Chapter 269: Crimson Blood

“Is this thing trying to wipe us all out?” Zhong Wu said with a pale face.

“Hmph!” Xuan Le didn’t respond verbally. Instead, he raised his hand and shot seven or eight fireballs from his palm toward the dense spider web.

After several “bang bang” sounds, the spider web remained completely intact without even a trace of scorch marks. This time, the others didn’t show surprise, clearly having anticipated that the spider web wouldn’t be easily broken.

In an instant, the white spider bent its legs slightly before thrusting forcefully, launching its entire body forward directly toward Xuan Le.

Xuan Le’s face darkened as he reached out, pulled out a yellow talisman, and pressed it to the ground. Immediately, the talisman silently melted into the earth.

A massive stone cone several feet thick erupted from the ground not far ahead, accurately piercing the spider’s abdomen as it leaped into the air. The cone pinned it firmly against the cave ceiling, preventing it from descending.

“Good!” Lü Tianmeng exclaimed with delight upon seeing this.

He then threw out a dark green leather pouch, its opening aimed precisely at the spider on the ceiling. A faint glow emanated from it.

At this moment, the spider trapped against the ceiling let out several sharp hisses. Its legs curled inward, clasping the top of the stone cone, and with a powerful thrust—

A cacophony of crumbling sounds followed as the top of the stone cone was easily shattered into countless falling fragments.

Now free, the demon beast dropped down and perched atop the damaged stone cone, its small eyes glowing with green light on either side, clearly enraged.

It crouched and then sprang forward, charging at the cultivators once again.

But at that very moment, a brilliant glow erupted from the leather pouch, accurately engulfing the spider mid-air and swiftly retracting. The demon beast was shrunk and drawn into the pouch.

Han Li and the others nearby were astonished. The spider had seemed so formidable, yet it was captured alive so easily—truly unimaginable.

Lü Tianmeng himself wore an expression of both shock and delight.

Although his “Sun Moon Bag” was immensely powerful and had captured many demon beasts, he had never expected it to subdue this spider so effortlessly. Overwhelming joy surged within him. If he could tame such a demon beast, wouldn’t his strength increase dramatically?

Even someone as steady as Lü Tianmeng couldn’t help but beam with excitement at the thought. Eagerly, he beckoned to the green pouch, and it slowly flew toward him under everyone’s watchful eyes.

The other cultivators naturally understood what a live demon beast meant to someone from the Spirit Beast Mountain. They couldn’t help but show envy. However, just as this sentiment began to surface, the flying pouch suddenly halted mid-air, ceasing all movement.

Lü Tianmeng’s heart sank. He urgently channeled his magic power to forcefully recall it, but after a few shakes, the pouch remained suspended.

The onlookers immediately realized something was wrong and grew cautious.

The surface of the pouch began to distort unevenly, as if the demon beast was causing trouble inside. This anomaly lasted only a moment before the pouch suddenly bulged round. Then, with a thunderous explosion, the pouch shattered into pieces. The white spider had forcefully burst through the magical instrument, returning to its original form.

Freed once again from confinement, the demon beast clearly descended into madness. Its crystal-white body gradually turned red, emitting a terrifying blood-red glow. Its fangs gnashed against each other, producing a dreadful grating sound.

Seeing this, Lü Tianmeng and the others solemnly retreated several steps, intending to create distance before bombarding it with their magical instruments.

But the blood-red spider’s legs swept sideways, and it shot like lightning between the two cultivators who had retreated the farthest.

Two white flashes gleamed, followed by two “thud” sounds. The protective barriers of the two cultivators were shattered by a single strike from its front legs, their bodies bisected at the waist. They died on the spot. One of them was the ugly Zhong Wu—how pitiful that he thought retreating farther would keep him safe!

Witnessing the gruesome deaths of the two cultivators and the spider’s lightning-fast movements, the others panicked and scattered even farther, fearful of sharing their fate.

But it was already too late. The spider demon beast swayed and transformed into a streak of blood light, shooting toward another cultivator from the Saber Transformation Sect.

The cultivator’s face turned deathly pale. Gritting his teeth, he released two black flying sabers and propelled himself backward.

However, the spider opened its mouth and spat a stream of white fluid directly onto the sabers, causing them to lose power and fall to the ground. Then, its massive body lunged forward, and with a single bite, it severed the Saber Transformation Sect cultivator’s head. Blood spurted several feet high from the headless neck, horrifying everyone.

