Chapter Eight: Blades and the Jade Spider

The full moon hung in the sky like a silver plate.

The warriors were all quietly cultivating. Mo Yanyu’s slender figure was concealed among the dense leaves of an ancient tree, her breath steady and deep. Karu leaned against another tree nearby, engrossed in a scroll of toxicology, reading with keen interest. The medicine slaves sprawled haphazardly across the wetland behind the earth dragon…

Shi Yan awoke from his cultivation and silently observed the terrain, making careful calculations in his mind.

Mo Yanyu was positioned at the front of the group, Karu at the rear. The two of them, one ahead and one behind, sandwiched him in the middle. They appeared to pay him no mind, but from their positions it was clear they were both discreetly on guard against him.

Johnson seemed aware that Shi Yan might try something untoward; tonight he did not meditate, but rather stationed himself ten meters behind Shi Yan, watching intently. Should Shi Yan show the slightest abnormality, Johnson would immediately intervene.

This isn’t good, Shi Yan muttered inwardly, continuing to wait, hoping for their vigilance to relax.

Time slipped by unnoticed. Soon the moon withdrew behind the clouds, and dawn was not far off. Shi Yan still hadn’t found a suitable opportunity to escape. Growing anxious, he hesitated, then decided not to wait any longer; it was time to act.

Just then, a strange clicking sounded from afar, something slowly approaching from the distance.

Shi Yan’s eyes flashed with renewed spirit as the primal energy coursed through his arms.

“Everyone, to arms!” Mo Yanyu called softly, standing atop the ancient tree. Using her elevated vantage, she scanned the distance, suddenly exclaiming, “White-Blade Jade Spiders!”

All the warriors jolted awake from their cultivation.

Each face grew grave as they drew their weapons. Without further instruction, they gathered around the earth dragon, forming a circle with five or six meters between each person.

Karu put away his scroll, frowned, and stepped to the earth dragon, his voice low and stern: “Everyone, keep a close watch on the medicine jars on the earth dragon!”

“Yes!” the warriors responded loudly.

The medicine slaves, roused from sleep, were gripped by terror at the mention of White-Blade Jade Spiders. They hurried toward the earth dragon, evidently well aware of these creatures’ fearsome reputation.

A set of keys flew from Mo Yanyu’s hand, landing at Johnson’s feet. “Johnson, unlock all the shackles on the medicine slaves! If the White-Blade Jade Spiders massacre them, it’ll be our loss—quickly!” she urged.

Johnson picked up the keys, glanced at Mo Yanyu, then pointed at Shi Yan. “Him as well?”

“Yes, unlock his. I don’t want him dying too easily,” Mo Yanyu replied impatiently.

“Boy, you’d better behave. I’ll be watching you closely!” Johnson snorted, first unlocking Shi Yan’s shackles, then moving to the other medicine slaves, expertly freeing them.

Heaven helps me! Now unshackled, Shi Yan felt his body lighten and let out a cold inward laugh.

The Shi family was a clan of Martial Souls. Though the owner of this body had never become a true warrior, he loved adventuring and seeking out ancient ruins. He was no stranger to all manner of demonic beasts. As soon as Mo Yanyu mentioned White-Blade Jade Spiders, Shi Yan felt joy rather than fear, instantly recognizing his chance to escape.

White-Blade Jade Spiders were second-tier demonic beasts, their eight legs as sharp as blades. They were nocturnal and lived in packs, rarely appearing in groups smaller than five or six. Fierce and fond of human flesh, they never spared humans they encountered in the Shadowy Forest.

Their hides were thick, their movements swift, and their bodies much larger than a human’s. Unless faced with a formidable warrior, ordinary people stood no chance against them. Though only second-tier, their numbers and speed made them a formidable foe for most.

In the Shadowy Forest, encountering White-Blade Jade Spiders was pure misfortune. They had nothing of value on their bodies, yet were aggressive and swift, provoking humans on sight and refusing to leave until inflicting serious harm.

Shi Yan quietly moved to the earth dragon, joining the terrified medicine slaves, observing the unfolding situation without making any overt moves.

“Not good! There are eight of them!” Mo Yanyu called from the tree, her brows knit, her face grave. “This won’t be easy. Everyone, stay sharp! Remember—do not pursue them after engagement. In dense forest, the spiders have the advantage. Never fight them among the underbrush!”

The sound of blades striking earth drew closer.

Soon, two White-Blade Jade Spiders appeared, each ten meters long and one and a half meters tall, about the size of an ordinary car. Their bodies gleamed snow-white, their eight legs like sharp knives, shining with a cold, deadly light.

The spiders advanced with agile, knife-like legs, moving with remarkable speed and grace. In an instant, they were among them, their blade-legs glinting menacingly. The outcome of crossing those blades was all too easy to imagine.

