"Let me choose?" After receiving confirmation from his teammates, Lu Jiayao stared at the seven branching paths before him, pointed at the leftmost one, and declared, "Then I pick the middle one!"
Everyone: "…………"
Wen Shuangbai facepalmed.
This was it.
The only "lucky king" in their small team was currently in a delirious state, thanks to Xie Ziyin’s untested experimental drug.
Would a delirious "lucky king" still be lucky?
Li Zhuohua was deeply puzzled: "Is it the middle or the left?"
Lu Jiayao scratched his head, stared at his own finger for a long moment, realized something was off, and withdrew his hand. Then he pointed again—this time at the far right—and confidently announced, "The middle one!"
Yin Xuan, who had been spacing out nearby, sighed.
Junior Brother San Tu (Lu Jiayao), under the influence of the drug, was even more confused than he was.
Wen Shuangbai turned to Xie Ziyin and asked, "So, in his heart, does he actually want to pick the middle path?"
If so, they’d just take the middle one!
Xie Ziyin had been closely observing his test subject, Lu San Tu (Lu Jiayao). After a moment of careful consideration, he replied, "Without a control group, it’s impossible to draw conclusions from the experiment."
Wen Shuangbai: "…"
Fine, whatever. If they died, so be it. They could just heal up outside and come back as heroes in the next round!
Wen Shuangbai decisively declared, "Then we’ll take the middle path."
"Shuangbai understands me best." Lu Jiayao beamed, quickly scooping up the severed ghost hands from the ground and stuffing them into his pockets.
No one else objected.
The group maintained their usual formation: Li Zhuohua at the front, Shen Hefeng second, Wen Shuangbai and Xie Ziyin third and fourth, respectively, as they stepped onto the middle path.
The path descended via steep stone steps, disappearing into unfathomable depths.
Much like the underground palace in Tianjia Village, this place was also under a no-flight restriction.
The four could only proceed step by step.
The steps were treacherous, and with the unknown lurking below, they moved cautiously.
Meanwhile, Yin Xuan, who had been waiting at the entrance for Lu Jiayao, watched in stunned silence as Lu Jiayao flailed past him and wandered into the path two over—neither the middle, nor the leftmost or rightmost.
Yin Xuan’s lips parted slightly: "…?"
Well then.
Good thing he hadn’t gone ahead, or they’d have wasted their time.
Moments later, Wen Shuangbai heard their senior brother calling from above, "Junior brothers and sisters, come back—you took the wrong path~"
For some reason, she couldn’t shake the feeling that his tone carried a hint of… schadenfreude?
……
After some minor chaos, the six finally set foot on the second path from the left.
Unlike the middle path that descended sharply, this one stretched forward evenly.
The air here was damp, and Wen Shuangbai’s nose caught a strong musty scent mixed with something else—perhaps the secretions of insects?
Though the surroundings were dark, ordinary night posed no obstacle to their vision.
Wen Shuangbai could see moss and weeds covering the rocky walls.
The deeper they went, the heavier the moisture in the air became, thick enough to wring water from.
The six walked in silence, their footsteps soundless.
The eerie quiet only heightened their vigilance.
Wen Shuangbai pressed her lips together, gripping her Fire Feather Whip tightly, her focus razor-sharp.
Ahead lay a sharp 'C'-shaped turn.
The moment they rounded the corner, Li Zhuohua, still leading the group, suddenly froze.
Before them, countless tiny black spiders covered every surface—the ground, the walls, everywhere.
At the sight of the intruders, the spiders sprang into action, leaping toward them in a swarm.
Li Zhuohua didn’t even draw her Flowing Rainbow Sword. She sucked in a sharp breath and yelled, "RUN—!"
The other five: "?"
What kind of situation would make even the battle-hungry Zhuohua-jie say "run"?
DANGER DANGER DANGER!!!
