Chapter Sixty-Six: Joining Forces Against the Enemy

The woman in green now realized that the person who had just helped her was the very disciple of the Xuantian Sword Sect who had defeated her atop the mountain. The anxiety and panic that had gripped her face during her battle with the wolf spider had vanished, replaced by a sense of comfort and serenity, as though the man before her was not an enemy but someone who had come expressly to aid her.

She offered him a gentle, enchanting smile. “Xiaobai, thank you.”

The smile was so captivating that Li Sibai found himself momentarily dazed, not even catching what she had said. At that moment, the woman in green tugged at his arm. “Hurry, we shouldn’t linger here!”

Li Sibai snapped out of his stupor and quickly followed her as they fled. The wolf spider behind them, unwilling to let its prey escape, raced after them with astonishing speed on its eight legs, its familiarity with the terrain allowing it to close the distance rapidly.

A chill wind swept past, and the spider’s long legs were already at Li Sibai’s back. He hastily swung his sword to block. With a resounding clang, the force nearly tore the weapon from his grasp. He hadn’t expected the spider to be so powerful; the impact left his hands numb and forced him several steps back.

The woman in green, hearing the commotion, stopped as well. She could have escaped, but perhaps out of gratitude for Li Sibai’s earlier intervention, she did not leave him behind. She raised her sword, clearly intent on facing the wolf spider once more.

Li Sibai was surprised she had stayed, but offered her a grateful glance.

“Xiaobai, if I’m not mistaken, this wolf spider can only spin its web three times a day. It already used that ability thrice while fighting me. Now, as it chases us, it’s relying on its legs to attack rather than webs.”

Li Sibai’s knowledge of the creature was limited, but he recalled reading something similar in his copy of “Strange Beasts Chronicle.” Her words jogged his memory.

He nodded. “We’re slower than it, and it knows this terrain far better. I doubt we can escape—there might even be other beasts blocking our way. Why don’t we gamble everything and try to kill it together?”

The woman in green looked at Li Sibai with admiration. This was exactly her thought as well, and discovering their intentions aligned brought her genuine joy.

If she had left earlier, she could have escaped. But as she remembered Li Sibai saving her, she found herself unable to abandon him. She knew that if either of them faced the wolf spider alone, death was almost certain. Though it could no longer spin webs, it remained a formidable beast of the earth rank. Their only hope of survival was to join forces and slay it together.

Yet, only moments ago, they had fought as rivals vying for the Ice Spirit Herb, and forging an alliance was no simple matter.

Unexpectedly, Li Sibai had made the same decision as she had, both surprising and delighting her.

She nodded. “If we defeat the wolf spider together today, I’ll tell you my name.” Her expression was resolute as she looked at him.

Li Sibai nodded in return. “That suits me well.”

Together, their swords drawn, they charged at the wolf spider.

The beast was startled—moments before, its prey had been fleeing, but now they were turning to attack. Feeling insulted, it lashed out with four of its legs, two aimed at each of its adversaries. The limbs gleamed with a sinister purple light, a clear sign of venom.

Neither dared to be careless. Aware of the spider’s immense strength, they swiftly dodged its strikes. Yet the wolf spider was astonishingly agile; missing once, it pressed its attack. Though the two had resolved to kill it, the gulf in power was too great—they could only dart back and forth, unable to find an effective opening.

After a tense standoff, the woman in green realized things could not continue this way. “Xiaobai, I used up much of my spiritual energy in our earlier fight. I can only manage one more large-scale spell. Do you have any ideas?”

Li Sibai shook his head, a wry smile on his lips. “To be honest, I haven’t learned any spells. My only asset is this sword. But I remember reading that the spider’s weakness is its eyes. If we both attack there, it might work.”

Her face darkened. She hadn’t expected her supposed ally to be so unreliable—he’d fought her fiercely moments ago, but it turned out he knew no spells at all. In hindsight, perhaps she should have saved herself while she could. Now, their chances seemed grim indeed.

Lost in thought, she was momentarily distracted and took a hit from one of the spider’s legs. Fortunately, she activated her ice armor in time. The shield shattered with a crack, barely absorbing the blow. Had the venom struck her directly, she would have died instantly.

Li Sibai, seeing her wounded, was deeply concerned and cried out in alarm.

Before he could react further, a spider leg struck his calf with a sickening thud. Instantly his leg went numb, and dark purple blood oozed from the wound.

Originally, Li Sibai had evaded the spider’s first two strikes, but when the beast noticed their distraction, it launched two more legs at them, catching them both off guard and putting them in dire peril.

Now, with several legs raised off the ground, the spider had lifted itself up, exposing its pale underbelly and leaving its eight beady eyes unprotected.

The woman in green saw her chance and did not hesitate. Her sword split into two Emei daggers, which she flicked from both hands. The twin blades shot upward, piercing all four eyes on each side from below.

With a piercing shriek, the wolf spider spasmed in midair. The woman in green quickly supported the now-paralyzed Li Sibai and dragged him behind a large tree for cover.

Blinded and grievously wounded, the spider thrashed wildly on the ground. The venom streaming from its ruined eyes corroded every plant it touched, filling the air with the stench of decay and leaving a swath of destruction ten meters wide.

Li Sibai’s entire leg had turned a deep violet, completely numb. The woman in green gazed at his wound, her eyes full of helplessness and regret.

Li Sibai, already slipping from consciousness, fainted dead away.