The Spider Queen

Chapter 191: Breakthrough!

(Hydra Star System- Planet Sinetera)

The warm feeling flowing gently through Sophie’s body caused the hybrid girl to relax almost subconsciously.

The Spider Whisper Art was causing her qi to circulate in a new pattern that seemed both familiar and strange at the same time.

She still had not regained control of her mouth, but the constant chanting was now being spoken in a softer tone.

Sophie had no way of knowing but with every word spoken, the qi in her dantian was becoming more concentrated.

Energy was pouring into her dantian from an outside source that the hybrid girl was unable to identify.

The gaseous qi particles in her dantian started to jostle against one another. This was the first step in the process of reaching the qi tide stage.

Sophie moved slightly closer to the fire and adjusted her body to a more comfortable position. 

In ideal circumstances, she would not choose to breakthrough during the midterm exam, but it appeared that she had no other choice.

Moving on to another stage of cultivation was always a dangerous process as without proper preparation, there could be a backlash.

The backlash from a problem arising during cultivation could have severe side effects. 

These could range from a permanent reduction in aptitude to even in more extreme cases, the loss of life.

Sophie cleared her mind and recalled the advice given from her father. 

The duke being the youngest god stage cultivator in the history of the Federation had informed his daughter of the various tips and tricks he had used during his cultivation journey.

It was important to constantly monitor your body during the process for any problems. 

“Fuck….” Sophie groaned in pain as she felt the first drop of liquid qi form in her dantian.

It felt like a part of her soul had been compressed by force.

One more drop….

Sophie’s face whitened and small beads of sweat formed at the sides of her brow.

Two drops….

Sharp stabs of pain were now coursing through her body as it felt as though she was being transformed into a higher life form.

More drops….

The rate of conversion gradually begun to accelerate, and Sophie could feel her previously empty dantian being filled with liquid qi droplets.

The pain now was starting to become unbearable and Sophie’s vision began to darken as her consciousness faded in and out.

Her hands were now trembling slightly, and her body was now being ravaged by waves of agony.

Sophie held one hand firmly with her other palm to try to stop the shaking movements, but it was to no avail.

If there was any benefit to the torture she was currently experiencing, it was that the pain was forcing her to stay conscious even when she felt like passing out.

The chanting became louder and louder with every passing minute and the familiar words flowed out from her lips.

“Strength leads to anger.”

“We are the hunters of the universe.”

“The night shadows hidden within the mark of the ancients.”

“All creatures shall be enthralled in our dark web.”

“None shall survive the spider’s wrath.”

“I pledge my soul to the great goddess to grant me the power to slay all in my path.” 

As Sophie finished speaking the last words of the mantra, she could sense that something monstrous was watching her from the shadows.

A cold dark feminine voice sounded out in Sophie’s mind with an undisguised tone of glee.

[Pledge accepted my dear child]

[The ancients say that you will be my greatest hunter]

[I look forward to seeing what chaos you spread throughout the universe]

Boom!

Sophie lurched forward as numerous blocked gates and pathways in her meridians broke open with a bang.

She could feel other physiological changes occurring such as her fangs lengthening slightly and an additional venom gland growing in her mouth.

The four blade-like appendages on her back creaked slightly as the barbed tip at their ends started to sharpen. 

The droplets of qi liquid in her dantian gathered together and started to rotate in a clockwise manner.

This was the last step of the breakthrough to the qi tide stage as the qi droplets would form an endless ocean in the dantian that would constantly circulate.

Sophie was determined to see this out till the end. 

Qi body and spirit cultivators were nothing more than cannon fodders on the battlefield.

She needed to gain strength. 

There were just too many people that were important to her.

“Arghhhhh!” Sophie roared as small cracks beneath her skin started to form. 

Blood gushed out of these open wounds, but the hybrid girl was too focused to pay them any attention.

.

.

.

.

(Hours later)

A blood-soaked figure pushed aside some heavy branches with ease and crawled out of a cave. 

The scent of injuries and the appeal of eating a weakened prey caused several scavengers and predators to cautiously approach.

Their potential prey’s entire body was covered in the crimson red colour of blood, but two piercing gold eyes lit up the darkness ahead and froze the nearby predators lying in wait.

Danger.

Threat.

Fear.

With every movement the humanoid figure made, the surrounding animals felt an enormous pressure slam down on their bodies.

It was the natural oppression that a higher-level lifeform exerted subconsciously.

Sophie bared her fangs and pounced towards an orange-coloured winged creature hiding in a nearby tree.

The hunger she was feeling was threatening to break what remaining sanity she had left.

The creature did not have any time to react before two puncture wounds appeared on its body and a potent venom was injected.

This venom was far beyond what Sophie was capable of producing while in the qi spirit stage and the unfortunate animal died within seconds.

Sophie cut open its flesh with ease and eagerly tore into the bloody remains with great enthusiasm. 

No part of the animal was spared. From its scaly claws to inedible orange feathers, Sophie ate the whole corpse. 

This caused the ravenous hunger to subside slightly, but it was far from enough to calm down the energy starved hybrid girl.

Not enough……

Need more… 

Hunt…. HUNT…. HUNT!

A shocking fact would later spread among the midterm invigilators that a student in exam sector R-098 had singlehandedly wiped out the entire forest ecosystem in the span of one night.