Chapter 1961: Swallowheart Demon Spider

"Do you know Yao Fang and Mei Rou?" Zu An asked in a deep voice, a flicker of confusion in his mind as he tried to recall the names of the two boys.

He Lu and Wang Shao's expressions changed. "You just saw them?"

"That's right. And I learned from them that you were already dead. Why would two people who should have died suddenly reappear?" Zu An nodded, secretly observing their reactions.

"What if those two women were lying to you?" He Lu and Wang Shao's faces twisted into a grimace.

"At first, I wasn't entirely sure, so I specifically brought you along when I flew. I took the opportunity to examine your bodies," Zu An said calmly. "Although you disguised yourselves very well, I sensed a special aura around your hearts."

It would have been difficult for other cultivators to see through, but with his current cultivation and mastery of the various skills from the *Baopu True Scripture*, it was not easy to deceive him.

"Then why were you wary of us?" At this moment, the constable swayed, his entire body unnaturally twisted as he stood up.

Zu An was a little surprised. Under normal circumstances, injuries like that would completely incapacitate someone, but this fellow was unusual. "Do you remember our first meeting? Before I even spoke, these two immediately told you my identity and emphasized my strength. They were clearly notifying you."

"Since they are problematic, and they so kindly notified you, you are naturally working together."

There was another reason: with his various portraits circulating, the probability of students in the academy or officials near the capital not recognizing him was almost zero.

"Since you were so certain, why didn't you expose us sooner?" The constable's body moved like a puppet, contorting into various unnatural, joint-bending positions as he rose.

"I wanted to see what exactly you were planning." Zu An's expression was grim. Although these people were problematic, the original academy students and government runners couldn't possibly be. Yet, these individuals looked exactly like them. It was either an extremely sophisticated disguise technique or some special method of control.

Considering the information he had received earlier, it was highly probable that these people were already dead, making the latter more likely.

What kind of entity could control the dead, making them appear exactly as they did when alive?

"Too bad you won't live to find out." After saying this, the constable's mouth twisted into a grotesque smile. His entire body split open, and a purple monster crawled out.

Initially, the monster was small, but its limbs, like straws, began to suck the constable's vital essence from his body.

The once burly and imposing constable visibly shriveled at an alarming rate, while the monster began to swell.

It then transformed into a completely purple humanoid monster, its face covered with many red beads that looked like eyes, appearing incredibly horrifying.

At the same time, the bodies of the other individuals also split open, and monsters emerged from them, similarly drawing vital essence from their hosts. Soon, their bodies also began to expand and grow.

However, unlike the first one, they did not take on a humanoid form, but remained in their monstrous shapes.

They had eight legs, resembling the facehuggers from the movie *Alien* he had seen in his previous life. However, their heads had two rows of red eyes, making them look like spiders.

"Vile beasts!" Although these constables and the two academy students were already dead, seeing these monsters devour their flesh and blood right before him still filled Zu An with rage.

As he was about to charge at them, a sudden warning arose in his heart, and he swiftly dodged sideways.

Even so, a faint pain pricked his skin. He raised his hand and saw numerous sharp cuts mysteriously appearing on his clothes, and red marks on his skin.

It was well-known that his body was incredibly tough, difficult to harm with ordinary blades, yet now he had almost been sliced open.

His gaze sharpened, and he finally saw the numerous threads filling the air, like a spider's web.

"Heart-Devouring Demonic Spiders!" A chill crept onto Zu An's face. He suddenly knew what these creatures were.

Back when the Demon Race sent the Second Prince with his direct lineage army to suppress the Sealed Land, the battle was exceptionally brutal. Reports from the front lines mentioned a terrifying enemy they encountered.

These were the Heart-Devouring Demonic Spiders. They could consume a person's heart and then replace it with themselves.

Crucially, they could also read the memories of the deceased and perfectly impersonate them. The Second Prince's army suffered heavy casualties, incurring significant losses due to these monsters.

The reason he hadn't recalled them earlier was that they were monsters that had invaded from the Demon Race's Sealed Land. Although the front lines were difficult, the Demon Race still managed to control the situation, eliminating various mysterious monsters that had escaped from the Sealed Land.

Such a situation had never occurred on the Human Race's side. The two regions were far apart, and this area was close to the strategically important capital region. No one would connect them to the Sealed Land.

But now, seeing these spider-like monsters, combined with their ability to control people, he finally remembered the creatures he had once glimpsed in the Demon Race's archives.

"Oh, you actually recognize us. Then we can't let you live. I'm quite satisfied with the strength of your body, and you seem to be an important figure among the Human Race. It would be perfect to take you for myself; much better than those constables before." The largest Heart-Devouring Demonic Spider spoke in human tongue. "Little ones, kill him!"

The smaller Heart-Devouring Demonic Spiders around him swayed their bodies, emitting shrill, cicada-like screeches. They shot white threads from their mouths towards him. Each thread faintly glowed with a cold light, instantly slicing any small trees they touched into fragments. Seeing the sharp threads flying from all directions, Zu An scoffed. Phoenix Flame and White Lotus True Fire erupted simultaneously, instantly incinerating the incredibly sharp threads.

