The Process Remained the Same

"It's really lost! You actually lost it! My heart... it's aching terribly!"

Badun had concerns before lending out Dingkui, but he didn't expect those concerns to become reality, as Zhang Xuezhou actually lost Dingkui.

He pressed hard against his chest, feeling that if his health deteriorated even slightly, he would need oxygen therapy.

"Since you've been raising Ding Kui, you should have some means of tracking him down!"

Back at the camp, Zhang Xuezhou didn't waste any time. He pulled Badun out of bed, who was pretending to be asleep, and relayed the relevant information to him.

Badun, who was lying on his side, almost jumped up, but Zhang Xuezhou pressed him down with both hands.

It was clear that the other party was quite excited. If the Ruyi Cudgel was Badun's most prized possession, then the Dingkui was the ultimate treasure Badun sought after paying a price.

Zhang Xuezhou and others focused on the development of Technique Method, while Badun focused on treasures. The two sides had different emphases and different concepts.

Badun's emotions were genuine; losing Dingkui had indeed caused him considerable inner trauma.

"You can't do this! Find it for me right now! I... my ability to track Dingkui is limited; I can't track him for long distances. I can't find him anywhere outside a hundred meters!"

Unable to break free from the pressure of Zhang Xuezhou's arms, Badun slumped for several seconds before finally responding normally.

"Really? A hundred meters is practically nothing!" Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in astonishment. "We can see with our own eyes that it's more than a hundred meters!"

"It's only a hundred meters away. I trusted you, believed in you, agreed with you, and even tried to form an alliance with you. That's why I did such a stupid thing. I should slap myself. How could I have even thought of lending you this treasure? I knew perfectly well that you're the kind of person who throws treasures around carelessly. You... stop pressing on me! You're crushing me!"

He was breathing heavily through his nostrils, and Badun felt so suffocated and depressed that he felt like he was going to vomit blood.

But as Zhou Xin watched the commotion with a searchlight, Badun realized that Zhang Xuezhou had pressed him down too hard during his struggle, causing the base of the makeshift tent to sink several centimeters into the ground, making it difficult for him to breathe.

"Don't get excited!"

After Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly reminded him, Badun finally felt the pressure on his body quickly ease.

"I'm not excited!"

Badun rolled over, trying to struggle and jump up, but Zhang Xuezhou pressed him back down.

"What exactly do you want? I just want to get my baby back," Badun said.

"Don't get agitated," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Dingkui's case is quite complicated. If you search recklessly now, you could easily run into problems!"

"If I don't look for it, there will be more problems... you..."

Badun had already felt insecure, but now he felt as if Zhang Xuezhou had pulled a piece of his spine out.

The fact that he was willing to sacrifice his health to the point of disability to obtain Ding Kui meant that, in his eyes, Ding Kui was enough to change the course of events.

He may not normally need this treasure, but he can't do without Dingkui in crucial moments.

No matter what, as long as Ding Kui is within a radius of several hundred miles, Badun felt he would search every corner.

The feeling of being pressed back to the ground, a helpless struggle, came over him. Badun wanted to explain, but the difficulty in breathing stopped him from speaking.

"Dingkui is currently embroiled in the feud between Seven Spiders and Tiger Cub, and may even incite a fight between Tiger Cub and Nine Heads. Don't get involved, or I'll report you to Tiger Cub, and then we'll see who is Dingkui's true master!"

Thinking about the ribbon of Principle he had stuffed into the sealed box, Zhang Xuezhou felt a bit of a headache.

His cursing at the snow-capped mountain peak was half-true and half-false. Although he hadn't been able to fully understand Principle Principle Ribbon, he knew its importance and, at worst, could offer it as a sacrifice to Xuanming in exchange.

If he weren't afraid of being discovered by the Seven Spiders, he wouldn't have bothered to hide.

He had originally planned to retrieve the prisoners after the exchange and handover, but he never imagined they would be taken away.

Now he can only gamble that Nine Heads will be affected by Ding Kui, and that Seven Spiders might catch him in the act, causing conflict.

