Fu Yuanbo locked his Divine Sense onto a Phantom Venom Demon Spider, silently tracking its movements. The moment it landed, his revolving blade pierced straight through its abdomen. The massive spider crashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
In the briefest moment of pause, four large webs fell down like a net from the sky. Before the revolving blade could even return, Fu Yuanbo prepared to use his Spiritual Power to force his way through, but Luoyu, standing beside him, moved first. She swiftly cast a fireball that burned straight through the web and struck one of the demon spiders. Immediately, a continuous crackling sound filled the air as the entire body of the demon spider caught fire, leaping up and down wildly. Under the blazing flames, the toxic mist rapidly spread and diffused.
Just as Fu Yuanbo brought Luoyu flying out through the gap burned into the webs, he witnessed this scene and thought to himself: Oh no, once these demon spiders are burned, all the toxins inside their bodies will be fully stimulated! Normally, one has to carefully avoid the poison sacs when killing them, let alone set them on fire? Besides, how on earth was Junior Sister's aim so freakishly good that she managed to burn through the web and still hit the spider?
"Junior Sister, you can't burn these spiders! Do you still have any Clarity Pills? Give me a couple."
Luoyu hurriedly took out two pills and handed them to Fu Yuanbo, saying apologetically with an expression of deep remorse:
"I'm sorry, I've caused Senior Brother trouble."
The pungent stench of charred flesh, mixed with a thick, fishy foulness, enveloped this small patch of space. Just as Fu Yuanbo intended to take Luoyu to another place to fight, the remaining three spiders closed in from all sides.
"Crescent Moon!"
Fu Yuanbo's natal revolving blade flew back into his hand, blocking a sweeping spider leg. The harsh screech of metal grinding against metal jolted Luoyu, whose head had grown dizzy, back to her senses.
While Fu Yuanbo was locked in a stalemate with one spider, the other two lunged at him from left and right. Luoyu rapidly formed hand seals, condensing her immense mental energy into a tiny red needle of light that shot straight into the head of a demon spider.
The pressure confronting Fu Yuanbo vanished instantly. Taking advantage of the opening, Fu Yuanbo pulled Luoyu and shifted forward; the spot where they had been standing a moment ago was already pierced through with multiple holes by the spider legs.
The crescent blade once again tore through the air, cleanly slicing off all four legs of one demon spider. Fu Yuanbo circulated his Wind-Chasing Arts, caught the returning blade, soared into the air, and landed squarely on the back of the demon spider as his flying knife simultaneously sank deep into its abdomen.
Demon spiders at the Golden Core stage had already developed a certain level of intelligence. Seeing their companions dying one by one and knowing they were outmatched, the final demon spider fled frantically on all eight legs, racing deep into the forest in terror of losing its life if it ran too slowly.
Fu Yuanbo said, "Let's leave this place first."
Now that the danger had passed, Fu Yuanbo could no longer justify keeping his arm around Luoyu's waist. He produced a flight magic tool, carried Luoyu out of the range of the toxic mist, and found a clean spot to sit cross-legged and rest.
"Does Junior Sister have any detoxifying pills?"
"Is Senior Brother injured?"
Fu Yuanbo rolled up his sleeve. The black fabric was stuck to the wound, and the poison had already spread up to his shoulder. Even though the wound looked shocking to the eye, he could not feel any pain.
The bloody hole gouged out by the spider leg was deep to the bone, with the surrounding flesh rolled outward and swollen high, black pus and blood flowing down his arm.
"It must hurt so much, right? It's all my fault for not knowing there were so many spiders."
Luoyu had almost never left the sect. Although she had learned many medical cultivation techniques for healing and saving lives from her father, this was also her first time treating a wound—and such a terrifying one at that.
It must hurt terribly, right?
A fresh wave of deep self-reproach washed over Luoyu's heart. It was all her own greed; otherwise, Senior Brother Fu would never have suffered such a severe injury. At this thought, her tears began to fall uncontrollably.
The moment Fu Yuanbo saw Luoyu crying, he panicked completely.
"Is Junior Sister injured? Where does it hurt?"
"N-no, nowhere."
Sniffling, Luoyu retrieved her golden needles. Guided by her mental energy, six golden needles simultaneously landed on vital acupuncture points, sealing off the spread of the toxin. She then took out a Detoxification Pill and had Fu Yuanbo swallow it.
Just as Fu Yuanbo prepared to use his Spiritual Power to forcefully expel the poison, Luoyu stopped him.
"Senior Brother must not use your Spiritual Power. Once the toxin spreads throughout the entire body, though it can be forced out, it ultimately causes damage to the human body."
Fu Yuanbo: "???"
Isn't that how everyone does it?
Twelve golden needles descended in unison, starting from the Dantian all the way down to the wound.
The medicinal efficacy of the melted pill in his abdomen was guided outward, surging toward his arm and converging at the wound. A moment later, the black pus and blood were discharged from his body, accompanied by a sickening, fishy stench.
"Truly miraculous! Is this the cultivation technique Junior Sister has comprehended?"
Luoyu let out a slight sigh of relief. This set of Timeless Needle Arts was indeed a legacy passed down to her, but given her current capability, controlling twelve golden needles simultaneously was already her absolute limit.
According to the jade slip, if this needle technique were cultivated to its ultimate peak, it could seal off all the meridians and acupoints of the human body, halting the loss of vital signs even in someone on the verge of death.
The reason Luoyu had spent half a year comprehending it in the inheritance grounds was that a large majority of that time had been spent learning this very set of needle arts. Come to think of it, tens of thousands of years ago, the paths of alchemy and medicine must have originated from the same root, and she happened to have a father who was the foremost saint of medical cultivation.
The toxin had already been purged, and the swelling around the wound had subsided by more than half. Luoyu applied herbal medicine for external injuries to Fu Yuanbo's wound, then wrapped it using specially refined plain gauze. By the time she finished all of this, a fine layer of sweat had broken out across her forehead.
"You've worked hard, Junior Sister."
Having cried for so long, Luoyu still let out an occasional sniffle. She awkwardly shook her head to indicate she was fine.
The hazy moonlight shone down. Fu Yuanbo sat cross-legged recovering his Spiritual Power. Luoyu had originally intended to keep watch for the second half of the night, but having expended too much mental energy, she leaned back against a tree trunk and drifted off to sleep shortly after.
This sleep was extremely restless. The nights in the Secret Realm were inherently cold and chilly; lighting a fire would be tantamount to standing on a mountaintop and shouting at the top of one's lungs: "I want to single all of your monster beasts!"
Watching Luoyu's brow furrowing from time to time, Fu Yuanbo hesitated for a moment before retrieving a bright red cloak from his storage ring and draping it over her.
This cloak was made from the plumage of a Nascent Soul stage monster beast, the Firebird. Monster beasts of the same tier were usually even more formidable than cultivators; he had traded half his life to slay that beast, and then spent a considerable amount of spiritual stones having someone craft this cloak from its feathers. However, the color was simply too striking to be worn out in public. Originally, he had planned to gift it to his future Dao companion—if Junior Sister Luoyu were willing...
She was so kind, so gentle, yet possessed a steadfast calmness and intelligence hidden beneath her frail exterior.