The Heart-Devouring Demonic Spiders immediately shrieked in panic, then desperately retreated.

Unfortunately, neither Phoenix Flame nor White Lotus True Fire were ordinary things. They backfired along the threads the spiders had spat out, moving so fast that the spiders had no time to react. They were instantly engulfed by the flames, reduced to ashes almost in the blink of an eye.

The largest Heart-Devouring Demonic Spider was startled. It swiftly leaped into the middle of the forest, staring at him cautiously. "How are you so strong?"

Zu An didn't speak, but fixed his gaze on it. "How did you end up here? Did you escape from the Demon Race's side?"

"You actually know about the Demon Race's Sealed Land?" The Heart-Devouring Demonic Spider chuckled. "But why would I tell you? Once I merge with you, you'll naturally know."

It extended its hand, transparent threads seemingly coiling around its fingers. With a gentle tug, four figures emerged from the forest, surrounding Zu An.

With Zu An's cultivation, he could naturally tell that these people were already dead. Judging by their attire, they appeared to be rogue cultivators hiding in Copper Gong Mountain.

The Copper Gong mountain range was quite large. Some desperadoes and rogue cultivators without strong backgrounds liked to hide here to cultivate, and it was also convenient for gathering medicinal herbs or hunting fierce beasts for materials.

These individuals were clearly not weak; it was just unfortunate that they had encountered this monster and became its puppets.

Zu An secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Ji Dengtu wasn't here, otherwise Xiao Xi would have been heartbroken.

"Die!" The Heart-Devouring Demonic Spider sneered, its fingers twitching. The puppets seemed to be pulled by strings, each swinging their weapons and attacking Zu An.

Each puppet's speed and strength even surpassed their abilities when they were alive, and their attacks came from bizarre, joint-defying angles, making them incredibly difficult to defend against.

If anyone else had encountered them, they would likely have been overwhelmed by the silk-controlled puppets. But now, they faced Zu An.

He stood his ground without dodging, choosing to overpower cunning with brute force. A flame blade, dozens of feet long, swept across the entire area.

The Flame Blade Manual he had obtained in his early years was not considered a particularly high-level combat skill by today's standards, but when wielded with his current cultivation, its power was vastly different from before.

Soon, the rolling flames incinerated all the transparent spider silks in the vicinity. He knew that the Heart-Devouring Demonic Spider was very cunning; it used these puppets against him openly, but in reality, it had secretly laid dense webs of spider silk throughout the forest while trying to escape. These silks were not only sharp but also poisonous, making escape very difficult if one became entangled.

However, all these preparations were now in vain.

Without the silk control, the puppets instantly stood motionless, then were quickly consumed by the flames and reduced to ashes.

"Rest in peace." Zu An sighed. Rather than letting their flesh and blood be devoured by those monsters, or being parasitically controlled by the Heart-Devouring Demonic Spiders to deceive their loved ones, this outcome was actually their best fate.

The Heart-Devouring Demonic Spider was stunned. It immediately turned and fled, not even leaving a word this time. Its leaping speed through the forest was astonishing.

Unfortunately for it, it was facing Zu An. No matter how it tried to escape, its pursuer remained like a shadow, impossible to shake off.

Zu An, at this moment, also frowned. The Heart-Devouring Demonic Spider's speed was simply too great. Moreover, it frequently spat out silk threads to distant points and then retracted them, almost achieving a teleportation effect. Because of this, even after chasing for so long, he found it difficult to truly catch up.

Just then, a figure suddenly leaped out from the bushes ahead, slamming a fist towards the fleeing Heart-Devouring Demonic Spider.

The demonic spider had all its focus on defending against Zu An. How could it have anticipated an attack from someone else?

It staggered instantly. Zu An didn't miss the opportunity, appearing beside it in a flash, grabbing it and immediately activating the *Gluttonous Heaven-Devouring Art*!

The Heart-Devouring Demonic Spider had still intended to flee, but suddenly its entire body felt like it had been electrocuted, losing all strength. It cried out in alarm, "You are a Taotie..."

Zu An was startled. From the creature's words, it seemed to recognize Taotie. Could it be that this cultivation art truly originated from the legendary Taotie?

However, this monster was too cunning, so he didn't relax at all. He fully activated his cultivation art, completely draining its cultivation. Soon, it became a shriveled spider monster, lying motionless on the ground.

"You dead spider! You chased me until I had nowhere to run, and now you get what you deserve!" The person who had just intercepted it walked over and kicked it a few times, still not satisfied.

Zu An was pleasantly surprised: "It's you!"

The person before him was none other than Ji Dengtu. Zu An had originally been worried he might have encountered trouble.

Ji Dengtu then urgently said, "Don't waste time, quickly go back to Xiao Xi. I heard there's a Heart-Devouring Demonic Spider among them."

Upon hearing this, Zu An's expression instantly changed.