64: Chapter 64 introduced the Thunder Spirit Orb, but unfortunately it was a fake one.

After dealing with the Black Spider Spirit, Hu Jinsi continued along the dirt road deeper into the forest.

The further he went, the dimmer the light became. The spiderwebs in the canopy were layered, almost completely obscuring the sky, with only a few strands of bleak, grayish-white light leaking through the gaps. The air was filled with a nauseating, sweet, fishy stench—the smell of fermented rotting vegetation mixed with vast amounts of spider secretions.

After walking for about ten minutes, a relatively open clearing appeared ahead. In the center of the clearing stood an altar piled with white bones and spiderwebs, and upon it stood a figure—Poison Lady.

She wore a long, dark green dress, her figure slender and her face beautiful; one would never guess she was transformed from a Black Spider Spirit.

But when she turned around, those vertical pupils gleaming with a ghostly green light and the two fangs faintly visible at the corners of her mouth exposed her non-human nature. She held a long whip in her hand, the whip body woven from countless tiny spider silk threads, with a few drops of dark green venom slowly dripping from the tip.

Hu Jinsi did not hesitate; he activated [Chi Torpedo] and charged forward like lightning.

When dealing with a weapon like a long whip, the farther away you are, the more disadvantaged you are. The long whip has a large attack range and tricky attack angles, making it nearly impossible to guard against at medium to long range. Only by closing in, keeping the distance between one meter and one point five meters, could the whip's range of motion be compressed to the minimum, rendering the opponent unable to utilize it.

He took a deep breath, spun the ironwood staff in his hand, and launched a fierce attack on Poison Lady.

[-11]

The first strike landed precisely on Poison Lady's shoulder. She retreated a step in pain, but the long whip in her hand had already lashed out like a venomous snake. The tip of the whip, carrying a fierce force, lashed toward Hu Jinsi's face, and a sharp "whoosh" of air even sounded.

Hu Jinsi tilted his head to dodge, the long whip grazing his cheek and leaving a burning sensation. He seized the opportunity to press forward, his staff striking repeatedly—[Flurry of Blows]!

[-9] [-10] [-11]

All three strikes hit, and Poison Lady's HP dropped rapidly. But her counterattack came extremely fast; the long whip folded flexibly in her hand, and the whip handle jabbed fiercely toward Hu Jinsi's abdomen.

[-18]

Hu Jinsi let out a muffled grunt, but his attack did not pause. He knew he couldn't retreat; once distance was opened, the long whip's advantage would be fully unleashed. He gritted his teeth and held on, his staff falling like raindrops, each strike aiming to leave a wound on Poison Lady.

The scales of battle seemed to tilt toward Hu Jinsi in the initial exchange. Poison Lady's melee ability was far inferior to her ranged threat, and under Hu Jinsi's close-quarters assault, her HP plummeted. But clearly, Poison Lady was no pushover.

Beyond her Thunder Blast's group-range lightning damage, it also had a knockback effect, just like Su Wan's [Thunderwave]. Every time Thunder Blast was activated, a blue-white arc of electricity exploded from her palm into a fan-shaped area in front of her. Hu Jinsi was hit by both the blast wave and the current, and his entire body was pushed back more than three meters.

"Again!"

Just as Hu Jinsi wanted to close in again, Poison Lady had already swung her long whip to launch a fierce attack on him. The whip tip, like a snake flicking its tongue, lashed from all angles, not giving him a chance to get close. He had to dodge left and right, searching for a gap to counterattack amidst the shadows of the whip.

The battle continued in this repetitive tug-of-war. Hu Jinsi stayed close to Poison Lady to deal damage, continuously bleeding her; Poison Lady activated Thunder Blast as soon as it came off cooldown, knocking Hu Jinsi back, and then used the long whip to suppress his approach. Both sides chased and retreated, circling around the bone altar.

About three minutes later, Poison Lady's HP finally dropped below 50%.

During this time, Hu Jinsi had been knocked back by Thunder Blast at least seven or eight times, each time having to find an opportunity to close in again. Poison Lady's long whip had also struck him three or four times, each time leaving a scorched whip mark and a corroded hole on his police uniform jacket.

The toxin seeped in along the wounds, and [-2] [-2] damage numbers kept popping up above his head, but relying on Healing Mist and [Renewing Mist] for recovery, he managed to hold on.

Her body suddenly stiffened, and then she let out a sharp hiss. A dark green light erupted from her body, forming a solid shield that completely blocked Hu Jinsi's attacks.

"Damn human... once I recover my true form, it will be your death day!"

