Chapter 349: The Most Dangerous Moment

Still no trace of He Lingchuan.

Hunting down a fugitive is like this; if you don't catch him in the first hour, the chance of catching him later drops in a straight line.

Another hour passed, and the spider army found nothing.

Thinking of the lost spider molt, Zhu Xiuer's chest felt even more blocked. But its top priority now was to go back to rest and heal.

Especially since the small spiders returned to report that Siwen Wang's wild boar descendants were always poking their heads out at the border, as if they wanted to come over and see the situation.

Siwen Wang had been scared out of its wits by it and driven out of the territory, but if you said this pig demon was stupid, it occasionally had some small cleverness. If it discovered that the Spider Queen and Bowengun were both severely injured and struggling, the Demon Nest would be in danger.

Therefore, even though Zhu Xiuer was full of unwillingness, it had to return to the nest.

As for the spider army, except for a few guards, the rest were still released to search for He Lingchuan's whereabouts across the mountains and plains.

Zhu Xiuer walked halfway when it suddenly remembered something and hurriedly sent spider guards to handle it.

Soon, the spider guards carried Tu Zhongli's corpse back, threw it in front of Zhu Xiuer, and indicated that Siwen Wang's descendants had tentatively entered Bowengun's territory.

The news of Bowengun's death would reach Siwen Wang in just an hour or two. It didn't know how this wild boar king would react.

Zhu Xiuer retrieved Tu Zhongli's corpse, but it was to have a few small spiders search for something in front of it.

Soon, a flower spider touched a cloud brocade small flag from Tu Zhongli's sleeve.

Right, this was the only pass for humans to leave the Demon Nest Swamp. Zhu Xiuer held it in its hand and let out a long sigh of relief.

Even though that kid He Lingchuan was as cunning as a ghost, he still lacked this bit of foresight.

Without the cloud brocade flag, he couldn't get out of the Demon Nest Swamp.

The cave spiders would find him sooner or later.

At this time, the red spider also returned, jumped onto its head, and turned back into an eyeball. Zhu Xiuer then walked with tired steps, slowly climbing down the sinkhole and returning to the underground palace.

The spider guards also returned to report that Dong Rui was missing.

Just now, all the spiders had gone to chase He Lingchuan, and this fellow had taken the opportunity to escape.

However, he couldn't leave the Demon Nest Swamp without a token, so he would be found by the cave spiders sooner or later. Zhu Xiuer was exhausted and didn't want to think about why he wanted to do this, walking straight back to the heart of the Demon Nest.

The passageway he usually strolled through leisurely now felt interminably long. Why did that Ferry Ghost Child back then have to make the underground palace so complicated?

Zhu Xiuer arrived at the exhibition room, and the spider guards had already retreated, standing guard strictly outside the door.

This was always the space it liked to enjoy alone. It habitually scanned with its divine sense, confirmed it was safe, and sprayed a few spider webs, sealing the cave entrance tightly.

Inside the exhibition room, only three molts remained.

One was stolen in the Beijia Nation, and one had disappeared out of thin air just now.

The Spider Queen looked at them with sorrow, stayed in place for a good while, and then moved slowly to the wall, standing tightly against the other molts.

Then it began to twist its body, looking like it was dancing and struggling. If an outsider were present, they would probably feel it was very painful, because its claw tips were often twisting in unnatural directions.

This process lasted for over a quarter of an hour, and the Spider Queen's back cracked, and the gap became larger and larger, finally becoming a hole.

It actually twisted its body and exited from the hole bit by bit.

And the shell remained in place.

Yes, what Zhu Xiuer was experiencing now was another molt! After the hard shell was shed, its whole body was covered in mucus, and the new shell was very soft. Not to mention blades and swords, even an ordinary human pressing on it could press a dent with one finger, which would slowly bounce back.

This was Zhu Xiuer's most painful and vulnerable moment, so it sought to be foolproof, which was why it had sent all the spider guards outside the door to guard strictly, and sealed the cave entrance with spider webs.

It didn't trust anyone anymore.

Fortunately, as long as it took two cups of tea, the new shell would be hard again, and by then it would be an unbridled great demon again.

But just at this moment, Zhu Xiuer suddenly felt a trace of danger: it saw with one of the eyes located at the back of its head that there was suddenly an extra person by the wall!

The fluorescent spores made his face look green, looking a bit sinister and fierce.

This person was none other than He Lingchuan.

He didn't talk nonsense when he appeared, directly leaping toward the back of Zhu Xiuer's head, agile as a leopard, holding a short blade in his right hand, and stabbing it fiercely! Strike while it's sick, take its life.

In this way, he instantly moved into the underground palace, while the Shadow Cicada Molt was swapped onto the big tree.

On a big tree in the wild, not to mention a little cicada molt, even the corpses of birds, insects, and snakes wouldn't be strange.

At this time, he manipulated the clone to jump and flee outside the sinkhole, and Zhu Xiuer and the spider army saw it with their own eyes, so naturally they chased relentlessly.

The problem was that the clone would naturally disappear if it was more than twelve zhang away from the main body, so in the eyes of the cave spiders, He Lingchuan jumped behind a few big trees and disappeared, and no matter how they looked, they couldn't find him.

This was the preciousness of the Clone Technique compared to the Mirror Image Technique: the Mirror Image Technique only knew how to fight and kill, and couldn't act according to the master's will.

Of course, he himself had appeared at the entrance of the underground palace, and Dong Rui's spider guard puppet was guarding here.

