Chapter 331

That was a giant python with black and gray patterns, its body coiled in the reed bushes, and one couldn't tell its specific length, but its chest diameter was nearly five feet (1.6 meters), and it had whiskers under its jaw.

It opened its mouth to demonstrate, and the protruding fangs were like curved knives, over four feet long.

The wind was blowing toward the shore, and He Lingchuan soon smelled a fishy stench.

With swords drawn and bows bent, the battle seemed about to break out, so He Lingchuan quietly hid backward.

It was unknown how the two sides communicated, but after about a dozen breaths, the giant python lowered its head, and Zhu Xiuer also retracted her legs.

After a while, the python demon turned north and slithered away.

Zhu Xiuer watched it leave before slowly crawling back.

Passing by He Lingchuan, she suddenly said: "Are you overjoyed, thinking that with two strong sides fighting, you have a chance to slip away?"

"How could that be?" He Lingchuan smiled very perfunctorily.

"Lord Boshan loves eating people the most, and raw at that. Prey swallowed whole by him can still feel themselves being digested in his stomach." Zhu Xiuer seemed to smile too; she had lived for thousands of years, so how could she not have more tricks than a young boy who still smelled of mother's milk? "If you fall into his hands, your end will be ten times worse!"

Afterward, she puffed out her big belly and strolled slowly back to the demon nest.

This disturbance dissipated before it even started.

From He Lingchuan's perspective, the giant python was more wary.

It is worth mentioning that during this period, the spiders often found floating corpses in the swamp. Sometimes they were wild beasts, sometimes livestock, sometimes humans, often accompanied by a large amount of driftwood and boat planks, basically all washed down from upstream.

These were all consequences of the Hanhe River flood.

He Lingchuan occasionally found floating corpses of Yuan Nation soldiers; after drifting to the swamp for so many days, they were already swollen beyond recognition, and only the clothing on their bodies could be identified.

He didn't know how the war in Yuanbei was progressing. He couldn't go back either, so he could only silently dig pits to let them be laid to rest.

In fact, in the past dozen days, he noticed that the spider group's attitude toward the two humans had changed from neutral to unfriendly.

Especially toward Dong Rui.

It wasn't Zhu Xiuer, but the cave spider group in the swamp.

This had to be blamed on Dong Rui's inhumane—well, inhuman-to-spiders—experiments. The spider demons designated as test subjects went in complete and healthy, but when they came out, losing six or seven legs was light; some had hypertrophic limbs, some had legs installed backward, some were swollen as if injected with water, and they wobbled when walking.

Some had their heads gone, some were frantically hitting the cages, not recognizing their own kin, as if they had mania.

Anyway, it was all strange and bizarre, and none had a good end. Not to mention the spider demons that had already opened their spiritual wisdom, even He Lingchuan felt a chill after seeing it.

He finally understood why this guy could arouse public anger in every country:

Taking his upper limit as the starting point, you still couldn't touch other people's lower limit.

He Lingchuan reminded Dong Rui more than once, and even Zhu Xiuer came to find the demon puppeteer after hearing the spider group's protests, but she was blocked by his sentence: "If I don't do it this way, I can't get it out."

Oh, so doing it this way can get it out? He Lingchuan was not optimistic.

Every time he passed the spider group and heard the rustling sound behind him, He Lingchuan could feel the malice from the spiders. The demon nest swamp was not a place to stay for long; even if Zhu Xiuer was willing to let them go in the end, these little spiders were probably thinking about settling scores later.

But at least for now, with Zhu Xiuer's order as a protective talisman, He Lingchuan was still safe. The spider demons were simple by nature and had better discipline than worker bees. Besides helping Dong Rui, he would wander around under the cold eyes of most spiders.

Wandering around like this, He Lingchuan discovered that the actual volume of the demon nest was at least twice as large as the Chifeng mine cave, the passages and caves were more solid and spacious, and even comprehensive defensive works had been made. After all, this side had been managed for more than a dozen years, while the other side was built in a few days, so the quality was very different.

Just looking at the scale of this demon nest, he knew that the Flesh-Abuser who originally lived here was of a very high rank; he didn't know how the Beijia Nation had managed to take it down back then.

The strange thing was right here—

It stands to reason that that battle should have been quite tragic, but he didn't see many traces of bombardment by magical powers or artillery fire here, and there was not even any damage caused by fighting.

You know, even though only three patrol squads entered the Chifeng mine cave, they left many traces there.

Perhaps, the demon nest at that time was too powerful and could self-repair? There were too many things that didn't make sense.

However, the nests built by the Flesh-Abuser were all similar in structure; after all, they were all imitating the human body.

He Lingchuan wanted to go to the "coiled intestines" to walk a few laps, but he was stopped every time, saying that it was a restricted area. The spider guards at the door were almost as big as the guards at Zhu Xiuer's door, and they were in groups of three, guarding strictly.

If they didn't let him in, he wouldn't go in. He Lingchuan had good observation skills and discovered that the frequency of cave spiders entering and leaving here in groups was far greater than in other parts of the demon nest.

And they were transporting fluorescent spores, forage, algae, and even some fermented fertilizer. This was the first time He Lingchuan had seen monsters skillfully composting.

