Chapter 73: Not Ordinary La Tiao

However, before they could hit the ground, the La Tiao waiting aside snatched them up with quick eyes and quick mouth, then happily began its bursting‑juice journey.

Shush—

But La Tiao's action seemed to trigger a chain reaction; it sounded as if clothes were exploding all around, with continuous tearing sounds ringing out.

Countless spiders burst from the large cocoons around the stone platform, each the size of a human fist, their numbers astonishing, densely covering the nearby ground as they swarmed toward Chen Shicheng and La Tiao.

Damn!

Chen Shicheng's trypophobia flared up on the spot, and he realized his earlier guess was correct—this was a buffet, but not for giant spiders; it was for their offspring! La Tiao also realized it had caused trouble, frantically smashing spider hatchlings with its claws.

But it was too late; the numbers were overwhelming, and even with its two tiny claws flashing afterimages, the spiders it killed were just a drop in the bucket.

Stop smashing, run!

Seeing the spiders about to overwhelm him, Chen Shicheng snatched up La Tiao, activated Eight Steps to Chase the Cicada, and instantly retreated several meters.

No sooner had the man and the ferret left than the spider swarm instantly covered the spot they had just occupied.

Apparently noticing the food was gone, the spider swarm shifted direction, rushing toward the small cocoons around the stone platform and instantly piled up into a little "mound".

Then a sucking "hiss" filled the whole hall, making Chen Shicheng shudder involuntarily.

Compared with the countless spiders, the food supply looked pitiful; some spiders that couldn't get in began to kill and devour each other.

Gradually, the spider hatchlings that got food swelled up like balloons, visibly growing larger, their exoskeletons hardening and sprouting black bristles.

Temporarily safe, Chen Shicheng suppressed his nausea and used the Eye of Bai Ze to examine the attributes of these tiny spiders.

【Lv. 2 Venomous Spider: Essence 3, Qi 3, Spirit 2, Skill: Blood Flesh Devour.】

Damn, only level 2—killing them all wouldn't give much XP.

Watching the spiders level up rapidly from the food supplement, Chen Shicheng hesitated whether to stay.

After these spiders finish killing each other, their levels and numbers could reverse, perhaps allowing a great leap in level using these little things. Shush—

Before Chen Shicheng could decide whether to stay and grind monsters, a faint noisy sound came from behind, and even the smallest venomous spiders, as large as a grinding wheel, suddenly surged in from the passage.

Hui Siye!

Seeing this, Chen Shicheng shouted loudly, five‑colored light flashed, and he instant‑moved to the vicinity of the opposite passage.

But before he could catch his breath, the passage behind also sounded with spider movement—not just behind, but every entrance of the hall was filled with spiders.

Moreover, as large numbers of spiders poured in, the small spiders that had been fighting each other seemed to find a leader, retargeting their feeding on Chen Shicheng.

Spiders of all sizes gathered into a black ocean, rushing toward him like a rising tide—too many to count, tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands?

This time, without Chen Shicheng's reminder, Hui Siye actively used Five Ghosts Transport to instant‑move him to a safe spot.

"Kid, what now? My incense power can't take this much use." Hui Siye said solemnly. "What else can we do? Just toss it in cold sauce!"

Chen Shicheng simply stopped fleeing, watched the spider swarm turn and continue surging toward him, and took a deep breath.

"Slay Immortal Grand Formation, activate!"

Instantly, more than half of his True Essence was drained, and a 27.2‑square‑meter area centered on him was enveloped by the formation, covering a quarter of the hall.

His Divine Perception, long suppressed in his sea of consciousness and unusable, was released from the formation's restriction, surging forth and letting him control every aspect of the grand formation.

"Come on, let's see whether your numbers or my True Essence are greater!"

Chen Shicheng held his hands flat, as if conducting a symphony, and began waving at the spiders entering the formation's range.

With the support of the divine ability Ten Sweeps Ten Annihilations, each wave of his hand produced fifty blade auras that clung to the formation's edges, slicing any spider that crossed the boundary into minced meat.

Moreover, because the spiders were so dense, each blade aura could kill at least a dozen spiders, and at most could cleave dozens on a single line in half.

Under such dense assault, the killing speed of the blade auras actually matched the rate at which spiders entered the formation.

Realizing it had made a mistake, La Tiao, which had lain curled up in Chen Shicheng's bosom for a long time without moving, kept peeking out furtively to observe the outside.

After determining there was no danger, it timidly turned its head to look at the fully focused owner; seeing the owner hadn't noticed it, it cautiously inched outward.

The owner didn't stop it! La Tiao boldly poked half its body out, pretending to want to jump down, though it remained in a hesitant state, seemingly testing Chen Shicheng's reaction.

Chen Shicheng couldn't possibly fail to notice the oddity in his arms; he glanced at La Tiao, whose little thoughts were written all over its face, said nothing, and tacitly allowed its behavior.

After activating the formation, the blade auras no longer consume True Essence, but maintaining the formation still requires continuous consumption; however, with the Blood Killing Pearl's replenishment, he can keep it going all day.

So the situation is still safe; the spiders are all blocked at the formation's edge, unable to advance.

He actually wanted to see why La Tiao was so obsessed with these spiders and what changes would come after eating them.

Seeing that Chen Shicheng didn't stop it, La Tiao seemed to understand his intention, immediately leapt out, ran to the safe spot at the formation's edge, and began nonstop picking the smallest spiders to stuff into its mouth.

One keeps killing, one keeps eating; on the shoulder is Hui Siye, who pities his incense power and stays silent if he can; the man, the ferret, and the mouse keep this state.

Thus, after more than ten minutes, Chen Shicheng had lost count of how many times he waved his arms, finally clearing every spider visible to the naked eye.

Swish!

Chen Shicheng unleashed the final blade aura, slaying the last spider in the distance, then immediately sat on the ground, incessantly rubbing his two arms; though not tired, the high‑intensity consumption and replenishment of True Essence overloaded his arm meridians, leaving a burning pain.

Meanwhile, La Tiao darted about on the mound of spider corpses, occasionally finding a level‑0 spider corpse and happily gulping it down.

After several minutes of rapid feeding, La Tiao had swallowed thousands of spider corpses, yet strangely its belly did not bulge, remaining just as it was before.

(End of chapter)