Chapter 286. The One Standing Behind the Dark Heavens(1)

One hour ago.

“

Bleugh...

"

Zhang Xuen retched, her face pale.

“Are you okay?”

Luo Xiaoyue looked at her withncern, gently patting her back.

"No, I'm not okay at all..."

"I really envy how you'rempletely fine..." Zhang Hong groaned, his voice weak and exhausted.

"Who knew that going against the current of Xiling Gorge would be this difficult?"

Even Meng Ge, who was a third-generation disciple and had experienced all sorts of hardship as a Plum Blossom Swordsman, had a tired look on his face.

"If I had known this would happen, I would have suggested that we take a safer route..." Tan Xiang, who also seemed to be having a hard time, muttered with a mixture of frustration andmplaint.

“Ugh...”

“This is the worst.”

Under themmand of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, the twenty-five Mount Hua Sect disciples drafted from Mount Hua wore equally miserable expressions.

There were multiple routes leading to the habitat of the Human-Faced Spider, as well as several entrances. For the Mount Hua Sect, traveling upstream from the end of Xiling Gorge was the fastest option—faster than going through Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge. However, the journey was extremely difficult.

The Yangtze River was already violent and unpredictable, but traveling upstream made the journey nearly impossible.

"To think even the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, famed for their strict rules and discipline,uldn't oveme this river, the Xiling Gorge's rapids truly live up to their reputation."

Hohoho!

An old beggar with messy hair laughed teasingly. The seven knots in his hair evidence that the old man was an elder of the Beggar Gang.

"It seems that you're still as mischievous as ever, Elder Temperance Staff Beggar," a mysterious woman said, smiling seductively.

“Ah...!”

Even in his hardships, Zhang Hong was busy looking at the mysterious woman.

What stood out was her short, dark-blue hair and her distinct, delicate features.

Therners of her mouth were slightly raised, creating a relaxed smile, and sorrowful eyes were as calm as a lake.

Her body was slender and graceful, giving the impression that she would break if struck lightly.

Wave Sword Phoenix, Duan Lihua.

The First Phoenix of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes.

Among the younger generation talents, she was by far the oldest in terms of rank and age.

As the granddaughter of the Qingcheng Sect’s Sect Master, she was also known as an absurd genius who had reached the Harmony Realm at the age of twenty-nine using the body of a woman.[1]

Although she had been overshadowed by the monster beyond all geniuses, the Sword God, she was still a famous expert whom the

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had high expectations for even up until a few years ago.

She was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in the Qingcheng Sect, possessing a mature elegance that set her apart from the Three Phoenixes. Many masters had underestimated her simply because she was a woman—only to fall before the Qingcheng Sect's Seventy-Two Waves Sword.

However, she hadn't been active recently because she had been cultivating in seclusion.

Despite that, she was still a hot topic ofnversation.

"By the way, the Sword God hasn't arrived yet, has he?"

Duan Lihua raised a hand to her forehead, scanning the horizon.

"He's traveling from the Jinsha River in Sichuan, so he'll arrive later," answered Temperance Staff Beggar, Sun Yishan, the seventh elder of the Beggar Gang. "We should explore the area before he gets here."

“Before that, I think introductions are in order.”

The expert of the Martial Alliance, Bear Fist Hero, Li Chu, came forward.

"I'm the Vice Squadron Captain, Bear Fist Hero, Li Chu."

Li Chu greeted the others with a cupped fist. Unlike his title, he didn't look like a bear. He seemed like any middle-aged man one might see anywhere.

Starting with the Martial Alliance, the Beggar Gang, Qingcheng Sect, and Mount Hua Sect took turns introducing themselves.

"M-my name is Gale Sword Wang Yi of the Gold Will Sword Sect.”

Wang Yi smiled awkwardly, looking around.

Ha, wow. I heard that Benefactor had recruited experts, but I never thought that this many of us would gather here.

The Plum Blossom Swordsmen aside, Son Yishan, Duan Lihua, and Li Chu were all famed experts throughout the

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.

All of them were experts of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven and had reached the Harmony Realm.

In addition, the martial artists ampanying each force had reached at least the First Class Realm, and there were many who were at the Peak or Transcendent Realms.

In total, there were about ninety martial artists.

Although Wang Yi had made a name for himself in the

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as the leader of the Ten Gale Swordsmen, he wasn't like the people in front of him.

After introductions, Li Chu was about to speak again.

"Then—"

"Behind you!"

Before heuldntinue, Son Yishan shouted a warning.

Boom!

...!

Li Chu moved his body as soon as he heard the shout. As expected from an expert of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven, his movements were extremely fast.