Poison Lady left a harsh threat, her figure turning into a green light and disappearing behind the altar. The shield blocked all of Hu Jinsi's pursuit, and when the light dissipated, she had already disappeared into the depths of the forest.

Forced out of combat. The second boss fight ended just like that.

Hu Jinsi sheathed his staff and stood still, breathing slightly. Although this battle wasn't difficult, the process of being repeatedly knocked back was indeed quite annoying. He cast [Renewing Mist] on himself, white mist wrapping around his arms, and then continued to track in the direction where Poison Lady disappeared.

On the way to the final boss battle area, Hu Jinsi encountered an ambush by a wave of small spiders.

These little guys swarmed from all directions, attempting to drown him with numbers. But Hu Jinsi was already used to such scenes; he activated [Spinning Crane Kick], the rotating energy sweeping all the small spiders nearby into it, and with one kick each, they all dissipated into points of light.

After clearing this wave of mobs, a faintly glowing scroll was left on the ground.

Hu Jinsi picked it up and unfolded it.

[Recipe: Poison Dragon Gall]

[Requirement: Nine-Section Calamus / Ghost Wither Vine / Puppet Insect + Nine Yin Powder]

[Effect: Slightly increase defense (+2) within one hour, and gain immunity to all poison-type abnormal statuses. (Limited to scenarios below level 20, and the immunity effect is halved for boss-level toxins)]

Hu Jinsi's eyes lit up.

This was the first herbal recipe in his career! Although the effect seemed relatively ordinary, only able to immunize against common toxins, and halved against boss-level toxins.

But it was a start nonetheless. The Life Stream Sect could gain career experience through pharmaceutical activities, and with the recipe, he could attempt to craft herbal medicines, opening up a brand new path for gaining experience.

But when he carefully looked at the materials required for the recipe, his brows furrowed again.

Nine-Section Calamus, Ghost Wither Vine, Puppet Insect—he had obtained all three materials in the previous battle and had them in his backpack. But the problem was that the recipe also required "Nine Yin Powder," and so far, he hadn't seen this material drop in the Black Spider Forest at all.

"Nine Yin Powder..."

Hu Jinsi searched his memory for information about this medicinal herb. The herb system in The Legend of Sword and Fairy was quite complex, with the materials needed for various recipes distributed across different maps.

Nine Yin Powder; he vaguely remembered that this item should only drop in a specific dungeon or map, but he couldn't recall exactly where.

After all, this was an old game from decades ago, and he really couldn't remember the details of the items inside.

"I hope the drop rate of Nine Yin Powder is high." He put away the recipe. "Otherwise, this recipe will just be stuck in my hands."

However, this also gave him a new direction. After leaving the dungeon, he could ask Li Xiuying; as a professional pharmacist, she should be clearer about the sources of various herbs. Perhaps Nine Yin Powder could be bought in the career store, or it had a stable drop source in other dungeons.

After passing through a dense spiderweb area, Hu Jinsi finally arrived at the deepest part of the Black Spider Forest.

The space here was more open than the previous battle area, but it was also more gloomy. The canopy overhead was completely covered by spiderwebs, and not a trace of the sky could be seen. The surrounding trees were hung with white cocoons; those were prey captured by spiders, some still wriggling slightly, others already withered into skeletons.

In the center of the clearing, Poison Lady was standing there waiting for him.

But at this moment, she was no longer in human form.

Her lower body had turned into a giant spider, and her six thick spider legs were covered with black bristles and barbs. Her upper body remained in human form, but her skin had turned deep purple, and two pairs of sharp sickle-feet had grown from her sides. The whole person—or rather, the whole monster—exuded a suffocating sense of oppression.

Six-Legged Spider—Poison Lady True Form.

Hu Jinsi took a deep breath and set up his combat stance.

Before the battle, Hu Jinsi recalled the summaries of the final boss's skills by the experts on the forum:

Multi-Action: Each attack can perform a total of 3 multiple attack actions.

Heart of Thunder: Immune to all lightning-type damage.

Berserk Combo: Launches three attacks, which can be claw strikes or venom bites.

Poison Spit: Ranged attack, 30-meter range.

Thunder Prison: Spell, 30-meter radius, 12-meter high cylindrical AOE.

It was truly a tough nut to crack.

The battle was imminent.

The Six-Legged Spider struck first, its six legs exerting force simultaneously, and its massive body rushed toward Hu Jinsi at an astonishing speed. Three sickle-feet slashed down simultaneously—[Berserk Combo]!

