Luo Hao recalled his previous encounter.
Countless dense, dark demonic spiders crawled out from beneath the thick dead leaves on the ground.
Immediately after, he was hit by the Soul Stab skill of the dark demonic spiders, leaving him dizzy and on the verge of collapsing.
Soul Stab, a low-level skill, was a mental attack.
A single dark demonic spider using Soul Stab would have little effect on a normal person, but the combined Soul Stab of hundreds of thousands of them was terrifying.
Not only Luo Hao couldn't withstand it, but his Ice Kai Giant also suffered.
But that wasn't all. Next, dense gray spider silk tightly wrapped Luo Hao and his Ice Kai Giant.
Luo Hao was almost turned into a mummy!
Luo Hao hoped that what he had experienced would be replicated on Zheng Dong.
He summoned the Ice Kai Giant, sat on its shoulder, and watched Zheng Dong and Xiao Zi step deeper into the territory of the dark demonic spiders.
Just as he expected, dense dark demonic spiders crawled out and surrounded Zheng Dong and Xiao Zi.
Immediately, these dark demonic spiders unleashed their Soul Stab skill.
Facing this sudden turn of events, Zheng Dong was caught off guard and felt a wave of dizziness, his head throbbing as if it would explode.
In the next second, countless gray spider silks formed a dense net, intending to capture both him and Xiao Zi.
Zheng Dong immediately realized that this was the territory of the dark demonic spiders.
If he were entangled by their silk, he would be drained into a dried corpse.
The dark demonic spiders' Drain skill could convert flesh and blood into liquid nutrients.
Even bones could be dissolved.
Zheng Dong did not want to become a dried corpse.
At the same time, the security guard responsible for this area, a bald man, noticed the commotion and couldn't help but curse.
"Damn it, which unlucky soul has been targeted by the dark demonic spiders again?"
He was about to go to the rescue.
Then he saw Zheng Dong and Xiao Zi disappear from their location.
He was stunned.
"Holy crap, he's got some skill! He's cultivated the Earth Evasion skill to perfection!"
The bald security guard became interested and continued to watch what Zheng Dong would do next.
Luo Hao clenched his fists.
"Damn it, you won't be so lucky next time!"
Soon, Zheng Dong and Xiao Zi reappeared not far away.
The perfected Earth Evasion skill had become almost an instinctive reaction for Zheng Dong and Xiao Zi, allowing them to escape the Soul Stab skill of the dark demonic spiders.
Immediately, the dense dark demonic spiders followed, swarming towards them.
Facing these dark demonic spiders, Zheng Dong did not panic.
He first used the Mud skill, turning the surrounding ground into a mire, slowing down the movement of the dark demonic spiders.
Seeing the difficult terrain, the dark demonic spiders spat out silk, attaching it to the trunks or branches of nearby trees and climbing over the silk.
But by the time they approached Zheng Dong and Xiao Zi again.
Zheng Dong and Xiao Zi had used the Shadow Clone skill, conjuring dozens of clones.
Each clone used the Dark Night Arrow, shooting at the approaching dark demonic spiders.
Seeing this, the bald security guard shook his head.
"Alas! It seems I'll have to rescue you later!"
Although each of Zheng Dong and Xiao Zi's clones could shoot nine Shadow Arrows, and with dozens of clones, they could fire hundreds of dense Shadow Arrows at once, making it seem like a lot, it was still insufficient against the even greater number of dark demonic spiders.
However, Zheng Dong didn't think this would be enough to deal with the dark demonic spiders.
He was merely buying time to secretly use the Tripwire skill, to condense more strange bombs underground.
Seeing the increasing number of dark demonic spiders surrounding them, and his clones about to be overwhelmed.
He decided to detonate the strange bombs.
Immediately, he, Xiao Zi, and all the clones used the Earth Evasion skill to disappear from their location again, reappearing a hundred meters away.
Then, a series of violent explosions ensued.
The strange bombs detonated one after another, engulfing all the surrounding dark demonic spiders.
At this moment, the bald security guard's mouth hung open.
"This... this kid is quite cunning!"
Luo Hao was dumbfounded.
How could this happen?
In just a few days, how had Zheng Dong and that treasure-hunting rat become so much stronger?
He quickly realized that if all these dark demonic spiders were killed, how would he complete his task of collecting spider silk?
The other populations of dark demonic spiders were in the medium-risk zone.
Damn Zheng Dong, stop it!
