Chapter 149 Death Spider

Yu Sui and Li Jinshuang were forced to switch places and separate due to the clash of two powerful forces. Fortunately, the Invisibility Talisman was not destroyed, so as long as they stayed in the shadows, their whereabouts were not exposed.

The long, thin white cloth wrapped around the wrist swirled, encircling the huge golden butterfly and rendering it unable to move. The scales scattered from the butterfly's wings filled the entire passageway, so thick that they blurred the view.

Yu Sui smelled a strange fragrance, but dared not smell it for too long, fearing there might be something wrong. She covered her nose and silently retreated, keeping her distance from the golden scales.

Ou Rushuang stood behind the giant golden butterfly, her eyes narrowed as she stared at Lin Chenghai, and smiled, "The Buddhist family's Heavenly Secret Technique, stealing souls and exchanging spirits, is a rare sight."

Buddhism?

Yu Sui rolled her eyes after hearing this.

This is a very rare and almost extinct school of thought in the Xuan Gu Continent.

She had only seen it in books.

However, the book records that Buddhist disciples all shaved their heads. If Lin Chenghai's thin body and appearance were to be considered a Buddhist disciple, he would be a Buddhist disciple who had returned to secular life.

Lin Chenghai, sporting Wen Yangzhou's face, raised an eyebrow slightly, his voice still youthful: "You can recognize the nine schools of Buddhist arts; you have some discernment."

“Normally, I probably wouldn’t have noticed,” Ou Rushuang said, raising her chin slightly. “It just so happens that today, my Azure Blood Golden Butterfly was playing around and happened to fly onto Wen Yangzhou’s body while secreting toxins.”

"The Jade Blood Golden Butterfly of the Farmer is extremely poisonous. It needs to secrete toxins from its body every day to protect its master from the butterfly's poison." Lin Chenghai reached out and touched his face, laughing strangely, "You're ruthless, using this young man as a scapegoat."

Before boarding the ship, Wen Yangzhou told his younger brother Wen Yangxiu that he didn't feel well this time, and now it seems that he was indeed the most unlucky among the hundreds of people on the Lingniao.

“If he had been poisoned by the Azure Blood Golden Butterfly, even if he hadn’t died by luck, he would be unconscious by now.” Ou Rushuang also laughed. “You were so energetic on the helm earlier. I thought about it for a long time before I was sure that it was the Shi family’s soul-stealing and soul-changing that saved him from death.”

Lin Chenghai chuckled, "So you're saying I saved his life."

“No,” Ou Rushuang said. “If you hadn’t possessed him, I could have removed the poison within the time limit. Now, the time you’ve wasted is enough for him to die three or five times over.”

Lin Chenghai glanced around and said, "I think you're just making excuses for yourself."

"What excuse?" Ou Rushuang asked, her expression one of eager listening.

“This kid is from the Wen Yang family, and his status isn’t low. If you want to protect his life, you can’t catch me.” Lin Chenghai stared at Ou Rushuang. “If you want to catch me, you have to disregard his life and death.”

Ou Rushuang: "You have to try to know for sure."

While they were talking, they were both watching each other's every move. The moment the conversation ended, they attacked at the same time. Ou Rushuang also kept an eye on Hu Gui's movements as he retreated.

Hu Gui didn't seem to have any intention of fighting Ou Rushuang; he only kept Situ Jin under control and hiding him in the back.

After the giant golden butterfly was torn apart by the white cloth, it scattered into countless smaller golden butterflies. With each small golden butterfly fluttering its wings, poisonous scales fell off and turned into golden poisonous mist.

The little golden butterfly is very fast; it flies out like a sharp arrow, and when it flaps its wings, it makes a slight cracking sound like ice breaking, a crisp sound that makes one's heart race.

Lin Chenghai dodged very quickly, and the little golden butterfly seemed unable to catch up with him. No matter how fast it was, it could not escape his strange movements.

Lin Chenghai's protective aura is immune to the poisonous mist of the scales, so as long as the golden butterfly doesn't touch him, he's not afraid.

If the Crimson Golden Butterfly bites you, it will disable your protective aura, preventing you from protecting yourself again.

