Qian Renxue Poisoned

"Xiaoxue, dodge!"

Uncle Han's roar barely died away before he already crashed across horizontally.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider was so fast that only a black-purple afterimage remained.

Three spider legs originally aimed straight for Qian Renxue's chest, but Uncle Han forcefully deflected them off-course from the side.

Clang!

The short axe parried the foremost spider leg.

Uncle Han's feet sank into the mud at the same time, and the veins on his arms instantly tightened.

His third spirit ring suddenly lit up.

"Get out of here!"

The yellow light on the axe blade burst forth fiercely.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider's massive body was blasted backward from the front, heavily smashing into the brushwood behind and snapping several thick branches in the process.

"Move!"

Uncle Han did not pursue.

Bai Li, however, had already released her bowstring.

Her third spirit ring lit up, and three spirit power arrows separated in midair, shooting toward the two sides and the head of the Man-Faced Demon Spider respectively.

Just as it propped up its body, its two front legs were forced to shrink back.

Qian Renxue had already moved.

The six-winged angel phantom behind her glowed dazzlingly, and her first spirit ring rose simultaneously.

"Left!"

Bai Li shouted.

Qian Renxue rushed out in a single step.

The golden light blasted down right against the left carapace of the Man-Faced Demon Spider.

Crack!

A fine crack split across the black-purple carapace.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider let out a piercing screech, and its eight long legs snapped open fiercely.

The next moment, that pale human face on its abdomen suddenly bulged.

Uncle Han's expression changed.

"Spread out!"

A large swath of grayish-white spiderweb was sprayed head-on.

Bai Li tumbled aside to avoid it.

The short-spear youth and the Cyan Feather Hawk Soul Master also lunged to both sides.

Just as Lu Yuan stepped back two steps, he saw the edge of the spiderweb sweep toward Qian Renxue.

She was standing far too close.

"Right!"

Hearing the sound, Qian Renxue turned sideways.

The spiderweb grazed past her left arm, and the white-golden cuff was instantly stuck fast.

She drew her short sword with a backhand motion.

Rip!

A section of the cuff was directly cut off.

The fabric stained with the spiderweb fell to the ground, and a blackened trace quickly spread across it.

Lu Yuan's gaze swept across her arm.

Near the position of the elbow, an extra very shallow red mark had appeared.

"Did it touch your skin?"

"It brushed past a bit."

As soon as Qian Renxue finished speaking, the Man-Faced Demon Spider lunged over once more.

There was simply no opportunity to check.

The gray text before Lu Yuan's eyes still had not dispersed.

[Qian Renxue]

[Today, Qingshi Valley]

[Fate Node: Severe Injury]

On the other side, the Man-Faced Demon Spider had already shifted its target.

This time, it headed straight for Uncle Han.

Uncle Han met it with axe in hand.

Bai Li pinned down the right side with two arrows.

Yet the Man-Faced Demon Spider suddenly lowered its body the moment it approached, thrusting its two front legs into the soil, and its massive physique actually borrowed the momentum to vault right over Uncle Han's head.

Uncle Han was half a beat slow when he turned around.

What it was truly eyeing were still the few people behind.

"Damn it!"

Uncle Han forcefully twisted his body and gave chase.

One spider leg of the Man-Faced Demon Spider had already stabbed down.

Qian Renxue did not retreat.

Golden light condensed in front of her, colliding head-on with the spider leg.

Bang!

She retreated several steps in succession.

The gap in spirit power was right there.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider's second spider leg had already swept across horizontally.

Uncle Han finally arrived.

He shoved Qian Renxue away with a single push.

Yet he himself failed to avoid it completely.

Puff!

The spider leg grazed past his right shoulder, and blood welled out all at once.

The wound was not deep.

As if he minded it not at all, Uncle Han cleaved the spider leg away with a backhanded axe strike.

Lu Yuan's expression, however, changed.

The skin on Uncle Han's shoulder began to turn purple at a pace almost visible to the naked eye.

"Uncle Han!"

"I'm fine!"

The moment Uncle Han took a step forward, his right hand nevertheless distinctly stiffened for a split second.

