208: Chapter 208 also completely deprived him of the ability to fight.

Inside the rock crevice, there was temporary safety, but also an absolute prison.

Having survived the ordeal, the group leaned their backs against the cold, rough rock wall, gasping violently.

Every breath carried a burning pain, as if it were squeezing out the last trace of air from their lungs.

Outside, that endless sea of spiders was still frantically assaulting the narrow entrance.

The sound of countless limbs scraping against the rock converged into a teeth-gritting noise, like billions of fingernails dragging across a blackboard, relentlessly tormenting the group's already fragile nerves.

Darkness, dampness, and a foul stench.

This was everything inside the rock crevice.

The air was permeated with a thick, strange odor—a mixture of the earthy smell of rocks, the fishy stench of spiders, and the fluid of some unknown creature.

The ground underfoot was slick, though it was unclear whether it was seeping groundwater or the fluids splattered during the previous battle.

"Now... what... what do we do now?"

Lord Pang asked, his voice trembling. He curled his body into a ball, staying as far from the entrance as possible, as if that would make him feel a bit safer.

He dared not look again at that writhing "starry sky" outside, composed of countless scarlet eyes; the sight was nearing the limit of his psychological endurance.

"Conserve your energy and recover your state."

Lin Tianyi's voice was relatively calm, but his knuckles, white from gripping his rifle too tightly, betrayed the tension in his heart.

"Wait for Song Yiqing to recover. We are trapped here."

He was stating a fact.

This rock crevice was an upward-sloping passage, like a natural chimney—deep, dark, and leading to nowhere known.

The only exit below had been completely sealed off by the sea of spiders.

They were like insects stuck at the bottom of a bottle by a cork, caught in a dilemma with no way forward or back.

Song Yiqing did not answer. He was sitting cross-legged, eyes tightly shut, his pale face devoid of any color.

The continuous fighting earlier, especially the final massive wall of fire, had almost exhausted the Qi within him.

He had to seize every single second to recover even the slightest bit of strength.

Just in this despairing silence...

Thump...

A heavy, oppressive thud slowly echoed from above the crevice, from the deeper darkness.

Thump...

The sound was completely different from the dense and chaotic crawling of the spiders outside.

It was heavier, more viscous, as if some huge, slimy creature was laboriously dragging its heavy body along the rock wall.

There was a fixed rhythm between each sound, like the slow and steady heartbeat of something from the abyss.

Every time it sounded, it was as if an invisible giant hammer was smashing down onto everyone's heart, making their heartbeats involuntarily try to synchronize with that terrifying rhythm!

"Damn... above... is there still something above?"

Lord Pang looked up in terror, gazing into the darkness that seemed capable of swallowing all light, his voice shaking uncontrollably.

Wang Xianzhi and Zhang Qilin opened their eyes almost at the same time. Both gripped their weapons tightly, their eyes filled with unprecedented vigilance.

These people, who possessed beast-like instincts for danger, knew better than anyone that the danger level of this "thing" approaching was far beyond that of the entire sea of spiders outside!

Thump... Thump... Thump...

The sound grew closer and clearer.

Accompanying it was a suffocating heat, as if a massive furnace were slowly descending from above, and the temperature inside the crevice began to rise sharply.

The rock walls even started to become slightly hot to the touch.

Song Yiqing suddenly opened his eyes. He looked up at the bottomless darkness, a flash of shock and realization crossing his eyes.

"That baby hand... it wasn't something that hatched..."

His voice was hoarse and grave.

"It is a key."

"A key... that opened the gate to the true nest."

"We... have entered its nest."

Before the words had even faded, a huge, ominous shadow loomed down from above!

Immediately after, a leg... or rather, a limb, slowly emerged from the darkness and landed on the rock wall more than ten meters above their heads.

The limb was as thick as an adult's thigh, covered entirely in a smooth, hard carapace like obsidian.

Across the carapace were countless crimson veins, pulsing like magma flowing through blood vessels!

At the end of the limb were sharp claws shimmering with the cold metallic glint of tempered divine weapons.

Every time the claws moved, they left deep, smoking scratches on the hard rock wall!

Then came the second, the third...

When its full form was finally revealed from the darkness, everyone felt as if their breath had been tightly constricted by an invisible hand!

It was a giant spider the size of a small truck!

Its eight limbs were each filled with explosive power.

Its body was not bloated like the spiders outside, but rather presented a highly aggressive, streamlined shape.

Most terrifying of all was its head. It did not have the dense simple eyes of ordinary spiders, but two huge, vertical pupils burning like lava, flashing with a cruel and intelligent light!

At this moment, those two lava-like vertical pupils were looking down from above, with great interest, at these "little bugs" who had intruded into its territory.

A scorching pressure, carrying the thick scent of sulfur, crashed down like a mountain!

"Damn it! Another big one! Is this a boss respawning?!"

Lord Pang's fear was replaced at this moment by a reckless, desperate madness!

