Xia Yan could clearly sense a Sun-Catching Spider hidden in the gravel about twenty meters to his right. It was a gray spider Soul Beast that molted every year. It lived in the desert, digging a burrow whose walls it supported with webbing,
where it could escape the blazing sun by day and the cold by night while waiting for prey.
The Sun-Catching Spider had four exceptionally long front legs. It could weave a net, then pounce on prey and trap it before sinking its fangs into flesh and injecting venom.
Then it could enjoy its meal.
Sensing movement nearby, the Sun-Catching Spider stirred slightly. In the darkness, its eight black, jewel-like eyes hesitated
as it considered whether to pounce...
The Sun-Catching Spider crept through the dark
and emerged from beneath the cover of its burrow.
Smack!
The Sun-Catching Spider crossed twenty meters in a flash and lunged straight at Xia Yan, only to be flung away by a huge Blue Silver Grass leaf that appeared in an instant.
Its eight black eyes were full of bewilderment.
"Squeak..."
Why?
The desert seemed quiet at night, but it was teeming with life.
More than a month later,
in Silvis Province, toward Silvis Mountain City,
Xia Yan walked across the wilderness, loose stones underfoot. May was almost here. Most of the land was still brown and yellow, like a patchy camel-hair blanket with stones showing through, but sprouts had appeared.
Vibrant green shoots had begun to emerge
and put out branches.
The rushing wind carried the scent of grass and earth.
Beneath the vast, clear sky, clouds torn apart by the wind could not hide the sun. Sunlight fell everywhere.
Half a month earlier, Xia Yan had completely absorbed the medicinal power of the Icefire Twin Herbs
and had begun considering