The man and the spider stared at each other.
For a moment, both froze on the spot.
"The Man Faced Demon Spider!"
Xiao Yan recognized the creature.
Unlike the startled demon spider, Xiao Yan was furious.
If this bastard hadn't drawn aggro, Old Yu wouldn't have been poisoned.
"How did this thing get into the garden? Didn't those little green snakes attack it?"
The Man Faced Demon Spider was quite at ease, nibbling away at an inferior immortal medicine.
It was healing its injuries.
The moment it saw Xiao Yan, it straightened up.
Its eight sharp, long legs were pitch-black in the moonlight, with a chilling glint.
It, too, eyed him like a tiger watching its prey.
Yu Tianming was no longer by Xiao Yan's side.
That stirred a powerful desire for revenge in the spider.
"I'm done for. This thing is a thousand-year Soul Beast!"
Xiao Yan had only one thought.
He was screwed.
Even an ordinary thousand-year Soul Beast required at least the strength of a Soul Elder to fight.
But Xiao Yan was only a level-ten Soul Scholar who didn't even have his First Soul Ring.
"Goo!"
The Man Faced Demon Spider let out an ear-piercing shriek.
Buzz!
A snow-white, highly venomous web came whistling at him.
A glob of venom gathered between its fangs.
Xiao Yan didn't dare be careless and hurriedly dodged.
If he were caught by that venom-soaked web, he might be finished.
Empowered by Soul Power, Xiao Yan dodged swiftly.
After several leaps in succession, he just managed to put a safe distance between them!
"Damn it, come out here if you've got the guts!" Xiao Yan cursed.
He figured the Man Faced Demon Spider probably couldn't get out. Those little snakes were no pushovers, after all.
But reality was often all too real.
The Man Faced Demon Spider swaggered forward, its eight legs swaying.
It reached the mud fence, where countless little snakes lay coiled.
Xiao Yan had thought it would stop there.
But instead,
The countless little green snakes seemed terrified and cleared a path.
Xiao Yan's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"It just fucking walked out like that!?"
"I've never heard of snakes being afraid of spiders!"
A cold, cruel smile appeared on the Man Faced Demon Spider's human face, and its six vertical pupils locked onto Xiao Yan.
That gaze
seemed to be looking at a dead man.
"That spider definitely ate an immortal medicine. It's become a spirit!" Xiao Yan immediately concluded.
An ordinary thousand-year Soul Beast could never possess such intelligence.
Boom!
The Man Faced Demon Spider leaped into the air, shrieking beneath the moonlight.
Xiao Yan didn't dare fight it and could only flee.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well lay in a valley with all kinds of complex terrain.
Immortal Herbs grew among the bushes,
giving Xiao Yan a chance to escape!
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, twin springs in one well, the two forces counteracting each other!"
During a brief respite,
Xiao Yan suddenly looked up at the peaks of the ice mountain and the volcano.
According to the records, there were two springs at the summits of these two opposing forces.
One yin and one yang, one cold and one hot.
This might be his chance to escape!
"Ultimate Fire, Fire Barrier!"
Xiao Yan released his Martial Soul, and pure flames formed a wall of fire.
This might hold off his pursuer for a short while.
After all, no matter how much a spider evolved, it had an innate fear of fire.
Xiao Yan was even confident of one thing.
He didn't need to be a Soul Elder. As long as he had two Soul Rings, he could burn this lump of black coal to death with Ultimate Fire!
But the fucking ballache was that he didn't have a single one right now!
"Go find those two immortal medicines from before. You have to take them before you can safely enter the two springs!" Yao Lao's voice was low. Fighting to keep from falling asleep, he continued to guide Xiao Yan.
"Infernal Delicate Apricot!"
"Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass!"
Taken separately, these two Immortal Herbs were deadly poison.
But taken together, they became a sacred medicine that countered both cold and heat poison!
What was more, with immortal medicines like these,
taking either one alone could greatly increase one's Soul Power!
Following the route he had taken earlier, Xiao Yan quickly gathered the two immortal medicines.
One yin and one yang, alternating between cold and heat.
One of Xiao Yan's hands was burning hot, while the other had turned purplish blue. He grimaced in pain.
"Can I really eat these!?" Xiao Yan asked doubtfully.