His body bent backward like a folding table, his torso nearly touching his heels. Thanks to that, he was able to avoid the attack aimed at his upper body.

BOOM!

The impact was heavy, like the swing of a club. But what caught Li Chu’s attention wasn’t a club—it was a spider’s claw. A claw far more vicious than any club.[2]

The issue was that the spider with the massive claw was the size of a tiger.

"You dare!"

Son Yishan, who had saved Li Chu with a warning, dashed forward and thrust his staff with all his strength, piercing through the air before slamming it directly onto the monstrous spider’s head.

Bang!

Screech!

The spider let out a painful scream.

“What...”

The entire search party stared, stunned.

Putting aside that it had happened so quickly, they were all still surprised that the creature that had ambushed them was a spider the size of a beast.

"Agh!"

"Agh!"

Before theyuld calm their emotions, more screams erupted from both sides.

A search party member fell over and slid across the bushes. However, upon closer inspection, the others saw that his ankle had been caught by spider silk.

"Spider silk!"

"It's the Human-faced Spiders!"

It seemed like there was no need for them to search.

They weren’t certain if these beasts were the exact Human-Faced Spiders they were searching for, but at the very least, they were still spiritual beasts, monsters,

spiders

that were similar to them.

"Beggar Gang and Mount Hua, go left! Bear Fist Hero, rescue the others and join the middle!" Son Yishan shouted loudly and flew forward.

The Beggar Gang and Mount Hua disciples followed behind him.

"Martial Alliance and Qingcheng Sect, take the right! Gold Will Sword Sect, I need you to guard the rear!”

Li Chu immediately straightened up as well and flew forward. After him, the warriors of the Martial Alliance and Qingcheng Sect followed.

“Follow them!”

Wang Yi drew his sword, preparing to advance.

“We can't!” one of the Ten Gale Swordsmen, Cao Chun, shouted.

Wang Yi turned back, and his face twisted in shock. Before he realized it, they werempletely surrounded by a swarm of spiders.

"And that's when you arrived, Benefactor."

"So they used their heads."

Zhou Xuchuan frowned.

"Not only did they intentionally split our forces, but they also lured us into a trap."

"Their heads? Excuse me, Captain Zhou. No matter how large they are, aren't they just mere creatures?" Cao Chun asked with an expression of disbelief.

"Spiders are famous for their intelligence, so we have to be careful. This is even more so for spiritual beasts."

Tang Hui answered Cao Chun’s question in Zhou Xuchuan's place.

"To be able to even use their brains with bodies this big..."

Yuan Dashi looked at the spiders'rpses and gaped.

“What should we do?”

Wang Yi asked Zhou Xuchuan for advice.

Where are we supposed to go?

The Mount Hua Sect and the Beggar Gang had gone left.

The Martial Alliance and the Qingcheng Sect had gone right.

Since the spiders’ goal was clearly to separate and weaken them, it was obvious they were trying to keep the two forces apart so that theyuldn't help each other.

In the current circumstances, Zhou Xuchuanuldn't just pursue only one of the groups.

His current party had to split into two and chase after both.

...Fine.

Since the situation was urgent, he didn't think for long.

“Wang Yi.”

“Yes, Benefactor!”

“Follow Tang Hui and chase after the Mount Hua Sect and the Beggar Gang. Whether these things are Human-faced Spiders or some other species, they aren't ordinary, so don't let your guard down, and be careful not to let them separate you."

“I will do as you say.”

Zhou Xuchuan turned his head and looked at Tang Hui.

“I'll leave it to you.”

“Are you going alone?”

Tang Hui's brow furrowed, a mix ofncern and dissatisfaction on her face.

“Don’t underestimate us Seven Empyrean Overlords.”

"...what about detoxification medicine, do you need any?"

"While you're being strangely kind... I've gotten some things from the Tang Family Patriarch, so I'll be okay."

"Okay."

These spiders weren’t Human-Faced Spiders, but they were still powerful and difficult to handle. There was no reason for him to unnecessarily divide the others.

For someone of his level, it was simply faster and easier to act alone.

"I'll see you later."

With a final glance, Zhou Xuchuan bid Tang Hui farewell and soared into the distance.

***

Bang!

Screech!

A spider let out a pained scream.

"

Ahem!

How noisy!"

The staff in Son Yishan’s calloused hand flew through the air.

Bang! Bang!

Every time he swung his five chi staff, a spider's leg broke and their heads burst into pulp.

No matter how large they were, their size meant nothing against a master of the

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. Before Son Yishan, they fell helplessly.

Woosh!

But there wasn’t just one of them.

As he was about to finish the spider in front of him, another one attacked from the side.