Without hesitation, the five who knew Li Zhuohua’s temperament didn’t even bother checking what lay ahead. They spun on their heels and bolted back the way they came.
Yin Xuan glanced back mid-sprint to make sure Lu Jiayao was following and not charging recklessly into the swarm.
To his surprise, despite the drug-induced delirium, Lu Jiayao’s instincts were intact—he was laughing maniacally while keeping pace, though his laughter sounded more like a wail.
Wen Shuangbai called out between breaths, "Senior Sister, what is it?"
Li Zhuohua deliberately lagged behind, using her scabbard to swat away stray spiders as she covered their retreat. "Bone-Eating Spider Swarm!"
Wen Shuangbai: "Sht!"
If there was one thing cultivators feared most when traveling, it was Bone-Eating Spiders.
A single Bone-Eating Spider was harmless, but a swarm was a nightmare.
Their most terrifying trait? Once they latched onto a cultivator or their weapon, they would cling relentlessly and secrete a corrosive fluid.
The fluid could dissolve flesh and even erode magical artifacts.
Even the Xuantian Continent’s most defensively gifted, the Jade Rhinoceros Valley’s tortoise spirits, could only hold out for a few days against them.
That was why Li Zhuohua didn’t dare unsheathe her Flowing Rainbow Sword.
She wasn’t afraid of death—but she feared her sword’s destruction!
Yin Xuan, now at the front after their retreat, suddenly skated ahead on his narrow sword, gliding swiftly through the damp tunnel before circling back with grim news: "The exit’s gone."
No way forward, and behind them, an endless tide of Bone-Eating Spiders.
The outcome was inevitable.
Shen Hefeng clutched his head and wailed, "I told you every path leads to death! What now? Keep running? Or just take poison and end it here?"
Better than being dissolved alive by spider acid.
As the swarm closed in, Li Zhuohua unleashed a sword aura, momentarily holding them back. "No way! I’d rather die fighting than swallow poison!"
Wen Shuangbai refused to give up too.
She wasn’t ready to surrender.
But with their frantic escape, she couldn’t spare the focus to strategize.
In desperation, she grabbed Xie Ziyin ahead of her. "Give me a ride!"
Xie Ziyin didn’t refuse. Just as he reached to hoist her by the waist, Wen Shuangbai had already climbed onto his back like a seasoned hitchhiker.
Xie Ziyin: "…" Impressive.
He silently adjusted his grip under her knees.
Wen Shuangbai, now piggybacking, turned to study the encroaching swarm.
Ahead lay their goal, but the spiders blocked the way.
How could they break through?
Rummaging through her storage ring, her eyes landed on a certain large item—then flicked to Xie Ziyin beneath her.
Suddenly, inspiration struck.
She leaned down, whispering devilishly into his ear, "How about sacrificing your new alchemy cauldron?"
High-quality alchemy cauldrons were built to withstand corrosion—after all, many reagents used in pill refining were inherently corrosive.
Of course, given the peculiar nature of the Bone-Erosion Spiders, even the finest alchemy cauldron wouldn’t last long against them.
But as long as it could hold out for a while, that would be enough.
A single leaf reveals autumn; a single question unveils Shuangbai’s intent.
Xie Ziyin instantly understood what Wen Shuangbai was planning: "…………"
Wen Shuangbai reassured him, "Once we’re out of here, I’ll make you an even better one. I swear."
Thinking of the still-unfinished house, Xie Ziyin didn’t even want to respond.
He simply raised his hand.
"You’re a team player," Wen Shuangbai praised, moving swiftly as if afraid he’d change his mind, and plucked the storage ring from his slender fingers.
She turned to her teammates and raised her voice, "Find a way to hold off the spiders for a while. I need to make something."
Though they had no idea what Wen Shuangbai was up to, they were already backed into a corner. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Xie Ziyin quickened his pace, escorting Wen Shuangbai to the safest spot farthest from the Bone-Erosion Spider swarm, then stood guard beside her to prevent any mishaps.
