Chapter 319: Found the Underground Cave Spider Men
Sensing that his spiritual power was still in an active state, Zhou Ming had no intention of punishing the Little Pink Mushroom that had tried to escape.
However, even if Zhou Ming did not punish it, the Little Pink Mushroom would still suffer.
For something capable of enhancing his spiritual power, he naturally intended to study it thoroughly.
At the same time, he also needed to test whether the Little Pink Mushroom possessed any other special abilities.
Not in a hurry to leave, Zhou Ming directly carved out a temporary resting place in a nearby rock wall.
Inside the rock cave, which spanned dozens of square meters, a Sun Stone illuminated the space as bright as daylight.
Sun Stones were special materials. Although they did not even qualify as first-tier spiritual items, under the stimulation of spiritual power or other forces, they could emit light comparable to the sun.
Within Zhou Ming’s camp, the lighthouse connected to the rock layers was constructed using a giant Sun Stone.
Additionally, Sun Stones could deal extra damage to vampires and had even stronger lethality against blood thralls.
Under Zhou Ming’s arrangements, this temporarily excavated cave became the place where he researched the Little Pink Mushroom.
Several days passed. Despite Zhou Ming’s various coercive methods, the Little Pink Mushroom did not shed any more miraculous tears.
Just as Zhou Ming was about to give up and wait until he returned to camp to use more advanced instruments for research, the Little Pink Mushroom finally shed two more tears.
Faced with this sudden change, Zhou Ming immediately used his own spiritual power to observe the changes in the Little Pink Mushroom.
The final conclusion was that the Little Pink Mushroom required seven days to nurture a special kind of power within its body through its unique nature.
And this power would flow out of its body in the form of tears when it felt sad.
Due to limited conditions, Zhou Ming did not continue researching this power. Instead, he consumed the miraculous tears once more.
With the help of these tears, his spiritual power became exceptionally active, and the efficiency of his meditation increased severalfold.
Within the sea of consciousness, the giant python formed through meditation had clearer runes on its body, and the scales composed of one thousand and eight points of starlight became even more tightly arranged.
However, the Little Pink Mushroom still did not realize that the more effective its tears were, the more suffering it would endure in the future.
Unless it could freely control the shedding of its tears, Zhou Ming would not spare it just because of its cute appearance.
A moment of carelessness had resulted in endless torment.
“Little one, you’ll have to work hard from now on.”
Zhou Ming pinched the Little Pink Mushroom, extremely satisfied with this unexpected gain.
Even if the Little Pink Mushroom had no other abilities, the effect of its miraculous tears alone—enhancing spiritual power—was enough to make other extraordinary experts take action against him.
Held in Zhou Ming’s palm and casually toyed with, the Little Pink Mushroom seemed to understand its miserable future. The facial features that appeared on its pink surface immediately scrunched together, revealing a look of despair.
Perhaps this was its tribulation. Clearly possessing the potential to become a sacrificial spirit or even a demigod, it still had to undergo calamities to succeed.
Unfortunately, with Zhou Ming’s appearance, its hope of becoming a deity was completely shattered.
After thoroughly investigating the Ghost Cry Cavern and the situation of the Little Pink Mushroom, Zhou Ming did not waste time staying any longer.
With such an unexpected harvest, he became even more interested in exploring the Dark Domain.
Several days later, inside a cavern spanning dozens of kilometers—
Booms echoed like thunder, and the terrifying commotion made the cavern seem as if it were experiencing an earthquake.
Fortunately, the caverns of the Dark Domain were not ordinary caves. Under the influence of dimensional rifts, they existed as semi-planes formed from underground caverns.
Otherwise, a cavern spanning dozens of kilometers would have already collapsed.
As the rumbling gradually subsided, a figure escaped from the cave in a battered state.
“Damn it, it turned out to be a land-bound spirit comparable to mid-level professional!”
This battered figure was Zhou Ming. At this moment, he stared at the passage behind him and cursed in a low voice.
The Dark Domain contained all kinds of rare resources, but it also concealed numerous dangers.
Earlier, Zhou Ming had obtained the Little Pink Mushroom by chance and momentarily forgotten that the Dark Domain was not a place where he could act freely. He had nearly paid the price in that very cave.
Although land-bound spirits could not leave their territory, they possessed a trace of immortality.
Combined with the abilities that spirit-type creatures excelled in—illusions, curses, and life erosion—Zhou Ming, even with the bloodline of the Molting Snake Emperor and the enhancement of his snake swarm, could only choose to flee to save his life.
The only good news was that, as a land-bound spirit, the opponent could not leave that cave.
“Hmph, once I break through to mid-level professional, I’ll come back and settle this with you.”
Zhou Ming raised his left hand. A sinister and eerie energy clung to it like a bone parasite, continuously eroding the vitality within his flesh, and anger surged in his heart.
Originally, after discovering it was a land-bound spirit, Zhou Ming had not intended to provoke it, as such beings were extremely troublesome due to their near-immortality.
However, the other party refused to let him go, and a fierce battle erupted on the spot.
Even after using the Withering Flower, the land-bound spirit still relied on its immortal nature to heavily injure Zhou Ming.
After escaping the cave and leaving behind a harsh remark, Zhou Ming quickly found a place to hide and treat his injuries.
Fortunately, he had previously spent a month in the Blue Star Academy Library and had gained relatively comprehensive knowledge about the rare category of spirit-type creatures.
As for how to handle injuries caused by such beings, Zhou Ming knew what to do. Otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome.
Several days later, the sinister energy attached to Zhou Ming’s left hand was finally completely removed.
“I’ve been in the Dark Domain for more than half a month. There’s only one month left before the auction hosted by that Highness of White Bone City.”
“For now, I should first investigate the situation of the underground cave spider men. As for how to deal with them, I’ll decide after the auction ends.”
Looking at his left hand, which had returned to normal, Zhou Ming decided not to continue exploring other areas of the Dark Domain.
The incident with the land-bound spirit had served as a warning—although there were no massive dimensional rifts here, it did not mean there were no deadly existences.
His strength was still only at the early stage of the extraordinary level.
Even with the Molting Snake Emperor bloodline and the enhancement of the snake swarm, he could at most contend with some ordinary mid-level extraordinary beings.
Having made up his mind, Zhou Ming immediately took out the map given by the Ghost Envoy and located the cave where the cave spider men appeared, as provided by Su Mei.
Moments later, a shadow streaked through the caverns and passages of the Dark Domain.
Within a cavern several passages away from the camp, Zhou Ming finally discovered the existence of the cave spider men.
Below the abdomen, they had the form of spiders—their carapaces black and gleaming with a cold, metallic luster.
Above the abdomen, they were humanoid, with gray-brown skin, bulging muscles, and holding two-meter-long bone spears.
These cave spider men were surrounding and attacking a high-tier ferocious beast. Agile and unrestrained by terrain, their bone spears produced tearing sounds as they swung them.
According to Zhou Ming’s perception, among the ten-member cave spider man squad before him, only one had reached the professional level, while the rest were ordinary apprentice warriors.
After finding the cave spider men, Zhou Ming did not act immediately. Instead, he prepared to follow them and investigate their lair.