The camouflage skill on the Disguise Orb has become ineffective, as it is impossible to attack enemies during the camouflage period. Once an active attack is launched or an enemy attacks, the camouflage skill will be interrupted and require a full day to cool down again.
With the camouflage skill unavailable, the only option left was to use skills like stealth.
Thinking for a moment, Nie Yan removed the Crawler’s Ring. The crawling skill on the Crawler’s Ring was still on cooldown, so he switched to the Gnome Ring instead, which provided additional hidden attributes.
Nie Yan recalled his mercenary, Kelsi, and then entered stealth mode, advancing deeper into the village.
He carefully moved through the shadows at the corners of walls, while occasionally spider-like creatures passed around him.
Without the camouflage skill, it was extremely difficult to pass through an area so densely populated with monsters without being noticed.
Nie Yan moved with extreme caution, fearing even the slightest mistake.
As he rounded a corner, seven large, muscular spider-like creatures appeared ahead—elite beings! They wielded massive scythes, their faces were hideous, and their eyes scanned the surroundings.
This district was blocked off by these elite spider creatures. Nie Yan looked ahead and saw faint flickering lights in the distance. Around the fire, figures moved about, creating a grand scene, seemingly holding a sacrificial ceremony.
These spider-like creatures had completely blocked the path forward, leaving only a narrow gap just wide enough for a single person to pass through, with gleaming scythes seemingly ready to swing down at any moment.
Nie Yan thought for a moment. Perhaps the Gnome Ring could come in handy now. He activated the Gnome Transformation skill on the Gnome Ring, and his body rapidly shrank to about one-third of its original size.
What an amazing skill!
When he looked around again, the environment had completely changed. Everything appeared incredibly huge. The seven elite spider creatures nearby now seemed like giants, the houses were absurdly tall, and the clutter scattered around had suddenly grown several times larger.
It was as if he had suddenly entered a land of giants.
Nie Yan felt somewhat disoriented at first, but soon adapted. He leaped over a “boulder” and crept along the corners of buildings toward the distance.
A “giant” rat crawled out from a hole in the corner, its front paws holding something to its mouth, chewing away. Its beady eyes warily scanned the surroundings before it darted into another nearby hole.
The rat startled Nie Yan. To him, it was about the size of a wolfhound—quite frightening indeed.
After shrinking, his movement speed had also slowed significantly.
Nie Yan slowly approached the elite spider creatures and looked up. Their towering height required him to tilt his head back just to see their faces. If he wanted to attack them now, he could only gaze helplessly at their heads, unable to reach them at all!
He had to jump with all his might just to reach their shoulders. A single swing of their scythes could easily knock him away.
The spider creatures became restless, as if sensing something. Nie Yan quickly halted his movements.
The spider creatures scanned their surroundings but found nothing. They muttered something in their own language and returned to their normal state.
They had no idea that Nie Yan was right at their feet.
Nie Yan carefully squeezed through the narrow gap between them and hid in a corner, successfully bypassing the spider creatures.
It had gone more smoothly than expected!
After passing through a narrow alleyway, he arrived at an open square in the distance. In the center stood an altar, with a roaring bonfire. Outside the fire, a crowd of spider creatures gathered around. On the altar stood an elderly spider priest. His skin looked like withered tree bark, his body hunched over, each step a struggle. He leaned on a wooden staff with his left hand and held a slender, blood-red, translucent spike in his right.
Beside him was a bound spider-like girl, looking weak and dejected.
The priest muttered incantations, waving the spike in his hand, dark and sinister energy flowing between his fingers.
They seemed to be performing an ancient ritual.
Occasional voices drifted over, but unfortunately, Nie Yan couldn’t understand a word.
Nie Yan noticed the glowing orb beside him vibrating violently, clearly excited, flying toward the spike in the priest’s hand.
Nie Yan’s gaze was drawn to the spike. Observing it closely, it was about five inches long, resembling the tooth of some creature, carved like a ruby, emitting a faint red glow. There were veins running along its surface, though somewhat dim.
A voice seemed to call out to Nie Yan: Obtain it! Obtain it!
The old spider priest let out a deep, low growl, uttering a series of strange syllables. Suddenly, he straightened his body, raised the spike, and plunged it into the arm of the spider girl. Blood sprayed out. The spike seemed to suddenly come alive, its veins swelling as it greedily absorbed the blood. The flowing crimson light emitted a dazzling glow.
More than ten minutes later, the ceremony ended. The spider girl was barely alive and was carried away. The old spider priest inserted the spike into the center of the altar.
