Chapter Summaries

Mengtesi Badun concluded that Spider God Liao Meng had descended into Qinmeng through Montes Bingo's body and was hunting experts to grow stronger. Zhang Xuezhou led the group onward to find and stop her Descent Body, while they prepared to restrain Mengtesi Badun if he came under her control.

• Mengtesi Badun explained that Montes Bingo had supposedly died from his injuries, but the group suspected Bingo had been watching them and that Badun had never seen what happened afterward.
• Mengtesi Badun surmised that Spider God Liao Meng had used Bingo's body to descend into Qinmeng and warned that she would grow stronger by killing experts and absorbing their power.
• Zhang Xuezhou recalled Huang Daoxian's warning about the Descent Body and decided they should stop Liao Meng before she became more powerful.
• Mengtesi Badun volunteered to lead the way and asked Zhou Rihui to break his legs if he was controlled by the Spider God.
• Zhang Xuezhou followed Mengtesi Badun, explaining that he would use the power of Control to stop him if necessary.

Zhang Xuezhou’s group reached the Spider God Cave’s source and faced a Human-Faced Spider disguised as Montes Bingo, whose divine artifact made every attack sting. As spiders swarmed them and their protective gear wore down, Zhang Xuezhou searched for the source of the evil thoughts while the battle continued.

• Montes Badun led the group through a cramped passage to the cave’s source, where spider corpses marked the way forward.
• The group was forced to retreat after an unseen attacker struck with a powerful, stinging force.
• A flare revealed Montes Bingo transforming into a purple-glowing Human-Faced Spider holding a silver-white spike.
• Montes Badun identified the spike as a divine artifact and warned that attacking the spiders caused painful retaliation.
• Zhang Xuezhou searched for the source of the evil thoughts while spiders swarmed the group and damaged their protective gear.
• Nagesi warned that their time was limited, and Zhang Xuezhou threw another flare as piercing sounds rang out again.

Zhang Xuezhou and the others bound the Human-Faced Spider while trying to separate it from the divine artifact, whose power caused pain whenever they attacked the spiders. Zhang Xuezhou finally threw the artifact into the passage, and the group sealed the opening with stones.

• Zhang Xuezhou leaped past the Human-Faced Spider's domain power, grappled with it, and began binding it with alloy chains supplied by Wang Haoran and the others.
• Ren Yisheng directed the group to attack from a distance and keep the Human-Faced Spider alive until they could remove the divine artifact.
• Zhou Rihui and Zhou Xin tried to break the spider's legs, but the artifact's power inflicted intense pain whenever they touched it.
• Zhang Manqian and Luo Burang fired at the spider while Song Xianzhong threw a smoke grenade, filling the cave with smoke and bringing down many small spiders.
• Zhang Xuezhou threw the divine artifact into the passage, and the group sealed the opening with stones.

Zhang Xuezhou questioned the captured Human-Faced Spider God Guard and learned about four forces threatening the Spider God’s weakened matriarch. He secured an agreement to make the spider swarms friendly and released the guard, only to realize the speaker had changed.

• Zhang Xuezhou confirmed that the divine artifact’s power depended on sight and helped the group clear the spiders with smoke and fighting techniques.
• Zhang Xuezhou questioned the Human-Faced Spider God Guard, which refused to reveal the matriarch’s location but described four forces coveting her.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that the westward-migrating spider swarms had caused trouble in his country and demanded an explanation from the matriarch.
• The Human-Faced Spider God Guard agreed to alter the Blood Hatred Mark so the spiders would stop attacking the group if they left the spiders unharmed.
• Zhang Xuezhou freed the chained guard, and the group realized that someone else had taken over the body speaking to them.

Zhang Xuezhou struck a deal with the Spider God Guard and led his group out of the Spider God Cave, where he noticed evidence that the elusive Void Furnace might be nearby. He left the cave with the Spider God Guard’s cooperation and began considering how the Void Furnace and Huang Daoxian had become involved.