As more White-Blade Jade Spiders emerged, the warriors’ faces grew even graver. Mo Yanyu had already descended from the tree, standing at the front, lightning coiling around her delicate fingers, poised to strike. Karu sat within the palanquin atop the earth dragon, his gaze cold but unflustered.

All eight White-Blade Jade Spiders had assembled. Far from mindless, the spiders fanned out to encircle the earth dragon, circling like eight cars.

With a piercing screech, the eight spiders attacked in unison, their white, blade-like legs slicing through the air, a wave of cold silver light crashing toward the warriors.

Instantly, the clearing was awash in whirling blades. The warriors dodged with speed and skill, counterattacking with their weapons, aiming for the spiders’ abdomens and compound eyes.

Chaos erupted!

The spiders pressed their attack around the earth dragon, blade-legs falling everywhere. The warriors evaded and struck back relentlessly. Mo Yanyu’s Martial Soul flared; lightning coiled around her hands, arcing out in blue streaks that struck the spiders, making their bodies shudder and spasm.

A warrior failed to dodge in time—a spider’s leg slashed across his chest and abdomen, eliciting a bloodcurdling scream as his entrails spilled from his belly and he collapsed.

The medicine slaves, terrified, dove beneath the earth dragon for cover. Some, driven mad by fear, attempted to slip through gaps between the spiders, only to be impaled and pinned to the ground, dying instantly.

Shi Yan’s face was hard, his eyes bright, as he moved subtly behind the warriors. The shackles on his limbs chimed with each movement.

Suddenly, a warrior of the Mo family’s second stage collided with another and failed to dodge—a spider’s leg sliced his neck, sending his head flying and spraying Shi Yan with blood.

Shi Yan was drenched in blood, his vision blurred. A wave of violent, bloodthirsty intent suddenly surged within him. The cyclones in his seven hundred and twenty acupoints spun wildly, a powerful suction emanating from within.

The headless warrior’s body shriveled rapidly before Shi Yan’s eyes. Wisps of energy—filled only with despair, unwillingness, and madness, perceptible to Shi Yan alone—streamed into his body through every pore, flowing along his meridians and flooding his seven hundred and twenty acupoints.

In a daze, Shi Yan felt as if he were back in the blood pool. There, his acupoints had absorbed much blood, which had altered and expanded them, greatly increasing their absorption speed.

Now, strands of energy, tinged with the dead warrior’s despair and reluctance, poured into his body, following the same path, feeding his acupoints rapidly. The cyclones spun furiously, devouring and digesting the absorbed energy in a most uncanny fashion.

In just over ten seconds, no more energy flowed into him. The corpse before Shi Yan was shriveled, as if all blood and essence had been drained, looking like a severely desiccated mummy.

A surge of bloodthirsty violence exploded from Shi Yan’s heart. As the cyclones spun, forces of despair, fear, savagery, and evil quietly sprouted within, urging him to unleash a massacre.

A spider’s leg slashed toward Shi Yan’s head with a hiss. Startled, he forcefully suppressed the bloodthirsty urge, sidestepping behind another warrior and narrowly avoiding the fatal strike.

That warrior, blocked by a spider, drove his weapon into the creature’s compound eye, blinding it. The spider lashed out wildly, severing the warrior at the waist in a grisly death.

Shi Yan had just shifted beside the slain warrior, intending to move toward a safer spot, when another change occurred.

The strange suction from his acupoints surged again! From the bisected warrior’s body, energy mixed with fury and reluctance poured into Shi Yan’s meridians, then into his acupoints.

In moments, the severed corpse became another shriveled husk.

Shi Yan was horrified! He realized at once that his body harbored another kind of Martial Soul—this one rooted in his acupoints, capable of absorbing the life force of the dead. Such a Martial Soul was fiendishly sinister, shocking even Shi Yan himself.

At that moment, one of the White-Blade Jade Spiders let out another piercing cry. The remaining six spiders leapt back and vanished into the dense forest.

The spiders, recognizing their opponents were formidable and having lost two of their own, finally retreated.

Shi Yan’s expression changed; thoughts about his strange Martial Soul vanished. Without hesitation, he channeled his essence into his legs and sped after the spiders like a bolt of lightning.

Only by mingling with the spiders did he have a chance to escape!

A warm current suddenly surged from his acupoints, infusing his essence and doubling its strength in an instant.

Shi Yan was overjoyed, his confidence swelling. As he sprinted after the spiders, he glanced back at Mo Yanyu in the distance and called coldly, “Mo Yanyu, just you wait! One day, I’ll take you for my own!”

“After him!” Mo Yanyu’s body trembled with rage, her beautiful eyes aflame as she gave chase.

But Karu was even quicker!

The poison alchemist, who had not moved from the earth dragon, now acted as if he had been waiting. As Shi Yan rushed after the fleeing spiders, Karu launched himself like a hawk from the earth dragon, swooping down toward Shi Yan.

“Boy, I’ve been waiting for you to run for a long time,” Karu said, his voice chilling as he laughed in midair.

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