Chapter 80: Four-winged Spider King

How could Li Weiyi discard it? He asked, "The precious medicine emits a fragrance, so how will you handle the scent on you? You should have considered this before the trial."

Yao Yin was unsure how to respond when she saw Li Weiyi pull out a large black cloth and wrap the crimson Cistanche deserticola in it. Instantly, all its light and scent were masked.

It was the Ghost Banner.

Li Weiyi himself then crawled inside, intending to pass the trial by simply hiding with the Ghost Banner.

After a moment's thought, he poked his head out, looking at the wide-eyed girl sitting at the bow of the boat, and asked, "Do you want to come inside and hide?"

Yao Yin grunted and turned her face away.

"Alright, then. Try to conceal your aura as much as possible and avoid attracting the Winged White Spiders!" Li Weiyi re-entered the Ghost Banner, silently calculating in his mind.

Earlier, he had deliberately fallen from mid-air, exposing himself to test if Yao Yin would seize the opportunity to attack and kill him. If she had made a move, Li Weiyi would have eliminated her without hesitation.

The same applied now.

Li Weiyi appeared to be defenselessly wrapped in the Ghost Banner, but in reality, he was constantly waiting for Yao Yin to make a move.

"She's only fifteen years old, and it's clear she's been well-protected since childhood. No matter how cold her facade, she remains soft-hearted. With such a disposition, even with a Pure Immortal Physique, she might not survive to the end."

"Forget it, I won't make a move. I'll leave her to those who have opened the Eight Springs and Nine Springs; they'll likely view the Pure Immortal Physique as their primary enemy."

Li Weiyi took a bite of the Cistanche deserticola and began to eat.

A five-hundred-year-old precious medicine truly was different. It melted upon entering his mouth, like swallowing divine nectar, filling his mouth with a radiant glow. The medicinal warmth spread from his lips and tongue, down to his abdomen, and then diffused throughout his body.

Li Weiyi's whole body felt warm, as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

After a month of arduous cultivation, the barrier to the Eighth Spring had become very thin and could be breached at any moment.

For martial artists cultivating the Eight Springs, besides tempering the imprint veins, the most challenging part was actually opening the Wind Mansion.

The Wind Mansion was an inner world, similar to the Spirit Realm of the Glabella, or a small Qi Sea.

Li Weiyi possessed the Buddha Relic, a supreme spatial treasure that could assist in opening inner worlds within the body. Therefore, the final difficulty for him was effectively nonexistent.

Once he opened the Eight Springs, he could start by dealing with Li Qing first, and then try the difficulty of the psychokinetic murals.

In any case, with Master Coffin's letter, it was like carrying an imperial sword of supreme authority, and Li Weiyi felt he could be a bit bolder. As the descendant of the Chief of the Nine Li Tribe from a thousand years ago, being a little astonishing was perfectly reasonable.

Yao Yin sat alone at the bow, her celestial eyes, like blue gemstones, gazing at both sides of the river. She maintained full vigilance, and naturally, she was also wary of Li Weiyi.

Gradually.

Dense spider silk appeared on the river, some of it forming webs, blocking the boat and preventing it from moving forward.

Yao Yin glanced at the figure in the black cloth, ultimately deciding not to rely on him. She took out an enchanted dagger hidden in her sleeve and cautiously began to cut through the spiderwebs.

These spider silks were extremely tough, even tougher than those of the Aozhu. They could be used to weave martial robes and battle armor, or forged into low-level enchanted ropes.

But here, they were very dangerous.

Once entangled, escape would be impossible.

The flat-bottomed boat's progress became extremely slow.

She saw many human skeletons entangled in the spider silk, hanging upside down over the water. It was obvious, even without guessing, that these were previous Seven Springs trial participants.

And on the riverbank, just a few meters away, were fist-sized white spheres, all with membranous wings, clearly dormant Winged White Spiders.

The scenes before her made Yao Yin extremely nervous. She dared not imagine the terrifying sight if they were all awakened.

Meanwhile, Li Weiyi lay on the boat, practicing the Jade Void Breathing Technique, completely immersed in his cultivation.

About half a day later.

The boat came to a complete stop, no longer moving forward.

The unusual changes outside startled Li Weiyi from his cultivation. He wondered why Yao Yin had stopped the boat.

Suddenly.

From outside the Ghost Banner, faint, suppressed moans could be heard, gradually turning into sounds of distress. Her breathing became rapid, and the sounds grew louder.

"What are you doing?"

Li Weiyi crawled out of the Ghost Banner, staring at Yao Yin, who was curled up at the bow, trembling continuously.

The light was too dim to see what she was doing.

