Xie Zhaolin returned once more to the edge of the stone forest. Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed against her storage ring as she stood in the shadows, eyes fixed ahead.
That Shisha Spider puppet from before had been incredibly useful. If she hadn't been forced by the gray-robed man to detonate it, she wouldn't have needed to come back to this dangerous place. She hadn't forgotten there was still a third-rank spider queen lurking here!
"Blackwater Abyss's depths…" she murmured, her gaze darkening.
With her current cultivation, diving deep into the abyss alone was almost impossible. And if she wanted to pick the Rebirth Flower down there, the danger would be far worse than what the gray-robed man had warned her about.
The swarm might be loyal, but they were only low-ranked spirit insects. They could handle ordinary beasts, but when true danger struck, they'd be nearly useless.
"I need to refine a new batch of puppets."
Her gaze shifted toward the stone forest's depths. That was where the Shisha Spiders nested. These second-rank beasts had shells as hard as iron, and their silk was tougher than most magic tools. If she could refine more Shisha Spider puppets, her odds of survival would rise considerably. Even if she only used them to self-detonate, they'd still give her precious breathing room in critical moments.
But the problem was… the spider queen.
Xie Zhaolin tapped her storage ring lightly, her mind racing through possible risks. That third-rank peak spider queen already had high intelligence. If she acted rashly and triggered its alertness, she'd lose her chance completely.
The outer area only had Shisha Spiders suitable for refining puppets.
"I'll have to outwit it…"
She exhaled a deep breath and drew out a jade-green vial from her ring.
Inside was a powdered soul-confusing incense, something Zhou Zhilán had specially prepared. It wouldn't work well on a third-rank beast, but against the second-rank Shisha Spiders, it was more than enough.
"I can't be greedy," she calculated silently. "Two at most each time, with at least half an hour between."
The spider queen's perception was vast. If too many of her children suddenly vanished, it'd immediately notice.
But if she controlled the numbers and pace, she might just fool it.
Xie Zhaolin then took out a Shaxue Pill, carefully adding a few drops of Xuanyin Grass sap. She crushed the pill into powder and let the wind carry it, blending it into the Shisha-filled air of the stone forest.
The queen bee buzzed softly by her side, while a few worker bees flew deeper inside, spreading the powder's scent.
Xie Zhaolin held her breath and waited patiently.
Not long after, a faint rustling came from within.
A Shisha Spider with a black body and blood-red patterns crawled out from a crack, its abdomen shriveled with hunger. She didn't strike right away. Instead, she sent a command to the swarm through her divine sense. A few worker bees scattered more powder above the spider's head.
The spider twitched violently, agitated by the scent, then slowly crawled toward the trap she'd prepared—a sunken pit surrounded by massive boulders. Xie Zhaolin's fingers shifted through seals. A trace of black qi seeped into the earth, weaving a simple trapping formation.
When the spider entered the circle, she acted instantly.
"Bind!"
Blue symbols lit up across the ground, and spiritual chains coiled around all eight of its legs!
The spider struggled frantically, shooting sticky silk from its spinnerets. But Xie Zhaolin was ready. A flash of cold light flew from her sleeve—the Dark Moon Dagger slicing cleanly through the threads. At the same time, her other hand formed a seal, stabbing a line of black qi straight into the spider's eyes!
"Hissss!"
Its shrill cry was cut short by the sound barrier she'd set in advance. She surged forward, thrusting Yinsha qi from the Netherwater Art into its nerve center.
Its struggling slowed, then ceased.
Xie Zhaolin swiftly shoved a Soul-Confusing Pill into its mouth to keep it unconscious, then stored the body in her beast pouch.
The whole process took less than ten breaths. Smooth and decisive.
Without lingering, she changed positions to set her next trap. She knew the spider queen's senses were vast. Carelessness wasn't an option.
For the next two days, she repeated the process, luring only one or two each time. Sometimes she waited half an hour, sometimes a full hour, even a full two hours before acting again.
Each time she picked a different spot, used different bait, and varied her trapping formations. She left no clear pattern. When she was about to lure the twentieth spider, the queen bee suddenly sent an urgent warning—the spider queen had sensed something wrong and was starting to patrol!
Xie Zhaolin instantly stopped, concealing herself behind a massive rock.
The ground trembled lightly as a giant spider the size of a millstone crawled from the forest. Its shell was dark purple with blood-red markings, and eight cold eyes glinted with menace.
The spider queen!
Xie Zhaolin froze, holding her breath, even suppressing her heartbeat. She fully activated Nether Breathing, blending seamlessly into the Yinsha-filled air. The spider queen paused before the boulder where she hid, its limbs tapping the ground as if probing.
Time itself seemed to stop.
Finally, the spider queen moved away, slowly crawling back in another direction.
Xie Zhaolin waited an entire hour, only moving after the queen bee confirmed the spider queen had returned to its nest.
This time, she was even more careful. She reduced the amount of powder and scattered pollen from Still-Mind Flowers the swarm had collected. That pollen clouded beast senses, masking her presence.
The twentieth Shisha Spider fell into her trap and was captured smoothly.
But she didn't continue.
"Twenty is the limit…" she thought. Any more, and the spider queen would definitely catch on.
Back in the hive, Xie Zhaolin started refining.
One by one, she brought out the spiders and infused them with Yinsha qi from the Netherwater Art, inscribing runes to turn them into Yinsha puppets under her control. Each puppet carried a wisp of her divine sense imprint, ensuring absolute obedience.
The refining lasted three full days.
When the last one was finished, Xie Zhaolin let out a long breath. Her body was tired, but her eyes gleamed with satisfaction. Twenty second-rank Shisha Spider puppets, each retaining their silk-spinning ability. Their shells, tempered by Yinsha qi, were even tougher than before.
They'd be her strongest allies in the depths of Blackwater Abyss.
"Next…" She lifted her gaze toward the abyss. "It's time to move."