Two hours passed; the sun crossed its zenith and began to slant westward.
Still, there was no trace of He Lingchuan.
Hunting a fugitive was like that: if you couldn't catch them in the first two hours, the chances of catching them later plummeted.
Another two hours went by, and the spider army had turned up nothing.
Remembering her missing spider molt, Zhu Erniang felt her chest tighten even further. But her most pressing concern right now was to return, rest, and heal her wounds.
Particularly after the little spiders returned to report that the wild boars under King Siwen were constantly poking their heads across the border, seemingly wanting to see how things stood.
King Siwen had previously been scared out of his wits by her and driven from the territory, but foolish though the boar demon was, he occasionally possessed a spark of cunning. If he discovered that the Spider Queen and Lord Boshan had fought to mutual ruin and that she was gravely wounded and barely holding together, the Demon Nest would be in peril.
Thus, deeply unwilling though she was, Zhu Erniang had no choice but to return to her nest.
As for the spider army, aside from a few guardians, the rest were sent out to scour the hills and wilds for He Lingchuan's whereabouts.
Halfway back, Zhu Erniang suddenly remembered something and hurriedly dispatched a spider guardian to handle it.
Before long, the spider guardian carried back Tu Zhongli's corpse and dumped it before Zhu Erniang, reporting that King Siwen's brood had already begun tentatively venturing into Lord Boshan's territory.
News of Lord Boshan's death would reach King Siwen within the next couple of hours. There was no telling how the wild boar king would react then.
Zhu Erniang had retrieved Tu Zhongli's corpse in order to have several small spiders search for an item in front of her.
Soon, a calico spider fished out a small cloud brocade pennant from Tu Zhongli's sleeve.
Yes, this was the only safe-conduct token allowing humans to leave the Demon Nest Swamp. Zhu Erniang took it into her possession and let out a long sigh of relief.
Crafty as a devil though that brat He Lingchuan was, he was still missing this piece of wit.
Without the cloud brocade pennant, he couldn't leave the Demon Nest Swamp.
The burrow spiders would ferret him out sooner or later.
By this time, the red spider had also returned, jumping onto her head and turning back into an eyeball. Dragging her exhausted steps, Zhu Erniang crawled down the sinkhole and returned to the underground palace.
A spider guardian also returned to report that Dong Rui was missing.
Earlier, all the spiders had rushed off to pursue He Lingchuan, and the fellow had seized the chance to flee.
Yet without a token, he couldn't leave the Demon Nest Swamp either and would eventually be tracked down by the burrow spiders. Zhu Erniang was numb with fatigue and couldn't be bothered to ponder why he had done it, walking straight back toward the heart chamber of the Demon Nest.
Corridors she usually strolled through at leisure now felt endlessly tedious. Why had that ferry ghost whelp built such a convoluted underground palace back then anyway?
When Zhu Erniang reached the exhibition chamber, the spider guardians had already withdrawn, standing vigilant guard outside the entrance.
This had always been a space she preferred to enjoy in solitude. Habitually sweeping it with her divine sense to confirm it was safe, she spewed a few mouthfuls of webbing to seal the opening shut.
Inside the exhibition chamber, only three molts remained.
One had been stolen in the Beijia Kingdom, and another had vanished into thin air just earlier.
The Spider Queen gazed at them, feeling a wave of despondency. She crouched in place for quite some time before slowly shifting over to the wall and positioning herself right next to the other molts.
Then, she began writhing her body, part dancing, part struggling. Had an outsider been present, they would likely have thought she was in agony, as the tips of her claws frequently twisted in unnatural directions.
This process lasted for over a quarter of an hour. The Spider Queen's back split open, the fissure widening until it formed a gaping hole.
She actually squirmed her body, backing out of the opening bit by bit.
While the shell remained in place.
Yes, what Zhu Erniang was undergoing right now was another molt!
Once the hard outer carapace was shed, she was covered in slime, and her new shell was exceedingly soft. Never mind blades, even an ordinary human pressing down could indent a hole with a finger that would only slowly spring back.
This was Zhu Erniang's most agonizing and vulnerable moment. Wanting everything to be foolproof, she had sent all her spider guardians outside to keep strict watch and sealed the entrance with webs.
She trusted no one anymore.
Fortunately, in just two cups of tea's time, the new shell would harden again, and she would once more be an invincible, overbearing great demon.
Yet right at this moment, Zhu Erniang suddenly sensed a hint of danger.
An eye at the back of her head saw someone suddenly appear by the wall!
Fluorescent spores cast a greenish glow over his face, making him look sinister and ferocious.
This person was none other than He Lingchuan!
The moment he appeared, he wasted no words, leaping toward the back of Zhu Erniang's head as agile as a leopard, gripping a short knife in his right hand and stabbing fiercely forward!
Strike while the enemy is sick and take its life.
At this point, Zhu Erniang's entire body was caught, and her new shell was tender and delicate; she had virtually no strength to defend herself.
Just as He Lingchuan's strike was about to hit home, Zhu Erniang suddenly spat something from her mouth.
It was a black orb the size of an ostrich egg. Emerging like a living thing, it crashed straight toward He Lingchuan.
His figure checked itself, and he dodged frantically.
The black orb didn't pursue, pausing only for a moment in midair before abruptly exploding!
A black halo of light radiated out in all directions from the center of the blast.
The sound of its detonation was unlike ordinary explosives, lacking any earth-shaking rumble, yet wherever the halo swept, most things were soundlessly vaporized.
Even the hardest stone walls met the same fate.
He Lingchuan bore the brunt of it; Zhu Erniang even watched his silhouette disappear little by little into thin air.
This was what was called Annihilation.
