Businessmen Value Peace Above All

"The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider is found in the extreme west of the Kunlun Mountain Range, in the 'Black Sand Sea.' All creatures here are fierce, bloodthirsty, and resilient. The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider is no exception. While its venom is average, it possesses immense strength and is impervious to blades and spears, making it a notorious fierce beast of the extreme west..."

Zhu Bo, being dragged along by Luo Ban as they fled for their lives, spoke rapidly, "Legend has it that years ago, the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider wasn't this powerful. It became indestructible after devouring a Buddhist cultivator who had achieved a golden body, causing a golden Buddha face to appear on its back."

"Stop talking, survival is paramount. Save your energy for running," Lu Bei replied without looking back, leaping into a dark cave ahead.

The cave was a labyrinth of interconnected tunnels, twisting and turning, up and down, as if an ant had hollowed out the mountain, creating a colossal palace.

Lu Bei inwardly cursed his luck, desperately hoping it wasn't a case of being caught between a rock and a hard place. He slowed his pace, waiting for Luo Ban and Zhu Bo to catch up.

"No, I have to finish what I was saying."

Zhu Bo insisted, "After what I just said, don't you find it strange?"

"It ate a Buddhist cultivator and became indestructible. Isn't that mutation illogical?"

"No, not that."

Zhu Bo shook his head. "The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider is a fierce beast from the extreme west. There are no such creatures within Wu Zhou. Aren't you curious where it came from?"

"This is the cave dwelling of a Demon Cultivator from a thousand years ago. The extreme west is the origin of Demon Cultivators. Raising a Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider as a pet to alleviate homesickness is perfectly reasonable," Lu Bei said, shaking his head. Sensing the tremors outside the cave, he let out a sigh of relief.

Good, the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider was enormous and wouldn't be able to enter for a while.

"How is that possible? After a thousand years, no matter how resilient the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider is, it wouldn't survive."

Zhu Bo shook his head. "Besides, judging by its size, it's likely not even an adult. In short... it's definitely not a thousand years old."

"You mean..."

Lu Bei's eyes narrowed. "There are even larger Buddha-faced Golden Body Spiders waiting for us? Its parents, uncles, grandparents, even four generations living together?"

"No, I didn't say that."

Zhu Bo broke out in a cold sweat and interrupted Lu Bei's jinxing. "I mean this Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider's origin is suspicious. It's highly possible that someone came here before us, and the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider was left behind by them."

"Considering that now is meaningless. Survival is the priority. Do you have a way to deal with the beast outside?"

Lu Bei frowned, looking at the interconnected cave openings. "Or, should we scout ahead and try to bypass the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider?"

The side quest was to eliminate the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider. Lu Bei decisively chose strategic withdrawal. A true man knows what to do and what not to do. Bullying an immature creature was hardly a display of skill. He might gain experience from it, but he disdained doing so.

"Scout ahead."

Zhu Bo thought the same. As a businessman, he valued peace. Wielding weapons was not his preference, and he wouldn't bother with the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider unless absolutely necessary.

Luo Ban remained silent, sensing the frantic impacts from outside the cave, and tightened his grip on his long saber.

Half an hour later, the three, having failed to find a way out, gathered with grim expressions. The outside was silent, and the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider had vanished, its whereabouts unknown.

Zhu Bo's deduction was correct. The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider was not yet an adult. When it was palm-sized, it was left here to guard the cave. It fed on ore to extract spiritual energy when hungry, and the interconnected caves were its feeding routes.

Only when it grew too large did it carve out a bigger nest outside.

"What do we do? The food in the Qiankun Bag won't last more than a few days, and our only escape route is outside," Zhu Bo said, rubbing his eyes, his head aching.

"We have to fight?"

Lu Bei was not entirely convinced. Zhu Bo had been active underground for years and had extensive experience in his illicit activities. There was no reason he would be cornered by a pet spider.

There had to be some magic treasure, like a Luoyang shovel, that could dig a path out in a few swipes.

It wasn't that he was a coward, but the NPC's status panel had a bug. If the opponent had displayed a health bar, he wouldn't be hesitating like this.

He hoped the programmers would fix it by staying up late before the game's official launch.