Li Weiyi observed his surroundings. He saw dense spiderwebs overhead, dormant White Spiders, and several dangling skeletons. He drew a sharp breath. "Don't make too much noise. If you wake them, both of us will end up hanging there today, and our flesh will be picked clean."

After a long moment, there was no response.

Noticing that Yao Yin's condition was very wrong, Li Weiyi cautiously crawled out of the Ghost Banner.

She was curled up like a small kitten by the roadside in winter. It was unclear what kind of pain she was enduring, and her moans were difficult to suppress.

"How can she be so cold?"

As soon as Li Weiyi approached her, he felt a biting coldness. He gently touched her forehead and cheeks, then her arm; her entire skin was like ice.

What was even more alarming was the dense network of ice cracks on her skin.

Li Weiyi didn't know what was happening to her, but her sounds were growing louder, and the surrounding Winged White Spiders had begun to stir slightly.

Logically speaking, taking this opportunity to finish her with a single sword stroke would resolve everything once and for all.

But she hadn't taken advantage of him earlier when he was vulnerable, so Li Weiyi naturally couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Forget it, I'll just think of her as that baseball bat! I can't bear to break it with my own hands."

Li Weiyi picked up Yao Yin and stuffed her entire body into the Ghost Banner, making her hug the scorching hot Cistanche deserticola. He also fed her a mouthful. Whether she could pull through would depend on her own fortune.

After sealing the Ghost Banner tightly, the muffled moaning from inside, as if she had something in her mouth, immediately became extremely faint.

Drawing the Yellow Dragon Sword, Li Weiyi sat at the bow, about to cut through the spider silk blocking the river.

A strange cry came from behind him.

Without thinking, he turned around and, with a backhand swing of his sword, severed the incoming white spider silk.

"Gugu!"

A fist-sized Winged White Spider quickly scuttled away and disappeared from a spider silk strand several zhang away.

But the sound from its mouth woke all the dormant white spheres on both sides of the river. Each one raised its head, revealing dark red eyes, densely packed like a sea of red stars.

"Damn it."

Li Weiyi stopped being cautious, wanting only to escape immediately. He infused the Yellow Dragon Sword with spiritual energy and slashed fiercely forward to clear a path.

Upon contact with the yellow sword light, all the spider silk instantly melted.

"Swish! Swish! Swish..."

Countless spider silks shot towards him, coming from all directions.

"Ruyi Qiankun Sword."

Li Weiyi unleashed the second sword technique of the Twelve Scattered Swords of Chanmen, manifesting the realm of Heavenly Dao Fusion.

With a single sword move, one sword transformed into a hundred.

Sword shadows cascaded like a rainstorm, creating an impenetrable defense.

All the spider silks were severed.

But more spider silks attacked again, and some White Spiders flapped their wings and flew directly onto the boat.

In an instant, the entire spider cave filled with dense cries as White Spiders swarmed everywhere, their membranous wings as sharp as blades.

Li Weiyi held out for only a breath's time, then immediately released the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors from the insect tube on his back, sending them to fight the incoming swarm of White Spiders.

Catching his breath, he quickly severed all the spider silk clinging to him, moved to the bow, and began slashing his sword to clear a path while rapidly paddling the boat.

He was only at the Seven Springs cultivation level and couldn't release spiritual energy to propel the wooden boat like Yin Ershi.

That was a technique only available to those at the Five Seas Realm.

Fortunately, the boat was moving downstream rapidly.

"Aren't you Imperial-grade? Facing these soldier-grade fierce insects, can't you just release a wisp of aura to intimidate them?" Li Weiyi was not very satisfied with the performance of the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors.

Immediately, three Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors stopped fighting.

Li Weiyi quickly said, "I have a hundred jin of five-hundred-year-old Cistanche deserticola. Whoever kills more fierce insects will get more. I'm keeping count for you..."

The three striking Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors immediately flew up again, with colorful glows erupting from their bodies. Their combat states reached their peak as they charged back and forth among the White Spider swarm.

Insect corpses rained down.

"Gugu!"

An extremely deep and loud cry echoed from the depths of the cave on the right.

Li Weiyi immediately became alert. He discovered that deep within the cave, a Cistanche deserticola emitting a purple glow was growing, tens of zhang away from the river.

This indicated its age had reached eight or nine hundred years, not far from being a thousand-year-old spirit medicine.

"It's grown here in this trial ground for eight or nine hundred years and hasn't been taken?"

As Li Weiyi was pondering this, a face-sized White Spider crawled out from the purple glow of the precious medicine, with four blood-red wings on its back.

That deep, loud cry had come from its mouth.

"Clatter!"