But it was too late.
The explosions lasted for more than ten seconds, killing most of the dark demonic spiders.
Next, Zheng Dong and Xiao Zi's clones began to clear out the remaining dark demonic spiders.
In pairs, they used the Mud skill to restrict the movement of the dark demonic spiders, and then killed them with Tripwire or Shadow Arrows.
Meanwhile, Zheng Dong, with Xiao Zi, continued to search for supplies.
In the territory of the dark demonic spiders, Xiao Zi quickly found a piece of Dark Copper Gold.
The black and gray Dark Copper Gold could not only strengthen Xiao Zi's dark attribute but also accelerate the cultivation of dark attribute skills like Shadow Arrows.
The piece of Dark Copper Gold Xiao Zi found was about the size of a soup bowl, and it might allow Xiao Zi to raise her proficiency in Shadow Arrows to the Master level.
Afterward, Xiao Zi found several more pieces of Dark Copper Gold.
This made the bald security guard extremely envious, as that single soup-bowl-sized piece of Dark Copper Gold was worth over three hundred thousand.
"Holy crap, should I also contract a treasure-hunting rat?" The bald security guard rubbed his head.
However, ordinary treasure-hunting rats had very low combat power, and their treasure-hunting abilities were far inferior to Xiao Zi's.
This was also why most people did not contract treasure-hunting rats.
After searching the territory of the dark demonic spiders, Zheng Dong and Xiao Zi did not stop, continuing to search for resources until nightfall. They then used the Dark Copper Gold and other resources they found to cultivate the Shadow Arrows skill.
It wasn't until the afternoon of the next day, when Xiao Zi's mastery of Shadow Arrows reached the Master level, that Zheng Dong stopped cultivating.
It was just past two o'clock, and Zheng Dong planned to take Xiao Zi for a stroll to see if there were any other collectable resources.
Not long after they started walking, Zheng Dong received a message from Tu Qionglan.
"Be alert, and absolutely do not leave the safe zone!"
Tu Qionglan had received news that the Ling Shen Cult would definitely make a move against Zheng Dong during the wilderness training.
However, she didn't know when they would strike, how they would deal with Zheng Dong, or how many cult members would be involved.
Upon seeing the message, Zheng Dong scanned his surroundings vigilantly, seeing everyone as a potential Ling Shen Cult member.
He then turned back with Xiao Zi.
After all, the wilderness training would end early tomorrow morning.
The closer they got to the training center, the safer it would be.
When would the damned Ling Shen Cult make their move?
Tonight?
Or on the way back to school tomorrow?
Zheng Dong couldn't be sure.
He walked, secretly scanning his surroundings.
He didn't see any suspicious people along the way, nor did he see Tu Qionglan and the others.
Tu Qionglan was actually not far from Zheng Dong. She had been protecting him from the shadows, waiting for the Ling Shen Cult members to appear.
Currently, she was in a merged state with her contracted pet, the Dark Moon Fox, making her difficult to detect.
Even the surrounding security guards had not noticed her.
She didn't trust the security guards here, nor the school teachers, so she hadn't disclosed the news of the potential appearance of the Ling Shen Cult.
Besides Tu Qionglan, her four subordinates were also nearby.
One of them, who had contracted the mechanical life form, the Mechanical Azure Cloud Beast, was constantly monitoring the surroundings from above the Lingfeng Valley Wilderness Training Base.
As long as the Ling Shen Cult members dared to show themselves, Tu Qionglan was confident she could take them down.
After walking for a short while, Zheng Dong returned to the riverbank.
He and the clones left by Xiao Zi had already found all the special metals they could find nearby, totaling over thirty pieces.
The riverbank was dug up and riddled with holes.
Zheng Dong hadn't paid much attention at first, thinking of finding a place nearby to set up a temporary tent.
He suddenly remembered that the river water might rise, making it unsafe to set up a tent here.
Only then did he notice that the river water hadn't risen much during this period.
But the rain was getting heavier and heavier, and it hadn't stopped!
When they had left earlier, some of the pits dug by Xiao Zi while searching for special metals were not completely submerged.
How could this be?
Zheng Dong looked at the river in front of him with confusion.
This was the only river in the canyon, and the rainwater from the surrounding mountains should have all converged into this river.
Moreover, it had been raining continuously for almost three days, from a light drizzle to heavy rain, and now it was showing signs of turning into a downpour.
Something was wrong!
