Retreat

Zhang Xuezhou returned to the Spider God's Cave a day earlier than the Seven Spiders.

From his departure to the attack on the tiger's lair, and then back to the Spider God's Cave, he traversed more than 20,000 miles, and the five days passed extremely quickly.

At this time, the Seven Spiders were still halfway there, and Zhang Xuezhou quickly found the team by searching near the Spider God's Cave.

Having gained the ability to avoid the spider swarm, Zhang Xuezhou took away all the main forces of the Spider God Cave, and the Spider God Cave was almost thoroughly explored by everyone.

"We've stuffed all our gunpowder into the Spider God's Cave!"

He plummeted down from the sky, and before most people even saw Zhang Xuezhou rejoin the team, Ren Anran had already quickly sent a message.

"Well done!"

When should the explosion be carried out?

Zhang Xuezhou gave a thumbs-up, not minding that his voice was amplified. Ren Anran then asked a question.

The two voices drew many people's attention, and some even looked at Zhang Xuezhou was dressed in tattered clothes and carrying an exaggeratedly large knife.

"How powerful is it?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"We've placed the explosives in vulnerable areas; a series of explosions should trigger a landslide!"

"Stay a while!"

Zhang Xuezhou looked at the large karst caves eroded by the glacier.

These large karst caves appear solid but are actually fragile; if the stability of the mountain is compromised, they can easily cause a collapse.

Dozens of boxes of highly concentrated explosives could indeed trigger a landslide. It was clear that after repeated calculations by everyone, Ren Anran was quite certain when mentioning the possibility of a landslide.

Who is that guy?

Zhang Xuezhou and the others exchanged glances, their gazes falling on a giant, pale green spider lingering around them.

"He said he was a Void Furnace," Ren Anran retorted, "But a Void Furnace's body is still very weak and cannot revert to its original form right now!"

"Tsk, I thought you were going to pull something big, but it turns out you just soiled yourself!"

Zhang Xuezhou looked at the spider with great interest several times, which lured the spider to crawl over listlessly.

"Help me! My body was eaten by those insects from the Black Mountain Poison Widow, so I had to find a substitute to possess. Each time I possess someone, I become weaker, and I'm about to die now. I can't go back to my original form!"

The voice of the illusory furnace was extremely weak.

But no one took the Void Furnace lightly. After all, not everyone can accept species transformation. Even Ren Anran was somewhat suspicious of the Void Furnace, fearing it might be a backup plan left by the Seven Spiders.

"Did a group of great cultivators from your world come here?"

Zhang Xuezhou found it difficult to describe his current situation.

Presenel of the Thousand Islands Alliance created a bunch of moths, the Seven Spiders created hundreds of millions of spiders, and the Void Furnace was no good either. The snake pit where the opponent was located was full of poisonous snakes, while Tiger Breeding was used to breed ferocious beasts and relied on the Tiger Soul Hall to create three thousand Tiger Enemies.

He got a headache just thinking about those cultivators who played with insects and beasts, and the thought of that cold snort from Qin Meng in the capital made it even worse.

He scoffed at the Void Furnace, then suddenly remembered that the Void Furnace was related to higher-dimensional worlds and did not seem to originate from worlds like Tiger Breeding. The Void Furnace's name for the Seven Spiders must have come from elsewhere.

How can I help you? You're not thinking of jumping on top of me and taking over my body, are you?

Xu Lu ignored Zhang Xuezhou's complaints and repeatedly asked for help. Zhang Xuezhou glanced in the east direction and responded to Xu Lu again.

"I need the body of a child with cerebral palsy!"

The Void Furnace emitted a low sound, indicating that it currently lacked the ability to erode anything. Not to mention Zhang Xuezhou and the others, even ordinary adults were beyond the Void Furnace's capabilities.

"I originally intended to use the moment of that Black Mountain Poison Widow's sacrificial ceremony to corrupt her, but you killed the Spider God..."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Zhang Xuezhou felt that he had done a barely adequate job, but he did not expect that Dingkui and the Principle Ribbon would be stolen by Jiutou, and that what he did in the cave would be seen by Xulu.

Xu Lu did indeed have the idea of a mantis stalking a cicada, but the opportunity had already been thwarted by Zhang Xuezhou.

