Chapter 17: Your Disciple Must Take Good Care of Shizun

The Human-Faced Ghost Spider had lived a long time and never suffered a loss like this. Seeing the two Human Cultivators distracted, a vicious light flashed in the Female Spider’s eyes. She was just about to stir when the black-clothed cultivator suddenly glanced at her.

According to her perception, the white-clothed cultivator’s cultivation was higher, yet for some reason, she instinctively feared this black-clothed one much more.

One look was enough to intimidate the restless Demon Spider into submission. Feng Xixing then turned to Lin Chuyun. “Does Shizun want anything?”

Lin Chuyun was startled. He glanced at the Female Spider, pursed his lips, and whispered, “What if… we give the egg back, and she immediately turns on us? What then?”

He couldn’t be blamed for being so cautious. The Demon Spider looked extremely irritable and clearly wanted to eat them both right away. Giving the egg back would just give her one less reason to hold back.

Feng Xixing smiled. “Shizun, don’t worry. With your disciple here, there’s nothing to fear.”

It’s because you’re here that I’m worried! Do you even know how much trouble you attract?!

Lin Chuyun stared at him for a long moment before finally taking a step back and compromising. “Do whatever you want to do.”

If trouble came, he’d just clean it up himself. He was a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, after all. Even if his spirit power was a bit lacking now… and he was a little out of practice, a Demon Spider at the Core Formation stage should still be manageable.

He just hoped Zhu Yan could show up a bit quicker. Lin Chuyun glanced at the sky, tightening his grip on the Azure Wood Sword.

Feng Xixing clearly saw the helplessness in Lin Chuyun’s eyes. He sighed, unable to resist adding, “Shizun could have a little more faith in your disciple.”

After all, in his past life, he had been a Devil Lord. Even if his Devil Qi was suppressed now and he only appeared to be a Golden Core stage cultivator, it didn’t mean he was actually this weak.

Lin Chuyun was taken aback. Before he could speak, the Demon Spider over there grew impatient.

“Humans…!” The Demon Spider’s legs tapped restlessly on the ground, its spider eyes glaring fiercely at Feng Xixing. “The egg… hand it over…!”

Feng Xixing tossed the egg in his hand. His action made the Demon Spider increasingly frantic. The Male Spiders nearby didn’t dare to approach, trembling in fear and hiding far away.

To Lin Chuyun’s surprise, Feng Xixing didn’t make any outrageous demands. He just asked the Female Spider for some poison spider silk. Without hesitation, the Female Spider spat out silk onto the ground, where it curled up into a ball, forming a purple-black sphere.

Watching this, a sudden thought crossed Lin Chuyun’s mind—it actually looks like a ball of yarn.

Thank goodness he wasn’t a cat right now, Lin Chuyun twitched his mouth. Otherwise, if his instincts got the better of him and he pounced, only to be grabbed by the scruff of the neck by his disciple—that would be utterly humiliating!

“For you… egg… put it down…” The Demon Spider stared intently at Feng Xixing.

“Fine.” Feng Xixing took a step forward but was grabbed by Lin Chuyun.

Lin Chuyun looked at the Demon Spider and hesitated. “How about I go instead?”

Feng Xixing stared at him for a long moment, the amusement in his eyes suddenly deepening. He bent down—it was only at this moment Lin Chuyun realized he was actually shorter than Feng Xixing—and whispered in his ear, “Has Shizun forgotten? Shizun said you wanted this disciple to gain more experience.”

Lin Chuyun was momentarily confused, but he couldn’t exactly rummage through Original Host’s memories right now. And the words did sound like something Original Host would say. After a moment’s thought, he reluctantly nodded. He cast a protective shield of spirit power around Feng Xixing before stepping back. “I haven’t forgotten. Be careful, then.”

Feng Xixing looked at the spirit power surrounding him, his gaze darkening, unfathomable. He gave Lin Chuyun a deep look before turning and slowly walking over to the ball of spider silk.

Lin Chuyun held his breath, the Azure Wood Sword in his hand vibrating subtly from the spirit power he channeled. The Female Spider across from them had also stopped pacing, her malevolent spider eyes fixed tightly on Feng Xixing—and the spider egg in his hand.

She was no longer even bothering to hide her killing intent.

Lin Chuyun’s heart leaped into his throat. He wanted to just grab Feng Xixing and flee, but then he remembered Feng Xixing’s words.

Indeed, though the Thunder Echo Grotto was full of dangers, it was just a simple grotto in the end. The Demon Beasts inside were all within the capabilities of Golden Core disciples. If he protected Feng Xixing the whole way, then the purpose of his little disciple’s trial would be completely wasted.

