Tang San's Desperate Counterattack

Master's decision was like a Giant Stone thrown into an already tense lake, stirring wave after wave.

"Using yourselves as bait? That's too reckless!" Flender was the first to object, his eyes widening behind his glasses. "Using two poisoned children as bait? What if..."

"There is no what if." Master cut him off, his voice hard as iron. His gaze swept over Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing's pale yet resolute faces. "You know the toxicity of the Ghost Shadow Spider. The longer we delay, the more irreversible the nerve damage becomes. This is the fastest, and perhaps the only, method." He looked at Zhao Wuji. "Old Zhao, your defense is the strongest. You'll provide support. Once the main force of the spiders is drawn out, protect them immediately."

Zhao Wuji snorted heavily, his tiger eyes wide. Though worried, he knew this was the best option at present. "I know! Those sinister beasts—just watch me tear them apart!"

"Oscar, immediately make Flying Mushroom Sausages. At least one for everyone, in case of emergency." Master spoke rapidly. "Mubai, your injuries aren't light. Protect Rongrong and Oscar. Xiao Wu, Ma Hongjun, stay mobile and provide support. Follow my commands. Xiaoxiao..."

Xiao Xiaoxiao immediately straightened up, though her complexion still looked terrible.

"Your illusion is the key. The spiders are cunning; they may not all reveal themselves. The instant the trap is triggered, I need you to cast your illusion over the widest possible area, interfering with every spider that may be hiding and creating a chance for Teacher Zhao and Xiao San to kill them in one blow! Can you do it?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, suppressing the exhaustion from her unrecovered Soul Power and Spiritual Power, then nodded heavily. "I can!"

"Good!" Master's gaze was sharp as a blade. "Move at once! Set up around the Gold Devouring Rat's corpse and the location where Oscar previously absorbed the spirit ring! Their targets are likely the lingering Soul Power aura and the wounded!"

No one hesitated any longer. At the brink of life and death, all their usual banter and jokes vanished, leaving only absolute trust and execution.

Enduring the increasingly intense numbness and stabbing pain in his back, Tang San swiftly took out all manner of traps and mechanisms from Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night: steel wires, poisoned Hidden Weapons, trigger crossbows... His fingers moved quickly as he arranged them. His movements were somewhat sluggish from the pain, but still precise. Dai Mubai and Xiao Wu followed his instructions, cleverly concealing the mechanisms behind surrounding bushes, fallen leaves, and tree trunks.

Zhu Zhuqing sat cross-legged somewhat closer to the center, doing her best to suppress the poison in her shoulder with Soul Power. Her face was pale, cold sweat streaming down her body, but her gaze remained cold and sharp, like a cheetah waiting for prey.

Oscar desperately made Mushroom Sausages and handed them out to everyone. Ning Rongrong stood beside him, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda glowing faintly as she prepared to provide support at any moment.

Ma Hongjun held flames in his mouth, vigilantly watching the surroundings. Zhao Wuji and Flender stood to the left and right like two guardian deities, their auras oppressive and terrifying.

Xiao Xiaoxiao closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to recover what little Spiritual Power she had left. In her mind, she repeatedly simulated the timing and range for unleashing her illusion. She knew that her next move could not afford a single mistake.

The traps were soon laid. Everyone quickly concealed themselves according to the plan, leaving only Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing in the center, apparently defenseless as they struggled to force out the poison, along with the Gold Devouring Rat's corpse. The heavy scent of blood and Soul Power fluctuations were like a beacon in the darkness.

The forest was terrifyingly silent. Every second seemed stretched infinitely long. The tension was almost suffocating.

The wound on Tang San's back burned as if on fire, and the numbness caused by the poison was gradually spreading through his limbs. He clenched his teeth and maintained his cross-legged posture, forcing the Mysterious Heaven Skill to circulate as he resisted the poison. At the same time, he pushed his Purple Demon Eye to its limit, carefully observing every trace of movement around him.