Hu Jinsi was fully focused, his body maintaining the [Crane Stance], and with the help of the jump bonus, he slid three meters to the side. But the Six-Legged Spider's attack range was too large, and one of the sickle-feet grazed his shoulder, [-14]. A searing pain came from his shoulder, and blood instantly stained his police uniform jacket.

"So fast!"

Hu Jinsi felt a chill in his heart. This speed was not on the same level as the Black Spider Spirit at all. Although the Six-Legged Spider was huge, its movements were surprisingly agile, and the coordinated movement of its six legs made its turning speed far exceed his expectations.

But he didn't panic and quickly adjusted his tactics. As with his strategy for dealing with the Black Spider Spirit, he kept circling to the side of the Six-Legged Spider, constantly shifting his position so that its massive body couldn't fully lock onto him from the front.

The Six-Legged Spider's attack came again, this time it was [Thunder Prison]. But unlike the previous human form, the range of this [Thunder Prison] expanded to a terrifying 30-meter radius, almost covering the entire battle area. Blue-white electric arcs poured down from the sky, forming a huge lightning cage!

[-28]

Hu Jinsi was hit squarely by the lightning, his whole body numb. But the good news was that because the range was expanded too much, although the damage of this [Thunder Prison] was increased, it no longer had the knockback effect from before. He was no longer pushed more than three meters away and could continue to maintain his close-quarters output position.

"No knockback... that makes things easier."

Hu Jinsi gritted his teeth, outputting damage while enduring the lingering power of the lightning. His staff danced continuously on the side of the Six-Legged Spider, [-10] [-11] [-9], each strike aiming for precision.

But the Six-Legged Spider's attack methods were far more than that. Its three sickle-feet attacked alternately, and every [Berserk Combo] was three consecutive slashes with a very wide coverage. Although Hu Jinsi's agility was as high as 19 points, facing such dense attacks, he still couldn't dodge in time.

[Miss] [Parry: -5] [-8]

The level 13 specialty [Parry] that Hu Jinsi had just acquired played a key role in this battle.

Facing three consecutive attacks, he could calmly dodge the most lethal one, then use [Parry] to neutralize the damage of the second strike. His palm brushed across the staff, energy flowing, guiding most of the sickle-foot's impact to the side, leaving only the third strike to be taken head-on.

Although this "receive-neutralize" fighting style could not yet be called the perfect "Receive-Neutralize-Issue," and the counterattack required consuming Chi, which he didn't have much of.

But this fighting style had greatly reduced the pressure of the battle. If it were before, without [Parry], facing this kind of multi-stage attack, he would have either had to pull back and give up output opportunities, or take all the damage head-on; either way, it was a loss.

This "catch and deflect" fighting style meant that attacks which would have originally dealt over 30 damage now only dealt less than 20. Although he was still losing health, the frequency of his healing was greatly reduced.

During the battle, the Six-Legged Spider also unleashed a new skill: [Poison Spit]. It opened the mouth on its human-like form, and a stream of dark green venom shot out like an arrow. Hu Jinsi couldn't dodge in time and was sprayed on the arm.

[-6], losing 2 HP per second for 15 seconds.

"...Disgusting." He frowned, glancing at the wound on his arm that was emitting white smoke. The toxin was eroding his skin and muscles, and waves of needle-like pain shot through him.

While continuing to fight, he cast [Renewing Mist] on himself. White mist swirled around the wound, barely keeping the healing on par with the toxin's damage. However, the frequent damage received from other attacks during the fight caused his HP to continue dropping, soon falling below 50%.

[Gold Injury Medicine effect triggered: HP dropped below 35%, immediately restores 20% HP.]

A warm current surged from the bottle of Gold Injury Medicine in his backpack, instantly filling nearly one-fifth of Hu Jinsi's HP bar. This was his life-saving specialty; ever since he chose it, it hadn't triggered many times, but it certainly proved its worth at the critical moment.

The battle entered its final stage. The Six-Legged Spider's HP had dropped below 20%, and its attacks became even more frenzied, with the frequency of its [Berserk Combo] increasing significantly. But Hu Jinsi had found his rhythm, his use of [Parry] becoming increasingly proficient, and his timing for dodging was spot-on.

"Just about time." His eyes sharpened, he channeled all his strength into his long staff, following [Flurry of Blows] with another [Flurry of Blows]!

[-12] [-11] [-13] [-10] [-13] [-11]

A series of damage numbers exploded above the Six-Legged Spider's head. It let out a shrill screech, its massive body wobbled a few times, and then it crashed to the ground.

Hu Jinsi retracted his staff and stood still, panting heavily. He was covered in injuries from head to toe; his shoulder had been slashed by a sickle-leg, his arm corroded by venom, and his back scorched black by lightning. But regardless, he had won this battle.

