The Corrosive Sandworm's piercing shriek tore through the night sky, and a foul-smelling gust rushed into his face.
Xiao Yan seemed to be startled awake by the sudden noise. His eyes snapped open, only to meet a monstrous mouth bristling with fangs. His pupils contracted, and his body stiffened as though paralyzed by fear. Only when the Corrosive Sandworm's venomous drool nearly dripped onto his face did he roll sharply aside, barely escaping its lethal pounce.
"What the hell is that!" he roared in shock and fury, scrambling clumsily to his feet. His lower back struck a sharp rock, making him grimace in pain. That truly hurt, and conveniently made his panic all the more convincing.
Having missed its first strike, the Corrosive Sandworm scraped its eight legs across the sand with an ear-piercing rasp. Its sickly green mouthparts opened and closed as it lunged at him again. The other four Corrosive Sandworms spread out in a fan, blocking his retreat, clearly intending to trap him in this cramped space until he died.
"Corrosive Sandworms!" Once Xiao Yan saw what they were, all color drained from his face, and his voice took on a tearful quaver. "How did I run into these damned things... Yao Lao, what do I do?"
Yao Lao said gravely, "Don't panic! Their shells are hard, but their bellies are vulnerable. Use the dagger at your waist and seize an opening to stab them!"
"I... my hands are shaking so badly! How am I supposed to get close?" Xiao Yan shouted as he stumbled away from the Corrosive Sandworms' lunges. He deliberately made his movements look clumsy, nearly getting swept by their legs several times. Several gashes tore through his robe, exposing the equally sand-stained lining beneath.
Magical beasts at the early Dou Shi level were no more than ants to him now. But he could not reveal his strength, so he used his evasive movements to secretly study the Corrosive Sandworms' habits. They were not particularly fast, but their reactions were exceptionally keen. They also seemed able to sense his position through vibrations in the ground, making every pounce unnervingly precise.
After narrowly avoiding another attack, Xiao Yan "lost his footing" and fell heavily to the ground, landing just behind one Corrosive Sandworm's flank. The creature immediately turned, lifting its rear slightly as though preparing to spray venom.
"I'm done for!" Xiao Yan cried in despair, but the instant he fell, his hand found a fist-sized rock. Just as the Corrosive Sandworm spat its venom, he hurled the rock at it, striking its relatively soft belly squarely.
With a wet squelch, the rock lodged in a gap in its shell, and dark green fluid spurted out. The Corrosive Sandworm let out an agonized shriek, its body convulsing violently before quickly falling still.
"It worked!" Wild joy spread across Xiao Yan's face, as though even he could not believe his lucky strike had succeeded.
Seeing this, the remaining four Corrosive Sandworms grew even more frenzied and surged toward him together. Xiao Yan dared not waste another moment. Scrambling and rolling, he snatched the dagger from the ground and gripped it tightly, his eyes showing "the vicious resolve of someone driven into a corner."
Throughout the ensuing struggle, he continued to use only dou qi third stage strength, relying entirely on agile footwork and precise timing. Sometimes he dodged attacks in "panic"; sometimes he struck a Corrosive Sandworm's weak point "by sheer accident." Half an hour later, when the last Corrosive Sandworm collapsed in a pool of blood, he also slumped to the ground in exhaustion. His chest heaved, and the dagger fell with a clang. Drenched in sweat and insect blood, he looked utterly wretched.
"Whew... finally... finally dealt with them..." He gulped for breath. The cuts their legs had left on his arms burned fiercely. Though shallow, they still seeped blood.
A hint of approval entered Yao Lao's voice. "Not bad. You managed to keep your head under those circumstances. Better than I expected."
Xiao Yan had no strength to reply and merely rested with his eyes closed. Yet his emperor realm soul quietly spread outward. During his fight with the Corrosive Sandworms, he had vaguely sensed the energy fluctuations deep in the valley growing more violent, as though something had been disturbed.
Sure enough, before long, an exceedingly faint sound of threads rubbing together drifted from the depths of the valley. It was so soft that he could never have detected it if his soul power had not far surpassed that of ordinary people.