• Zhang Xuezhou restored Thorn to the Spider God Guard and asked him to return Montes Ganghao in exchange for another prisoner.
• The Spider God Guard agreed to release Montes Ganghao if Zhang Xuezhou captured a replacement, and Zhang Xuezhou proposed first investigating Dongfang's group.
• Zhang Xuezhou and the others followed the Spider God Guard through the cave, while Ren Anran warned that their winding route showed the guard did not trust them.
• At the cave exit, the Spider God Guard summoned six spider Ferocious Beasts, and Zhang Xuezhou noticed a mountain bike he recognized as the Void Furnace's.
• Zhang Xuezhou suspected the Void Furnace had been hiding in the Spider God Cave and wondered how Huang Daoxian had found the Spider God Descent Body.

Zhang Xuezhou and the others traveled east with their prisoners and the spider swarm, where they found an oil-filled river and fire-wielding Ferocious Beasts holding back the spiders. The eastern force had created a barrier that could redirect the swarm, but if the river of oil changed course toward the Spider God Cave, it could destroy everything there.

• Zhang Xuezhou and the others opened the supply crates and rode mountain bikes east with the Spider God Guards, Ferocious Beast spiders, and their prisoner Mengtesi Badun.
• Mengtesi Badun reflected on the Scarlet Alliance State’s new unity and envied Zhou Xin’s confidence in Zhang Xuezhou; Zhou Xin invited him to join their side.
• Mengtesi Badun considered trading for Zhang Xuezhou’s genetic medicine, while Zhou Xin made no promise that he could secure it.
• After traveling seventy-five kilometers, Zhang Xuezhou spotted the eastern force, including Hu Yu’s white flood dragon and a fire-breathing white horse.
• Zhang Xuezhou saw that the eastern force had unleashed underground oil into a river and set it ablaze, creating a barrier that diverted the spider swarm.
• The oil river’s course could shift toward the Spider God Cave, threatening it with destruction.

Zhang Xuezhou defeated the white flood dragon and white horse, then rushed to confront Hu Yu under the Spider God's Demon-Sealing Technique. After the Spider God Guard finally cast the technique, Zhang Xuezhou flew toward the battle and slipped behind a valley slope to contact Xuanming.

• The Spider God Guard offered Zhang Xuezhou the Demon-Sealing Technique, which could protect him from Quelling Chief for fifteen seconds.
• Zhang Xuezhou rushed at the white flood dragon and white horse, quickly knocking both of them down.
• Ren Anran told Ren Yisheng that Zhang Xuezhou would resolve the threat, while the others struggled to process the spiders and divine artifacts.
• Zhang Xuezhou returned and urged the Spider God Guard to cast the Demon-Sealing Technique so he could seize Hu Yu's divine artifact.
• After nearly thirty seconds, the Spider God Guard released the green light, and Zhang Xuezhou flew toward the fallen beasts and Hu Hao before taking out his Fortune Artifact to contact Xuanming.

Zhang Xuezhou enlisted Xuanming to locate Liao Meng, then used a bronze tortoise to identify her lair in a cave. After confirming the route through the underground glacial river, he drove Hu Hao away and wondered what Hu Hao meant by calling him a “Half-Dead.”

• Zhang Xuezhou asked Xuanming to trace Liao Meng's benevolent Demon-Sealing Technique and pinpoint her location.
• Xuanming traced the Technique, agreed to help Zhang Xuezhou, and said he wanted Liao Meng's healing Principle as payment.
• Zhang Xuezhou saw Liao Meng's Descent Body beside a steaming, reddish-black boulder, with Montes Ganghao standing nearby.
• Zhang Xuezhou concluded that they could find Liao Meng's lair by following hot water into the underground glacial river.
• Zhang Xuezhou sent a mental warning that the matriarch would eat the intruders, prompting Hu Hao to flee while threatening him in Hu Yu's name.
• Zhang Xuezhou wondered what Hu Hao meant by calling him a “Half-Dead.”

