Chapter 89: Battle with the Crimson Spider Swarm

Xi Yan silently opened the "Bulletin Board" and searched for the Bai family within it. As expected, he found them, and there were plenty of messages related to the Bai family posted there.

The Bulletin Board read:

Newcomers, please note:

There are three major powers in the Land of Survival:
1. The Bai Family: They possess numerous exceptionally gifted supernaturals, ranking first among the three great factions.
2. The Ruan Family: A very mysterious clan, members of the Ruan family rarely act under their own names. Nevertheless, their family holds a high status in the main city, and their abilities are formidable.
3. The Lu Family: Although they rank third among the great powers, their position is still out of reach for other factions. Their members are scattered throughout the core areas of the Land of Survival, occupying crucial roles.

Note: A word of warning to all newcomers—never provoke them.
Posted by: Orlina Isabel

At the end, Xi Yan noticed that the post was made by Orlina Isabel, which piqued his curiosity about her identity, though he knew better than to pry. After reading through the bulletin board, he understood what Qingyan and Lin Shuang had meant by this "Bai family"—essentially, they were bullies not to be trifled with.

...

“How did you get caught by the spider?” Xi Yan snapped back to attention to find the two already discussing the spider, so he listened in.

“I’m not sure myself. We fell in with that woman...” Lin Shuang began recounting to the two what had happened earlier with Qu Ya.

...

Lin Shuang and Qu Ya had fallen down together with Bai Xingchen and her companion. Originally, Bai Xingchen had only wanted to push Lin Shuang and Qu Ya off, but Lin Shuang reacted in time. Still, there was no chance to call out to Xi Yan and Qingyan or to dodge, so she ended up dragging them all over the cliff together.

Though Lin Shuang had survived in the Land of Survival for quite some time, she had never ventured into this Eighth Zone before.

She’d heard that the Eighth Zone was particularly strange—not just dangerous, but full of unknowns, and there was little information about it on the bulletin board. For this reason, Lin Shuang had always avoided it.

Thus, she had no idea that falling wouldn’t mean certain death.

After their fall, Lin Shuang and Qu Ya encountered an enormous spider; Bai Xingchen and her companion faced the same predicament. At that time, three colossal spiders lurked below the cliff. Bai Xingchen and her companion engaged one, Lin Shuang and Qu Ya took on another, and a third was intercepted by a figure in a white cloak. Lin Shuang hadn’t seen the person clearly and didn’t know who it was.

Unfortunately, Lin Shuang and Qu Ya lost their fight against the giant spider, soon getting ensnared in its silk and carried into a black cage. Bai Xingchen and her companion, it seemed, managed to escape.

After being captured, Lin Shuang hadn’t completely lost consciousness. The black cage allowed a view to the outside, and Qu Ya was placed right across from her, so Lin Shuang could see Qu Ya’s condition clearly.

Not long after, Qingyan saw the man who had fought the other spider approach the cage holding Qu Ya and shatter it. The spider arrived, but the man in the white cloak, having found a way to kill the first spider, dispatched this one much more easily.

He rescued Qu Ya and left with her.

...

“If that man hadn’t saved you, wouldn’t Qu Ya have tried to help?” Xi Yan asked, puzzled. In his impression, Qu Ya wasn’t the type to abandon someone, and there seemed to be a special bond between her and Lin Shuang.

“Qu Ya was unconscious...” Lin Shuang replied, sounding sorrowful. “When I saw the man rescue her, she was not only unconscious, but her entire face was red. I thought she was suffocating. But Qingyan said I had ingested the Hundred Poisons Pill, so I figured Qu Ya must have been poisoned as well.”

“How did Qu Ya lose consciousness so quickly?”

“I don’t know...” Lin Shuang shook her head.

“Let’s not talk about that now. Since Qu Ya is safe, let’s focus on getting out of here. Lin Shuang, do you know how to leave?” Qingyan asked, her tone grave as she looked at the other two.

For not far off, a swarm of gigantic spiders had appeared. Their coloring was different from before; the previous ones had been black, but these were red.

“I do. Follow me!”

Understanding the urgency, Lin Shuang quickly led Xi Yan and Qingyan toward the cliff wall.

The red spiders surged forward with alarming speed. Unlike the black spiders, these seemed almost intelligent. Some dashed ahead to block the trio’s path, while others cut off their retreat.

In an instant, they were surrounded by a sea of red spiders, their backs pressed together, with no way out. The spiders had sealed off every route. The only option remaining was to fight.

“It seems we won’t be able to leave unless we slaughter these monsters,” Qingyan said, her eyes glinting with murderous intent, startling Xi Yan for a moment before he realized why.

Their time together had been so harmonious that Xi Yan had all but forgotten Qingyan was a hunter—one who survived by killing other survivors. For Qingyan, bloodshed was routine.

Xi Yan chided himself for being too naive, for having forgotten something so important, for almost seeing Qingyan as an innocent girl. She had acted so ordinary at the amusement park that he’d lost sight of her true nature.

...

“Let’s do it,” Lin Shuang said impassively, unlocking a card. Instantly, a bow appeared in her hand, entirely blue and glowing with an icy light.

She placed her hand on the bow—not an arrow—and at that touch, a frosty arrow wafting white mist materialized in her grip.

With a swift motion, the icy arrow shot into the mass of red spiders.

Qingyan summoned Xiao Jin as well, but this time, the creature was even larger than before, about the size of the red spiders.

Xi Yan reflexively wiped imaginary sweat from his brow. Had Qingyan summoned such a terrifying Xiao Jin during their first encounter, he and Qu Ya might not have survived at all.

Then again, since she hadn’t, perhaps it was either unnecessary at the time or there was a heavy price to pay for such a transformation.

Not to be outdone, Xi Yan drew his Lightwood Sword. The moment he did, he leveled up, though there was no time to check the details.

Brandishing the sword, Xi Yan charged headlong into the swarm.

With his enhanced physical abilities, he could now leap easily onto the back of a spider.