"Buddha-faced Golden Body Spiders are found in the 'Black Sand Sea' in the Far West Land of the Kunlun Mountain Range. The creatures there are all savage, bloodthirsty, and tenacious, and the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider is no exception. Its venom is only average, but it possesses immense strength and is impervious to blades and spears. It is a notorious beast of the Far West Land..."
Zhu Bo was dragged along by Luo Ban as they fled for their lives, speaking rapidly as he ran. "It's said that in the early years, the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider wasn't this powerful. After it devoured a Buddhist Cultivator who had achieved a perfected golden body, a golden Buddha face appeared on its back, and it became indestructible."
"Stop talking. Staying alive is what matters. Save your strength and run." Lu Bei didn't even look back as he leaped into the pitch-black cave ahead.
The cave extended in every direction, winding up and down, as though ants had hollowed out the mountain and bored a gigantic palace into it.
Lu Bei sensed trouble and muttered inwardly, Please, don't let this be the tragedy of wolves ahead and tigers behind. He slowed down and waited for Luo Ban and Zhu Bo to catch up.
"No, I have to finish what I was saying."
Zhu Bo stubbornly said, "Don't you find what I just said strange?"
"Eating a Buddhist Cultivator and becoming indestructible? The mutation isn't reasonable enough?"
"No, not that."
Zhu Bo shook his head. "The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider is a beast of the Far West Land. There's no such thing in Wu Zhou. Aren't you curious where it came from?"
"This is the ancient cave dwelling of a Demonic Cultivator from a thousand years ago. The Far West Land is the Place of Origin of Demonic Cultivators. Raising a Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider as a pet to ease homesickness makes perfect sense. There's nothing wrong with it." Lu Bei shook his head. Feeling the tremors outside the cave, he let out a long breath of relief.
Good. The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider was enormous. It wouldn't be able to get inside for a while.
"How could that be? No matter how tenacious its vitality was, a Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider couldn't survive for a thousand years."
Zhu Bo shook his head repeatedly. "Besides, judging by its size, it's most likely not even an adult. In short... it definitely isn't a thousand years old."
"You mean..."
Lu Bei narrowed his eyes. "There's an even larger Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider waiting for us? Its parents, uncles and aunts, grandparents—even four generations living under one roof?"
"Don't. I never said that."
Zhu Bo broke into a cold sweat and interrupted Lu Bei's ominous speculation. "What I mean is that this Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider's origins are suspicious. There's a good chance that someone came here before us, and the spider was left behind by them."
"There's no point considering that now. Staying alive is the only hard truth. Do you have a way to deal with that beast outside?"
Lu Bei frowned as he looked at the cave openings extending in every direction. "Or should we scout ahead first and avoid the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider?"
The side quest was to eliminate the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider, but Lu Bei decisively chose a strategic retreat. A true man knew what to do and what not to do. What kind of skill was bullying a minor? He might be able to earn that experience, but he disdained to take it.
"Scout ahead."
Zhu Bo thought the same way. A merchant valued peace above all; waving sabers and clubs was not his wish. Unless absolutely necessary, he had no intention of crossing swords with a Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider.
Luo Ban said nothing. Feeling the mad impacts coming from outside the cave, he tightened his grip on the long saber.
Half an hour later, the three of them gathered together with dark expressions after finding nothing while scouting. The cave outside was silent, and no one knew where the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider had gone into hiding.
Zhu Bo's guess had been right. The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider wasn't an adult. When it had been the size of a palm, someone had thrown it here to guard the cave dwelling. Whenever it grew hungry, it gnawed on ore and refined spiritual energy to fill its belly. The interconnected tunnels were its feeding routes.
Only after it had grown too large did it go outside and bore out a vast nest.
"What do we do? The food in my Qiankun Bag won't last more than a few days, and the only way out is outside." Zhu Bo rubbed his eyes, his head aching.
"Can we only fight it?"
Lu Bei wasn't entirely convinced. Zhu Bo had spent many years operating underground and had extensive experience committing crimes. There was no reason for him to be driven to the end of the road by a pet spider.
He definitely had some magic treasure, perhaps something like a Luoyang shovel. A few swipes, and it could dig out a path to safety.
It wasn't that Lu Bei was cowardly. The NPC's panel had a bug. If only his opponent would display a health bar, he wouldn't be hesitating like this.
Hopefully, before the game launched, the programmers would work through the night and fix it.