Zhu Zhuqing's condition was worse. Her Soul Power was not as deep as Tang San's, and the blackened color at her shoulder had spread to her collarbone. Her breathing had become somewhat ragged.

Second by second, time passed.

Just as everyone's nerves tightened to the limit—

Rustle... rustle...

An extremely faint sound, nearly indistinguishable from wind stirring fallen leaves, came from deep within the dense forest to their left.

They were here!

Tang San's pupils contracted slightly. With the tiniest movement, he made a gesture toward Master, who was hidden nearby.

Everyone's hearts rose to their throats.

The sound drew closer and closer, yet no figure appeared. Only a few fallen leaves were slightly disturbed by something invisible. The Ghost Shadow Spiders' ability to hide was terrifying!

Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing, who had been "forcing out poison," swayed sharply. She spat out a small mouthful of black blood, her aura instantly weakening as she collapsed backward!

This change seemed to have caught the lurking creatures off guard!

Now!

Click! A faint mechanism sounded!

A nearly transparent steel wire was triggered! Immediately afterward, several poisoned crossbow bolts shot toward the area where Zhu Zhuqing had fallen from different angles! At the same time, the fallen leaves on the ground flew up, and several barbed iron nets sprang into the air!

Screech! Screech! Screech!!

A burst of sharp, frantic shrieks erupted!

Four Shadow Figures were forced out of their perfect concealment!

They were four spiders the size of millstones, their bodies black as ink. Their eight compound eyes flashed with cruel, cunning red light, while their barbed legs frantically blocked the crossbow bolts and iron nets. They moved so fast that they left afterimages behind! They were Ghost Shadow Spiders!

The trap had successfully forced them out!

But Master's expression abruptly changed. "No! There are only four! Be careful, there are still..."

Before he could finish—

At the instant everyone's attention was drawn to the four revealed spiders, the air twisted within the shadows behind Tang San. A fifth Ghost Shadow Spider emerged soundlessly. It was slightly smaller, but its color was deeper, nearly blending into the shadows themselves! Its spear-sharp forelimbs gleamed with deadly black light as they stabbed straight toward Tang San's unguarded heart!

This was actually a more cunning leader spider, one even more adept at lurking! From the very beginning, its target had been Tang San, the greatest threat!

"Xiao San!!" Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, and the others hidden around them cried out in horror, but they had no time to save him!

Zhao Wuji roared and lunged forward, but he was too far away!

At that critical instant!

"Moonlight Illusion!"

Xiao Xiaoxiao's cool voice suddenly rang out, carrying a trace of determination!

She did not bother with the four spiders trapped by the mechanisms at all. All her Spiritual Power, all her Soul Power, even her very essence pushed beyond its limits, was poured into the shadows behind Tang San! There was only one target—the leader spider lurking deepest in the darkness!

Buzz—!

An invisible yet powerful Mental Fluctuation instantly enveloped the area! The light there twisted violently, as though space itself were trembling!

The leader spider, just about to succeed, abruptly froze. The cruel red light in its compound eyes was filled with chaotic light and shadow, and its stabbing forelimbs faltered and slowed for an instant!

That fatal delay!

The hairs on Tang San's back stood on end as the stench of death rushed at him! Yet he did not panic. He did not even turn around! Based on his complete trust in Xiao Xiaoxiao, and the instincts forged through countless battles, his body reacted in the flash of lightning when that Mental Fluctuation descended and the leader spider's movements stalled!

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track! He slid half a step to the left with no room to spare!

At the same time, his right hand, glowing with the jade-white sheen of Mysterious Jade Hand, shot backward in a fierce grab without even looking!

Splat!

Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand caught the spider spear with incomparable precision, just as the illusion's interference delayed it for that brief instant! The sharp spearhead tore through the skin of his palm, drawing a streak of black blood, but he gripped it tightly, preventing it from advancing even an inch further!

