Volume One: The Soul-Calling Gourd, the Soul-Burning Lantern Chapter 92: Human or Ghost?

Thunk, thunk.

From the darkness, an earth-shattering roar suddenly rang out, as if the whole world were trembling.

In an instant, Xiao Yulou and Li Hetang did not have time to think. They hurriedly broke into a meteoric sprint, hoisted Gu Mo up, and fled in panic.

Instinct told Xiao Yulou that the thing behind them was far beyond anything they could face in a desperate gamble.

Driven by curiosity, Li Hetang still glanced back after running a few steps.

A black spider, thirty meters tall, was glaring with eight blood-red eyes the size of lanterns, pursuing them with ferocious momentum. Its monstrous body nearly blocked the entire spider cavern.

Looking more closely, the terrifying giant spider was pitch black all over, and the fine hairs covering its body stood up like steel needles.

One stride from the giant spider nearly filled the whole horrifying ravine. The red glow from the burning stick could only illuminate a tiny portion of its body.

If this thing existed in the real world, it would probably be able to toss a tank aside with ease.

With every movement of those thick, sharp limbs, the entire spider cavern seemed to quake with the force of heaven collapsing and earth splitting.

Thunk, thunk.

Even the grains of sand and dust on the ground seemed to leap and dance in wild excitement.

Roar!

With a soul-shaking howl, a savage wind howled in after it.

Between those skin-crawling mandibles was a mouthpiece as long as a telephone pole.

At last, Li Hetang understood why those huge black worker ants, though already so difficult to deal with, had still become food for the spider cavern.

How were they supposed to fight such a thing?

This was nothing less than a hopeless fight, like trying to swing a blade in your own groin and cutting yourself to pieces.

Smashing an egg against a stone, a mantis trying to stop a cart, biting off more than he could chew—three phrases instantly surged into Li Hetang’s mind.

Run.

Without a second thought, only that single word remained in Li Hetang’s head.

Who would have thought that even a mighty, battle-hardened soldier king would have such a miserable day?

With his blood surging, Xiao Yulou once again sank his body low, drew a Tai Chi circle on the spot with the tip of his foot, and stomped hard.

But not even a speck of golden light, no larger than a firefly, emerged.

Seeing that Xiao Yulou’s spell had failed, Li Hetang immediately shouted in a thunderous voice, "Run!"

Snapping back to himself, Xiao Yulou hurriedly hoisted Gu Mo and dashed forward with all his strength.

Thunk, thunk, thunk.

The giant spider behind them, now overflowing with killing intent, immediately accelerated.

When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.

Li Hetang and Xiao Yulou had already burned through countless spider hatchlings. It was only natural that this giant spider would not forgive them lightly.

No one knew how long they had run. Xiao Yulou was already panting so hard, his body had gone stiff and he could no longer keep going. Even his black daoist robe was completely soaked through with sweat.

Li Hetang, equally exhausted in body and mind, still retained some strength, but seeing Xiao Yulou already worn down like a dead dog, continuing at this pace was no solution.

"Since we came together, we get out together!"

In that instant, Li Hetang clenched his teeth, planted his feet, and glared at the terrifying spider in pursuit.

Driven by sheer will, Li Hetang reached back with one hand.

With a sharp hiss, the compound bow called Demon Hunter was drawn to full extension in a flash. Three black feathers, marked with faint glowing lines, were already ready to fly.

Xiao Yulou, exhausted like a dead dog, panted and looked at Li Hetang. In his mind, a line of poetry rose up, so impressive it seemed to blaze with light.

He who can draw a雕弓 full as the moon, gazing northwest, will shoot the heavenly wolf.

The sound of a sharp whistle cut through the air, and the three black arrows shot forth at once.

Almost instantly, violent explosions shook the entire spider cavern.

Boom!

The creepy, terrifying giant spider was instantly swallowed by blazing flames.

Within the thick smoke, a scorched, roasted stench rose at once.

Roar!

The searing heat drove the giant spider completely insane.

A heavy crash rang out. Dragging smoke and fire with it, the giant spider slammed violently into the cavern wall beside it.

