Every one of her shed molts retained a portion of the cultivation she had cast off. Originally, Zhu Erniang had molted to lessen the burden on her own body; slipping back into an old shell occasionally allowed her cultivation to surge back up. Even if it did not return her to her former peak, it still granted at least fifty or sixty percent of her past might.
Yet donning an old molt was easy, but shedding it was hard. To unleash the molt's power, she had had to fuse her existing carapace with the old shell. Shedding it meant enduring a full molting process all over again—an agony both excruciating and perilous. After molting, there was an awkward window lasting about two cups of tea, during which she was utterly defenseless.
Zhu Erniang had previously engaged in a melee against two demon kings and fought tooth and nail to slay the serpent demon, leaving her battered and exhausted. Forcing herself to molt afterward had truly drained her to the very dregs; she could not squeeze out even a drop of demon power now.
Otherwise, how could He Lingchuan have succeeded so easily?
What she did not know was that the scoundrel had received guidance directly from General Red back in the Panlong dreamscape:
"Zhu Erniang can don her old molts to reclaim her combat strength, but she cannot maintain it for long. Burrow spiders are at their most vulnerable while molting; even as an ancient demon immortal, she cannot escape this rule. Seize upon that, and you may find a glimmer of hope."
Thus, when he noticed earlier in the exhibition chamber that one molt was missing—and the smallest one at that—He Lingchuan knew the opportunity he had waited for had finally arrived. Later, seeing that Zhu Erniang appeared larger than usual in the swamp had only confirmed his suspicions.
"Swear a blood oath first." Two cups of tea was a short span; he had to secure his safety above all else. "Also, Dong Rui is leaving with me. None of your brood may obstruct us."
Left with no alternative, Zhu Erniang grudgingly swore a blood oath, vowing that neither she nor her descendants would harm either of the two men in the slightest, and that she would grant them safe, unhindered passage in and out of the Demon Nest Swamp.
He Lingchuan also saw through her resolve: she would rather die than become a pet. That was Zhu Erniang's bottom line.
Even if he hacked Zhu Erniang to pieces, thousands upon thousands of furious spiders were waiting outside to avenge their matriarch. Could he survive them? He was far from confident—after all, he had no way out of the Demon Nest Swamp.
Find the mirage demon? Based on his subtle probing of the spider guardians over the past few days, most spiders had no idea where the mirage demon lived or what it even looked like.
Looking at it this way, what tangible benefit was there in killing Zhu Erniang? It was better to talk things out.
Negotiation was the art of compromise: you yield, I advance; I yield, you advance. With both sides posturing and parrying, after a bout of "friendly" (fierce) "consultation" (arguing), they finally reached a deal.
Zhu Erniang plucked out two of her eyeballs on the spot and offered them to He Lingchuan.
Normally dormant, these eyeballs could transform into tiny spiders when tapped three times. They could shrink to the size of a button; fast, silent, and possessing limited combat power, they were formidable scouts for infiltration and reconnaissance—a prowess He Lingchuan had already witnessed firsthand.
Most importantly, they could share their field of vision with their master. In other words, whatever an eyeball spider saw, the master could witness in real time. An outsider like He Lingchuan lacked such an ability, but Zhu Erniang, as a former ancient demon immortal, possessed methods to bestow it upon him.
As long as her true body lived, the eyeball spiders could share their vision with He Lingchuan.
To prevent birds from pecking at them, they emitted a scent that repelled natural predators while on missions. He Lingchuan could simply feed and care for them like ordinary spiders day-to-day. If he was within ten li of Zhu Erniang, these eyeball spiders could even serve as a tool for direct communication, though stepping beyond ten li would put them out of range.
To awaken these two eyeballs into spiders, Zhu Erniang had to expend a sliver of her bloodline power—something she would never do lightly under normal circumstances. But forced by the bargain, she had no other choice.
He Lingchuan noted that Zhu Erniang possessed another type of eyeball spider capable of executing venom-injecting assassinations, but she refused to part with it. "Those must return to my body after two uses, or they will wither and perish."
Zhu Erniang also gave He Lingchuan a venom gland. When the venom stored within was applied to a weapon, any drawn blood would inflict searing agony on the victim, as if scorched by raging flames. Blisters would swell at the wound, and unless lanced within seconds, the spider venom would circulate through the bloodstream, inducing numbness and muscular paralysis.
In short, the enemy's body would enter a state of being "digested," suffering the full agony of a spider's prey.
This spider venom could counter ordinary detoxification pills effectively, yet it remained susceptible to suppression by origin power. Depending on the strength of an opponent's origin power, the pain and toxicity might be diminished.
Even so, thanks to its outstanding versatility, it was an indispensable remedy for murder whether at home or on the road.
Intriguingly, using the venom gland to draw the poison back out could thoroughly extract all the spider venom from a wounded victim.
In addition, there was a bottle of burrow spider ointment.
Smearing this ointment over oneself prevented He Lingchuan from being trapped by spider silk or other strange sticky substances. The burrow spiders used it on themselves for the very same purpose.
He Lingchuan watched with his own eyes as Zhu Erniang spat the ointment from her mouth; he felt it was probably far more saliva than oil.
On top of that, He Lingchuan extorted a pair of fangs from the shed molt—yes, the very shell she had just sloughed off—along with ten bolts of her signature cloud brocade woven by her own claws, a quantity of high-tensile spider silk, and carapaces from several high-ranking spider guardians.
Zhu Erniang truly had not wanted to part with those fangs, and He Lingchuan had haggled back and forth with her for ages.
