It took nearly three grueling hours under the damp, heavy canopy for the remaining rcenaries to finish the monuntal task. By the ti the afternoon sun began to dip behind the jagged western peaks, every single usable component from the massive spider colony had been plundered, sorted, and tied down. Six massive, custom-built wooden cargo sledges sat in a neat row, piled dangerously high with pristine jade-green mandibles, rigid venomous stingers, and hundreds of kilograms of shimring, high-grade silver silk.
Beneath the great redwood, Ethan’s heavy eyelids slowly fluttered open. The dark, suffocating fog of exhaustion had finally receded from his mind, replaced by a cool, stable clarity. His core was still dangerously hollow, but his physical senses were fully alert.
Louisa, whose legs had gone completely numb from supporting his heavy head for hours, imdiately noticed the shift. Acting purely on her newly forged protective instincts, she leaned down, placing her hands firmly under his armpits to simulate an attentive servant helping her powerful master rise, effectively masking any lingering physical stiffness from the surviving rcenaries.
"Thank you, Louisa," Ethan murmured in a low, private baritone, giving her a brief, approving glance that made her heart flutter, before stepping forward to face the trembling prisoners.
The hundred surviving rcenaries stood in a tight, anxious formation, their faces pale and their bodies completely drenched in sweat and green ichor. They looked at the massive, packed sledges and then at the long, steep mountain trail leading back to the northern gate, their bodies aching from the relentless manual labor.
"Tie yourselves to the ropes," Ethan commanded flatly, his voice echoing through the quiet clearing with an absolute, unyielding coldness. "You brought these cargo crates and chains into the valley to haul away my bounty. Now, you will act as the beasts of burden to pull it back to the town gates."
A ripple of low, desperate murmurs traveled through the rcenary ranks. "Master... please," a scarred sub-leader stamred, stepping forward with his hands raised in a pleading gesture. "We have worked without a single second of rest... our ridians are strained, and dragging these mountains of steel and silk up the ridge will completely break our—"
SHING.
Ethan didn’t say a single word. He rely rested his right palm loosely against the polished poml of his plain iron sword, a faint, hiss of white-blue Sword Intent vibrating against the leather scabbard.
The sub-leader’s jaw instantly snapped shut, his face turning an asymtric shade of gray.
"R-Right away! Grab the ropes, you useless bastards! Move!" the sub-leader scread frantically, turning back to drag his own n toward the wooden sledges.
Nobody dared to utter another syllable of complaint. Driven by the raw, unadulterated fear of another golden flash of death, the hundred survivors throwing their weight against the thick vine ropes, straining their muscles as they began to slowly, laboriously drag the massive mountains of treasure up the muddy slope.
Mary and Roy took up positions at the flanks of the moving caravan, their weapons drawn to ensure the prisoners maintained a steady, disciplined pace. Ethan remained at the absolute rear, watching the massive column slowly disappear into the thick, swirling mountain mist until the heavy sound of their marching boots and creaking wood completely faded into the distance.
The mont he was entirely alone in the quiet, blood-drenched clearing, the calm, indifferent expression on Ethan’s face vanished, replaced by a dark, ravenous intensity.
He turned his head to look back at the absolute disaster zone behind him. Though the rcenaries had ticulously harvested the high-value comrcial components, the valley floor was still littered with dozens of massive, ton-heavy carapaces, mounds of severed legs, and vast lakes of bubbling green and crimson blood. To any ordinary cultivator, this was nothing but useless, toxic waste—but to his unique heritage, it was raw, unrefined mass.
Ethan unhinged his jaw.
VRRRRRR!
An invisible, catastrophic tear in the fabric of space erupted from the depths of his throat as he activated the absolute, terrifying gravity of his Great Athyst Devourer constitution. A miniature, localized black hole manifested within the open air, generating a silent, high-velocity vortex that completely inverted the laws of nature.
The massive, ton-heavy torsos of the four-ter elite spiders were instantly lifted off the ground, their structures twisting and compressing into microscopic anomalies before flying straight into his maw. The lakes of erald and crimson blood rose into the air like swirling rivers, rushing into the dark void alongside the shattered bones, bristling hairs, and leftover flesh. Within less than thirty seconds, the entire central nesting ground was stripped entirely bare, leaving nothing behind but dry, completely hollowed-out dirt.
Ethan snapped his jaw shut, swallowing the massive mass with a deep, guttural click. He paused, checking the internal state of his restricted core, only to let out a low, deeply frustrated sigh.
Even after consuming the entirety of the remaining biological mass, the ambient spiritual energy locked within the flesh was so minuscule that his restricted core had barely recharged to ten percent of its absolute capacity. All the premium, high-density essence had been locked inside the stingers, eyes, and silk that the rcenaries were currently dragging away; what remained was rely empty tissue.
Rustle.
A sudden, sharp snap of a twig cut through the absolute silence of the cleared valley.
Ethan’s athyst eyes flashed with a freezing, predatory light as his head snapped toward the eastern treeline.
Standing at the edge of the mist was Louisa. She had quietly slipped away from the main caravan to return to the clearing, intent on staying by his side to serve as his shadow. But as she looked at the completely empty, barren dirt floor where the massive mountain of spider carcasses had rested just seconds ago, and then looked at Ethan, whose mouth was still stained with a faint, smoking wisp of dark purple gravity, her entire body paralyzed.
Her jaw dropped, her small hunting dagger slipping from her limp fingers to clatter against a stone as a wave of absolute, unadulterated panic completely seized her soul.
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From this mont forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.
Note: These are only the ranks ntioned so far to avoid spoilers.
Body Refinent Realm
Skin Refinent / Bone Refinent / Organ Refinent
Spiritual Gathering Realm
Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation
Spiritual Core Realm
Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)
Spiritual Soul Realm
Spiritual Soul Awakening / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion
Golden Core Realm
Pri Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction
Spiritual Sea Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Dao Manifestation Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Spiritual Transcendence
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
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