Chapter 20: The Sun Rises in the East
The female spider swung through the air toward Lu You, even spraying out clouds of poisonous mist.
Whether at the Qi Refining realm or the Foundation Establishment realm, as long as one had not yet stepped into the Golden Core realm, one was still a mortal of flesh and blood. Even though the female spider's poison mist was not especially fierce, Lu You still felt a burning sensation across his skin.
"Heroine, be careful!"
Han Tian's vitality was astonishingly strong, and the way he addressed Lu You had already changed from fellow daoist to heroine.
Seeing that the female spider was even more terrifying than the original venomous spider, Han Tian gritted his teeth, wanting to help Lu You however he could.
"You trash monster, look at your children!"
Han Tian roared with all his strength, desperately trying to draw the female spider's attention. Though his body was wrapped layer upon layer in spider silk, seeing the female spider swinging through the trees on her webs, Han Tian also began to thrash violently, making himself sway like a pendulum.
As the swinging grew more intense, Han Tian was flung higher and higher, drawing ever closer to the spider eggs on the tree. Finally, his face slammed into one of the eggs. In the next instant, borrowing that momentum, Han Tian opened his mouth wide and bit down, crushing an almost-transparent egg that was on the verge of hatching baby spiders.
Splat
Blood spilled out from the egg and splashed across the ground. The baby spiders inside tumbled out, smashed to pieces on the earth.
"Hehehe."
Han Tian's face was covered in blood, yet he laughed happily. "Come kill me! If you don't, I'll bite all your little bastards to pieces!"
Roaring, Han Tian swung again, crashing toward another spider egg.
Roar!
The female spider, who had been about to attack Lu You, suddenly twisted in midair, turned around, and pounced straight toward Han Tian.
Facing the eight spider legs slashing toward him—sharper than sickles—Han Tian felt no fear at all. He shouted to Lu You, "Heroine, run! Don't fight it! Run west and regroup with the Verdant Cloud Sect!"
Senior Brother Han Tian was truly an honest man.
Lu You fell silent. The word heroine made him feel uncomfortable all over. Still, coming here had been the right choice. Han Tian was someone who worked fairly and honestly, never taking more than what he deserved. If Han Tian died here, who knew what kind of person would come to collect grain next time?
Watching Han Tian desperately destroy the spider eggs to draw the enemy's attention, Lu You took out Light Rock Talismans and applied them to the spider.
Whoosh—
The female spider swung back toward the tree where she had laid her eggs, but her body suddenly felt light. By the time she realized what was happening, she found herself swinging up into the sky.
In that instant, Lu You had activated several thousand Light Rock Talismans. The female spider felt as if gravity no longer applied to her, and for a short time she was completely unable to control her movements.
You're the one who insisted on flying up to become a target.
Lu You muttered inwardly. With thousands of Light Rock Talismans enhancing her, the spider—a monster with limited intelligence—only flew higher the more frantically she struggled, like a gigantic hydrogen balloon.
Thunder Technique Talismans!
Lu You raised his head, eyes fixed on the female spider's position, and activated over ten thousand Thunder Technique Talismans at once. The clear sky darkened in an instant, and then dense streaks of purple lightning descended from above, striking the female spider again and again.
When the lightning finally dispersed, only a wisp of green smoke remained in the sky.
If those two spiders had been human cultivators, Lu You might not have been able to kill them so easily. But they were merely demonic beasts, creatures with strong bodies and simple minds. In direct combat, human cultivators of the same realm would be far inferior to them, but in terms of intelligence, these beasts possessed only basic combat instincts. Compared to human experience and ingenuity, they were nowhere close.
Beginner Wind Talisman.
Lu You raised his hand and dispersed the poisonous mist.
Detoxification Talisman. Healing Talisman.
Lu You detoxified himself and soothed the burning pain on his skin.
Walking up to the large tree, Lu You affixed a Sharp Metal Talisman to the decorative longsword on his back, then cut through the spider silk and freed Han Tian.
