Soon,
They saw the faint glow of the Stele that was giving out transmissions, Wei Cheng and his team were back in the main mining tunnel again.
There was no stench of blood here, just a thick layer of spider webs on the ground.
Weicheng, walking at the front, wearing a basket on his back, pickaxe in hand, alert and cautious. Even though he was scared out of his wits a few days ago, he appeared more resolute today. Even if he knew that Zhang Yong harbored malevolent intentions, he was compelled to gamble, because this was his last chance.
He couldn't afford to take out the remaining two chunks of bread he hid for summoning a Purple Mist innate realm martial artist who had no ambitions, was selfless, and was willing to risk his life for him.
The gap began to shoot out more and more spider silk. Wei Cheng was forced to use the pickaxe to cut through, but still ended up covered in quite a bit of it. Each twine of the silk wrapped around his legs and feet felt like stepping on 502 glue, extremely uncomfortable.
The spider silk even felt hot on his skin.
Was the spider silk poisonous?
Wei Cheng instinctively circulated his Moving Mountain inner strength. Although it wasn't as exaggerated as the Purple Mist inner strength that lit up three inches of purple light around his body, the burning sensation did quickly fade away, and the consumed energy was negligible.
Indeed, in terms of defense, the Moving Mountain inner strength had its unique qualities.
At this time, the mine tunnel gradually widened, revealing a basketball court-sized space. A three-meter-tall Stele floated in the middle of the space, casting a ghostly glow, and a truck-sized black spider was wandering around it. The surrounding walls and the floor were covered with spider silk, and hundreds of basin-sized spiders rapidly crawled around.
This scene made Wei Cheng's scalp tingle and his heart thump.
This was completely different from what they had seen a few days ago.
It meant that their previous employer, Mr. Shen, was absolutely right. They should have rushed out back then, and they might have killed the Spider Demon. But now, fifty miners were whittled down to five, and the boss had several hundred underlings, even upping its area damage.
"Wha--what do we do? I have a wife and kids back home..."
Weicheng heard the bald man behind him trembling in fear, and even the domineering young warrior Zhang Yong fell silent.
"Or, we can find more people, or another one who practices the Purple Mist Method..."
The old man was playing his ancestral mind games again. After all, Zhang Yong had some clean water left, enough to make Wu Yin an Innate Realm martial artist.
For a moment, even Zhang Yong seemed tempted. He was just a freshman, and half a year ago he was still a high school student.
"Courage is also a part of the battle..."
Wei Cheng suddenly stuttered out a sentence. He was scared too, but he wouldn't make the same mistake again.
"Charge!"
He let out a yell, Wei Cheng took out a piece of Flame ore from his basket, and charged out like a desperate man. He wanted to see if he could somehow lure the Stoned Monster into the Spider Demon's territory.
If it didn't work, he'd detonate the Flame ore and kill them all. That was his only plan.
The others were stunned for a moment, and the bald man gritted his teeth and charged out too. The old man, Zhang Yong, and Wu Yin hesitated in the rear, not daring to breathe, afraid of being locked on by the elusive Stoned Monster.
But the Stoned Monster didn't appear, it seemed to respect the Spider Demon's territory.
Wei Cheng's mind went blank, his heart pounding. He hadn't run far before his legs felt like they were filled with lead, sinking into a quagmire and growing more immobile the more he struggled.
He had underestimated the thick layer of spider webs on the ground.
The old man, Zhang Yong, and Wu Yin in the rear saw the dangerous situation and quickly retreated without offering any help.
The bald man was worse off. Due to nerves, he fell as soon as he leapt out. At this point, his whole body was covered in spider web. The more he rolled, the more entangled he became, and the tighter his body was wrapped.
From all directions, the small spiders were swarming over like sharks smelling blood.
"Damn!"
Cursing aloud, Wei Cheng went all in, whirling his Moving Mountain Inner Strength inside his body like a whirlwind while frantically rubbing the Flame Ore with his hands. In just a few strokes, wave after wave of red fire surged up, eerie and perilous!
Wei Cheng's hair stood on end as he fiercely threw the Flame Ore towards the huge spider on his left. Shockingly, the ore exploded in mid-air not even five meters from his hand. A terrifying burst of flame instantly engulfed everything, and the resulting shock wave catapulted Wei Cheng into the air, only to fall heavily back on the ground.
Despite having the protection of his decades-worth Moving Mountain Inner Strength, he was still knocked out, with his Inner Strength uncontrollably rampaging inside his body. His body felt as if it was falling apart, seeing stars and losing his hearing.
It was only then that he felt the severe pain, as if his whole body was on fire.
His sole remaining consciousness strived to roll around on the ground and tried to marshal his Moving Mountain Inner Strength as best as he could. It was his only lifeline.
However, Wei Cheng didn't know, wherever he rolled, the fire would follow, scaring off those aggressive little spiders. They retreated and fled in haste, and those who couldn't escape were surrounded by the fierce flames and met their ends.
The larger spider had it worse. While the place was spacious, it was a death trap for it. No matter how many webs it spun, it could only burn more intensely amid the raging fire.
The immense fire deterred others from getting close, but it gave rise to hope in the onlookers. No one cared about the screams of Wei Cheng and the bald guy as they got burned in the flames.
No one believed that they could survive in such a sea of fire.
However, even Wei Cheng and the bald guy, underestimated the defensive effects of the Moving Mountain Inner Strength, especially decades of cultivated powerful Inner Strength.
Wei Cheng was merely knocked out by the fall. As his consciousness gradually returned and he managed to marshal his Moving Mountain Inner Strength, he promptly found the burning damage from the fire dramatically decreasing.
Of course, this also resulted in a massive consumption of his Moving Mountain Inner Strength.
"Little Wei, the Stele!"
The bald guy, separated by a sea of fire, suddenly yelled. He was unscathed and thirty meters away from the Transfer of Power Stele. Wei Cheng, flung by the explosion of the Flame Stone, was only five to six meters from the Stele at this moment.
Upon hearing this, Wei Cheng, covered in fire, rushed towards the Transfer of Power Stele.
Nearly simultaneously, five or six figures darted out from the back of the mineshaft. Smart people knew that whoever touched the Stele first at this moment might indeed gain more.
Unexceptionally, all of them cultivated the Moving Mountain Method, bypassing the large fire and leaving the high temperature and minor fires inconsequential.
However, those who were swifter were the ones who cultivated the Method of the Agile Swallow.
"Fuck you! Daring to steal my monster!"
Zhang Yong finally caught on and rushed out in a burst of purple mist. His speed was not slower than those cultivating the Method of the Agile Swallow.
But no matter how fast they were, they couldn't surpass Wei Cheng.
When Wei Cheng, ablaze, threw himself onto the Transfer of Power Stele, others were still more than ten meters away.
At that exact moment, the Stele lit up with a dazzling light. Everyone was familiar with this light, which was known to boost spirit and physical potential. Regrettably, the light only shone on Wei Cheng.
In an instant, Wei Cheng's excruciating pain and visible burns began to heal rapidly.
His spirit was bathed as if by warm sunlight, becoming refreshingly clear.
Unfortunately, the light lasted for only two seconds. As Zhang Yong, arriving later but moving quicker, reached the Stele, the light disappeared.
However, he still managed to touch the Stele, which had shrunk by half by this point.
Then came the third, the fourth person, and when the tenth person touched the Stele, it completely vanished.