HIYAH!

Two of the giant Ghost-Faced Jade Spider’s legs were severed, splattering green blood everywhere. It lost its balance and fell from the stone wall.

Its abdomen was exposed. Bai Zichen wasn’t about to give it a chance to recover. The Sword Light pulsed and pierced straight through its body.

The Ghost-Faced Jade Spider swayed twice, then crashed to the ground with a THUD, its remaining legs still twitching unconsciously.

He glanced back to see a scene of utter devastation.

The round shield in Cai Heng’s hand had a large hole in it and had been flung far away. A few drops of venom had splattered onto him, and a patch of his Daoist Robe and the skin beneath it had rotted away.

He had switched to a wooden staff Magical Artifact and was now fighting while retreating, looking utterly wretched.

Lu Song had lost his prized set of Golden Saber Magical Artifacts. He had slapped a Divine Movement Talisman on himself and was struggling to dodge the other Ghost-Faced Jade Spider’s attacks, occasionally throwing out a basic Fire Element Technique to draw its attention.

Luo Qi, however, lay on the ground with a gaping hole in his chest, his entire Daoist Robe stained red with blood. It was impossible to tell if he was alive or dead.

Only Xun Shuang was still holding on. The spark drifting from his Oil Lamp had only grown to the size of a peanut, but a single flicker in the Ghost-Faced Jade Spider’s direction was enough to make the Demon Beast screech in terror and turn to avoid it.

But given Xun Shuang’s Cultivation, it was clear he had reached his limit after channeling power into the Top-Grade Magical Artifact for so long.

His face was as pale as gold leaf, and blood trickled from his nose and mouth as he desperately squeezed out every last wisp of Magical Power from his body.

From the looks of it, he was on his last legs and was about to damage his very foundation.

’Continuously Controlling Flying Swords consumes Magical Power too quickly... No wonder Sword Cultivators emphasize killing in a single strike. If it drags into a battle of attrition, the Flying Sword loses its greatest advantage.’

Waves of exhaustion washed over Bai Zichen. Fortunately, the Red Cover Treasure Pearl Umbrella, a Top-Grade Magical Artifact, didn’t consume much Magical Power; its strings of Treasure Beads themselves contained a considerable amount of Spiritual Power.

After a few breaths to regulate his energy, he saw his chance. Just as the remaining Ghost-Faced Jade Spider leaped, intending to skewer Cai Heng on its leg, Bai Zichen’s Sword Light shot out, aimed at its weak spot, and blasted a hole through its abdomen with a single strike.

Compared to the giant one, the body of this normal-sized Ghost-Faced Jade Spider was much less durable.

If Bai Zichen hadn’t already expended so much Magical Power in the previous fight, taking it down head-on would have been a matter of just a few sword strikes.

With both Demon Beasts slain, Cai Heng, having escaped death, collapsed to the ground. The pain from his wounds finally registered, and he pulled out a dagger, gritted his teeth, and sliced off the rotting flesh.

Seeing that the area was safe, Xun Shuang’s heart relaxed. He could no longer hold on; his vision went black, and he fainted.

The spark went out with a PUFF. The Oil Lamp CLATTERED to the ground and rolled over twice.

Lu Song, surprisingly, was in the best condition. Although he was mentally exhausted from repeatedly dodging the Ghost-Faced Jade Spider’s attacks, his Daoist Robe soaked with sweat, he was at least physically unharmed.

He quickly helped Luo Qi up, tore open his Daoist Robe, took out a bottle of medicinal powder, and poured it liberally onto the chest wound before wrapping it twice with cotton cloth.

"Brother Cai, do you have any life-saving Elixirs?"

"I have a Rejuvenation Pill. Give it to Junior Brother Luo first."

Cai Heng paused for a moment before taking a Jade Bottle from his storage bag and handing it over solemnly.

Lu Song administered the longan-sized Elixir from the Jade Bottle to Luo Qi. His breathing quickly stabilized, and the hole in his chest, so deep you could almost see his organs, began to stop bleeding.

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief. Luo Qi’s life was saved, for now.

"Senior Brother Bai, the fault lies with our faulty intelligence this time. I apologize."

After resting for about a quarter of an hour, Cai Heng struggled to his feet and limped over to Bai Zichen, bowing deeply in apology.

"If not for Senior Brother Bai’s incredible valor in slaying both Ghost-Faced Jade Spiders, this cave would have been our grave today."

