Oh, look at that!
My God, my precious!
This familiar, damned 'System'—it's indeed still here... Bai Zhi let out a heavy sigh in its heart.
It seemed that as long as the eerie purple light didn't vanish, this 'System' would also continue to exist within its body.
The 'Name' field had changed to a name both familiar and unfamiliar...
'Bai Zhi'!
And Vitality had even reached 699!
Though it still didn't know how much more it needed to improve before reaching the limit for the next evolution.
After that brutal, bloody battle, the various skills had also seen improvement.
And what was even more gratifying was...
For some unknown reason, the 'Egg Laying' skill hadn't triggered automatically.
Its attention paused on 'Satiety' for a moment. Come to think of it, it had barely eaten anything over these seven days. What a hardship for this body...
After reviewing the Status Panel, Bai Zhi began sorting through the various past events.
Although it had understood many things through the "Web of the World," there were still several unresolved questions.
For instance, why had Wang Miaoyin taken on that appearance, and what power had she granted it?
Why had it automatically activated the "Web of the World" ability?
Also, where exactly had its complete corpse before reincarnation gone? Why had that severed limb appeared on the rear mountain, entering the authorities' line of sight...
Who had sent the anonymous email? Did the authorities know the true identity of the sender? Was there any cover-up?
Thoughts flashed through its mind like shooting stars. Bai Zhi suddenly felt a splitting headache.
Although its Vitality had risen to 699, it dared not casually use its abilities, nor even think too frequently—because its soul seemed to have suffered heavy damage and was utterly exhausted. Only continuous slumber showed signs of recovery.
...
"Where's that snake?"
Bai Zhi forcibly endured the searing pain deep in its soul and asked the woman outside the door.
"That little one... she's swimming in the lake." Yang Shining replied.
That little rascal... she's certainly made herself at home here, traded up for a bigger pond, Bai Zhi couldn't help but grumble inwardly.
Unlike itself, which still had to be "bedridden."
"And Wang Miaoyin?" Bai Zhi asked again.
"You mean that girl in the red dress, Lord Bai Zhi? She... is still unconscious."
Mm, as long as she's not dead...
That 'Wang Miaoyin' who had granted it power was clearly not the real, original Wang Miaoyin. It would have to wait until she woke up to ask further.
Bai Zhi didn't ask anything more, just gave an "Mm" and transmitted: "You may withdraw now."
The thick drowsiness came again. In comparison, the hunger was nothing at all.
Wait, I'm not going to starve to death in my sleep, am I?
"Very well. I won't disturb Lord Bai Zhi's rest any further."
Yang Shining left the courtyard, suddenly pausing at the gate. From between those two soft mounds, she retrieved the black crystal pendant.
At this moment, the black crystal pendant was inexplicably somewhat hot to the touch.
Ever since Lord Bai Zhi had brought her back to the Jiuli Grotto-Heaven, Bai Zhi had taken off the black crystal pendant and returned it to her.
Come to think of it, on that day of the rear mountain siege, when she received the evacuation notice from the school and authorities, she had sensed something was off. Later, as expected, battle had erupted on the rear mountain—an inescapable death trap aimed at the demon spider.
She had thought that the Secret Keeping Bureau and the Criminal Investigation Department calling the Wu Gu Clan to participate in the encirclement was already the limit.
She never imagined that even the military's trump cards would be brought into play.
The Axe-Bearer, the Heaven's Punisher... if those two terrifying existences came to the Jiuli Grotto-Heaven, perhaps only the Sect Master emerging from closed-door cultivation could resolve the crisis.
After much hesitation, she had still chosen not to evacuate. Instead, she had hidden and, after sensing the barrier weaken, infiltrated the rear mountain.
Following that, through the connection of the demonic liquid within her body, Yang Shining had sensed that Bai Zhi was at a life-and-death juncture.
Perhaps it was because that demonic liquid was warning and urging her—if Bai Zhi fell, she too would face horrifying consequences...
