Chapter 1962: Heart-Devouring Demon Spider
“Do you know Yao Fang, Mei Rou, and the others?” Zu An asked.
That’s weird. Why can’t I remember the names of the other two male students?
He Lu and Wang Zhao were stunned. They asked, “You bumped into them?”
“That’s right. They told me you were dead. How could two dead people suddenly appear out of nowhere?” Zu An replied with a nod while assessing their reactions.
“What if those two women were the ones lying to you?” He Lu and Wang Zhao growled.
“I wasn’t sure at the start too, which was why I brought you with me. I took the chance to inspect your bodies,” Zu An explained. “You hid it well, but I noticed a peculiar aura near your hearts.”
Any other cultivator would have struggled to see through their anomaly, but with his current cultivation level and proficiency in the Baopu Sutra, it would be hard to deceive Zu An.
“Why were you guarded against us then?” the head constable asked, shaking his body as he struggled to his feet.
Zu An was taken aback. Any cultivator who had received such severe injuries shouldn’t have been able to move. However, he replied, “Do you remember what happened when we first met? Before I could even utter a word, these two rushed to inform you of my identity and emphasized that I was strong. Since there was something wrong with them, it wasn’t hard to figure out that you were in cahoots.”
There were other reasons too. For instance, his portrait had already spread far and wide, such that it was impossible for any constables residing near the capital to not know about him.
“Why didn’t you expose us then?” The other constables also stood up, though their injured bodies made their postures incredibly awkward, looking as if they were wooden dolls.
“I wanted to see what you were up to,” Zu An replied.
Those fellows are able to disguise themselves as our academy’s students and constables. Either they're skilled in transfiguration, or they are using some sort of special means to control their bodies. It should be the latter, since these people do exist and are already dead.
Even so, what kind of means could allow one to control the dead and make them behave as if they were alive?
“Too bad. You won’t live to spread the word,” the head constable sneered.
His body exploded, and a purple monster crawled out from within. This monster was initially very small, but it feasted on the head constable’s blood essence with its four limbs. The brawny head constable swiftly withered, while the monster bulked up. Then, it morphed into a purple humanoid monster with many red dots reminiscent of eyes on its face. It looked extremely sinister.
The others exploded as well, and similar monsters climbed out of their bodies. They feasted on their hosts’ blood essence and quickly bulked up. However, they maintained their monster forms instead of morphing into humanoids. These monsters had eight horns, similar to the facehugger in the ‘Aliens’ movie Zu An had seen in his previous life. On top of that, they had two rows of red eyes that resembled those of a spider.
“You bastards!” Zu An cried. Even though these constables and students were long dead, he was still enraged to see these monsters feasting on their blood and flesh.
He was just about to charge at them when he sensed danger and hurriedly leaped to one side. Despite his fast reaction, he still felt pain in his arm. He quickly checked his arm and saw many sharp cuts on his robe and skin. His body was incomparably tough, such that ordinary blades would struggle to cut him. And yet, he was nearly sliced apart jus tthen. He narrowed his eyes and finally noticed threads reminiscent of a spider's web all around him.
“Heart-Devouring Demon Spider!” Zu An exclaimed, his expression turning cold. He recognized the monster before him.
The Fiend races had dispatched the Second Prince together with their main army to suppress the Netherworld Seal, but the front lines had later reported that they'd encountered a fearsome enemy with the ability to devour a person’s heart and take over their body. The Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders could access the memories of the deceased, making their disguises nearly impeccable. They were a major reason behind the huge casualties suffered by the Second Prince’s army.
Zu An hadn’t connected the dots earlier, as the Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders were among the monsters invading through the Netherworld Seal. And yet, even while the Fiend races were having a tough time there, they had still managed to slaughter all of the monsters there. Given how far away the Netherworld Seal was from the capital, most people wouldn’t have drawn a connection between them. Now that he was witnessing the Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders and their abilities to control the deceased in person, he finally remembered the monster he had seen in the Fiend races’ scroll.
“You know us? All the more reason not to spare you. I’m satisfied with your body’s resilience, and you appear to be an important figure among the humans too. It’d be much more convenient if we could take over your body,” the largest Heart-Devouring Demon Spider said. “Little ones, get him!”
The smaller Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders let out screeches reminiscent of cicada cries, as they spewed white threads toward Zu An. Each of the threads gleamed with a cold light, and they easily sliced through the trees in their path.
