204: Chapter 204 Seventh-Order Shadow Spider King? Another Deep Sequence!

The entrance to the great rift of Black Spider Canyon was terrifyingly wide, as if a giant had struck it with an axe, stretching for miles without end.

The ground was covered in thick yellow sand and rubble; when the wind blew, sand and dust filled the air, so thick it made it impossible to open one's eyes.

Apart from a few thorny succulents clinging to life, not a trace of green could be seen.

Scattered around the canyon entrance were two or three small training squads. Judging by their equipment and aura, they were all Tier 3 or Tier 4 Loose Cultivator mercenaries, fully armed and wearing heavy alloy armor, each with a solemn expression, as if they were going to war.

They only dared to hunt low-level Tier 2 magic spiders on the very outskirts to earn some hard-earned money.

When Su Ming and his group of four walked over from a distance, the gazes of these squads were drawn to them in unison.

Then, everyone was dumbfounded.

Ye Xiao wore a black-gold patterned combat suit, arcs of electricity jumping from his fingertips from time to time; he was incredibly arrogant.

Young Master Gu Lingfeng wore special armor from the Hunter Association, broad-shouldered and sturdy, standing there like a mountain.

Night Crow was even more extreme, dressed in a dark gold night-travel suit, radiating Evil Qi, as cold as an unsheathed blade.

Only Su Ming, walking at the very back...

With his hands in his pockets, wearing washed-out casual clothes, and grey sneakers on his feet, he looked like a high school student who had walked onto the wrong set for a spring outing.

"What... kind of combination is this?"

A mercenary lowered his voice.

"Three kings bringing along a Bronze?"

"Look at what he's wearing, all cheap street goods, not even as good as my Anima suit."

Su Ming couldn't be bothered to pay attention to them.

Night Crow pulled a yellowed exploration map from his bosom, carefully compared the orientation, and then walked in the lead to clear the path without a word.

Young Master Gu Lingfeng followed closely behind, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the rock walls and sand dunes on both sides, landing on one spot, pausing for half a second, then moving to the next. The vigilance cultivated over years of hunting was already engraved in his muscles.

Ye Xiao followed behind Young Master Gu Lingfeng, clutching a ball of thunder light in his palm, ready to strike at any moment. He looked eager to try, afraid that nothing blind would jump out for him to practice on.

Su Ming continued to maintain his identity as a "spring outing member," trailing at the back, unhurried.

After going about two kilometers deep into the canyon.

"Swish..."

A faint friction sound came from beneath the sand ahead.

Almost at the same time, two grey-black shadows lunged out from the sand, pouncing directly at Night Crow, who was walking at the front.

They were two low-level Tier 3 Shadow Magic Spiders.

Their size was about that of an adult dog, their carapaces thin and brittle, and their chelicerae contained only weak paralytic venom; they were the lowest-level cannon fodder in Black Spider Canyon.

Night Crow swept a cold glance over them, about to draw his blade.

"Leave it, let me handle it!"

An excited shout came from behind him.

Ye Xiao had waited for a long time and finally got a chance to show off.

He lunged out, blocking Night Crow, and looked at the two little spiders pouncing over, a domineering smile curling the corner of his mouth.

Now is the time!

Let you witness the ultimate technique personally taught by Big Brother!

Ye Xiao held his hands together like swords, raised them high, and the Thunder Affinity Source Energy in his body gushed out without reservation. He roared the name he had practiced hundreds of times with full breath:

"Rai-ton — Chidori!"

"..."

Night Crow and Young Master Gu Lingfeng paused at the same time.

The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion, as if asking, "What bird language is this kid speaking?"

However, the next second, they were shocked.

"Zzzzt—!"

A blindingly brilliant cyan-blue thunder light condensed into a screeching thunderbird in Ye Xiao's palm, then transformed into a bolt of lightning that tore through the air, piercing the heads of the two Shadow Magic Spiders with pinpoint accuracy, one on the left and one on the right.

No explosion, no roar.

Only a flash of thunder.

The bodies of the two magic spiders rushed forward another half-step due to inertia, a fist-sized charred hole left in each of their heads, and then they collapsed to the ground, twitched twice, and went still.

Killed in one hit.

Clean and crisp.

Night Crow's eyes tightened—when that thunderbird disappeared, he clearly felt the frequency; it wasn't a collision, it was drilling, using extremely compressed vibration to forcefully twist through the target.

Young Master Gu Lingfeng also had his pupils slightly constricted, his lips slightly pursed.

This penetrating power... could this idiot be a Genius too?

It seems Su Ming is surrounded by Geniuses.

Shen Qingci is one, and so is Ye Xiao.

Young Master Gu Lingfeng touched his chin, and his heart sank a little more—

Oh, and me.

Damn it, I almost forgot about myself, the biggest Genius.

His heart was balanced.

Su Ming ignored their internal monologues, walked forward slowly, and touched the two spider corpses that were still emitting black smoke one by one.

The corpses disappeared instantly.

He clapped his hands, looking matter-of-fact: "Spider legs are meat too, can't waste them."

Young Master Gu Lingfeng: "..."

Night Crow: "..."

Big Brother, you've already unlocked Thunder, are you still short of this little bit of money?

...

Continuing three kilometers deeper.

The light in the canyon was even dimmer.

Large patches of grey-white spider silk began to appear on the rock walls, and the air was filled with a fishy, rotten smell.

