Gum Torin reacted instantly, scrambling up a towering ancient tree nearby. From his vantage point, he spotted movement in the distant woods—a figure weaving through the branches, robes fluttering. There was no mistaking it: Lordi Payne.
"That punk's right ahead!" Gum Torin grinned, shouting down to his crew below. "Looks like he's lost—running straight toward us!"
"Ha! Stumbled upon the jackpot after kicking rocks for miles!" Hwong Hyun and Chen Mave froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. Hwong Hyen cracked his knuckles, sneering as he moved to intercept. "We were worried chasing him would delay Senior Brother Chen's timing, and here he comes knocking!"
They fanned out to cut him off. Lordi Payne, mid-escape, soon noticed them and lit up as if he'd spotted long-lost kin. "Senior Brother Hwong! Senior Brother Gum! And Senior Sister Chen—I finally found you! Wait, where's Senior Brother Chen and Senior Sister Sil?"
"They're waiting for you at the Soul-Devouring Parent Formation!" Hwong Hyen smirked, lunging to grab him.
But in that instant, a blood-red glow flared around Lordi Payne. His speed spiked, and in a hair's-breadth dodge, he shot past them like an arrow loosed from a bow. The gust he kicked up even stung their faces!
Hwong Hyun's trio blinked, sensing the situation too late. Lordi Payne was already a blur in the distance, shouting as he ran, "Sister and Brothers, I've done Senior Brother Chen's orders! The demon beast's lured here as planned—quick, let's kill it together! Send it to reunite with its offspring!"
Instinctively, the trio glanced back. Several ancient trees shattered under massive spider legs, crashing down as five pairs of crimson eyes glared with unbridled fury!
Then, the giant legs bent and stretched, hurling a hulking hill into the sky. The trio's blood froze as they saw the human face on its belly—it was the Man-Faced Spider, its malice-filled visage twisted with rage. It spat a vast web straight at them.
The trio's souls nearly fled their bodies as they bolted.
Hwong Hyun and Gum Torin, at fifth-layer Qi Refinement, pushed their limits in this life-or-death moment, narrowly evading the web. But Chen Mave, only a fourth-layer cultivator, wasn't so lucky. She managed to let out a scream before the web snared her.
The silk thread yanked her toward the spider's maw. A sickening, bone-grinding crunch silenced her cries, leaving only an eerie stillness in its wake.
Lordi Payne glanced back, shuddering at the sight but feeling a grim sense of relief. Better a FellowDao die than him! Without their scheming, he'd never have crossed paths with this monstrous spider. They started this mess—let them buy him time to escape to Lothgar City!
But after just one clash, Chen Mave was gone. The other two wouldn't last much longer—he needed to put as much distance between himself and the spider as possible.
Gritting his teeth against the rising nausea, Lordi Payne forced his spiritual energy to surge. The Blood Lothgar Footwork Art roared to life, and with a streak of blood-light, he vanished beyond the horizon.
Hwong Hyun and Gum Torin's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as they roared, "You fucking bastard!!!"
The spider finished Chen Mave and charged again. Though their cultivation levels surpassed Lordi Payne's, they didn't possess any top-tier footwork art. Even at full tilt, the gap between them and the demonic monster shrank rapidly.
Soon, a rancid wind hit their backs, and broken branches from the spider's crushing legs pelted them like hail.
"Fuck!!" Faces ashen, they locked eyes mid-flight, their minds syncing without words. Each slammed a palm to their chest. Green light flashed in their eyes, and with a burst of energy from the body, they surged forward.
Blood streamed from their facial orifices, twisting their faces into ghoulish masks as their auras plummeted. This was the Abyss Pit Sect's Blood-Burning Technique—a desperate trade of burning inner essence blood for a temporary power spike, at the cost of crashing their cultivation and enduring severe spiritual backlash.
It was like drinking poison to quench thirst.
But they had no better choice.
"Go find Senior Brother Chen!" Hwong Hyun rasped, blood spilling from his mouth. "We won't hold out much longer!"
Gum Torin nodded, blood gushing faster from their faces as they streaked through the trees like a gust of wind.
Half an hour later, Chen Haunt sat meditating by the Soul-Devouring Mother Formation when his eyes snapped open, a flicker of suspicion crossing his sharp features. Sil Deshah, who had been quietly admiring him, opened her mouth to speak—but before she could utter a word, two bloodied figures crashed down from above.
"Senior Brother Hwong! Senior Brother Gum?!" Sil Deshah gasped, her voice trembling. "What happened to you?!"
Hwong Hyun coughed violently, blood spilling from his lips. Ignoring Sil Deshah, he stumbled toward Chen Haunt. "Senior Brother Chen, it's a disaster! That brat Lordi Payne somehow provoked the Man-Faced Spider. He's using some insane footwork art—he's already miles ahead. But Chen Mave... she's gone. The spider devoured her. We had to burn our essence blood just to escape!"
Sil Deshah's face turned ashen. "What?! The demon spider's coming here? Senior Brother Chen, we need to run—now!"
"Run?" Chen Haunt's voice was icy, his expression darkening as his mind raced. "And what about Junior Brother Hwong and Junior Brother Gum? Drag them along? Do you think we can outrun a Foundation Stage demon beast with them in this state? Or are you suggesting we abandon them?"
"No, I..." Sil Deshah stammered, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. She had spoken without thinking, and now she couldn't meet their eyes. The resentful glares from Hwong Hyun and Gum Torin only deepened her shame, and she lowered her head, falling silent.
"We're not leaving them," Chen Haunt said firmly, his tone brooking no argument. He turned to his two junior brothers, his voice steady. "Our only chance is to use the Soul-Devouring Parent-Child Formation. The array is already set. Here's the plan: you two will enter the child formation and lure the spider into it. Once it's trapped, Junior Sister Sil and I will split and make a run for it."
He pulled two Dao Fulu from his storage pouch and handed them to Hwong and Gum. "You two are in no condition to keep running. These are Aura-Hiding Fulu—one for each of you. Once the spider is caught in the array, activate them and find a place to hide. The spider will likely chase after Sil and me when we flee, giving you time to escape."
Hwong Hyun coughed again, blood staining his lips. "Thank you, Senior Brother. But the child formation couldn't even hold Lordi Payne. How can it trap a Foundation Stage demon beast?"
"Lordi Payne's a special case," Chen Haunt replied smoothly, his tone calm but firm. "He's a live man, and who knows what tricks he's picked up before joining the sect? The spider, on the other hand, is still a beast. It hasn't transformed into human form, so it's far dumber than even a mortal. The child formation will buy us enough time. If we don't do this, none of us will survive."
Hwong Hyun opened his mouth to protest, but Sil Deshah, her face pale with panic, interrupted. "Senior Brother Chen, you're sending them to hide while we run? How am I supposed to escape safely?"