Zhang Xuezhou defeated Hu Hao by reflecting his Technique Methods, then used his demonstrated value to secure an alliance and recover Montes Ganghao. Watching Zhang Xuezhou adapt and negotiate, Mengtesi Badun reconsidered his own future and began to see a possible third path.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained how his Eight-Nine Mystical Art reflected Technique Methods, then reported his victory over Hu Hao to the Spider God Guard.
• Zhang Xuezhou demanded that the Spider God Guard return Montes Ganghao in exchange for the captives across the river.
• The Spider God Guard agreed, and Zhang Xuezhou recovered Montes Ganghao after the two sides formed an alliance and exchanged captives.
• Mengtesi Badun reflected on how his patient approach had left him unprepared for powerful opponents and the coming struggle to ascend dimensions.
• As others called for a bridge to be built across the river, Mengtesi Badun considered that working with Zhang Xuezhou might offer him a third path.

Zhang Xuezhou helped the Spider God Guard recover the white flood dragon and white horse and planned to return with them to the Spider God Cave, where he would retrieve Ganghao. Montes Badun tried to approach Zhang Xuezhou but realized he could not commit enough to earn the group’s trust.

• Zhang Xuezhou had the group build a wooden bridge across the flaming river so the spider swarm could retrieve the white flood dragon and white horse.
• Montes Badun asked Zhang Xuezhou what he planned to do next, and Zhang Xuezhou said they would return to the Spider God Cave and take Ganghao away.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Montes Badun that he could not have helped Montes Bingo while he was trapped in Sinkhole No. 2.
• Montes Badun asked Zhou Xin whether he was truly no longer capable, and Zhou Xin questioned whether he could make up for what he lacked.
• Montes Badun admitted that his inborn nature kept him from committing fully to Zhang Xuezhou, and he feared the investment needed to join the group would keep growing.

Zhang Xuezhou helped transport the white flood dragon and white horse back to the Spider God Cave while tiring out its Ferocious Beast spiders. After borrowing the Quelling Chief from Mengtesi Badun, he staged a pursuit of Hu Yu and used the confusion to slip away into the night and investigate alone.

• The Spider God Guard and the group hauled the white flood dragon and white horse toward the Spider God Cave, with Zhang Xuezhou and the others helping pull them by bike.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained to Ren Anran that the transport effort was exhausting the Ferocious Beast spiders and could keep them from fighting or reproducing.
• As night fell, Zhang Xuezhou borrowed the Quelling Chief from Mengtesi Badun and reassured him that he would not lose it.
• Zhang Xuezhou shouted that Hu Yu was escaping, then sent a burst of multicolored light eastward to draw the Spider God Guard and the group away.
• Ren Anran led the group back to camp after the Spider God Guard lost track of Zhang Xuezhou, while he used the night to slip away alone.

Zhang Xuezhou entered the Spider God Cave to investigate while Hu Yu distracted the Spider God's Descent Body. After Ganghao exposed his presence, Zhang searched the cavern, destroyed the heated boulder, and discovered a juvenile Spider God in a membrane beneath its shell.

• Zhang Xuezhou followed the underground river, using the Karmic Fortune Golden Turtle to locate the Spider God's Cave while Hu Yu confronted the Spider God's Descent Body.
• Zhang Xuezhou broke through the cavern rock and entered the cave, where he found the remains of Aomeijia Sequence Holders and was attacked by Montes Ganghao.
• Zhang Xuezhou used Control to seize Montes Ganghao and knocked him down, realizing the disturbance would alert the Spider God's Descent Body.
• Zhang Xuezhou searched the cavern, found nothing valuable, and used the Stone Transformation Technique to strip away the reddish-copper shell of the enormous boulder.
• Zhang Xuezhou uncovered a membrane containing a juvenile Spider God with a claw-marked face, which he suspected Huang Daoxian had injured.

Zhang Xuezhou seized the Spider God's Descent Body and used Xuanming's true name and the Karmic Fortune Golden Turtle to make Spider God Liao Meng fear being contacted by Xuanming. Liao Meng separated from the Descent Body and left behind a green ribbon, which Zhang recognized as a physical form of a Principle.

