Chapter 703: Xiuer, You Finally Woke Up

This was a phantom, seemingly a small spider half a finger long, with wings growing on its back, vibrating like bee wings, and its eight legs all holding a round and flat small white ball.

When making the plan earlier, the Eyeball Spider explained to him that this was called a Soul Cocoon.

Zhu Xiuer's slough was not just a layer of shell; it had soft internal tissues, and even retained muscles and a few internal organs, and dozens of egg sacs.

The spider eggs still had activity. He Lingchuan had seen Zhu Xiuer's cave spider army and knew its spider eggs could catalyze a wide variety of offspring.

But just like this, it was far from being able to exert the power of a demon immortal body.

The Soul Cocoon sealed in the Xun retained a part of Zhu Xiuer's main consciousness. After entering the slough, it immediately catalyzed the spider eggs, not to produce offspring, but to make them grow into more internal organs, muscles, glands, and soft tissues needed for the slough.

To put it bluntly, the spider eggs would turn into flesh and blood to fill the slough, so that Zhu Xiuer could better control it.

Such unfathomable immortal means, He Lingchuan could understand, but couldn't fully comprehend yet: "To put it bluntly, this is equivalent to an external incarnation?"

"You can say that."

At this time, the immortal slough was as steady as a mountain, and golden light occasionally swept across its surface. Eight crystal pillars were engraved with runes, flashing with the same golden light.

He Lingchuan knew at a glance that there were at least a few restrictions on the slough, preventing outsiders from approaching and moving the slough.

If he touched it rashly, the outcome might not be much better than hitting the glazed cover earlier.

How these restrictions took effect and how they could be broken, he had no clue at all.

The Heavenly Palace's protection of this array eye was truly layer upon layer, even moving the slough required tricks.

He Lingchuan had done everything he could, and the rest was all helplessness; it depended on Zhu Xiuer herself.

Just when He Lingchuan was worried that the little spider couldn't get close to the slough, the demon immortal slough's chelicerae suddenly opened on their own.

Compared to its body size, the spider's mouthparts could truly be called a cherry mouth.

But for the small spider with wings, that was a giant hole.

It accelerated and flew over, and the slough also lunged forward fiercely, directly swallowing this small spider.

He Lingchuan watched with cold sweat. This slough had been vacant for many years, and now it could act autonomously; it could only be explained that the bond between it and Zhu Xiuer was too tight.

In just these few breaths, the stone man couldn't withstand the storm-like siege and had no choice but to turn into a pile of broken stones.

It was gone, so He Lingchuan had to go up himself.

He used the heavy shield to block the hole, pressed hard with his shoulders, and exerted force from his waist and legs to perform a "thousand-catty drop."

The enemy's attack landed on the shield.

Inside and outside resisted each other, and for a while, it fell into a stalemate.

Fortunately, the hole was small, and the number of enemies that could attack the shield surface was limited, and they had to avoid accidentally touching the Lei Chi.

Just like this, holding on for less than a few breaths, the Zu Ju avatar suddenly shouted to remind him: "Leave the glazed cover, quick, quick, quick!"

The cold ice covering the glazed cover was fading rapidly, the white frost getting thinner and thinner, showing that the effectiveness of the ice talisman was disappearing.

The array eye had a continuous and stable energy supply, and the ice talisman, which claimed to be able to freeze half a mountain peak, could only freeze it for a while.

He Lingchuan didn't dare to be slow, jumped back with big strides.

Without the cover of the mirror shield, the enemies immediately drilled through the gap.

First, the lamp spirit squeezed in from the gap, pouncing directly at He Lingchuan's head and face.

Two more glazed beasts jumped over, their backs hit by two arrows from their own people.

A guard followed closely behind.

But the ice talisman's effectiveness disappeared at this moment, the cold ice melted completely, and the glazed solution flowed down, completely filling the gap.

The original array on the glazed cover also took effect at the same time! That guard was only halfway through climbing the hole, his head inside and legs outside, when the glazed liquid flowed down. He screamed in pain, and was then cut into two sections by the array! This was even more painful than the punishment of waist-cutting; he didn't die immediately, rolling and howling on the ground.

