26: Chapter 26 Seventh-Tier Dark Attribute Beast! Netherworld Spider!

As the surrounding things drew closer, they emerged from the darkness.

Jiang Yun discovered that...

...the Vicious Beasts surrounding him...

...were actually spiders about a meter in size!

At that moment,

a Nether Spider crawled down from an old locust tree.

Its entire body was covered in a black carapace, with a faint dark purple glow at the edges. Its eight legs were covered in fine silver fuzz, and with every step, the fuzz would pick up a few withered leaves.

What made one's skin crawl the most were its compound eyes, blood-red spheres composed of hundreds of tiny eyes. As its mouthparts opened and closed, transparent mucus dripped down; where it hit the ground, it actually corroded small holes into the withered branches.

Jiang Yun's heart sank as his gaze swept across the surroundings.

Other spiders also emerged from behind tree trunks, out of the grass, and even from the shadows of entwined vines.

Some crouched on branches hanging by spider silk, others crawled rapidly along the ground. The dense black figures soon merged into a single mass; by a rough count, there were nearly twenty of them!

Jiang Yun immediately used Entry Manifestation.

He wanted to figure out the details of these Vicious Beasts.

A pale blue light screen expanded before his eyes.

Information for every Nether Spider clearly surfaced:

【species】：Nether Spider (dark attribute)

【Realm】：Black Iron Fifth Tier (17) / Black Iron Sixth Tier (2)

【Skill】：Cobweb Bind · Common (dark attribute spider silk, can stick to beasts below the black iron seventh tier; once touched, it will be eroded by dark attribute energy)

【Weakness】：fire attribute attacks (dark attribute energy fears high temperatures; the carapace will quickly carbonize in flames)

And in the center of this group of Nether Spiders, a Nether Spider twice the size of the others was slowly raising its head.

Eerie black patterns were engraved on its carapace, and a skull-shaped marking was on its abdomen. The spider silk it spat out wasn't transparent, but a dark purple shrouded in black mist.

The information from the Entry Manifestation made Jiang Yun's pupils shrink even more:

【species】：Netherworld Spider King (dark attribute)

【Realm】：black iron seventh tier

【Core Skills】：1. Cobweb Bind · rare (Enhanced version, silk can release dark attribute poison mist); 2. Venom Attack · rare (Sprays dark attribute venom from mouthparts, death upon contact)

【Tip】：The Nether Spider group acts with the Spider King as its core, with extremely high group coordination. Even a Black Iron Ninth Tier beast would fall into danger if besieged due to the silk Entwine and poison mist erosion.

“A black iron seventh tier Spider King... and so many underlings...”

Jiang Yun took a sharp breath.

He thought, wasn't he on the outskirts of the Misty Forest?

Why would such powerful Vicious Beasts appear here?

Jiang Yun suddenly remembered what several instructors had said: “The Redwood Forest belt is the dividing line between the inner and outer areas, and even the Core Area.”

Jiang Yun looked at the surrounding trees.

The trunks here were actually entwined with shimmering vines, completely different from the ordinary trees on the outskirts.

“Oh no, I'm afraid I've accidentally stumbled into the inner area... maybe even the edge of the Core Area!”

That was the only possibility.

It explained why he would encounter these Vicious Beasts, any one of which reached the fifth tier in strength.

Right now, these Nether Spiders were staring at him like tigers watching their prey.

They had already regarded him as their prey.

Thinking back to the information shown by the data entries just now,

Jiang Yun saw a way out.

These Nether Spiders would be countered by fire attribute Vicious Beasts.

His Fire Dragon Fish happened to possess fire attribute skills.

And now that it had achieved a Breakthrough to the Black Iron Sixth Tier, with its formidable combat power, it could surely easily kill these fifth-tier and same-tier Nether Spiders.

Only that Spider King would probably take some effort.

Jiang Yun quickly had an idea.

“Little Fire, come out!”

Jiang Yun shouted in a low voice.

A crimson light flashed, and the Fire Dragon Fish landed in front of him.

Just out of the Beast Taming Space, it sensed the dense dark attribute aura around it. The dark gold horn on its head became slightly hot, and the flames on its body instantly surged half a meter high, dispersing some of the surrounding black mist.

It turned its head to look at Jiang Yun, then glanced at the approaching Nether Spider group, its tail flicking impatiently.

Clearly, having to fight again so soon after recovering made it a bit unhappy. Was he treating it like a combat machine?

Although it was annoyed, it still assumed a combat stance.

After all, if its master was done for,

then it wouldn't have a free meal ticket anymore... “Can't let them get close!”

Jiang Yun quickly analyzed the situation.

“Their spider silk can stick to beasts. Once entangled, even if you're fire attribute, you'll be eroded by the dark attribute. Use Fire Domain Cage to surround us first, then kill them one by one!”

The Fire Dragon Fish understood Jiang Yun's instructions.

Its tail slammed onto the ground, and crimson flames erupted from beneath its feet, spreading rapidly along the ground, quickly forming a circular fire domain ten meters in diameter. The flames at the edge of the fire domain condensed into a half-meter-high wall of fire.

As the flames flickered, they made a “crackling” sound.

The high temperature made the air scorching hot.

The Nether Spiders that were gradually approaching stopped in their tracks, even taking a few steps back. A hint of fear flashed in their eyes, and they dared not move forward another step.

