Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

Everyone quickly walked along the secret passage, turning a few corners and arriving at a large hall. The hall was covered in dust and littered with cobwebs, revealing a long-lost, uninhabited appearance. In the center of the cave, a stone bed sat cross-legged on a skeleton. Its clothing had rotted and was covered in cobwebs. A storage bag could be vaguely seen lying beside it. Could this skeleton be Taoist Chongxu? Everyone wondered, their composure unbearable as they saw the treasure right before their eyes. They rushed towards the skull at top speed.

"Ah!" Suddenly the tall and thin man let out a scream. He felt a foreign object piercing his chest and coming out of his chest. He felt that he could only breathe out but not in. He felt waves of severe pain, and then he lost feeling and breath, and died with his eyes open.

Tang Ming hadn't known when the sword in his hand had pierced Fan Jian's back. When he was pretending to rush towards the skeleton, he was deliberately slow, letting Shi Wei and Fan Jian rush to the front. He took advantage of the two's unpreparedness to launch a sneak attack, and he succeeded in one blow. Now the real purpose was revealed. Tang Ming and his wife had no intention of sharing the treasure with everyone. They broke into the cave, lured the people in, and then killed them to keep the treasure for themselves. Shi Wei didn't understand Tang Ming's thoughts at this time. He immediately released the defensive magic weapon and turned to stare at Tang Ming. At this time, the young woman happened to be at the entrance of the hall, blocking Liu Xing's retreat.

"Fellow Daoist Tang, what do you mean?" Shi Wei asked sternly, knowing the answer.

"Hahahaha, you are just a bunch of losers, and you think you are worthy of competing with me for the treasure? It's wishful thinking. I will send you off right now." Tang Ming grinned, took out a top-grade magic weapon, and pounced on Shi Wei.

The young woman also drew her flying sword and faced Liu Xing with a defensive look, as if she wanted to hold him back until her husband's side achieved victory, then defeat them one by one. Liu Xing remained calm, not livid at the perceived plot. He felt a vague sense of impending disaster, a sense of imminent danger, but the danger certainly wasn't from Tang Ming and his wife. He scanned the cave, his spiritual sense fully unleashed, carefully exploring, searching for the source of the danger.

"Ah!" Suddenly, the young woman behind him let out a sharper cry, seemingly in extreme pain. Liu Xing turned around and saw a spider the size of a water tank piercing its sharp mouthparts into the young woman's body, sucking her blood. The woman's face twisted and turned dark green, obviously poisoned. In a few breaths, the young woman fell to the ground like a dried corpse.

The giant spider glared at the remaining three with four blood-red eyes. The long claws on the front of its head still dripped blood, a faint glow, revealing its venomous fangs, a chilling sight. Four pairs of legs, covered in long, furry hair, jutted out from its chest, creating a sinister and terrifying appearance. The tips of its toes were like sharp steel knives, gleaming with a metallic sheen. Its eight legs carelessly tapped the ground, making a terrifying, steel-on-steel sound. Its massive abdomen, connected to a stalk, spun white silk that connected to the cave ceiling. The silk was incredibly sticky, and once entangled, there was no escape.

Even more despairing, the giant spider exuded the aura of a second-level demonic beast, equivalent to a human cultivator in the early stages of foundation building. How could three Qi Refining cultivators stand a chance against it? Tang Ming and Shi Wei had already stopped, terrified by the sudden appearance of the giant spider, completely bewildered. Now the spider blocked the entrance to the cave, its tail spitting silk to seal it off, clearly intending to trap them in a trap. Despair filled everyone, and they fought desperately for a chance of survival.

"Black-blood spider." Liu Xing remembered that there was a record in the book that Taoist Chongxu had a spider pet, but it was said to be a first-level monster. Could it be that after so many years, it has advanced to the second level?

Suddenly, a spider spun silk and pursued Liu Xing, who was closest to him. Liu Xing no longer dared to hold back, and with all his might, he fled through the hall, trying to avoid being entangled. He unleashed a technique reminiscent of mortal martial arts, leaping and dodging with incredible agility, leaving only a trail of afterimages. Unable to catch up quickly, the spider changed its target and went after Tang Ming and the others, but they didn't possess such advanced footwork. He fled in a frenzy, on the verge of being entangled, and he had no choice but to deploy his defensive magic tools to block it.

Shi Wei summoned a small shield to block the spider's web, while Tang Ming unleashed a top-grade flying sword, slashing fiercely at it. These two, just now locked in a desperate struggle, now joined forces—a truly unfortunate twist of fate. After a brief moment of resistance, they simultaneously summoned other magical weapons to attack the spider's abdomen, but each was blocked by the spider's raised legs. A brief stalemate ensued, but with their magic power limited, their deaths were inevitable.

Liu Xing no longer dared to hide his weakness, and wielded his Jade Wave Sword, slashing fiercely at the spider's head. The impact was immense, revealing his magical power—he was at the peak of the eleventh level, and his power was no less profound than the giant spider's. Tang Ming was horrified, finally realizing his misjudgment, and he smiled bitterly. Even without the giant spider, the couple wouldn't have been able to capture Liu Xing and Shi Wei, and would ultimately only be Liu Xing's scapegoat. Thinking it all through, he immediately felt a surge of regret. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have bothered in the first place. Instead of gaining the prize, he and his wife might even lose their lives.

With Liu Xing's presence, the spider's pressure suddenly increased. However, it was still a realm higher, giving it a clear advantage. After a brief stalemate, Shi Wei gave way and was pierced through the chest by the foot blade. Liu Xing seized the opportunity and stabbed the spider in the abdomen. Green liquid gurgled out, and the stench was nauseating. Seeing Shi Wei killed, Tang Ming was heartbroken and lost all his fighting spirit. Knowing he was no match for the spider, he began to think about how to escape. Taking advantage of the moment when the spider's attention was diverted by Liu Xing's stab, he fled towards the cave entrance.

"You idiot! Running away now is tantamount to seeking death." Liu Xing cursed at Tang Ming, angrily watching him run away. If the two of them worked together, they might be able to kill the spider and gain a chance of survival. Running away now would only allow the spider to defeat them one by one.

As expected, the injured Black Blood Spider was furious, its four eyes gleaming with ferocity. Noticing a petty thief trying to escape, it immediately abandoned Liu Xing and lunged at Tang Ming. The spider was incredibly fast, catching up in an instant. Tang Ming's remaining mana was running low, and knowing he was doomed, he roared, "Evil beast, I'll fight you!"

He thrust his ultimate flying sword fiercely into the spider's chest, but it was blocked by the spider's legs. Then, the sword exploded, severing one of the spider's legs. Finally, Tang Ming was at the end of his rope, sucked dry by the enraged spider's mouthparts.