As he said this, Cai Heng’s heart still pounded with lingering fear.

When the second, larger Ghost-Faced Jade Spider appeared, Cai Heng had truly felt his heart turn to ash, believing his end had come.

All their plans had been based on dealing with a Tier One Top Grade Ghost-Faced Jade Spider. When a mutated Tier One Peak one suddenly appeared as well, how could they possibly have coped?

It wasn’t even a question of whether this Senior Brother Bai had the ability; what Inner Sect Disciple would be willing to risk his life fighting for them? With a Flying Sword in hand, he could have used Sword Control to leave at any moment.

He never expected Bai Zichen’s strength to be so astonishing that he could single-handedly slay the Tier One Peak Ghost-Faced Jade Spider and save all their lives.

"Senior Brother Bai, please take all the legs from the mutated Ghost-Faced Jade Spider."

The eight legs of a normal Ghost-Faced Jade Spider could be exchanged for one hundred and sixty Sect Contribution points at the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall. The legs of a mutated one were surely worth even more.

Whether to express his gratitude or to follow the principle that the one who contributes the most gets the largest share, Cai Heng quickly made his decision.

"I said before we set out that I would only take the Poison Sacs and any other findings in the cave. The legs have nothing to do with me. You can take them."

Bai Zichen’s gaze flickered between the Ghost-Faced Jade Spider and Cai Heng for a moment before he spoke calmly.

Sect Contribution points were naturally tempting, and while he might not be a man whose every promise was worth a thousand pieces of gold, he wouldn’t break his word over something as trivial as a few spider legs.

"Senior Brother Bai, your integrity is admirable! If you have any need of us in the future, we will not dare to refuse."

Cai Heng was stunned for a long while. Only after confirming that Bai Zichen wasn’t joking did he give a deep, sincere bow.

After resting for half an hour, everyone except Luo Qi had mostly recovered, and they began to clean up the battlefield.

Bai Zichen used his Ink Bamboo Sword to chop off all eighteen legs from the two Ghost-Faced Jade Spiders. They were tied into several bundles with hemp rope and strapped to Cai Heng’s and Lu Song’s backs.

The legs were too long to fit into their storage bags.

Xun Shuang extracted the two Poison Sacs, one large and one small, and respectfully handed them to Bai Zichen.

These two items were the only valuable parts on a Ghost-Faced Jade Spider. The rest of its body wouldn’t even sell for two Spirit Stones if they hauled it all back.

"Finding two Ghost-Faced Jade Spiders in one cave is already highly improbable. Any more than that, and there wouldn’t be enough food to sustain them... Let’s search the vicinity. If we don’t find anything, we’ll head back to the Sect."

Bai Zichen tossed the Poison Sacs into a separate storage bag and got up, heading deeper into the cave.

Speaking of which, Ghost-Faced Jade Spiders were known to be solitary Demon Beasts. It was already strange for two of them to appear here at the same time.

Xun Shuang stayed behind to look after Luo Qi, while Lu Song and Cai Heng accompanied him to explore the passages. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

’I didn’t gain much in terms of material possessions this trip, but I learned a lot about the way of Sword Control... In the fight earlier, I used too much Magical Power. It’s not necessary to infuse every strike with the same amount. Some moves can achieve the same effect with only seventy percent of the power. Understanding this point alone should allow me to execute at least ten more strikes.’

Bai Zichen was only searching the entire cave out of habit; he didn’t actually expect any surprising discoveries.

’Also, I rely too heavily on my Flying Sword in combat, and I don’t have a true Sword Technique to go with it... If I encounter an enemy with a tough body like the Ghost-Faced Jade Spider, or one with a Top-Grade Protective Magical Artifact, it will be troublesome if I can’t break through their defenses.’

Bai Zichen only felt that his combat methods were a bit one-dimensional, but he overlooked the fact that the mutated Ghost-Faced Jade Spider was a Tier One Peak Demon Beast, equivalent to a Cultivator at the Qi Refining Great Perfection stage.

Even in the trial for True Disciples, the Demon Beast one had to face in the first stage was only of this caliber.

The news that someone had single-handedly slain a Tier One Peak Demon Beast with a sword would be enough to frighten a whole batch of Inner Sect Disciples.

"Senior Brother Bai, come over here, quick! There’s a Cultivator’s skeleton!"

Lu Song’s voice, a mixture of shock and delight, echoed from the adjacent passage.