After getting the Taiyi Five-Smoke Net, Hao Shuai set his second target on Silkworm Ridge. Not only did it hold such heavenly treasures as Ten-Thousand-Year Azure and Taiyi Essence, but a rare monster also lived there.
This monster was born from the union of a thousand-year-old scorpion and a huge fire spider. It was called the Script Spider, and it laid 491 eggs. As soon as they were laid, they burrowed into the earth. Each time they heard thunder, they burrowed one inch deeper. After 365 years, they could take shape only if they had been hibernating in a place of utter gloom and darkness, where the damp, poisonous heat of heaven and earth gathered. They would then be an inch and two-tenths long. First, they fought among themselves underground, devouring their own kind. Each time one ate another, it grew an inch. They continued until only one remained, and only then could it mature.
When it heard thunder once more, it would rise a foot toward the surface, continuing until it emerged. By then, it could grow or shrink at will and wreak havoc among humanity.
Even before it emerged, the Script Spider could call out to people. Anyone within five or six miles who heard its cry would think a loved one was calling their name. If they answered, their qi would resonate with the spider's, and their souls would fall under its control. In a daze, they would walk over and be eaten.
More importantly, an Essence Pearl and a Skyfire Spirit Pearl formed in the monster's belly. The latter was as large as an egg and as red as fire—a rare, pure-yang treasure used to refine a Second Primordial Spirit.
Unfortunately, the story's events were still some time away, and it was far too early for