He even pocketed every herb in sight that Yao Lao had mentioned.
"Goo!"
The Man Faced Demon Spider had caught up.
In this area, he moved as if on level ground, traveling at incredible speed.
Xiao Yan had almost no room left to flee.
Bang!
There was only one way left!
Xiao Yan suddenly looked up at the volcano's crater.
"If I live, I'll be reborn in the flames!"
At least he wouldn't be eaten by this spider!
Smoke rolled and rumbled, thick with the smell of sulfur.
The temperature at the crater was already unbearably high, and Xiao Yan could barely withstand it with the help of his Martial Soul.
"I have a feeling that a Heavenly Flame is somewhere nearby!" Yao Lao said softly.
Xiao Yan was speechless. "I'm about to die, and you're still thinking about a Heavenly Flame!"
"What do you know? In my opinion, this volcano was created by a Heavenly Flame."
"As long as you absorb the Heavenly Flame, what can this volcano do to you!?"
Did that mean!?
He should jump straight into the crater!?
Wasn't that just asking to die?
Xiao Yan drew a deep breath of cool air.
Only to find that it was not only hot, but incredibly choking.
The smoke was too thick, and sulfur was everywhere!
Sulfur!?
Come to think of it, weren't snakes afraid of this kind of pungent smell?
He glanced aside, and a medicinal plant caught his eye.
"Realgar Triangular Wood!"
This thing was a perfect weapon against snakes!
The Man Faced Demon Spider had probably eaten it!
Sure enough,
Xiao Yan spotted numerous spider-leg prints.
There was even a person's footprint!
"Goo!"
The Man Faced Demon Spider's piercing cries were drawing closer.
Xiao Yan knew he had to make a choice.
Fighting it head-on was unfavorable!
Letting the enemy slaughter him was out of the question!
That left only one option
A wisp of deathly pale flame enveloped Xiao Yan. Yao Lao had acted again!
"Bone Spirit Cold Flame is also a Heavenly Flame, and its temperature is extremely low. It should be just enough to counter the heat!"
Xiao Yan's confidence surged. He released his Ultimate Fire at the same time, bringing it together with the Bone Spirit Cold Flame.
"Huh!?"
The trace of Bone Spirit Cold Flame Yao Lao had provided had originally been minuscule.
But after Xiao Yan's Ultimate Fire fused with it, it suddenly grew several times stronger!
The two flames had miraculously fused together!
Xiao Yan had quantity, while Yao Lao had quality.
The two had originally been different in nature, but once fused, they were incomparably powerful.
The newly created flame blazed fiercely!
"So strong," Xiao Yan exclaimed.
And that was just the passive defensive effect of the newborn flame.
If he used it to attack, Xiao Yan wasn't even sure he could control it!
"Two flames can actually be fused without relying on the Flame Mantra!?" Yao Lao's trembling voice rang out.
"Teacher, I have a feeling I can burn that spider to death with this new flame!" Xiao Yan turned to look at the Man Faced Demon Spider racing toward the volcano.
"No, the two flames are too powerful. You can't withstand them!"
"Without a Soul Ring to contain the Heavenly Flame, even if you burn the demon spider to death, your Martial Soul might be destroyed too!"
"If you die, how will you save Yu Tianming!?"
Yao Lao spoke solemnly.
Xiao Yan realized the truth.
That was right. If he died,
what would happen to Old Yu!?
At the same time, Yao Lao added, "Enter the volcano. There's another Heavenly Flame in there! I have a very bold idea right now!"
Xiao Yan: "..."
"I can't even withstand two flames, and you want me to go after a third!?"
"It's different!"
"How is it different!?"
"Just jump, brat!"
"Fine, I'll jump! To hell with my life!"
The demon spider arrived, with its pointed mouth and pincer jaws.
It ground its teeth and sucked blood, a horrifying sight.
Xiao Yan steeled himself and leaped straight in.
(First chapter today. The Heavenly Flame is about to appear.)
(The Heavenly Flame's appearance will break everyone's usual preconceptions, hahaha.)
(Also, this is fan fiction, so I've made some creative changes. Many parts have more in them than the original.)
(Thank you all for bookmarking and voting.)
(End of chapter)