Chapter 46: Killing the Venomous Spider

The tavern suddenly fell silent. Drinkers put down their teacups, and the shopkeeper, who had been poring over his ledger, looked up. Everyone turned their gaze towards Gu Mo and Gu Chudong.

The waiter, with a slight smile on his face, politely asked, "Guests, which path do you hail from?"

"Unrivaled Villa, Blade Catcher," Gu Mo replied.

"You're Gu the Blind!"

Upon hearing Gu Mo's self-introduction, the waiter was instantly shocked and turned to flee. At the same moment, several other people in the tavern also reacted similarly; hearing the name "Gu the Blind," they scattered without hesitation and ran.

Gu Mo remained calm. A handful of steel beads appeared in his hand. He tossed them lightly into the air, then flicked his fingers. In an instant, six steel beads shot out. All six people who were scattering to escape immediately developed a blossoming crimson stain on the back of their heads, then collapsed to the ground.

Immediately after, Gu Mo shot a few more steel beads towards the upstairs rooms, instantly piercing several small holes in the wall.

"Excellent technique, impressive hidden weapons!"

A hoarse voice came from upstairs. A tall, upright middle-aged man emerged, his black robe swaying with the wind, exuding a chilling aura. His face was gaunt, with an unnatural greenish-white pallor, as if covered in frost. His eyebrows slanted sharply towards his temples, and his deep-set eyes, at times sinister and cold, gazed down at Gu Mo from the top of the stairs. "It's truly extraordinary," he remarked, "that such incredibly subtle hidden weapon techniques are wielded with such ferocity and directness in your hands!"

The moment the man appeared, Gu Chudong angrily drew her saber, her eyes filled with hatred. She recognized him: this was the culprit who had blinded Gu Mo—Poisonous Spider.

Poisonous Spider found Gu Chudong's gaze peculiar. "It seems you Blade Catchers aren't just after the bounty," he said, "there's a personal vendetta involved, isn't there?"

Gu Mo wasn't surprised that Poisonous Spider didn't recognize him. Poisonous Spider was a renowned master in the martial arts world for many years, while Gu Mo had been a nobody, merely an ant that Poisonous Spider could crush at will, naturally not worth remembering.

Gu Mo stated calmly, "It's not a huge grudge, really. It's just that these eyes of mine are your generous gift!"

Poisonous Spider paused, slightly taken aback. "I never imagined I'd have such a connection with Gu the Blind, who's been making waves recently. How marvelous! I heard you achieved great enlightenment after losing your sight, and your martial arts advanced by leaps and bounds. By that reckoning, you should even thank me!"

"By that reckoning, yes, I should thank you," Gu Mo replied.

"Yet, you still come to kill me."

"By killing you, preventing you from committing more acts of violence and accumulating less ill karma in the future, aren't I helping you?" Gu Mo chuckled.

"Hmm, a fair point, a fair point. Let's see just how much your martial arts have improved then," Poisonous Spider said.

"However, before I kill you, I have a question," Gu Mo stated.

"What is it?"

"Can my eyes still be cured?"

Poisonous Spider shook his head. "I'm afraid not. You missed the optimal treatment window. The poison I used wasn't top-tier; simply detoxifying it would have been easy. The difficulty lies in the fact that your eyes are now necrotic. With my expertise in poisons and medicine, I can't conceive of any way to cure them."

"What about a transplant?"

"An interesting thought. Perhaps it's possible!"

Poisonous Spider let out a light laugh and turned to leave immediately.

Gu Mo chuckled softly, then tapped his foot, instantly soaring upwards. A blur appeared in the air as he arrived upstairs in a flash, striking out with a palm towards Poisonous Spider.

Simultaneously, a faint, almost imperceptible rustle of wind arose as poisonous powder silently drifted towards Gu Mo. Poisonous Spider's body spun, and with a flick of his wrist, several venomous snakes slithered out from his sleeves and collar, flicking their tongues as they lunged at Gu Mo.

Gu Mo dared not be careless. Poisonous Spider was a master of poison, and his toxins were extraordinary.

Immediately, Gu Mo tapped a railing with his foot, his body light and agile, like a falling leaf, effortlessly drifting back downstairs, evading the poisonous powder scattered by Poisonous Spider.

However, the venomous snakes shot towards him like arrows from a bowstring, relentlessly pursuing.

