Outside the Den of Ten Thousand Demons, the wind is black.
Chu Xuan pressed his hood down, but his cheeks still ached from the demonic air. Su Meier walked ahead, her purple gauze skirt rustling in the wind, like a knife that refused to be sheathed.
"Hey, Chu Xiaoxuan," she did not turn her head, but her voice was soft and seductive, "hurry up, dawdle any longer, the demonic energy will swallow you, I won't take care of your body."
Chu Xuan rolled his eyes and took two quick steps to stand by her side: "Sister Mei 'er, don't curse me. If I die, who will accompany you to forge that broken furnace?"
"Broken furnace?" Su Mei 'er stopped, looked back, the corners of her eyes flew, "Little unconscience, who clung to my thigh last night and begged 'to refine another batch of magic Soul pills without side effects'?"
Chu Xuan coughed dryly and decided to play dead. Bickering with women, especially with Su Mei 'er, and winning without reward.
Beneath their feet was a bottomless rift. At the entrance of the valley, the stone tablet was mottled, inscribed with the words "Cave of Ten Thousand Demons", and the strokes were stained with dried blood. The demonic energy rose from the bottom of the valley like a pot of boiling ink.
"Down there is the core of the seal." Su Mei 'er put away her teasing, fingertip out a dark red magic crystal, threw it to Chu Xuan, "Put it in your mouth, don't mind the fishy smell, it can protect the heart vein."
Chu Xuan took it and did not hesitate to put it between his teeth. The magic crystal melted instantly, and a spiciness rushed straight to the forehead like a mouthful of scalding hot knife. He hissed: "Sister, this candy is strong enough."
Su Mei 'er chuckled and, with a little tiptoe, slid down the rift. Chu Xuan took a deep breath, his primordial spirit moved, and pale golden lines rose on the surface of his skin, following closely behind.
During the descent, the demonic energy grew stronger and stronger, and the light was swallowed up, leaving only two faint lights - the silk bell on Su Meier's wrist and the mark of the covenant between Chu Xuan's eyebrows. The two rays of light echo each other, like the fishing fires that depend on each other in the Black Sea.
"Thump."
Touch the ground with both feet. The magic energy was so thick that it almost became substance, and every step felt like walking through thick asphalt. Chu Xuan narrowed his eyes and saw that the ground in front was sunken, forming a huge array of magic. The array pattern was incomplete, with black and red interwoven in the crevices, like a scab wound being torn open again.
"Is this the seal?" He whispered.
Su Meier nodded, putting away her usual flirtatious demeanor and her voice turned cold: "Three thousand years ago, the ancestors of our demon realm participated in the sealing." Now... The wound has broken."
She crouched down, her palms on the ground, and a wisp of magic energy seeped in. A moment later, her face darkened: "The vein of the magic crystal was drained, like someone holding a tube, gulping, gulping, sucking the blood away."
Chu Xuan imitated her movement, his palms touching the ground. As soon as the primordial spirit opened, there was a buzzing sound in the ears, and the world fell silent in an instant. He "saw" a dark crack twisting in the depths of the magic array, like a greedy esophagus, contracting and bulging, sucking away the spiritual energy of the magic crystal mine, the vitality of the earth vein.
At the end of the suction was a mass of even deeper blackness. There was something breathing in the darkness.
Exhale - inhale
Each inhalation and exhalation is accompanied by a low murmur.
"... "Hungry..."
Chu Xuan suddenly opened his eyes, his back drenched in cold sweat. That sound, he had heard - before the soul of the first generation of Daoist contract holders in the secret realm of Kunlun dissipated, the monstrous beast that blocked out the sky and the sun in the picture also uttered the same whisper.
"It's it, Taotie." He gritted his teeth.
Su Mei 'er raised her eyebrows: "Are you sure?"
Chu Xuan nodded and described the illusion of Kunlun. Su Mei 'er, after hearing this, was silent for a moment and then laughed, laughing a little cold: "Good fellow, so there's such a big worm hidden beneath my demon realm."
She raised her hand, and a wisp of demonic fire fell on her fingertip, a deep blue light shining into her pupils: "The worm is hungry and wants to gnaw on the table. Alas, the table is mine."
Chu Xuan rubbed his temples, suppressing the chill in his heart: "According to the hints of the Kunlun Secret Realm, only top-grade magic crystals and innate spiritual energy can stop its mouth."
"Top-notch magic crystals, I still have three boxes in my Dan Tang warehouse." Su Mei 'er shrugged her shoulders. "Innate spiritual energy, you have to find your little goddess girlfriend."
Chu Xuan rolled his eyes: "Yaoji is my Daoist partner. Don't shout."
Su Mei 'er laughed like a fox that stole a chicken: "Oh, this is protecting her lover? All right, sister, I'm sweet-tongued. I'll call her sister-in-law when I see her in a moment."