Each time Lin Chenghai dodges and slides backward, a portion of his protective aura dissipates. Before the golden five elements aura dissipates, it slows down the movements of the approaching Azure Blood Golden Butterfly, causing it to pause for a moment.

Ou Rushuang also noticed this and pondered in her heart:

The unique Buddhist art of the Nine Schools of Thought, the Crossing Step.

Unlike the Wind Control Technique of the Eight Trigrams, this technique only enhances speed.

The Buddhist practice of crossing over will slow down or freeze those who use the Five Elements Qi within a certain range, and even materialized objects of the Five Elements Qi will be affected.

"Crossing the river" is also known as the Buddhist art of non-warfare.

Because it's difficult for you to catch him, you can't get close enough to cause any harm.

The movement of crossing the river affects the five elements of others.

Even a very short moment can be enough for a powerful person to outmaneuver you for half a lifetime or instantly turn the tables.

Now, every Buddhist disciple killed in the Xuan Gu Continent is one less to be killed.

Ou Rushuang had already made up his mind. He flashed, leaving afterimages scattered, making it impossible to distinguish which of the several afterimages attacking Lin Chenghai was the real one.

The five elements energy beneath Lin Chenghai's feet scattered, preparing to freeze all the approaching afterimages. As soon as the sound of ice forming began, he knew something was wrong. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a shadow passing over him and flying backward.

Ou Rushuang's goal is to take Hu Gui away with Situ Jin.

Hu Gui retreated with Situ Jin in tow, and even the little golden butterfly couldn't catch up. He didn't use any Buddhist-style steps; he just relied on the wind-controlling technique to move forward.

Ou Rushuang was faster than Little Golden Butterfly, like an eagle catching its prey, landing accurately on its head.

In the nick of time, Hu Gui grabbed Situ Jin by the neck and threw her behind him, while turning around to face Ou Rushuang who was chasing after him.

He looked just like Ou Rushuang; at first glance, he was an ordinary middle-aged man, tall and thin, with a mustache. He had always worn a respectful or fawning expression on his face, which was somewhat vulgar.

His calm and composed demeanor, combined with his long, thin mustache, made him look much more refined.

Hu Gui's demeanor changed drastically, making him seem like a completely different person.

When facing Ou Rushuang, Hu Gui didn't even use any protective energy. He made a hand seal with his other hand, and a flash of golden light appeared in his dark eyes.

Hu Gui raised two fingers together, and a pale blue lightning bolt flashed past him, causing the surrounding space to distort for a moment.

Situ Jin and Ou Rushuang were both shocked.

The distorted space became even more apparent to the two of them. The originally invisible Five Elements Qi took on a concrete form in their eyes, the trembling gas twisting into a vortex, vaguely resembling a talisman.

Ou Rushuang knew exactly what this was.

Because the body can also feel the presence of this distortion.

The part of his brain that preserved his consciousness was also affected and became distorted, as if a pair of invisible hands had covered his head, with the five fingers closing in. In Ou Rushuang's vision, the lines of the world began to blur.

Ou Rushuang and Situ Jin realized at the same time:

The life-saving talisman of the Ghost Daoist!

Yu Sui also realized it and was somewhat surprised that Hu Gui was actually a sorcerer from the Ghost Daoist school.

The Ghost Daoist's Life-Giving Talisman forcibly extracts the life force from living people, resulting in subtle differences in the world seen by the caster and the victim.

Even if Hu Gui successfully extracted Ou Rushuang's life force with the Life-Giving Talisman, he still couldn't completely kill Ou Rushuang, who was protected by the power of the Earth's core, in Taiyi. His target was Situ Jin.

Ou Rushuang could give up Wenyang Axis, but she couldn't let Situ Jin get into trouble.

Given Situ's grandmother's style, her refusal to help Situ Jin in his time of need would undoubtedly offend the Situ family and create enmity between her and Situ's grandmother.

Ou Rushuang reacted quickly by retreating and creating distance. She raised her hand and wiped her eyes, causing her protective aura to burn fiercely. She calmed her mind and shattered the distorted space in front of her to resist Hu Gui's invasion of the life talisman.

Although the Ghost Daoist's Life Talisman is a deadly move with great power, it is not without ways to counter it. The strength of the caster directly affects the difficulty of avoiding the Life Talisman.