The burrow spider queen's fangs were pitch-black and matte, curved like natural sabers, and longer even than Fusheng, which was still lodged in Zhu Erniang's skull. Their sharpness was beyond question, complete with natural blood grooves along the sides, and having been steeped in the Spider Queen's venom for countless years, they were inherently poisonous without needing to be dipped in toxin.
Zhu Erniang's molt was massive, and its fangs were naturally long, but He Lingchuan had watched Li Fubo forge artifacts and knew that forged magic artifacts could be adjusted in size. He had already mastered the avatar technique and needed to outfit his avatar with some formidable gear.
The Spider Queen made only one demand:
If these fangs were ever forged into twin sabers or daggers, they had to be named "Zhu Erniang's Kiss."
Even treasures cared about having a prestigious pedigree.
As for the rosy cloud brocade, weaving it was arduous even for Zhu Erniang; each bolt required forty to fifty days, and her existing hoard held only ten bolts. Needless to say, it was a premier material for crafting armor and magic artifacts.
He Lingchuan had not been mistaken: Zhu Erniang truly was a treasure trove from head to toe.
By the time both sides settled on these terms, the span of two cups of tea was drawing to a close. He Lingchuan crisply yanked out his saber, hopped down to the ground, and said to Zhu Erniang, "A pleasure doing business with you."
It was entirely her coughing up everything—how was this doing business? Zhu Erniang snorted, a dull ache throbbing in her head, unable to hide her curiosity. "How did you sneak into the underground palace? I clearly saw you run toward the woods." She had swept the area with her divine sense back then and detected no illusion or sleight of hand.
He Lingchuan shrugged. "A man's got to keep a few tricks up his sleeve."
How could he tell Zhu Erniang that he had popped two of his greatest trump cards in one go?
After dodging the web the Spider Queen spat, he had used the thick tree canopy along the cliff to conceal himself, instantly conjuring his avatar. Meanwhile, he cast Sacrifice the Plum to Preserve the Peach, swapping his true body with the ghost shadow cicada slough he had previously planted inside the underground palace entrance.
The tree was less than thirty feet from the entrance, and the mouth of the palace had only been veiled by cobwebs without being physically sealed off from the sinkhole outside, fully satisfying the requirements for the spell.
In an instant, he teleported into the underground palace, while the cicada slough was swapped into the tree.
Up in a wild tree, far from just a cicada slough, even the carcass of a bird, insect, or snake would arouse no suspicion.
Then, he manipulated his avatar to leap and flee out of the sinkhole. Seeing it with their own eyes, Zhu Erniang and her spider army naturally gave relentless chase.
The catch was that the avatar would dissipate naturally once it moved beyond twelve zhang from his true self. Thus, in the eyes of the burrow spiders, He Lingchuan had vanished behind several large trees, leaving them unable to find him no matter how hard they searched.
This was precisely why the avatar technique was far superior to the Mirror Image Art: a mirror image could only attack and fight, incapable of acting according to its master's intricate will.
Meanwhile, He Lingchuan himself had appeared at the entrance of the underground palace, where Dong Rui's spider guardian demon puppet was stationed on guard.
He Lingchuan mounted the demon puppet, produced the camouflaged snake skin he had looted from the bandits, and draped it over himself. At that time, most spider demons had mobilized outside to assist; only a few dozen guarded the lair, but patrols were exceptionally tight, and guards stood at fixed sentry posts.
Though the snake skin provided excellent camouflage, moving even slightly would give him away. Having already suffered at the hands of the bandits, the burrow spiders were unlikely to be fooled twice.
The passageways were narrow, and many sections offered no way around the spider guardians. That was why He Lingchuan had requisitioned Dong Rui's spider puppet. As long as he lay draped in the snake skin across the demon puppet's back, letting the contraption carry him, the guards did not stop him even as he walked right past them.
After all, in their eyes, it was just another spider passing by.
These creatures truly weren't the brightest.
While Zhu Erniang and her spider host scoured the hills and wilds outside for He Lingchuan, he was riding the demon puppet through the subterranean depths at a leisurely pace, creeping all the way to the front of the exhibition chamber.
Outside the exhibition chamber, two spider guardians stood watch as well.
But that was no obstacle for He Lingchuan.
He had the demon puppet make some noise nearby to lure the spider guardians away, allowing him to slip inside.
He had wagered that Zhu Erniang could not stay inside her old molt for long and would eventually return to shed it, so he had simply lain in wait. In any case, patience was one thing he had in abundance.
Luck had been on his side, and he had succeeded in a single strike.
With the pact established, Zhu Erniang cleared away the web blocking the exhibition chamber and ordered her spider guardians to gather the supplies He Lingchuan had demanded.
Her new carapace had hardened all over now, restoring her confidence to venture outside.
"Where is my molt?" Zhu Erniang asked him. "Where did it go?"
"It's not in my hands, that much is certain. If you don't believe me, I can show you all my storage spaces." He Lingchuan spread his hands self-righteously. "I genuinely have no idea where it went."
What the divine bone necklace had absorbed the spider molt for, he truly did not know.
Had it really been stolen by Lord Boshan's brood? Zhu Erniang grew suspicious and uneasy.
He Lingchuan followed her all the way out of the underground palace, catching no sight of the demon puppet along the path. Who knew where it had slipped off to?
Passing by the workshop, Zhu Erniang suddenly asked, "Where did Dong Rui go?"
He Lingchuan admitted he did not know.
"He has already crafted a demon puppet, hasn't he?"
"What makes you say that?" An ancient demon was indeed not so easily duped.
"The two children delivered to the workshop ten days ago are still alive."
Chapter 343