Meanwhile, his left hand had already grasped that pitch-black hammer! Using the momentum of his sideways slide, he half-turned and poured all his strength, all his Soul Power, all his fury and determination into it!

"Chaotic Gale!!"

Wrapped in terrifying black light, the hammerhead tore through the air with a deep howl and smashed viciously into the leader spider's head, which had fallen into a brief rigidity after its attack was blocked and its senses were disrupted by the illusion!

Bang!!!

It was like smashing a hard watermelon!

The leader spider did not even have time to scream. Its entire head and half its body instantly exploded beneath that overwhelming force! Dark green fluid and fragments of shell sprayed in every direction!

It sounded slow when described, but it had all happened in the blink of an eye!

From the fifth leader spider's sneak attack, to Xiao Xiaoxiao's extreme illusion interference, to Tang San's counterkill, it had taken no more than an instant!

Only then did Zhao Wuji rush close enough. Seeing the exploded spider corpse, he froze for a moment before turning in fury toward the four spiders still temporarily trapped by the mechanisms. "Beasts! Die!"

"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!" Flender transformed into his owl avatar and swooped down from above!

"Seven Treasures Famous, second: Speed! Third: Soul!" Ning Rongrong's enhancement light landed on Zhao Wuji and Flender in time.

Without the leader spider, the remaining four spiders were still fierce, but under the siege of the enraged Soul Sages and the well-prepared Shrek group, they were quickly dealt with completely.

The battle ended swiftly.

The area was a mess, filled with the stench of blood and spider fluid.

With a thud, Xiao Xiaoxiao could no longer hold on and collapsed directly to the ground. Her face was pale as gold paper, and even a thin line of blood seeped from her nose as she fell completely unconscious. That extreme, incomparably precise burst of Spiritual Power had utterly drained her.

"Xiaoxiao!" Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong cried out as they rushed over.

Tang San gasped for breath. The wounds on his back and palm had split open again from his earlier burst of strength, and even more black blood flowed out. A powerful wave of dizziness kept washing over him. He glanced at the unconscious Xiao Xiaoxiao, an extremely complicated emotion flashing through his eyes. With no time to say more, he urgently called out, "The poison sacs! Quickly, take the poison sacs!"

Master had already dug out the poison sac of the leader spider and those of two other thousand-year Ghost Shadow Spiders. He hurried over to Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing, squeezed some fluid from the sacs, mixed it with several medicinal powders, and quickly applied it to their wounds.

An intense burning pain surged from the wounds. Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing both convulsed in agony, cold sweat instantly soaking the backs of their clothes. But with that sharp pain, the blood flowing from their wounds began to turn from black to bright red, and the spreading numbness also stopped.

"Fighting poison with poison... the Ghost Shadow Spider's venom itself is part of the antidote..." Master sighed in relief as he quickly bandaged them. "The poison has been contained. We'll return and carefully treat you to remove the remaining toxins. Leave this place immediately!"

Zhao Wuji carried the unconscious Xiao Xiaoxiao on his back, while Flender supported the weakened Zhu Zhuqing. Dai Mubai and Xiao Wu held up Tang San, who was on the verge of collapse. Oscar and Ma Hongjun vigilantly covered the rear.

The group did not even have time to clean up the battlefield as they rushed toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest at top speed.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled through gaps in the branches and leaves, stretching their shadows long as hurried footsteps and ragged breathing echoed through the forest. Everyone was wounded and exhausted, but more than that, they were filled with the lingering tremor of surviving disaster, along with something indescribable that had been tempered between life and death.

Supported by the others, Tang San forced himself onward. He looked back at the slender, unconscious figure on Zhao Wuji's back, his pale lips pressed into a straight line.

That spider spear that had nearly pierced his heart... that illusion that had descended at the critical instant...

He clenched his still-numb palm. The wound left by the spider spear was still bleeding.

It seemed that what he owed her was only growing greater.