The Final Gamble
I can win this!
Having shattered the wall of first-rate and finally stepping into the absolute peak realm, Mumeong felt a surge of hope that he could defeat the Thousand-Year Spider.
Hold on just a little longer, Young Master!
He tried to unleash another powerful slash of sword energy, but the Thousand-Year Spider was faster.
Splat!
The venom sprayed from the spider’s mouth engulfed Mumeong.
“Aaaargh!”
The toxin was so potent that Mumeong’s face began melting away almost instantly. Even the Poison-Resisting Pill was useless against something this strong.
“Aaaaaagh!”
Mumeong screamed in agony as his flesh and bones burned. The Thousand-Year Spider, seeking revenge for its lost legs, stabbed him with its razor-sharp claws.
Shunk! Shunk!
After piercing his body with those deadly talons, it charged forward on its remaining six legs, baring teeth as sharp as blades.
“Damn it… you bastard… Aaaaaah!”
Mumeong desperately drew on his innate true qi. Just as his life force was visibly fading, the Thousand-Year Spider had no intention of watching quietly.
Swoosh!
Mumeong’s head was severed from his body and tumbled across the ground like a discarded toy.
Kiiiieeeeek!
The Thousand-Year Spider roared in fury over the loss of two legs on its right side.
“Just a little more!”
While Mumeong bought time amid the spider’s rage, Tang Sanlong finished extracting the Heuk-shi-bong venom and muttered to himself as he recalled the brilliant sword energy he had just witnessed.
“Couldn’t you have held out a bit longer, you useless bastard?”
With that characteristically insensitive remark typical of a martial artist, Tang Sanlong managed to fill a small vial completely with the paralyzing poison.
“That was rough.”
The silver lining was that despite the wasp’s tiny body, it carried an impressive amount of venom. He had barely scraped together enough.
Kiiiek!
As Tang Sanlong gazed at the venom with satisfaction, a murderous aura suddenly wrapped around his entire body.
He didn’t need to guess who it belonged to.
“Can’t I just leave?”
He wondered if the spiritual beast might understand human speech, but since it wasn’t a ten-thousand-year-old creature, it apparently couldn’t comprehend him.
Grin.
Wait, was it… laughing at him? Or was it not that it couldn’t understand, but simply chose to ignore him? A reasonable suspicion crept into his mind.
“Maybe I should’ve run while Mumeong was stalling?”
Yet somehow he had the gut feeling that escape was never an option. From the moment he entered this place, it felt like he had already been caught in the spider’s invisible web.
It really does feel like I’m trapped in a spiderweb.
Tang Sanlong fiddled with the Heuk-shi-bong venom he had painstakingly collected.
The records in the Guya-rim archives mentioned it. A spider’s weakness is paralytic poison. I’m only acting on that information, Ancestors.
Thinking of Tang Gwan, the ancestor who first explored Guya-rim and left behind countless records, Tang Sanlong carefully applied the paralytic venom to his hidden weapons, using it sparingly.
The problem is that ridiculously tough hide.
Even though paralytic poison was its weakness, the reason the creature could roam Guya-rim freely was precisely because of that impenetrable outer shell. The Heuk-shi-bong’s stinger simply couldn’t penetrate it.
Still, that idiot managed to leave a scratch before he died.
Mumeong had cracked that tough exterior right before his death. The Thousand-Year Spider had let its guard down against him and paid the price.
If there was ever a chance to kill it, this was it.
“Tsk… or maybe not?”
The more he thought about it, the less certain he felt. Still, there was one thing Tang Sanlong was counting on.
“Tang Chiyeol, you son of a bitch!”
His shout echoed throughout Guya-rim. The Thousand-Year Spider tilted its head for a moment.
Then it acted.
Splat!
It fired the same venom that had worked on Mumeong. Tang Sanlong rolled sideways to dodge.
But it didn’t stop at one shot, so he frantically employed the Naryeotagon footwork that was looked down on in the murim world.
“Rolling away!”
Honestly, wasn’t rolling the ultimate perfect evasion technique?
Unfortunately, the Thousand-Year Spider wasn’t an ordinary spider. It was a spiritual beast.
