The sound came again.
Faint.
Light.
A dry skittering somewhere ahead in the tunnel.
Riven narrowed his eyes and listened more carefully. It wasn't large enough to shake the stone like the greater ferals had. The rhythm was lighter, quicker.
Lesser feral.
Good.
This was exactly the kind of chance he'd been waiting for.
With a thought, he opened the beast pouch and let the predator spider crawl out onto his forearm before lowering it to the ground.
It was small.
Barely larger than the tip of his thumb, its thin body looked almost fragile compared to the ironfang spiders that roamed this cave. Its legs were long and narrow, moving with careful precision as it settled onto the stone.
The surface of its pitch black body swallowed the faint cave light instead of catching it, making its outline blur against the darker patches of stone.
If it stayed still, it almost disappeared entirely.
Compared to the heavy-bodied ironfang spiders that filled this cave, it looked unimpressive.
Almost harmless.
But the moment its feet touched the ground, the spider froze.
Then its front legs lifted slightly.
It had sensed the other spider.
A faint tension ran through its small body as it lowered itself closer to the stone, ready to move.
Riven watched it carefully.
Back at the Beast Hall, the explanation had been simple enough. If he wanted the spider to grow, it needed to kill and feed on other spiders itself. Not just eat what he brought it. Not just drink blood from corpses.
It had to hunt.
It had to win.
Only then could it evolve.
Riven's eyes remained on the tunnel ahead.
He just wasn't sure how something so small would be able to beat a spider multiple times its size.
He considered weakening the ironfang spider before letting it finish it. That would be safe.
But after a brief pause, he dismissed the thought.
It was supposed to specialize in hunting other spiders.
There had to be something unique about it.
And if it was going to keep staying with him, he wanted to know more about it.
"Go on," he said quietly.
The predator spider moved at once, slipping across the stone without a sound.
Instead of rushing straight toward the noise, it veered to the side of the tunnel and climbed onto the uneven rock wall. Its pitch-black body blended almost perfectly with the shadows clinging to the stone.
Within seconds, Riven nearly lost sight of it.
He shifted his weight, about to step forward to follow it—
Then he paused.
A faint sensation brushed across his mind.
It wasn't a clear thought. More like an instinct passing through the bond between them.
Stay.
That's what he felt the spider wanted to tell him.
Riven stilled.
"…Alright."
He folded his arms and waited.
The faint skittering grew louder.
A moment later, the ironfang spider appeared around the bend in the tunnel.
Its heavier body scraped lightly against the stone as it advanced, the long legs moving with deliberate caution. Compared to the predator spider, it was enormous—several times larger, its dark iron-colored fangs catching what little light reached this part of the cave.
The moment it rounded the corner—
It saw Riven.
The reaction was immediate.
The ironfang's body stiffened, its many eyes locking onto him at once. Its legs spread slightly as it lowered itself, preparing to attack the obvious intruder standing in its territory.
Riven didn't move.
He simply watched.
The ironfang crept forward, its focus completely fixed on him now.
Closer.
Another step.
Then—
The shadow moved.
The predator spider dropped from the wall like a falling fragment of darkness, landing directly on the ironfang's back before the larger spider even realized something was there.
It moved immediately.
Instead of clinging to the center of the ironfang's body, the small black spider rushed forward across its back, its legs carrying it straight toward the creature's head.
The ironfang still hadn't understood what had happened.
Its attention remained fixed on Riven.
Then—
One of the predator spider's front legs struck forward.
The tip drove straight into one of the ironfang's eyes like a needle.
Riven hadn't even realized the predator spider's legs had edges like that before.
The reaction was instant.
The ironfang shrieked, a high, scraping sound echoing through the tunnel as its entire body jerked violently.
But the predator spider had already anchored itself.
Several of its other legs had stabbed shallowly into the softer flesh around the ironfang's eye cluster, locking its body tightly in place.
The ironfang shook its head violently.
The small spider didn't move.
Instead—
It stabbed again.
Another leg struck forward, piercing a second eye.
The scream that followed was even louder this time.
The ironfang thrashed wildly now, its legs slamming against the cave floor as it tried to dislodge the attacker. It tried to scrape its face with its front limbs, but the predator spider remained just out of reach.
Its body clung tightly to the creature's head.
Waiting.
Then it struck again.
A third eye burst under the sharp tip of its leg.