"Yao Lao, listen..." Xiao Yan whispered, his tone carrying the exhaustion of someone who had just survived a fierce battle, along with a trace of wariness.
After a brief silence, Yao Lao said gravely, "That's the sound of spider silk. And judging by the noise... there are quite a few."
Xiao Yan's heart tightened. He slowly sat up and looked toward the sound. In the darkness deep within the valley, countless tiny points of light seemed to flicker, densely packed like fireflies on a summer night, yet radiating a heart-chilling coldness.
As those lights drew closer, a peculiar sweet scent filled the air. It smelled a little like some kind of nectar, but carried an almost imperceptible fishy tang. Xiao Yan abruptly covered his nose and mouth, his expression shifting. "Something's wrong with that smell!"
"It's soul-confusing fragrance!" Yao Lao said urgently. "Hold your breath! Human-Faced Demon Spiders!"
Before his words had faded, an enormous spiderweb dropped from above the rock wall, whistling through the air as it swept toward Xiao Yan. His pupils contracted. Without thinking, he threw himself aside and barely escaped. The web slapped onto the spot where he had just been lying, its strands shimmering with an eerie blue sheen, clearly laden with deadly poison.
Immediately afterward, dozens of palm-sized spiders crawled from cracks in the rock wall. Each bore a pattern on its back that closely resembled a human face, and their eyes gleamed scarlet. They were indeed Human-Faced Demon Spiders!
Most of these Human-Faced Demon Spiders were at the middle Dou Shi level. The one leading them was as large as a millstone, and the human-face pattern on its back was so lifelike that even its savage expression could be made out. Its aura had reached Peak Dou Master, clearly marking it as the leader of the swarm.
"So many..." Xiao Yan sucked in a cold breath and tightened his grip on the dagger lying on the ground. His body trembled slightly, whether from fear or exhaustion was impossible to tell. "Yao Lao, we're in serious trouble now!"
The Human-Faced Demon Spider leader gave a piercing shriek. The dozens of smaller spiders immediately scattered, spitting silver silk to weave an airtight net around Xiao Yan. The threads crossed in midair with a sizzling sound, seeming to corrode even the air wherever they passed.
Xiao Yan dared not meet them head-on and could only rely on his agile movements to slip through the gaps between the threads. He deliberately made his steps look unsteady, nearly getting caught several times. His robe was torn even worse, and a few fine strands touched his exposed skin, immediately raising a red rash.
"Damn it, this silk is poisonous!" he cursed under his breath, his gaze growing graver.
The leader at Peak Dou Master did not rush to attack. It merely clung to the rock wall, its scarlet eyes fixed on Xiao Yan as though toying with its prey. The human-face pattern on its back kept contorting, seemingly mocking his struggles.
As Xiao Yan dodged, he continued observing in secret. These Human-Faced Demon Spiders were clearly far harder to deal with than the Corrosive Sandworms. Not only were they agile and their silk deadly poisonous, but they also knew how to coordinate their attacks. Stranger still, they seemed able to communicate through their silk, making their teamwork seamless.
I can't keep wearing myself down like this. Xiao Yan's gaze settled on the leading Human-Faced Demon Spider. To catch the bandits, first catch their king. Once I deal with their leader, the smaller spiders will fall apart without a fight.
But with his current "strength," he could not possibly threaten a leader at Peak Dou Master.
Just then, the leader seemed to lose patience. It abruptly leaped from the rock wall, its enormous body hurtling toward Xiao Yan on a foul-smelling gust. It was several times faster than the ordinary Human-Faced Demon Spiders, almost leaving an afterimage behind.
Xiao Yan's pupils contracted sharply. He felt like prey locked in its sights, with nowhere to escape. Drawing a deep breath, he snapped his dagger across his chest in a defensive stance while gathering the last thread of dou qi in his body into his arms—the greatest strength he could currently "display."
Clang!
The leader's forelegs slammed into the dagger. The tremendous force instantly sent Xiao Yan flying backward, crashing heavily into the rock wall. A coppery taste rose in his throat, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood, only to force it back down. His dagger was knocked away as well, burying itself in the sand some distance off.
