Chapter 270: Bloodstained

Volume Three

A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality, Volume Three

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"Does this thing intend to capture us all in one go?" Zhong Wu's face was a little pale.

"Hmph!"

Xuan Le said nothing. Instead, he raised a hand, and seven or eight fireballs shot from his palm, striking the dense spiderweb.

After a few "bang" sounds, the spiderweb remained completely intact, without even a single scorch mark.

This time, the others didn't show surprise, clearly having anticipated that the spiderweb wouldn't be easily broken.

In an instant, the white spider slightly bent a few of its claws, then pushed with great force, sending its entire body hurtling forward. Its trajectory was clearly aimed at Xuan Le.

Xuan Le's expression darkened. He reached out, pulled out a yellow talisman, and pressed it to the ground. The talisman silently melted into the earth.

Immediately afterward, a massive stone cone, several feet thick, erupted from the ground nearby, accurately piercing the spider's abdomen as it leapt into the air. It was pinned firmly against the cave ceiling, unable to descend for a moment.

"Good!"

Seeing this, Lu Tianmeng cheered loudly, a look of delight on his face.

He then threw out a dark green leather pouch, its opening precisely aimed at the spider on the cave ceiling. A faint, radiant glow emanated from within.

At this moment, the spider, still pinned to the ceiling, shrieked a few times. It brought a few of its claws together over its abdomen, clutching the tip of the stone cone, and then exerted immense force.

With a series of "clatter" sounds, the tip of the stone cone was easily crushed to pieces, and countless rubble rained down.

The demonic beast finally regained its freedom. Its body dropped, landing precisely on the shattered tip of the stone cone. Its small eyes on either side flickered with green light, apparently enraged.

It crouched, then lunged forward, charging towards the cultivators once more.

But at that moment, a stream of radiant light burst forth from the deployed leather pouch, sweeping the spider accurately from mid-air into its depths. Then, swift as lightning, it retracted, incredibly shrinking the demonic beast and drawing it into the pouch.

Han Li and the others nearby were astonished. The spider had seemed so troublesome, yet it was captured so easily. It was truly hard to imagine.

Lu Tianmeng himself had a look of mixed surprise and delight.

His "Sun and Moon Pouch" was powerful and had captured many demonic beasts before, but the smooth capture of this particular spider genuinely caught him by surprise. However, overwhelming joy soon flooded his heart. If he could tame such a demonic beast, wouldn't his strength dramatically increase?

Thinking this, even the usually composed Lu Tianmeng couldn't help but beam with joy this time. He eagerly beckoned the green leather pouch, and it slowly flew towards him under the gaze of the others.

The other cultivators naturally understood what a live demonic beast of this caliber meant to someone from Spirit Beast Mountain. They couldn't help but show expressions of envy. However, just as this sentiment barely surfaced, the flying pouch suddenly jolted to a halt in mid-air, ceasing its movement.

Lu Tianmeng's heart sank. He quickly channeled his magical power, intending to forcibly retrieve it, but after a few shakes, the pouch remained suspended.

At this point, the onlookers around them also realized something was wrong. They quickly became cautious.

The surface of the pouch began to deform irregularly, appearing as if the demonic beast inside was struggling. This anomaly lasted only a brief instant before vanishing, and then the pouch suddenly swelled up. A deafening "boom" followed, and the leather pouch exploded into pieces. The white spider had forcibly burst through the magical artifact, restoring its original form.

The demonic beast, now free from confinement once more, was clearly in a state of frenzy. Its crystalline white body gradually turned crimson, emitting a terrifying blood-red glow. Its fangs ceaselessly ground together, producing a horrifying "ch-ch" sound.

Upon seeing this, Lu Tianmeng and the others cautiously retreated a few steps, hoping to create some distance before unleashing their artifacts in a barrage.

However, the blood-red spider swiped its claws left and right, then shot like lightning between the two cultivators who had retreated the furthest.

Two flashes of white light appeared, followed by two "thud" sounds. The protective shields of these two cultivators were shattered by a single strike from the spider's front claws, and their bodies were instantly severed at the waist, killing them on the spot. One of them was astonishingly the ugly man, Zhong Wu; alas, he had thought retreating further would make him safer!

Witnessing the gruesome deaths of the two cultivators and the spider's lightning-fast movements, the others scattered even further in dismay, fearing they would meet the same fate.

But it was somewhat too late. The spider-demon beast's body flickered, transforming into a streak of blood-red light, and shot in front of another Huadao Wu cultivator.

The cultivator's face turned ashen. He gritted his teeth and released two black flying daggers, while simultaneously hurtling backward.

