Chapter 517: Reverse Strangulation

It scurried away as quickly as it had appeared, leaving nothing behind but a puddle of slime.

A gust of wind from the lake swept through, chilling everyone to the bone. Taking advantage of the chaos, Uncle Wu beckoned someone over and whispered a few words. The person nodded, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

“Uncle Wu?” Cen Boqing snapped back to reality, looking around. “Uncle Wu!” Uncle Wu quickly followed him.

“Back to the manor!” Cen Boqing turned and started walking back. “To the manor immediately, quickly!”

The commoners were still crying out and backing away. Magistrate Tian’s legs turned to jelly; he almost collapsed, his mind filled with thoughts of “it’s over, it’s over.”

The Imperial Inspector of Lingxu City, swallowed by a monster in broad daylight? Zhongsun Mou had been harmed on his territory; how was he going to explain this to his superiors?

The constables dug around in the sand for a while longer, feigning effort, before returning to report: “Sir, the monster has escaped!”

A long axe cleaved into the water, aiming for He Lingchuan’s waist, intending to cut him in two.

Even underwater, the condensed qi on the axe remained intact. He Lingchuan had no leverage in the water, making it difficult to dodge; if struck directly, he would indeed be cut into two halves, an upper and a lower.

Clearly, the murky water he stirred up had failed to fool Fan Sheng.

He didn't know that before this person came to chase him, Zhongsun Mou had given him a small bottle of potion which, when applied to the eyes, allowed one to see underwater, undisturbed by murkiness, for a quarter of an hour.

Underwater light and visibility fluctuate greatly, and aquatic demons have numerous ways to cope.

Even when He Lingchuan swam two zhang away, thinking he was safe, Fan Sheng was actually following him like a shadow on the surface, relentless in pursuit.

He pushed off the bottom of the boat and stepped directly onto the water.

The moment his foot touched the water's surface, it emitted a faint blue glow.

After that, he could walk on the water as if on solid ground, with no fear of sinking—unless he deliberately pressed his toes or heels deep into the water.

Mermen and sea patrol yakshas both possess this ability, known as “Wave Walking.” Zhongsun Mou knew he was coming to hunt He Xiao, so he temporarily lent this technique to Fan Sheng, which could last for about two hours.

Fan Sheng originally held a short-handled hand axe, but this magic weapon could extend at its owner's will. Its shaft could lengthen to eight chi, allowing it to be wielded immediately or used to attack underwater.

Fan Sheng's strike was full of murderous intent; before the axe blade even touched the lake water, the surface showed an indentation. When he chopped down, six neat cut marks appeared at the point of impact, covering an area of two zhang in radius!

He swung the axe to “sever the water,” and even the lake water was momentarily cut, inflicting wide-area damage. This was to counter the possibility of the boy being elusive or using illusions.

With such an attack, could He Lingchuan possibly remain unscathed underwater?

The axe blade sliced past his waist; several piranhas surrounding him were even cut down, their blood staining the water red.

The commotion was immense.

Of course, the “severing the water” phenomenon lasted only an instant, and the lake water immediately flowed back together. Fan Sheng's brows furrowed deeply again.

Why “again”? Because there was still no sensation of cutting into flesh. This was the second time.

During the previous battle outside Tongfu Inn, he had slashed He Lingchuan's neck, but it was just an illusion, and the enemy had teleported behind him.

This combat technique... it's very much like a “decoy”!

Without time to think, Fan Sheng turned around to guard against a rear attack.

Sure enough, there was a splash behind him, and the broken boat, missing its stern, came smashing down on him.

Fan Sheng, of course, wasn't afraid of such a move. However, his height wasn't eight chi; he was still within normal human range, and such a large boat thrown at him easily obstructed his view.

By the time Fan Sheng's flying axe chopped the broken boat in half, the sound of something cutting through the air came from behind him again. It was barely noticeable, mixed with the whooshing wind of the shattered boat. Fan Sheng's spiritual sense expanded as if he had eyes in the back of his head; he swung his other axe in a backhanded sweep, knocking away the hidden weapon.

They were four or five red pointed needles, shorter than a little finger and made of an unknown material, targeting his upper, middle, and lower sections from unusually tricky angles.

No sooner had Fan Sheng knocked them away than a spherical object flew out from among the lotus plants, hurtling towards his face with a whoosh. It was about four chi in diameter and shaped like a rough stone.

Being hit by it would certainly not end well. Moreover, as this round object fell, it suddenly expanded, sprouting eight legs, looking as if it wanted to embrace Fan Sheng's face!

Just moments before, he had used hidden weapons to ambush He Lingchuan underwater before closing in.

Now, the scenario was replaying, but with the roles reversed.

No matter how skilled and daring Fan Sheng was, he didn't dare let this thing latch onto his face, so he had to retreat quickly.

This creature landed on the water's surface, also moving as if on solid ground, its eight legs scuttling as it pounced towards him.

Only then did Fan Sheng clearly see that this creature was actually a giant spider, standing over four chi tall!

Its specialized mouthparts had two pairs of protruding, serrated fangs, which it could retract into its lower abdomen. During an attack, they would suddenly spring out, like the forelegs of a praying mantis.

Its slashes were as fast as lightning; even Fan Sheng, who blocked them, felt their heavy and substantial force. He had just parried two strikes when suddenly, from the serrated edges of its fangs, a dozen streams of light green liquid simultaneously squirted out, hissing as they aimed for his face.

This was truly unexpected.