Splat!
This time, instead of venom, it spat webbing right where Tang Sanlong was about to roll.
“Damn it!”
He rolled straight into the sticky threads. They tangled around his entire body, and Tang Sanlong let out a helpless laugh.
“Am I an idiot or what?”
With a self-mocking chuckle, he used one of the throwing blades Tang Oryong had given him to slice through the webbing. Thankfully, the sharp edge cut through it easily.
The Thousand-Year Spider shot webbing at a nearby tree instead of using its damaged legs, preparing to body-slam him just like it had done to Mumeong.
“Huh? So that’s how you dodged it?”
Boom!
Mumeong had barely avoided it, but Tang Sanlong couldn’t even react. He was sent flying and tumbled across the ground.
His dynamic vision had caught the trajectory, but by the time he decided to dodge, it was already right in front of him.
“Cough!”
His martial talent wasn’t exactly outstanding, but his sturdy body had saved him once again.
Whirr!
The spider spun through the air using its webbing, then fired another strand.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
It pinned Tang Sanlong’s arms and legs to a tree with webbing, then launched itself at him again.
“Ugh!”
Slice!
Tang Sanlong barely managed to cut the webbing and duck out of the way.
Boom!
The impact was like a massive iron wrecking ball smashing into the tree. The thick trunk snapped like a dry twig.
“Shit!”
He rolled desperately to avoid the falling tree, only to realize a shadow had fallen over him.
Tap!
The spider landed gracefully and began advancing with its razor-sharp, jagged teeth clicking together.
It clearly had no intention of letting him live.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
Tang Sanlong mentally begged it to just eat him and be done, but the Thousand-Year Spider didn’t stop.
Kiiiek!
As it drew close, Tang Sanlong raised his arm.
“This is my last shot.”
Bang!
His gauntlet shattered as he fired a poison bullet!
There was no way ordinary poison would work on a Thousand-Year Spider, but he had to try something, anything.
Kiiiek?
The creature paused, as if wondering what the hell that was.
Then it swung its sharp claws.
“Kgh!”
Tang Sanlong leaped straight up, barely avoiding the strike, and gathered his inner energy.
“Chuhon Shimpyo!”
The sharp throwing blade Tang Oryong had given him shot toward the spider’s eye.
Clang!
But true to its nature, the creature casually swatted it away with a claw.
“Damn it!”
Tang Sanlong’s attack wasn’t over. He manipulated the blade using the thread of webbing he had tied to it and struck again.
Like a fish swimming gracefully through water, the blade danced fluidly through the air.
“Hup!”
He relentlessly targeted the wound Mumeong had left behind.
The spider seemed to realize that spot was dangerous and moved frantically to defend it.
If both its legs had been intact, I’d already be dead.
Even after losing two legs on one side, it was still moving incredibly fast. Its movements remained swift despite the loss of balance.
Kiiiek!
Annoyed by the flying blades, the spider watched another one streak toward its weak point, then stepped back slightly. It swatted the blade away with a leg and spat webbing at the same time.
“Oh no!”
It spat webbing at Tang Sanlong too.
“Ugh!”
He was slammed against a tree. Without any blades left, he tried to tear himself free, but the webbing only stuck tighter.
“Just… a little… Aaaargh!”
Shunk!
The spider had closed in and drove its sharp claw straight through his abdomen.
The dizzying pain made Tang Sanlong scream involuntarily.
“Aaaagh!”
He tried desperately to pull the claw out, but every movement only tore his flesh further.
“Damn it.”
How long had it been since he regained his past-life memories? And now this?
His consciousness was fading, but Tang Sanlong clung to it.
I’ll do something, anything!
If he kept struggling until the very end, maybe an opportunity would come.
Using his one relatively free leg, he kicked the spider’s steel-hard limb.
The Thousand-Year Spider simply stared at him as if asking what he was doing.
“What? Why?”
Kiiiek?
It seemed like a pointless action, but it bought a split second, and that moment was worth its weight in gold to someone else.
“Gunan-sal!”
At the shout of a young man, nine hidden weapons flew toward the Thousand-Year Spider.