"N-no... this bastard...!"

From the spinneret near its abdomen, the spider spewed a thick, white web. The sticky strands wrapped around Son Yishan, trapping him instantly.

The visity was so intense that even a Harmony Realm Master like Yishan was momentarily immobilized.

Screech!

Another spider lunged at him, seizing the opportunity.

It felt like aordinated attack.

Like humans attacking in sync.

“You dare!”

But humansuld attack in sync, too.

Squelch!

Plum Blossom Swordsman Tan Xiang severed the lunging spider’s leg that threatened to skewer Son Yishan.

Screech!

The spider let out a cry that was unpleasant to hear, but it didn’t struggle in pain.

With its seven remaining legs, it pressed forward, still determined to kill its enemy.

Woosh!

The spider swung its legs with unnerving speed—so fast that it barely seemed like a spider at all.

But Tan Xiang was just as quick. She pulled back her sword and seamlessly transitioned into her next technique.

Woosh!

Squelch!

Squelch!

The lines she drew in the air like a painting suddenly became a line of death. The spider's head fell to the ground with a thud.

"Ugh! This... I'm truly showing an ugly side of myself."

Son Yishan apologized as he untied the spider web that had trapped him.

"It's okay. It seems your staff doesn't match well against their spider webs," Tan Xiang said as she cut the spider web for him.

She was right. The spider web was stickier than he had imagined, and the amount they produced was overwhelming.

While heuld block it using a defensive qi barrier, heuldn't afford to waste energy deflecting every web that came at him from all directions. They weren’t even Human-Faced Spiders, yet if he kept using qi barriers, he would be exhausted within minutes.

"Ha!"

"Heup!"

Because of the poor matchup, the rest of the Beggar Gang also seemed to be having a hard time.

It wasn't that there weren't any sword users among the Beggar Gang, but most of the Beggar Gang's martial arts focused on striking techniques, such as staff techniques, palm techniques, fist techniques, and the like.

While it wasn't hard to defeat the spiders themselves with such attacks, the real problem was their webs. There were so many of these webs flying around that it was extremely frustrating.

"Fuck off!"

Zhang Xuen swung her sword furiously, cutting through the air with disgust.

She hated these spiders so much she was on the verge of tears.

"Eeeeek!"

The spiders crawled toward Zhang Xuen at a terrifying speed, as if they wanted to overwhelm her.

"Senior Sister!"

Zhang Xuen felt her body being pulled away.

She thought that she might end up getting dragged away like the first member who had been kidnapped, but fortunately, that had just been her imagination.

When she came to her senses, sheuld see her junior sister Luo Xiaoyue with her arm wrapped around her.

However, Luo Xiaoyue's free arm wasn't idle. She thrust the sword that Zhou Xuchuan had given her straight into the spider’s jaws—driving the blade deep into its skull.

The sword pierced through, destroying the brain inside and severing its airway.

"Are you okay?"

Luo Xiaoyue looked at Zhang Xuen worriedly.

"What should I do, Junior Sister? This Elder Sister of yours is falling for you."

"Please take it easy on me."

Luo Xiaoyue smiled bitterly.

"You really are amazing, Junior Sister... if they were ordinary spiders, that might be a different story, but seeing something this big..."

Zhang Xuen sighed and left Luo Xiaoyue's embrace.

While sheuld still fight, she wasn’t at her best.

Spiders were disgusting. Normally, they were small, so sheuld ignore them, but seeing them up close at this size...

They were truly grotesque.

Just the thought of one suddenly jumping on her made her skin crawl.

"Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not. However, there's nothing I can do."

Zhang Xuen picked up her sword.

If a Plum Blossom Swordsman allowed a mere spider to leave them helpless, it would be humiliating. Most importantly, wasn't this a life-or-death situation?

Her heart trembled as she stared at the next spider crawling toward her.

"If there's truly someone who can defeat this spider without using a single ounce of strength and without letting it go wild, I'll truly revere that person."

Thwip.

The spider before her suddenlynvulsed andllapsed, its massive body crashing to the ground with a thunderous thud.

Luo Xiaoyue stared in shock, her expression mirroring Zhang Xuen’s, who had justvered her mouth, eyes wide in disbelief.

“It’s the Gold Will Sword Sect and the Tang Family!”

“It’s the Poison Phoenix, Tang Hui!”

Their doubts were soon answered.

“Unnie!!!!”

Zhang Xuen looked at Tang Hui and shed tears.

1. This leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but still going back to the idea that women aren't as suitable for cultivation as men. ☜

2. The tips of spider's legs are called tarsus, or bear claws, fun fact. So bear claw vs bear fist. ☜