So the green-robed elder was Di Ming, the one Ye Yunfei was searching for!
"It's not that I'm afraid of death," Di Ming said with a sigh. "It's just that right now, outside, our Light Faction and the Dark Faction are at war. If I had a choice, I'd rather die a glorious death on the battlefield than die in such a wretched, obscure place in this damp, hellish hole."
"Elder Di, tell me more about the specific situation outside," the gray-robed old man asked. "I've been trapped in this Colorless Abyss for too long; I know almost nothing about the outside world."
"What's the point of knowing? By the looks of it, we won't have a chance to leave here. There's no need to trouble yourself with such thoughts," Di Ming shook his head, seeming utterly disheartened.
"Damn you, so you're from the Light Faction! If I hadn't been tracking and pursuing you, I wouldn't have barged into this cursed place and been captured by those terrifying Human-Faced Spiders! You deserve to die!" Not far away, a middle-aged man also hanging upside down by spider silk glared at Di Ming with hatred, speaking through gritted teeth.
"A nobody like you, if I weren't severely injured, I could slap dozens of you to death with one palm. You don't even have the right to speak in my presence," Di Ming replied coldly, sweeping a disdainful glance at the man.
"I refuse to accept this! I, Lu Feng, am actually going to die in a place like this!" The middle-aged man's face twisted savagely, his gaze filled with despair and unwillingness. This man was precisely Lu Feng, Zhou Mai's junior brother, whom Ye Yunfei had been tracking all along!
"What are you shouting about? It's annoying! Is there anyone captured here who *accepts* it? If I could move, I'd punch you into pulp!" A thick-set man beside them glared at Lu Feng and snapped fiercely.
Meanwhile, outside the mountain, Ye Yunfei was stealthily approaching this black peak. He distinctly sensed that Lu Feng's aura was located deep inside this very mountain!
"I wonder what's beneath the ground in this area," Ye Yunfei mused as he advanced, simultaneously executing his Geomancy Technique to attune to the earth energy underground.
"So many Golden Earth Dragons!" Ye Yunfei soon discovered with pleasant surprise that the ground beneath this area teemed with many Golden Earth Dragons. As a Geomancer, encountering so many was an opportunity he naturally wouldn't miss. He immediately took out a Doppelganger Statue, transformed it into his own likeness, and sent it tunneling into the ground. Then, the statue began using Geomancy Technique to subdue those Golden Earth Dragons. After training under Lu Yuanzu in the Qiantang Great World, Ye Yunfei's mastery of Geomancy Technique had greatly improved, making subduing Golden Earth Dragons no longer a difficult task. Anticipating a fierce battle ahead, Ye Yunfei also had the statue begin setting up a large-scale formation while collecting the Earth Dragons.
Soon, Ye Yunfei arrived at the foot of the black mountain. The closer he got, the more terrifying the biting cold became. The howling wind made him feel as if he were in a millennia-old ice cavern.
"Alright, let's go in," Ye Yunfei declared.
But just then...
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
Countless fist-sized black creatures descended from on high like a hail of black ice, charging towards Ye Yunfei.
"They're all spiders!" Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm cried out.
"What kind of spiders are these?" Ye Yunfei looked and saw a dense mass of black spiders emitting a thick, chilling aura. Shockingly, they all had ghostly pale human faces etched with eerie smiles.
*Hiss... Slosh...*
These bizarre spiders began spewing copious amounts of black spider silk. The threads were thick with dark, viscous fluid that hissed and corroded the very space they passed through, all while emanating a nauseating, foul stench.
"That silk is highly toxic. Best to avoid it. I'm not sure if I can handle that kind of poison either," Huang Shang warned.
*Clang! Clang!*
At that moment, Ye Yunfei drew an Earth Immortal-level longsword. With a sweeping slash, he unleashed the Ten Thousand Swords Return to One Grand Technique, sending a dazzling sword ray whistling forth. It severed a large batch of the incoming black silk.
But now, more and more spiders appeared. Each spider descended from above on a single thread of silk, so numerous it was terrifying.
*Whooosh!*
A massive swarm of spiders spewed forth a horrifying amount of black silk, interweaving like one enormous black net after another, aiming to ensnare Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei swung his sword repeatedly, cutting down wave after wave of silk. Meanwhile, many spiders charged directly at him to attack. Their speed was astonishing, their bite force horrifying, and their claws all exuded a stinking black mist, clearly laced with potent poison.
Ye Yunfei's sword moved like the wind. In an instant, he sent a large group of spiders that got close flying backward.
"There are just too many of them!" Ye Yunfei couldn't help but frown as he saw the ever-growing horde of black spiders converging from all directions. He also noticed that during their attacks, these black Human-Faced Spiders continuously released streams of black, uncanny sigils. Like tiny black tadpoles, they gathered and swam through the surrounding space, making it grow increasingly heavy and oppressive. At the same time, the nauseating stench grew stronger.
Ye Yunfei faintly began to feel dizzy and his head heavy.
"Those black sigils are also highly toxic. Try not to make contact with them," Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm reminded.
"Forget it. There's no point tangling with these things," Ye Yunfei thought, continuously swinging his sword to knock away one black spider after another. He soon grew irritated by their endless assault.
"Formation, rise!" Ye Yunfei stamped his foot and spoke in a clear voice.
*RUMBLE...*
The ground cracked open, and a surge of earth energy erupted forth. Golden Earth Dragons also rushed out, instantly forming a terrestrial formation. A yellow, energetic barrier rose, shielding Ye Yunfei within.
*Thump! Thump! Thump!*
Black spiders slammed against the yellow barrier from all sides. Their numbers were so vast that they soon submerged the surrounding space.
"Bring it on," Ye Yunfei roared, stamping his foot once more.
*BOOM! BOOM!*
Several more layers of the yellow energy barrier erupted and overlapped, tightly encasing Ye Yunfei in multiple layers of protection.
"Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, do you recognize the origin of these spiders?" Ye Yunfei asked. The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm race was hailed as the King of All Insects, naturally suppressing all insectoid beings under heaven. Their racial memory contained vast knowledge of various insects.
"I'm thinking about it. Give me a moment," Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm replied.
"So this kid is a Geomancer! Hmph, even a Geomancer who comes to my territory must submit obediently," The withered old man sitting within the mountain ahead revealed a trace of astonishment on his shriveled face, then snorted coldly.
"Do they truly think my title, the Five Immortals Poison King, is just an empty boast? Countless years ago, I, the Five Immortals Poison King, already shook this space-time region with my might. A mere youngster has no right to come running wild in my domain," the old man added.