Not Accompanied

Yuan Ming tensed his arm, his muscles bulging. His fist met one of the Human-Faced Spider's legs with a dull thud.

The leg, which looked as thin as a reed, was surprisingly resilient. Under the heavy blow, it didn't break but was forced to retract sharply inward.

The Human-Faced Spider's bizarre human face contorted, displaying an expression of great pain.

Its other legs dug into the cave floor, brushing past Yuan Ming's side. Its entire body clamped down on him like a giant claw.

Before Yuan Ming could react, its body pressed down, pressing tightly against him. The look of pain on its face vanished, replaced by a grinning smile with an exaggerated curve.

The smiling face flipped upward, as if moving to the top of its head.

Beneath it, a gaping maw opened, revealing two rows of sharp, needle-like teeth. A slender, forked tongue flicked out, licking towards Yuan Ming's cheek.

Yuan Ming watched helplessly as the slightly sticky tongue touched his face. Even through the fur of his beast hide, he felt a burning, corrosive pain.

He braced his ape-like arms against the longsword on either side, his muscles bulging. He unleashed his full strength, trying to pry open the Human-Faced Spider's grip and escape.

The Human-Faced Spider seemed to sense his intention, letting out a sharp hiss. Its legs contracted with all their might, trapping Yuan Ming tightly. Its bloody maw didn't hesitate, lunging to bite down on his head.

Yuan Ming tilted his head to the side, and the Human-Faced Spider's dense teeth bit into his shoulder, sending blood splattering.

Immediately, a powerful suction pulled from the wound. Yuan Ming felt his blood surge towards it, being siphoned away by the Human-Faced Spider.

The intense pain further ignited Yuan Ming's ferocity. His eyes turned crimson, and with a low growl, he bit down on the Human-Faced Spider's head.

The Human-Faced Spider, surprised by Yuan Ming's ferocity, immediately released its grip, darted back, and dodged.

Seizing the opportunity, Yuan Ming didn't hesitate. He lunged forward and leaped out of the cave, plunging down towards the ground dozens of feet below.

Closely following, the Human-Faced Spider pursued him.

The moment Yuan Ming landed, he dropped the Ancient Bronze Sword, pressed one palm to the ground, and formed a hand seal with his other. He shouted:

"Rise!"

The Wood Thorn Technique activated again. A sharp wooden thorn shot up from the ground, piercing towards the falling Human-Faced Spider.

The Human-Faced Spider's eight legs immediately retracted, propping its body high. The wooden thorn couldn't reach its body, and its slender legs perfectly avoided the thorn's thrust, remaining completely unharmed.

Yuan Ming cursed, his gaze sweeping forward. He saw Bayin locked in combat with a Unicorn Wolf Spider. One of the spider's legs had been severed, and it was clearly at a disadvantage.

The remaining Green Wolf Beast Slave was providing support nearby, wanting to help but lacking the strength. It didn't dare get too close, only circling the combatants nervously, appearing flustered.

"Leader Bayin, he... he's back again." The Green Wolf Beast Slave saw Yuan Ming jump down from the cliff face not far away and sprint towards them, quickly shouting.

Bayin swiped, batting away the Unicorn Wolf Spider. He glanced at Yuan Ming, his mouth twitching, and fury flared within him.

But then, he saw the massive figure chasing Yuan Ming, his expression changed instantly. He exclaimed in shock, "Human-faced Ghost Spider! How did this guy attract this damned thing?"

As he uttered the Fierce Beast's name, Bayin couldn't help but curse Yuan Ming's entire ancestry in his mind.

A single Unicorn Wolf Spider was already difficult enough to deal with. Now this fellow had attracted a Human-faced Ghost Spider. Both were top-tier existences among Class 1 Lower Grade Fierce Beasts. This was practically a suicide pact for everyone involved.

In an instant, he considered retreating. After all, nothing was more important than his own life.

However, with just a moment of distraction, the Unicorn Wolf Spider's last remaining front leg thrust forward again. As Bayin instinctively blocked, it suddenly retracted and then swept upward.

Bayin, caught off guard, had his chest slashed open by a long, thin cut. Blood flowed out profusely.

He grunted, retreating while raising a paw to press firmly on his chest. His chest muscles contracted, quickly stopping the bleeding. However, the torn flesh around the wound had turned bruised and purple, clearly indicating poisoning.

At this moment, the Unicorn Wolf Spider pressed its attack, advancing on him.

Bayin looked at the relentlessly advancing Unicorn Wolf Spider, then glanced at Yuan Ming and the Human-faced Ghost Spider rapidly approaching. His body suddenly lowered, pressing close to the ground as he dodged the spider's lunge.

Then, he forcefully pushed off the ground with his legs, his body suddenly lunging to the side.

The Green Wolf Beast Slave, seeing Bayin lunging towards it, hadn't even reacted before its long mane around its neck was grabbed.

