The two walked towards the light, stopping in tacit understanding.
The cave entrance was not wide, about fifteen inches across, barely allowing one person to pass.
It was daytime now, and judging by the weather at Jiuling Palace during this period, outside should have been a stretch of green. Yet, the area outside the cave was still covered in thick snow, a vast expanse of white. It was truly bizarre, and they didn't know where the passage outside led.
Just as Ye Ziling was about to step out of the cave, Ling Xi stopped her, his hand blocking her way and catching her sleeve.
He paused, his eyes filled with vigilance, "Wait a moment."
Ye Ziling looked at him in confusion.
The wind blew outside the cave, scattering fine snow particles. Strangely, the snow stirred by the wind, just as it was about to drift into the cave, was blocked at the entrance and instantly turned into water.
The cave mouth was blocked by a transparent silk net. As dead leaves floated into the cave, they instantly turned to dust.
Was this a spider web?
Ling Xi stood beside her, his posture straight, scrutinizing the surroundings with a cold gaze, his brow furrowed as if sensing something was amiss.
A gust of hot wind carrying a pungent smell brushed past her ear. Ye Ziling turned her head to see a giant spider hanging from the stone wall. It was completely black, with sharp fangs dripping with silk, and a pair of blood-red pupils gleaming ominously in the dark. From afar, it looked like it was suspended in mid-air.
Beneath the spider's abdomen was a giant, bun-shaped white ball. It was plump and round, and it was crawling towards the cave entrance with its mouth open.
Its size was immense, its eight legs waving, occupying almost the entire cave entrance.
Ye Ziling, looking at the ferocious mouth, retreated a few steps warily.
So it was a ten-thousand-year-old female spider.
Ling Xi smirked, a brilliant light flowing in his eyes, and said mockingly, "Deliberately leaving the entrance unguarded, it turns out they intended to wait for prey to walk into the trap."
Looking at the fierce appearance of the female spider with its fangs and claws, Ye Ziling turned to Ling Xi and said with a smile, "Since we're already here, it wouldn't be right not to take a demon core, would it?"
A man's amused snort came from beside her ear, "Just as I intended."
Their wrists were bound by vines, the vines only about thirty inches long, making it impossible to separate from each other.
Ling Xi first used a demon-suppressing talisman to trap the giant spider within a barrier. However, it couldn't hold for long. The barrier was suddenly bitten open by the spider, which broke free from its restraint. It twisted its body frantically, wriggling through the gap in the barrier, its sharp fangs flashing with cold light as it crawled towards the two.
As expected, it was a ten-thousand-year-old spider; even the demon-suppressing talisman was ineffective.
Ye Ziling released the bee needles from her sleeve, but the female spider's body was like welded iron. Her bee needles couldn't harm it in the slightest. Instead, they bounced off and scattered.
Ling Xi drew a Hundred Beasts Pouch from his waist and was about to release a divine beast when the spider spat out a silver thread, firmly entangling what he held. With a strong tug, the bag containing the beast-taming powder and the Hundred Beasts Pouch was instantly torn to shreds by the silver thread, its fragments scattering across the ground.
He was momentarily stunned. Seeing his efforts ruined, his eyes flashed with sharp hostility. Damn it, he was determined to get this demonic beast's demon core today.
"This is a ten-thousand-year-old female spider. Its silver threads are sharper than blades. Be very careful," Ye Ziling warned him in a deep voice.
Ling Xi said nothing. He reached out and pulled Ye Ziling behind him, his gaze coldly fixed on the spider. "Do you have a sword?"
She quickly removed the silver hairpin from her bun, transforming it into a sharp sword, and handed it to him.
Since her right hand was bound, she couldn't wield the sword at all.
Ling Xi gripped the sword hilt, raised his right arm, and swung it. He held her arm with his left hand and unleashed several sword energies, striking the female spider's head.
The demonic beast fell backward, its belly flipping up. It let out a shrill cry and finally stopped struggling.
Moments later, a round, ball-like object fell from the female spider's belly. The two looked closely and saw something struggling inside the white ball – it was the female spider's cub.
A hole appeared in the white ball, and a palm-sized young spider broke free. Dense spiders swarmed from all directions, surrounding the two.
Having killed their mother, they naturally came to exact revenge.
Just as Ye Ziling was about to strike, Ling Xi pulled her to his side. His gaze was fixed on the spiderlings, a cold glint flashing in his pupils. He whispered to her, "I attack, you defend."
With that, he gripped the sword and charged in front of her, his sword light crisscrossing, quickly carving out a clearing.
Ye Ziling repelled a spider that jumped onto her to sneak attack with a palm strike.
Gradually, her gaze focused on the spider web blocking the cave entrance. She aimed and struck it with her palm. Instantly, the white snow blocking the cave was swept inside by the wind, scattering in a flurry of snowflakes.
The stuffy, fishy smell in the surroundings gradually dissipated.
"Ling Xi, let's go after we get the demon core!" Ye Ziling called back to Ling Xi, who was chopping and slashing. He looked at her, his expression serious, and quickly carved a path, heading straight for the female spider's corpse.
The young spiders knew the two intended to take their mother's demon core, so they lunged at them madly, some fiercely guarding the corpse.
After retrieving the demon core, Ling Xi performed the "One Yang Finger" technique, incinerating the female spider's corpse. Flames rapidly ignited the bristles on the spider's body, consuming the spiderlings in a raging inferno.
Smoke enveloped the entire cave, and the two quickly left the cavern.
Outside the cave, the land was frozen for a thousand miles, with snowstorm raging. Looking up, there was an endless expanse of purity.
White, truly a pure and noble color.
Ling Xi took out the demon core. Under the bright sun, it resembled a flawless luminous pearl, emitting a brilliant crimson glow. He looked at the demon core, then gazed at the distant snow-capped mountains, a smile unconsciously forming on his lips.
With this smile, the sun and moon seemed to lose their color.
He had obtained the demon cores of many thousand-year-old demonic beasts, but compared to this one, they were inferior. This ten-thousand-year-old demon core was truly exceptional.
In terms of luster and color, it was top-notch.
"Will the top scholar Ling also smile so candidly?" Ye Ziling followed his gaze towards the distance and couldn't help but ask.
In her impression, Ling Xi always approached her with ulterior motives. In the beginning, it was for her Sun and Moon Divine Lamps, and now, his intentions were even more unfathomable.
"What does Miss Ye mean by that? When have I ever not been forthright with you?" Ling Xi withdrew his gaze, put away the demon core, looked up at her, and hooked his lips, "I think, Miss Ye, you have no fewer secrets than I do."
He had seen it on the Heavenly Records that after the goddess Tu Yao disappeared, that fox spirit had also fled to the mortal realm with a powerful immortal companion. The book described that person as exceptionally beautiful and talented, possessing the Sun and Moon Divine Lamps, and was likely a wanted criminal pursued by the Heavenly Court. He needed to find an opportunity to test her.
Ling Xi's confident expression was met by Ye Ziling's gaze. Her face remained impassive, but her heart was filled with surprise.
Had her identity been exposed?
Was it her identity in the Heavenly Realm, or her identity at Jiuling Palace?
Her eyes fixed on the vine entwined around her wrist.
If that were the case, keeping this person would disrupt her plans.
But now, their lives were bound together. Killing him would mean her own death.
The vine on her wrist suddenly tightened. Ling Xi once again saw through her murderous intent. He casually patted the snow off his clothes and chuckled wryly, "Miss Ye, are you thinking of killing me again?" He turned his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through her, "Don't worry, I'm not interested in matters of the Heavenly Realm."
Even if she said it, it would only bring him harm and no benefit.