Fortunately, the radius affected by the halo was not large, spanning only about twenty feet or so before dissipating on its own without compromising the entire cavern.
The exhibition chamber settled into quiet once more.
Only then did Zhu Erniang breathe a sigh of relief.
The molting period was her most perilous time; how could she possibly be unprepared? What a pity to have wasted an Annihilation Orb on a puny human.
She had hoarded these treasures from the Middle Ancient Era until now. There were originally seven; later two lost their efficacy and four had been expended. Alas, today the very last one had been spent here as well.
Yet having lived to such an age, Zhu Erniang was clearheaded about one thing:
No matter how supreme a treasure was, none was as precious as her own life.
Trading it for her life was worth it.
Just as she refocused on the task of molting,
a figure suddenly slipped out from deep within the crotch of the largest molt's leg.
Not even fluorescent spores grew in this blind spot; normally, neither human nor spider would ever notice it.
Furthermore, he was tucked into the concave hollow behind a cluster of spines, and since the Annihilation Orb clearly did not harm Zhu Erniang's true body or her molts, he had been spared.
When hiding, the person had been like inert stone, without breath or heartbeat, escaping even Zhu Erniang's senses. Now that he leaped out, his form was revealed, and Zhu Erniang was instantly alerted.
Yet his speed was blinding. Before Zhu Erniang could react, he vaulted onto her head; a flash of cold light gleamed at his waist, and a long saber drove straight into her body, which was as tender as a newborn's!
Zhu Erniang's shrill shriek echoed through the cavernous stone chamber.
Her assailant sneered savagely, "Struggling is useless! I'll make you beg for life and beg for death in vain!"
This person was, of course, He Lingchuan.
She had said those very words in the ruins earlier, and he was returning them verbatim.
Yet she was only halfway through molting. Her head had emerged, but her abdomen was still stuck halfway inside the hard old shell, neither in nor out, and only two of her eight legs had freed themselves.
A moth wrapped itself in a cocoon; she had trapped herself by molting.
With nowhere to hide, this truly was the most awkward of moments.
The spider guardians outside heard her shrieking, but the webbing sealing the entrance was far too tough for them to break through.
Thus, she could only cry out, "Stop, stop! We can talk this out!"
Her opponent's blade cut straight down into her crown, yet her soft carapace offered no defense whatsoever. If Fusheng went another foot deeper, it would puree her brain.
Having expended her final lifesaving trump card, she had no other options for the moment.
With Zhu Erniang pleading, He Lingchuan paused the blade and said rapidly, "If you don't want to die, submit to me as your master and establish an immortal pet covenant!"
What the Annihilation Orb had shattered earlier was naturally his avatar.
Ancient great demons like this possessed eight hundred devious schemes. Even during her most helpless molting period, He Lingchuan had lacked absolute confidence in taking her down in one stroke, choosing instead to send an avatar to test the waters first.
With this test, the avatar had met its demise.
Fortunately, his true self hadn't rushed in.
An opportunity to hold such a great demon by the throat was one in a thousand years, and he was determined to seize it. Having clawed her way to survival from ancient times to this day, Zhu Erniang's will to live was plain to see.
The Spider Queen froze, then flew into a rage. "Impossible!"
He Lingchuan pressed the blade another half-inch forward, exerting pressure.
Enduring the pain, Zhu Erniang hissed, "I would rather die than be a slave! You're dreaming if you think you can take me as a pet!"
She had been an ancient great demon, and she still retained the pride of one. How could she willingly degrade herself by recognizing a human as master?
Suddenly turning, He Lingchuan drove a dagger in his other hand straight through a tiny spider.
This was one of Zhu Erniang's eyeballs, subtly transformed and trying to circle around to give him a venomous kiss. But at such a crucial juncture, He Lingchuan had opened his divine sense to the fullest, brimming with vigilance precisely to guard against underhanded tricks.
Having her eyeball skewered, Zhu Erniang let out another scream of pain. He Lingchuan patted her crown, looking regretful. "Since you're so fierce and unyielding, I'm sorry, but I'll just have to send you on your way."
Just as he was about to politely finish off the Spider Queen, Zhu Erniang cried out in haste, "I won't accept you as my master, but I can swear an oath not to harm your life and let you leave the swamp safely!"
"No deal. The victor deserves the spoils," He Lingchuan refused outright, seeing no advantage in such terms. "An ancient great demon is full of treasures from head to toe. Wouldn't it be far better for me to dismantle you, forge artifacts, and sell them for money? If I take your eyeballs to the Beijia Kingdom, I might even gain an official title, noble rank, and a hefty reward."
Zhu Erniang trembled all over, whether from pain or fury.
"If I stay alive, I can let you borrow my divine powers!" she pleaded, desperately trying to persuade He Lingchuan. "It won't just give wings to a tiger—it can save your life at critical moments!"
He Lingchuan gave a soft chuckle. "You're at a critical moment right now. How come I don't see that skill saving your life?"
"My lamp has run out of oil!" With her life in another's grasp, Zhu Erniang spoke without pretense. "In the past, even while molting, you wouldn't have been able to come near me."
She couldn't help but lament, "Your luck is truly too good."
He Lingchuan smiled. Only he knew that this was the result of meticulous planning—how could it all be chalked up to luck?
"Earlier, an exoskeleton was missing from the exhibition chamber. I knew right then that you had put that shell back on."
Back when he followed the bandits into the exhibition chamber, he had noticed there were only four molts here, one missing out of nowhere. It turned out that when King Siwen led his entire brood to make trouble, Zhu Erniang had sensed the provocation was not so simple, so she donned one of her molts and went out to battle.
Chapter 342