I am the sacred tree, evergreen for eternity.

Ao led his team to track them for two whole days.

The traces of foul air grew increasingly heavy in the dense forests of the northwest, like a putrid snake winding its way into the depths of the mountains.

"Captain, something's not right."

"The stale air here is too thick."

"It doesn't seem to emanate naturally; it's more like it was deliberately gathered here."

An experienced old traveler approached, his voice low.

Ao didn't answer, but simply raised his hand to signal the team to slow down.

He flipped off the lizard's back and squatted down next to a dead old tree, pressing his fingers against the trunk.

A spiritual light seeped into the wood, instantly detecting a chilling fluctuation—

The turbid energy seemed alive; the moment his spiritual energy touched it, it suddenly contracted, like a startled tentacle retreating into its nest.

"They're leaving traces on purpose." Ao stood up, his gaze sweeping into the depths of the dense forest. "They're leading us there."

"Should we still give chase?"

Ao paused for a moment, the image of the little boy's obsidian-like eyes appearing in his mind.

"Chase!"

The twenty totem walkers dismounted, gripped their weapons, and silently dispersed.

They followed the trail of turbid air deeper into the dense forest, their steps as light as cats, their spirits concealed, their formation impeccable.

After walking for about half an hour, a cave appeared ahead.

The huge opening resembled a dark, gaping mouth, as if it were about to devour blood and flesh.

The edges of the cave entrance were covered with grayish-white spider silk, with dried leaves and broken animal bones hanging from it.

"Spider demon."

The old man whispered, "At least an adult."

He held the iron sword in his palm, its blade gleaming with a spiritual light.

"Light the fire, go into the cave."

Proudly walking at the front, the torch illuminated the spider silk and moss on the cave walls.

The passage wound downwards, widening as it went, the murky air growing thicker, and even the torch flames began to turn green, flickering like will-o'-the-wisps.

Fifteen minutes later, the passage suddenly opened up.

The cave was enormous, several meters high, with dense spider silk hanging from the ceiling like a grayish-white veil.

Scattered on the ground were broken bones—human bones and animal bones, all white and ghastly.

The most terrifying part is at the deepest part of the cave, where a huge spider web stretches across the rock wall, with dozens of white, human-shaped cocoons stuck to it, wriggling slightly.

In the very center of the spider web, a huge creature hangs.

Its body is as big as a calf, and its eight long legs can be spread to a length of more than ten feet. Each leg is covered with dark brown bristles, and the ends are sharp like hooks.

The abdomen bulges out in a shape resembling a human face—two purplish-black compound eyes are set on the "forehead," below which are two narrow slits.

Human-faced spider demon.

A great demon comparable to the Mingling Realm!

The moment Ao stepped into the cave, the two slits suddenly opened, revealing two rows of gleaming white fangs.

His compound eyes moved, taking in the figures of the twenty totem walkers.

"Humans..." its voice was sharp and piercing, laced with a sticky malice, "coming here to die again."

Ao did not answer.

He stuck the torch into the ground, gripped the iron knife tightly with both hands, and spiritual light surged within him.

His cultivation at the Heavenly Light stage was unleashed without reservation, and spiritual light burst forth from the blade, illuminating the cave hall as bright as day.

The spider demon's compound eyes contracted, and its eight long legs exerted force simultaneously, propelling its massive body forward.

Ao dodged to the side, his iron blade slicing in an arc as it struck one of the spider demon's front legs.

A deafening clang of metal clashing exploded, sending sparks flying.

But only a faint white mark remained on that spider leg.

Such a hard shell.

Ao urged his spiritual light to condense and compress, transforming it into a ball of light blade, which he then used to strike the white mark once more.

This time, the blade cut in along the mark, producing a dull tearing sound.

The spider's forelegs snapped off, spraying purplish-black blood that corroded small pits in the ground.

The great demon howled fiercely, and its remaining seven legs slashed down like scythes.

Instead of retreating, he advanced, ducking down to squeeze through the gap, his iron blade aimed straight at the head.