He cast another [Renewing Mist] on himself, the white mist wrapping around his wounds and bringing a cool, comfortable sensation. Then, he sat down next to the Six-Legged Spider's corpse to rest for a few minutes. Watching the chaotic mess of spider web debris and corrosion marks all around, he waited until his HP and Chi pool recovered to a safe level before starting to check the loot.

---

After the Six-Legged Spider died, it left behind two items on the spot: a bead shimmering with lightning, and a small pouch.

Seeing that lightning-shimmering bead on the ground, Hu Jinsi could hardly believe his luck.

He had had expectations when running this dungeon, because he knew that in the original work, this boss would drop the thunder spirit bead (fake). But he didn't quite believe his luck would be good enough to get it on the first try. If he really had such good luck, he wouldn't be unable to even scrape together a decent set of equipment right now.

Hu Jinsi slapped himself twice to wake up, then tremblingly approached the bead. The surface of the bead continuously flickered with blue-white arcs of electricity, emitting a faint crackling sound, and the surrounding air had become somewhat dry due to static electricity.

He took a deep breath and reached out to touch it. The attribute panel appeared.

[thunder spirit bead (fake)]

[Item Type: Junk]

[Required Level: 12]

[Static Spark: You have weak resistance to lightning damage (+1).]

[Thunderbolt Missile: Launches an unstable lightning ball. Performs a ranged spell attack; if it hits, the target takes 12 lightning damage (Limit 3 times per day).]

[Item Description: Discarded residue stripped away when refining the Six-Legged Spider's corpse. Because the energy is extremely unstable, it cannot carry the complete power of the Thunder God and can only be used as an unstable adventure prop.]

Hu Jinsi stared at the attribute panel, remaining silent for a few seconds.

"...It's fake."

He knew it. How could he have such good luck?

However, as a piece of junk that doesn't take up an equipment slot, the +1 lightning resistance it provides is actually not bad. At least this bit of resistance can reduce received lightning damage by 1; it adds up over time. As for the effect of that Thunderbolt Missile, it can only be described as abysmal.

Hu Jinsi held the thunder spirit bead (fake) in his palm and tried to activate a Thunderbolt Missile. He saw a fist-sized lightning ball fly slowly from his palm, its movement speed so slow it was comparable to walking, drifting shakily in the air for about 20 meters before gradually dissipating without making contact with any target.

"..." Hu Jinsi watched the dissipating lightning ball, his mouth twitching.

Expecting this thing to hit anyone was truly wishful thinking. But if the drop rate was decent, he could consider farming a few more to take back as gifts; after all, the appearance was quite cool, crackling in his hand, and it should be nice as a toy for kids.

"I'll just treat it as a glass ball that can discharge electricity." He put the thunder spirit bead (fake) away.

However, the design of this bead is indeed quite intimidating. A palm-sized sphere with arcs of electricity constantly jumping on the surface, crackling in one's hand; those who didn't know better might think it was some kind of divine artifact.

If everyone in the party had one, and 5 people fired Thunderbolt Missiles together, 12 × 3 × 5 = 180 damage, which could actually serve as a certain amount of crowd control when facing groups of mobs. Plus, as a junk item that doesn't occupy an equipment slot, carrying it on one's person is like having an extra little self-defense prop; having it is better than not having it.

He stuffed the thunder spirit bead (fake) into a corner of his backpack, placing it together with the Soul-Entangling Silk he had picked up earlier.

As for the small pouch, he picked that up as well.

[Gluttonous Stomach Pouch] [Item Type: Pouch] [Space Size: 12 slots] [Digestive Bloating: If you place metal, stone, or magic items in the pouch for over 1 hour, the pouch will begin to twitch violently and make gurgling sounds. Every hour, it will spray a foul-smelling green smoke (3-meter radius).] [Item Description: This bulging pouch is made of a translucent, still-pulsing membrane. No matter how much you stuff into it, it seems able to swallow it all, and it is always warm.]

Hu Jinsi held the pouch in his hand to examine it. It looked just like a living creature, its surface covered in a translucent membrane, with the writhing internal textures faintly visible. It felt warm and soft to the touch, like touching a giant stomach sac.

"Quite interesting."

This was a rare pouch with attributes. The pouches Hu Jinsi carried had already been replaced twice—from the initial 6-slot pouches to the later 8-slot ones, and now those 8-slot pouches were on the verge of needing replacement. This 12-slot Gluttonous Stomach Pouch could serve as a perfect supplement, allowing him to buy one fewer pouch the next time he needed to replace his gear.