Of course, Xu Lu had to admit that the chances of successfully finding an opportunity to erode the moment were extremely slim, but he had no other choice in the Spider God Cave. It wasn't until he discovered that Ren Anran had entered the cave that he sought help based on the trust they had built up in the past.

"Let's go, let's go!"

Before Xu Lu could finish his rambling, Zhang Xuezhou quickly understood the situation and urged everyone to set off immediately.

"Where to?" Badun asked.

"Heading west from here, we'll cross the strait and go straight to the northern part of the Aomeijia Alliance, then make use of any remaining available transportation in the north to leave," Zhang Xuezhou instructed.

"They just left like that? What about those ferocious spider beasts?" Badun exclaimed anxiously, "I didn't even get my treasure back!"

"We'll deal with it later!"

Badun continued to bombard everyone with questions, while the others quickly packed up without inquiring about the cause and effect or demanding an explanation from Zhang Xuezhou for his decision.

"Xuezhou will soon fall into a deep slumber," Ren Anran reminded him. "If you wish to act alone, we will not stop you!"

"Old Badun, Qin Meng is not at peace. Don't get involved," Zhou Xin warned.

"Are you also planning to leave?" Badun asked.

I'll go with everyone!

Zhou Xin nodded.

With no future path in his Gene Sequence and advanced age causing concerns about aging, Zhou Xin had no choice but to leave the Scarlet Alliance State.

During the years he was gone, the effects on mental health and resilience have been verified by numerous cases, and the Eighth Sequence has also found its direction. There is no need for such grueling asceticism to ascend as he did. Zhou Xin no longer has any reason to linger in Qin Meng.

He currently wants to return to Western Capital City, and even more so, he wants to absorb new knowledge and new technological products in order to solidify his rather vague understanding, and even seek the path to the Ninth Sequence.

Times have changed, Zhou Xin needs to adapt to this era that belongs to young people.

Sigh~

Badun let out a long, unwilling sigh.

Badun was aware of Zhang Xuezhou's physical symptoms and knew that Zhang Xuezhou was unlikely to remain conscious.

He finally stopped arguing and quickly walked towards the tricycle Zhou Xin was riding.

He pricked up his ears and eavesdropped on Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran's conversation as they pedaled the vehicle behind them. The gleaming, pure white longsword drew Badun's attention.

"How come this time it wasn't lost... such a treasure..."

Badun possessed a Ruyi Staff, a treasure passed down through generations of his ancestors. They truly had nothing else of value. Seeing Zhang Xuezhou lose Dingkui and then 'Thorn,' yet still possess a seemingly extraordinary treasure, Badun felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if stabbed by a knife.

Comparisons are odious; he slumped down, feeling as if he'd already lost half his life in anger.

"A century of relentless Struggle cannot compare to someone else's casual participation!"

A simple comparison between the two made Badun feel intensely distressed.

He believed that hard work and time could bridge the gap, but Badun discovered that there were also chasms he could not overcome.

For example, there are powerful Aristocratic Clan with a long and rich heritage, large Lineage where the grandfather is the father, and some Aristocratic Clan even have powerful figures from the grandfather's or ancestor's generation. These are mountains that he can hardly overcome even with his efforts.

Now, Badun feels like there's another mountain to climb.

Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou was incredibly lucky; it was as if treasures were falling from the sky, constantly raining down on him for him to choose from.

If he had been defeated by a more diligent and skilled monk, Badun would have had to admit that he was inferior in skill, but he was very upset that he had been defeated by a monk who had gotten lucky.

Even though he bowed to Zhang Xuezhou, he still harbored some resentment in his heart.

"You think it was just a casual thing, but was it really just a casual thing? We used to think you casually created the Aomeijia Alliance!"

Badun muttered to himself, while Zhou Xin shook his head.

He once thought that Badun got lucky to enter the Eighth Sequence, and many people also thought that Zhou Xin got lucky and became the strongest Sequence Holder in the Scarlet Alliance State because of his physical bloodline.

But only those who have experienced it truly understand the hardships they have endured.

Looking at Montes Badun, Zhou Xin felt as if he were seeing his former, confused self.

When his gaze swept over Zhang Xuezhou behind him, he knew even more clearly that the other's "casual" action must have involved countless hardships in order to achieve his current ease and composure.