The nine streams of techniques of the Ghost Daoist school mostly target a person's "spirit" and "soul," and are mostly techniques that can kill in one strike, requiring precise timing.

Yu Sui certainly wouldn't dare say that by using the Life-Giving Talisman, he would definitely be able to see the talisman representing Ou Rushuang's life or death.

Ou Rushuang was experienced in dealing with the Nine Schools of Ghostly Daoist Arts, and knew how to avoid them and how to attack them.

He retreated from the range of Hu Gui's attempt to seize his life-saving talisman, forcing Ou Rushuang to retreat. Hu Gui then released Situ Jin. The life-saving talisman he had used on Situ Jin earlier was intended to intimidate and threaten Ou Rushuang.

However, Ou Rushuang was not merely forced to retreat.

Through the five elements of light core in front of him, Yu Sui saw the transparent spider silk hanging in the air.

The spider silk was falling directly towards Hu Gui's head, and the transparent venom dripping down the silk was about to land on Hu Gui's head.

The venom dripped into the air. Yu Sui crushed the Five Elements Light Core, making a sound. Hu Gui looked up and saw the spider silk. At the critical moment, she pulled Situ Jin away with her.

While Ou Rushuang was being pursued by Lin Chenghai, she failed to notice the details and only saw Hu Gui dodge the fatal blow.

The spiders hanging from the silk are about the size of an adult's palm, with spiral patterns on their backs and brightly colored legs.

The Praying Spider has three eyes.

When it opens its first eye, countless slender, vertical red pupils also open on its spider silk, like a bunch of hanging red grapes. When the Prayer Spider sees them, it will leave a mark of vertical red pupils on its body.

Hu Gui, however, clearly knew the methods of the Farmer's Poisonous Beast. He immediately pulled Situ Jin, who had been thrown behind him, to stand in front of him, and the Praying Spider also wisely closed its eyes.

The spider silk rippled, and just as the Praying Spider was about to strike, a bolt of lightning pierced its body, draining its life force and turning it into a withered spider skin that fell to the ground.

Situ Jin, who was closest to the Praying Spider and Hu Guidu, moved her eyes and looked at the Praying Spider that had fallen to the ground and turned into spider skin. In this anxious situation, she found it somewhat amusing.

Is this all the poisonous beast raised by a dignified farmer saint has?

With the time bought by the Praying Spider, the little golden butterflies finally caught up.

Hu Gui dodged the little golden butterfly. He didn't want to fight and only wanted to distance himself from Ou Rushuang. The little golden butterfly brought a lot of scale powder and poisonous mist, which forced Yu Sui and Li Jinshuang to move and dodge.

Just as Yu Sui was about to signal Li Jinshuang to move further away, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that the spider skin that had been lying on the ground was gone.

Her eyelids twitched, and when she looked up, the corridor was covered with white spider silk, about the thickness of a little finger. The hanging white spider eggs were breaking open one after another, and countless prayer spiders were crawling rapidly on the silk, spitting out transparent venom.

All of them were dead spiders controlled by Ou Rushuang's Five Elements Qi.

Even if the Prayer Spider loses its life force to the Life-Giving Talisman, it can be revived by borrowing the energy of the Five Elements, just like a puppet in a battle formation.

Living people won't work, but poisonous beasts in the countryside can.

Those who cultivate the Ghost Daoist path possess strong abilities to control their soul and stabilize their spirit, and their five senses are powerful. They are also exceptionally resilient to external injuries. The fastest, simplest, and most direct way to severely injure them is to use a poison that can paralyze their nerves.

The Prayer Spider moves extremely fast, its legs as sharp as blades, leaving trails of cuts as it climbs along the window wall.

The passageway was filled with golden butterflies and sky spiders. Yu Sui and Li Jinshuang were also struggling to keep up with their own situation. Going any further would be a dead end unless they could pass through the wall.

Seeing that Hu Gui was trying to dodge the golden butterfly while also keeping an eye on herself, Situ Jin said, "Don't you think it would be better to let me go now? Holding me hostage isn't a good solution."

After Hu Gui waited for him to finish speaking, she took a moment out of her busy schedule to silence him.

Situ Jin: "..."

