Chapter 41 Spider

But then the fire cloud began to pour down a torrential rain of fire.

Bluish-green flecks of fire fell from the cloud like a deluge, densely packed without leaving a single gap.

As the drops hit the ground, they instantly melted bowl-sized pits into the cobblestones, and the lingering bluish-green flames penetrated the earth, burning their way down in a tunnel that seemed intent on reaching the depths of the Underworld.

Xing Hechou, who faced the rain of fire head-on, had no time to dodge, and was about to be engulfed by it, when a figure enshrouded in golden light charged directly into the rain toward him.

The Monk Hui Bin, with a face as handsome as a charming young man, had transformed into a muscular devilish figure, his bodybuilder-like physique causing his grey monk's robe to bulge as if it were about to burst at the seams.

He extended his arms left and right above his head, joining them at the top with the palms facing up, the middle fingers of each hand touching. A brilliant golden light radiated from the center of his palms, spreading outward like a giant bronze bell encompassing him.

[Skill Name: Golden Bell Shield (Level 3)]

[Type: Fighting]

[Special Effect: Actively blocks physical and energy attacks from the outside world]

[Consumption: 20% stamina]

[Learning Condition: Strength Attribute must be at or above 8 points, Intelligence Attribute must be at or above 6 points, Perception Attribute must be at or above 7 points]

[Note: Indomitable as Vajra, strengthen the spirit through refinement]

Monk Hui Bin, protected by the Golden Bell Shield, charged into the rain of fire, casually kicking a bronze halberd embedded in a beam to Xing Hechou.

Xing Hechou caught the halberd, and with it held high above his head, he spun the bronze weapon like a propeller, briefly shielding himself against the fire rain until Hui Bin reached his side, both now covered by the Golden Bell Shield.

The fire rain clicked and clattered against the bronze bell, unable to penetrate and quietly slid off its walls.

Wang Guan's face was dark as still water, "Die!"

He swiped his palm towards Xing Hechou. In his palm hovered a talisman with flickering lightning, ready to burst into a thunderous array inside the Daxiong Bao Hall in the next second.

Palm Thunder!

Whoosh—

The sound of cleaving air headed straight for Wang Guan's forehead, giving him no time to think as he raised his still-accumulating Palm Thunder in front of his brow.

Boom!

An arrow released from the string hit Wang Guan's palm. The half-charged Palm Thunder talisman was directly ignited, thunder roared, and lightning flashed, brightening the hall as if it was broad daylight.

Wang Guan's palm was blasted through, leaving a huge hole through which the scene on the other side could be seen.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Wang Guan, clutching his wrist, his face twisted as if possessed by demons, raised his head to look into the distance.

There, Liu Wu Dai, dressed in night clothes, resembled an agile and nimble black cat, crouching quietly behind a pile of rubble under the harsh moonlight, drawing his bow and readying another arrow.

The bow was a Hoyt Hunting Compound Bow, with an 85 pounds draw weight and an IBO speed of 332 feet per second.

The arrow was an aluminium carbon composite hunting heavy arrow, with a 300 spine and weighing 850 grains.

Under modern industry, the pull weight of hunting compound bows could easily be piled up to 90, 100, or even more than 100 pounds.

They could, but there was no need—because 80-pound class compound bows could already easily tear apart the flesh and bones of any creature, hunting predators like bears, lions, or even elephants, the apex of the terrestrial food chain.

So, what targets were bows with higher draw weights designed for?

Liu Wu Dai's answer was demons.

Drawing the bow, pulling the string, the compound wheels smoothly turned, and with a "zing," the hunting heavy arrow was released, shooting once again towards Wang Guan.

The arrowhead spun, the shaft quivered, and a thunder python electric snake as fine as a hair, clinging to the shaft, pushed the arrow to accelerate even faster, tearing the air and breaking through.

Almost instantaneously, a cold, alien sense of crisis stabbed at Wang Guan's heart and lungs. It was a fear he hadn't felt in a long time, hovering on the edge of life and death.

The last time was at the South Zhili city outskirts execution ground, just as the executioner's ghostly blade was about to fall.

Without any hesitation, Wang Guan abandoned his human form, transforming into a towering black-faced ape donning a purple-gold kasaya, one hand holding a Buddhist bowl and the other wielding a Demon-Subduing Pestle, half demon, half Buddha, a Buddha in place of a devil.