The short axe almost slipped from his grip.

Bai Li discovered it as well.

"You're poisoned!"

"Deal with this beast first!"

Uncle Han gripped the axe handle tightly once again.

Yet the gray text within Lu Yuan's field of view had already undergone a change.

[Han Yue]

[Today, Qingshi Valley]

[Fate Node: Death]

An extra line of new text appeared beneath the originally vacant position below.

[Cause of Death: Spider Poison]

Lu Yuan's heart sank—this was the true cause of death.

He was not killed head-on by the Man-Faced Demon Spider.

It was the poison.

Bai Li had already fished a medicine vial out from her waist, tossing it directly across.

"Antidote Pill!"

Uncle Han caught it with one hand, swallowing two pills in a single gulp.

Several breaths passed, but the dark purple near the wound did not stop, still continuing to spread upward along his shoulder.

Bai Li's expression was unsightly.

"Ordinary antidote pills cannot suppress the poison of the Man-Faced Demon Spider."

Uncle Han instead let out a chuckle.

"Then don't waste the medicine."

He tilted his head slightly toward the direction of Spirit City.

"Xiaoxue, take them and go."

Qian Renxue furrowed her brow.

"Then what about you?"

"Bai Li and I are staying."

"You're poisoned."

"I'm not going to die just yet."

Uncle Han spoke lightly.

Yet the two words "Death" before Lu Yuan's eyes were exceptionally clear.

If Uncle Han were truly left here, he would definitely not survive long enough to return to the city.

Neither did the Man-Faced Demon Spider afford them the opportunity to continue arguing; the moment its sharp screech rang out, it had already lunged over once again.

Uncle Han brandished his axe to meet it.

The first spider leg blocked it.

The second was also barely parried.

The third, however, swept across his waist and flank, directly knocking him flying outward for several steps.

"Han Yue!"

Bai Li fired a succession of arrows.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider was forced back.

Propping himself up with the short axe, Uncle Han stood back up, still capable of cursing aloud, but the right half of his body had already grown increasingly rigid.

Lu Yuan swiftly swept his gaze across the surroundings.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider was faster than them.

Uncle Han was poisoned, and Bai Li couldn't hold it back alone. If they scattered and ran now, they would only be hunted down one by one.

His gaze landed on a few thick trees nearby.

Then he glanced back at the spear rope at his waist.

"Young Lord."

Qian Renxue turned her head.

"What is it?"

"Help me force it toward the left."

"What are you trying to do?"

"Let it pass through first."

Lu Yuan had already begun untying the spear rope.

The short-spear youth listened in stunned disbelief.

"That's a three-thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider!"

"I saw it."

"You, a mere one-ring—"

"That's precisely why I'm not the only one."

Lu Yuan fastened the spear rope onto the tail of the spear.

Qian Renxue glanced at him, not continuing to ask.

"How should we force it?"

"Don't give it any path on the right."

"Understood."

The six-winged angel's golden light rose once more.

Bai Li quickly understood as well, raising her bow to fire consecutively, all her arrows pressing toward the right side of the Man-Faced Demon Spider.

Uncle Han still wanted to step forward, but Lu Yuan directly called out to stop him.

"Uncle Han, don't move!"

"You brat are starting to boss me around?"

"If you go up there now, you're just delivering your life."

Uncle Han glared at him.

Yet the moment his right arm was raised, his fingers noticeably stiffened.

Because of this delay, Qian Renxue had already pressed down from the front.

Golden Fist Images continuously blasted against the spider legs.

She didn't seek to wound, only to force a position.

To the right was Bai Li's arrow.

The front was once again suppressed by the Six-Winged Angel.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider failed two consecutive pounces and finally shifted horizontally to the left.

Lu Yuan was waiting for precisely this moment.

The Dark Iron Spear left his hand and flew out.

The spear tip did not pierce the Man-Faced Demon Spider, but instead passed straight between two trees.

The spear rope tightened accordingly.

The Yellow Spirit Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up.

Piercing Edge!

Lu Yuan's entire person charged toward the other side.

