Knife Spider

Almost simultaneously, several blurry shadows darted out from the ruins' shadows on the left.

They were mechanical constructs shaped like spiders, but with bodies made of rusted metal and eight legs like sharp blades.

They moved silently and incredibly fast, their eight bladed legs leaving deep gouges as they scraped across the ground.

"They're Blade Spiders! Watch out for their bladed legs and the corrosive acid they spit!"

Li Yuqing clearly recognized these creatures. Before her voice even faded, she shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring. A cyan sword light, like a violent storm, instantly enveloped the two leading Blade Spiders.

Clang, clang, clang! A dense barrage of metal clashing rang out. Li Yuqing's swordplay was swift and fierce, and the two Blade Spiders were quickly dismembered, scattering into a pile of scrap metal.

On the other side, An Changqing also met several other Blade Spiders. Golden sword light paired with exquisite footwork shattered them one by one.

But there seemed to be quite a few Blade Spiders. More dark silhouettes surged from the mist. A few of them bypassed the front line and lunged at Huo Qixing, Liu Xiao, and Su Yuehe in the middle of the formation.

Huo Qixing did not panic. He put away his disc, his hands moving rapidly in front of him. Faint blue lines of spiritual energy appeared out of thin air, quickly forming a simple defensive array that temporarily blocked the Blade Spiders' pounce.

Liu Xiao waved his ice crystal short staff, and a freezing aura surged out, condensing a frosty area on the ground. This greatly reduced the Blade Spiders' movement speed, even freezing two of them directly into ice sculptures.

Su Yuehe blew her short flute. Sound waves spread out, interfering with the Blade Spiders and creating opportunities for her teammates.

Chen Guan and Long Ao at the rear were temporarily unattacked. Chen Guan could feel that this mist also had a certain interfering effect on his gray energy, making his perception of the outside world even more blurred.

Just as the battle at the front grew fierce, another anomaly occurred.

The ground beneath everyone's feet suddenly trembled slightly. Immediately after, faint blue patterns suddenly lit up on several seemingly ordinary ruined walls around them. The patterns rapidly spread and connected, forming a complex diagram covering a radius of dozens of meters.

"It's a leftover alchemical trap! The battle activated it!"

Huo Qixing's expression changed. He had been splitting his attention to monitor the surroundings and now noticed the anomaly. "It's extracting ley line energy... Be careful!"

As soon as he spoke, the faint blue alchemical array on the ground suddenly erupted with blinding light, instantly enveloping the seven of them.

Everyone felt their bodies sink, as if they had fallen into a quagmire. Their movements became sluggish, and their heads buzzed as various chaotic illusions and whispers began to surface.

Worse still, the Blade Spiders seemed completely unaffected. Instead, as if injected with stimulants, they lunged forward even more madly.

For a moment, the seven fell into a passive state, besieged by Blade Spiders in front and trapped in an alchemical trap.

Li Yuqing and An Changqing bore the brunt of it, their pressure multiplying. Li Yuqing's sword light remained fierce, but her footwork was noticeably sluggish, narrowly avoiding the slicing bladed legs several times.

An Changqing's golden sword light also dimmed a bit, his protective golden light fluctuating violently under the Blade Spiders' frenzied attacks.

Huo Qixing, Liu Xiao, and Su Yuehe in the middle were in even more imminent danger. Huo Qixing's defensive array flickered unsteadily under the Blade Spiders' impact and the trap's interference. Liu Xiao's frost area effect was greatly reduced, and Su Yuehe's sound waves were almost drowned out by the chaotic mental noise.

"We must destroy the alchemical trap first!" Huo Qixing shouted, sweat beading on his forehead.

Before his voice faded, several Blade Spiders broke through Huo Qixing's defensive array, their bladed legs stabbing straight at him and Liu Xiao.

In this critical moment, Long Ao, who had been guarding the rear, let out a furious roar. He forcefully broke free from the restraints, his crimson aura erupting once again. Like a maddened beast, he violently smashed aside the rubble blocking his way, crossed several meters, and slammed his fists, carrying berserk power, ruthlessly into the Blade Spiders lunging at Huo Qixing and Liu Xiao.

Bang!

Several Blade Spiders were directly smashed to pieces by Long Ao's angry strike, but Long Ao's own aura fell into chaos due to the outburst, making it difficult for him to erupt again in the short term.

"Huo Qixing! Stop messing with your broken array!"

Li Yuqing shouted loudly. Hearing this, Huo Qixing finally put down his staff. A sword appeared in his hand, and he immediately unleashed a slash. The power of this sword was actually not much weaker than An Changqing's, showing no sign that he was just a mage a moment ago.

Huo Qixing's ability was an enhancement-type ability called Displacement. He could convert spiritual energy into physical strength, meaning he could be a mage one moment and a warrior the next.

Anyone encountering Huo Qixing for the first time would suffer a loss due to his unusual ability.

Huo Qixing clenched his fists tightly. "Boss Liu, focus your mind and freeze that area to slow down the Blade Spiders' approach. Boss Lady, Junior An, I'll leave those Blade Spiders to you. I'll go dismantle that array first."

Hearing this, Liu Xiao forcefully thrust his ice crystal short staff straight into the ground. A freezing aura far more piercing than before erupted with him at the center. The ground and walls were instantly covered in thick frost, and even the faint blue mist drifting in the air was frozen into tiny ice crystals.

The lunging Blade Spiders' speed became sluggish, so even though An Changqing and the others had their speed reduced by the array, under the double reduction, it was as if they weren't weakened at all.

Coupled with the addition of Long Ao and Chen Guan, the pressure on Li Yuqing and An Changqing on the frontal battlefield slightly decreased. The two exchanged a glance, and their sword light suddenly became sharper.

Li Yuqing's sword moved with agile grace, while An Changqing fought with wide, sweeping strikes. His golden sword light swept across, clearing out the Blade Spiders whose threat was greatly reduced after being slowed by the frost.

The opportunity was fleeting.

Huo Qixing dashed out. The Blade Spiders seemed to realize his goal and let out sharp hisses. More Blade Spiders gave up attacking the others and turned to lunge at Huo Qixing.

"Get lost!" Seeing this, Long Ao shouted explosively. Disregarding his injuries, he stood like a human shield on Huo Qixing's flank, using his body to forcefully block the lunging Blade Spiders. The sound of thudding impacts was endless. Long Ao suffered new wounds on his body, but his eyes were bright and he showed no fear.

An Changqing and Li Yuqing also understood implicitly. Their sword light shifted from scattered to concentrated, doing their utmost to clear the obstacles ahead for him.

Under the precious opportunity created by his teammates, Huo Qixing finally rushed to the front of that wall. In the center of the wall, a fist-sized diamond-shaped crystal emitting unstable blue light was deeply embedded in the stone. Dense faint blue energy patterns spread around it; this was the core of the alchemical trap.

Without the slightest hesitation, Huo Qixing fiercely raised his arm. "Break!"

His sword pierced through, taking the stone wall with it. With an upward flick of the sword light, the entire stone wall snapped in response.

Centered on that crystal, the complex alchemical array on the ground rapidly dimmed. The restraints and mental attacks quickly receded like the tide.

With the restraints gone and the mental interference weakened, everyone immediately felt their bodies lighten and their minds clear up.