Spurring the Spider to Devour the Wolves

As Yuan Ming faced off against the three Green Wolf Beast Slaves, Bayin finally caught up and, without a word, joined the battle.

He suddenly charged forward in a savage rush, slamming straight at Yuan Ming.

Caught off guard, Yuan Ming could only cross his arms before him. Even so, that overwhelming monstrous force sent him flying sideways, and he crashed hard into the mountainside.

Yuan Ming felt sweetness rise in his throat, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

He really is strong.

He made his assessment of Bayin. With his current strength, he was absolutely no match for him head-on, let alone with three others assisting him.

Just then, Yuan Ming suddenly heard a rustling sound overhead. Immediately afterward, a string of small stones rolled down from the cliff behind him.

It finally came.

After murmuring to himself, Yuan Ming actually released the Furring Technique and returned to human form.

This was no different from shedding one's armor on the battlefield. Bayin and the others were all rather surprised, unable for a moment to tell what he intended.

Naturally, Yuan Ming had no intention of explaining. He immediately pulled a paper packet from his robes, roughly tore it open, and scattered its contents over himself.

Red-and-white powder instantly coated his body, and a pungent odor spread through the air.

Bayin wrinkled his nose. Then he heard a Green Wolf Beast Slave say, "Boss Bayin, this seems to be... Beast Repelling Powder."

Though he did not know what was going on, he had already vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

"Don't bother with it. Get up there and kill him!" Bayin roared.

The three Green Wolf Beast Slaves pounced at once. Yuan Ming, now back in human form, did not use the Furring Technique again. Instead, he turned and began climbing the cliff face.

One of the Green Wolf Beast Slaves sprinted forward, planted his foreclaws on a protruding rock, and used it to leap upward. Opening his bloodthirsty maw, he bit toward Yuan Ming.

Just as his wolf fangs were about to sink into Yuan Ming's calf, a sharp whistling sound suddenly cut through the air.

A black, razor-sharp bone spike shot past Yuan Ming's back and pierced straight through the Green Wolf Beast Slave's head, spraying blood everywhere.

The Green Wolf Beast Slave's body was carried by the bone spike's immense momentum and smashed into the ground. He died on the spot.

The other two Green Wolf Beast Slaves were so terrified that their souls nearly fled their bodies. They forcibly halted their charge.

All of them looked up above Yuan Ming and saw a massive pitch-black head protruding from a huge opening in the cliff.

It was as large as a bull's head and covered in short black fur. Two rows of four compound eyes were arranged neatly across it, while below them was a pair of hooked mouthparts gleaming with a sinister black luster. More strikingly, a sharp black horn stood atop its head.

"What the hell is that thing?" one Green Wolf Beast Slave cried out.

His voice immediately caught the strange head's attention. All eight eyes turned toward him in unison. The sharp horn atop its head flashed with dark light, and a black bone spike suddenly shot out.

The Green Wolf Beast Slave reacted swiftly and immediately darted aside.

The black bone spike grazed his back, leaving only a shallow wound and failing to strike any vital spot.

Seeing that its strike had missed, the strange creature moved at once. Its head stretched forward and emerged fully from the hole, followed by its entire body and eight black spider legs like long spears.

Its body clung to the steep cliff face, its eight legs firmly nailed into cracks in the rock. It was as steady as Mount Tai, without the slightest sign of falling.

"A Unicorn Wolf Spider? How could there be such a damned thing here?" Bayin could not help shouting.

As soon as he spoke, they saw that the Green Wolf Beast Slave wounded by the bone spike had already collapsed to the ground. Black blood seeped from his nose and mouth; he was already dead.

The remaining Green Wolf Beast Slave froze in place in even greater terror.

"What potent venom."

Before Bayin's words had fully faded, a black bone spike was already tearing through the air toward his face.

He immediately swung out a palm. The tips of his claws precisely flicked the spike aside, using its original force to twist its direction and send it shooting back toward Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming hurriedly dodged to one side, then resumed climbing upward.

He was closest to the Unicorn Wolf Spider, and it had already sensed his presence.

However, because he was covered in Beast Repelling Powder, the Unicorn Wolf Spider did not attack him immediately. Instead, it prioritized Bayin, the greatest threat.

The Unicorn Wolf Spider rapidly climbed down to the ground and scuttled toward Bayin. Its body was supported by eight steel-spear-like legs, and in only a few strides, it reached him.

The tips of its spider legs were incomparably sharp as they stabbed repeatedly at Bayin.

Bayin could only wave his two badger paws, constantly batting them aside with his claw tips. A rapid series of metallic clanks erupted.

The Unicorn Wolf Spider's seemingly slender legs repeatedly collided with his claws without receiving the slightest damage. Instead, they forced Bayin into one opening after another, carving bloody marks across his body.

Before long, the wounds on his body began turning black. They were clearly poisoned as well.