Other guards saw this and couldn't help but feel terrified.

The glazed cover returned to its original state, instead isolating them outside. This was good, the people inside couldn't get out, and the people outside couldn't get in.

Unless the Du Yun Chief came in person, no one else could open this round cover.

And the power of the Lei Chi became an obstacle for them instead.

The enemies He Lingchuan had to deal with were temporarily reduced to three: two glazed beasts lunged over in the blink of an eye, while the lamp spirit very insidiously circled behind his back, preparing to coordinate with the companions in front.

He Lingchuan didn't fear the glazed beasts. This thing could recover immediately when slashed by ordinary blades and swords, but unfortunately, it met Floating Life. This blade was good at slashing formless things, and it was the killer of monsters like glazed beasts without a fixed form.

But he was wary of the lamp spirit.

The lamp spirit controlled by Bai Ziqi had left a deep impression on him earlier.

"Behind!" Zu Ju also reminded him.

The array eye wasn't broken, so it couldn't take action, only acting as a small radar for He Lingchuan.

However, at this time, a strange voice sounded:

"Close your eyes, don't look back!"

Zu Ju was shocked: "What is that?"

Besides the boy and a spider smaller than a fingernail, was there a third living creature here? He Lingchuan slashed open a glazed beast and followed the instruction to close his eyes.

Because he recognized who it was as soon as he heard it: Zhu Xiuer! She finally reacted.

At this moment, He Lingchuan only felt her voice was better to listen to than the nine-day fairy! He exposed his back to the lamp spirit; of course, this thing wouldn't be polite and pounced up.

Just as it was about to pounce on He Lingchuan, a strong light suddenly shot out from behind! This light was so intense, as if it had gathered the scorching sun into a narrow beam. The guards outside the glazed cover facing this light immediately felt a vast whiteness before their eyes, and even closing their eyes was useless.

In this instant, creatures with flesh and blood were either dizzy or had their hearts stirred and difficult to control, and all stopped their attacks.

This stolen one or two breaths were too precious to He Lingchuan; he grabbed the giant shield, channeled all his true power, and smashed it directly at the edge of the hole.

Once, twice.

The hole went from one foot to more than two feet wide.

A flash before his eyes, the lamp spirit flew over, arriving first after starting later. It didn't know what kind of monster it had simulated, but its face could open like a flower petal, and two long tongues came out, like a frog hunting.

Its power, He Lingchuan had already learned at Baishajue, and he didn't want to face it head-on at this time.

He patted his mount, and this last spider guard sprayed a spider web at the lamp spirit, blocking its mouth, then stood up and pounced on it, just barely resisting the lamp spirit's first attack.

In just two exchanges, the spider guard turned into blood drops and fell.

It had exhausted its energy and died of old age.

But it also perfectly completed the task, because He Lingchuan seized the gap and "whoosh" drilled through the hole in the round cover! Outside, the enemies were like a dark cloud, but the gap in the round cover was only this big. Except for the glazed monsters, how many could squeeze in? At this time, Zu Ju's stone man also rushed over with big strides, squatted down, and blocked the gap of the round cover directly.

It didn't dare to touch the Lei Chi and couldn't actively attack the opponent, but acting as a stumbling block to stop most of the pursuers was no problem.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, He Lingchuan grabbed the Xun and blew it with all his might! Zhu Xiuer's furry chelicerae were less than a foot away, almost poking his face.

It was so close, but don't say blowing the Xun couldn't call reinforcements!

"Hissing" sounds resounded throughout the array eye.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 704 =====

At this moment, the other seven glazed pillars erupted with golden light, as if intending to forcibly fix the Spider Immortal in place.

Zhu Xiuer tried her best to retract her form, shrinking herself into an oversized leather ball, and then suddenly struggled outward with her eight legs! With several crisp cracking sounds, five of the seven glazed pillars snapped instantly! Although their binding power was astonishing, this discarded shell of Zhu Xiuer was the body of an ancient demon immortal; how could it be easily bound? Besides, when the Heavenly God designed these glazed pillars, how could he have anticipated that a quiet discarded shell could suddenly jump, move, and exert force? These eight pillars were originally meant only to serve as a fixation, ensuring the star map on the spider shell's abdomen would not shift.

