Chapter 243 - Lava Spider
A beam of red light erupted from a cl.u.s.ter of blazing corals and shot toward Lou Lan.
Ai Hui’s reaction was extremely fast. The Dragonspine in his hand immediately slashed out to block the beam of red light.
The tip of the sword collided with the red beam.
Boom!
The beam of red light exploded and an astonis.h.i.+ng wave of energy erupted from the tip of the sword. With a groan, Ai Hui’s body was thrown backward.
s.h.i.+ Xueman was able to respond with such a little amount of buffer time. Instead of catching Ai Hui, she jumped over him and thrusted her Cirrus outward. Moving together with her spear, she surged forward.
Like a collapsed sand statue, Lou Lan dissolved in a puddle of quicksand and moved out of the way.
s.h.i.+ Xueman was extremely fast, but just as she surged past Lou Lan, another beam of red light erupted from the cl.u.s.ter of blazing corals.
A cold glint flashed across s.h.i.+ Xueman’s eyes. Not only did she not dodge the beam of red light, but she took the initiative and jabbed her Cirrus toward it. The beam of red light exploded once more. s.h.i.+ Xueman’s body swayed, but continued surging toward the cl.u.s.ter of blazing corals.
Another beam of red light erupted from the blazing corals.
s.h.i.+ Xueman remained calmed. Her hair fluttered as she leapt into the air with her spear.
The three consecutive beams of red light were deflected by s.h.i.+ Xueman. Upon seeing this, Ai Hui was flabbergasted. The shock wave from the explosion of the red light was enough to knock him off the ground, but the iron lady could actually withstand it effortlessly.
She was truly worthy of the nickname "iron lady"…
After Ai Hui’s time spent admiring s.h.i.+ Xueman ended, his body immediately collapsed on the ground. Then, his left palm pushed off the ground as his body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
His gaze was locked onto a black figure within the cl.u.s.ter of blazing corals.
As s.h.i.+ Xueman neared, the black figure stirred restlessly. It jumped out of the cl.u.s.ter of blazing corals and quickly retreated backward.
Lava spider!
Ai Hui’s eyes dilated. After spending three years in the Wilderness, he could identify many wild beasts and dire beasts. The millstone-sized spider in front of him right now was the renowned lava spider.
Lava spiders mainly lived in lava-filled terrain and were rarely seen in other places. They were dangerous hunters and their movements were extremely fast. They could hide in the lava or camouflage themselves with the rocks. The color and the texture of its back resembled a volcanic rock that had cooled.
Lava spiders could also spurt out scorching lava, hence the name. As compared to usual lava, the lava they spurted out was fused with elemental energy, making it hotter and more dangerous.
Were those beams of red light actually lava?
Ai Hui was confused. Those beams of red light had moved too fast, so he could not see what exactly they were. However, the shock wave from the explosion of the red light was terrifyingly powerful.
Returning to his senses, Ai Hui snuck up to the lava spider from another side like a ghost.
Suddenly, he felt an extremely faint wave of energy.
Not good!
Ai Hui’s facial expression changed drastically. The cloud that shrouded his Dragonspine dissipated abruptly and engulfed his body.
Boom, boom, boom!
All the blazing corals within the cavern exploded. Since the violent explosions took place in a small and narrow cavern, the scene was extremely horrifying.
Fireb.a.l.l.s were flying everywhere while a scorching heatwave swept across the entire cavern.
Ai Hui felt as if he was in a smelting furnace. The shock wave from the explosion contained immense power. When it hit Ai Hui, he did not dare to resist. He could only protect his vital parts and relax his body.
Thump!
He was swept up by the shock wave and smashed into a boulder heavily. He felt as if his entire body was going to fall apart. From his rich experience, he knew that even though this method landed him in a pathetic state, it prevented him from getting severely injured.
Before his body fully recovered, Ai Hui instinctively laid p.r.o.ne and scuttled his way forward while sticking to the ground.
At almost the same time, a shattering sound came from the boulder he had previously smashed into.