Perhaps it was because she couldn't bear to see such a powerful, highly intelligent demonic creature vanish just like that...
Perhaps it was due to some complex, hard-to-articulate emotions...
She had entered the mountaintop battlefield directly,
Completely unafraid of the Secret Keepers or the terrifying insect swarm's black mist, even less concerned about whether she would be marked by the Federation's Secret Keeping Bureau.
Just as she had no idea how to rescue Bai Zhi, something miraculous had happened.
The black crystal pendant had transmitted a faint warmth, sending a weak will to her. When she took out the pendant, it had actually flown on its own toward the insect swarm's black mist...
What happened next was, naturally, Lord Bai Zhi, with a peerless, world-shaking form, breaking through the Heaven's Punisher's cage and shattering humanity's schemes.
Not long after Lord Bai Zhi had brought her back to the Jiuli Grotto-Heaven, Bai Zhi had reverted to its original spider form and fallen into a deep slumber.
Regarding this, Yang Shining felt a slight regret—she could no longer see that stunning, demonic figure, especially the upper body that could only be described as a supreme paragon of beauty...
That towering, proud fullness. That smooth, snow-white skin. Those crimson eyes.
And also those... faintly visible "ab lines"...
Over these seven days, the moment she closed her eyes, she couldn't help but recall it—even having absurd thoughts that made her blush...
Compared to Lord Bai Zhi, she herself seemed... a whole size smaller...
Aside from wanting to see Lord Bai Zhi's true form again, she harbored an even more irrepressible curiosity about Lord Bai Zhi's true face.
"I must help Lord Bai Zhi recover as quickly as possible—even achieve complete shapeshifting..."
The Saintess clenched her pink fists, pumping them once in front of her chest, and muttered to herself with firm resolve.
...
In the Jiuli Grotto-Heaven, night fell over the Saintess's mansion.
A massive spider climbed to the top of the valley, gazing at the bright moon from afar, wondering whether that moon belonged to the outside world or was unique to this grotto-heaven space.
Having woken not long after morning, Bai Zhi had fallen into a drowsy slumber again, sleeping from day until night, and had only just awoken.
With nothing to do—and its phone having been destroyed in the rear mountain battle—it decided to simply stand at this high vantage point and enjoy the scenery.
It had to be said, Yang Shining's personal mansion was built at a high altitude on Autumn Mountain, and the view before its eyes was utterly enchanting.
Its eight eyes gazed far into the distance, taking in everything.
At the mountain's base stretched fertile plains for a hundred li, crisscrossed with field paths.
The air was pure, the night sky boundless. In the distance, mountains surrounded them on all sides, occasionally capped with white snow. At the mountain's foot, a vast, shimmering lake reflected the silver moon and clustered stars. Several tall pagodas and temples stood in the distance, their walls crystal clear and translucent, echoing the moonlight and the lake's glow.
But no matter how beautiful the scenery, it was ultimately unfamiliar...
The unfamiliar environment, the sense of crossing worlds upon waking from deep slumber—
Together, they fused into a cold, quiet, lonely sense of solitude, enveloping Bai Zhi's body and mind.
I wonder how those two Agents—Long Ge and Lin Binbin—are doing.
Due to the great distance and being in the isolated Jiuli Grotto-Heaven, it could no longer transmit voice messages to its Agents.
And according to Bai Huahua's words, Lin Binbin should have already received the little spiders. It had also taught him how to retrieve corresponding items from the storage space. The only worry was—facing so many little spiders, would Lin Binbin have a breakdown or just throw in the towel entirely?
"..."
Suddenly, a trace of worry arose in Bai Zhi's heart.
Once fully recovered and back in the world outside the grotto-heaven, I'll have to consider how to reward Lin Binbin.
Fortunately, although only Yang Shining was usable by its side right now, somehow, she was extremely obedient to its words at present.
How strange.