Dark fluid spilled down the ironfang's face as the larger spider staggered blindly through the tunnel, its movements becoming more frantic with every passing second.
Riven shivered.
"…Brutal."
He thought he'd already adapted to the cultivation world quite well, but seeing the pain inflicted onto that ironfang spider he realized he wasn't quite there yet.
The ironfang slammed its head against the stone wall in desperation.
The impact echoed through the tunnel.
But the smaller spider still held on.
Its legs remained embedded like hooks, locking it firmly to the creature's head while the ironfang's world slowly descended into blindness.
It was small but had a robust body.
Something like this wouldn't move it much.
It barely even counted as a wound for it.
But the ironfang spider didn't stop.
It slammed its head against the stone wall again.
And again.
The impacts echoed through the cave, chips of rock breaking loose under the force.
Still the predator spider held on.
Its legs remained embedded like hooks, locking its body tightly to the ironfang's head.
The ironfang's movements grew more frantic as its vision vanished. It lashed out blindly, its legs striking the ground and the walls in wild arcs as it stumbled through the narrow passage.
At this point even the predator spider had trouble staying lodged.
So it moved.
Its legs pulled free from the punctured eyes one by one as it shifted closer to the ruined eye cluster.
Then its body lowered.
For a brief moment, Riven thought it was going to bite.
Instead, the small black spider pushed its head into one of the shattered eye sockets.
Riven's stomach tightened.
He turned his head away.
Even after everything he had seen since entering the cultivation world, this still made his insides turn.
Behind him, the ironfang's thrashing grew violent for a few more seconds.
Then weaker.
Then—
Still.
The tunnel fell quiet again.
Riven waited.
He didn't look back immediately.
Several moments passed before a faint sensation brushed against his mind through the bond.
It wasn't words.
Just a simple emotion.
Joy.
Riven sighed and finally glanced over his shoulder.
The ironfang spider lay collapsed against the stone floor, completely motionless.
And a small black shape slowly crawled back out of the ruined eye socket.
What kind of pet is this?
He sighed before eventually walking up hesitantly.
Riven let out a quiet sigh before eventually walking closer.
The predator spider stood beside the corpse now, its thin legs shifting slightly as if adjusting to the uneven stone. Up close, Riven could see it was covered in dark grime from the fight.
Bits of fluid clung to its legs.
Its body.
Even its fangs.
Riven grimaced faintly.
"…Yeah, I'm not picking you up like that."
He crouched slightly, studying it more carefully instead.
Despite the brutal fight it had just won, the spider didn't look much different than before. It was still small. Still thin. Its pitch-black body swallowed the cave's faint light just like before.
No visible change.
No sudden growth.
Riven clicked his tongue softly.
"Looks like you'll need more than one."
With a thought, he extended a thin strand of soul force toward the beast pouch at his waist.
The connection formed instantly.
A faint suction appeared beside the spider, subtle enough that the surrounding webs barely stirred. The small black creature didn't resist as it was pulled toward the pouch.
One moment it was there.
The next—
Gone.
Through the bond, Riven could feel it settling inside the tiny pocket dimension contained within the pouch.
The connection lingered faintly.
Riven remained crouched for another moment, staring at the spot where the spider had stood.
He frowned slightly.
Keeping something like that close to him suddenly felt… questionable.
After a short pause, he shook his head and stood.
His attention shifted back to the ironfang spider lying on the ground.
Riven pulled Yue Lin's dagger from his ring and knelt beside the corpse. The blade slipped into the creature's abdomen with practiced efficiency as he began searching for a beast core.
A moment later he withdrew the dagger.
Nothing.
"Of course."
Riven wiped the blade against the stone before storing it away again.
Then he continued toward the cave exit.
The deeper sections of the cave faded behind him as he moved through the tunnels, the webs gradually thinning and the air growing lighter with every step.
Along the way he passed the last remains of the spiders they had killed earlier.
Riven stopped at each one.
Even the chance of a core was enough reason to check.
Time passed slowly as he worked his way closer to the cave entrance.
The further he went, the fewer corpses remained.
Eventually the tunnel widened slightly, and the faint light from outside began to filter through the passage ahead.
Riven straightened.
He was almost out.
Then—
A sensation brushed against his awareness.
From the side tunnel.
Riven stopped.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he turned his head.
Through the bond with the beast pouch, he could feel it clearly.
Spiders.
Several of them.
More than should still be alive here.