"What... what are you doing?!" Fang Chang panicked, taking two steps back. In his confusion, he blurted out the language of the Man-faced Demon Spider instead of using his usual telepathy.
Xiao Bai blinked her eight large eyes coquettishly, unusually silent in response to Fang Chang's question. Then she repeated her earlier action, lowering her head and rubbing it against Fang Chang's spider leg.
That tingling sensation spread from his leg again, making his entire body feel restless.
"Huff, huff, huff~" His breathing grew heavier, and he continued to retreat.
But Xiao Bai, standing opposite him, seemed determined. For every step Fang Chang took back, she took two forward, occasionally rubbing her head against him.
At first, it was his legs. Then his head. And now, most of Xiao Bai's body was practically under Fang Chang's legs.
She raised her head again, rubbing it against the armor on Fang Chang's abdomen.
By this point, Fang Chang had retreated all the way to the corner of the wall, with no more room to back away. The restlessness building inside him was becoming harder to suppress.
Even if he were the densest spider in the world, he would have understood Xiao Bai's intentions by now. But he was too flustered to make the next move.
In situations like this, the one who takes the initiative holds the advantage, while the passive one feels shy. Fang Chang cursed himself inwardly. He had been longing for this for so long, yet now that Xiao Bai was pushing him, he was too nervous to act.
At that moment, Xiao Bai took two small steps back, extended two of her legs, and placed them on Fang Chang's shoulders, propping herself up to rub against his cheek.
That final rub was the last straw. Fang Chang could no longer suppress the impulse within him.
Three hours later...
Fang Chang sighed and walked out of the lair alone. If he had a cigarette, he would have lit one right then.
For the sake of the lair's development and the future of spider-type soul beasts in the Douluo World, he had to make a tiny sacrifice.
Over the next few weeks, Xiao Bai's appetite increased dramatically, and Fang Chang was forced to become a caretaker, constantly hunting to provide for her.
Until one day, when he returned from a hunt, he found Xiao Bai lying weakly on the ground. Beside her was a large, oval-shaped object wrapped in spider silk.
Fang Chang extended a leg, about to poke the strange object, but Xiao Bai shot him a glare, forcing him to back off.
From then on, Xiao Bai stayed close to the object, barely leaving its side. The task of hunting and gathering food fell entirely on Fang Chang.
Another half a year passed. One night, a crack appeared in the object. Xiao Bai hurriedly called Fang Chang over, and the two of them eagerly awaited this exciting moment.
One, two, three... nineteen. Fang Chang patiently counted as nineteen palm-sized spider-type soul beasts crawled out of the object.
When he checked their stats, he was completely stunned. Fifteen of them were Dark Scythe Demon Spiders, just like Xiao Bai, starting off far stronger than ordinary Man-faced Demon Spiders.
The remaining four were even more extraordinary—they were Dominator Demon Spiders, just like him.
Fortunately, these smaller Dominator Demon Spiders only possessed the "Domination" skill and not the "Blessing" skill. But even so, they were terrifyingly powerful!
Although these little ones had just hatched, their auras already surpassed those of most hundred-year soul beasts. Given time, they would undoubtedly shake the Star Dou Great Forest.
It wasn't until Xiao Bai reminded him that Fang Chang remembered to drag over the corpse of a ten-thousand-year Flame Rat from the storage chamber and toss it in front of the hatchlings.
The little ones scrambled onto the Flame Rat's corpse, devouring it completely in just over half an hour.
Checking their stats again, Fang Chang saw that they had all grown. The one that had eaten the most already had a soul power of over eighty years, just a step away from becoming a hundred-year soul beast.
Clearly, the devouring ability inherited from him and Xiao Bai had been passed down to these little ones. Their efficiency was quite high, likely somewhere between his and Xiao Bai's.
Normally, spiders are indifferent creatures, showing little affection even toward their offspring. Some cold-blooded female spiders even treat their young as emergency food.
But Xiao Bai, perhaps because she was a first-time mother, was particularly attentive to these little ones, urging Fang Chang every morning to go out and hunt for food to feed them.
As for Fang Chang, he wasn't overly attached to the hatchlings. The natural instincts of spiders still influenced him to some extent.
Even so, he tirelessly sought food for them, even at the cost of delaying his own cultivation.
After more than half a year, his soul power had only increased to nearly eighty thousand years.
This wasn't because he was foolish. Rather, the arrival of these little ones filled him with hope for the future of the lair.
It was like a capitalist investing in employee training. At first glance, it seemed like the capitalist was losing out while the employees benefited.
But in reality, once the employees acquired new skills, the capitalist could assign them more tasks, allowing them to generate more profit in the future.
This was exactly Fang Chang's plan. Although he now had to share most of his prey with the hatchlings, once they grew up and gained the ability to hunt on their own, he would have a steady supply of food.
In a few generations, the Star Dou Great Forest would completely become their territory.
Additionally, Fang Chang had another consideration. As his strength continued to grow, the benefits of hunting ordinary soul beasts had diminished significantly.
But if he kept hunting ten-thousand-year soul beasts, there weren't many of them in the Star Dou Great Forest. Each one he devoured meant one less in the ecosystem.
Over time, this would disrupt the forest's balance, inevitably leading to severe consequences.
On the other hand, there were countless ten- and hundred-year soul beasts, and their numbers replenished quickly. Even if he consumed a significant portion, the impact on the Star Dou Great Forest would be minimal.
Thus, cultivating a group of followers to provide him with a steady supply of weaker soul beasts had become an urgent priority.
It was around this time that the tunnel connecting the new lair to the old one he had taken from the Blazing Fire Ants in the outer forest was finally completed by the four Earth... no, Web Nest Demon Spiders.
Using the excuse of teaching the hatchlings hunting skills, Fang Chang brought Xiao Bai to the old lair in the outer forest.
But as soon as they arrived, he immediately handed over the responsibility of caring for the hatchlings to Xiao Bai.
Then, he quietly activated his "Stealth" skill and left the Star Dou Great Forest, heading for the human city of Whitewater City.
He had always been concerned about Tang San. With no sources of information in the Star Dou Great Forest, he had no idea how things had progressed over the past half year.
By his calculations, the results of the Spirit Master Academy Tournament should be out by now. He wondered if Tang San and his team had defeated the Spirit Hall team as they had in the original story.
There was also the Spider God Church he had impulsively founded. He had no idea how it was faring now. There were too many things he needed to leave the forest to check on.