Sha Chen was unaware of what the spider spirits were thinking. Instead, he discussed Lady Di Yong’s situation in detail, particularly emphasizing that he had sent Lady Di Yong to find the phoenix trees.
The spider spirits listened and were indeed excited. Each of them patted their chests, promising that they would do even better than Lady Di Yong.
Sha Chen was very pleased. He nodded his approval and encouraged them to keep up the good work and continue their efforts.
Seventh Mother said, "Eldest Brother, we plan to stay for a longer time this visit, to keep you company so you won’t be lonely and cold."
Sha Chen immediately became vigilant. Are they getting arrogant because of my favor, thinking they can take advantage of me!? Staying a few days is fine, but they want to stay for a long time? With my modest means, I can’t afford to feed seven mouths.
He hinted tactfully, "My home is poor; I really can’t afford for you to stay."
The spider spirits all expressed their gratitude, "Thank you, Eldest Brother, for allowing us to stay."
Sha Chen was baffled. Did I agree!? Did they only hear the words ’you can stay’? This is giving me a headache. The simple-minded spider spirits are becoming a bit deaf. What should I do?
But Sha Chen wasn’t yet able to send them away; after all, he still needed them to gather resources.
He then inquired further about the situation of Marshal Tianpeng overseas, which was as he had initially described. Marshal Tianpeng was swayed by lust, seduced by Princess Wan Sheng, and then captured by the demons of Luanshi Island.
However, there was a detail. Marshal Tianpeng had gone overseas in search of resources, having heard that a secret cache had been revealed. He then heard that Princess Wan Sheng was incomparably beautiful and was looking to recruit a live-in son-in-law. Swayed by persuasion, he lost the will to strive and decided to try his luck, only to fall into a trap.
Throughout these events, Marshal Tianpeng had always been acting on hearsay.
The spider spirits didn’t think much of it, but Sha Chen grew increasingly suspicious.
Could this be the work of the Buddhists?
Thinking this, Sha Chen felt he absolutely had to save Marshal Tianpeng. Otherwise, given Marshal Tianpeng’s personality, he might really succumb and willingly become a running dog for Buddhism. In that case, all my painstaking efforts would be wasted, and the secrets of my manor would also be exposed.
Sha Chen carefully asked about the situation overseas, especially concerning Luanshi Island, which made the spider spirits tense up at once. They all understood that Sha Chen took the matter of Marshal Tianpeng very seriously.
Seventh Mother said, "Eldest Brother, why don’t we sisters take another trip to Luanshi Island and risk our lives to rescue Marshal Tianpeng."
Sha Chen replied, "If you go, it will indeed be sending you to your deaths. I’ll think of another way."
The spider spirits were deeply touched; Sha Chen was still considering their well-being, not wanting to put them at risk. But without them, how would Sha Chen rescue anyone?
Sha Chen didn’t speak further on the matter but casually asked, "How strong are you now? If you’re too weak, you won’t be able to work for me."
The spider spirits immediately puffed out their chests and held their heads high, almost bumping into Sha Chen.
Sha Chen took a step back and looked. A row of streetlights... He then said, "Alright, how strong have you actually become?"
The spider spirits grinned, proudly saying, "Our Eldest Sister has already stepped into the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal realm. The rest of us are all at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm, and stepping into the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal realm is just around the corner for us. It won’t be a problem for Second Mother and Third Mother to reach the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal realm within the year."
They were all excited and proud. Their cultivation had advanced incredibly fast. A hundred years ago, they were just ordinary Golden Immortals.
But now, one of them had already stepped into the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal realm, while the others were at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm. This rate of cultivation was undeniably fast, so they naturally had reason to be proud.
"Our strength has grown so much, we’re catching up to Eldest Brother! In the future, we can do even more for Eldest Brother."
Sha Chen chuckled, releasing a potent aura of a high-stage Greater Primordial Golden Immortal, which instantly stunned the spider spirits.
They each widened their eyes in disbelief.
Wasn’t Eldest Brother only at the peak Golden Immortal realm before? How has he reached the advanced stage of the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal realm now!? This cultivation speed is too exaggerated!
They were shocked beyond measure, and also overjoyed. The stronger Sha Chen became, the safer they felt.
Because Sha Chen was their pillar of support. Whenever they were in danger, they just had to return to him, and they would be safe.