"Be careful, there is a nest of mid-level magic spiders ahead."

Night Crow whispered a warning.

Just as he finished speaking, seven or eight dark brown magic spiders, as sturdy as bulls, crawled out from the shadows of the rock walls on both sides, their eight scarlet compound eyes staring fixedly at them.

Tier 4 mid-level Shadow Magic Spiders.

Their carapaces were hard, and their chelicerae could spray highly corrosive spider fluid; a single one could rival an ordinary Tier 4 Awakened.

"I'll take the lead!"

Night Crow gave a low shout, his figure instantly sinking into the shadows of the rock wall. A long, narrow black dagger appeared in his hand, and he had already circled to the side and rear of the nearest magic spider.

The dagger slashed horizontally, there was a muffled sound, and a crack opened in the spider shell. Venom sprayed half a meter out, which he dodged by side-stepping.

Young Master Gu Lingfeng also entered combat mode, forming seals with his hands, and several thick sandstone walls rose from the ground, accurately blocking several shots of corrosive spider fluid.

Ye Xiao's [Chidori] had strong single-target damage, but seemed somewhat powerless when facing this kind of group battle.

He simply spread his lightning power, turning it into electric nets, constantly scorching the spider fluid and blocking the movement of the magic spiders.

The three cooperated tacitly, gradually clearing them out.

Su Ming still had his hands in his pockets, standing outside the battle circle like a supervisor.

Occasionally, a fish that slipped through the net rushed toward him, but before it could get close, it was nailed to the ground by a sand spear that descended from the sky.

Young Master Gu Lingfeng roared without looking back: "Big Brother, just stand there and don't move!"

Su Ming nodded with satisfaction.

Not bad, this Young Master is having a good experience today.

The battle ended quickly, and Su Ming stepped forward as usual, putting the corpses on the ground into his storage, preparing to throw them into the System space to slowly devour later.

Just then, a shrill scream and call for help came from a corner not far ahead.

The three looked at each other and immediately rushed over.

They saw a five-man mercenary squad being besieged by three mid-level magic spiders, in imminent danger. One of them had already been sprayed by spider fluid, and half his body was emitting white smoke.

Young Master Gu Lingfeng didn't say a word and attacked directly.

Three sand spears whistled out, instantly piercing the heads of the three magic spiders.

The rescued mercenary squad was still shaken. The captain was a middle-aged man with one arm missing. He thanked Young Master Gu Lingfeng repeatedly, then advised with lingering fear: "You all are very strong, but you'd better not go any further!"

"We just saw... saw bigger black spiders deep inside! Their whole bodies were glowing with eerie light, and they were the size of small hills! It's strange this time; in the past, even Tier 3 ones wouldn't come out."

Glowing with eerie light, the size of a small hill.

Tier 6... or even Tier 7 Shadow Spider King.

Night Crow's eyes sank.

After saying goodbye to the mercenary squad, the four continued forward.

...

After walking for about another kilometer, under a leeward rock wall, Young Master Gu Lingfeng suddenly stopped.

"Wait."

He squatted down and dug out half a severely worn shoe sole from the sand.

"This is a standard military boot from the Federal Exploration Team."

He held it up for Night Crow to see, "Is this what your dad wore back then?"

Night Crow took the sole, a flicker of emotion flashing in his eyes.

On the nearby rock wall, he discovered several old, rusted anchors driven deep into the rock.

They were traces left by the exploration team.

Following these traces, the four finally found the ruins of the exploration team's camp in a recessed cave.

Ragged tent fabric, rusted metal cookware, scattered all over the ground.

The defensive fortifications at the cave entrance had long been destroyed, and the ground was covered with dried dark red bloodstains and shattered spider shells.

The battle back then was clearly extremely tragic.

Night Crow's breathing became rapid; he walked around the camp, not letting go of any corner.

Young Master Gu Lingfeng and Ye Xiao didn't disturb him, just silently guarding the cave entrance.

Su Ming leaned against the rock wall, watching Night Crow's back, without speaking.

Finally, Night Crow stopped in front of a rock crevice at the innermost part of the camp.

That crevice was very hidden, mostly blocked by a giant boulder.

He reached out and gently rubbed the dust-covered rock wall.

His fingertips touched an extremely tiny carving, almost blended into the rock texture.

It was a small "Crow" character.

It was the exclusive contact signal his father had taught him.

Night Crow's hands began to tremble; he used all his strength to push away the boulder weighing several hundred catties.

In the crevice, a small iron box wrapped tightly in oilcloth lay quietly there.

He opened the iron box; inside was a silver pocket watch that had long since stopped.

It was exactly the item his father, Night Canglan, never kept off his person.

Night Crow's hands trembled as he unscrewed the back cover of the pocket watch according to the way he remembered.

Hidden in the interlayer of the back cover was half a piece of encrypted document, corroded and tattered.

Most of the paper was blurry and illegible; only words like "Ghost Spider..." and "Federal Military Industry..." could be vaguely distinguished.

Night Crow's heart sank bit by bit.

Just when he was about to crush the paper, his gaze fell on the very end of the document.

There, three words written in a special waterproof ink remained clearly visible despite the erosion of time.

"Deep Sequence!"

Night Crow stared at those three words, his pupils suddenly contracting.

Deep Sequence...

What is that?

...???