure revealed himself. A transparent bluish light flickered in his eyes.
It was none other than Chen Zhang, who had just completed the chip implant surgery at Gaia Technology.
"Zheng Yueling... I can't wait to expose you," Chen Zhang murmured, his gaze razor-sharp.
...
Inside Zheng Yueling's home, within a transparent terrarium half as wide as a bed, layer upon layer of spider webs filled the space, so dense you couldn't see what lay within. Only a few withered, dried husks were piled in the corner.
It wasn't hard to guess — these remnants naturally belonged to what the terrarium's owner had left unfinished.
Suddenly, a flash of golden light flickered within the webbed canopy, like window curtains, then quickly vanished.
Immediately after, the golden light appeared again, flickering on and off. After a dozen or so flashes, it finally peaked, illuminating the entire room.
After this final burst of radiance, the golden light disappeared completely, and the terrarium returned to calm.
"Status Panel, expand."
Amid Bai Jie's silent, emotionally charged roar, a row of golden, illusory information appeared before his eyes.
[Name]: Bai Jie
[Title]: Night Goddess Nyx
[Race]: Gold-Patterned Laser Snake-Devouring Spider (Awakened Form)
[Vitality]: 15
[Skills]: Leg Blade Slash Lv.1 (NEW), Devouring Bite Lv.1 (NEW), Bladed Spider Silk Lv.3, Urticating Venom Needle Lv.8, Poison Arrow Spray Lv.8, Corrosive Venom Lv.11
[Talents]: Poison-Refining Gu, Spirit-Devouring Body
[Satiety]: 85%
[Body Length]: Leg Span 60cm
His race had changed, and his body size had grown again!
His vitality had finally broken through its previous limit, and he'd gained two new skills!
[Leg Blade Slash]: Newly awakened skill. Blades have grown on the two front legs, allowing for slashing and thrusting attacks against targets. The leg blades contain venom glands that can secrete poison. As the skill level increases, blades will also grow on the other legs.
Mm-hmm... Bai Jie nodded inwardly: Great. When facing a troublesome opponent, he'd finally have an option besides just using his mouth.
After all, a gentleman uses his mouth, not his fists.
[Devouring Bite]: Advanced from the max-level skill "Bite." The fangs have been reinforced, granting an indestructible biting ability. While attacking a target, it can drain essence blood and devour spirit essence.
It sounded very impressive, and he could understand it — but what was this "spirit essence" supposed to mean?
"Have I become a vampire spider?" Bai Jie was somewhat bewildered.
Bai Jie also checked his current appearance through the reflection in the terrarium's glass.
A pitch-black spider with flowing golden patterns. The formerly pink and purple parts had all turned gold, and only the fuzz still retained a faint pink-purple hue.
He looked somewhat noble, somewhat imposing, and also very beautiful... Bai Jie admitted he was stunned.
I really want to keep a pet version of myself...
Just as Bai Jie was lost in self-admiration of his own beauty, countless urticating hairs suddenly stood on end.
He jolted alert instantly, pushing his perception to the maximum, and slowly retreated to conceal himself behind the curtains of webbing.
Because he had sensed a dangerous aura suddenly appear in the room.
In his field of vision, a middle-aged man with a face like withered wood had appeared.
The middle-aged man muttered to himself: "It should be you."
He then opened the terrarium's lid. His parched lips parted and closed, chanting obscure syllables.
[Spiritual interference from sorcery detected. Automatically neutralized by Talent: Poison-Refining Gu.]
What the hell? What did this guy want?
Although he didn't know the man's purpose, Bai Jie sensed tremendous unease from those occult incantations.
His spider instincts were telling him — this man was an enemy.
In that case, Bai Jie resolved to show the intruder what he was capable of.
A thought turned. Countless Urticating Venom Needles instantly filled the air and flew toward the middle-aged man's face.
This was Level 8 Urticating Venom Needle.
At this skill level, if these hairs merely touched the skin, it would just mean skin decay, unbearable agony and itching — nothing fatal.
But if they were inhaled through the nostrils into the body, at best, internal hemorrhaging and rotting; at worst, organ failure — lethal enough!
Yet the middle-aged man showed no panic. His face abruptly flushed crimson. He spat out a mouthful of black blood and bellowed a single word: "Capture!"
A sheet of dark red blood-rain met the Urticating Venom Needles head-on, forcibly blocking the advance of the vast majority of them.
Bai Jie's instincts screamed danger. He curled his rear legs, meaning to dodge, but was still splattered by some of the black blood.
Not good!
But the danger Bai Jie anticipated never materialized. Instead, the black blood gradually faded and vanished on Bai Jie's body surface — as if absorbed.
A familiar burning heat coursed through his entire body. Bai Jie actually felt traces of his vitality rising!
"Huh?"
The middle-aged man muttered in confusion, "What's going on? It's not working?"
"Could it be this is just a mundane insect? But what mundane insect could be this large and strange..."