Chapter 367 Chapter365-Hidden Secrets
Ethan's expression was grave, but inside he sighed.
He had intended to reserve the gold-etched skull emblem for another place.
Now, with no other option, he had to use it here.
This was a strike from the Supreme Deity, one that could pulverize even a deity.
Where did the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider get the confidence to confront Ethan?
"Leave," the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider suddenly spoke, "Do not use that power!"
Ethan was somewhat surprised, not expecting the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider to capitulate so quickly.
"Scared now?" Ethan's tone was light, tinged with disdain.
"Not fear, but I can withstand that strike."
The words of the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider caused a slight change in Ethan's expression.
"But if I were to bear it, I might be severely injured, needing hundreds, even thousands of years to recover."
Ethan's pupils constricted sharply, sensing a note of confidence in the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider's tone.
The Thousand-Faced Demon Spider wasn't bluffing, Ethan knew this for certain.
"You think I'm a three-year-old child? That I'd be intimidated by you?" Ethan's brows furrowed, his eyes brimming with menace.
"In that case, you can give it a try." After saying this, the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider went silent and motionless.
Ethan's lips twitched slightly. The Thousand-Faced Demon Spider truly was a cunning old fox. Now the problem had returned to him.
Seeing the standoff, Luther chuckled and said, "Since it's letting us go, why don't we just leave?"
Before he could revel in the idea, the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider fixed its gaze firmly on Luther: "You cannot leave. You are the one I have chosen."
"What?" Luther instantly bristled, like a cat with its tail stepped on. "Chosen by you? When did that happen?"
"The spider tattoo on your back, that is the mark I have bestowed upon you."
The Thousand-Faced Demon Spider spoke without a hint of emotion, its intentions inscrutable.
Luther's hair stood on end as he glared coldly at the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider: "What exactly are you?"
The Thousand-Faced Demon Spider remained silent, utterly indifferent to Luther.
Ethan raised his hand and declared loudly, "I am taking Luther with me. If you resist, I will unleash the power of this emblem, and we can all perish together."
The indifferent voice of the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider came again: "It's futile. As I've already told you, the power in your emblem can only severely injure me. But even if I'm gravely wounded, you two are no match for me."
"You must have felt it during your attack. You couldn't break through my web."
Its plain words were a harsh reality for Ethan and Luther.
They had already used all their might, but they couldn't breach the spider silk of the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider.
Watching the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider's fearless demeanor, Ethan's mind throbbed, uncertain of what to do next.
The three fell into an eerie silence.
The Thousand-Faced Demon Spider also gave them time to think.
"What do you want from me?" Luther suddenly asked.
"Inheritance. Our Crystal Tribe hasn't had a successor in a long time."
"Crystal Tribe?" Ethan's eyes flickered with curiosity, a tribe he had never heard of before.
Even Luther, who had been sleeping with divine artifacts since childhood, was unfamiliar with it.
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"Crystal Tribe, what is that?"
The tone of the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider remained even, but its eyes flickered, betraying its inner unrest:
"You are both too young. If you had lived for ten thousand, or even fifty thousand years, you would know of the Crystal Tribe's existence."
Ethan mused internally: "From the way the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider speaks, it seems as though it has lived that long."
The Thousand-Faced Demon Spider continued its explanation:
"The Crystal Tribe was specifically created by the Elder Deity to assist the deities under his command. The sole purpose of this tribe is to produce divine crystals."
Ethan and Luther exchanged a look, shock and horror evident in their eyes.
Divine crystals were created?
"Why would the Elder Deity create divine crystals? What power do the Elder Deities use if not divine crystals?"
"Is the Elder Deity too cruel? To have a race whose sole purpose is to produce divine crystals, like an apple tree planted only for its fruit..."
The Thousand-Faced Demon Spider, planted underground, continuously producing divine crystals, then harvested by the Ancient Deity.
It was like a tree in the Ancient Deity's orchard...
Ethan had an epiphany.
In this light, it wasn't surprising that the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider's life spanned tens of thousands of years, perhaps even surpassing a hundred thousand, or more.
The Thousand-Faced Demon Spider seemed to read their thoughts: "Don't overthink it. The realm of the Elder Deity is far beyond your imagination. It's already impressive that you can interact with the Ancient Deity."