The remaining cultivators, including Han Li, hesitated no longer. Talismans and magical instruments were hurled toward the spider in a frenzy!

But the reddened blood spider moved like the wind. In the narrow cave, the pursuing magical instruments and spells couldn’t keep up with its agility. In mere moments, two more cultivators met gruesome deaths under its fangs.

Although one of them managed to summon a colorful silk handkerchief to block in front of him, providing slight resistance, it was shattered in an instant, and the cultivator perished. The spider’s claws and fangs were simply too sharp—their hardness undoubtedly surpassed that of top-tier magical instruments.

Now, only Lü Tianmeng, Xuan Le, and Han Li remained in the cave, their faces dark with fury and terror!

If they had been in an open area, these cultivators likely wouldn’t have died so easily. After all, flying on magical instruments could have bought them some time!

With a “bang,” the spider flashed beside Lü Tianmeng. Its claw shattered his protective barrier and swung toward his waist, but was abruptly blocked by a dark, object that materialized out of nowhere.

The object was flat and round, resembling a small shield. Upon closer inspection, its surface was segmented like a tortoise shell—an enormous one at that. The spider’s sharp claw left only a shallow mark on it, leaving it otherwise undamaged—trastonishing.

Seeing its attack ineffective, the giant spider immediately abandoned Lü Tianmeng without hesitation. In a flash of blood light, it appeared beside Han Li and snapped at him.

But Han Li, his expression cold, swayed slightly. His body blurred and vanished from the spot, reappearing about seven or eight zhang away. The demon beast was stunned, freezing in place momentarily.

Seizing this brief delay, Xuan Le finally caught up with a small yellow bell he had summoned. With a flash of yellow light, it enlarged and trapped the demon beast underneath, confining it once again. Han Li’s Black Dragon Claws and a swarm of black wasps cautiously hovered outside the bell, wary of the beast breaking free again.

“Don’t worry, you two. My Canopy Bell is infused with copper essence, a material used in crafting magic treasures. There’s absolutely no way it can escape!” Xuan Le relaxed and explained to Han Li and Lü Tianmeng.

Hearing this, Han Li’s expression eased. He retracted the Black Dragon Claws, seemingly reassured.

Lü Tianmeng walked up to the bronze bell, examined it for a moment, then shook his head uneasily. “No, I’m still not comfortable with this. Keep it trapped with the bell for now. Give me some time to summon a talisman treasure and eliminate this menace for good.”

Xuan Le frowned slightly at these words but said nothing, adopting an indifferent attitude.

Han Li glanced at the teleportation formation and the token on the skeleton, lost in thought for a moment, then walked to an empty spot and sat cross-legged, as if leaving the matter to the other two.

Meanwhile, Lü Tianmeng took out a glowing blue talisman, clasped it between his palms, and slowly channeled spiritual power into it.

Clearly, a Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivator could activate a talisman treasure much faster. In just a short while, he separated his hands, and a small, exquisitely crafted blue ruler shot out, hovering above his head.

“Ready? I’m going to release the demon beast!” Xuan Le asked, seemingly concerned, while controlling the small bell.

“Ready. You can die in peace now. I’ll be taking this Great Teleportation Token,” Lü Tianmeng snarled, his eyes widening with sudden ferocity.

With a loud shout, the small ruler above his head emitted countless rays of light. Instantly, it split from one into two, two into four, four into eight… In the blink of an eye, it multiplied into hundreds of identical small rulers, each emitting a buzzing hum. Under Lü Tianmeng’s command, the majority of the rulers densely hurtled toward Xuan Le, while a smaller portion shot toward the seated Han Li.

Seeing this, Han Li’s expression shifted slightly. He tightened his grip on the object in his hand, staring intently at the incoming talisman treasure. Xuan Le, however, remained calm, seemingly indifferent to the imminent danger.

Noticing their expressions, Lü Tianmeng’s triumphant face stiffened. Sensing something amiss, he tried to summon his tortoise shell. But from the ground behind him came a explosive sound of earth breaking, followed by a streak of blood light brushing past him.

In an instant, Lü Tianmeng’s body was sliced in two, collapsing to the ground. The red light halted after traveling a certain distance—it was the blood spider, which had somehow broken free unnoticed.