Ai Hui trembled in fear!
When one encountered a powerful dire beast, he or she should never stay in one place for more than a second. A veteran once advised him that if he was on a battlefield, he should keep moving and never stop until he was dead. This was especially true for someone with weaker fighting capabilities.
The body of Ai Hui’s Dragonspine bent as its tip pointed at a boulder.
A cold glint flashed across the sea of blazing flames.
[Misty Strike].
Swoos.h.!.+
A deafening sonic boom resounded through the air. Afterward, a clang could be heard. It sounded as if the Dragonspine had hit a metal s.h.i.+eld.
From the sound alone, Ai Hui knew that his strike had not broken through the carapace on the back of the lava spider. He did not dare to stay at his current position for too long. Slapping his palms on the ground, his body bounced upward.
A strong gust blasted against Ai Hui’s body, causing him to fall back to his original position.
Boom!
A loud boom could be heard beneath him as crushed rocks flew in all directions.
The blazing flames in the cavern had not extinguished yet, so Ai Hui was unable to see anything. With a push off the ground using his hand, his body flew into the air. As he flew, he maneuvered his body into the correct posture based on his senses and channeled the [Big Dipper]. With a flick of his wrist, the Dragonspine carved an arc in the air.
A crescent moon-like sword beam shot out from the sword and swiftly blasted the ground below him.
He did not care about the result of his attack. Tapping his foot on the roof of the cavern, his figure flew a few hundred meters away.
The sea of flames had extinguished and the situation in the cavern returned to normal.
The ground was a complete mess. Previously, the lava spider had detonated numerous blazing corals, with only a few dimly glowing ones left.
s.h.i.+ Xueman revealed herself as well. Her blue-white armor radiated a gentle glow, completely undamaged. However, s.h.i.+ Xueman’s face looked somewhat blank. It was most likely due to the shock waves from the multiple explosions. It just so happened that she was in the center of the cavern. That was a place that Ai Hui would never ever position himself. In such a small cavern, the shock waves from the explosions were bound to converge in the centre of the cavern. Even though s.h.i.+ Xueman was protected by her armor and was uninjured, the impact from the explosions still hit her squarely.
Ai Hui heaved a sigh of relief. Even though he knew that s.h.i.+ Xueman would definitely be okay in such a situation, he still felt relieved when he personally saw that she was uninjured.
Experience was not as good as having good equipment! That blue-white armor must be very expensive…
Ai Hui silently coveted s.h.i.+ Xueman’s armour, yet even so, he did not dare to look away from the lava spider.
So ugly!
The blood traces of the lava spider were not obvious. Ai Hui could barely see the blood traces on its belly. It seemed that the weakness of this lava spider was on its belly?
This was the second blood fiend that Ai Hui encountered which did not have a red body. The first was the flame-traced blood ape that he previously encountered. The fighting capabilities of these fiends were obviously stronger than the normal blood fiends from last time. Ai Hui conjectured that as the blood fiends transformed and evolved to higher levels, the blood color of their bodies would disappear and return to their respective original colors. Only the blood traces would stay.
According to this conjecture, wouldn’t the blood fiends’ unique characteristics become unrecognizable as they evolved?
The lava spider was an extremely ugly dire beast. Even after the blood transformation, it did not become prettier. The soles of its feet had webs. When it dived into lava, it would pull its eight limbs beneath its belly. The webs on the its soles would allow it to move about in the lava, while its belly was able to store a huge amount of lava. The abundance of elemental energy in the lava would provide the lava spider with an unending stream of energy. Lava was its weapon, and the lava that it spurted out was swift like an arrow. After being blood-transformed, the lava-spurting ability was further improved.
Its abnormally hard and durable head looked as though it was covered with volcanic rocks. Ai Hui’s [Misty Strike] barely left a white mark on it. Even when he utilized the more powerful [Crescent Moon], he had only left a single wound on its back.
As Ai Hui saw the bright-red wound regenerating and closing up, a s.h.i.+ver went down his spine.
