Immortals and Demons Forever

Chapter 33: Deep into the Demon Beast’s Lair

Tang Kuan froze for a moment. Seeing the corpse lying on the ground, he spat, “A worthless piece of trash—his death is a relief!” Song Dachui waved his hand dismissively, “Drag her out. Just say she died suddenly from a tuberculosis relapse—dispose of the body.” “Yes.” Tang Kuan found a bag, stuffed Old Blackhead’s body inside, and dragged it out. “How are we going to deal with this Su Mu? His current strength is already formidable.” Song Dachui was already feeling a third of the way toward apprehension; his progress had been simply too great. “Don’t worry, everyone. Give me a few days to figure out how to bring him down.” In the Heavy Industry Zone, night had finally fallen. Earlier that day, Su Mu had used the pretext of checking whether the security doors were secure to openly tamper with them, allowing him to slip inside with ease. Chen Li had prepared several torches, and Su Mu led the way, clutching a stick tightly in his hand. The shadowy area enclosed by the iron gate felt eerie the moment he stepped inside; he wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but the air felt quite chilly. There were some old light fixtures along the way; when lit by the torches, they cast a faint glow on the surroundings. The three of them lit the fixtures as they went, which also helped them find their way. Chen Li held a tattered piece of cloth in his hand, covered in scribbles that probably only he could decipher. “This way, this way. I’ve remembered—I’ve been here before.” Following Chen Li’s directions, the three of them wound their way deeper and deeper through the maze until they finally came to a wall. “Is this the place?” Zhong Da was quite nervous; his voice was even trembling a bit. He had made a point of bringing a shovel and a sledgehammer. “That’s right. The entrance is right here.” Chen Li pointed to a small crack in the wall. “We should be able to pry this open. The opening isn’t very big—you’ll have to crouch to get through.” “What kind of demon beast is it? How powerful is it?” “It’s a spider-type. It spits silk and shoots poisonous barbs—one hit and you’re dead! I’d estimate its strength to be at the level of a Level 2 demon beast.” A Level 2 demon beast?! Su Mu gasped. A Level 2 demon beast was equivalent in strength to a human Yuan Tu—in a one-on-one fight, they wouldn’t stand a chance, but the three of them together might still have a shot. However, they hadn’t come here to hunt a demon beast; it would be best not to disturb it. But since this was its lair, and demon beasts have extremely keen senses in the dark, a direct confrontation seemed inevitable. “Are you two ready?” Su Mu asked. “We’re ready!” “Dig it open—let’s go in!” Chen Li and Zhong Da—one with a shovel, the other with a hammer—had to put some real effort into prying open a gap. It took them about ten minutes to finally clear the entrance. It would be dangerous to go inside without a torch, but lighting one would be tantamount to giving away their position. High-grade Source Stones emit a glow from their surface that’s visible in the dark, so the three decided to wait until they were inside to decide whether or not to light a torch. Su Mu led the way into the lair. The air inside was stifling and thick; it was so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. The area was quite large, and the outer perimeter was slightly safer, so the three of them took cover behind a large boulder. It was so quiet inside that they could almost hear each other’s heartbeats. The three of them cautiously advanced a short distance further and looked into the distance, where they spotted several glimmers of light in the darkness. “Found it!” Chen Li whispered. “It looks to be over a thousand meters away.” “Don’t light the torches yet. Let’s sneak up on it. If we startle the demon beast, we’ll stick to the plan: Zhong Da and I will hold it off while you collect the sample. Once you’ve got it, run as fast as you can!” “Got it!” “Let’s go!” At Su Mu’s command, the three continued forward. Though they inevitably made a few sounds, the surroundings remained completely silent. “I’ve heard that some demon beasts like to sleep for long periods, especially those that lurk in the darkness. Could it be asleep?” Chen Li whispered. “Don’t let your guard down. Once a demon beast wakes up, it’s going to feast—and I certainly don’t want to end up as its dinner.” In their line of sight, the glimmering lights were getting closer and closer. They had already traveled at least four or five hundred meters. They had essentially reached the central area of the lair. Su Mu dared not release his sensory perception, as the resulting fluctuations would be detected by the demon beast—unless his power far surpassed its own, in which case he could gain the upper hand without being detected. As they walked, Su Mu suddenly felt something slimy under his hand and immediately called out, “Stop!” “What’s wrong?” Su Mu found that his eyes were gradually adjusting to the darkness, allowing him to see a little more clearly. He swept the stick in his hand forward and immediately felt it get caught by numerous fine threads. “There’s a spiderweb.” “Damn, that was close! If we’d run right into it, we’d be in big trouble.” Sweat was already beading on Zhong Da’s forehead—he was too tense. “What should we do? Go around it? Is there a way around here?” “There’s a path! Looks like we’ll have to break through it.” Su Mu said as he applied force with his hands; with a swift twist and pull of the stick, the tangled threads snapped one after another. Just as Su Mu was breathing a sigh of relief, he suddenly felt a force yanking the stick upward. “Watch out! Danger!” Thud! The sound was faint, but Su Mu picked up on it immediately. He yanked the stick back once more, shouting, “Step back!” A force was tugging against him in a tug-of-war—who else could it be here besides a demon beast? He shouted as he rolled backward, sensing something falling from directly above him. Just as he dodged it, a loud crack rang out where he had been standing—the stones on the ground had been pierced right through! “Light the fire! Since the demon beast had already spotted them and their stealth mission had failed, they had no choice but to fight it head-on. Chen Li and Zhong Da immediately lit their torches and held them high, dispelling the darkness around them. All three saw at the same time that three or four meters above their heads hung a large web, upon which crouched a spider-like demon beast covered entirely in dark green. It was massive, its mouth wide open as it let out a hissing sound. Saliva constantly dripped from its mouth; to it, the three men were a delicious meal delivered right to its doorstep. This was the first time Su Mu had ever seen a demon beast that lived in the darkness; it was entirely different from the spider-like demon beasts he’d encountered on the backside of Misty Peak. Its venom was potent—they couldn’t let it bite them. “It’s coming!”