The Vajra Devil Subduing Pestle, thick as a pillar, stopped the fleeing arrow, but the cost was the Demon-Subduing Pestle blown apart in one spot, and the base of his palm was half-shattered as well.

"Two rotting palms, four powerful foes,"

Unfazed by the festering wounds in its palms, the Mountain Demon cracked a ferocious smile, its beastly visage filled with bloodthirst and brutality, "You, not bad."

"Hold on! Four powerful foes?"

A voice broke through the Mountain Demon's concentration. Li Ang raised his arm high, like a primary school student eager to ask a question in class, "Bro, have you forgotten about me?"

"You?"

The Mountain Demon's momentum faltered as it recalled the young man with the strange mask, who seemed to be the decision-maker of this group. Yet, in the Mountain Demon's perception, he seemed to be the weakest of them all...

A mere little flesh worm, of no consequence, of no importance.

The Mountain Demon didn't bother with him any further. Holding the Vajra Devil Subduing Pestle, it charged at Xing Hechou like toppling a mountain or a falling pillar. Meanwhile, outside the hall, the four Fierce Ghost Palanquin Drivers and the ghost in white, as if under some command, surged towards Li Ang.

"Sigh..."

Li Ang let out a forlorn sigh and pulled out a battle axe and a dagger.

Compared to his companions, these two weapons he bought from Taobao seemed rather shabby.

But luckily, he had one more "cheat equipment."

As Li Ang watched the five Fierce Ghosts charge headlong towards him, he lazily said, "Miss Chai, it's time to punch back in."

"Mhm."

A barely perceptible female voice sounded from within him.

One arm, then two, then three... a total of eight arms extended from Li Ang's spine at his lower back,

These slender and elongated limbs, reminiscent of a stick insect's arms, propped against the ground, hoisting Li Ang into midair. From a distance, he looked like a spider sprawling on the ground with eight legs.

The five ghastly apparitions flinched at this macabre and bizarre sight — this thing actually looked more monstrous than they did!

The Fierce Ghosts were shaken. Their pace slowed slightly, and before they could halt, they saw Li Ang, resembling an eight-legged spider, waving those slender arms at a ghastly frequency, quickly advancing towards them.

The spider limbs rose high, and thrust!

The Green-faced Fanged Ghost was impaled from head to toe by one of the slender limbs, unable to speak, gasping weakly before stopping all movement.

A beautiful head emerged from the front of Li Ang's chest. Chai Cuiqiao's neck, like a serpent, stretched considerably long, and her cherry lips gently sucked at the Green-faced Fanged Ghost.

Zii-lurp.

The Green-faced Fanged Ghost, just like a baby's milkshake, was swallowed by Chai Cuiqiao — her snake-like neck even clearly outlined a human silhouette.

"Delicious (〃'▽'〃)"

Chai Cuiqiao licked her lips, blinked her eyes playfully, her expression innocently adorable.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

The remaining four Fierce Ghosts nearly wet themselves out of fear and lost all will to fight. They turned and ran, and even the demons lingering in the temple courtyard were scared witless, all rushing out.

Especially the foxes that had taken a glass marble from Li Ang, who hastily dropped the marbles and fled with their families from the Solitary Cold Temple. It wasn't until they reached the forest and looked back that they realized some of the demons in the courtyard were still spinning in place.

After receiving the experience of Chai Cuiqiao, the long-standing Fierce Ghost, the Illusion Technique triggered by Cat's Eye could deceive not just humans and ghosts, but also demons and monsters,

The "fusion" of Li Ang and Chai Cuiqiao combined their spiritual powers with the Cat's Eye, temporarily creating a ghostly maze covering the entire courtyard, achieving an effect that was more than the sum of their parts.

"Why the rush to flee."

Li Ang said leisurely as his spider limbs moved swiftly, precisely picking out those demons at the feast who boasted of having eaten humans, and one by one, using his slender limbs to impale them to death.

Eventually, the stick-insect-like slender limbs were adorned with demons, akin to straws threaded with wild strawberries, a sight to behold.

"I haven't eaten this well in a long time."

Chai Cuiqiao murmured to herself as she lifted her limbs high and stuffed the demons into her throat gulping them down whole.

"Happy o(*￣︶￣*)o"

The spectacle of one man and one ghost devouring demons had a profound psychological impact on the fox family outside the temple. Many fox cubs trembled violently, perhaps never able to look a "spider," a common insect, in the eye again.