Seeing this, he had an idea in his heart.

Cave spiders were not originally creatures with such strong collective action capabilities; they were relatively scattered, but once monsters appeared in this kind of group, they were very likely to transform into a biological structure like a beehive or anthill. Not to mention anything else, leopards were originally loners, but the family of the leopard demon Shi Ying would live together, cooperate, and practice, and even more than a hundred years later, their descendants were still like this.

Now these cave spiders were working in an orderly division of labor, and what they were taking care of must be their livelihood.

Finally, one day, He Lingchuan discovered several cave spiders walking inside, carrying something like sticky rice balls on their heads, white, soft, and still moving.

He had seen this thing in his dream—

Aphid larvae.

Sure enough, Zhu Xiuer led the spider group to engage in their old profession in the demon nest! Running a ranch.

The length of the human intestine is astonishing, at least more than six meters when stretched straight. The total space of this part of the demon nest is not small; although it cannot be compared with the old nest in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest, as long as the spider group controls the temperature and humidity, the bacterial mat can grow vigorously, and the aphid cattle can produce honeydew, so the spider group has a stable source of food again.

He knew that these cave spiders wouldn't easily change their diet to only eat fish and shrimp.

However, the Zhu Xiuer in reality hadn't had her aphid ranch burned by He Lingchuan; otherwise, she would definitely not have put humans in her nest, as it was too close to the ranch.

Should he repeat the old trick and reenact what he did in the dream in reality? But even if he could escape Zhu Xiuer's territory, how would he break through the mirage realm on the edge of the swamp? He Lingchuan calculated secretly and occasionally discussed it with Dong Rui.

Dong Rui now, besides eating, drinking, and sleeping, was devoted to his experiments, wanting to work hard for thirty days, and didn't take He Lingchuan's new intelligence to heart, just gave a faint "Oh."

If the cave spiders are running a ranch, let them run it; what does it have to do with them? He Lingchuan pressed his hand on the hand holding the medicine bottle and said in a voice like a mosquito, almost only the two of them could hear:

"It's been more than half a month. I'll ask you, can Zhu Xiuer's medicine actually be made?"

Dong Rui glanced at the door and whispered: "No."

"..." Is it that straightforward? "Then what are you experimenting for!" And not thinking of a way to escape?

Dong Rui sighed and took out the patience to lecture a layman: "Preparing the medicine to create demon puppets is not difficult; I have experience and technology, and even some ready-made medicines, as long as I fine-tune them. The biggest problem lies with Zhu Xiuer herself."

"What's wrong with her?"

"No two Gui beasts have the same characteristics, and demon puppets are the same. The key to creating them lies in triggering non-directional mutation." Dong Rui shook his head. "But Zhu Xiuer is an ancient demon immortal; although she reduced her cultivation through metamorphosis, her body and demon nature are too stable. Hmm, not only stable, but simply as solid as a rock. Giving her these medicines might not have any effect; at most, it will give her diarrhea."

"Taking a step back, even if the medicine takes effect, she will have to endure cruel and long-lasting pain. I have used so many monsters for experiments; in the process of transforming into demon puppets, none of them could endure it."

The process is extremely painful, but the result is unknown. For the sake of a treasure, is Zhu Xiuer willing to pay this price? He Lingchuan didn't understand: "Then what have you been busy with these days?"

"Using a living ancient demon immortal and her shed skin for experiments, even if it's just a small part, what a luxurious opportunity this is!" Dong Rui smiled. "She also has a nest of disciples and grandchildren, simply like her downgraded copies. They are even willing to be test subjects for me; where else can I find such a good opportunity?"

In the past, when he wanted to create demon puppets, he had to fight to the death first; the higher the rank of the demon beast he wanted to catch, the greater the risk he had to take. Otherwise, why would he be wanted by the Beijia Nation?

This place was simply his scientific research happy nest.

"What do you plan to do after the time limit is up?" He Lingchuan reminded him to focus on reality first; time was passing by quickly.

Dong Rui scratched his head: "We'll see."

After being disturbed by He Lingchuan several times, Dong Rui also exited his workaholic mode. Of course, it was also because his brain couldn't take it after high-intensity labor.

Tonight was a full moon, so the two simply walked to the entrance of the demon nest and sat by the water in the sinkhole to drink, watching the silver light pour onto the ground.

He Lingchuan always kept good wine in his storage ring, so he took it out, one jar for each.

Looking up from where they were, they happened to see the full moon like a silver basin, and the light hit the water surface, shining like stars.

Dong Rui stared at it for a while and then let out a long sigh.

Does this kind of person even know how to be sentimental? "What are you sighing for?"

"Nothing." Dong Rui didn't wear his face mask either; there were no creatures in the swamp who disliked him for being ugly, and in the eyes of the spider demons, He Lingchuan was probably as ugly as him.

As soon as he drank, a little wine leaked from his crooked mouth.

He Lingchuan was already used to that hideous face and asked him again: "What exactly happened to your face?"

Dong Rui only drank and didn't make a sound.

After a long while, he wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth: "A woman did it."

He Lingchuan was taken aback: "So ruthless?"

(End of chapter)