7: Chapter 7 Green Snake and Spider Demon
"Roar, roar, roar!"
Hearing the roars of the beasts, Xu Qing grew anxious.
He reckoned that group of Yao Beasts was sniffing around to find the location of the spirit fruit.
After all, not every Yao Beast could pinpoint its location accurately.
This stinky fruit was growing in a fairly hidden spot.
He guessed the previous wolf demon's sense of smell had probably evolved into a skill.
"They're here!"
"This familiar musky scent... it's a fox demon!"
"Does the canine sense of smell really have a buff?"
Xu Qing remembered his first kill; it had that same musky scent.
This white fox's Demonic Power was clearly incomparable to the previous Red Fox; its Demonic Qi was at least as high as his own, if not higher.
It was clearly a Qi Refining minor demon.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"
The white fox shifted its greedy gaze away from the fruit and looked around warily.
It seemed to have caught the scent of blood and danger in the air.
"Wind Blade!"
Xu Qing repeated his old trick, and a Wind Blade shot toward the white fox just as before.
However, the white fox hit by the Wind Blade actually vanished, turning into a phantom image.
This white fox had somehow cast an illusion without him noticing.
This illusion was much more Advanced than the one the Red Fox used to trick Mortals; even with the visual enhancement of his Spatial Pupil, he couldn't see any flaws.
Though the Spatial Pupil didn't actually have any illusion-breaking effects...
Then, dozens of white foxes appeared out of thin air in front of Xu Qing, pouncing toward him simultaneously.
"Detection!"
On the map in his mind, none of the white foxes actually existed.
Xu Qing quickly detected the white fox's real position on the map; it was lunging toward the Vermilion Fruit, attempting to swallow the unripe fruit.
It seemed that due to its high-speed movement, the illusion faltered, allowing its figure to be detected.
The pupil of Xu Qing's left eye suddenly elongated, turning into a sharp vertical slit.
The white fox was actually frozen mid-air by a transparent box formed from Spatial Barriers.
No matter how it struggled, it couldn't Breakthrough the transparent box.
Xu Qing's Demonic Power was rapidly consumed; just holding it for a single breath had already drained half of his power.
His head began to feel dizzy, and a throbbing pain shot through his left eye.
No longer hesitating, he opened his mouth and spat out a glob of Demonic Fire, completely enveloping the demon fox.
Then he removed the barrier.
The white fox, directly engulfed in flames, let out a piercing scream.
Before long, it turned into charred remains and fell to the ground.
But Xu Qing didn't relax, fearing this was another of the white fox's illusions.
Not until the System's notification sounded.
[Ding! Killed a Demon Fox.]
[Dao Cultivation +5, evolution points +10]
[Reward obtained: Illusion Fox Pelt.]
[Illusion Fox Pelt] The fur of an Illusion Fox, a high-quality material for crafting Dharma Robes.
The sudden five-year increase in Dao Cultivation sent a wave of comfort through Xu Qing's body, even subsiding the dizziness in his head.
His scales, which had dulled from the battle, regained some of their luster.
From ambushing the white fox to killing it, the entire process took less than ten seconds.
Rounding it off, it was practically an instant kill.
He had insta-killed a white fox with higher Dao Cultivation than himself.
If his Dao Cultivation wasn't slightly lower and his Demonic Power wasn't so drained, he could have taken on ten of them.
"Roar, roar, roar!"
The approaching roars of beasts shattered Xu Qing's self-indulgence.
Within Xu Qing's Detection, several Spirit-Awakened Yao Beasts with keen senses of smell had already entered his range.
"This is infuriating! It's going to be the death of this snake!"
"Guardian Spirit Beast... what a garbage job!"
As it got closer to ripening, Xu Qing became even more reluctant to eat the fruit prematurely.
Eating it now would feel like a huge loss; all this time spent guarding it would have been for nothing.
Is this the legendary sunk cost?!
What kind of green snake psychology is this!
Xu Qing climbed up the vine, his left eye fixed on the nearby Vermilion Fruit that was almost ripe.
Only a hair-thin sliver of green remained on it.
But damn it, just like a progress bar, once it reached 99%, it stopped moving.
"What heavy Demonic Qi!"
A massive surge of Demonic Qi appeared within Xu Qing's Detection range, interrupting his observation.
A black spider the size of a car.
Each spider leg was like a spear, and its massive fangs dripped with dark green venom.