He Lingchuan rode on the puppet, then took out the camouflage snake skin searched from the mountain bandits, blocked it in front of him—at this time, the spider demons were all out supporting outside, and there were only a few dozen guarding the house, but the patrol was exceptionally strict, and there were fixed posts.

The camouflage of the snake skin was good, but it would be exposed if it moved. The cave spiders had suffered from the mountain bandits and were hard to fool again.

The passage was narrow, and there were always many sections that couldn't bypass the spider guards, so he had to ask for Dong Rui's spider puppet. As long as he covered himself with the snake skin and lay on the puppet's back, even if he walked past the guards, they wouldn't stop him.

After all, in their eyes, it was just a spider passing by.

The IQ of these guys was truly not high.

Zhu Xiuer and the spider army were searching for He Lingchuan across the mountains and plains outside, but he himself was riding the puppet in the underground palace, moving forward unhurriedly, all the way to the exhibition room.

There were also two spider guards standing guard outside the exhibition room.

But this couldn't stump He Lingchuan.

He had the puppet make some noise not far away, luring the spider guards away, and he could slip in.

He bet that Zhu Xiuer couldn't last long after putting the old molt back on, and would return to shed it sooner or later, so he simply waited here for the rabbit. Anyway, he had plenty of patience.

Luck was good, and he succeeded in one strike.

The contract was set, Zhu Xiuer removed the spider webs from the exhibition room and ordered the spider guards to collect the supplies He Lingchuan requested.

Now its whole body's outer shell had hardened, and it had the confidence to go out again.

"Where is my molt?" Zhu Xiuer asked him. "Where is it, after all?"

"Anyway, it's not in my hands. If you don't believe it, I can take out all my storage spaces for you to see," He Lingchuan spread his hands righteously. "I really don't know its whereabouts."

What the God-Bone Necklace used the spider molt for, he really didn't know.

Could it really have been stolen by Bowengun's descendants? Zhu Xiuer was suspicious.

He Lingchuan followed it out of the underground palace, and didn't see that puppet along the way, not knowing where it had slipped to.

Passing by the workshop, Zhu Xiuer suddenly asked: "Where did Dong Rui go?"

He Lingchuan frankly said he didn't know.

"He has already created a Demon Puppet, right?"

"Why do you say that?" The ancient great demon was still not easy to fool.

"The two children sent to the workshop ten days ago are still alive."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 351 =====

Therefore, it could only shout: "Stop, stop! We can talk."

The opponent's blade edge cut directly into the top of its head, but its soft top shell had no defensive power at all. If Fusheng went in another foot, it could stir its brain into mush.

With its last life-saving means used up, it was temporarily helpless.

Zhu Xiuer begged for mercy, and He Lingchuan's blade edge paused, saying quickly: "If you don't want to die, then serve me as master and sign a fairy pet contract!"

The one shattered by the Annihilation Bead earlier was naturally his clone.

This kind of ancient great demon had eight hundred schemes, and even in the most helpless molting period, He Lingchuan didn't have the confidence to take it down in one strike, so he sent a clone to test it first.

With this test, the clone was gone.

Fortunately, it wasn't his main body.

The opportunity to grasp such a great demon was rare in a thousand years, and he would definitely grasp it well. Zhu Xiuer had struggled to survive since the ancient times, and its will to live was evident.

The Spider Queen was stunned, then furious: "No!"

He Lingchuan's blade edge went forward another half inch, applying pressure.

Zhu Xiuer endured the pain and said: "I would rather die than be a slave! Wanting to take me as a pet, you are dreaming!"

It had once been an ancient great demon and still maintained the pride of an ancient great demon; how could it recognize a human as master and be willing to degenerate?

He Lingchuan suddenly turned around, held a dagger in his other hand, and stabbed through a small spider.

This was Zhu Xiuer's eyeball that had quietly changed, wanting to bypass him and give him a poisonous kiss. But He Lingchuan had his divine sense fully open at such a critical moment, full of vigilance, guarding against it playing dirty tricks.

The eyeball was stabbed, and Zhu Xiuer screamed in pain again. He Lingchuan patted its skull, looking regretful: "Since you are so unyielding, I'm sorry, I have to send you on your way."

Just as he was about to kill the Spider Queen politely, Zhu Xiuer hurriedly said: "I won't recognize you as master, but I can swear not to harm your life and let you leave the swamp safely!"

"No, the winner must have the winner's superiority." Such a treaty had no benefit to take, so He Lingchuan naturally refused flatly. "Ancient great demons are full of treasures; dismantling you to refine weapons and sell them for money is better. If I take your eyeballs to the Beijia Nation, I might even be able to get an official position and a reward."

Zhu Xiuer trembled all over, not knowing whether it was from pain or anger.

"If I'm alive, I can let you borrow my supernatural powers!" It still had to try hard to persuade He Lingchuan. "Not only can it give you wings, but it can also save your life at critical moments!"

He Lingchuan laughed. "You are also at a critical moment now, why didn't I see that skill come out to save your life?"

"I'm exhausted now," Zhu Xiuer said, with its life gate held by others, not speaking empty words. "If it were in the past, you wouldn't even be able to get close when I was molting."

It couldn't help but sigh: "You are truly lucky."

He Lingchuan smiled; only he himself knew that this was the result of careful planning, how could it be attributed entirely to luck?

"A molt was missing in the exhibition room earlier. I knew you had put this shell back on your body."

Earlier, when he followed the mountain bandits into the exhibition room, he found that there were only four molts left, with one missing out of thin air. It turned out that Siwen Wang had led a whole nest of descendants to make trouble, and Zhu Xiuer had a premonition that this provocation wasn't simple, so it put a molt on its body and went out to meet the battle.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 350 =====