Chapter 86

"Lightning spider larvae don't eat their hosts."

"Hmm, they are very picky eaters," the disgusting man replied.

Du Qian understood. Those of them who hadn't escaped would indeed not die for the time being, but it would only be a matter of time.

"How fast do the spider eggs hatch?" Du Qian suddenly realized that this disgusting man wasn't as disgusting as he seemed. He might look a bit odd, but he was knowledgeable.

"Very fast, between twelve to twenty-four hours."

"We have at most one day left to live," Du Qian wasn't stupid. Since the lightning spiders dared to do this, they must have the ability to ensure that the humans couldn't resist or threaten the larvae.

"That's right."

"Is there any good solution?" Du Qian had to place his hopes on the disgusting man. His knowledge of lightning spiders was at a civilian level, superficial. This guy seemed to be an expert, knowing everything.

No wonder people say knowledge changes fate; it turns out knowledge can also save lives.

"Lightning spiders usually lay between ten thousand to fifteen thousand eggs. Each host can parasitize about a hundred eggs, and the rest of the people will be food for the larvae."

Du Qian glanced around. On this ferry, there were about two to three hundred people, including passengers and crew. There were quite a few smart people; at least half of them stayed in place without fleeing.

Most of these people would become food for the larvae. Du Qian could only hope that the number of eggs this guy laid wouldn't be too many. If they became hosts, they would be doomed, with no chance at all.

"The larvae's food will be wrapped in spider silk, conscious but unable to control their bodies due to constant electrical stimulation."

Du Qian felt a chill. There was no hope. He had heard a lot about the reputation of lightning spider silk. Being caught in it would mean certain death or severe injury. Even if the spiders were intentionally letting them go, Du Qian didn't think he had the ability to escape the silk.

"When the larvae feed, they directly absorb the human's spiritual energy, followed by the fluids. This is the opposite of adult spiders and the only chance we have."

The only chance. Du Qian blinked a few times, finally understanding the disgusting man's meaning. He was overjoyed; there was actually such a good opportunity.

"Leaving the spider silk, it takes at least twenty minutes to regain control of the body. This is unrelated to your cultivation level; it's a natural reaction of the human nervous system. Even if you are a Divine Master, it won't be any different." The disgusting man continued as if reciting from a book.

This time, Du Qian reacted faster, instantly understanding. A month ago, when he had just graduated, he might not have understood, but now, in just a month, Du Qian had learned a lot.

The term "human limit" was not unfamiliar to him. Whether you were a novice martial cultivator or a legendary Divine Master, the body structure was the same; they were all human.

As long as you are human, your body has a limit, known as the ten-thousand theorem. Under the influence of spiritual energy, the human body can be continuously modified to reach the highest peak, which is ten-thousand combat power.

When you reach ten-thousand combat power, you can be called a martial cultivator. Since the human limit is ten-thousand combat power, to increase combat power, other methods must be considered. Spirit Pools, Spirit Weapons, Battle Positions, Power Furnaces...

All these methods are to enhance combat power beyond the human limit. To be precise, these things are not part of the human body itself but external objects developed using the body as a medium.

In essence, a novice martial cultivator and a high-ranking Divine Master have the same physical constitution.

Understanding this, the disgusting man's words were not hard to understand. No matter what kind of cultivator you are, it takes twenty minutes to recover from the lightning spider silk. If you haven't even reached the level of a martial cultivator, with your body not at its peak, the recovery time will be even longer.

Damn, we're dead, we're dead.

Lightning spider larvae, once hatched, have the strength of a spirit beast, equivalent to a novice martial cultivator, the same as Du Qian.

With twenty minutes, even if the larvae just poked him continuously, they could kill Du Qian. How could he survive?

"I have ten Spirit Pools here; take them. This thing can last for five minutes." The disgusting man secretly handed Du Qian ten Spirit Storage Boxes. The boxes were small, but ten of them were not insignificant. It was a mystery how he managed to hide them so well.

"Spirit Pools?" What are Spirit Pools? Du Qian only knew about Spirit Horns.

"You don't know, right? Spirit Pools are full of spiritual energy, a hundred times more than Spirit Horns." The disgusting man looked pained; this was a significant portion of his wealth.