Rumble rumble.

The entire spider cavern began to shake violently from the impact.

For a moment, the world seemed to convulse and split apart.

Seeing that the attack had hit home, Li Hetang immediately reached out, hoisted Gu Mo onto his shoulder, and looked down from above at Xiao Yulou.

"Scruffy, if you don’t want to end up as spider manure, get your ass moving with me!"

Hearing this, Xiao Yulou also clenched his teeth and dragged his exhausted body into a long stride.

Thunk, thunk, thunk.

The earth shook and the heavens seemed to split apart.

After another frantic dash, the giant spider behind them still would not give up the chase.

One horrifying stomp after another, accompanied by soul-shaking shrieks, came crashing from behind.

Those two things alone were enough to show just how fiercely the giant spider wanted revenge.

It seemed that this skin-crawling creature wanted to stomp the three of them into paste.

The farther he ran, the more Li Hetang wondered: this giant spider ought to be able to lay many eggs at once, so was it really worth fighting so desperately for three morsels of food smaller than ants?

Then, when he turned his head to look, he immediately found the answer.

Four of the giant spider’s eight blood-red lantern eyes had already been extinguished by Li Hetang’s shots.

Its hatred had now been driven to the absolute limit.

Clearly, this battle would end only when one side or the other was dead.

Not ending up as manure had become the last prayer in Li Hetang’s heart.

But the road ahead stretched on endlessly. Where, in the end, were they supposed to go?

One must remember that the current "microscopic world" could only be a tiny fragment of the Well of Gods and Demons.

And Li Hetang’s ammunition supplies were pitifully scarce.

After a whole day of fleeing, the three of them had not seen a single follower of the White Lotus Sect.

If Code O had already died in some corner of the microscopic world, then even a carpet search would require enormous manpower and time.

The more he thought about it, the less confidence Li Hetang felt.

As the one who had initiated this mission, didn’t that mean Daoist Xiao and Mister Gu had been dragged into it for no reason?

Could a mere one hundred thousand yuan really buy a human life?

The more he thought, the deeper he sank into endless self-reproach.

Thunk, thunk, thunk.

The earth-shattering pursuit behind them showed no sign of stopping, while Li Hetang and Xiao Yulou were both nearing their physical limits.

It would not be long before they were completely spent.

Could becoming spider manure really be their fate?

The thought alone made the wildly fleeing Li Hetang tremble all over, and even the rigid, taut muscles in his legs were beginning to fail him.

Snap.

Xiao Yulou, already exhausted to the point of collapse, suddenly reached out and grabbed Li Hetang’s shoulder.

Before Li Hetang could even open his mouth to curse, Xiao Yulou, like a madman, suddenly lifted his hand and tore away the three yellow talismans from Gu Mo’s forehead.

In an instant, with the suppressing talismans gone, Gu Mo began to thrash like a fierce ghost.

Then that bloodless, fang-filled maw suddenly clamped down on Li Hetang’s shoulder.

Crunch, crunch.

The horrifying crushing force of the bite nearly scared Li Hetang out of his wits.

Fortunately, the symbiont armor on his body was unbelievably tough. Otherwise, that single bite from Gu Mo would have ripped his shoulder right off.

In a flash, Li Hetang used both arms to lock the ghostly Gu Mo on his shoulder in a death grip.

"Damn it, scruffy, what the hell did you do?"

At that, Xiao Yulou, panting like an ox, replied in obvious distress, "Bro... Brother Hetang, humans can’t beat that eight-legged beast. Maybe ghosts can!"

Then Xiao Yulou grabbed Gu Mo by the collar and, using the last ounce of his strength, hurled the frenzied Gu Mo backward with all his might.

At that critical moment, the greedy ghost in Gu Mo’s arms gave a few aggrieved cries.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.

But amid the protests, the exhausted Xiao Yulou could not care less.

That lewd-looking daoist was practically a puddle of mud as he sat down hard in the dirt, then took out cigarettes and offered one to Li Hetang.

"Bro... Brother Hetang, let’s take a short rest."

By this point, Li Hetang, equally worn out in body and mind, finally yielded.

