"Ah—there's definitely something weird up ahead! I wonder what kind of monster it is!" Shawn Young felt his scalp tingle as he caught sight of a long, sweeping shadow—like a giant, razor-sharp pincer!
Before Shawn could even process what was happening, a massive, dark shape darted out from around the bend in the cave. It raced along the ceiling at a terrifying speed, charging straight at him. The cave roof echoed with a strange "swish—swish—swish—" sound as bits of stone and dust rained down.
At last, Shawn got a clear look at the terrifying creature—it was an enormous, black-and-white striped spider, easily as big as a banquet table! Its eight hairy legs oozed a foul-smelling slime, and its grotesque head flashed with a pair of red eyes, each the size of a fist! Its belly was made up of two milky-white, round lumps that pulsed as it breathed, and in front, it sported a pair of massive pincers like a crab. Oddest of all, its body was covered in a layer of hard, black armor shaped like a disk, with a crescent-shaped shovel at the front and razor-sharp edges. Wherever the shell scraped the cave walls, chunks of stone fell away! The creature looked like a mutated spider mixed with some ancient beast—a true monster!
The monstrous spider raced along the cave ceiling toward Shawn at incredible speed. Its eight legs moved so fast that in an instant, it was less than five meters away from him!
Without thinking, Shawn squeezed the trigger of his P5 Submachine Gun—"rat-tat-tat!" A burst of fire shot at the monstrous spider. The creature paused, its giant pincers shielding its head, letting the bullets hit its body. But its armor seemed impenetrable—bullets bounced off without even a spark!
"Screee—screee—" the monstrous spider let out two bizarre cries, then raised its huge pincers. Its round belly curled up toward Shawn—"shhh—shhh—"—and a strand of white web shot out, whipping straight at him.
Shawn quickly retreated a few steps down the cave passage, crouched low, and barely dodged the attack. The white web zipped over his head and stuck to a protruding rock on the wall. The monstrous spider's belly jerked—crack!—and the rock was ripped clean off.
Shawn's heart pounded in terror as he scrambled toward the cave entrance. The monstrous spider wasn't about to let its 'prey' escape—it sprang after him, its eight legs racing along the wall, and suddenly opened its hideous mouth—"fwoosh!"—spitting out a jet of blue liquid at Shawn!
Shawn gasped, and in a moment of desperation, jumped forward instead of retreating, dodging the water-like blue liquid just in time. The liquid splashed onto the cave wall and floor, releasing clouds of blue smoke with a nasty, plastic-burning smell—clearly, it was highly toxic!
Seeing its attacks keep missing, the monstrous spider screeched—"eeek!"—and swung its two giant pincers at Shawn's head, sending two powerful gusts slicing toward him!
Shawn quickly planted his feet and braced himself, leaning back in a classic 'Iron Bridge' pose. He barely dodged the attack as the giant pincers swept past his body. But the monstrous spider had swung so hard that one pincer got stuck in a crack in the cave wall, leaving it frantically screeching and struggling to pull free.
Seizing the rare opportunity, Shawn tried to summon his Celestial Essence to unleash a powerful thunder spell on the monstrous spider. But he quickly realized that, although his energy could gather, the power within his Illusory Sea seemed scattered and couldn't work with his essence to cast any spells!
Suddenly, Shawn understood. He recalled what the Codex of Ascension said—places like the Three Forbidden Zones are totally different from the outside world, forming a closed, unique Elemental Rift. In such places, you can't draw on the natural powers of the five elements, nor use the strength within your Illusory Sea. You can only rely on your own innate abilities!
"Crack!" The monstrous spider yanked its pincer out of the rock and shook its massive body, ready to attack Shawn again.
Seeing the monstrous spider break free, Shawn knew he had no time to hesitate—his life was on the line! He gathered all his energy into his dantian, dashed forward, stomped the ground, and poured power into his arms, letting out a fierce yell—"Hyaa!"—charging right up to the spider and slamming a powerful 'Tiger Ascends the Mountain' punch at its hideous jaw!
'Tiger Ascends the Mountain' is one of the eight killer moves of Bajiquan. After dedicated training with Master Winston Yuan, Shawn had reached the level where his force was like a drawn bow, his strikes like thunder!—"Boom! Boom!" Two heavy blows landed, packing over a thousand pounds of force, and sent the monstrous spider reeling upright.
Before the spider could regain its balance, Shawn sprang forward, kicked off the ground, and unleashed all his strength in a 'Heaven-Piercing Cannon' punch right at the joint of its raised belly—moving like lightning!—"Thud!" The monstrous spider flipped completely over. Its heavy shell was so cumbersome that it couldn't get back up, so it lay on its back, flailing its eight hairy legs and pincers, spinning wildly.
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Just then, Shawn noticed a strange, dark-blue, diamond-shaped chest plate on the spider's belly, trembling violently. He suddenly remembered the name of this monster from the Codex of Ascension—it was the 'Ironclad Deathspider,' a fearsome creature that went extinct in the early Han dynasty!
The Ironclad Deathspider was a bizarre hermaphroditic creature that only grew in the tangled, elemental rift cave systems underground. Also known as the 'Venomous Ironclad Cave Spider,' it was vicious, trapping prey with webs and dragging them back to its lair to be slowly dissolved with toxic saliva. If it met tough prey, it would attack with its pincers and spray deadly blue venom for support! Its only weak spot was the heart, protected by that dark-blue, diamond-shaped chest plate on its belly!
Without hesitation, Shawn dashed to its side, raised his P5 Submachine Gun, and fired—"rat-tat-tat!"—a stream of bullets struck the diamond chest plate—"thud-thud-thud!" The armor was punctured, and a torrent of blue liquid gushed out.
"Eeek! Screee!" The Ironclad Deathspider shrieked in pain, unable to flip its heavy body. Its eight hairy legs and sharp pincers thrashed and spasmed, sending rocks flying everywhere.
When Shawn emptied his P5 Submachine Gun, he quickly retreated outside. He watched as the Ironclad Deathspider's blue blood gushed, then slowed to a trickle as its heart spasmed, finally stopping altogether. Its legs and pincers went limp—it collapsed, dead.