The basin-sized White Spider moved all eight legs simultaneously, its speed like a streak of light, charging towards the flat-bottomed boat in the river.

"This Spider King is definitely not soldier-grade!"

Li Weiyi unhesitatingly summoned the Black Iron Seal and struck it heavily with his sword hilt.

"Boom!"

The sound of thunder shook the entire cave, and an electric glow burst forth like a serpent of light.

The Spider King, flying with vibrating four wings, did not dodge. It spat out a beam of blood-red light that collided with the electric serpent of light and actually managed to withstand it.

Its four wings stirred up violent winds, and it was getting closer and closer.

Li Weiyi's expression changed abruptly. He had never encountered such a terrifying creature before.

He took out the Evil Camel Bell and infused it with spiritual energy.

He didn't care if he would be affected by evil thoughts; he just shook it frantically.

"Whoosh!"

A gigantic, semi-corporeal camel appeared on the boat and charged towards the four-winged Spider King flying before it. This blow finally sent the Spider King flying backward.

But in an instant, the four-winged Spider King returned, its cries more ferocious.

"Stop killing! Quickly push the boat and escape this place."

Li Weiyi commanded the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors with his mental power. Though small, they possessed great strength and incredible speed.

Perhaps influenced by the Evil Camel Bell, five of them went berserk with killing intent, while only two obeyed and went to push the boat.

"Clang! Clang!"

Shaking the Evil Camel Bell again, he used the gigantic camel to repel the four-winged Spider King for a second time.

His spiritual energy was being consumed rapidly, and Li Weiyi knew he couldn't last much longer. Of course, he still had a trump card: the Buddha Relic on the Dao Ancestor's Taiji Fish.

But the four-winged Spider King's speed was too great, and he could only absorb it into the Blood Mud Space if it was within three zhang.

The window of opportunity was too brief. If he was a beat too slow, his body would be torn apart; if he was a beat too fast, he wouldn't be able to collect it.

At the same time, his three masters were still in the Blood Mud Space, and taking a Spider King into it would also be dangerous for them.

"Don't force me to merge the springs and break the barrier."

Li Weiyi really didn't want to use such a dangerous method to attempt to break through to the Eighth Spring.

Although the flat-bottomed boat was moving rapidly, the four-winged Spider King pursued relentlessly. After repelling it for the third time, Li Weiyi's body experienced major problems. Not only did bell sounds appear in his mind, but the Six Desires Talisman on his chest also flickered, and his entire body quickly grew scorching hot.

This was simply adding insult to injury; the Six Desires Talisman was acting up at the worst possible time.

"Gugu!"

The four-winged Spider King led a large number of White Spiders flying rapidly in pursuit.

There was no time to find any pills.

Li Weiyi's eyes were bloodshot. Amidst the effects of the Evil Camel Bell, the Six Desires Talisman, and the immediate life-or-death crisis, his emotions were ignited. He roared, "Kill!"

Evil thoughts transformed into battle intent, desire ignited his blood, overriding all reason.

Riding the semi-corporeal camel and wielding the Yellow Dragon Sword, he actually charged out of the flat-bottomed boat, stepped onto the blood river, and launched a counter-charge against the spider swarm behind him.

The seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors were stunned, then also transformed into seven streaks of colorful light and followed him.

On the blood river, a chaotic battle erupted, so fierce it seemed to turn day into night.

"Bang! Bang..."

Li Weiyi wielded his sword with both hands, fiercely clashing with the four-winged Spider King. His body accumulated more and more wounds, cut by the sharp spider wings. But the more he fought, the more invigorated he became, and his reason and consciousness gradually became clear.

"Why am I fighting the Spider King? Luckily, the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors are helping me, otherwise I certainly wouldn't have lasted this long. My so-called 'Dao Guardian Wife' is indeed unreliable, not even showing up in such a dangerous situation."

"The back of my head hurts so much... it's the Wind Mansion..."

Li Weiyi discovered that the Wind Mansion acupoint at the back of his head was throbbing with intense pain, as if a needle was pricking it. Instead of being alarmed, he felt joy.

This was a sign that a spring was about to open!

He quickly stabilized his mental consciousness, performed the breathing technique, and gradually, wisps of spiritual power began to overflow from the Wind Mansion acupoint.

Without hesitation, he used spiritual light to activate the Buddha Relic, drawing gentle spatial power to act upon the Wind Mansion acupoint.

"Boom!"

A moment later, as Li Weiyi's sword struck the four-winged Spider King, the inner space beneath his Wind Mansion acupoint opened, and violent spiritual power surged out, causing his sword strike to erupt with unprecedented power.