"Leader, what are you doing..."

Before he could finish his sentence, his body was lifted by a tremendous force, pulled off the ground.

Bayin looked at him without a word, pushed off the ground with his feet, exerted force with his arms, twisted his waist, and swung the beast slave in a wide arc, smashing it backward.

The Green Wolf Beast Slave struggled in terror, but its body was already flying through the air, with no leverage to control itself. It could only watch as its body was hurled towards the pursuing Unicorn Wolf Spider.

Seeing the Green Wolf Beast Slave hurtling towards it, the Unicorn Wolf Spider thrust a leg forward, piercing its body. However, it was also impacted by the powerful inertia, tumbling backward.

Yuan Ming had also caught up. Seeing this, he quickly dodged, sprinting past the Unicorn Wolf Spider's side.

"What a ruthless guy, attacking his own people so viciously," he muttered. Glancing back, he saw the Human-faced Ghost Spider relentlessly pursuing him and quickly increased his speed, running with all his might.

As the White Ape that Yuan Ming had transformed into, his speed on the ground was limited. With the Human-faced Ghost Spider's stride and speed, catching up to him was only a matter of time.

Just as he was contemplating his next move, he was surprised to find that Bayin, who was also fleeing ahead, was actually slower than him. His heart leaped with joy.

Gritting his teeth, he held the Bronze Sword in his mouth, swung his arms, and chased after Bayin.

Bayin was panting heavily, his chest wound feeling numb. Pain wracked his body, and he wasn't known for his speed. Now, he couldn't even flee at full capacity.

Normally, the Unicorn Wolf Spider's poison could be easily neutralized by him simply entering his Honey Badger beast slave state and sleeping it off. But now, it was proving troublesome.

As he was regretting his situation, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind him.

He quickly looked back and saw Yuan Ming, the Bronze Longsword held in his mouth, having caught up.

Before he could react, Yuan Ming flashed to his side, grabbed the Bronze Longsword he had been holding in his mouth, and swung it horizontally at him.

Bayin quickly dodged, shouting angrily, "Are you trying to die?"

Yuan Ming didn't reply, but every few steps he ran, he'd dart back and slash with his sword. While he couldn't injure Bayin, he prevented him from running at full speed.

Seeing the Human-faced Ghost Spider closing in, only three to four zhang away, Yuan Ming finally stopped harassing Bayin, leaving him with only his retreating back.

Bayin was furious but helpless. If he could, he would have torn Yuan Ming apart on the spot. However, any further delay would mean being caught by the Human-faced Ghost Spider, and with his speed, escape would be impossible.

He let out a roar, channeling the spiritual energy from his dantian into his legs, forcefully dispelling the numbness and resuming his full-speed sprint, trying to widen the gap between himself and the Human-faced Ghost Spider.

This surge consumed a considerable amount of spiritual energy, but the effect was significant, immediately increasing the distance to seven or eight zhang.

Before he could even relax, he saw Yuan Ming, who had been running ahead, suddenly crouch down. A faint yellow glow appeared on his palm as he pressed it to the ground, and Bayin immediately felt a sense of foreboding.

A strong sense of alarm made him instinctively slow down.

The moment he slowed, the ground in front of him shattered with a "crack," and a sharp, green wooden spike shot out from between his claws.

If he hadn't controlled his speed just then, if he had been even slightly faster, that spike would have pierced his foot.

Even without a direct hit, Bayin was tripped by the sudden spike, losing his balance and tumbling forward.

Just before he hit the ground, the earth beneath his face shattered again with a "crack."

Another sharp wooden spike burst forth, aiming straight for his right eye.

In a critical moment, Bayin, who had intended to brace himself with his hand, slammed it sideways towards the spike.

With a "bang," the sharp wooden spike was shattered into pieces.

As Bayin plummeted, without a hand to support him, he lost his balance and face-planted.

This trip and fall meant that by the time he got back up, the Human-faced Ghost Spider had caught up, the distance between them less than a zhang.

"Sect Leader Bayin, I won't be keeping you company any longer. Enjoy the rest!"

About five or six zhang ahead, Yuan Ming saw this and finally felt a bit relieved. He immediately got up and sprinted forward.

His spiritual energy had already been significantly depleted, and he had used the Wood Thorn Technique twice in quick succession. He was feeling somewhat weak and didn't want to risk any further engagement.

However, after running only a dozen or so zhang, Yuan Ming suddenly heard a furious roar from behind him.

He stopped in his tracks and quickly looked back, only to see the Human-faced Ghost Spider entangled with Bayin, the two of them fighting once more.

Yuan Ming watched this scene, hesitated for a moment, then ran a few more zhang towards the valley entrance, found a large rock, and hid behind it, observing the confrontation between Bayin and the Human-faced Ghost Spider.