Chapter 867: Meeting a Dead Man

Although Max’s curiosity about the monk lingered, he quickly suppressed it. The Treasure Seeking Rat had already chosen its direction, and that direction did not align with the path the monk had taken.

Right now, the soul-nourishing grass was far more important than solving mysteries. With determination in his eyes, Max tightened his grip on the Blue Dragon Sword and followed behind the small rat as it scurried deeper into the valley.

As he moved further in, Max noticed the yin energy thickening noticeably. The cold air bit into his bones, and even with his strengthened physique and vital essence shield, he could feel a faint chill sinking into his marrow.

It was exactly the kind of environment where rare yin-based treasures like the soul-nourishing grass would thrive, but it was also the kind of environment where dangerous creatures lurked.

Then, something unusual caught his eye. "What is that?" Max muttered as he stopped. Just ahead, sprawled across the rocky path, was the corpse of a spider. Its body was covered in blood, legs twisted at odd angles, but what made Max freeze was its face—its cephalothorax bore a distinctly humanoid visage.

Max walked closer and inspected it carefully. "A human-faced spider?" he muttered under his breath, recognition flashing across his eyes.

This was no ordinary spider. Human-faced spiders were terrifying mutated monsters, born from the essence of Yin energy itself. They were extremely deadly, agile, and could inject their prey with paralytic venom in a blink.

What made them even more dangerous was their nature—they were social monsters, living in colonies and attacking in swarms. If there was one, it meant there were more nearby, possibly dozens, even hundreds.

Max’s expression hardened, his body instinctively tensing. If human-faced spiders were here, it meant a major battle had already taken place, and by the look of this one’s injuries, it hadn’t been dead long. That meant someone was ahead of him.

But who? Which faction? Max didn’t care too much. Whether friend or foe, none of it mattered compared to acquiring the soul-nourishing grass.

However, he became even more cautious. He drew his Blue Dragon Sword fully into his grasp, vital essence surging around his body as a protective shield. Each step forward was slow and calculated, his Three Dimensional Body sweeping every corner within range for potential ambushes.

Soon, the cave began to widen significantly, turning into a vast underground chamber. The pungent smell of blood was overwhelming now, carried on the cold wind, and there were more corpses littered across the ground—human-faced spiders everywhere, their distorted faces twisted in death. Blood pooled among the jagged rocks, painting the cavern floor in a grotesque, glistening red.

Max’s eyes sharpened, his guard rising further. Whoever had come before him wasn’t weak; taking down so many human-faced spiders would have required significant strength.

Then, a voice floated softly through the chilling air, carried from deeper within the cavern. It was calm yet filled with urgency, distinctly female: "Brother Jamie, Brother Kole, quickly restrain this Human-Faced Spider King. I’ll collect these dozen human-faced spider eggs."

Max’s heart stirred. A Spider King? That meant whoever these people were, they were facing one of the deadliest spider variants alive—and winning.

Another voice rang out almost immediately, hurried and respectful: "Senior Sister Nell, there are also two soul-nourishing herbs here!"

Max’s eyes widened in surprise. Soul-nourishing grass? Just hearing the name caused his pulse to quicken. That was exactly what he had come here for.

From deeper in the cavern, a charming yet steady female voice replied: "Don’t worry, Senior Sister, how could I forget? Although these soul-nourishing grasses are not fully matured, even in this state they are incredibly rare and could fetch at least twenty million PQs if sold."

Hearing this exchange, Max’s heart leapt. ’Two soul-nourishing grasses and spider eggs worth fortunes... this trip just became even more rewarding.’

His lips curved into a faint smile, and he lowered his body slightly, moving swiftly but silently towards the source of the voices. His footsteps made no sound as he hugged the walls, his figure vanishing like a shadow in the cold, dark air.

After walking deeper into the valley, Max finally arrived at a vast underground cavern, a space so immense that its ceiling and walls faded into the shadows. What caught his attention first was the flickering brilliance of mana lights—blue, red, and purple—clashing violently with the thick yin energy that permeated the cave.

These opposing forces created chaotic waves of energy that lit up the cavern like an eerie storm, making every jagged rock and twisted formation glow faintly.

On the left side of the cave, a terrifying sight awaited him. An enormous human-faced spider—its chitinous body black and shiny like polished obsidian, its humanoid face twisted into a grotesque mask of rage and agony—struggled violently as it was bound tightly by a giant scarlet python.

The snake’s scales glimmered like molten metal under the glow, its muscular body wrapped around the spider’s limbs and abdomen, constricting tighter with every thrash of the spider. The spider shrieked in fury, its deep, soulless eyes reflecting pure hatred, but its movements were growing sluggish under the crushing coils.

Two young men stood nearby, their bodies tense as they repeatedly cast spells and martial techniques against the bound spider. Mana surged from their weapons—one wielded a long spear wrapped in blue lightning, the other a sword radiating purple flame. Each strike landed on the spider’s vulnerable joints and head, sending sparks and ichor flying.

Max froze in place for a moment, but not because of the human-faced spider or the terrifying python restraining it. His eyes locked onto one of the two young men, and his mind went blank.

"Kevin?" Max’s thoughts trembled. His heart skipped a beat, and his breath caught in his throat. "How is this possible? How can he still be alive?"

He remembered it vividly—the gray shadow that had invaded Kevin’s body back in the Ice Valley. He remembered Kevin screaming in agony, his skin turning silver-gray as blood was drained from his body, and then his lifeless frame collapsing.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay