The warriors were all cultivating in silence. Mo Yan Yu’s delicate form was concealed within the branches of an ancient tree, her breathing long and steady. Karu leaned against another tree nearby, engrossed in a volume of poison scripture. The medicinal slaves lay scattered haphazardly on the damp ground behind the Earth Dragon...

Shi Yan awoke from his meditation, silently observing the terrain and calculating his options.

Mo Yan Yu positioned herself at the front of the group, and Karu anchored the rear. They bracketed him in the middle, seemingly unconcerned, yet their placement clearly indicated a wary watchfulness directed toward him.

Qiang Sen appeared to anticipate some treacherous move from him. He hadn't cultivated that night, instead keeping watch ten meters behind Shi Yan, ready to intervene the instant any anomaly was detected.

Not good, Shi Yan muttered inwardly, continuing his wait for them to relax their vigilance.

Time slipped by unnoticed. Soon the bright moon began to fade; dawn was clearly approaching. Still unable to find a suitable opportunity to slip away, Shi Yan felt a rising anxiety. After a moment’s hesitation, Shi Yan decided he could wait no longer; it was time to make his move.

“Kaka! Kakaka!”

Just then, a strange sound echoed from the distance—a sound suggesting something was slowly but surely approaching their position.

Shi Yan, with his vital energy circulating through his arms, had his eyes snap wide open, suddenly galvanized.

“Everyone, defensive formation!” Mo Yan Yu commanded sharply. Her slender body rose on the ancient tree. Utilizing the height advantage, she peered into the distance for a moment before gasping, “White Blade Jade Spiders!”

All the warriors instantly jolted awake from their cultivation.

With grave expressions, the warriors drew their weapons. Without any further instruction from Mo Yan Yu, they immediately converged around the Earth Dragon, forming a circular defense, spaced about five to six meters apart.

Karu tucked away his scripture, frowning as he moved to the Earth Dragon’s side, his voice heavy. “Keep a close watch on the medicine pots attached to the Earth Dragon!”

“Yes!” the warriors roared in response.

The sleeping medicinal slaves also stirred, waking up in alarm. Upon hearing that White Blade Jade Spiders were approaching, they became visibly terrified and actively moved toward the Earth Dragon, clearly aware of the spiders’ formidable reputation.

“Clink!”

A set of keys flew from Mo Yan Yu’s hand, landing at Qiang Sen’s feet. “Qiang Sen, unlock the shackles on all the medicinal slaves. We don't want them slaughtered by the spiders. Hurry!” Mo Yan Yu urged.

Qiang Sen picked up the keys, glanced up at Mo Yan Yu, and pointed at Shi Yan. “Does he get his restraints off too?”

“Release him. I don’t want him dying too easily,” Mo Yan Yu replied, impatience etched on her face.

“Kid, stay in line later. I’ll be watching you constantly!” Qiang Sen snorted, first freeing the shackles binding Shi Yan’s wrists and ankles before moving on to the other slaves, skillfully removing their restraints.

Heaven is helping me! With the shackles gone, Shi Yan felt instantly lighter, a cold sneer playing in his mind.

The Shi family was one of "Martial Soul" lineage. Although the owner of this current body had failed to become a true warrior, he possessed an adventurous spirit, often seeking out ancient ruins. He was certainly not unfamiliar with various monstrous beasts. When Mo Yan Yu mentioned the White Blade Jade Spiders, Shi Yan felt a thrill instead of fear; he instantly realized his chance for escape had arrived.

White Blade Jade Spiders were Rank Two demonic beasts. Their eight legs were sharp as blades, and they preferred nocturnal activity. Furthermore, they were gregarious—appearing in groups of at least five or six every time. Fiercely brutal and fond of human flesh, these spiders in the Gloomy Forest would never let a human go once sighted.