Zu An harrumphed. He simultaneously unleashed his phoenix fire and White Lotus Flame, instantaneously setting the incomparably sharp threads ablaze. The Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders shrieked in horror as they frantically backed away. However, the phoenix fire and the White Lotus Flame were not to be underestimated. They blazed through the threads so quickly that the Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders didn’t have time to react before they were consumed by the flames. It only took an instant for them to be burned to ashes.
The largest Heart-Devouring Demon Spider was horrified. It immediately leaped onto the trees and warily eyed Zu An, asking, “How are you this powerful?”
Zu An didn’t reply. He looked back at the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider and asked, “How did you get here? Did you escape from the Fiends’ Netherworld Seal?”
“I’m surprised. You know about the Netherworld Seal?” the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider asked, then chuckled. “Don’t worry, you’ll know once our bodies are fused.”
It raised its hand, which had nearly indiscernible threads wrapped around it, and gently tugged on them. Four silhouettes emerged from the mountain forest and surrounded Zu An.
Zu An could sense that these people were long dead. Judging from their clothes, they were likely unaffiliated cultivators residing on Copper Gong Mountain. It was common for criminals and unaffiliated cultivators to seek refuge and cultivate here. The mountain was large enough for them to conceal themselves, and they could conveniently stock up on herbs, hunt beasts, and obtain resources here. These cultivators weren’t weak, but it was a pity they had been killed by this monster and turned into its puppets.
Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. Thank god Ji Dengtu isn’t among them, or Ji Xiaoxi would die of sorrow.
“Die!” the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider sneered.
With a tug of its finger, the puppets brandished their weapons at Zu An. The strength and speed of these puppets exceeded what they were capable of when they were alive, and their bodies could move at awkward angles that defied human physiology. That made it difficult to guard against them.
Most cultivators would likely have found themselves cornered by the puppets, but it was unfortunate that their opponent was Zu An. He didn’t bother dodging the puppets’ attacks, instead choosing to deal with them through brute force. He swept the field with a sword of fire spanning over a hundred meters. It was the Flame Blade he had acquired in his earlier years. It wasn’t a particularly strong fighting skill, but now that he was executing it with his current cultivation level, its prowess was vastly different. Raging flames burned down all of the nearby webs.
Zu An knew that the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider was a sly one. While stalling him with its puppets, it had secretly woven webs around the forest that were sharp and venomous. Even Zu An would have a tough time if he got caught in them. However, its effort was doomed to be futile.
Without the webs to manipulate them, the puppets fell completely still. Flames engulfed them, and they were reduced to ashes.
“Rest in peace,” Zu An said with a sigh. This was the best end for them, rather than having their flesh devoured by monsters or returning to their family members with the Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders’ parasites in them.
The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider was dumbstruck. Without any hesitation, it turned tail and scrambled off. It fled so quickly that anyone else would have been stumped. However, the one it was dealing with here was Zu An. It couldn't shake him off no matter how it maneuvered in the forest.
Zu An frowned as well. This Heart-Devouring Demon Spider is too fast. It spews webs ahead and tugs on them to propel itself forward, achieving an effect similar to teleportation. It’s not easy to catch up with.
Just then, a person leaped from a tree ahead and smashed their fist down on the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider. The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider was too focused on escaping from Zu An, so it was caught off guard by the ambush. It staggered due to the punch, and Zu An took the opportunity to fly over, grab it, and activate the Heaven Devouring Sutra.
As if struck by lightning, the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider immediately lost its strength, rendering it unable to escape. Stunned, it exclaimed, “You are Taotie…”
Zu An was startled. It sounded as if the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider knew of Taotie. Could this skill be from the legendary Taotie?
However, this monster was a cunning one, so he dared not let down his guard. He channeled the skill to its fullest, making sure to suck the spider's cultivation dry. It didn’t take long before the monster was reduced to a withered spider lying unmoving on the ground.
“You sh*tty spider! You never thought this would happen to you when you chased me as if there was no tomorrow, right? This is karma, b*tch!” the person who ambushed the Heart-Devouring Spider earlier cursed as he spat and gave it a few good kicks.
“It’s you!” Zu An exclaimed, overjoyed.
The person was none other than Ji Dengtu. Zu An had thought he had met with trouble.
“We need to return to Xiaoxi’s side right now. I've heard that a Heart-Devouring Demon Spider has slipped into their group,” Ji Dengtu anxiously said.
Zu An’s expression darkened.
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