Unlike the white fox, its Dao Cultivation was at least several decades ahead of his.
Though both were in the Qi Refining stage, this aura was at least at the seventh level or higher.
It might even be a ninth-level Qi Refining Spider Spirit with nearly a hundred years of Dao Cultivation.
You've got to be kidding me; I'm definitely no match for it.
My scales definitely wouldn't stop those fangs or those legs.
Slaying an opponent of a higher Rank? Don't make me laugh.
Whoever wants to slay it can go ahead.
"Stinky fruit, I'm sorry for cursing you earlier. Hurry up and finish ripening, please."
Xu Qing decided that if the spider got within two hundred meters and the fruit still wasn't ripe, he'd just pick it anyway.
As the Spider Spirit drew closer.
That majestic Demonic Qi Xu Qing could now directly sense.
He tucked his tail and withdrew his Demonic Qi until not a single trace remained.
He remained motionless, looking exactly like an ordinary green vine.
[Ding! Breath-Holding proficiency is full.]
[Ability 'Breath-Holding' has leveled up to Concealment Lv.1.]
His aura was instantly and completely concealed.
As expected, only in a crisis can a snake's full potential be stimulated.
Sometimes, if you don't push yourself, you'll never know you're a Genius.
The fruit's fragrance grew more and more intense.
Finally, the moment the spider stepped within two hundred meters, the last trace of green on the Vermilion Fruit vanished.
The pupil of Xu Qing's left eye suddenly elongated, and he stored the ripe Vermilion Fruit into his Spatial Pupil.
Then, he slithered desperately toward the exit of the canyon.
The disappearance of the fragrance sent all the Yao Beasts into a frenzy; the massive Spider Spirit seemed to sense something, and its eight eyes all fixed on Xu Qing's direction.
Seeing this through his Detection, Xu Qing felt as if all his scales were about to stand on end.
This spider has a Detection-like ability!
The distance was about two hundred meters.
The Spider Spirit's eight legs moved in unison, turning into phantoms that overturned and impaled several Yao Beasts.
It didn't even spare a glance for the Yao Beasts dying beneath it, charging straight in Xu Qing's direction.
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!"
Xu Qing could feel the threat of death.
He was certain now.
This thing was definitely a ninth-level Qi Refining demon with nearly a hundred years of Dao Cultivation.
Maybe the boss of this entire mountain is this wicked spider.
Xu Qing tried to conceal his aura, but the spider continued to pursue him with pinpoint accuracy.
The Concealment skill he had just learned was still too low level.
If I'd known, I should have just eaten that stinky fruit the moment I saw it and flown far away!
Then none of this bad luck would be happening!
Now wasn't the time for regrets; he had to find a way to fix this.
Judging by the spider's furious stance, it would likely kill him anyway even if he gave up the fruit.
He could only find a way to escape from its clutches.
He opened the map in his mind.
A map of half the mountain appeared in his head.
He tried to find a suitable escape route.
Combining his skills, he quickly locked onto the nearest river to the east.
In a place with water, his combat power could be maximized.
And then he could look for an opportunity to escape.
As for a counter-kill? Don't make me laugh.
Would I kill it with laughter or by making it choke on me?
The Spider Spirit was getting closer and closer, snapping the small trees along the way one after another.
It was exactly like a tank.
The distance between them had narrowed to within a hundred meters.
There were only a few hundred meters left to the river.
"I should be able to make it to the river."
Xu Qing made a rough estimate and felt a little more at ease.
But in his Detection, the spider suddenly stopped.
From beneath its abdomen, it shot out thick strands of spider silk, sticking them to the branches of nearby large trees.
It pulled on the silk, its eight legs exerting force simultaneously to pull the strands taut; trees as thick as several men's embrace bent to their limits, as if they could snap at any moment.
"No way... it can't be that move, can it?!"
Xu Qing was so scared he slithered for his life, wishing he could grow a few legs.
The Spider Spirit retracted its eight legs, which had been dug deep into the ground, and curled its entire body into a spider ball.
The two large trees suddenly snapped straight, and the sturdy spider silk erupted with terrifying force, catapulting the entire spider forward.
The Spider Spirit's body turned into a black shadow, launched into the sky by the immense force of the silk.
It whooshed over Xu Qing's head and slammed into the ground with a violent roar, kicking up turf and dust.
The car-sized spider extended its retracted legs and slowly stood up, looking invincible...
...blocking the path of a green snake.
"You've got to be kidding me, right?"