Chapter 1255: [Breaking Free] (Part 1)

Hu Xiaotian felt his scalp tingle seeing those little bugs; the old monster not using spiders but switching to other poisonous insects—this is troublesome. I don't know if that inner pellet still works.

Seeing the little bugs fly closer, Hu Xiaotian frantically waved his long blade up and down, but though those tiny flying insects could approach him closer than spiders, they dared not advance further once within two feet of him. Overjoyed, he unintentionally obtained a treasure that repels poisonous insects.

Bei Ze Lao Guai coldly stared at Hu Xiaotian without rushing to attack, his body leaning against the wall as black, worm-like creatures like earthworms crawled out of the cracks, winding around his body and quickly forming a writhing black insect carapace outside him. These worms are Iron Wire Golden Strength Worms; though slender, their bodies are extraordinarily tough, and countless of them combined form an impregnable outer shell.

After confirming the poisonous insects wouldn't approach him, Hu Xiaotian's confidence surged; he raised his long blade and struck again at Bei Ze Lao Guai, who did not rush to meet him head-on but instead darted back and forth along the cavern walls like a spider, evading Hu Xiaotian's attacks. Hu Xiaotian's blade aura flickered in and out, yet remained terrifying; wherever it passed, swaths of poisonous insects were chopped into powder, filling the cavern with a strong fishy stench.

As the Iron Wire Golden Strength Worms gathered more and more, Bei Ze Lao Guai's body grew like a rolling snowball.

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought, "Not good." If this continues, the old monster will become a heaven-toppling, earth-standing giant, gaining an absolute advantage in size.

Bei Ze Lao Guai's movements showed no sluggishness despite the growing insect carapace; his whole body hung upside down from the cavern ceiling, the Iron Wire Golden Strength Worms covering even his face, leaving only his eyes, nose, and mouth exposed. He finally launched an attack, swinging a fist at Hu Xiaotian like Mount Tai pressing down.

Bei Ze Lao Guai's fist had swollen to more than twice its previous size; Hu Xiaotian certainly wouldn't meet it head-on. But just looking at those writhing worms was nauseating enough—he flicked his wrist, slicing his blade toward the old monster's wrist.

The blade struck the insect carapace and proved surprisingly elastic; though it left a deep groove, it could not pierce the tough hide of the Iron Wire Golden Strength Worms.

Bei Ze Lao Guai flung his left hand open, sending a white light shooting at Hu Xiaotian. Hu Xiaotian tilted his body, dodging the shot; the white light, after missing its target, arced back like a living thing, sweeping around to bloom behind him like a flower—yet it was a spiderweb.

Hu Xiaotian secretly sighed, never expecting Bei Ze Lao Guai to have Spider-Man-like abilities. He tapped his toes, leaping up before the web could entangle him; as his body neared the cavern ceiling, he hooked back with his left hand, driving the Profound Dark Yin Wind Claw deep into the wall and pressing his body against the ceiling. He then whipped his right hand outward, releasing a icy blade aura that sliced through the spider silk the old monster had shot, snapping it. Having just cut the Five-Colored Spider King's web with blade aura, dealing with the old monster's silk was no problem.

Bei Ze Lao Guai waved both hands wildly, shooting out strands of silvery spider silk that formed a crisscrossing web in the cavern; his technique must have been learned from the Five-Colored Spider King, sealing off Hu Xiaotian's retreat and continually squeezing his space.

Various poisonous insects kept appearing, filling the cavern with a pervasive fishy odor. Ordinary people would be poisoned by a single breath, but Hu Xiaotian relied on his unique breathing technique, so the toxins barely troubled him. The real problem was that the cavern lost all light, black mist spreading; though his vision was strong, in such poor visibility his sight range shrank sharply, leaving him to rely on hearing to locate Bei Ze Lao Guai.

To judge someone's position by sound, aside from footsteps there is only the opponent's breathing and heartbeat; yet Hu Xiaotian, focusing his spirit, still heard nothing of these, only the rustling of poisonous insects crawling on the ground, with no other sounds. He used the Feigning Dead Dog technique to control his breathing and heartbeat, convinced he could not hear Bei Ze Lao Guai's movements, and that the old monster's vision and hearing would likewise be impaired, making it just as hard for him to pinpoint Hu Xiaotian's location.

Hu Xiaotian's deduction was sound, yet he overlooked a crucial point: besides hearing and sight, humans also perceive the outside world through smell. For Bei Ze Lao Guai, a poison cultivation expert, this was his greatest strength. Realizing that Hu Xiaotian had obtained the Five-Colored Spider King's inner pellet, which kept poisonous insects at bay, he immediately began plotting how to deal with him, since having suffered a surprise attack earlier and being seriously injured, a direct confrontation might not favor him against Hu Xiaotian; thus the only chance lay in ambush, so Bei Ze Lao Guai started using spider silk to block Hu Xiaotian's retreat and released poison mist to interfere with his vision.