“Now's the time, use Flame Breath!”

Jiang Yun pointed to the three Nether Spiders on the branches to the left: “Deal with the ones above first; their silk can attack from the air!”

The Fire Dragon Fish nodded, took a deep breath, and aimed a thick blast of Flame Breath at the branches.

The strength of the three Nether Spiders was too weak.

The crimson fire was like a whip, instantly wrapping around the branches. The high temperature snapped the branches immediately, and the three Nether Spiders screamed as they fell from the air, engulfed in flames before they even hit the ground.

They struggled to spit silk to escape, but the silk was burned to ashes as soon as it touched the fire. Their black carapaces quickly carbonized in the flames, and they soon went silent, leaving only three charred corpses.

Seeing that the Fire Dragon Fish could insta-kill these Nether Spiders,

Jiang Yun's eyes lit up, and he pointed to the four Nether Spiders on the ground to the right: “Those over there, be careful to avoid their silk!”

Seeing their companions killed, those four Nether Spiders overcame their fear of fire and simultaneously spat out dark purple silk, shooting it toward the Fire Dragon Fish.

The silk carved black arcs through the air, carrying a pungent, fishy stench. Seeing it was about to Entwine the Fire Dragon Fish's body, Jiang Yun immediately shouted: “Dodge! Use flames to sweep the silk away!”

The Fire Dragon Fish dodged sharply, its tail sweeping out with flames. With a “whoosh,” the flames fanned out, burning through all the silk.

The severed silk fell to the ground, still emitting black smoke and corroding small pits.

Taking advantage of the moment the Nether Spiders were stunned, the Fire Dragon Fish spat Flame Breath again, enveloping all four spiders.

This time, it deliberately controlled the flame temperature, only burning through their carapaces and leaving relatively intact corpses.

“These Nether Spiders are all dark attribute; their beast cores must contain residual dark attribute spiritual energy. We can't let them go to waste.”

While keeping an eye on the battlefield,

Jiang Yun collected the corpses into his storage ring.

“dark attribute beast cores are perfect to use as dark attribute Spirit Stones for Yunyun's Sky-Swallowing Rabbit.”

The battle lasted about ten minutes. Many Nether Spider corpses lay around the Fire Domain Cage. The remaining two Black Iron Sixth Tier Nether Spiders and the Spider King, seeing things were going south, began to retreat.

They discovered they couldn't break through the defense of Jiang Yun's beast and had no way to deal with him.

The Spider King suddenly let out a sharp hiss, as if issuing a retreat order. The two Nether Spiders immediately turned and crawled rapidly along the tree trunks into the depths of the forest. The Spider King spat out a cloud of dark purple poison mist, attempting to block Jiang Yun's pursuit.

“Trying to run? Not that easy!”

How could Jiang Yun let them go?

Especially that black iron seventh tier Spider King; the dark attribute spiritual energy in its beast core was likely worth dozens of dark attribute Spirit Stones. If he could get it, Yunyun's Sky-Swallowing Rabbit might even be able to directly achieve an Awakening of a dark attribute Devour skill.

“Little Fire, deactivate the Fire Domain Cage and chase them! Be careful to avoid the poison mist!”

Jiang Yun shouted.

The Fire Dragon Fish immediately retracted its flames and followed Jiang Yun in pursuit.

Although the poison mist spat by the Spider King was powerful, the flames on the Fire Dragon Fish's body formed an invisible barrier, keeping the mist at bay.

The human and beast chased in the direction the Nether Spiders fled, soon leaving the forest and arriving before a hidden cave.

The entrance was hidden by vines. If the Spider King hadn't broken a few vines while escaping, one wouldn't have been able to tell a cave was there at all.

The two Black Iron Sixth Tier Nether Spiders had already ducked into the cave. The Spider King paused at the entrance, turned to spit a glob of venom at Jiang Yun, and then quickly ducked inside.

The venom hit the ground with a “sizzle,” instantly corroding a large pit.

“Be careful, there might be an ambush in the cave.”

Judging by the Spider King's reaction just now,

it clearly possessed some intelligence.

Jiang Yun looked at the entrance warily and said to the Fire Dragon Fish, “Fire a blast of Flame Breath inside first to check the situation.”

The Fire Dragon Fish nodded and spat a blast of Flame Breath into the cave.

The crimson fire illuminated the interior of the cave. By the light of the fire, Jiang Yun saw the cave was piled with the skeletal remains of various Vicious Beasts.

There were skulls of giant bears, spines of wolves, and scales of unknown Vicious Beasts. Dark purple spider silk still clung to the bones, clearly the remains of prey hunted by the Nether Spiders.

The Flame Breath echoed through the cave without meeting any resistance, and no other Nether Spiders emerged. It seemed only those three spiders were inside.

“Let's go, get in!”

Jiang Yun followed the Fire Dragon Fish into the cave.

The cave was filled with a pungent stench of rot and damp mildew. The bones underfoot “crunched” as they stepped on them, making one's skin crawl.

The Fire Dragon Fish's flames lit the path ahead. The two went in about fifty meters, and the space suddenly opened up.

A cavern chamber of about twenty square meters appeared.

Upon entering the chamber,

the scene before him instantly left Jiang Yun shocked!

His pupils shrank!

On the ground of the chamber... there were actually piles of colorful Spirit Stones...