Chu Xuan decided to shut up. Bickering with women, especially with Su Meier, is self-destruction.
The two of them patrolled along the edge of the seal. Every ten steps, Su Mei 'er threw down a magic crystal, which landed and transformed into tiny array patterns, connecting with the remnants. Chu Xuan, on the other hand, used the primordial spirit as a guide to inject the spirit energy into the cracks bit by bit.
The repair process did not go smoothly. The crack was like a living thing, sensing that someone was "sewing the needle", it twisted abruptly, and a menacing aura came back along the spiritual thread.
There was a buzz in Chu Xuan's mind, and an illusion emerged - a sea of blood, a mountain of corpses, a huge mouth like a black hole, roaring at him.
"... Hungry! Give me... Spirit..."
He groaned, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. Su Mei 'er, quick-eyed and quick-handed, slapped him on the back with a palm, the demonic energy surging, forcibly cutting off the evil intent.
"Show off your strength?" Her voice was cold, but a look of worry flashed in her eyes. "Are you tired of playing mental battles with Taotie?"
Chu Xuan spat out a mouthful of blood foam and laughed: "It wants to swallow me, I have to find out its teeth first."
"Figured it out?"
"Sharp teeth, bigger appetite." He grinned, but there was a sparkle in his eyes. "Even the sharpest tooth is afraid of breaking the blade."
Su Mei 'er snorted, her fingertips brushing against his lips, wiping away the blood: "Little madman. But sister likes it."
Chu Xuan's ears were slightly warm, and he pretended to turn his head and continue mending. Su Meier chuckled and threw herself back into it. The two worked in perfect harmony, one with magic crystal and the other with spirit energy, like embroidering gold thread on black cloth, stitch by stitch, forcibly sewing the crack.
Two hours later, the last crack was closed. The light of the magic array flickered, like a weary heart beating again.
Chu Xuan let out a long breath and plopped down on the ground: "It's temporarily held steady."
Su Mei 'er also sat down, leaning against his shoulder, her purple veil brushed against the back of his hand, carrying a faint fragrance of flowers. She narrowed her eyes and looked into the darkness: "The moth just dozed off. When she wakes up, she will be hungrier."
Chu Xuan turned his head to look at the silhouette of her eyelashes cast under the magic fire and whispered, "Then feed it. Feed until she's stuffed to death."
Su Meier chuckled and pointed at his forehead with her fingertip: "Everyone can speak grand words. First, fill your own stomach." Go back and make the elixir. The 'Chaos Demon Soul Pill' you want is still missing three auxiliary herbs."
Chu Xuan got up and gave her a helping hand. They walked side by side towards the outside of the rift. Behind them, the seal glimmered like the last lamp in the darkness, stubbornly shining.
Outside the rift, the sky was like a cloth-soaked cloth soaked in ink, dark and greasy. The wind, carrying grains of sand, hit the face painfully. Chu Xuan pulled his hood down again, revealing only a pair of golden eyes - a sign that the primordial spirit had reached its peak.
"Three auxiliary herbs, you talk about them lightly." His voice was hoarse but with a smile. "The 'Soul-crying grass' on the periphery of the Ten Thousand Demons Cave has been pulled out by the demon slaves long ago. The remaining two have to go to the 'Falling Star Cliff'. There, even the eagle is too lazy to fly."
Su Mei 'er raised her hand and tucked her wind-dishevelled sidehair behind her ear, moving lazily as if saying what to eat tonight: "There is a 'Star Skeleton vine' in the crevice of the Fallen Star Cliff and a 'Soul Devouring spider' poison sac at the bottom of the cliff. Spiders are hard to deal with, but sister I have plenty of ways."
With a twist of her wrist, the silk bell made a crisp sound, and a wisp of dark red smoke floated out of the bell's mouth, forming a palm-sized spider phantom, with eight sharp legs and a grimace on her back. The phantom made a circle in the air and then dispersed into smoke, torn apart by the wind.
"Look, the little pet can't wait." Su Meier's eyes are curved, the corners of her eyes like hooks.
Chu Xuan made a TSK sound: "Sister Meier, you pet can gnaw my head like a melon in one bite."
"Don't worry. It will paralyze you before gnawing on your head." Su Mei 'er laughed with sharp teeth and a sharp mouth. "There's no pain, it died peacefully."
Chu Xuan decided not to engage in any more bickering with women, especially with Su Mei 'er. It was digging one's own grave. He turned to ask, "The soul-crying grass is gone. Can it be replaced by something else?"
"Yes, but the effect is compromised." Su Mei 'er shrugged her shoulders. "The soul-crying grass grows in the extreme shade, absorbing the wrathful energy of wandering souls and is the key to neutralizing the evil energy of the taotie. Without it, the elixir lasts only three hours, not six."
