Chapter 41: Betreyal
Chen Haunt was at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement, but the Man-Faced Spider, despite lacking full intellect, was a Foundation Stage demon beast. It wasn't entirely brainless. Wouldn't it chase Sil Deshah, who was slower, first? How was this plan any different from sending her to die in Hwong Hyun and Gum Torin's place?
At that thought, Hwong Hyun and Gum Torin's eyes flickered, but they remained silent, their expressions unreadable.
Chen Haunt sighed, his tone softening as he turned to Sil Deshah. "Junior Sister Sil, don't worry—I wouldn't abandon you. Look, here's one last Aura-Hiding Fulu. You're an array cultivator—use your skills to speed up within the formation, escape far, and then hide with this Dao Fulu. How's that?"
"The last one?" Sil Deshah, who had been fuming and frantic moments ago, now softened. She hesitated, feeling a pang of guilt. After a pause, she murmured, "No... you keep it, Senior Brother Chen. I'm an array cultivator—I might have other ways out."
Chen Haunt pressed the Dao Fulu into her hand anyway, his grip firmly Sil Deshah's hand. Then he turned to Hwong Hyun and Gum Torin, his voice urgent. "No time to waste! The spider's closing in—get into the child formation now!"
The two exchanged a look. Drained of essence blood and barely clinging to life, they had no better options. Clasping their fists, they rasped, "Aye!"
As they hurried off, Chen Haunt's gaze deepened, watching until they were out of sight. Suddenly, he spun back to the still-nervous Sil Deshah, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Once they're in the child formation, trigger the parent formation—devour them and refine them into the Summon Soul Banner."
"Huh?" Sil Deshah blinked, stunned. Her fingers twisted the fabric of her robe as she stared blankly at Chen Haunt.
"The child formation couldn't even hold Lordi Payne—how could it trap the demon spider?" Chen Haunt tamped down his urgency, his voice coaxing and soft. "The purpose of what I said earlier was to steady them. They know we can't match the spider, yet they dragged us into this death trap. Clearly, they have ill intent toward us. If we told them straight that we can't escape with them, they'd betray us immediately and fight us to the death. Better to lose a limb than your life, don't you think?"