Kiiiek!
Sensing danger from the incoming projectiles, the spider quickly retreated.
“Bidonanmu!”
Dozens of throwing blades filled the air, all aimed at the creature.
Tatata!
The spider backpedaled, wary of the sudden new opponent.
Tang Chiyeol used that opening to rush to Tang Sanlong’s side.
“Hey, you still alive?”
“I’m alive, you bastard…”
“Your life force is tougher than I expected. Here, take these.”
Tang Chiyeol picked up the throwing blades Tang Oryong had given Tang Sanlong and handed them over.
Looking at him, Tang Sanlong muttered quietly.
“I’m not dying until I see that sly fox of a wife and that rabbit-like brat again.”
“Anyone can dream.”
Tang Chiyeol spoke so prettily that Tang Sanlong wanted to bite his head off. Still, in this situation, there was no one more reliable than this man.
Swoosh!
Unlike Tang Sanlong, Tang Chiyeol casually ripped away the webbing. An absolute peak expert really was on another level.
Tang Chiyeol glanced back and forth between Tang Sanlong and the Thousand-Year Spider.
“Were you preparing for an honorable death? Looks like I interrupted.”
“Like I said before, I have no intention of dying…”
“So what now? Fight it or run?”
“Can we even run?”
“I could. Alone.”
Seeing Tang Chiyeol speak so confidently, Tang Sanlong urgently showed him the small vial.
“It’s Heuk-shi-bong paralytic venom.”
“So?”
“We kill it. You think a better chance than this will come along?”
“Hmm.”
Tang Chiyeol fell into brief thought.
The Thousand-Year Spider was clearly injured. And they had the one poison that could affect a creature normally immune to toxins.
While he pondered, Tang Sanlong wrapped his pierced side with webbing instead of bandages and said,
“You just need to smash that exact spot open. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Tang Chiyeol’s eyes landed on the large wound Mumeong had left behind.
“Fine. I’ll do as you say. But if you fail, I’m leaving.”
“Do whatever you want.”
Tang Sanlong’s refusal to give up reminded Tang Chiyeol of someone.
“You resemble him in some ways.”
“What?”
“Let’s do this.”
Even for an absolute peak expert like Tang Chiyeol, facing a Thousand-Year Spider was nerve-wracking.
“Got any hidden weapons left?”
“Here.”
Tang Sanlong handed over all the obsidian darts coated with the remaining paralytic venom.
He then snatched up the sword Mumeong had refused to let go of even in death.
“Ha… so after all that, I end up as a close-range dealer?”
Being a close-range dealer… he really didn’t want to do this.
The moment he gripped the sword, old memories flooded back. A strange sensation—both unfamiliar and familiar.
Tang Sanlong sprinkled the Heuk-shi-bong venom onto the well-sharpened blade Mumeong had left behind.
“Just once…”
He steadied his breathing and watched Tang Chiyeol fight the Thousand-Year Spider.
“Amryongjang!”
Rumble!
The sound of air being torn apart sounded like a dragon’s roar. He had heard that even the Opening Dragon Twenty-Eight Palms, the legendary technique of the Beggars’ Sect, produced a similar sound.
Tang Sanlong observed every detail of Tang Chiyeol’s movements. The way he used the Tang Clan’s martial arts was so perfect it was breathtaking.
Just a little more!
“Yujeoksal!”
Tang Chiyeol used palm strikes to distract the spider’s vision and hearing, then threw the hidden weapons.
The darts drew graceful arcs and struck precisely at the wound Mumeong had created.
Crunch!
It had only been a short time, but to Tang Sanlong it felt like waiting through an eternity.
And finally, the voice he had been desperately waiting for came.
“Tang Sanlong.”
At Tang Chiyeol’s low call, Tang Sanlong gripped the sword and began to run.
Kiiiek!
The Thousand-Year Spider thrashed in pain as its outer shell cracked, swinging its sharp legs wildly.
Tang Sanlong charged straight through the chaotic forest of limbs, eyes fixed forward.
“Hup! Hup!”
He breathed harshly, gripping the sword with all his strength.
