Chapter 81: The Cycle of Despair

Could it be that the giant spider was all show and no substance?

The doubt vanished in an instant. This was not the time for questions, but for survival.

Sharp thorns scratched her skin, and hard stones bruised her bare feet, yet she kept running until she had no strength left.

She hid behind a large tree, and when there was no movement behind her, she peeked out. The giant spider was nowhere to be seen.

The little girl let out a sigh of relief and whispered softly, "Escaped."

Suddenly, a sense of oppression came from above, as if a lion, the king of beasts, had set its sights on her.

The little girl stiffened and slowly looked up.

She saw the familiar eight red lanterns hanging from the tree—the eight eyes of the giant spider.

Despair filled her heart. She hadn't escaped the spider at all.

She had thought she had left it far behind, but how had it caught up so quickly and climbed the tree without her noticing?

Could it be that its speed wasn't as slow as it appeared?

Why had the spider been trailing her from a distance?

Was it toying with her, like a cat playing with a mouse before devouring it?

If a professional had seen the giant spider, they would have explained its nature.

The giant spider was called the Despair Spider, a type of Evil Beast. Before killing its prey, it would toy with them repeatedly, shattering their hopes of escape just as they began to rise. It did this to savor the Despair Brain.

The Despair Brain was a great source of nourishment for them. By consuming enough despair, they had the potential to break through to the level of a King.

They were a type of Evil Beast with a very low lower limit but a very high upper limit.

Run!

Run faster!

Long Xiaoxiao, run! Ever since Mom lost Dad, her mental state has been fragile. If she loses you too, she'll go mad.

For Mom, and for yourself.

Run!

Her exhausted, weak legs didn't respond to her will.

They had already been drained of strength from the intense running earlier.

She couldn't move. She simply couldn't move.

The overwhelming sense of despair made it hard for her to breathe.

The Despair Spider inhaled deeply, savoring the despair. This was the taste it craved, authentic and pure.

The Despair Spider opened its ferocious maw.

Though her legs were useless, her arms still had strength.

Long Xiaoxiao threw a desperate punch.

The little girl's fist was so tender and weak that the Despair Spider didn't even bother to dodge.

At that moment, a dazzling golden light burst from Long Xiaoxiao's eyes.

This golden light was different from the Sacred Lotus Eye's gentle, resilient glow. Hers was fierce, the gaze of a predator at the top of the food chain.

Dragon Eyes, activate!

Pupil Technique: Dragon Force.

Long Xiaoxiao's body seemed to transform in that instant, shifting from a human form to that of a dragon.

Dragon Force surged through her slender fist.

In a flash, the Despair Spider's head was obliterated, blood splattering everywhere.

It was as if a rain of blood had fallen from the sky.

The spider's body still clung tightly to the tree trunk.

The golden light in her eyes dimmed, the pupil power she had just unleashed completely drained, unable to sustain itself.

Long Xiaoxiao collapsed to the ground, laughing with joy.

She laughed because she had narrowly survived.

She laughed because she had awakened the Dragon Eyes.

But her joy didn't last long. Soon, Long Xiaoxiao was plunged into deep despair once more.

Around her, groups of eight red lanterns began to light up.

Despair Spiders hunted in packs. While one fed, the others stood guard nearby, ensuring that no prey could escape by chance.

Exhausted of strength and vision, Long Xiaoxiao had no hope left, but she refused to give up the last shred of it. She tilted her head back and shouted at the sky.

"Help!"

The Despair Spiders slowly closed in, their oppressive presence making the situation even more hopeless. It was their slow, deliberate movement that amplified the despair.

Suddenly, a colorful light flashed in the distance of the dark forest.

The next second, Long Xiaoxiao felt herself enveloped in a warm embrace.

Chen Lu commanded, "Little Medicine Deer, let's go."

"Yo yo~ (Hold on tight)"

Chen Lu leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Little Medicine Deer's neck, pressing Long Xiaoxiao between them.

Though it was cramped, Long Xiaoxiao felt a sense of security.