Yuan Ming seized the opportunity to climb upward quickly and soon reached the cave where the Unicorn Wolf Spider dwelled.

He flipped into the entrance, and an indescribably complex stench immediately struck him head-on.

With a sweep of his gaze, Yuan Ming saw cleanly gnawed white bones everywhere on either side of the entrance, along with chunks of torn, mangled flesh.

At the center of this filth sat an object the color of dark red, resembling a lingzhi immortal herb. Its patterns were nearly woody in texture, yet it possessed a faint wriggling sensation like that of an animal.

"That's right. It's the Flesh Lingzhi mentioned in the Compendium of Herbs." Yuan Ming's eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed.

Some days earlier, when he had gone out to hunt beasts, prey he had already wounded had vanished after fleeing into this secluded valley. Only when he searched for it later did he discover that the Unicorn Wolf Spider had gotten there first.

When he came to investigate, he found this Flesh Lingzhi. Knowing it was a precious spiritual medicine recorded in the Compendium of Herbs, he conceived the desire to take it.

Unfortunately, after trying once, Yuan Ming realized he was no match for the Unicorn Wolf Spider at all. That was why he devised this plan of spurring the spider to devour the wolves: lure the Green Wolf Gang members pursuing him here and seize the treasure amid the chaos.

With the treasure before his eyes, Yuan Ming immediately stepped forward, carefully dug out the palm-sized Flesh Lingzhi, wrapped it in prepared beast hide, and tucked it into his robes.

With the item secured, Yuan Ming came to the cave entrance, intending to observe the situation outside before making further plans.

However, the moment he arrived, an incomparably pale human face suddenly dangled down from above the entrance, staring at him with round eyes.

Those eyes were black as ink, without the slightest hint of white, making them seem profoundly sinister.

Yuan Ming jumped in fright and immediately retreated. Only then did he see the pale human face clearly. It was unmistakably a peculiar pattern growing on the head of a pitch-black spider.

This spider was far smaller than the Unicorn Wolf Spider. Its eight legs were thin as hemp stalks, and its body was slender and elongated. Only its head was unnaturally round, bearing a deathly pale human face.

As Yuan Ming stared at it, it stared back at him. Yet nothing could be seen within its pitch-black eyes.

At that moment, the strange human face suddenly grinned. Yet not a single tooth was revealed—there was not even a visible mouth. It was as though it were merely a tangible yet insubstantial mask pasted to the spider's forehead.

The eerie sight made even Yuan Ming's scalp go numb, and he instinctively wanted to flee.

But the cliff cave was shallow, with only one exit. Yuan Ming was trapped inside.

He had no choice but to use the Furring Technique, transforming into a white ape. He grabbed wildly among the pile of bones, picked up an unidentified beast bone, and prepared to hurl it using the Essence Accumulating Arm.

Yet before he could use it, the beast bone, which had been lying there for who knew how long, snapped apart with a crack.

Yuan Ming hurriedly switched to another one, only for it to crumble at the slightest squeeze as well.

He cursed inwardly, reached for yet another, and was just about to throw it when he suddenly realized it did not feel right in his hand. Looking closely, he discovered that it was not a bone at all, but a rust-covered Ancient Bronze Sword.

At that moment, the Human-Faced Spider attacked first. One of its slender spider legs thrust toward Yuan Ming like a steel spear, incredibly swift—surpassing even the Unicorn Wolf Spider.

Yuan Ming had no time to think of anything else and hurriedly raised the sword horizontally to block.

Clang!

The sword collided with the spider leg, scattering a few sparks.

Yuan Ming felt a tremendous force strike him, shaking him into a step backward. Looking at the sword in his hand, he found that only a little rust had been knocked off. It was otherwise unharmed.

The Human-Faced Spider attacked again. Two spider legs stabbed inward, striking from both sides in a continuous barrage against Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming parried with his sword while forcing his way toward the cave entrance.

The cave was simply too cramped, restricting his ability to maneuver, which was why he had been placed in such a passive position.

As he endured the spider-leg attacks and pushed steadily toward the entrance, the Human-Faced Spider's abdomen suddenly contracted. From a small opening in its belly, it abruptly sprayed a stream of white fluid that stretched and expanded through the air into a white web, descending over Yuan Ming's head.

Yuan Ming knocked aside an incoming spider leg with his sword, then spread the five fingers of one hand and seized the web. He swung his arm, wrapped it around, and twisted it into a knot.

A sharp pain immediately shot through his palm. Powerful corrosive force seeped into it, and even with the white ape's hide protecting him, his palm's flesh was instantly eaten into streaks of wounds.

The searing pain made Yuan Ming's eyes blaze wide, awakening a savage aura that seemed as though it did not belong to him.

He roared, gripping the sword in one hand and holding it crosswise before him to block the attacks. Then he lunged forward, clenched his burned hand into a fist, and smashed it viciously at the spider leg thrusting straight toward him.