The spiders clinging to the passageway, their webs spitting venom at Hu Gui with unmistakable intent, caught him off guard. The spider venom broke through his protective aura, and he was cut several times by the sharp, blade-like spider legs. However, he did manage to distance himself from Ou Rushuang.

Yu Sui was still trying to figure out a solution while looking at the wall when Li Jinshuang saw the golden butterfly flying over. Left with no other choice, she had to take action and draw her sword.

The longsword slashed vertically, scattering sword energy that struck all the nearby golden butterflies. The butterflies flapped their wings, but managed to resist the sword energy.

At the same time, Hu Gui threw Situ Jin backward. He never expected that there was someone behind him. The sword energy that Li Jinshuang slashed grazed Situ Jin's cheek, cut off a few strands of his hair, and cut his belt, causing his outer robe to fall off.

Situ Jin, who was frozen in place and silenced by Hu Gui, was shocked. His narrow, fox-like eyes widened, and his eyes seemed to say: "My clothes?!"

Li Jinshuang stopped, and Hu Gui turned around to look. Their eyes met, and they both saw through each other's thoughts, and then acted at the same time.

Hu Gui stepped back to Situ Jin's side and kicked out, knocking Li Jinshuang, who was trying to save him, away.

Li Jinshuang retreated to Yu Sui's side. Just as Yu Sui pointed to the wall, they saw a Prayer Spider spewing venom from above. Li Jinshuang and Yu Sui dodged, one moving forward and the other backward.

While the two were dodging, Hu Gui did not intend to pursue them. Instead, he decisively reached out and tapped two ghost talismans in the air, blasting open the wall in front of him. Before the golden butterfly scales scattered, he disappeared with Situ Jin.

People on both the upper and lower floors looked towards the floor where the explosion had occurred, wondering what had happened.

Li Jinshuang dodged the golden butterfly scales and leaped over the blasted wall.

Yu Sui retreated further back, keeping her distance from them. The passageway was now covered in golden butterfly scales, and she would inevitably be poisoned if she went over. The little golden butterfly and the Praying Spider chased after Hu Gui, so she had no choice but to retreat even further.

At this moment, Ou Rushuang had been forced back to the entrance of the passageway by Lin Chenghai.

Yu Sui continued to dodge using the Shadow Scroll, walking almost close to the wall. She looked towards the entrance of the passageway and saw Lin Chenghai take out a black long stick engraved with ghost face fangs from the mechanism box. The long stick spun rapidly between his five fingers, shattering all the small golden butterflies that tried to rush over.

Lin Chenghai launched a fierce attack, unstoppable, breaking through the small golden butterfly formation with his steps. His long staff went straight for Ou Rushuang at the back. Seeing him wave his hand again, he summoned a huge golden butterfly to block his way.

The Crimson Golden Butterfly's outstretched wings had countless red vertical pupils, causing Lin Chenghai to turn back midway.

Ou Rushuang looked down at the wounds on the back of her hand caused by the long staff, then looked up at Lin Chenghai: "A Buddhist disciple at the thirteenth realm is indeed rare."

Lin Chenghai raised an eyebrow: "There are quite a few disciples from farming families who like to raise poisonous creatures."

“As a disciple of the Farmer’s Clan, you must know how to raise some things.” Ou Rushuang smiled. “The Azure Blood Golden Butterfly is difficult to raise. Looking at the entire Farmer’s Clan, there is currently no other one like it. Therefore, very few people know how to cure its poison. Perhaps I should tell you.”

Lin Chenghai slung the long staff over his shoulder and sneered, "Old man, you're really that kind?"

Ou Rushuang, however, remained calm and said, "Since it is a soul-stealing and soul-exchanging, the poison of the Azure Blood Golden Butterfly should have transferred to you by now. Judging by the time, it should be about time."

Lin Chenghai didn't speak, staring at Ou Rushuang with a mysterious and unpredictable look, but he could feel the numbness coming from his five fingers.

Ou Rushuang is right.

The act of stealing and exchanging souls will also share the damage suffered by the original owner.

Why is this kid so unlucky? There are so many people on the ship, and that Blood-Golden Butterfly only bites you, because you're good-looking?

Lin Chenghai cursed under his breath.

[Author's Note]

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!