Since many things cannot be determined whether they will develop as predicted, Zhang Xuezhou could only keep his story brief.

Badun can search for Dingkui, but once found, he needs to assess the situation before deciding whether to retrieve him.

"I'll behave myself!"

Whenever he felt emotionally agitated, Badun found himself pinned to the ground by Zhang Xuezhou.

With his treasures removed and his hands bound, Badun was truly helpless against this brute force. He even discovered that Zhang Xuezhou wasn't carrying any metal objects, making it impossible for him to restrain himself.

"It's not simply about being honest; you need to put aside your doubts, make sure Professor Zhang won't harm you, and believe that we can definitely benefit from this cooperation!"

Zhou Xin reminded Badun, but what he said was something even he himself could hardly believe.

This is akin to taking your retirement savings to do errands, then investing the money in stocks. You either lose everything or get your principal back. It's a situation that would be difficult for anyone to remain calm in.

"I've put those thoughts aside. I believe Professor Zhang won't harm me, and I also believe that cooperation will be beneficial!"

Badun responded through gritted teeth.

He collaborated with Zhang Xuezhou several times, but the collaborations weren't great. Anyway, he had needs, and Zhang Xuezhou met them, but he was always a little unhappy with each time.

For example, he almost got killed on his way to the Sinkhole No. 2, and even after finally crawling out of the distorted space, he had a section of his heel cut off. The price he paid for using the Qin Meng Secret Stone was considerable, and the gene potion he traded with Zhang Xuezhou was difficult to replicate...

The time involved wasn't long, but Badun and Zhang Xuezhou had quite a few dealings, though none of them ended happily.

At this point, it was indeed difficult for Badun to calmly accept the cooperation and believe that a good outcome would be possible.

"Let's set off to exchange prisoners!"

Badun shuddered when Ren Anran's voice reached him from afar.

The issue now is not whether he is honest or not, but that he is a prisoner and trapped in the territory of the Spider God's Cave, so even if he wanted to run away, he couldn't.

"Alright, Uncle Zhou, keep an eye on him!"

The information obtained from Badun was somewhat poor. The other party's ability to sense Dingkui was far from sufficient, unlike a sorcerer who could perceive distances of hundreds or thousands of miles. Moreover, Zhang Xuezhou had caused quite a stir because he lost Zhang Xuezhou, so Zhang Xuezhou could only have Zhou Xin keep a close eye on the person.

Badun's little temper is unimportant; after all, it's abnormal for a prisoner not to have any temper at all.

He handed the person over and then crawled out of the makeshift tent.

The sky was still barely light when the Spider God Guards and the ferocious spider beasts seemed impatient, trying to quickly send the white dragon and the white horse back to the Spider God's cave.

Unlike the others who had eaten emergency food and rested, even Grean noticed that these ferocious beasts were not only agitated, but their physical strength had also dropped significantly, and they had not fully recovered despite a night's rest.

The sharp spider legs pierced the bodies of the white dragon and the white horse again, as if injecting venom once more. The dazed white dragon and the white horse were forcibly dragged and pulled by the ferocious beasts and the spider swarm.

Some trees blocking the way were cut down by the ferocious beast, which forcibly dragged the white dragon and the white horse, leaving a mud ditch more than ten meters wide behind them.

Occasionally, blood would spill out, attracting a swarm of spiders to frantically rush forward to clean it up. Every now and then, small spiders would grow into large spiders, and even more small spiders with hard shells would crawl out from inside.

The fact that spider colonies reproduce by splitting is something that has long been understood, but how spider colonies become powerful is something that everyone has only learned in the last two days.

The purpose of sending these two ferocious beasts to the Spider God's Cave is self-evident.

Many people glanced at Zhang Xuezhou, then at Badun, who was walking along in a huff; Montespatton had even had a minor conflict with Zhou Xin.

While questioning Zhang Xuezhou's strategy, many couldn't help but criticize Badun's team for dragging things down.