Little Medicine Deer, carrying the two of them, activated the Crystalline Radiance Blink and vanished in a flash of light, escaping the encirclement of the Despair Spiders.

Snatching food from the jaws of spiders, especially such a despairing delicacy, was unbearable.

The Despair Spiders let out angry hisses and quickly gave chase.

But Little Medicine Deer's Crystalline Radiance Blink was too fast; the Despair Spiders couldn't even catch a whiff of its trail.

Moreover, with Long Xiaoxiao rescued, the despair dissipated, and they could no longer track the scent of despair.

"Sister, what's your name? I must repay you in the future."

Chen Lu playfully pinched Long Xiaoxiao's nose, "Alright!"

...

Thanks to the relentless efforts of the Earth Slime and Xiao Ruan, the tunnel had been dug over five hundred meters.

Li Cunxu said, "Xiao Ruan, we can start digging diagonally upwards now."

The temperature here was somewhat stifling, and with the tunnel poorly ventilated, Li Cunxu woke up drenched in sweat. He used a Water Orb to clean himself and his dirty clothes, then handed the wet clothes to a few Fire Slimes to dry.

As long as the Fire Slimes didn't ignite the flames on their heads, the clothes wouldn't burn. They could use their internal heat to evaporate the moisture from the clothes.

Li Cunxu lay at the entrance of the tunnel, poking his head out to survey the surroundings, spotting a durian hanging from a tree.

Good news: food found.

Bad news: it's the stinky durian.

He couldn't stand durian.

Li Cunxu turned his body and saw a grove of Azure Spirit Fruit trees laden with fruit in the distance.

"Great, there's Azure Spirit Fruit."

Azure Spirit Fruit often appeared in beginner Spirit Food recipes, a delicacy that both Pet Beasts and humans could enjoy.

Awooo~

The howls of wolves echoed.

The Wolf King led the pack towards Li Cunxu, who immediately ducked back inside upon seeing them.

The Wolf King repeated his old trick of blocking the entrance, but this time, without a large boulder, the pack worked together to knock down a durian tree one and a half meters thick to seal the entrance.

"These Evil Dire Wolves followed the scent. We need to think of a way out."

"Keep digging, get far away from these wolves, and then come out?"

Li Cunxu considered this option but dismissed it.

Without a Miner Slime to dig, relying solely on the Earth Slime's soil-eating method would take too much time.

White Spider curiously remarked, "Huh? Strange, there's a durian tree here that stinks. Aren't these Evil Dire Wolves afraid of the stench? Why is their den so close to here?"

Li Cunxu wasn't surprised and explained to White Spider.

"The Evil Dire Wolves are highly adaptable creatures. They're just afraid of the stench, not incapable of adapting to it."

White Spider asked, "Then why are they still afraid of Xiao Ruan's Trash Poison Gas stench?"

"The stench is different. They've adapted to the durian's smell but not to the stench of Trash Poison Gas."

As for why the Evil Dire Wolves could adapt to the durian tree's scent, Li Cunxu already had the answer.

The grove of Azure Spirit Fruit trees.

The Azure Spirit Fruit could enhance Spirit Energy, so the Evil Dire Wolves naturally couldn't bear to part with that grove. Over time, they stayed near the durian trees and gradually adapted to the smell of durians.

"I've got it."

Li Cunxu suddenly thought of a solution.

Summon the Garbage Slime and unleash a chemical weapon to disable the Evil Dire Wolves' keen sense of smell.

"Little Soft, reincarnate some Garbage Slimes."

In the Slime's Soul Kingdom, Garbage Slimes also roamed about.

Garbage Slimes often consumed various types of trash, accumulating a large amount of toxins in their bodies. When the toxins reached a certain level, the Garbage Slimes would be poisoned to death.

It's true that Garbage Slimes are toxic-type Pet Beasts, but being a toxic-type Pet Beast doesn't mean they are immune to poison. They just have high poison resistance; if the toxicity exceeds their limit, they will still be poisoned to death.

(End of Chapter)