Kiiieeeeek!
The spider swung its legs at the approaching Tang Sanlong!
He maintained his speed and slid beneath it like a snake.
Riiip!
His skin tore and peeled away, but compared to the fear of death, it was nothing.
“Hah!”
He reversed his grip on the sword and stabbed it straight into the exposed soft flesh.
Kiiieeeeeeek!
“Die!”
Shunk!
As the blade sank in, the Thousand-Year Spider’s thrashing grew even more violent.
Kiiieeeeeeek!
After thrashing wildly for a while, it suddenly began moving frantically toward somewhere.
“Ugh!”
Realizing that if he let go now he would never catch it again, Tang Sanlong gripped the sword even tighter.
His palm tore open and blood flowed, but he didn’t let go.
Kiiieeeeeeek!
Desperate to shake him off, the spider began climbing a cliff with its remaining legs.
It was trying to scrape Tang Sanlong off against the rock face.
But Tang Sanlong twisted the blade viciously instead.
Crack! Crunch!
The sounds of something snapping and tearing echoed as the Thousand-Year Spider trembled violently.
Even as it tried to survive by climbing the cliff, its movements gradually slowed.
The paralytic venom had finally spread throughout its body. Its motions became noticeably sluggish.
But that wasn’t entirely good news.
“Yes… damn it!”
The venom worked, but the spider’s body was drifting farther away from the cliff.
“Damn it! Aaaagh!”
Stab!
It tried to escape, but with its last ounce of strength, it drove its claw into Tang Sanlong’s thigh.
It was a water ghost tactic—dragging him down with it.
“Ughhh… you fucking bastard!”
Tang Sanlong barely managed to pull the claw out!
But it was already too late. Both he and the Thousand-Year Spider were falling together from the cliff.
Kiiiek!
Was it confident it could survive a fall from this height? It somehow felt like the creature was mocking him.
Tang Sanlong couldn’t let it survive.
“You think this is funny, you piece of shit?”
-Kiiiek!
The other weak point—the nape of its neck!
Using the acceleration of their fall, Tang Sanlong drove the blade straight in.
“Ughhh! Just die already!”
Crack! Slice!
He twisted the sword violently, severing the spider’s head from its body.
Just like the end it had given Mumeong.
Ah… I’m so sleepy…
Had he lost too much blood? If he just closed his eyes now, would it hurt less?
Tang Sanlong wanted to rest like this.
“Tang Sanlong!”
At Tang Chiyeol’s shout, Tang Sanlong slowly opened his eyes.
His hazy mind cleared.
“Snap out of it, Tang Sanlong! You’re going to die without taking the inner dan?!”
Shouting at the top of his lungs, Tang Sanlong pulled out a throwing blade tied to a line made of spider silk and hurled it.
“Chuhon Shimpyo!”
The blade tore through the air without resistance.
“Hah!”
Whirr!
He wrapped the silk line around a massive tree and forcibly stopped his fall.
“Aaaagh! Fuck!”
Crack!
He heard his arm and shoulder breaking, but it was better than his skull splitting open, right?
Thanks to the body he had trained here and the inner energy protecting him, he avoided having his arm completely destroyed.
“Hoo…”
Hanging from the tree, Tang Sanlong let out a sigh of relief.
“I’m… alive?”
Crack.
He thought he had stopped, but the tree couldn’t withstand the impact and snapped.
“Aaaaaagh! Damn it! Ack! Ugh! Kgh!”
Thud! Thud! Crash! Boom!
Tang Sanlong tumbled through the air, cursing the entire way, before crashing into a grassy patch below.
His entire body felt like it was shattered, but he was fine.
“Goddamn it… still…”
He had survived somehow.
“Kekeke! Hahaha! Hahahahaha!”
His body was in tatters, but Tang Sanlong laughed more joyfully than ever before.
“Hehehe!”
Looking at the Thousand-Year Spider with its head severed and its corpse pathetically embedded in the ground, Tang Sanlong grinned with pure greed.
“Thousand-Year Spider! Inner dan! Ehehehe!”
The life-or-death gamble had paid off.