By then the cavern was so dark you couldn't see your own hand; assuming both could successfully control their breathing and heartbeat, Bei Ze Lao Guai still possessed the ability to locate his opponent via smell.

Hu Xiaotian's sense of smell was sharper than an ordinary person's, but the cavern reeked of fishy stench, and he dared not breathe deeply for fear of inhaling poison, leaving him completely disadvantaged in this regard.

In the thick black mist, Bei Ze Lao Guai silently climbed a spider silk toward Hu Xiaotian, having considered everything thoroughly; approaching from the ground or along the cavern walls would inevitably produce footsteps, which the other's keen hearing would likely detect early, but by climbing the silk he arrived, his whole body encased in writhing insect carapace, making no sound for the opponent to hear.

Hu Xiaotian focused, holding his breath, his ears straining for any sound, yet he remained unaware that Bei Ze Lao Guai had already arrived above his head.

Bei Ze Lao Guai slowly extended his right hand, the Iron Wire Golden Strength Worms spreading along his forearm as if his arm were continually reaching forward, drawing ever closer to Hu Xiaotian's head until, with three feet remaining, they stalled and gathered into a ball.

Hu Xiaotian still seemed unaware as the worm-ball about a foot in diameter above his head suddenly burst open, raining down like a shower; at that instant his body shot forward like an arrow from a bow, his speed matching Bei Ze Lao Guai's as he dodged the falling Iron Wire Golden Strength Worms and unleashed three successive upward slashes.

Though Bei Ze Lao Guai's insect carapace took a hit, it did not injure his vital points; Hu Xiaotian, his vision obstructed, delivered those three blows purely by feel, while at that moment the old monster surged forward, bearing myriad poisonous insects, to crash into him.

As long as the opponent moved, Hu Xiaotian could locate them by listening to the wind; he directed a strike toward where Bei Ze Lao Guai had come from, and this blow still landed on the insect carapace, with Iron Wire Golden Strength Worms clinging to the blade; after hitting his target, Hu Xiaotian tried to withdraw his long sword, only to find the blade stuck fast in the carapace.

Bei Ze Lao Guai had already raised his fist to strike Hu Xiaotian's chest, relying on his tough carapace to engage him in close combat.

Unable to draw his long blade, hearing the opponent's fist wind whistling, Hu Xiaotian temporarily abandoned his wind-cutting technique and threw a punch in return; however, it felt like striking rubber, his great force rebounded off the Iron Wire Golden Strength Worm carapace, and he used the recoil to step back several paces.

Bei Ze Lao Guai followed like a shadow, throwing another punch; Hu Xiaotian exchanged a blow with him, having learned from before, he deliberately pulled back some force to avoid excessive rebound, yet this punch felt like sinking into stone, striking the carapace as if hitting a cotton ball. Just as Hu Xiaotian exhausted his strength, the old monster's arm turned into a whip-like lash that smashed hard into his waist, sending him flying sideways to slam into the wall and fall to the ground.

Bei Ze Lao Guai's control over the insect carapace had reached a miraculous level.

Though Hu Xiaotian had taken a nasty fall, he was unharmed; having previously sparred with several of Bei Ze Lao Guai's disciples, he now realized the old monster and his pupils were vastly superior in strength—if not for his initial sneak attack and his joining forces with Yan Tianlu to wound the old monster, he likely wouldn't be a match for this fiend.

He slowly rose to his feet; after Bei Ze Lao Guai landed a successful hit, he immediately fell still again. Hu Xiaotian cursed the old thing's deceit; his wind-cutting technique was now gone, so his only plan was to unleash the God-Demon Annihilation Fist in a frenzy—his advantages were his strong inner power and the fact that these poisonous insects dared not approach him, any that landed on his body fleeing immediately without attacking him, presumably due to the Five-Colored Spider King's inner pellet.

From outside came Yan Tianlu's voice: "Kid, you don't need to entangle with him—leave this cavern, I'll burn him to death with my phosphorus fire bomb."

Hu Xiaotian silently sighed, "Yan Tianlu, Yan Tianlu—this crafty old fox actually still had stock; why didn't he bring it out earlier? In truth, Yan Tianlu was just bluffing; his phosphorus fire bombs were indeed exhausted. Hearing the fierce fighting inside, he feared Hu Xiaotian might die in there, yet lacking any skill against poisons, he dared not risk entering for a while."

Yan Tianlu's shout greatly helped Hu Xiaotian, who, according to the sound, determined the exit's location and began to retreat backward. Judging from earlier, Yan Tianlu surely knew his every move inside out; now completely outmatched, Hu Xiaotian's only recourse was to first leave the cavern and lure the old monster outside.

Although Bei Ze Lao Guai had sealed the cavern entrance with spider silk, its stickiness and toughness were obviously no match for the Five-Colored Spider King's; Hu Xiaotian retreated slowly, following Yan Tianlu's voice.

Bei Ze Lao Guai noticed his intention, commanding the Iron Wire Golden Strength Worms to crawl along the spider silk from all directions, sealing off Hu Xiaotian's retreat. (To be continued~^~)