• Zhang Xuezhou tore through the membrane around the Spider God's Descent Body and grabbed it in the scalding solution, resisting the liquid with several Evasion Techniques.
• The Descent Body warned Zhang to leave, but Zhang countered by naming Xuanming's true name and claiming Xuanming would take Liao Meng's healing Principle.
• Zhang displayed the Karmic Fortune Golden Turtle, and Liao Meng begged him to pass on her offer to cooperate with Xuanming.
• Liao Meng separated herself from the Descent Body, which dissolved in the liquid and left a green ribbon in Zhang's hand.
• Zhang used the power of Fast and Slow on the ribbon without being repelled and realized he was touching a Principle in physical form.

Zhang Xuezhou examined Spider God Liao Meng’s solid Principle ribbon and concluded that the Yang Corporeal Soul Incarnation Technique might explain how higher-dimensional gods shifted between tangible and intangible forms. He repaired the cavern’s damaged stone, then fled underground as Seven Spiders returned and attacked.

• Zhang Xuezhou held Liao Meng’s warm, solid Principle ribbon and considered how its power differed from ordinary cultivation.
• Zhang Xuezhou connected the Yang Corporeal Soul Incarnation Technique to higher-dimensional gods’ ability to descend and move between tangible and intangible forms.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided that obtaining Zhu Jiuyin’s original technique could help him understand Principles and prepare to resist invaders such as Donghua and Liao Meng.
• Zhang Xuezhou restored most of the damaged black stone, left small gaps, and guessed that the returning Spider God Guard was Seven Spiders, possibly a godslayer.
• Zhang Xuezhou hid beneath the cavern and imitated a tiger’s roar, prompting Seven Spiders to strike through the stone with its spider legs.
• Zhang Xuezhou escaped through the underground river as Seven Spiders’ hooks pierced the ground nearby.

After escaping the Spider God Cave, Zhang Xuezhou hid the Principle ribbon and returned to his companions, where he let Seven Spiders believe he had driven Hu Yu away. Seven Spiders revealed Hu Yu’s Cloud Wings Law Treasure and his powerful connections as she vowed revenge, while Zhang Xuezhou encouraged the feud without getting drawn into it.

• Zhang Xuezhou escaped the Spider God Cave and heard Seven Spiders and Hu Yu curse each other, convinced their clash had made them mortal enemies.
• Zhang Xuezhou hid the Principle ribbon in Mengtesi Badun’s sealed box on a snowy peak, then returned to Ren Anran and the others.
• Zhang Xuezhou told the Spider God Guard that he had fought Hu Yu and driven him away, and Seven Spiders took over the guard’s voice to praise him and curse Hu Yu.
• Zhang Xuezhou questioned Seven Spiders about Hu Yu’s flying ability, and she explained that his blue wings were the Cloud Wings Law Treasure.
• Seven Spiders described Hu Yu’s connections to Hu Kui and an Exalted Saint, while Zhang Xuezhou kept asking about Hu Yu’s powers and treasures to avoid becoming a target himself.

Zhang Xuezhou learned how Seven Spiders and the other cultivators built power through controlled populations, then discovered that Nine Heads had stolen the Quelling Chief and Principle Ribbon from his hidden cache. He tricked Nine Heads into revealing that he could transform into a cloud and watched him leave, gaining a first glimpse of his abilities.

• Seven Spiders explained that she built her strength by controlling a vast spider swarm, and said Hu Yu could field at most three thousand Tiger-Valor Guards, only a few of them useful.
• Seven Spiders called out to the others, and Nine Heads replied that he would leave after learning she was unharmed.
• Zhang Xuezhou flew toward his hidden cache and found that someone had dug up the box and taken the Quelling Chief and Principle Ribbon.
• Zhang Xuezhou loudly cursed the thief, while reasoning that the Quelling Chief's effects might injure whoever opened it.
• Nine Heads, disguised as a mass of dark clouds, cursed Zhang Xuezhou back for the same length of time before drifting northwest.
• Zhang Xuezhou revealed that he had left a monitor behind and concluded that Nine Heads could turn into a cloud and held grudges over minor insults.

