Chapter 2288 — Why They Vanished, Part Two

Only, more and more of the spider clansmen were being scorched by the flames. The Heaven-Rank Spider's head was splitting with worry! Without the Heaven-Snaring Net, the Spider Clan was certainly no match for the Fire Lion Clan. If it were allowed to keep burning like this, the Spider Clan would likely be wiped out this very day!

The timing could hardly have been worse—or, rather, all too well! At ordinary times, the Spider Clan would never have brought out its full strength and allowed itself to be driven into a corner. Near their nest, all they had to do when an enemy attacked was hide away in their caves, and that would be the end of it.

After all, the mouths of the caves bore ancient prohibitions, which the Fire Lion Clan could never break through. And the spiders who went out to gather spirit herbs all carried the Heaven-Snaring Net. If trouble struck, they would cast the great net, trap the fire lion, and flee with the natural treasures!

Of course, there were times when this failed too. The Heaven-Snaring Net was not easily made: several spiders had to weave it together, and it required certain rare natural treasures unique to the Spider Clan. So when they had no Heaven-Snaring Net, they could only trust to luck—and stood a good chance of being struck by a fire lion's flame breath or a Fire-Stream Divine Pellet, after which their natural treasures would be seized!

Yet no matter which side came off the worse, there was never any real danger to life. Today, however, the situation was entirely different—the Fire Lion Clan meant to wipe them out to the last one!

"Wait a moment..." The Heaven-Rank Spider wanted to call the Great Fire Lion to a halt and speak to it of Wei Zhao. After all, Wei Zhao was a benefactor to them both, and perhaps that would make the Fire Lion Clan stay its hand!

But the Heaven-Rank Spider's words had no effect whatsoever. The Great Fire Lion paid it no heed at all, breathing flame without pause, while the Little Fire Lion and the Mother Fire Lion struck out left and right with their claws, helping to batter the Spider Clan's clansmen...

Before their eyes, there was no road left behind them; this place was a ledge upon a cliff, and the ledge was not large. Behind the ledge lay a cave, and within that cave was the teleportation formation left by the Heaven-Rank Spider's contracted master!

Beyond the formation, the cave offered no way out. The Heaven-Rank Spider had no choice—pressed by the Great Fire Lion's clan, it could only lead its people back and further back. Only when all of them were crowded inside the cave did it realize: was this not like catching a turtle in a jar?

If the Great Fire Lion truly blocked the cave's mouth, they were finished. As long as it kept breathing flame, the Spider Clan inside the cave would not live to see this day end!

What was to be done? The Heaven-Rank Spider racked its mind for a way. The Great Fire Lion was clearly in a true fury—otherwise it would not press them so relentlessly!

Yet there was one thing the Heaven-Rank Spider could not understand. Was it merely over a single strain of their own special spirit herb? By reason, it should be easy for the Great Fire Lion to obtain compensation: come here, burn a few spider clansmen, and then take the occasion to demand other spirit herbs in recompense—a bargain that could only profit, never lose.

But what had come over it today? By the look of things, the Great Fire Lion and its family had not come to make threats—they truly meant to exterminate them! Otherwise, they would never press on step by step, leaving not the slightest room!

The Heaven-Rank Spider lamented inwardly. The Spider Clan was not skilled in attack, and now even the Heaven-Snaring Net with which they defended themselves was not in their hands. Truly, it was driven to utter despair...

"Great Fire Lion, wait—was it merely a single fire-attribute natural treasure of yours that we picked? Is that worth all this?" the Heaven-Rank Spider cried. "I can repay you..."

"Ha! So it was indeed you who picked it—then spare me the useless chatter! Today I will not leave off until I have burned your entire Spider Clan to cripples!" Roaring, the Great Fire Lion charged straight for the cave...

The Heaven-Rank Spider was speechless. This Great Fire Lion would not negotiate terms at all—it simply cut off your words mid-sentence. Not even compensation would do?

At the end of its resources, the Heaven-Rank Spider's gaze suddenly fell upon the teleportation formation inside the cave! Though it knew the way to activate the formation, it had never once thought of doing so!

For spirit beasts cultivated as human cultivators did, yet their methods of cultivation were not wholly the same. Whether the ranks beyond Heaven Rank would even correspond, no one could say for certain—and so the Heaven-Rank Spider had never thought of going to the Cloud-Rank Island!

Whether that place would even suit spirit beasts was itself a question—and more than that, if it went alone, what would become of the rest of the Spider Clan? How could they stand against the Fire Lion Clan? And if it took all its clansmen along, would the entire Spider Clan meet with disaster once they arrived there?

The teleportation formation could only be borne by cultivators of Heaven Rank or above. Though the constitution of spirit beasts differed somewhat from that of human cultivators, whether ordinary spirit beasts could withstand the formation's energies was truly hard to say...

For all these reasons, the Heaven-Rank Spider had never before considered opening the teleportation formation itself—otherwise it would never have passed the knowledge on to Wei Zhao.

But now the Spider Clan had reached the great hour of life and death. Even if the Great Fire Lion stayed its hand and did not burn them all to death, the burns alone would leave the Spider Clan gravely weakened!

When the time came to heal their wounds, cultivation resources would fall into dire scarcity, and the Spider Clan's decline would be inevitable—for at least several hundred years, they could forget about contending with the Fire Lion Clan!

So the Heaven-Rank Spider gritted its teeth. Rather than hold out here, better to risk all and flee as a whole clan! Perhaps once the formation was opened, some new opportunity might present itself—who could say...

Only, doing so would be a little unfair to its benefactor Wei Zhao. It had already given him its promise, yet plans could never keep pace with change—now the Spider Clan would have to use the teleportation formation itself!

Gazing at the exquisite formation that radiated a faint blue light, the Heaven-Rank Spider heaved a long sigh in its heart!

If there was a chance in the future, it would repay Wei Zhao's kindness then... With this thought, the Heaven-Rank Spider swiftly opened the teleportation formation in the manner it remembered, then commanded the whole clan of spiders: "Follow me, all of you! Come with me! Move through quickly!"

Hardly had the Heaven-Rank Spider's words faded when a wondrous halo of many colors appeared before it. Seeing this, the Heaven-Rank Spider gritted its teeth, and leading the little spiders, was the first to step into the halo and vanish from the spot...

As for the other spider clansmen, though they found it strange that a halo should suddenly appear in the cave, they obeyed the Heaven-Rank Spider's command and stepped into the halo without the slightest hesitation.

What the Heaven-Rank Spider had never expected, however, was that when the Fire Lion Clan saw them flee into the halo, they too charged in after them...

The Fire Lion Clan knew nothing of the teleportation formation and so had no idea of the dangers within. Taking it for an ordinary passage, they gave it no further thought and simply followed the Spider Clan in pursuit...