Now that Zhu Xiuer had returned to her demon immortal body, what could a mere few pillars do? Naturally, they would snap for you to see.

The golden light restriction around Zhu Xiuer finally vanished.

He Lingchuan, adhering to the principle of frugality and not wasting, scooped up a broken glazed pillar and threw it into his storage ring.

How could anything used by a Heavenly God in the array eye of a Spirit-Gathering Array be an ordinary object? The reason he didn't take more was that this thing was too big and too heavy for his storage ring to bear.

Alas, after escaping Lingxu, he would have to find a way to get a large-capacity storage ring; otherwise, returning empty-handed from a treasure mountain, even the heavens would blame him.

He obtained the small lamp, and Zhu Xiuer seemed to inhale; the star map on her abdomen dimmed rapidly, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

In this way, the most important bridge used by the Spirit-Gathering Array to communicate with heaven and earth was gone.

The glazed cover suddenly disappeared, and the monsters swimming back and forth on the star ring also froze in an instant.

These array restrictions all relied on the spiritual energy gathered by the Spirit-Gathering Array to operate.

Now that the array eye of the Spirit-Gathering Array was lost, they instantly lost their energy source.

Even the array eye itself lost its concealment effect, appearing above Kaiyang Peak.

Afterward, He Lingchuan heard Qu Ju's earth-shattering, wild laughter coming from all directions:

"I am free, I am free again!"

The sound shook the wilderness and echoed through the mountains.

……

The radiance of the Painting of Shanhe suddenly dimmed, and everyone in the Star-Plucking Tower was dumbfounded.

How long had it been, and the array eye was already broken? Even standing by the Painting of Shanhe and witnessing the whole process with their own eyes, they still found it hard to believe.

How could such a thing happen? There was only one visible external enemy, and he didn't use any earth-shattering divine abilities, so how could he break an array personally designed by a Heavenly God?

The most outrageous thing was that the Spider Immortal's discarded shell, which served as the holy object of the array eye, suddenly came to life!

The figures standing in the Star-Plucking Tower at this moment all had status and discernment; they could see at a glance that the spider shell had been activated by the intruder, though they didn't know what method the other party had used.

This ancient demon immortal's spider shell had been stiff for over a decade and had undergone rigorous inspections before entering the array.

Bai Ziqi said anxiously: "The intruder must have a connection to the original owner of the immortal shell."

But the family that offered the spider shell had long since been banished from the capital; where could they find someone to clarify the whole story in such a short time?

"If we regard the immortal shell as a clone, it is not strange for an ancient great demon to activate their own clone." Chief Du Yun's face was livid. "Release Chenyuan immediately; don't let Qu Ju destroy the Star-Plucking Tower! Where is Xia Ri?"

A subordinate immediately said: "It will take another half-stick of incense, especially since Chenyuan has not been pacified yet..."

From the moment the array eye changed until now, less than forty-five breaths had passed; it was truly too rushed! "Release it immediately!"

The climax at the end of the volume will have a certain length. The upper and lower volumes of "The Ideal Kingdom of Demons" total hundreds of thousands of words and took over three months; all the foreshadowing was for this final explosion.

Some people suggested that the process didn't need to be written so complexly, to hurry up, hurry up, and skip directly to the end. I wouldn't be tired, and they wouldn't be tired of reading.

Let's put it this way: if I think it's necessary to carve flowers on a sesame seed, I will carve flowers on a sesame seed without hesitation. Finishing things hastily at the last moment is a sign of disrespect to the readers.

For those who can't stand the daily updates, I suggest you hoard the chapters; the feeling of reading it all in one go is better.

There are also people who say I am deliberately keeping readers in suspense.

I say you are overthinking it. For this damn ending, I revise every update five or six times before it's released. When I crawl away from my computer desk every morning, my eyes are as red as a rabbit's, and I'm as tired as a ghost; how could I possibly have other thoughts?

(End of this chapter)