"We have to fight..."

Zhu Bo pondered for a moment and then said, "The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider is indeed indestructible, but it has weaker points. Especially since this one isn't an adult, its eyes are its weak spot. I'll cover and distract it, while you two attack its vital points directly. If all else fails, blinding it will allow us to retreat safely."

Lu Bei: "..."

From his understanding of spiders, their multiple eyes were mostly for show, their vision extremely poor. They relied on their sensitive sense of smell and touch to perceive the outside world and hunt.

In other words, spiders could see perfectly well with everything except their eyes.

Considering that in a world with spiritual energy, anything was possible, and the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider could chew and digest food, it might not be impossible for it to see with its eyes. He decided not to share his common knowledge.

However, there was one thing Zhu Bo said that Lu Bei strongly disagreed with: "covering" was usually his role.

After discussing their strategy, the three cautiously emerged from the cave. Using the faint green glow emitted by the scattered ore fragments, they advanced step by step towards the exit.

Rustle rustle—

The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider, coiled at the exit, sensed the approach of food. It remained motionless at first. Once the three had moved away from the narrow confines of the cave, its eight curved legs suddenly sprang up, and it hung upside down from the cave ceiling, rapidly crawling towards them.

"I'll do it!"

Zhu Bo shouted, taking out a folding fan from his Qiankun Bag and unfurling it, waving it vigorously. At the same time, Lu Bei and Luo Ban split into two paths, circling left and right in an arc towards the exit.

A gust of wind swept through the cave. The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider, clinging tightly to the cave ceiling, noticed its prey escaping. It leaped from the ground, its eight long legs moving in a blur, and caught up to them in an instant.

A foul wind assailed them. Lu Bei stopped abruptly and turned, channeling his stored power into his blade before slashing down fiercely.

[Blood Rage Lv3 (10/10000)] [Undercurrent Lv3 (10/8000)]

With the activation of these two skills, the attempt to capture the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider was successful. 'Blood Rage' failed its deterrence check, unable to lower its base attributes. 'Undercurrent' was successfully activated.

Base attack power + Array Slaying Saber Technique bonus + Black Gold Straight Saber damage + Undercurrent critical hit...

White saber energy erupted, tearing through the air and striking directly at the large eyes on the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider's forehead. The creature, struck by lightning-like force, was slammed to the ground with a loud crash.

Gravel flew as the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider roared in pain. The resistance from its prey ignited its ferocity. It propped up its massive body with its legs and charged at Lu Bei with a thunderous rumble.

Just then, Luo Ban, who had climbed to the cave ceiling, seized the opportunity. Riding the gust of wind sent by Zhu Bo, he drew his saber mid-air and unleashed a shimmering white saber slash, once again knocking the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider to the ground.

After two consecutive heavy blows, the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider's eyes split open, spewing green fluid. It was pinned down, unable to lift its head.

Luo Ban landed with a flip, stepping on the giant spider's head. He planted his saber with both hands into its cracked eyes and twisted with all his might.

"ROOOOAR—"

Waves of roars erupted as the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider propped up its front legs, thrashing its torso wildly to shake off Luo Ban.

A perfect opportunity!

Lu Bei lowered his body, his blade slicing through the foul stench. He pulled a large handful of throwing knives from his Qiankun Bag and hurled them all into the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider's monstrous maw.

Luo Ban withdrew his saber. A muffled explosion sounded as the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider tilted its head back, spitting green liquid, its massive body convulsing violently.

Dust swirled like dragons, and a pale green poisonous smoke rapidly spread.

Lu Bei, a step too slow in his retreat, was swept away by its foreleg, splattering against a nearby stone wall with a splat.

Slowly sliding down.JPG

[You were attacked. Defense calculated, HP -200]

[You are poisoned. Status calculated, HP -2 per second]

"Deducting 200? That's way too much. Are you sure it's not an adult?"

Lu Bei wiped the blood from his lips, touching his throbbing chest. He mentally noted how close that was.

The far west was truly a dangerous place. A mere elementary schooler could beat him up. If his Eldest Cousin hadn't sponsored him a blue-tier piece of equipment for a price, he might have been goners just now.