Three hours means that after the seal is strengthened, they have to find the primordial energy within three hours, otherwise the crack will burst again and be more ferocious than before.
Chu Xuan pursed his lips and suddenly reached out his finger, making a stroke on Su Meier's palm. A wisp of pale golden spirit crept into the skin like a tiny electric spark. Su Mei 'er raised her eyebrows, not dodging, allowing him to move.
"My spirit can imitate the Yin nature of the soul-crying grass." Chu Xuan whispered, "but it won't last long, at most one hour. When refining the elixir, you treat me as a living herb and extract it directly."
Su Meier's eyes suddenly darkened, but the corners of her mouth still curved: "Little madman, live herbs hurt."
"It won't hurt," he said. Chu Xuan grinned, revealing his white teeth. "Three hours is too short to bet on."
Su Meier stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled, her fingertip touching his brow and gently poking: "Deal." But sister owes you once and will pay you back twice as much."
Chu Xuan's ears were slightly warm, and he pretended to turn away: "I owe you for now."
After a brief rest, the two of them set off for the Fallen Star Cliff. Along the way, the demonic energy grew stronger and stronger, like countless tiny teeth gnawing at the skin. Every half an hour, Chu Xuan would stuff a magic crystal into his mouth to suppress the surging blood. Su Meier would throw out a dark red pill from time to time. When the pill landed, it blew up fine smoke to disperse the surrounding demonic energy.
An hour later, the Fallen Star Cliff came into view. The cliff, as its name suggests, looks like the skeleton of a star split open by a huge sword. The cliff is black and studded with fine silver light, as if countless broken stars were forced into the stone. At the bottom of the cliff, the wind swirls, making a sound like a baby's cry, which makes one's teeth ache.
"The Star corpse vine grows in the crevice of the cliff, the Soul Devouring spider is at the bottom of the cliff." "Separate or together?" Su Mei 'er said briefly.
"Together." Chu Xuan, without hesitation, said, "The spider of the Fallen Star Cliff is not an ordinary demonic beast. It is a variant born from the evil energy of the Taotie, and its single combat power is comparable to that of the Golden Pill. Act alone, deliver the food."
Su Mei 'er chuckled as if she had expected him to choose to go together. With a flick of her wrist, the silk bell turned into a long, dark red whip, with tiny bells attached to the tip of the whip. The sound was crisp but had a strange rhythm, like some kind of ancient rhyme.
"Follow your sister closely." She was the first to rush towards the cliff, her figure light, and her purple veil drew a seductive arc in the darkness.
Chu Xuan took a deep breath, the primordial spirit body moved to the extreme, pale golden lines emerged on the surface of the skin, like flowing veins of light. He pointed his toes and followed closely behind.
The cliff was steep, but it couldn't stump the two of them. Su Meier's long whip caught the protruding rock, using the force to fly; Chu Xuan, on the other hand, used his spirit as a guide, and each time he landed, tiny spiritual vortices emerged from the soles of his feet, adhering firmly to the cliff.
Half an hour later, they reached the crevice of the cliff. The crevice was narrow enough for a person to lean sideways, deep and dark, with silver glinting - the Star corpse vine, like long, slender silver snakes, coiled around the cliff, its leaves star-shaped and glowing cold.
"I gather the vines, you stand guard." Sumei 'er whispered, the long whip was drawn back and turned into slender fingers, with dark red nails emerging from the tips as sharp as knives.
Chu Xuan nodded, his consciousness spreading outwards, covering ten feet around. Outside the crevice, the wind howled like countless ghosts wailing. Amidst the wailing, there is a faint "click" - the sound of hard objects hitting rocks.
"Here it comes." Chu Xuan's eyes flashed, his palm turned out, and a wisp of ice-blue flame flickered between his fingers - the mutated spirit fire of the fusion of Ling Qingxue's ice law and Su Meier's Fire Law, interwoven with ice and fire, extremely low in temperature, but with the searing heat that burns the soul.
Outside the crevice, darkness swirled, and a soul-devouring spider slowly crawled out. The spider's feet were as big as a millstone, its eight legs were black, the tips of its feet shone with a metallic cold light, its back had a ghostly face pattern, but its eyes were pale, without pupils, like a moon that had been hollowed out.
"Click." The tips of the spider's toes tapped the cliff, making a crisp sound that made one's heart tingle. It stopped at the crevices of the cliff, its pale eyes fixed on Chu Xuan, and its mouth - if that could be called a mouth - cracked open, revealing a multitude of barb teeth like countless small sickles.
"TSK, so ugly." " Chu Xuan whispered, the flames of ice and fire on his fingertips suddenly flared up, transforming into a tiny fire dragon, baring its teeth and claws, pounced on the spider.