Feng Xixing had to grow stronger as quickly as possible to withstand Bai Linghan’s harem in the future.

Thinking of this, Lin Chuyun steeled his heart. He decided he absolutely could not interfere rashly unless Feng Xixing was genuinely in danger.

Over there, the spider egg in front of Feng Xixing was already being lifted by a block of ice, drifting slowly downwards. The Female Spider’s gaze was locked onto the egg. The instant it gently touched the ground, the Female Spider charged forward without hesitation. Spider silk from her mouth instantly sealed off Feng Xixing’s retreat path.

Lin Chuyun’s fingers tightened around the Azure Wood Sword, his breath stopping. Only when he saw Feng Xixing narrowly dodge the silk web did he slowly exhale.

Feng Xixing was very fast. A sword formed of Ice Qi materialized in his hand. Any Male Spider he touched with the Ice Sword would be coated in frost and frozen solid on contact.

But Feng Xixing was not in a good state himself. The silk the Demon Spiders spat out was covering more and more of the ground, leaving fewer places to stand. And without a spirit sword, he couldn’t use Sword Flight.

Lin Chuyun frowned deeply, turning his palm over. “Feng Xixing! Catch!”

The Azure Wood Sword shot into the spider swarm like lightning, wounding countless Male Spiders along the way before landing firmly in Feng Xixing’s palm.

The Azure Wood Sword was inherently aligned with Wood, while Feng Xixing’s Ice Spiritual Root was a mutation of a Water Spiritual Root. Water nourishes Wood. The instant he held the Azure Wood Sword, the entire blade emitted a blinding light.

It looked dozens of times more powerful than when it was in Lin Chuyun’s hands.

Seeing this, Lin Chuyun twitched the corner of his mouth speechlessly. He suddenly understood his role. He was clearly that NPC in the novel who’s just there to deliver equipment to the protagonist! And instead of giving it to the protagonist, he was giving it to the villain!

Even if this villain seemed so sunny and progressive…

With the Azure Wood Sword, Feng Xixing’s attacks grew even sharper. The Ice Spirit Qi surged onto the blade without hesitation. Even the spirit power he’d just expended was gradually recovering under the sword’s enhancement.

Seeing that these Male Spiders couldn’t stop Feng Xixing, the Female Spider could no longer sit still. She let out a roar, swallowed the spider egg back into her mouth for safekeeping, and then charged in herself.

Watching the Female Spider swallow the egg, Feng Xixing’s eyes flickered subtly.

This was a trait of Human-Faced Ghost Spiders. Before a Female Spider egg hatched, it remained in the Female Demon Spider’s mouth. She wouldn’t spit it out until it was almost ready to hatch.

But soon, Feng Xixing had to focus all his attention on the Female Demon Spider. Unlike those Male Spiders, the Female Demon Spider was not only faster but had an incredibly tough body, laced with potent venom.

Feng Xixing tried several times to strike her with the Azure Wood Sword but failed each time. It wasn’t a problem with the sword, but rather that his spirit power was insufficient to fully activate the sword’s abilities.

Seeing the battle reach a deadlock, Lin Chuyun couldn’t help but step forward.

Instantly, all the Male Demon Spiders on the periphery turned their heads to look at him.

Dozens of spider eyes all staring at him at once—it was an utterly terrifying sight. Lin Chuyun sucked in a sharp breath. If it weren’t for his face as Shizun, he might have been scared into collapsing.

And in the center, Feng Xixing narrowly dodged the Female Spider’s silk again. Though a bit of silk still stuck to his clothes, with the Ice Void Robe, he wouldn’t be hurt.

After fighting this long, Feng Xixing’s spirit power was beginning to run low, his breathing becoming much more rapid.

Almost…

Abandoning his evasive stance, Feng Xixing charged straight at the Female Demon Spider. The Female Demon Spider’s eyes flared with ferocity as she raised her two front legs, her mouth opening slightly, ready to spit silk.

But the next moment, it was as if something had shaken her. Her body’s movement froze for an instant.

In that one instant, Feng Xixing was already before her. Without hesitation, he plunged the Azure Wood Sword into the Female Demon Spider’s mouth, piercing straight through the spider egg inside.

The Female Demon Spider went berserk with rage. But in the next second, the spider egg in her mouth exploded with a thunderous roar. Countless ice spikes erupted from within her body, bursting outward and piercing her through completely.

“No…” The Female Demon Spider let out a ghastly shriek, but the countless ice spikes continued relentlessly. She didn’t even have time to struggle before the spikes pierced her Demon Core.