He suddenly raised his rifle, aimed at the giant head, and pulled the trigger frantically!

"Eat Lord Pang's bullets!!"

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

The muzzle spat out angry tongues of fire, and a barrage of bullets shot precisely toward the giant spider's head!

However, the scene that followed made Lord Pang's heart turn cold.

Clang, clang, clang!

Those special bullets, capable of tearing through steel plates, hit the obsidian-like carapace and acted as if they had struck the hardest alloy; they were all deflected, sparking a series of dazzling flashes, failing to leave even the slightest mark!

"It's useless! Its carapace is too hard!"

Lin Tianyi roared, his face deathly pale, as he pulled a high-explosive grenade from his waist and threw it upward with all his might!

The giant spider merely glanced contemptuously at the incoming grenade, and one of its front limbs swung out like lightning!

Snap!

With a crisp sound, the grenade was precisely smashed in mid-air. The high-explosive inside didn't even have time to detonate before it was ignited by a wave of scorching heat, exploding into a weak flash of fire in the air!

"Hiss—!!!"

As if enraged by the provocation of these little bugs, the giant spider let out a sharp, scorching hiss!

It suddenly opened its hideous mouthparts, and a fist-sized, crimson, viscous liquid like lava sprayed out from its mouth, carrying an aura that incinerated everything, shooting toward where Lord Pang was located!

"Watch out!!"

Song Yiqing's pupils constricted, and he roared!

At the critical moment, a black shadow flashed!

Zhang Qilin, reacting after but arriving first, shoved the still-shocked Lord Pang away, while his black gold ancient blade swept from bottom to top, carving a pitch-black arc that precisely struck the blob of lava!

Sizzle—!!!

A thick cloud of white smoke erupted with a piercing sound!

The black gold ancient blade was actually scorched slightly red by the lava!

Zhang Qilin let out a muffled groan, feeling a massive force accompanied by terrifying heat coming from the blade.

His entire body was forced to retreat several steps, the web of his hand gripping the blade split open, seeping with blood!

And that blob of lava, after being split, splattered onto the rock wall and the ground, actually corroding deep, sizzling pits into the hard rock!

The power of a single strike was terrifying!

...

[In the Livestream Room]

"My god... what is that thing?!"

"A BOSS! It's definitely a BOSS! It's too big!"

"That 'spit' from just now could melt rock?! Are you kidding me?!"

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy—crap! What was that just now?! Bullets and grenades are ineffective?! How are we supposed to fight this?!"

"It's over… it's really over this time… God Song and the others have exhausted their strength, and now they're facing a monster like this. This is absolutely a dead end!"

"Despair! I can feel the despair washing over me! This Forbidden Zone is simply not a place for humans to explore!"

…

Dawn Squad.

"Damn it!!"

Wei Fengzhao watched the giant spider appear on the screen and slammed his fist hard against the rock beside him, producing a dull thud. For the first time, an expression mixed with anger and horror appeared on his face.

"How could this be… how could we encounter the 'Demonic Flame Spider Mother' here!"

"Captain, what is the Demonic Flame Spider Mother?"

Liu Tao swallowed hard, asking with a trembling voice.

Wei Fengzhao took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, but his voice still carried a trace of trembling.

"According to the incomplete biological encyclopedia transmitted back by the 'Alpha' squad, this creature is the absolute core of the entire spider ecosystem; it is their 'Mother Emperor'! It is not any known species on Earth, but rather more like… a type of 'elemental creature' that coexists with the underground environment!"

His gaze was fixed intently on the monster on the screen, which had burning lava vertical pupils.

"Its carapace is composed of high-density volcanic obsidian mixed with biological protein, making it indestructible and capable of resisting conventional kinetic weapons and high temperatures. What it spits is not venom, but highly concentrated 'biological lava,' with temperatures exceeding 1200 degrees Celsius! The most terrifying thing is… it possesses extremely high intelligence!"

"'Alpha' squad only encountered it from afar once. Just by being discovered by it, they paid the price of three team members killed in action before they could barely escape! It… it is almost invincible!"

Wei Fengzhao's words caused the hearts of all the surrounding team members to sink to the bottom.

Invincible.

These four words pressed down on everyone's hearts like an insurmountable mountain.

…

Back to the live stream.

Having missed its attack, the Demonic Flame Spider Mother seemed completely enraged.

It no longer moved slowly; its eight huge articulated limbs, like the most precise machinery, propelled its massive body, charging downwards at lightning speed that completely belied its size!

The entire rock crevice trembled violently under its furious charge!

"Scatter! Use the terrain!"

Song Yiqing's voice once again became the backbone of the battlefield!

He retreated rapidly while calmly issuing commands.

"Its size is an advantage, but also a disadvantage! Qilin, attack its joints! That's where its carapace is weakest!"

"Xianzhi, use your sword energy to harass its compound eyes! Disrupt its targeting!"