The two utterly shameless men collapsed onto the ground and lit their cigarettes with a lighter.

Huff.

With one mouthful of smoke and mist, it was as if the entire flight had never mattered at all.

...

A minute earlier, the view had shifted directly to the frenzied Gu Mo.

Roar.

Seeing the tiny human before it, the giant spider immediately spread its mandibles and let out a skin-crawling howl through its terrifying mouthparts.

A powerful gust of air blew in, fierce and biting.

In an instant, the frenzied Gu Mo was forced down to the ground by that immense pressure.

At a glance, Gu Mo now looked like a demon from the underworld.

His bizarrely twisted limbs had all become claw-like, digging deep into the soil. The veins on his pale hands bulged high, as if they might burst at any moment.

Suddenly, strange streaks of red light began to glow from Gu Mo’s chest.

The searing heat burned a hole straight through the sportswear he was wearing.

Seeing this, Xiao Yulou suddenly felt anxious and uneasy.

But if they did not take a desperate gamble now, they would never know what the strange talisman on Gu Mo’s chest was for.

With such a powerful enemy before them, Xiao Yulou had no choice but to use this desperate measure.

The moment the terrifying giant spider stopped howling, whoosh.

Gu Mo, still pressed to the ground, shot forward like a heavy shell and slammed straight into the giant spider.

A dull boom rang out.

One of the giant spider’s thick limbs had been broken.

A gush of thick fluid sprayed out in all directions.

Gu Mo in his frenzied state was terrifyingly strong.

Even Li Hetang, sitting not far away and smoking, had not seen how Gu Mo had done it.

By now, Li Hetang and Xiao Yulou were both staring in dumbfounded shock.

"Damn, is Mister Gu really this fierce when he goes berserk?"

The words had barely left his mouth before Gu Mo, now like an evil ghost from the netherworld, darted under the giant spider.

Amid the rustling sounds, Gu Mo, in his crazed state, was actually waving his pale, wax-white ghostly hands and clawing at it with all his might.

In no time at all, great spurts of thick fluid and black fur flew out.

The intense pain had already driven the giant spider out of its mind.

In a flash of black shadow, one of its thick, chimney-like legs lashed out at Gu Mo.

A dull impact sounded, and the utterly irrational Gu Mo was slapped flying.

Under that tremendous force, Gu Mo in his frenzied state was brutally smashed into the hard cavern wall.

Crack.

Hearing that, Li Hetang’s heart tightened.

"Scruffy, is this really a good idea? I keep feeling like Mister Gu is going to get himself played to death. We’re being way too dishonorable."

In the next instant, a strong gust whipped past as another black blur flashed.

Gu Mo, still in his deranged state, charged the giant spider once more.

What a cockroach that refused to die.

Thunk, thunk.

The terrifying giant spider again raised its monstrous limb, trying to crush Gu Mo beneath it.

But Gu Mo, who had lost all reason, seemed to have no thoughts at all. He did not dodge. He did not retreat. Instead, he bared his teeth and snarled at the giant spider.

With another thunderous boom, the giant spider’s thick limb came down on Gu Mo.

The whole earth began to shake violently, and even the roof of the spider cavern rained down dust and broken stone.

Seeing this, Xiao Yulou could no longer stay seated.

"Brother Gu!"

With a sharp cry, Xiao Yulou sprang to his feet in fury. Above his palm, a fireball of the Fire God, as large as a wagon wheel, blazed into life.

At that critical instant, whoosh.

A sharp whistle cut through the air.

A thick wooden spear had already been driven into the giant spider’s forehead. That spear had flown so close to Xiao Yulou’s ear it was almost grazing it.

Seeing the wooden spear pierce the spider’s forehead, the terrifying giant spider failed even to cry out before crashing to the ground.

Its eight exceptionally thick limbs twitched faintly.

Witnessing this horrifying scene, Li Hetang and Xiao Yulou both turned to look behind them.

What met their eyes was not a person, but a strange creature that was half human and half ant.

Buzz.

Xiao Yulou and Li Hetang’s minds went completely blank.