The spider let out a cry like that of a baby, with all eight legs moving at an extraordinary speed, running vertically along the cliff, leaving a trail of afterimages. The fire dragon flew into the air, crashed into the cliff, blew up the ice-blue rain of fire, and the rain of fire fell on the spider's back shell, making a "sizzling" corrosion sound, but failed to penetrate.
"Hard shell." Chu Xuan made a TSK sound, shook his body and stood in front of Su Meier. "You pick the vine, I'll remove the shell."
Su Meier, without raising her head, hooked her fingertip onto a star corpse vine. With a stroke of her dark red fingernail, the vine broke, and silver glinted like a star snake with a broken tail. She said with a laughing voice, "Finish it quickly, don't play it off."
Chu Xuan chuckled and, with a wobbly gait, took the initiative to meet the spider. The flames of ice and fire condensed in the palm, transforming into a slender fire sword. The blade was ice-blue, but the blade flickered with crimson flames, alternating between hot and cold, even distorting the air.
"Come on, Ugly." He whispered, his fire sword piercing the darkness and piercing the spider's grimace.
The spider screeched, its eight legs moving, and did not dodge, but charged head-on. The fire sword pierced the grimace with a metallic clanging sound and sparks flew everywhere. A tiny crack appeared on the spider's back shell, from which black liquid seeped out. The liquid hit the ground and corroded the rock, making a "sizzling" sound.
"The shell is indeed hard." Chu Xuan squinted his eyes, the fire sword was suddenly drawn in, and he moved close to the spider. The ice and fire flames in his palm turned into tiny vortices, and at the center of the vortices was a wisp of pale golden spirit energy - the origin of the primordial spirit body, imitating the Yin attribute of the soul-crying grass.
"Try this." He chuckled, the vortex in his palm sticking to the spider crack.
In an instant, the spider let out a shrill scream, and a trace of fear appeared in its pale eyes. At the crack, the dark liquid was forcibly sucked out by the vortex, like a cocoon being spun. The liquid was removed from the body, and the spider shrank rapidly, its back shell dull.
"Effective." Chu Xuan's eyes lit up. The vortex in his palm increased the suction, and the black liquid was drawn out continuously, condensing into a black bead in the air. On the surface of the bead, ghostly patterns were faintly visible.
The spider shrank to the size of a basin, its eight legs trembled, and it was powerless to attack. Chu Xuan stopped his hand, the fire sword condensed again, and with one slash, the spider's head rolled off, but no blood gushed out, only a shriveled shell remained.
"The soul-devouring spider takes evil energy as blood and fear as soul." Sumei 'er's voice came from behind, with approval, "Your spirit is born to kill it."
Chu Xuan turned and saw that her fingertips were already entwined with three star bones vines, silvery light shining as if she were holding a small handful of starlight. He chuckled: "Picked enough?"
"Enough." Sumei 'er curled her lips and threw one to him. "Here you are, as a memento."
Chu Xuan took it, silvery cold, as if holding a small speck of stardust. He put it in his storage bag, raised his eyes and looked at the dark crevice behind her: "There are two more, hidden deep, to deal with together?"
"No need." " Su Mei 'er shook her head, and the long whip turned back into the silk bell, the sound crisp. "It's not easy for spiders to give birth. Keep two as seeds. The starbone vine also needs them to spread spores."
Chu Xuan raised his eyebrows and asked no more. After getting along with Su Mei 'er for a long time, he knew that this woman, who seemed seductive, actually understood the balance of heaven and earth better than anyone else.
They withdrew from the crevice and headed towards the bottom of the cliff. At the bottom of the cliff, the wind was colder and the wailing was louder, like countless ghosts whispering in the ears. Chu Xuan suddenly stopped, his consciousness outwardly, his brows knitted tightly.
"What's wrong?" "Sumei 'er asked.
"Down there, there's something." Chu Xuan whispered, unusually solemn, "More troublesome than the soul-devouring spider."
Su Meier narrowed her eyes. The silk bell vibrated silently as if responding to some kind of threat. She said softly, "At the bottom of the Fallen star cliff, no one has ever ventured deep. It seems we have to be the first."
Chu Xuan nodded, the ice and fire in his palm recondensed, and the firelight illuminated his eyes - a touch of excitement, a touch of determination.
"Go." He was the first to rush towards the bottom of the cliff, his back as sharp as a drawn sword.
Su Mei 'er chuckled, tiptoed, and followed closely behind. The purple veil swept across the darkness like a wisp of enigmatic fire that refused to quench.
At the bottom of the cliff, a gentle wind swirled. Amidst the wailing, there was a faint "click" sound - denser and crisper than that of a soul-devouring spider, like countless tiny teeth sharpening a knife in the darkness.
In the depths of the darkness, pairs of pale eyes slowly opened.