Chapter 343: Darkly Crossing Chen Cang

When their leader was in distress, his subordinates naturally came to help. The colossal wild boar and the various snake groups charged forward, engaging the spider swarm to break the siege.

Under the moonlight, the scene was as chaotic and lively as a pot of boiling water.

Spectators on the hillside watched in terror, realizing that when these monsters went wild, humans stood no chance.

Meanwhile, Tu Zhongli and his group seized the opportunity presented by the monstrous brawl to quietly descend into the sinkhole, using tree roots and vines.

Little did they know, Zhu Erniang, unaccustomed to such setbacks, had been truly enraged. She struggled to raise her head and forcefully sprayed streams of spider silk onto the large trees in the distance.

The immense trees above the sinkhole were all ancient, majestic specimens, at least seven or eight hundred years old.

Once the spider silk had firmly attached, Zhu Erniang yanked with immense force. Astonishingly, she dragged the entire chaotic mass of monsters, including the two other demon kings, tumbling down into the sinkhole!

The vertical drop was over a hundred feet. Upon impact, the smaller monsters on the periphery were scattered and disoriented.

The sinkhole's bottom was covered in spiderwebs, with only a narrow path usually left for humans. Smaller monsters, if shaken into the webs, were instantly ensnared, with snakes suffering the worst fate.

The three powerful demons, still entangled, rolled down the incline and plunged with a splash into the water.

The sinkhole's water was exceptionally deep.

The colossal beasts battled underwater for a considerable time, but King Siwen was the first to falter. As a purely land-dwelling creature, it couldn't hold its breath for long, and the high-intensity combat rapidly depleted its oxygen. Moreover, countless eels, ranging from chopstick-thin to sea-bowl-sized, swarmed from the depths, latching onto its body and biting.

Normally, these small creatures posed no threat, incapable of even breaching its hide. However, its body already bore a dozen puncture wounds from the spider guards, each injected with venom, and its pigskin's usual elasticity was compromised. The eels relentlessly burrowed into these wounds, causing excruciating pain and irritation, making its situation unbearable.

To make matters worse, one particularly large eel, as thick as a bowl, was venomously trying to burrow into highly sensitive areas.

As for the other two demons, the giant python, Lord Bowen, was naturally amphibious and could comfortably sleep underwater. While Zhu Erniang lacked that specific ability, her body bristles absorbed countless air bubbles upon contact with water. When she struggled, she simply needed to inhale, and some bubbles would even permeate her body.

Less than fifteen minutes later, King Siwen could no longer endure and surfaced.

With one primary attacker gone, Zhu Erniang could focus her full attention on the giant python. Lord Bowen, in turn, began to struggle.

As a seasoned great demon, Zhu Erniang's leg claws were sharper than steel knives, and even her bristles were directly coated with venom. This meant she didn't need to bite Lord Bowen to inject poison.

Naturally, Lord Bowen was also a master of toxins. Its fangs were embedded in the spider demon's shoulder plates, as if trying to pump every last drop of its venom into her.

But it quickly realized something was amiss:

Zhu Erniang's combat strength showed no signs of diminishing, as if its venom had no effect whatsoever.

How was this possible?

A single drop of its venomous saliva could kill hundreds of humans. No matter how robust Zhu Erniang's constitution, she shouldn't have been completely unaffected by dozens of pounds of its toxin.

Just then, one of Zhu Erniang's eyes began to swell, growing steadily larger. When it reached twice the size of her other eyes, it detached, slowly floating upward, its color shifting from black to red.

This "eyeball" was, in fact, a small spider, which twitched its legs twice in the water before dying.

Witnessing this, Lord Bowen suddenly understood:

Zhu Erniang had somehow gathered all the snake venom into that eye, expelling it directly in this manner!

They had been old rivals for years, yet Zhu Erniang still possessed so many hidden tricks!

At that moment, however, Lord Bowen suddenly noticed wisps of fibrous material floating in the water, which clung to his body upon contact.

Spider silk!

Zhu Erniang had been secretly spinning silk all along.

This type of silk was insoluble in water, and its adhesive properties remained undiminished even after prolonged submersion. The spider swarm typically used it for fishing.

Now, Zhu Erniang intended to use it to ensnare him.

Thanks to the water currents, the spider silk was drifting everywhere, making it impossible for Lord Bowen to evade. If he were fully entangled here, unlike on land, he would have no leverage and couldn't violently break free from the webs.

Given this predicament, Lord Bowen's only chance of victory was to find a way back to land and attack alongside King Siwen.

Realizing this, he decisively released Zhu Erniang and swiftly swam towards the surface.

While chaos reigned outside the demon's lair, the underground palace remained eerily quiet.

As wave after wave of spiders rushed out to support the battle, their rustling sounds quickly faded, leaving the vast demon lair eerily empty. The remaining spider guards remained steadfast at their posts, venturing no further.

Amidst the profound silence, a sudden movement emanated from the demon lair's wine cellar:

One of the two large rows of wine jars previously transported inside suddenly had its lid slowly pushed open. A head peeked out, surveyed the surroundings twice, and whispered:

"No guards! It's safe!"

Another four or five wine jars were uncapped, and the bandits concealed within them promptly emerged.

Hiding in wine jars to infiltrate the underground palace had indeed proven to be a flawless strategy.