Zhang Xuezhou told Mengtesi Badun that the Quelling Chief was lost, then restrained him from searching recklessly because the treasure was entangled in a dangerous dispute. As the group set out for the prisoner exchange, the Spider God Guard and Ferocious Beasts dragged the white flood dragon and white horse toward the Spider God Cave.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Mengtesi Badun that he had lost the Quelling Chief, and Mengtesi Badun said he could sense it only within about a hundred meters.
• Mengtesi Badun tried to search for his treasure, but Zhang Xuezhou held him down and warned that the Quelling Chief was caught up in the conflict between Seven Spiders, Hu Yu, and Nine Heads.
• Zhang Xuezhou urged Mengtesi Badun to trust their cooperation, while Zhou Xin agreed to keep watch over him.
• Ren Anran announced that the group was setting off for the prisoner exchange, and Zhang Xuezhou handed Mengtesi Badun over to Zhou Xin.
• The Spider God Guard and Ferocious Beasts hauled the white flood dragon and white horse toward the Spider God Cave, leaving a wide trench as spiders cleaned up their blood.

Zhang Xuezhou met Seven Spiders in Spider God Cave to exchange captives and have her remove the marks on Zhou Rihui and Montes Ganghao. After learning the marks could drain their Qi and Blood, he sent the confused Montes Ganghao away and turned to discuss matters with Seven Spiders.

• The group waited outside Spider God Cave while Nagesi and Mengtesi Badun worried about the Spider God's evil intent and the dangers inside.
• Zhang Xuezhou met Seven Spiders in the cave and demanded the marks be removed from Zhou Rihui and Montes Ganghao.
• Seven Spiders used cave spiders to draw out the marks, explaining that the process drained Essence Qi and could leave victims weakened or Half-Dead.
• Zhou Rihui described the pain from the mark, while Montes Ganghao regained awareness, panicked, and ran from the cave.
• Zhang Xuezhou sent Zhou Rihui after Montes Ganghao, then faced Seven Spiders to continue their discussion.

Zhang Xuezhou allied with Seven Spiders, promising to help her expand eastward and fight Hu Yu in exchange for her controlling the spider swarms. After he left, Seven Spiders fed on Hu Yu’s white flood dragon and white horse, then discovered her plans involving Liao Meng had stalled and found something unexpected inside the black boulder.

• Zhang Xuezhou negotiated with Seven Spiders and agreed to help her expand eastward while she restrained the spider swarms.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Seven Spiders sealed their alliance with a palm strike, agreeing to work together against Hu Yu.
• Seven Spiders consumed the white flood dragon and white horse, then ordered the swarm to eat what remained.
• Seven Spiders moved to a new cavern and realized her attempts to contact Liao Meng and continue the descent had failed.
• Seven Spiders opened a crack in the black boulder and was shocked by what she saw inside.

Zhang Xuezhou led the group away from the Spider God Cave after a strange reverberation sounded, while Zhou Xin persuaded Mengtesi Badun to consider cooperating with the Scarlet Alliance State. Zhou Xin brought Mengtesi Badun to negotiate with Zhang Xuezhou, only to find him with a dangerous-looking spider woman.

• Montes Ganghao and Zhou Rihui recovered from their malicious thoughts, while Nagesi regretted missing the chance to enter the Spider God Cave.
• A piercing reverberation sounded from the Spider God Cave, and Zhang Xuezhou refused to investigate, leading the group to camp on a snowy peak.
• Zhou Xin urged Mengtesi Badun to stop hesitating and consider cooperating with the Scarlet Alliance State as a leader.
• Mengtesi Badun agreed to discuss terms with Zhang Xuezhou, and Zhou Xin pulled him toward Zhang Xuezhou's tent.
• Zhou Xin opened the tent and saw Zhang Xuezhou with a beautiful woman whose mottled abdomen and thick spider legs made him sense danger.