In the eyes of ordinary citizens of the empire, there were only Zhou Shan coins. At a certain level, Zhou Shan coins became Zhou Shan paper. The common currency was converted into Spirit Horns or Spirit Pools. If Spirit Horns were like one-yuan bills, then Spirit Pools were like hundred-yuan bills.

Carrying Spirit Pools didn't take up much space and had no weight. Most importantly, they were cash, requiring no card and leaving no record. Many people liked to use them as a trading currency.

When you reached a higher level, no one used Spirit Pools anymore. Basic Runes were clearly more convenient and practical, but they were hard to obtain. Only those who reached a certain height would use Basic Runes.

"One is given to a stranger."

"Don't tell anyone about this," the disgusting man whispered. Human nature is unpredictable; sometimes people are more terrifying than lightning spiders.

"Okay, you cover for me, I'll go down for a moment." Du Qian felt more confident now and understood the disgusting man's plan.

The larvae first absorb spiritual energy. The energy in Spirit Pools is ten to a hundred times higher than Du Qian's, naturally more attractive to the larvae.

Preparing enough Spirit Pools to let the larvae absorb, if they can last for twenty minutes, the body will regain sensation, and there will be a chance to kill the larvae and survive.

It must be said that the disgusting man was knowledgeable and quick-witted, coming up with the most reliable plan in the shortest time.

Ordinary martial cultivators cannot absorb Spirit Pools. At most, they can use them as currency, and it's definitely not for legitimate transactions.

Legitimate businessmen prefer to use stored value slips, especially named ones, which are safe even if lost.

Du Qian's mind was now extremely sharp. The disgusting man didn't use stored value slips but Spirit Pools, clearly engaging in illicit or international trade.

Whether it was Zhou Shan coins or stored value slips, they were credit currencies of the Zhou Shan Empire, essentially just paper with no real value.

Spirit Pools were different; they had intrinsic value and were valuable anywhere in the world.

Thinking about these things was useless. What the disgusting man did was none of his business. The most important thing now was to survive, and other matters could be dealt with later.

Du Qian was already close to the escape hatch. Under the cover of the disgusting man, he carefully moved to the hatch and dropped down. He believed that as long as he didn't try to escape, the lightning spiders wouldn't kill him.

He naturally had no intention of escaping. He just needed to find a place to open the melon. As he expected, the ferry was already empty, with things scattered everywhere. There were always people who valued money over life, thinking about their luggage even when they were about to die.

Du Qian knew he didn't have much time left. He poured all his combat power into the melon, opened it, and took out five boxes. Each small box contained ten Spirit Pools. With the ten from the disgusting man, Du Qian now had sixty Spirit Pools.

Consuming two per minute, these Spirit Pools would last for half an hour. To guard against unexpected situations, he had to prepare more.

It wasn't that he didn't want to take more, but Spirit Pools, though small, were numerous. Sixty Spirit Pools were a large package, and it would be hard to hide them without being noticed. More would make it obvious.

Du Qian not only had to be careful of the lightning spiders but also of the people around him. They were all food for the spiders, but everyone wanted to survive.

Human selfishness is unchanging. It doesn't matter if you can't outrun the enemy; outrunning your companions is enough.

Taking out the Spirit Pools from the boxes, he no longer cared about the loss of spiritual energy. From the movement of the clouds, Du Qian could tell that the lightning spiders would give him at most one hour.

After that, it would be the hatching period, lasting at most a day. Keeping the Spirit Pools close to his body, the loss of energy should be slower.

The disgusting man's plan was good, but there were always various issues during execution. If he didn't take the Spirit Pools out of the boxes, he wouldn't be able to move his fingers once caught in the spider silk. If the larvae couldn't sense the Spirit Pools, Du Qian would die.

Taking them out, however, meant energy loss. Du Qian wasn't an expert and couldn't calculate the rate of loss, but he couldn't carry more Spirit Pools, creating a dilemma.

Quietly climbing to the top of the ship, the disgusting man approached. Du Qian whispered, "Including what you gave me, I have prepared sixty Spirit Pools. Without the storage boxes, will it be enough?"

"Are you sure it's sixty Spirit Pools, not Spirit Horns?" The disgusting man looked surprised. He couldn't understand where Du Qian got fifty Spirit Pools. They usually needed to be stored in boxes, which increased their size and took up a lot of space.

"I'm sure."

"It's enough." The disgusting man looked delighted, truly a glimmer of hope in a dire situation.

To be continued.

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