The corpse of the one-eyed frog king indeed stirred up the underwater creatures. Soon, corpse beasts appeared one after another, followed by black-and-white striped sea spiders surfacing on the water.
This one-eyed frog king was a leader-tier monster. Although its level was low, only second-tier, the flesh of this leader-tier monster was clearly no ordinary thing. After being thrown into the water, it triggered a commotion across this stretch of water. A massive swarm of corpse beasts and sea spiders surged forth, overwhelming the huge corpse of the one-eyed frog king.
Those corpse beasts and sea spiders that couldn't get close began climbing up along the balcony, heading toward the three of them.
"Here's our chance." Ding Longyun was not alarmed but pleased. He didn't take these low-level corpse beasts and sea spiders seriously at all.
"Su Li, what level are these big spiders?" Ding Longyun held a steel shovel in his right hand and stepped forward to meet them.
"They're called sea spiders, third-tier common-type monsters," Su Li explained, picking up an iron rod and following suit.
"Third-tier? Got it." Ding Longyun was a fourth-tier spirit source user. Killing third-tier monsters would yield effective spirit sources. He swung his steel shovel, smacking it into a low-level corpse beast charging at him, sending it tumbling back inside.
"Gong Xiao, it's yours. Kill this corpse beast, and the spirit source you gain will speed up healing your wound," Ding Longyun said as he charged toward another sea spider.
"Be careful not to get bitten by the sea spiders—they're poisonous," Su Li warned as he also moved forward.
Suddenly, a figure flashed past him—it was Gong Xiao. She overtook Su Li, gritting her teeth against the pain of her wound. The cleaver in her hand wasn't aimed at the low-level corpse beast Ding Longyun had knocked over but at the sea spider instead.
She looked down on that low-level corpse beast and wanted to directly hunt the sea spider.
A basin-sized sea spider leaped up, lunging to bite Gong Xiao. She spread her left hand, and a vine-like substance shot out from her palm, coiling around the sea spider like a python. Her right hand followed up with a cleaver strike.
With a soft "chi" sound, the sea spider's juices splattered as Gong Xiao cleaved it in two.
She absorbed a spirit source, and the wound on her chest visibly contracted and healed at a noticeable rate. Once fully healed, not even a scar would remain. The spirit source from this sea spider was far more effective than that of low-level corpse beasts. In just a short time, the wound had mostly closed up.
"This Gong Xiao is pretty fierce," Su Li thought as he watched her kill two sea spiders in a row. The green vines shooting from her left hand, combined with the cleaver in her right, made dealing with these sea spiders relatively easy.
Though the sea spiders were agile, they couldn't evade the vines she shot from her left hand.
"Gong Xiao, what's that green vine you're shooting from your left hand?" Ding Longyun had just killed his second sea spider and noticed her technique. His eyes lit up, and he couldn't help asking.
"It's called 'Entangling Vine,'" Gong Xiao replied as she killed a third sea spider.
Su Li also took down a sea spider with his iron rod and kicked two low-level corpse beasts back into the water.
By now, the one-eyed frog king's corpse had been fully dragged into the depths of the water. The once-dark mass of sea spiders had dispersed, leaving only a few low-level corpse beasts floating on the surface.
"What a shame," Ding Longyun said, feeling a bit eager. "I really want to go down and kill more sea spiders, but it's their lair down there, and there are too many of them, plus they're poisonous. Charging in like that is too dangerous—if I get bitten, it'll be trouble."
Su Li felt the same way. He still needed seventeen more spirit sources to advance again. If there were enough sea spiders, evolving to fourth-tier wouldn't be hard. But unfortunately, while there were plenty below, the risk was too great. Getting surrounded by a swarm of sea spiders would be extremely perilous, especially with the sea spider queen, whose strength was unknown.
After all, even a second-tier leader like the one-eyed frog king was tough to handle, let alone the spider queen, who was definitely above second-tier.
"How about we try going down again?" Gong Xiao looked at Ding Longyun, seeking his opinion, but didn't glance at Su Li.
Ding Longyun quickly shook his head. "The water isn't our turf—it's too risky. Luckily, it's almost dark. Let's rest up and hunt tonight. We'll lure them to the rooftop, where it's much safer."
Gong Xiao thought it over and realized charging into the sea spider nest underwater was too reckless. She had to give up that tempting idea.
"Let's head back. Xuehui is probably getting anxious," Su Li said, glancing at Gong Xiao's chest and noticing the wound had vanished.
After absorbing the spirit sources from three sea spiders in a row, her wound healed at an astonishing rate. In no time, it was fully closed, her skin as fair and flawless as snow, with no trace of the severe injury that had been there moments before.
Seeing Su Li staring at her chest, Gong Xiao immediately covered it with her hand and shot him a strange look.
Su Li felt her gaze made him seem like a pervert and quickly explained, "Don't get the wrong idea—I was just checking how your wound was healing."
Gong Xiao didn't listen to his explanation and walked straight ahead.
Ding Longyun lowered his voice. "Su Li, what's going on? She seems to have a problem with you. Did you sneak a feel or something?"
Su Li said quietly, "I have a girlfriend—why would I do that? I think she's just being paranoid."
Ding Longyun chuckled twice, clearly not buying Su Li's explanation. He patted him on the shoulder and said, "We're in the same boat, no need to explain. I get it. Don't let her attitude fool you—women's thoughts and actions are sometimes the opposite. Maybe she's actually taken a liking to you."
Su Li replied, "I think she's pretty fond of you. Taking a liking to me? I really don't see it."
Ding Longyun shook his head. "Come on, that's respect she shows me, not romantic interest. Too bad—I had some thoughts about her, but now it looks hopeless. You, on the other hand, might have a chance."
Su Li gave Ding Longyun a helpless look. "Brother Ding, you're almost forty. You really want to go after a girl in her early twenties? That's almost a generation gap."
Ding Longyun rolled his eyes. "The international trend now says people aren't middle-aged until after forty-five. I'm still a young man, just like you. What's wrong with pursuing love? Besides, is age really an issue in love? Aren't there plenty of men in their fifties and sixties marrying women in their twenties?"
"Fine, you've got a point. Then you'd better seize the opportunity."
Ding Longyun chuckled softly. "I'd like to, but there's no hope. Let's go. Forget these unrealistic thoughts. Let's think about what to eat and tonight's hunting plans."