Gu Mo struck out with a palm, and a dragon's roar echoed. A surge of powerful internal energy burst forth, instantly tearing the snakes into pieces, splattering black blood.

Gu Mo took two more steps back. Where the black blood splattered on the ground, it immediately corroded several holes in the stone slabs, emitting black smoke. The potency of the poison was clearly evident.

Poisonous Spider stood upstairs and chuckled. "Truth be told, my martial arts are ordinary, and my internal energy is nothing special. My only real skill lies in my poisons. But precisely this small advantage has brought down countless masters at my hands; not a single one has managed to get close to me. I won't lie, in the room behind me, I have 398 types of meticulously prepared poisons. I've only used two so far. Gu the Blind, do you still dare to approach?"

"Brother, he's provoking you, don't fall for it!" Gu Chudong quickly interjected.

"If you don't come, then I'll be leaving!" Poisonous Spider feigned turning to enter the room.

"Come again!"

Gu Mo let out a cold snort, stomped his foot forcefully, and dozens of stone bricks shot up, all flying towards Poisonous Spider. Simultaneously, he tossed a handful of steel beads, casually flicking them with his fingers, sending them towards Poisonous Spider.

"Such profound skill!"

Poisonous Spider's face changed dramatically, and he let out a gasp, dodging frantically. If it were only the floor bricks, it might have been manageable, but hidden among the dense barrage of bricks were steel beads shot by Gu Mo's "Finger Flicking Divine Art." Unable to evade them all, he jumped with all his might, directly towards the roof beam.

However, in that instant, a powerful suction force suddenly appeared. Poisonous Spider, who had just jumped onto the beam and hadn't yet stabilized himself, was directly pulled in by this force. In that moment, his face turned pale, for he had just realized that Gu Mo had transformed his palm into a claw, using some unknown martial arts technique to directly draw him in, rendering his body completely uncontrollable in mid-air.

This was precisely Gu Mo's Dragon Capture Technique. Gu Mo had barely used the Dragon Capture Technique since he acquired it, except once when battling Feilong and a few others in Zhushan County, where he had caught Feilong off guard with this very move.

It must be said that this martial art, when used in combat, could indeed have unexpectedly ingenious applications in many situations. Just like now.

However, although Poisonous Spider was in a panic, he was an experienced pugilist and reacted incredibly swiftly. Sensing his body flying uncontrollably towards Gu Mo, the next moment, movement suddenly appeared beneath his clothes. They were wriggling black shadows, varying in size, length, and shape, resembling caterpillars but without any hair, emitting a pungent, fishy odor as they flew at Gu Mo with extreme speed.

In that instant, a triumphant smile appeared on Poisonous Spider's face; he was clearly very confident in the power of these venomous insects.

But, the next moment, his smile froze. Just as the venomous insects were about to reach Gu Mo, a faint golden light suddenly emanated from Gu Mo's body—this was the protective internal energy of the Nine Yang Divine Skill. The insects were immediately repelled, bouncing back to stick onto Poisonous Spider's face.

"Ah!" "Ah!"

Poisonous Spider let out a series of piercing screams, black smoke instantly rising from his face. He quickly fumbled for several black pills, throwing them to the ground, where they emitted plumes of white smoke. Gu Mo promptly held his breath and waved his hand to disperse the toxins.

Poisonous Spider seized the opportunity to escape, quickly scrambling upstairs.

"Brother, he's trying to get away!"

Gu Mo hastily gave chase and heard another piercing scream emanating from the room.

Gu Chudong also caught up, kicking open the door to find Poisonous Spider collapsed on the floor, his face already more than half rotted away and still decaying. Poisonous Spider still clutched a medicine bottle in his hand, and various medicine jars and pills were scattered on the surrounding table. It turned out the poison was too potent; he had died before he could take the antidote.

"Brother, we have a problem," Gu Chudong said. "Poisonous Spider destroyed his own face, so the yamen will have a hard time verifying his identity. I'm afraid we won't be able to claim the bounty!"

"What a shame!"

Gu Mo nodded, but in that very instant, he channeled his internal energy into both hands and struck the adjacent wall with a palm. Six dragon-shaped energy surges roared forth—it was "Six Dragons Riding the Times," from his most powerful technique, the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.

With that palm strike, the wall collapsed with a crash. To Gu Chudong's utter bewilderment, she discovered a small hidden compartment within the wall, and inside it, a person was hiding: none other than the very same Poisonous Spider who had supposedly died!