Actually, Sha Chen wasn’t deliberately showing off. He just wanted the spider spirits to know he possessed such strength, so they wouldn’t entertain any improper thoughts.
The spider spirits exchanged glances, then said, "Eldest Brother, you mentioned teaching Sister Di Yong Dao Techniques. We want to learn too!"
Sha Chen said, "Even if you hadn’t asked, I was planning to teach you."
If you want the horse to run, you have to let it eat grass. He understood this principle well. The more powerful the spider spirits became, the more resources they could bring back. Their performance this time was a clear indication of that.
So Sha Chen was very willing to teach them, as long as they didn’t use his cultivation resources.
Sha Chen chose to pass on the [Hero Spirit Formula] to them to enhance their Primordial Spirits, making them less susceptible to bewitchment and losing their true nature. This would solidify their Dao hearts as his resource-gathering tools.
After that, he also taught them the [Qingyun Zong] to give them a better chance of escaping when fleeing for their lives. Get full chapters from novel·fiɾe·net
The spider spirits were ecstatic. During their excursions, they had been pursued relentlessly many times, finding no escape route in the sky or on land, leaving them in despair. They all longed for a Great Divine Power of flight that could shake off their pursuers.
Unexpectedly, Sha Chen had so thoughtfully prepared this [Qingyun Zong] for them, a technique allowing one to cover 108,000 li in a single step. In the future, it would not only help them escape danger but also allow them to deliver any valuable items they found back to him more quickly.
Each one of them was tearfully grateful, repeatedly offering themselves in marriage to Sha Chen and insisting he must not refuse.
But Sha Chen always refused, again and again, telling them not to be delusional.
The spider spirits spent two years learning the [Qingyun Zong] and the [Hero Spirit Formula], and they lived there for those two years. Consequently, they also consumed Sha Chen’s resources for two years.
Because they held nothing back, everything they obtained, apart from what was consumed on their journeys, was turned over to him. Such selflessness touched Sha Chen and almost brought him to tears.
He was moved by their selflessness, yet the thought of having to provide for all seven of them—seven hungry mouths to feed—made him want to cry. The cost of cultivation was an astronomical figure.
For this reason, he tried every method he could think of to get the spider spirits to learn quickly and leave sooner. Even a wealthy household like mine is running short on surplus grain!
He taught them diligently, even taking out ambergris for them to sniff to enhance their comprehension abilities. Yet, it still took them two years to learn. Several times, Sha Chen couldn’t resist cursing them for being so hopelessly dull-witted.
In reality, they were already learning quite quickly.
Finally, the spider spirits had learned the techniques.
Sha Chen couldn’t wait to send them away; he really couldn’t afford to keep them at home anymore.
The spider spirits, however, were reluctant to leave, clinging to Sha Chen’s hand or throwing themselves into his arms, weeping. Their tears and snot smeared all over him.
Sha Chen, forcefully suppressing his feigned sorrow (he was actually ecstatic), packed their belongings and escorted them out of the Formation.
He instructed, "Now that you’ve learned these Divine Powers, you must bring back even more things next time."
The spider spirits, finding it hard to part and with tears in their eyes, said, "Eldest Brother, rest assured. This time we go out, we plan to focus on plundering. Searching for items one by one is far too slow."
Sha Chen asked, "Won’t that be too dangerous?"
The spider spirits were deeply touched. "Eldest Brother, don’t worry about us. We’ll only pick on some weaker factions."
Sha Chen heaved a sigh of relief. He wasn’t worried about the spider spirits themselves; he was worried they would attract people back to him, causing him trouble.
However, he still felt uneasy and warned, "In any case, don’t provoke those powerful experts. Just pick on some Golden Immortals or True Immortals to bully. Don’t provoke any Daluo Golden Immortals. If you do, run away immediately and don’t come back here."
The spider spirits said, "Eldest Brother, rest assured, we are not afraid."
Sha Chen felt very weary. "I am afraid."
The spider spirits said, "Don’t worry! We’re not naive 30,000-year-old little girls anymore, are we?"
Sha Chen’s cheek twitched; he still felt a sense of unease.
The spider spirits left and began discussing amongst themselves as soon as they reached the shore.
"Before Eldest Brother, what powerful expert is there to fear?"
"Exactly! Let’s go. That Daluo Golden Immortal Demon King who wanted to take us as concubines earlier? We’ll go and swindle him out of everything he owns!"