"Fatty! Lin Tianyi! Stop using guns, it's useless! Use all your explosives to attack the rock wall where it's landing, create rockfalls, and slow it down!"

In an instant, the previously chaotic battlefield became orderly again!

Zhang Qilin no longer fought head-on; his figure moved like a ghost along the narrow rock walls, and the black gold ancient blade in his hand abandoned wide, sweeping slashes, instead turning into tricky, lethal arcs, each one precisely striking the joint connections of the Demonic Flame Spider Mother's massive articulated limbs!

Clang! Clang!

Sparks flew! Although he still couldn't sever them, every attack caused the Demonic Flame Spider Mother's movements to show a slight, almost imperceptible stiffness!

Wang Xianzhi pushed her nimble movement technique to the limit; like a butterfly dancing on the tip of a blade, the long sword in her hand constantly unleashed cold sword energy.

Although those waves of sword energy couldn't break through its defense, they could always, at the most critical moment, precisely strike the Demonic Flame Spider Mother's two huge lava-like vertical pupils, forcing it to close its eyes or turn its head, creating opportunities for Zhang Qilin to attack!

Fatty and Lin Tianyi also reacted, throwing all the stun grenades, flashbangs, and even the few remaining grenades they had onto the rock wall where the Demonic Flame Spider Mother was about to land!

Boom! Boom!

Violent explosions echoed in the crevice, and a large amount of debris was blasted down. Although it couldn't hurt the Spider Mother, it greatly delayed its pursuit speed, making its massive body somewhat restricted in the narrow environment!

The battle fell into an eerie balance!

Song Yiqing's team, like a group of the finest matadors, kept dodging, harassing, attacking weak points, and using the terrain to maneuver around this "bull" that was far stronger than them!

But Song Yiqing's heart grew heavier and heavier.

He knew this was just drinking poison to quench thirst.

Their physical strength was being consumed rapidly, and their explosives would eventually run out. Yet this Spider Mother seemed tireless!

Most importantly, he could feel that the Spider Mother's attacks were becoming more methodical; it was rapidly adapting to their tactics!

It was learning!

"No! We can't drag this out any longer!"

A flash of determination crossed Song Yiqing's eyes!

He stopped abruptly, no longer retreating.

"Everyone! Buy me three seconds! Just three seconds!"

He took a deep breath, and his hands quickly formed an incredibly complex and profound hand seal in front of his chest!

The Qi within him, which had just recovered to less than thirty percent, at this moment, like floodgates opening, poured without reservation and frantically toward the seal at his fingertips!

"What is he doing?!"

Lin Tianyi exclaimed.

Suddenly, at Song Yiqing's fingertips, a small, inconspicuous flame of pure gold was quietly born.

That flame lacked the dominance and ferocity of the Burning Heaven Flame; it even looked somewhat gentle and quiet.

However, the moment this golden flame appeared, the arrogant Demonic Flame Spider Mother stopped attacking for the first time! In its lava-burning vertical pupils, for the first time, an emotion called "fear" was revealed!

It sensed the aura of a natural enemy!

"Nanming Li Fire, burn through the eight wastelands!"

Song Yiqing's voice seemed to come from the nine heavens, carrying an unquestionable majesty!

He pointed forward sharply!

The golden flame left his hand without making a sound, turning into a stream of light, and with a speed that defied spatial distance, it instantly imprinted itself onto the Demonic Flame Spider Mother's massive head!

No explosion.

No roar.

Time, at this moment, seemed to slow down.

In the horrified eyes of everyone.

The golden flame, the moment it touched the Spider Mother's carapace, was like a water droplet falling into boiling oil, suddenly spreading!

The golden flames burned silently; it was as if it wasn't burning matter, but burning… concepts!

That indestructible obsidian carapace, which even bullets couldn't damage in the slightest, melted and vaporized silently and rapidly before the golden flames, like snow under the sun!

"Hiss—!!!!!!"

The Demonic Flame Spider Mother let out the most shrill and painful scream in its history!

It twisted its body frantically, slamming its articulated limbs against the rock wall in an attempt to extinguish the flames, but it was all in vain!

Once tainted by the golden Nanming Li Fire, it would never stop until the end!

In just three seconds.

That massive, arrogant Demonic Flame Spider Mother was, before everyone's eyes, completely and silently burned by that tiny golden flame, from head to toe, into the most primitive, curling blue smoke.

Not even a trace of ash was left behind.

The entire rock crevice instantly returned to deadly silence.

All that remained were the heavy gasps of the group and that majestic "Nanming Li Fire, burn through the eight wastelands" echoing in their minds.

Thud.

Song Yiqing's legs went weak, and he fell to one knee.

His complexion was no longer pale, but a nearly transparent deathly gray. The Qi within his body had been completely drained, and he had even overdrawn his source.

He looked at his slightly trembling hands, a bitter glint flashing in his eyes.

This strike had resolved the immediate crisis.

But it had also left him completely devoid of the strength to fight again.

…