"Quickly, figure out our location!"

"Where's the map?" a bandit urged the companion who had emerged first. "Old Six, quickly check the map!"

Fluorescent spores illuminated the wine cellar, so lighting was not an issue.

Old Six retrieved a piece of black and grey patterned snakeskin from his tunic and examined it in the light.

"We should be here!" he indicated on the map. "Then we need to go here... wait, that doesn't seem right."

"Can you handle this, or are you going to lead us astray?!" the bandits impatiently pressed.

The monsters outside would buy them time, but the duration was uncertain, and they didn't trust these creatures. Completing their mission swiftly was paramount.

Old Six shoved the snakeskin map towards them. "If you can do better, you lead!"

No one took it. "No, you do it, just be quick about it."

"Alright, it should be this way. Follow me." Old Six finally determined the route and nimbly led them out of the wine cellar. "Lord Bowen said this was originally his lair, so his map should be very accurate."

There were no guards at the wine cellar entrance—

Of course. Who guards a wine cellar against theft?

However, Old Six noticed a flicker of light at the end of the passage and instinctively recoiled.

After a few moments passed with no further movement, he proceeded. The fluorescent spores within the underground palace had grown, and their sudden illumination was not uncommon.

Old Six truly had a knack for map reading. This was his first time in the complex, multi-layered underground palace, yet he could discern their approximate location merely by consulting his compass-like device.

Despite taking a few detours, their path unmistakably led towards Zhu Erniang's abode, the very heart of the demon lair!

Naturally, spider guards patrolled the routes, but the bandits had a countermeasure: whenever they had nowhere to hide, they would hold a snakeskin in front of them. When the spider guards approached, their many large eyes would simply perceive an ordinary rock wall—

This snakeskin was enchanted with an illusion spell, granting it powers of disguise that even the spider guards' abilities couldn't penetrate.

The bandits, for their part, had already smeared themselves with plant juices and woody scents to mask their human odor.

Having thus bypassed several waves of guards, they ventured deeper and deeper into the cave system.

Despite having a map, the sheer size and complexity of this multi-layered demon lair surpassed their expectations. One bandit, steeling himself, asked Old Six, "How much farther? We've been walking for fifteen minutes already; this is taking too long."

Their leader had previously probed Lord Bowen, who, despite boasting of his own combat prowess, had acknowledged Zhu Erniang's formidable strength and warned humans to be swift in and out of the demon lair, lest they die without a trace.

"'Quick in' doesn't seem to have happened," they thought, "will 'quick out' even be an option now?"

Finally, they reached a colossal cavern, its entrance sealed by a dense, intricate web.

Old Six, far from being alarmed, was delighted. "It must be here! Such strong defenses!"

The spiderwebs were incredibly adhesive and untouchable. Fortunately, they were prepared; the two bags of sand they carried finally proved useful.

They scattered handfuls of sand over the web.

No matter how sticky the spiderweb, once coated with layers of sand, it lost its adhesive power.

Old Six then tested the web with his axe. Finding it no longer stuck, he declared, "We can get through now."

The webs were too tough to cut, but their elasticity allowed the group to squeeze through.

No sooner had they stepped inside, before they could even brush the sand from their clothes, they saw several colossal, dark spider demons standing against the walls, dozens of their eyes seemingly fixed on the entrance.

Everyone gasped in fear; Old Six nearly dropped his map.

"So, so massive—even bigger than Zhu Erniang outside!"

Calming their pounding hearts, they then noticed that the colossal demons were perfectly still, as if asleep.

"Are these… them?"

Old Six composed himself. "Yes, Lord Boshan wants spider exoskeletons. These must be them!"

"Which one should we pick?" Finding no guards in the chamber, the group moved closer, examining and touching the massive forms.

Seeing such colossal creatures for the first time, they couldn't help but feel curious. Someone even reached out and knocked on a spider leg, finding it solid as rock. "There are four of them here."

"Lord Boshan didn't specify which one he wanted." Perhaps the great python didn't even know there were four molts inside. "Let's just choose the biggest one then."

Another bandit produced a snakeskin pouch. "How do we use this thing?"

"The great snake said to simply slip the 'Qiankun Bag' over the exoskeleton's head," someone replied.

The bandit had to climb the mountain-like giant spider exoskeleton using both hands and feet. However, the stiff bristles on the exoskeleton's legs were like a wall of swords, forcing him to proceed with extreme caution at every step, terrified of a misstep leading to...

His companions below were consumed with impatience, constantly urging him: "Hurry up, what are you dawdling for?! Get up there, quick!"

"Weren't you quick enough climbing Widow Wang's bed?"

"Could his legs be weak? He seemed a bit unsteady walking today."

The bandit, irritated, turned and snapped, "Stop bothering me! If you can do better, you go up… Ah!"

He suddenly convulsed, twitching violently twice, then toppled headfirst.

The stiff bristles on the exoskeleton's legs were like piercing swords; as he tumbled down, his body sustained countless bleeding wounds, making him resemble a leaking sack.

Alarmed, the others quickly flipped him over. His face was mottled black and blue, his body convulsing, and his skin visibly swelled as if air were being pumped into him.

The fluid oozing from his wounds quickly turned a yellowish-green, resembling pus more than blood.