As for that negative effect, as long as he didn't put metal, stone, or magic items inside, it would be fine. Food, herbs, ordinary cloth... these things shouldn't trigger Digestive Bloating. He tied the pouch around his waist to test it, and the fit was quite good.

Then he picked up the remaining 2 Soul-Entangling Silks on the ground, checked his backpack once, and after confirming there were no omissions, turned and walked toward the dungeon exit.

---

After exiting the dungeon, the time was approaching 4:00 PM.

Hu Jinsi couldn't be bothered to return to the homestay to rest before coming back out to eat, so he just started wandering around the nearby Chinese-style courtyard with its carved beams and painted pillars. The courtyard had rockeries, running water, and pavilions; although the entrance to the Black Spider Forest dungeon in the rockery cave seemed a bit eerie, the overall design of the courtyard was quite elegant.

He sat in a pavilion to rest for a while, watching the sunset's afterglow spill onto the surface of the pond, and his mood gradually relaxed.

By the time he walked until nearly 5:00 PM, he found a small seafood fried noodle shop by the roadside nearby and had a wonderful meal. The fried noodles contained shrimp, squid, crab sticks, and vegetables, paired with a special chili sauce, and the taste was quite good. After finishing, he ordered a bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup, and after drinking it, he returned to the homestay, feeling satisfied.

That night, he organized his experiences from the day and sent them to the apothecary Li Xiuying. This mainly included the herb drop list for the Black Spider Forest, tips on how to fight the boss, and equipment drop information. He also specifically attached the [Poison Gentian] recipe he had obtained today, asking her if she knew where he could get a material called Nine Yin Powder.

Li Xiuying replied quickly; she had never heard of Nine Yin Powder either. Such items were likely new items brought along with this series of world fragments. She said she would help keep an eye out for relevant news, and of course, Hu Jinsi could also explore the profession marketplace whenever he had time, just in case someone listed it for sale.

Hu Jinsi also searched the profession marketplace, but couldn't find Nine Yin Powder or any similar substitutes. It seemed this item could only be farmed in dungeons.

"Then I'll go check out the Mass Grave tomorrow." He made the decision in his heart.

Putting these thoughts aside, he began to meditate. The night passed without incident.

---

The next day.

The morning schedule was still Xianling Island. With yesterday's experience, Hu Jinsi's progress was faster; stepping on lotus leaves, finding statues, smashing them, and moving to the next one. The entire process was smooth and fluid, and he finished all six statues in less than an hour and a half.

But after coming out of Xianling Island, that feeling of something being "off" still lingered in Hu Jinsi's mind.

There must be some hidden content in this dungeon that hadn't been discovered yet. The level 15 entry cap, the missing Peach Forest and Water Moon Palace, as well as the overly simple mechanics of the entire dungeon, all hinted at the existence of another route or another way to clear it.

"I'll come back to research it when I have time."

In the afternoon, he arrived at the Mass Grave dungeon on the west side of the city.

Although it was called the Mass Grave dungeon, this location was actually the ancestral burial ground for the local residents. The dungeon descending here was somewhat disrespectful to the local villagers.

And what was worse was that due to the influence of the dungeon, this area, which had originally been lush with vegetation and tall trees providing shade beside the tombstones, had all changed after the Mass Grave dungeon descended.

The vegetation began to wither, and the soil turned grayish-white. Some skeletons and remains were exposed to the air, emitting the scent of decay. Walking around the dungeon, one could clearly feel a cold, deathly aura spreading.

This was also one of the dangers of dungeons descending upon Water Blue Star.

This state of dungeons eroding the real world definitely existed; it was just a matter of whether the erosion was fast or slow. For dungeons that were cleared faster, the scope of erosion was smaller; if they were not cleared in time, the eroded area would grow larger and larger, slowly forming a troublesome "cancer of the world."

In history, there had already been many precedents where cities ignored dungeon erosion, ultimately leading to large areas becoming uninhabitable. It was said that a city in the north had a high-level dungeon that remained uncleared for a long time, causing the erosion to spread to half the urban area, and in the end, they had to mobilize a large-scale coalition of Awakened to barely control the situation.

Hu Jinsi stood at the entrance of the Mass Grave dungeon, looking at the withered vegetation and exposed remains around him, his brows slightly furrowed.

The air was permeated with a foul, decaying stench, and the soil beneath his feet had become soft and grayish-white, making an uncomfortable crunching sound when stepped upon. Under the grayish-white sky, this once tranquil and peaceful ancestral burial ground was now left with nothing but a scene of gloomy, deathly silence.