"Cough, cough..." Clutching his chest, he began coughing, his face as pale as paper and his eyes filled with "despair."
The leader landed before him, its enormous body almost completely engulfing him in shadow. It lowered its head, and the human-face pattern on its back opened its mouth as though grinning savagely. Thick venom dripped from its mouthparts, eating little pits into the sand.
The smaller spiders closed in as well, trapping Xiao Yan completely. Their silk formed a ring around him to prevent his escape.
"It's over..." Xiao Yan murmured, closing his eyes as though giving up resistance.
Yao Lao's voice rang with urgency. "Xiao Yan, don't give up! Think of something!"
Xiao Yan did not answer. The instant he closed his eyes, however, he drove his emperor realm soul at full strength. An almost imperceptible strand of soul power silently stabbed toward the Human-Faced Demon Spider leader's mind like a sharp needle.
He remembered Yao Lao once saying that although Human-Faced Demon Spiders were powerful, their souls were relatively weak. In particular, the human-face patterns on their backs were manifestations of condensed soul power—and also their weak points.
That strand of soul power was as fine as a hair. Carrying the emperor realm pressure he had deliberately restrained, it struck the human-face pattern on the leader's back with perfect precision.
Just as the leader was about to feast on its prey, it suddenly let out a shriek of utter agony. Its enormous body convulsed violently, and the human-face pattern on its back visibly twisted and dimmed. Its scarlet eyes filled with pain and terror.
At the sight, the smaller spiders around it immediately fell into chaos, their rhythm of attack collapsing.
Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Yan snapped his eyes open, a keen gleam flashing through them. Instead of taking the chance to flee, he "struggled" to his feet, picked up a sharp stone shard, and lunged at the convulsing leader with all his strength, driving the shard deep into the compound eyes on its head.
Squelch!
Dark green fluid sprayed across his face. The leader's convulsions abruptly stopped, and its huge body crashed to the ground, utterly lifeless.
With their leader dead, the remaining Human-Faced Demon Spiders seemed to have lost their backbone. They retreated one after another, soon withdrawing into the cracks in the rock wall and vanishing.
Silence returned to the valley, broken only by Xiao Yan's heavy breathing.
He slumped on the ground and wiped the fluid from his face, revealing a filthy visage filled with the relief of having escaped death. "That scared me to death... it actually... actually worked..."
Yao Lao breathed a sigh of relief, though puzzlement lingered in his voice. "Why did that leader suddenly start convulsing?"
Xiao Yan's thoughts stirred, but he feigned bewilderment. "No idea. Maybe something went wrong with it? Who cares? As long as it's dead."
Though he said that aloud, he knew perfectly well that his soul strike, while not exposing his strength, had given him a new understanding of these Human-Faced Demon Spiders. The human-face patterns on their backs were far more than mere condensations of soul power. When he struck, he had vaguely sensed an exceedingly obscure fluctuation from a Blood Curse.
Blood Curse... Xiao Yan frowned slightly. These Human-Faced Demon Spiders are probably connected to some faction.
He gave it no further thought. What mattered most now was recovering his strength as quickly as possible and continuing deeper into the valley. He walked to the hot spring and used its water to wash the grime from his face and the rash on his arms. Only after drinking a few mouthfuls did he feel some of his strength return.
The night deepened. A slight chill rode the valley wind, stirring loose stones on the rock walls and producing faint rattles. Xiao Yan leaned against a rock, seemingly resting. In truth, his emperor realm soul remained constantly alert to his surroundings while he silently circulated his cultivation method, restoring the soul power he had expended.
He knew that defeating the Human-Faced Demon Spider leader had merely been a lucky escape. The true danger might still be waiting deep within the valley. And that faint, elusive trace of the Green Lotus was like a beacon in the darkness, guiding him ever onward.
When a fish-belly whiteness spread along the horizon, Xiao Yan finally stood and brushed the sand from his clothes. His gaze once again became "weary yet resolute." He picked up his dagger and headed deeper into the valley.
A new day had begun, and his journey through the Tagor Desert had only just revealed the tip of the iceberg.
Before you continue