The two-zhang-long thin rope instantly stretched horizontally across the forest.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider's momentum was too fast.

When it realized something was wrong, its front two spider legs had already collided with the spear rope.

Its body tilted violently.

Boom!

Its massive physique completely lost its balance for the first time, and half of its body slammed into the mud.

"Now!"

Lu Yuan's shout had just finished.

Han Yue had already moved.

The Third Spirit Ring shone blindingly.

Old man's been waiting for it to drop flat!

He gripped the axe with both hands, funneling almost all the soul power he could still mobilize into this single strike.

The axe blade went straight for that ghastly pale human face on the Man-Faced Demon Spider's abdomen.

Bang!

The carapace shattered with a loud crash.

Blackish-green liquid splashed everywhere.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider let out a shrill screech that made everyone's eardrums ache.

Bai Li's arrows followed right after.

The first arrow.

The second arrow.

The third arrow pierced directly into the split-open wound.

Qian Renxue did not miss the opportunity either, her First Spirit Ring lighting up once more as dazzling golden light blasted down from the front.

Boom!

The Man-Faced Demon Spider's body violently shuddered.

Its eight spider legs twitched wildly on the ground a few times before finally slamming heavily back down.

The forest quieted down once again.

There was only the sound of everyone's irrepressible panting.

The Short-Spear Youth gripped his Martial Soul, staring for several breaths.

"Is it dead?"

Bai Li didn't approach.

Nocking an arrow, she waited a moment longer.

Until she confirmed that the Man-Faced Demon Spider no longer reacted in any way, did she loosen her bowstring.

"Dead."

Lu Yuan turned his head at the very first moment.

Han Yue was already kneeling on one knee on the ground.

The dark purple near his right shoulder still had not faded.

Bai Li hurried over in quick steps, tearing open the clothing on his shoulder with a single motion.

"Don't move."

Han Yue's complexion was pale.

"How much longer can I live?"

"Shut up."

Bai Li flipped a small bottle back out from her medicine pouch, first simply treating the area around the wound.

A moment later, her tense expression finally relaxed just a fraction.

"The poison is still there."

Han Yue gave a tug at the corner of his mouth.

"Isn't that talking nonsense?"

"But it's not spreading as fast as it did just now."

Bai Li looked up and glanced in the direction of Spirit City.

"We're heading back right now."

"As long as we don't delay any further on the road, there's still a cure."

Han Yue let out a long breath.

"That's good then."

Lu Yuan had been staring intently at the top of his head.

The gray text gently rippled.

The originally clear [Death] began to fade away bit by bit.

After a few breaths.

New text surfaced.

[Han Yue's death node has changed]

[Obtained Origin of Destiny]

It worked.

The hand with which Lu Yuan gripped his spear finally loosened somewhat.

At least this one person had been snatched back from the original desperate situation.

The next moment.

The Dark Iron Spear in his palm suddenly vibrated once.

Lu Yuan lowered his head.

An extremely faint Dark Gold Pattern emerged from the end of the spear, slowly spreading upward along the pitch-black spear shaft.

It was completely different from the originally plain Dark Iron Spear.

After the Origin of Destiny arrived—

The Martial Soul reacted.

Lu Yuan just wanted to look closer.

A crisp sound of metal hitting the ground suddenly came from behind him.

Clang.

The short sword in Qian Renxue's hand dropped into the muddy ground.

Lu Yuan whipped around.

She was still standing.

Her complexion, however, had grown markedly paler.

Her left arm hung limply at her side.

On that arm which had been grazed by the spider web earlier, the spot that was previously just a pale red mark had now turned dark purple.

The line of poison was slowly crawling upward along her lower arm.

Bai Li's expression changed abruptly.

"Xiaoxue!"

Qian Renxue lowered her head and glanced at her own arm, as if only until now had she truly felt the numbness.

The gray text in Lu Yuan's field of vision grew clear once again.

[Qian Renxue]

[Today, Qingshi Valley]

[Destiny Node: Severely Injured]

Han Yue's desperate situation had already been altered.

Yet Qian Renxue's—

Was only just beginning.