"Luther, stay. You can't escape."
As it spoke, the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider once again steered the conversation back to Luther.
Luther's expression soured, and seeing the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider like this made him even less inclined to stay.
If the Crystal Tribe was a race created to produce divine crystals, would he end up like the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider, buried deep underground, endlessly producing divine crystals?
He turned to look at Ethan, his heart heavy with melancholy.
He had learned swordsmanship from a young age, considering the sword his companion, with few friends by his side.
Ethan and he had only met by chance, yet Ethan had entered the camp without hesitation, prepared to rescue him.
Now both were caught in a whirlwind.
His own death was one thing, but if Ethan died for him, Luther felt he would regret it for the rest of his life, possibly drowning in that remorse for his remaining days.
"Ethan, you should go," Luther said softly after a long contemplation.
Ethan raised an eyebrow, responding irritably, "What are you thinking? Now is the time for us to stand together against a common enemy."
"It's useless," Luther's expression was one of despair, filled with bitterness, "We felt it earlier. It's invincible, even if you use your last resort..."
"But following the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider like this is akin to walking into death. Do you know what it will do to you?" Ethan shook Luther's shoulders, trying to bring him back to his senses.
"Two outcomes," the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider unusually interjected, "One, Luther accepts the inheritance and becomes a member of my Crystal Tribe. The second, as you have seen with Herman and his companions, is to become my puppet, managing the mining mountain."
The Thousand-Faced Demon Spider's straightforwardness stifled all the words Ethan had ready to say.
It was so honest that it left no room for rebuttal.
"Then why didn't you choose me?"
"Your bloodline isn't pure. The Crystal Tribe only selects those with pure bloodlines, or members of other powerful races." The Thousand-Faced Demon Spider didn't bother to hide this fact.
"So that's it," Ethan's pupils contracted sharply, "The camp is full of humans because humans are the best at maintaining bloodline purity. Some races might be pure but are too weak, while stronger races can't guarantee the purity of their bloodlines."
Now Ethan fully understood.
The camp was filled with humans because they were being selected by the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider.
The miners were the failures, those whose bloodlines weren't pure, thus their consciousness drained, reduced to numbly mining and refining ores day after day.
Herman and his companions had pure bloodlines but failed the inheritance, thus becoming puppets of the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider.
Normally they retained their consciousness, but in reality, they had become minions of the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider.
"The real question is, where does the power of the refined divine crystals go?"
Ethan asked again, seizing the moment while the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider was forthcoming, airing all his doubts.
"All of it is absorbed by me," the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider exhaled slightly, the Magic Circle above the campsite shimmering.
Those Magic Circles, deeply embedded into the ground, resembled a network of pipes.
It too had Magic Circles lighting up on its body, connected to those underground conduits.
The power of deity flowed from the pipes into the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider's body, glowing with a milky radiance.
Ethan's mouth opened slightly in surprise: "Is it that complicated?"
"This is the tragedy of the Crystal Tribe. Although we are the creators of divine crystals, we cannot use them directly. The only way for us to harness divine crystals is through such means."
The trio fell into silence once more. Ethan's head hung low, his thoughts churning like an ocean.
The Thousand-Faced Demon Spider created divine crystals, which then transformed back into the power of deity and re-entered its body, prompting it to create more divine crystals...
Whether it truly used the power of deity or not, only it knew.
"So those pillars are actually your legs, and the divine crystals nearby are your creations..." Ethan spoke softly, slowly asking.
The Thousand-Faced Demon Spider didn't respond, but the answer was clear in the minds of both Ethan and Luther.
"Luther, have you made up your mind?"
The Thousand-Faced Demon Spider, like a gentleman bending with his hat in hand, politely inquired: "Are you ready to embrace death?"
Ethan blinked slowly and said firmly: "If you're unwilling, I can fight for you. The power of this emblem is not a concern for me..."
A myriad of emotions flickered in Luther's eyes.
Ethan had already helped him immensely.
He had never had a friend like Ethan in his life. This bond, he cherished dearly.
"No... keep it for yourself. Using it here would be too much of a waste. I'll go with the Thousand-Faced Demon Spider."
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