However, secreting venom from fangs is a natural talent for many demonic beasts.

Fortunately, he had protective qi and elemental energy shielding him, so only a few drops of venom splashed onto his face, causing him to wince in pain.

This stuff was highly corrosive; if he had taken the full blast, his face would have been ruined.

Fan Sheng gritted his teeth and forced the spider back with two axe swings. This creature even knew how to advance, retreat, attack, and defend, not just blindly charge, but it couldn't withstand Fan Sheng's swift assault and still had one of its legs chopped off.

He still remembered that He Lingchuan was his main target, so while attacking, he extended his spiritual sense, yet found no trace of him.

From the side, another four or five red needles shot out, immediately followed by a handful of white, sticky stuff that covered his head.

Only then did Fan Sheng discover that two more spiders were hidden among the lotus plants!

One was round and stout, with claws thicker than watermelons; it only needed to twitch a leg for pointed needles to shoot towards him.

However, it was probably too heavy to be agile, so it could only advance by leaping over fragments of driftwood on the water's surface.

The one throwing the net was another smaller spider, less than a third the size of its two companions, skulking among the lotus leaves and refusing to show itself.

Where did these three monsters come from?

Local demonic birds and beasts should have all been driven out of the Lotus Palace by the marsh. Were they arranged by He Xiao?

Then this was a trap, Fan Sheng realized with a jolt.

His slashes carried a freezing crystal delay technique. After two rounds of fighting with him, the two large spiders' joints were frozen stiff, and they lost their previous agility.

Elemental energy still held a significant advantage against wild monsters.

With a few “clack-clack” cuts, he chopped off several spider legs, and the two large monsters hissed in pain. Who would have thought these legs instantly transformed into finger-length little spiders, silently scurrying over to cling to his thighs?

Is this ever going to end?

Fan Sheng took the opportunity to crush two of them, growing increasingly annoyed by the fight. Where was the real target, He Lingchuan, hiding?!

Just then, the spider in the lotus leaves spewed out a spiderweb for the second time, and it was a double spray.

This net was extremely sticky but caused no damage itself, so elemental energy had no effect on it. However, it was like super glue, incredibly cumbersome to deal with. The spiderweb from the previous encounter was still clinging to Fan Sheng, so the moment he caught sight of the new web flying towards him, he immediately sidestepped.

He managed to dodge the small one, but an unbelievably large net descended from the sky, catching him and the two spiders in one fell swoop!

Fan Sheng was greatly alarmed and twisted his head frantically, only to discover a golden-armored bronze figure standing diagonally behind him, holding something and casting it out freely!

The bronze figure was one and a half zhang tall, and the water only reached its knees. It stood steadily on the lakebed, casting a large net towards Fan Sheng.

Yes, what it threw was a completely intact net.

The mesh was fine, but the net was huge, almost covering the entire narrow water area. Fan Sheng had no time to jump clear; the fishing net enveloped him instantly.

The golden-armored bronze figure immediately pulled, gathered, and twisted, trapping the dignified Deputy Commander of the Unity Guards within the net!

Fan Sheng struggled backward with force. His true essence was incredibly abundant; on dry land, the bronze figure might not have been able to throw him off balance. But this was Tide Lake, and no matter how formidable Fan Sheng was, he lacked experience in water combat. He instinctively kicked back hard with his heel—

With a splash, he fell into the water, creating a large spray. His “Wave Walking” enchantment was instantly broken by his own action.

Thus, the golden-armored bronze figure's subsequent net-reeling action was quite smooth.

Enraged, Fan Sheng swung his axe at the net.

But the net was incredibly soft and resilient; the axe blade met no resistance, feeling empty and heavy, and it took several swings to cut a single strand.

This was the very net He Lingchuan had used to receive the Imperial Nectar at Sanxin Yuan. It was made from cloud brocade personally woven by Second Aunt Zhu, boasting not only astonishing strength and fine mesh but also a complex weaving technique that maximized force dissipation.

Even with his elemental energy added, Fan Sheng would need to exert much, much more brute force to tear apart Second Aunt Zhu's painstaking creation.

Why would the golden-armored bronze figure give him such an opportunity? It twisted forcefully, wringing him tightly within the net like a towel, adding two more layers around him.

The movement was extremely practiced, clearly something it had trained extensively for.

Fan Sheng didn't even have room to extend his arms to push against the net, so how could he swing his axe?

Not to mention, there were two spiders inside the web, relentlessly poking his eyeballs, spewing venom at him, and targeting his vital spots.

With such close proximity, Fan Sheng was so tightly entangled in the giant net that he couldn't even raise his elbows, let alone swing his axe. But the two spiders combined still had several legs, plus two pairs of venomous fangs, to attack with!

In such a cramped space where movement was difficult, the spiders' attacks actually held the advantage.

Just fending off these two insidious creatures' underhanded attacks left him struggling, so how could he have any spare energy to cut through the large net?

After two more constricting twists of the large net, Fan Sheng was completely enveloped, wrapped layer upon layer like a cocoon.

Only then did a person jump onto the golden-armored bronze figure's forearm; it was He Lingchuan.

He had intended to strike a cool pose, but a piranha was still clinging to his hair, flailing its tail.

He Lingchuan yanked it off and flung it onto Fan Sheng, then with a flick of his blade, he pressed the tip against the deputy commander's neck.

“Commander Fan, do you want to die or live now?” He no longer bothered with pleasantries with this fellow.

The victor is king, an eternal and undeniable truth.