A mere two seconds later, the massive fireball slammed down precisely where we had been standing. We focused our eyes and saw that it was the giant spider itself, struggling frantically on the ground, completely engulfed in flame.

“I will kill you all! How dare you destroy my lair!” That grating voice echoed again inside our heads.

Scorched by the intense fire, the colossal spider had lost all reason, lunging towards me while still ablaze. Seeing its ferocious charge, I threw myself forward, narrowly evading its collision.

But the spider reacted with shocking speed, lifting its rear end to spew forth a massive cloud of webbing. This time, I wasn't so lucky; I was instantly glued fast to the ground by the sticky threads, able to move only my head.

I struggled violently, only to find the webbing tightening its grip, making escape impossible. The giant spider began crawling rapidly toward me.

Illuminated by the fire still consuming its body, I saw that hideous, utterly repulsive woman's face emerging again. The spider quickly lowered its bulk, forcing the woman’s face as close to me as possible.

Though the sight of that dark, grotesque visage made cold sweat bead on my entire body, I knew this time I was likely doomed. “Endure the pain; it will only be an instant, and then you will become a part of me,” the strange voice resonated once more.

At that moment, the bizarre black head opened its mouth wider than any normal human’s, revealing rows upon rows of needle-sharp teeth. The corners of its mouth stretched back almost to its ears; its entire head seemed split in two by the sheer size of the gape, incredibly unsettling.

A pungent, foul odor assaulted me, followed by a plume of green smoke issuing from the cavern of its mouth. The green smoke writhed and transformed, becoming countless twisted human faces that shrieked as they rushed toward me.

I gasped in horror, feeling as if I had witnessed the gates of the Asura Hell; my body instantly froze solid. Just then, something resembling a brick flew suddenly from the side of the grotesque black head, slamming forcefully against its eerie cranium.

I saw it was Nobita. Holding his flashlight, his right arm still poised in the throwing motion, he shouted, “Monster!

Don’t think we’re all dead! It’s not time for your lunch yet!” I looked at what Nobita had thrown—it was that square lodestone.

The monster wasn't seriously injured by Nobita’s strike; its head merely jerked sideways but snapped back quickly. The grotesque black head roared and lumbered after Nobita.

Nobita seemed uninterested in fighting; seeing the monster in pursuit, he bolted. Once the monster and Nobita had drawn a considerable distance away, I saw Nie Chuan emerging from the darkness behind me.

He held the dagger Little Brother had given us and slashed once through the webbing binding me. I felt the tension release and scrambled instantly to my feet.

It was then I saw Nobita cornered against a wall of sticky webs, trapped by the giant spider. The spider’s venomous fangs, like twin swords, repeatedly stabbed toward Nobita, seeking to pierce him with two transparent holes, but even at this dead end, Nobita managed to nimbly dodge several strikes.

Yet, I knew that at this rate, he would eventually be pierced. So, Nie Chuan and I rushed forward again, heedless of the danger.

The spider heard the footsteps behind it, and while still wrestling with Nobita, it lifted its rear to launch several balls of webbing at us. We ducked and weaved, barely evading them, only to see Nobita collapse onto the ground.

The spider let out a strange laugh and charged toward us. A chill went down my spine; had Nobita been impaled by those fangs?

In that split second of distraction, a spider leg swept toward me. I had no time to react and could only raise my arm to block.

Even with my hand guarding my chest, it felt like being hit by a truck; I was flung backward. I flew back three or four meters before crashing heavily to the ground, rolling several times before stopping.

Then I saw Nie Chuan land next to me, just as I had, neither of us knowing if the other was alive or dead. Ever since that severe injury inflicted by the old man with white hair on the ship, I had sworn to myself that if I ever faced such a situation again, I would use my right arm to block.

Because my right arm possessed immense strength and no sensation, I wasn't critically wounded this time, only seeing stars spinning wildly before my eyes. Though I wasn't gravely injured, I knew that given the circumstances, I had only postponed death by a few seconds.

The giant spider was rapidly closing in on me. Seeing the flames still burning on the spider’s back as it approached me like a demon from hell, my heart sank into an ice-cold abyss.

This thing feared no fire, possessed immense strength, and showed no weakness; now we were cornered beasts, with no hope left. “You little insects are too fragile; is this how it ends?” the spider’s grating voice spoke again in our minds, brimming with triumphant pride.

I could barely stand up, too breathless to argue, simply clutching my chest and gasping for air. The spider stalked closer, and that hideous head emerged again from beneath its mandibles.

I closed my eyes in weary resignation. Then, a searing pain shot through my shoulder.

Opening my eyes, I saw the black monster head clamped down hard on my shoulder. Crimson blood erupted like a spring, and my entire body convulsed.

I watched as the black mist inside its mouth poured into the wound where it had bitten me, seeming to seep into every crevice like an invasive leech. My entire shoulder slowly turned green.

Following that, I felt countless screams and desperate cries flood my mind, sounds exploding as if trying to rupture my skull. After an unknown amount of time, I felt all my vital energy being drawn out by whatever was attached to my shoulder.

My once warm body instantly lost its heat, growing cold. “This thing...

is it absorbing my Nian?” A strange thought surfaced in my mind. Almost simultaneously, I suddenly recalled my grandfather’s words from my dream: “You possess the world’s strongest Nian; you must believe in yourself and learn to wield it well.” As those words appeared in my head, my body suddenly felt like it had plunged into a hot spring; warmth flooded back instantly.

Moreover, I realized my strength and spiritual power were rapidly increasing. The sensation of vital energy being drained began to slowly reverse; I noticed that the energy being siphoned away seemed to be flowing back along the monster’s fangs, being reabsorbed.

“Damn... is this what Linghu Chong felt when he used the Star Absorbing Art?” I thought to myself.

I turned my head to look at the black head latched onto my shoulder and saw a flicker of awareness in its eyes. It was panic, disbelief, utter shock.

“Wh-what are you doing!” the spider’s voice thundered in my mind again, this time laced with sheer terror. Next, I sensed it trying to wrench its head free from my shoulder.

But some unknown, monstrous strength surged through me, clamping its head down, preventing any movement. The grotesque face contorted in agony, but it could not overcome my grip, only emitting desperate, shuddering tremors.

I watched as the green gas pouring from its mouth was violently drawn into my body. Then the green gas slowly shifted to red, and from red to purple.

With every color change, the monster’s expression grew more pained. Finally, its entire massive body went limp, as if its tendons had been cut, sagging softly onto the ground.

Finally, I saw the vibrant, multi-colored hues gradually fade from its body until it turned a ghastly gray. Only when its face had become a withered, empty husk did I release my grip.

Its head slowly detached from my shoulder, and the whole body deflated like a punctured balloon, collapsing into a puddle of black sludge stuck to the ground. Just as I was reveling in my success, countless voices of men and women suddenly rushed into my head with a deafening roar.