Demonic beast hides are thick and tough, their movements swift, and their size generally much larger than humans. Unless faced by a truly powerful warrior, most humans would either die or be severely injured. Although the White Blade Jade Spiders were only Rank Two, their tendency to attack in groups of five or six, combined with their rapid speed, made them incredibly troublesome, as the average warrior couldn't keep up.

In the Gloomy Forest, encountering White Blade Jade Spiders was just bad luck. These creatures possessed little of monetary value, yet they were exceptionally combative, agile as the wind, and always provoked an attack upon seeing humans. They would rarely retreat without inflicting a significant loss.

Shi Yan quietly moved toward the Earth Dragon, standing alongside the panicked medicinal slaves, silently assessing the situation and refraining from immediate resistance.

“Not good! There are eight of them!”

Mo Yan Yu cried out from the ancient tree, her delicate brows deeply furrowed, her beautiful face grim. “This won’t be easy. Everyone, focus your spirit! Remember: do not pursue them actively once the fight starts. The denser the foliage, the more advantage the spiders have. Never engage them in the thicket!”

“Kaka! Kaka!”

The sound of blades slicing into earth grew nearer. Soon, two White Blade Jade Spiders—each about ten meters long and one and a half meters high—were the first to appear. They were pure white, roughly the size of an ordinary car, with eight legs resembling razor-sharp spikes, glistening with a cold, deadly sheen.

The spiders advanced with alarming nimbleness, their knife-like legs propelling them forward. In an instant, they reached the area. The movement of their blade-like legs flashed with cold light, piercing the spirit. It was easy to imagine the gruesome results of being slashed by those sharp appendages.

As the warriors watched spider after spider emerge, their expressions grew heavy. Mo Yan Yu had already descended from the tree, standing at the front of the formation, arcs of lightning coiled around her slender, jade-like fingers, ready to strike. Karu sat within the sedan chair atop the Earth Dragon, his gaze cold but showing no outward sign of panic.

The eight White Blade Jade Spiders finally assembled. They were not unintelligent; on the contrary, they spread out to surround the Earth Dragon, circling it like eight mechanical vehicles.

With a piercing, strange shriek, all eight White Blade Jade Spiders struck in unison. Their dazzling white legs swept through the air, sending streaks of bright silver light hurtling toward the warriors guarding the Earth Dragon!

For a moment, the air was filled with the frantic movement of white blades. The warriors moved swiftly, dodging while simultaneously thrusting their sharp weapons toward the spiders’ abdomens and compound eyes.

The scene instantly dissolved into chaos!

The spiders encircled the Earth Dragon, their legs raining down. The warriors darted left and right, continuously driving their sharp implements forward. Mo Yan Yu unleashed her ‘Martial Soul,’ her hands crackling with electrical energy, sending arcs of blue lightning striking the spiders, causing their bodies to convulse repeatedly.

“Chilala!”

One warrior reacted too slowly and was grazed across the chest and abdomen by a spider leg. A piercing scream followed as his intestines spilled from his lower belly, and he collapsed instantly.

The medicinal slaves panicked, scrambling to hide beneath the Earth Dragon. Several slaves, driven mad by fear, saw the blade-like legs approaching and foolishly tried to squeeze through the gaps between the spiders, hoping to escape. Instead, they were violently pinned to the ground by the spiders' limbs, dying instantly.

Shi Yan’s face was set, his eyes gleaming. He moved slightly behind the warriors, the shackles around him emitting a crisp metallic clash.

“Kacha!”

A warrior from the Mo family, a second-level Houtian expert, stumbled into another warrior while trying to shift position. Unable to evade, this man’s neck was sliced by a spider leg, sending his head flying. Blood spattered all over Shi Yan.

Drenched in blood, Shi Yan’s vision blurred slightly. A surge of violent, bloodthirsty impulse suddenly erupted from his body. The energy cyclones within his seven hundred and twenty acupuncture points spun wildly, unleashing a powerful, sucking force.