The blade sliced ​​into the compound eye, and in an instant, spiritual light pierced through to the bone.

The human-faced spider froze for a moment, then collapsed to the ground with a thud. Its eight legs twitched a few times before falling silent again.

On the other side, the accompanying totem walkers moved with precision and coordination, quickly eliminating dozens of adult spiderlings.

There was no time to celebrate the victory.

Ao quickly drew his iron knife, wiped the blood off the spider silk, and strode towards the web.

"Don't just stand there, save them!"

The totem walkers swarmed forward, their blades slicing through the spider cocoons to peel the villagers out from inside.

There were seventy or eighty people, including men, women, young and old.

Each of them was pale, with chapped lips, closed eyes, and slightly heaving chests.

The old traveler breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the villagers' heartbeats.

"Thankfully, they're all still alive."

"Captain, we have to hurry—"

Suddenly, he stopped talking.

At the same moment, the villagers' eyes snapped open, their pupils dilated, and the whites of their eyes filled with purplish-black blood vessels.

Thick, purplish-black liquid simultaneously flowed from the seven orifices—eyes, nose, ears, and mouth—hissing and smoking as it dripped onto the spider silk.

The next moment, they moved.

They struggled to their feet from the spiderweb, opened their mouths, and let out muffled, low growls—

That wasn't a human voice; it was something gurgling deep in the throat.

Their teeth became sharp, their nails grew long and black, and purplish-black lines appeared on their skin.

Then, it pounced on them.

"Step back! Don't hurt them!"

Ao shouted loudly, twisted his wrist, and turned the back of the knife forward.

He dodged a villager who lunged at him, and the back of his knife slammed into the villager's neck.

With a muffled thud, the villager fell to the ground, struggled for a moment, then got up and continued to pounce and bite.

Clearly, the force of the back of the blade was insufficient to stun these monsters, who were already numb to pain.

More frenzied villagers surged forward.

The totem walkers fought and retreated, the backs of their blades striking the villagers with dull thuds, but they were like unyielding wooden stakes, swaying and then charging forward again.

"Captain, they're not afraid of pain!" a young traveler's voice was filled with anxiety. "What do we do?"

Ao gritted his teeth and swept a villager in front of him with the back of his knife.

The villager's ribs were probably broken, but he seemed not to feel it. He scrambled to his feet and opened his gaping maw full of fangs to bite at Ao's calf.

Ao dodged, his brows furrowed.

The image of the little boy's timid request suddenly flashed through his mind.

But given the current situation...

"Captain—" came an exclamation from the other end.

A young traveler was tackled by three villagers at the same time and bitten on the arm.

Fresh blood and purplish-black pus mixed together, and the wound quickly turned black.

The traveler screamed, kicked the villager off him, rolled over and got up, his face already deathly pale.

"I was bitten……"

Before he could finish speaking, his pupils began to dilate, and purplish-black blood vessels appeared in the whites of his eyes.

There were clearly signs of an anomaly!

Ao immediately rushed over and struck the injured traveler on the neck with the back of his blade, knocking him unconscious.

"team leader!"

"This side can't hold out either!"

More and more villagers climbed down from the spider webs, densely packed, like a horde of corpses awakened from their slumber.

The totem walkers were forced to retreat, barely managing to defend themselves with the backs of their blades and shields, but they dared not kill, and their movements became increasingly hesitant...

Three people have already been bitten.

Ao glanced at his bitten companions—their faces were turning ashen at a visible speed, and purplish-black lines were spreading from their wounds outwards.

He closed his eyes.

The little boy's voice echoed in my mind—"Uncle...can you save my mother?"

I'm sorry, child.

Uncle is going to break his promise.

Ao opened his eyes.

"kill."

The sound was very soft.

But his knife flipped back, blade facing forward.

The iron blade sliced ​​through the air, beheading a villager who lunged at him.

There was no blood splattering, only purplish-black pus gushing from the severed neck.

"They're no longer human."

"Remember, it must be a beheading."

"Leave none alive!"