"We can only fight it..."
Zhu Bo pondered for a moment before saying, "Although the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider is indestructible all over, there are still places where its defenses are weaker. This one isn't an adult yet, especially, and its eyes are its weak point. I'll draw its attention and cover you. The two of you attack its vital point directly. At worst, we'll blind it and retreat with our whole bodies intact."
Lu Bei: "..."
Based on what he knew about spiders, all those huge eyes were basically decorations. Their vision was extremely weak; they relied on their sharp sense of smell and touch to perceive the outside world and hunt.
In other words, aside from its eyes, a spider could see everything else on its body clearly.
Considering that in a world with spiritual energy, anything was possible—even the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider could chew its food—seeing with its eyes wasn't impossible. He didn't voice the common knowledge he knew.
However, there was one thing Zhu Bo had said that he strongly disagreed with. When it came to providing cover, he was usually the one who said that.
After the three of them finished discussing their tactics, they cautiously walked out of the cave. Relying on the faint green glow emitted by the scattered ore, they advanced step by step toward the exit.
Rustle---
The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider coiled up at the exit sensed food approaching. It first held its position, but once the three of them had moved away from the narrow tunnel, its eight crooked legs suddenly sprang up. It hung upside down from the roof of the cave and rapidly crawled toward them.
"I'm going!"
Zhu Bo shouted and took a folding fan from his Qiankun Bag. After spreading it open, he waved it with all his might. At the same time, Lu Bei and Luo Ban split into two routes, running along curved paths toward the exit on the left and right.
A gale rose. The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider clung tightly to the ceiling, and when it saw the food fleeing, it leaped down to the ground. Its eight long legs thrashed in a dense blur, and in the blink of an eye, it was upon them.
A foul wind swept over. Lu Bei abruptly stopped and turned around, the strength he had stored for so long gathering along the blade before he slashed straight down.
Blood Rage Lv3 (10/10000)
Dark Tide Lv3 (10/8000)
The two skills activated. The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider was successfully captured. The 'Blood Rage' intimidation check failed and could not lower its basic attributes. 'Dark Tide' activated successfully.
Basic attack power + Array Slaying Saber Technique bonus + Black Gold Straight Saber damage + Dark Tide critical hit...
White saber light poured out, tearing through the air as it slashed straight into the huge eye on the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider's head. Struck by thunderous force, the latter was smashed onto its back with a booming crash.
Broken stones flew everywhere. The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider shrieked furiously. The food's resistance sent its savagery into a frenzy, and it braced its legs against the ground, raising its massive body before charging toward Lu Bei with a rumble.
At that moment, Luo Ban, who had climbed onto the ceiling, seized his chance. Riding the fierce wind Zhu Bo sent over, he drew his saber in midair, and a slash of white saber light once again cut the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider to the ground.
After two consecutive blows to the head, cracks split open around the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider's eyes, and green, viscous fluid sprayed everywhere. For a moment, it was pinned down and unable to raise its head.
Luo Ban flipped down, planted his foot on the giant spider's head, and braced his saber with both hands as he stabbed it into the cracked eye, twisting with all his strength several times.
"Roar, roar, roar----"
A wave of furious roars erupted. The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider raised its forelegs and frantically shook its body, trying to throw Luo Ban off.
What an opportunity!
Lu Bei lowered his body, his saber cleaving through the foul, stinking wind. He took a large handful of throwing knives from his Qiankun Bag and hurled every one of them into the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider's sinister mouthparts.
Luo Ban withdrew his saber and left. A muffled explosion rang out. The Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider threw back its head and spat green fluid as its enormous body rolled desperately across the ground.
Dust rolled like an Earth Dragon, and pale green poisonous smoke spread rapidly.
Lu Bei was a step too slow in fleeing and was swept away by one of its forelegs. With a smack, he was plastered against a stone wall some distance away.
Slowly sliding down.JPG
[You were attacked. After calculation, HP -200] [You have been poisoned. After calculation, HP -2 per second]
"Two hundred damage? That's way too brutal. Are you sure it's not an adult?"
Lu Bei wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and rubbed his faintly aching chest, inwardly marveling at how close it had been.
The Far West Land truly was dangerous. Any random grade-schooler could bully him. If not for his big cousin sponsoring him with a blue-grade piece of equipment, he might already have been done for from that blow.
Before you continue