The Female Demon Spider was dead.

The surrounding Male Spiders instantly lost control. They were just Demon Beasts, creatures of instinct who hadn’t even cultivated a Demon Core. With the Female gone, they quickly turned on each other.

After Feng Xixing dealt with the few Male Demon Spiders near him, the remaining ones realized this Human Cultivator was not to be trifled with and instinctively avoided him. Feng Xixing walked out a few steps, then seemed to remember something. He turned back and stored the Female Demon Spider’s corpse in his storage bag.

Otherwise, Shizun would definitely scold him again.

Feng Xixing thought again, and then turned to collect the ball of spider silk that was on the ground earlier—it was so toxic that despite all the fighting, this ball of silk was completely undamaged. After making sure nothing was left behind, he walked back to Lin Chuyun’s side.

Lin Chuyun just watched this lord stroll out as casually as if he was taking a walk in a park.

“Alright, tell me. Why were you so determined to deal with this Female Demon Spider?” Lin Chuyun didn’t believe for a second that he’d been brought here just to vent some anger. The Feng Xixing in the book was not the helpful, charitable type.

Feng Xixing smiled, first returning the Azure Wood Sword to Lin Chuyun before asking, “Does Shizun still remember that strange village?”

“This is connected to that village too?” Lin Chuyun hadn’t expected this and was puzzled. “Was the village the work of these Demon Spiders?”

Feng Xixing nodded. “That village was likely wiped out a long time ago. But this Female Demon Spider obtained a Magic Treasure, which kept the village preserved on the final day before its destruction. And every time cultivators ended up in that village, Xin Changfeng would suggest they go to the nearby town. However—”

“If you followed the direction Xin Changfeng pointed, you would end up at this barren mountain.”

Lin Chuyun asked, “In other words, that village was a trap set by these Demon Spiders?”

Feng Xixing nodded. “But those villagers didn’t know. They thought they were still alive, just… doomed to repeat the events of the day they were slaughtered, over and over.”

But Lin Chuyun still had a question—”What was that Magic Treasure?”

This time, Feng Xixing refused to elaborate further. No matter how many times Lin Chuyun asked, he couldn’t get an answer. Feeling that his dignity as Shizun had been deeply undermined, Lin Chuyun gave a cold snort and stopped talking too.

The two circumvented the group of Male Spiders and headed towards the barren mountain. Seeing Lin Chuyun frowning from the stench, Feng Xixing set up a Spiritual Power Shield around them both.

Noticing Feng Xixing’s already pale face grow a shade whiter from the effort, Lin Chuyun frowned and couldn’t help but speak. “If your spirit power is insufficient, don’t waste it.”

“That won’t do,” Feng Xixing said with a smile. “Your disciple must take good care of Shizun.”

Lin Chuyun: “…”

Ah, with such a good disciple, it was impossible to stay angry!

The two soon reached the barren mountain. The ground around them was pitted and scarred, corroded by the Demon Spiders’ poison. Every short distance, they could see the corpses of cultivators who had been eaten by the spiders, their remains left behind.

Lin Chuyun’s expression turned rather grim. He averted his gaze, fixing his eyes on the young man. “Where are we going?”

“The Female Spider’s nest.”

Feng Xixing stopped before the entrance to a massive cave. The stone walls of this cave entrance were completely covered in spider silk, and the inside was also filled with it. He turned back to face Lin Chuyun. “Now… I’ll have to trouble Shizun.”

Lin Chuyun summoned the Azure Wood Sword, pinching the Sword Flight Art. Once he was steady on the blade, he turned and extended a hand. “Get on.”

Feng Xixing’s expression softened with warmth, smiling in a way that made Lin Chuyun’s heart prickle with unease. But Feng Xixing said nothing more, simply standing obediently behind Lin Chuyun.

The Azure Wood Sword flew swiftly into the cave. The obstructing spider silk was all slashed away by Feng Xixing’s Ice Sword. The two navigated through the winding cave for half an hour before finally reaching its deepest part.

Seeing no spider silk on the ground, Lin Chuyun put away the Azure Wood Sword. This cave was surprisingly clean. Aside from a few silk-wrapped cocoons off to the side, there was almost no trace of the spiders ever living here.

“What is this…” Lin Chuyun hesitantly circled the area twice, finally finding a hidden mechanism on the opposite stone wall.

It was a mechanism in the loosest sense—just a massive slab of stone. With a single sword strike, Lin Chuyun split the stone slab open, revealing the cave hidden behind it.

A mirror, floating silently within the cave.