The headless warrior who had fallen before Shi Yan began to visibly shrivel. Whisps of ethereal flow—visible only to Shi Yan—filled with despair, unwillingness, and frenzy, poured from Shi Yan’s pores, surging along his meridians into the seven hundred and twenty points throughout his body.

In a trance, Shi Yan felt as if he had returned to the Blood Pool, where the fluid had soaked into his seven hundred and twenty points, altering them. The blood water had caused the points to generate cyclones, expanding their capacity and accelerating the speed at which they could absorb blood.

Now, these wisps of energy, laced with the dead warrior's final despair and resentment, followed the same trajectory, flowing into his meridians and injecting into his acupuncture points at incredible speed. The cyclones within his points spun furiously, seeming to devour and digest the absorbed energy—a truly bizarre spectacle.

In barely ten seconds, the inflow ceased. The fallen warrior before Shi Yan was now withered and dry, as if all his vital blood and essence had vanished, resembling a mummy severely dehydrated.

A craving for blood and violent aggression suddenly exploded from the bottom of Shi Yan’s heart. As the seven hundred and twenty points rotated, forces of despair, fear, brutality, and evil secretly began to germinate, urging Shi Yan toward wholesale slaughter.

“Xiu xiu!”

A White Blade Jade Spider leg slashed out, aiming directly for Shi Yan’s head. Startled, Shi Yan forcefully suppressed the bloodlust raging within him and shifted sideways next to another warrior, narrowly evading the deadly blow.

“Chi!”

That other warrior was pinned by a spider; he stabbed his sharp weapon viciously into the spider’s compound eye. The spider’s eye was blinded, and in a wild swing, it chopped the warrior across the waist. The man was severed in two, his death gruesome.

Shi Yan, having shifted beside the targeted warrior, was just preparing to find a safer spot when he noticed a new, strange development.

The peculiar sucking power of his acupuncture points erupted again! Energy mixed with fury and resentment flowed out from the warrior cleaved in two, rushing madly into his meridians and injecting into every acupuncture point in his body.

Soon, the bisected warrior also became a dry husk.

Shi Yan was horrified!

Without dwelling on it, he immediately realized that his body harbored another kind of ‘Martial Soul.’ This ‘Martial Soul,’ based on his entire network of acupuncture points, could actually absorb the latent power of the deceased. Such a ‘Martial Soul’ was inherently evil and bizarre, shocking even Shi Yan.

At that moment!

Another White Blade Jade Spider let out its strange cry. The remaining six spiders instantly recoiled and retreated toward the dense jungle.

The White Blade Jade Spiders clearly realized this group was not easy prey. After losing two of their companions, they finally chose to withdraw.

Shi Yan’s expression shifted. All thoughts concerning the strange ‘Martial Soul’ within his body were instantly suppressed. Without a second thought, Shi Yan channeled all his vital energy into his feet, moving with lightning speed to follow the retreating spiders.

Only by blending in with the White Blade Jade Spiders did he have a chance to escape!

A warm current suddenly surged from all his acupuncture points. This warmth infused Shi Yan’s existing vital energy, and his once unremarkable energy reserves suddenly refined and increased by more than double!

Shi Yan was ecstatic, his confidence soaring. As he charged after the spiders, he glanced back far toward Mo Yan Yu and coldly spat, “Mo Yan Yu, clean yourself up and wait for me. I’ll have you sooner or later!”

“Chase him!” Mo Yan Yu’s delicate body trembled violently, her beautiful eyes nearly spewing fire as she ordered the pursuit.

Faster than her was Karu!

The poison alchemist, who had remained motionless on the Earth Dragon, seemed to have been waiting for this exact moment. The instant Shi Yan charged toward the retreating spiders, Karu leaped high off the Earth Dragon like a hawk and swooped down toward Shi Yan first.

“Kid, I’ve been waiting a long time for you to try and run,” Karu began to laugh sinisterly while still in mid-air.

...

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