However, the spider opened its mouth and directly sprayed a milky white liquid onto the flying daggers, causing them to immediately malfunction and drop to the ground. Then, its massive body lunged again, and with a single bite, it tore off the Huadao Wu cultivator's head.

Blood spurted a foot high from the headless body, causing everyone to turn pale with horror.

The remaining people, including Han Li, dared not hesitate any longer. Instantly, a flurry of talismans and magical artifacts was hurled at the creature!

However, the blood-red spider, now crimson, moved like the wind. In such a narrow cave, the pursuing artifacts and spells simply couldn't keep up with its agility. In that brief moment, two more cultivators met gruesome deaths under its fangs.

Although one of them had managed to deploy a colorful silk kerchief in front of himself, providing a slight defense, it was shredded and he was killed in an instant. The spider's claws and fangs were simply too sharp! Their hardness was definitely superior to top-tier magical artifacts.

At this point, only Lu Tianmeng, Xuan Le, and Han Li remained in the cave. All three of them were pale with extreme anger and shock!

If they had been in an open area, these cultivators likely wouldn't have died so easily, as flying on artifacts could at least buy them some time!

With a "bang," the spider darted to Lu Tianmeng's side. After its claw shattered his protective shield and it lunged to sever him at the waist, it was suddenly blocked by a dark, flat, and round object that appeared out of nowhere, resembling a small shield. Upon closer inspection, its surface was cracked in sections, revealing it to be an enormous tortoise shell. This sharp claw strike left only a shallow cut on the object, but otherwise, it remained completely intact, which was truly astonishing.

Seeing that its attack hadn't worked, the giant spider immediately abandoned Lu Tianmeng without hesitation. With another flash of blood-red light, it arrived beside Han Li and lunged to bite him.

However, Han Li's expression was cold as he swayed a few times. His body blurred, then instantly vanished from his spot, only to reappear seven or eight zhang away. This stunned the demonic beast, causing it to freeze in place.

However, it was this slight delay that allowed a small yellow bell, deployed by Xuan Le, to finally catch up. With a flash of yellow light, it enlarged and enveloped the demonic beast, trapping it once more. Han Li's Wulong Duo and a swarm of black giant bees, which had just arrived, cautiously hovered outside the bell, wary of the beast escaping again.

"You two don't need to worry," Xuan Le explained to Han Li and Lu Tianmeng, his expression relaxing. "My Sky-Covering Bell is forged with copper essence, a material used in refining true treasures. It absolutely cannot escape!"

Hearing this, Han Li's expression softened. He put away his Wulong Duo, seemingly at ease.

Lu Tianmeng, however, walked over to the bronze bell, observed it for a few moments, and then, after some thought, shook his head with an uneasy expression. He said, "No, I'm still not entirely at ease! You continue to trap this beast with the bell for now. Give me some time to deploy a talisman treasure and completely eradicate this brute."

Xuan Le frowned slightly upon hearing this but said nothing, appearing to be in agreement.

Han Li glanced at the teleportation array and the token on the skeleton. After a moment of contemplation, he walked to a clear space on the side, sat down cross-legged, seemingly leaving the subsequent matters to the two of them.

At this moment, Lu Tianmeng took out a shimmering blue talisman, held it clasped in his palms, and slowly channeled spiritual energy into it.

It was clear that cultivators in the late Foundation Establishment stage could use talisman treasures much more quickly. In just a short while, he separated his hands, and a small, exquisite blue ruler shot out, circling above Lu Tianmeng's head.

"Are you ready? I'm going to release the demonic beast!" Xuan Le asked, seemingly concerned, while still controlling the small bell.

"Ready. You two can now die in peace. This Great Teleportation Token will be taken by me, Lu!" Lu Tianmeng's eyes widened, and he suddenly spoke with a sinister expression.

Then, with a loud shout, the small ruler above his head emitted countless rays of light, instantly splitting from one into two, then two into four, and then four into eight… In the blink of an eye, hundreds of identical small rulers materialized, each emitting a buzzing hum. Then, under Lu Tianmeng's command, most of the rulers densely slammed towards Xuan Le, while a smaller portion shot towards the seated Han Li.

Seeing this, Han Li's expression subtly shifted. He instinctively tightened his grip on an object in his hand, staring intently at the incoming talisman treasures. Xuan Le, however, remained calm, seemingly oblivious to the immediate danger.

Upon seeing their expressions, Lu Tianmeng's smug face froze. He secretly thought, "Not good!" and immediately intended to summon his tortoise shell. But from the ground behind him, there was a bursting sound of earth cracking, followed by a streak of blood-red light that brushed past him.

Instantly, Lu Tianmeng's body split into two, falling to the ground. The red light, after shooting a certain distance, stopped. It was the blood spider, which had escaped its confinement at some unknown point.