Zheng Dong felt that something was amiss and quickly found a nearby security guard to inquire about the situation of the Lingfeng Valley Wilderness Training Base during rainy weather.
He soon received a confirmation.
Every time it rained, the river would rise, and the width of the river surface would expand by at least two to three times compared to when it wasn't raining.
Zheng Dong then opened the electronic map to check the upstream of the river.
The area upstream was marked as a high-risk zone, extremely dangerous, and outside the management scope of the training base. It was true wilderness, and of course, there were no security guards patrolling.
Zheng Dong immediately reported this matter to Tu Qionglan.
"Sister Lan, do you know about the situation upstream of the river? It's so strange that the river hasn't risen much despite such heavy rain!"
Upon seeing the message, Tu Qionglan quickly ordered her subordinates to use the Mechanical Azure Cloud Beast to investigate the situation.
The Mechanical Azure Cloud Beast, like a white warship soaring in the sky, possessed long-range reconnaissance capabilities beyond visual range.
Soon, the situation upstream of the river was transmitted to Tu Qionglan.
A dam had suddenly appeared upstream of the river.
The dam was located about one-third of the way up the canyon, between two mountains, intercepting a large amount of river water.
The Lingfeng Valley Wilderness Training Base was located at the exit of the canyon, occupying less than one-fifteenth of the entire canyon, and was quite far from the dam, making it difficult to notice the situation there.
The dam appeared to have been formed naturally by mudslides.
There seemed to be nothing suspicious about it.
But Tu Qionglan still felt something was not right.
The water intercepted by the dam was enough to destroy the entire Lingfeng Valley Wilderness Training Base.
If it was done by the Ling Shen Cult members, it would be troublesome.
Tu Qionglan continued to have her subordinates scout with the Mechanical Azure Cloud Beast while hesitating whether to notify the school and the training center.
At this moment, a man completely covered in a gray trench coat was watching the rising river water above the dam.
His name was Gao Jian, the Gray Robe Commander of the Ling Shen Cult.
His target was not just Zheng Dong, but also people from the Special Operations Bureau like Tu Qionglan, as well as all the students undergoing training and the entire training center.
He wanted revenge.
Previously, he had lost several of his confidantes when the escort of the Origin Fruit failed.
This time, he was well-prepared and wanted to redeem himself, to prove to his superior, the Vice Cult Master, that he was not incompetent.
He had actually arrived earlier than Zheng Dong and the others.
The rain, which should not have fallen, was also caused by him using his pet's Wind and Rain summoning skill.
The dam was also constructed using the earth-attribute skills of multiple pets.
As soon as night fell, he would blow up the dam, and the surging river water would wash away the entire training center, drowning all the students undergoing training.
Afterward, he would find Zheng Dong with his men, seize Zheng Dong's beast-taming talent, and capture Tu Qionglan and the others who were secretly protecting Zheng Dong.
He believed his plan was perfect.
He was just waiting for nightfall to act.
Unfortunately, the news that would slap his face soon arrived.
His subordinate, hidden within the training base, sent a message: the school had ended the training early and was evacuating all the students.
Just a few minutes ago, Tu Qionglan had finally decided to notify the school and the training center. She didn't want to see a large number of casualties.
Ultimately, Principal Liu decided to end the training immediately.
The training center also notified the nearby Beast-Taming Army and the Security Bureau to come and eliminate the hidden dangers.
Upon receiving the news, Gao Jian's expression turned grim.
"Damn it, who leaked the news?"
He suspected an inside job and immediately prepared to act, summoning a death-attribute pet, the Bone Dragon.
The Bone Dragon was hundreds of meters long, with no flesh or scales, only indestructible bones. Green flames flickered in the eye sockets of its millstone-sized skull.
Gao Jian stood on the dragon's head, looking at the dam below and the river water that was about to overflow the dam, and chuckled sinisterly.
"Heh heh, since you've discovered it, then go to hell early!"
Immediately, the Bone Dragon used its skill, Heavy Water Dragon Bomb, to destroy the dam.
Rumble...
The surging river water roared downstream, forming a terrifying flood that seemed to engulf the entire canyon.
Gao Jian, standing on the Bone Dragon, rode the waves of the flood, heading towards the Lingfeng Valley Wilderness Training Base.
Behind him followed more than twenty Ling Shen Cult members, who had also summoned their death-attribute pets, creating a formidable momentum that seemed unstoppable.