When Ai Hui saw that the lava spider was looking at him with so much hatred in its eyes, he knew that the enormous spider had locked onto him.
Ai Hui stood in front of s.h.i.+ Xueman and did not intend to launch any attacks. s.h.i.+ Xueman had not recovered from the impact of the shock waves.
She was slowly returning to her senses. All she needed was time.
The wound on the back of the lava spider had fully sealed, forming a black scab that resembled the kind of blemish that could be found on boulders everywhere. Its eyes widened as its belly suddenly lit up with a red glow, looking as if there was a fire burning within it.
A premonition arose in Ai Hui’s mind. At this moment, however, he could not retreat and could only stand in front of s.h.i.+ Xueman, bracing himself for any incoming attacks. He clenched his teeth and muttered, "Iron lady, you have to pay more money for me saving you…"
Pop, pop, pop!
Numerous beams of red light shot out from the lava spider’s mouth, resembling torrential rain.
Ai Hui’s hair stood on end as a strong feeling of danger engulfed his mind. All of his attention was instantly s.h.i.+fted to the airs.p.a.ce in front of him. This was the first time he could clearly see exactly what the beams of red light were.
They were bean-sized lava globs. Since they moved too fast, they formed a streak of bean-sized lava as they flew through the air, resembling a beam of red light.
Ai Hui’s elemental energy channeled frantically into his sword. The cotton-like honing cloud swiftly transformed into numerous small razor-blade shapes that covered the body of the sword, resembling fish scales. Cold air was rising all around Ai Hui. Sword beams of all sizes were gathering on the sword, gradually becoming more concentrated and sharper.
Ai Hui was so focused that his facial expression turned exceptionally solemn. His wrist was so soft and flexible that it was as if there were no bones in it. The Dragonspine in his hand brandished smoothly through the air. Accompanied by an unusual cadence, frigidly cold sword rays erupted from his sword.
The ice-cold sword lights linked and formed a single long sword beam, resembling a gigantic dragon made up of numerous small blades that flew and danced in front of Ai Hui. The blade dragon’s body sparkled with streaks of silvery lightning, appearing extremely eye-catching in the faint red glow of the cavern.
Whenever a beam of red light made contact with the blade dragon, an explosion would occur. The terrifying power from the lava destroyed several portions of Ai Hui’s sword light. Fortunately, Ai Hui’s sword ray contained lightning bolts, which also destroyed several beams of red light. The powerful impacts from the continuous explosions, however, had almost caused Ai Hui to lose his grip on the sword hilt.
Suddenly, a snow-white spear extended forward from behind Ai Hui, helping him to block the next incoming red beam.
"With a skill level like yours, you still dare to collect money from me?"
s.h.i.+ Xueman’s sneer rang across Ai Hui’s ears from his back.
Before Ai Hui could retort, s.h.i.+ Xueman flew past him like a gust of wind.
Facing the torrential rain of red light, s.h.i.+ Xueman did not show any sign of retreating. As the Cirrus in her hand danced and formed a light s.h.i.+eld, she lowered her waist, bent her knees, arched her back, and surged forward!
With the light s.h.i.+eld in hand, she fearlessly surged toward the monstrous, hate-filled eyes and the deadly red light beams like an enraged lion.
The careless mistake that she had made just now sparked the raging flames within her.
Duanmu Huanghun’s talents were like his egoistic character, stunning everyone he came across. Regardless of when and where, he would always impress people with the magnificence of his talent.
s.h.i.+ Xueman was also known for her talent, but her situation was entirely different from Duanmu Huanghun’s.
She was born in a prestigious family, she had renowned teachers educating her, and she was born with exceptional potential. However, her scariest traitr was her harsh and strong self-discipline as well as her extraordinary endurance.
The process of going through countless days of mundane, tough training to temper her body, coupled with exceptional resources and talent, would neither amaze nor impress others out of grandeur, but instead, it was so practical that it filled her opponents’ hearts with despair.
A burst of matchless strength erupted from the enraged s.h.i.+ Xueman!