Bennett’s spirit orbited around the spike, dancing joyfully.
Quest Progress: Obtain the Fang of Phinas.
So this spike was actually the Fang of Phinas!
Probably a quest item, Nie Yan thought. With so many spider creatures watching, obtaining the Fang of Phinas wouldn’t be easy. He checked and found that he could use a random teleport scroll here, which reassured him.
In his shrunken form, Nie Yan crept toward the distant altar, dodging nearby spider creatures.
One spider approached him. Nie Yan rolled aside and dove into whatever cover he could find—bushes, rocks—gradually closing the distance to the old spider priest and the Fang of Phinas, now only about ten yards away.
The spider creatures outside began to celebrate wildly. Nie Yan had no idea what they were celebrating—language barriers made him an outsider. His sole focus remained on the Fang of Phinas in the distance.
The old spider priest sat about three to four yards away from the Fang of Phinas. His frail, aged body seemed barely able to move, but Nie Yan knew this old priest was undoubtedly the most dangerous among all the spider creatures. A dangerous aura radiated from him.
Most likely a boss. Nie Yan didn’t dare to be careless and activated Shadowstep to enhance his stealth.
Nie Yan’s stealth ability was even superior to that of thieves who had undergone advanced class transformations at levels 60 or 70. Still, he remained exceptionally cautious.
Better safe than sorry!
After sitting for a while, the old spider priest seemed bored and tired. Slowly, he got up and walked away from the Fang of Phinas, increasing the distance.
A perfect opportunity!
Nie Yan seized the chance to move closer to the Fang of Phinas, inching ever nearer, almost within reach.
Suddenly, the old priest stopped, turned his head, and looked toward the Fang of Phinas. Seeing it still in place, his expression relaxed slightly as he scanned the surroundings.
Nie Yan froze in place, a cold sweat breaking out. The priest’s sharp gaze was like a blade, sending chills down his spine.
Finding nothing, the priest turned and continued walking away.
Seeing the priest move more than ten yards away, Nie Yan suddenly accelerated forward, reaching out and grabbing the Fang of Phinas. A sharp, searing pain shot through his hand. Smoke rose from his palm, as if something had corroded it.
This unexpected reaction caught Nie Yan off guard. He released the fang, and it fell to the ground.
A damage number over a thousand appeared above Nie Yan’s head, and his form slowly became visible.
Oh no—he had been discovered!
Nearby spider creatures erupted into commotion, pointing at Nie Yan and shouting angrily. Some charged toward him.
The old priest turned his head, locking eyes on Nie Yan. He let out a furious growl, raised a black staff, and dark magical energy surged around him. Uttering a few syllables, shadows from all around converged toward Nie Yan, bringing a heavy pressure that seemed ready to crush him.
Nie Yan activated Dash Step, dodging the priest’s attack. During the three seconds of invincibility, he grabbed the Fang of Phinas and threw it into his bag. Without the invincibility, he wouldn’t have dared to touch the fang directly!
The toxin from the Fang of Phinas was too potent—just a few seconds of contact could knock Nie Yan to the ground.
Seeing Nie Yan evade his attack, the priest uttered a series of incantations. A stream of black molten lava poured down toward Nie Yan’s location.
With a thunderous boom, half the altar was destroyed, but Nie Yan had already vanished.
Having obtained the Fang of Phinas, Nie Yan immediately used a random teleport scroll. In a flash, he was elsewhere—an equally dark environment, seemingly a desert. He quickly set off toward the Graveyard Town according to the map coordinates.
He glanced at his status and noticed a new debuff:
Wrath of Priest Kasi: Priest Kasi is furious and actively searching for you.
Seeing this debuff, Nie Yan didn’t dare delay and used an acceleration scroll to return to the Graveyard Town first!
He dashed across the wilderness. The distance to the Graveyard Town was vast—at least twenty minutes away. After crossing a desert, about ten yards ahead, a figure appeared—none other than the old spider priest from earlier in the spider tribe. Waving his staff, the priest summoned a dark cloud across the sky. Magical elements raged violently, casting a suffocating shadow over the land. A roaring torrent of flame poured down toward Nie Yan.
Somehow, the old priest had tracked him down in such a short time.
As the flames were about to engulf him, Nie Yan quickly used another random teleport scroll and vanished once more.
When he reappeared, he had no idea where he was—it was a jungle. After determining his direction, he sprinted forward, using every acceleration skill he had. Like a fleeting shadow, he dashed across the grasslands.
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