Before Han Tian could even speak, Lu You rapidly activated a pile of Detoxification Talismans and Healing Talismans, slapping them onto Han Tian one after another. Han Tian, who had been bleeding from all seven orifices just moments before, visibly regained a healthy complexion.
"Heroine, stop, stop—heroine—ah, ah, this is too expensive! My life isn't worth this much!"
Watching so many talismans being used on him, Han Tian waved his hands in distress, his heart aching. Only after all the toxins were purged and his external injuries fully healed did he let out a helpless sigh.
"Heroine, this is everything I brought with me. It's definitely not worth as much as your talismans. As for the rest, once we leave the ancient tomb, I'll find a way to repay you."
Han Tian pulled out a storage bag from inside his clothes. Inside were over a hundred spirit stones, several Qi Refining realm cultivation manuals, and a finely crafted porcelain bottle.
"This is a Foundation Establishment Pill. You probably won't need it, but if you sell it, you can still exchange it for a good sum of money."
Han Tian was already at the peak of the tenth level of Qi Refining realm. Because he had never been able to break through, he had worked diligently for many years just to finally save up for a single Foundation Establishment Pill.
A Foundation Establishment Pill could increase a cultivator's chance of successfully reaching the Foundation Establishment realm. In the entire lower city, only the alchemy elder of the Verdant Cloud Sect could refine such a pill, and it was always scarce and highly sought after. In terms of price, Han Tian's pill might be worth only about a thousand spirit stones, but to actually buy one for a thousand spirit stones required connections far beyond what a thousand spirit stones could buy.
Seeing that Lu You still did not accept it, Han Tian respectfully placed the storage bag on the ground.
"Heroine, ever since I was young, my family taught me that when someone helps you, you must repay them. Let alone the fact that you saved my life, on top of that, you spent so many talismans to do so. If I just pretended to be pitiful, kowtowed a few times, said a few thanks, and let it all pass, I'd never have peace of mind for the rest of my life. To receive kindness without repaying it, wouldn't that make me worse than pigs and dogs?"
"Heroine, to repay kindness generously is my creed in life. If you don't accept this, then even if I'm alive right now, it's no different from being dead."
Han Tian bowed deeply to Lu You. His words were filled with sincerity, without the slightest hint of pretense.
To repay kindness generously.
Lu You suddenly realized that his understanding of Senior Brother Han had been far too shallow. Han Tian's character was far greater than he had imagined. These principles might sound simple, but to truly unite knowledge and action was extremely difficult. If everyone were like Senior Brother Han, then the world would be full of benefactors. Yet human nature was often the opposite, when faced with kindness, some accepted it complacently under the guise of weakness, some took advantage and demanded more, and some even turned on their benefactors like the farmer and the snake. All of this was what made people's hearts grow ever colder.
Lu You returned Han Tian's bow and accepted the storage bag.
This bow was not for the items, it was a salute to Han Tian's spirit, a tribute to the fundamental goodness a person ought to possess.
"How should I address you, Heroine? This little bit isn't nearly enough to make up for the value of all those talismans."
Lu You did not answer. The moment he spoke, he would give himself away. Thinking of how he still needed to check on his senior sister and would inevitably have dealings with the Verdant Cloud Sect, leaving behind a name would only make this temporary identity feel too real.
After a moment's thought, Lu You drew his longsword and carved eleven large characters into the tree. Then he activated a Light Rock Talisman and a Divine Speed Talisman, sprinting westward toward the direction of the Verdant Cloud Sect.
Han Tian watched Lu You depart, firmly engraving that streak of red into his heart. Then he turned to look at the characters carved into the tree and softly read them aloud:
"The sun rises in the east, only I shall remain undefeated."
Just eleven words, yet to Han Tian they made the heroine figure soar infinitely higher. As expected of a sword cultivator, only they would dare take such a sharp, overbearing name.
"My benefactor is—Dongfang Bubai!"
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