Chapter Forty-Seven: The Seventh-Tier Spider King

Seeing that the spider was completely unharmed, its gaping maw opening as it lunged toward him, Li Hu quickly rolled aside to dodge. Then, recalling that spiders had extremely poor eyesight, a sudden idea struck him. He took a deep breath, pinched his nose, and held his breath.

Sure enough!

The spider, which had just raised its forelegs to stab at Li Hu, suddenly lost sight of its target. It paused, lifting one leg to scratch at its own head in confusion.

Seeing this, Li Pingyang and Little Dragonfly followed suit, pinching their noses and holding their breath. Unable to locate the three of them, the Ghost Mother Venom Spider drew in its abdomen and used its silk to rise into the air.

Li Pingyang and Little Dragonfly exchanged glances, both faces flushed red from lack of air. Glancing at Li Hu, they saw he was at his limit.

Just as he was about to give out, Li Pingyang picked up a stone and threw it into a distant bush. Seizing the opportunity, all three released their noses and gulped down deep breaths.

The spider, halfway up, heard the noise and spat a glob of venom toward the bushes. As soon as the venom touched the plants, they melted into a puddle of green sludge.

All three were shocked. They hadn’t expected the creature’s venom to be so vicious—surely even the King Cobra would have to slither away in defeat upon seeing it.

Suddenly—

Just as Li Pingyang was sighing in relief, Li Hu at that very moment let out a loud, resounding fart. As if one wasn’t enough, it was a rapid-fire barrage.

Li Hu gave an embarrassed, sheepish grin, knowing he’d just caused a disaster.

Li Pingyang was nearly in tears. He shouted, “Run!” and then grabbed Little Dragonfly’s hand, sprinting away.

The three dashed ahead while the giant spider gave chase overhead. This time, the spider didn’t immediately attack, but instead stretched its mouth as wide as it could, as if scheming something.

But judging by the intensity of its pursuit, it was clear—it would not rest until it had devoured the three of them!

With only a few dozen meters left before being caught, the giant spider finally attacked. Its mouth stretched wide, and from within emerged what looked like the muzzle of a Gatling gun.

On a mass of red flesh riddled with holes of all sizes, Li Pingyang sensed danger. A slender, sharp spike shot from one of the holes.

Li Pingyang quickly shoved Little Dragonfly aside. The spike whistled over his head and embedded itself in a nearby tree, which immediately withered as if all moisture had been drained from it.

Then the fleshy mass began to rotate, launching more spikes at the trio. Li Hu leapt left and right, barely dodging them all, but soon he was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

After a bout of noise, several more spiders of similar size crawled out from the surroundings. It seemed that, without realizing it, they had been tricked by the first spider and lured into the lair of the Ghost Mother Venom Spiders!

Cursing under his breath, Li Pingyang dodged a flying spike and swiftly grabbed his gun, using its flames to drive back the encroaching spiders.

Li Hu had also refueled and joined the fray, gun in hand, while Little Dragonfly scrambled up from the ground and fired as well.

Three jets of fire merged into one, forming a blazing dragon that scorched the spiders—some fell dead, others retreated, badly wounded.

Suddenly, the ground across from them trembled. At this, all the giant spiders scattered in a panic. Before the three could figure out what was happening, a colossal creature burst from the earth.

My god!

It was another Ghost Mother Venom Spider, and this one was absurdly massive. Compared to it, the previous giants looked more like its offspring.

Atop this spider’s head were nine crimson eyes, its body carpeted in dark red bristles, sixteen legs splaying out beneath it, and a tail resembling that of a scorpion.

The tip of its tail gleamed like a giant sickle, flashing with a cold, deadly light. Li Hu took a breath and sprayed it with his gun, but the beast showed not the slightest reaction.

Instead, as if enraged, it spat a massive clump of silk from its mouth, instantly wrapping Li Hu in a white cocoon.

“Li Hu!”

Li Pingyang called out, but Li Hu made no response, and a sense of dread filled his heart. He told Little Dragonfly to rescue Li Hu while he tried to distract the Ghost Mother Spider King himself.

The system blared warnings, indicating that this monstrous spider was well beyond sixth tier—a terrifying seventh-tier beast!

With his current strength, Li Pingyang stood no chance. It was like throwing eggs at a stone—a futile sacrifice.

Grabbing a tree branch, he hurled it at one of the spider’s eyes, then turned and fled. The spider, drawn by his ruse, gave chase, while Little Dragonfly ran swiftly toward Li Hu.

“Li Hu, are you alright?” she called, slashing at the cocoon with her knife as she spoke, but there was no response from within. Desperate, she quickened her pace, muttering inwardly: Please, you have to hold on!

On the other side—

Li Pingyang lured the spider into the densest part of the trees, then hid behind a trunk and summoned his short sword from thin air.

As the spider passed by, he leapt up and slashed off one of its legs. The spider groaned in pain and swept its tail sideways in retaliation.

Thick tree trunks were sliced through in an instant, falling cleanly to the ground. Still airborne from his jump, Li Pingyang was struck hard and sent flying.

Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Fortunately, his protective blade absorbed most of the blow, sparing him grave injury. The spider, now missing a leg, eyed him warily.

Li Pingyang launched another attack, unleashing the third stance of his fierce sword technique, the Crescent Slash. This time, the spider had learned; it quickly shot silk and rose into the air.

Behind it, a large tree was struck by sword energy, leaving a crescent-shaped hollow in its trunk. From above, the spider spat a strand of silk at Li Pingyang.

He raised his sword and cut through the silk, but then a volley of spikes rained down like arrows. He swung his sword frantically, but one spike struck true—a deep black spike pierced his shoulder, pinning him to a tree.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Li Pingyang yanked the spike free. There was likely venom on it—his vision began to blur.

Another mass of silk flew at him, and this time he lacked the strength to dodge. He was immediately wrapped into a white cocoon, then dragged along the ground by the Spider King, hauled back to its lair.

Inside the cocoon, Li Pingyang saw his father reaching out to him, but he knew it couldn’t be real—his mind was slipping into confusion.

Breathing grew harder. Exhaustion swept over him, and at last, as everything went black, he closed his eyes and fainted.

Meanwhile, Little Dragonfly finally managed to cut a hole in Li Hu’s cocoon. He had already lost consciousness from suffocation. She slapped his face, and after a moment, he slowly opened his eyes.

Gasping for air, Li Hu awoke to find only Little Dragonfly beside him, with no sign of Li Gou Dan.

When he asked, he learned that Li Pingyang had acted as bait to lure away the Spider King and hadn’t returned for a long time.

With Little Dragonfly’s help, Li Hu broke free from the cocoon. The two picked up their guns from the ground and, following the trail of spikes, set off to find Li Pingyang.