The Human-Faced Spider

Following the vague impression he had formed on the way in, Pei Ling escaped the nest. He was just about to catch his breath when he suddenly felt the hill behind him tremble slightly. The next instant, a piercing shriek rang out!

Before he could react, it felt as if a boulder had slammed into his chest. His head spun, and a rush of blood rose in his throat.

What the hell!

The Human-Faced Spider was back!?

Pei Ling had no time to think. He hurriedly shouted, "Miss Wu Liu! I've mastered the Blood Snail Evasion Technique. Please come out and meet me!"

The wilderness lay silent. For a long while, there was no movement at all.

Was Wu Liu really not here?

Pei Ling's heart sank. Giving up on relying on the female ghost, he quickly figured out his direction and fled toward Luoshan City.

Damn it, this was a Foundation Establishment Realm demonic beast that even City Lord Duanmu, also a Foundation Establishment cultivator, didn't dare face head-on. Apart from Luoshan City, he couldn't think of anywhere else safe.

He had only escaped a short distance when he heard a succession of tremors behind him, accompanied by the demonic beast's furious shrieks. In the midst of his frantic flight, Pei Ling stole a glance back and saw that most of the hill where the spider's lair had been was torn away. A spider nearly as large as a house was crawling out of the nest.

The spider was ghastly white all over, and a lifelike human face grew on its abdomen. The corners of its mouth naturally curved upward, as if it were smiling. It looked both savage and eerie.

Its limbs were still smeared with the flesh and blood of some unknown demonic beast. It had clearly just returned from hunting, only to be greeted by the terrible news that every one of its offspring had been wiped out.

Seething with rage, it searched the surroundings. Sensing Pei Ling's rapidly retreating trail, then catching the lingering scent in its nest, it let out another piercing shriek. Its four pairs of legs moved, cleaving through the plants in its path as it gave chase in a frenzy.

Seeing this, Pei Ling nearly jumped out of his skin. He frantically drove the Blood Snail Evasion Technique, trying to put more and more distance between himself and the Human-Faced Spider.

Fortunately, the technique had come from Fairy Li, and he had learned it through the system. Pei Ling had already gained a head start by fleeing earlier, and now the distance between them visibly widened once more. No matter how recklessly the Human-Faced Spider charged, or how furiously it spat out webs, it could only rage helplessly, watching his silhouette shrink into a tiny black dot.

"The Blood Snail Evasion Technique is amazing!" Once he was sure the Human-Faced Spider was much slower than him, Pei Ling relaxed a little and couldn't help feeling eager. "I wonder if Fairy Li has any other cultivation techniques for me to try after I finish learning this one?"

A powerful technique that he could get for free—he'd gladly take a dozen.

After entertaining that small hope, Pei Ling turned his thoughts to what he would tell City Lord Duanmu once he reached Luoshan City.

After all, City Lord Duanmu hadn't wanted to provoke the Human-Faced Spider either...

"Anyway, even though a Foundation Establishment Realm Human-Faced Spider has gained some intelligence, it still can't talk." Pei Ling quickly came up with an idea. "I'll just say it came after me first."

As for why...he was just a new Outer Sect disciple of Chongming Sect at the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

What harm could he possibly have in mind?

Even if he did, who would believe he had the ability to provoke a Foundation Establishment Realm Human-Faced Spider?!

At that thought, Pei Ling's heart eased, and the heavy burden lifted completely.

But his relief lasted only a moment before his expression changed. He realized a cruel truth: he was running out of spiritual power!

The Blood Snail Evasion Technique was incredibly fast, but it also consumed spiritual power at an astonishing rate.

Pei Ling had been so focused on fleeing that he hadn't even noticed. In the short time that had passed, half the spiritual power in his body was already gone. At this rate, he wouldn't make it into Luoshan City. He might not even escape the Mountain Forest at the foot of Luoshan before the Human-Faced Spider caught him.

"Damn it..." Pei Ling's face turned ashen. After a quick calculation, he abruptly changed direction and headed for the gorge where he'd been trapped earlier!

A courtesy returned is only fair!

Ultimately, he had gotten mixed up with the Human-Faced Spider because Chen Huan and the others had forced him into it.

If so, how could he let them stay out of it?

If he didn't have enough spiritual power to make it back to Luoshan City, he'd have Chen Huan and the others buy him the time he needed!

As Pei Ling raced toward the gorge, several li away, an open space had been deliberately cleared outside it. Intricate patterns had been drawn there in cinnabar and human blood. In the very center of the clearing stood a Soul Summoning Banner.

At a glance, the Soul Summoning Banner looked much like those used at funerals. But more than a dozen souls writhed frantically across its surface, their faces twisted and their expressions venomous. "Chen Huan! You'll die a horrible death!"

"Huang Xian, I treated you like an older brother, and this is how you repay me! You'll get what's coming to you!"

"Mei'er...Mei'er...why won't you look at me? You swore that you'd fallen in love with me first, but then you lured me into a trap and killed me! And on top of that, you took all my cultivation, blood essence, and soul to help Chen Huan refine his Talisman Tool! How could you treat me like this? Don't you feel even the slightest bit guilty?!"

"Zhang Zhongqin! You beast! If I hadn't saved you back then, you'd have been dead! And this is how you repay my kindness!!! Beast! Beast!!"

"You vile servant, Xiao Tasha! We're blood relatives, cousins born of sisters, and you still harmed me for Chen Huan! May you die a horrible death!! Even if you end up in the underworld after you die and meet our parents and elders, how will you answer to them?!"

"Cousin, you can stop struggling." On a makeshift altar piled up from earth, Xiao Tasha stood with her feet on the Seven Stars. After completing a series of hand seals and incantations, she bit the tip of her tongue and spat out a mouthful of heart's blood. The patterns on the ground lit up, glowing faintly with Bloodlight.

Her face was deathly pale, with a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth, yet she looked extremely excited.

She first teased the female ghost in the banner. "You devoted yourself to pursuing the Great Dao, but you were too dull to get anywhere. Now you're in the Soul Summoning Banner. When Senior Brother Chen's cultivation advances and he achieves the Great Dao, you'll rise along with him. Doesn't that mean you've gotten what you wanted? Why curse me? You should be thanking me."

She paid no more attention to the female ghost's furious tirade. Turning to Chen Huan, she smiled, her lovely eyes glimmering. "Senior Brother Chen, I've completed the task. The main formation is finally ready! Now we just have to wait until midnight."

Chen Huan, Huang Xian, Zhang Zhongqin, and Chen Mei stood at their assigned positions, each holding a talisman that shimmered with spiritual light. Their wrists were faintly stained red, and all of them looked pale and breathed hard. Chen Mei, whose cultivation was the weakest, was especially worn out. At those words, her legs gave way, and she dropped straight to her knees.

Looking up at the talisman floating before her, she felt a trace of fear and said, still shaken, "Good thing we made it through. Senior Sister Xiao's method of establishing a formation with talismans can let us set up one beyond our cultivation level, but it consumes way too much spiritual power and blood essence."

She felt as though she'd been drained dry!

"Junior Sister Xiao, we owe this to you." Chen Huan had the strongest cultivation, and though he had also suffered heavy losses, he remained in high spirits. Ignoring his younger sister, he stepped forward to support Xiao Tasha and fussed over her for a while before turning to Chen Mei. "Go check on Pei Ling."

Chen Mei still hadn't recovered, and she was already a little unwilling. "Him? He can't get out anyway. What else could have happened?"

As she spoke, she summoned the Tracking Bee from her sleeve. To her surprise, the bee showed no intention of flying into the gorge. Instead, without the slightest hesitation, it flew south!