Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!

Chapter 440: Chapter 444: Practice Reveals True Knowledge

Qing Shi became more and more uncertain as he spoke. Yang Yu patted Qing Shi’s shoulder again,

”Demon mutations seem quite common. Now that the demon still retains its original features, it probably just mutated to produce poison, which is why you are at a loss to deal with this kind of toxin.

You have witnessed history.

You seem to still want to continue as a Desert Guide, so you should remember this experience well.

In the future, when you guide travelers across the desert, you’ll have some stories to boast about.

But don’t forget what you need to do. We don’t have time for your surprise right now, tell me about the habits of that spider.”

Yang Yu’s words struck Qing Shi like thunder, calming his astonishment, and he started to describe the spider creature as he knew it.

The spider-type demon is called the Black-footed Mother Spider. Adult specimens are almost as big as an ox. They themselves do not possess strong toxins. They mostly rely on teamwork to capture prey.

Just as the name implies, Mother Spiders are always found carrying their many offspring, with Black-footed Mother Spiders of all ages gathering around them.

When hunting, the older spiderlings tear the prey’s skin, then the younger spiderlings burrow into the wounds and continue to gnaw until the prey is bitten to death alive.

Just by listening, one can tell that their species is an old tormentor king.

But in the desert, there are even more ferocious beings. The Black-footed Mother Spider, after feeding, is not safe. That’s when the young Black-footed Mother Spiders, just like the one we saw earlier, curl up into a ball and roll back to their mother’s side by taking advantage of the slope of the sand dunes.

It is only after these young spiders become capable of reproduction, when they are about the size of a pig, that Mother Spiders leave their mother to hunt alone.

Desert Golden Pythons are also one of their main foods. Finding a Desert Golden Python is indeed not a problem for them.

After two years of predation, Black-footed Mother Spiders will officially start courting. The Mother Spiders that find each other suitable will come together and roll in the sand for the last time in their lives. Afterward, the female spider will eat the male, turning him into nourishment for their offspring.

Qing Shi couldn’t wait to pour out all the knowledge in his head for Yang Yu and the others to see, hoping they could come up with a solution.

A single Mother Spider is not scary, but a family of spiders that hunts in packs is terrifying.

The Black-footed Mother Spider they had just seen was not big, as if it had just hatched from an egg. Such spiders couldn’t possibly stray too far from their mother.

The Underground Maze might very well be where their mother resides.

Having listened to Qing Shi’s explanation, Yang Yu looked toward the Underground Maze.

It is basically impossible for real creatures to exist within an Underground Maze.

Although monsters in the maze can cause various abnormal Status conditions, those conditions are more akin to a weakening Magic, similar to Bai Jin’s ”Weapon Corrosion.” They seldom result in a Status that Potions cannot remedy.

Unfortunately, this alone cannot straightforwardly determine whether the Black-footed Mother Spider is one of the Underground Maze’s creatures.

According to the intelligence Yang Yu had, if an Underground Maze goes unchallenged for a long period, it is possible for it to release monsters to attack in various places.

Monsters from an Underground Maze are very lifelike until they are defeated, and some monsters even experience bleeding and pain sensation. It is not unusual for one or two monsters simulating ecology to come out of an Underground Maze.

It is precisely because the monsters from the Underground Maze can be indistinguishably deceptive that Yang Yu finds it so hard to make a determination.

Whether it’s a real creature can only be known by truly defeating it. If it is a real creature, it will definitely leave a corpse, just like the spider they encountered in the Goblin Maze.

With this thought, something suddenly clicked in Yang Yu’s brain.

They all resembled some kind of spider and possessed toxins that the spiders lacked, all within the labyrinth...

Could there be some connection? Opening the task panel, Yang Yu found the task that needed clues to progress.

So far, that task was a screen full of question marks, not advancing at all.

If that spider truly related to this task, it must not be let go easily.

After a brief rest, Yang Yu, under the pretext of ”looking for other spiders”, surveyed the surroundings of the Barrier. Along the way, Qing Shi sensed something moving beneath the sands.

However, they did not attack Yang Yu and his group. Instead, like workers clocking out at the end of their shift, they distanced themselves from Yang Yu, burrowed into the Barrier, and then brazenly descended into the Underground Maze with the desert’s last light.

”Their bodies become sluggish in the cold of the night, perhaps that’s why they are returning now. What do you want to do?”

”What do you mean what do I want to do?”

Qing Shi looked puzzledly at Yang Yu, clearly not understanding his intention.

”Should we follow them into the Underground Maze, or rest here on the spot and wait for a chance? Think carefully, both approaches are risky.”

Yang Yu paused,

”The dangers of entering the Underground Maze are obvious. Waiting outside also poses risks as we cannot rule out the possibility that the Mother Spider knows our target is them.

After all, having just let three of them escape, even ordinary creatures would perceive our ill intent and struggle against us to the end.

Let alone magical beings with some intelligence; it’s very possible they’re luring us into a trap they’ve set.”

Hearing Yang Yu speak, Qing Shi fell silent.

It was a long while before the sky, now stripped of the sun’s afterglow and studded with dazzling stars, that Qing Shi finally asked:

”How confident are you about capturing the spiders in that Underground Maze?”

A smile appeared on Yang Yu’s face, ”Just how confident I am we’ll only know once we’re there. I’m quite decisive. If we encounter danger, I won’t hesitate to turn tail and run.

Where there’s life, there’s hope.”

Qing Shi took a deep breath, his father had taught him that the desert was full of change and unpredictability, full of accidents, and if one couldn’t gather the Courage to move forward because of these accidents, one would eventually be buried by the sands called ’self’.

As a Desert Guide, from the moment he stepped into the desert, he could not afford to be lost; his confusion would only instill fear in those he led.

His father’s teachings echoed in his ears, and Qing Shi made his choice,

”In that case, let’s go check out this Underground Maze. I must rescue my father. For me to become an exceptional Desert Guide, his teachings are indispensable.”

Yang Yu smiled and nodded, quickly organizing his companions and making all-around preparations.

Then, they followed the dunes and crossed over the Barrier.

And just when they stepped onto the platform, a voice suddenly echoed from within the Barrier.

”Welcome to the Underground Maze. I do not know why you are here, but I will give you a trial. If you do not have the Courage to accept this trial with your lives, you still have a chance to leave.”