The remaining four—Yin Xuan, Li Zhuohua, Shen Hefeng, and Lu Jiayao—stood at the front, doing everything they could to slow the spiders’ advance.
Wen Shuangbai focused intently, working at breakneck speed to craft four wheels.
Once finished, she enlarged the alchemy cauldron to its maximum size and welded the wheels to its base with spiritual energy.
After completing the modifications, she jumped inside the cauldron, pulled out a chainsaw, and without hesitation, began cutting into the cauldron’s wall. She stopped only when the chainsaw’s blade was fully exposed.
Even if the Bone-Erosion Spiders could cling to people and artifacts, a high-speed chainsaw would make it impossible for them to approach—any that tried would be shredded to pieces!
With a "tank" equipped with a chainsaw in the world of cultivation, carving a path out of certain death was child’s play.
While Wen Shuangbai was fervently modifying the cauldron, Yin Xuan, Li Zhuohua, Shen Hefeng, and Lu Jiayao were struggling to hold the line.
Yin Xuan and Li Zhuohua stood at the front, each guarding one side.
Lu Jiayao stood at the rear, playing a flute—its melody slowed the spiders’ movements to some extent.
Blood trickled from the corner of his lips; he was pushing himself to the limit, doing everything he could to weaken the spiders’ assault.
But the swarm was simply too vast.
In a moment of distraction, Li Zhuohua felt a piercing pain in her shoulder.
She looked down to see a Bone-Erosion Spider perched on her right shoulder, its corrosive spit already eating through her flesh, leaving a gaping hole where bone and blood had dissolved.
Li Zhuohua didn’t cry out in pain—she didn’t even flinch.
Every spider had a brief cooldown after spitting its venom. Seizing the moment, she dug her fingers into the wound, yanked the spider out, and crushed it with spiritual energy.
But the delay cost her. More spiders leaped toward her, landing on her body.
Yet Li Zhuohua refused to retreat.
There was no room to fall back—two steps behind her were Shen Hefeng and Lu Jiayao, and five steps beyond them were Wen Shuangbai and Xie Ziyin.
Those five steps had to be held at all costs.
Even if she were the only one to fall here, as long as the other five could escape, it would be worth it.
At this critical moment, a slender sword shot past, whirling around Li Zhuohua like a blur, slicing through the spiders about to land on her.
After its deadly dance, the sword—now pockmarked like the surface of the moon from the spiders’ corrosive venom—returned to Yin Xuan’s hand.
But before Li Zhuohua could even thank him, the main force of the swarm descended upon them like a blizzard of willow catkins in spring.
More and more spiders landed on the four cultivators, filling the air with the acrid stench of burning flesh and blood.
At the front, Yin Xuan and Li Zhuohua stood firm.
At the rear, Shen Hefeng—who had long since resigned himself to fate—and Lu Jiayao, who was playing his flute on sheer willpower and stimulants, refused to yield.
Just as all four were certain their end had come, a rhythmic clattering sound approached.
A chainsaw-blade-equipped alchemy cauldron rolled into view.
Powered by spirit stones and the Yaoling Heart Technique, the chainsaw roared to life at blinding speed.
The cauldron-tank deftly maneuvered around the four cultivators and plowed into the spider swarm, its spinning blade reducing the creatures to pulp.
After clearing a small wave of spiders, the cauldron executed a sharp turn and screeched to a halt in front of the group.
The lid popped open, and Wen Shuangbai’s head popped out. Waving urgently, she shouted, "Hurry! Get in!"
The four wounded cultivators stared in stunned silence for a split second before scrambling inside the bizarre contraption as more spiders surged toward them.
Once the last one was in, Wen Shuangbai slammed the lid shut and turned to Xie Ziyin, who sat with his palm against the cauldron’s wall like a seasoned driver. "Alright, full speed ahead. Let’s mow them down."
The other four: "?"
