He suspected that she had made her move when returning the turquoise earring the other day. Otherwise, how would his little Junior Sister meekly submit to a female official’s harassment in searching for something?

The ointment had a pleasant name but was a reactive medicine. Those affected experienced unbearable itching on their faces, making them want to scratch hundreds of times a day. Most cunningly, it would only take effect two or three days after application. Only now, as the team entered warmer territory, did it activate prematurely. Furthermore, the “moisturizing cream” merely forced the body to rapidly expel dampness and cold—just too forcefully. Even the military doctor who examined Lady Cui wouldn’t think she had been poisoned.

Feng Miao Jun had shown restraint. She had controlled the dosage very precisely; otherwise, Lady Cui’s face would have festered on the spot.

She raised her eyebrows, knowing that Tie Xin Ning had seen through her little trick. But he didn’t expose her, instead pointing to the holes above and continuing: “The spider demons have sealed all these openings with spider silk, improving the cave environment. Each hole is sealed with over three hundred layers of webs. Wind and snow cannot enter, but sunlight and air pass through unhindered.”

“Over three hundred layers!” She couldn’t help but exclaim in astonishment. How incredibly thin must these spider demons’ threads be? “Even finer than ordinary spider silk?”

“Yes, only one-tenth the thickness of ordinary spider silk, yet more than a hundred times stronger—excellent material for cultivators to craft magical tools.” That’s why no matter how fierce the wind and snow outside, they couldn’t break through these hundreds of layers of spider webs. On clear days, the spider demons would come out to repair the great web, just as Feng Miao Jun had observed looking up.

She murmured: “We’ve entered a spider’s nest.”

What would make spider demons expend such great effort in maintenance? Only their lair. Feng Miao Jun had done her research beforehand and knew that this entire Cliff Mountain was hollow inside—a massive spider demon nest!

Of course, the vast majority of people in this team were well aware of this fact, yet they still entered, only because everyone believed this route was safe.

Using the light streaming through the skylights, the team finally reached the bottom after a quarter of an hour. From here, they entered the heart of Cliff Mountain, where daylight no longer reached. However, pearl-light grass grew on the walls. This small plant grew in dark environments and could provide continuous illumiKingdom with just a bit of soil and water. Though not very bright, it was enough to illuminate the path beneath their feet. As the vanguard approached the first pearl-light grass, a thread descended from above, with a huge spider hanging from it: “Travel permit?”

This spider demon was larger than a millstone, with sixteen eyes stretching from its forehead to its back. Otherwise, it looked no different from an ordinary spider. Of course, it could also speak.

The Commander handed over a black token and offered a translucent green spirit stone.

After verifying them, the spider demon said: “Follow me.” It took the spirit stone in its mouth and turned to crawl forward.

The others understood—the Princess’s wedding escort had to pay a toll to pass through!

The grand procession followed behind it, entering the deeper cave.

After walking less than half a li, Feng Miao Jun was astonished, finally understanding why the team needed a spider demon guide—here, paths intersected in all directions, with routes going up, down, and even vertical holes.

From a cross-sectional view, this was a three-dimensional network with dozens of layers up and down and countless junctions!

This level of complexity surpassed even the mountain city she had lived in during her previous life in terms of 3D magical intricacy!

For humans to enter without getting lost would be nearly impossible. Even though she tried to memorize the route, after several dozen turns, she had to give up. She clicked her tongue in wonder: “Strange, how do spider demons remember the way?”

She asked the question but didn’t expect anyone to answer. Creatures like ants and bees always had mysterious abilities—despite lacking intelligence, they never got lost in their intricate nests. Perhaps spiders were the same?

Unexpectedly, Tie Xin Ning patted the rock wall: “Do you see the spider webs at the entrances? To us, they all look identical, but their angles, sizes, shapes, and quantities differ in the spider demons’ eyes, dividing the entire cave into countless sections. They use these as codes to distinguish and locate their positions.” He smiled. “Even if outsiders knew the principle, they wouldn’t have the spider demons’ innate talent for recognition.”

Yin Xing, standing behind Tie Xin Ning, overheard this and couldn’t help but exclaim admiringly: “Master Tie is truly erudite, even knowing such secrets!”

Tie Xin Ning simply smiled, neither humble nor boastful.

Feng Miao Jun asked: “Are you a regular visitor here?” Even so, would spider demons casually reveal their secrets?

“I once saved a spider demon here, so they shared their secrets with me.” After saying this, Tie Xin Ning changed the subject. “Do you know the origin of this cave?”

Yin Xing eagerly answered: “I heard that the Spider King led its subjects to hollow out the mountain, specifically to hunt passing humans. Later, the previous king of Jin subdued it and agreed—they would grant passage to anyone with a token, allowing free transit through the spider nest, thus creating the shortest route connecting Jin and Jiao countries.”

Tie Xin Ning smiled: “The second half is correct, but the first half is an embellished story.”

Feng Miao Jun suddenly said: “The ground is very warm.” The group was now walking in the heart of Cliff Mountain, the tallest and most majestic section in the middle of the White Elephant Mountain Range, with peaks soaring into the clouds, difficult even for birds to cross. Logically, the cave crevices should be cold and damp, making people shiver. After all, even in midsummer, the temperature in underground caves could be freezing.

However, that wasn’t the case.

Instead, everyone felt heat beneath their feet and warmth in the air. Snow from higher elevations melted into flowing water, creating underground rivers that accompanied them with a constant gentle sound.

Tie Xin Ning nodded: “Correct, Cliff Mountain is a volcano. We’re walking inside the mountain, so naturally, it feels warm.”

Feng Miao Jun touched the rock wall, which indeed felt warm to the touch, without a hint of coldness: “It won’t erupt again?”

Cliff Mountain should be quite stable; otherwise, why would the King of Jin let Princess Han Yue choose this route to Jiao? She had read about the White Elephant Mountains in books and knew there were no records of eruptions for at least several hundred years. Countless merchants and travelers had passed through here.

“The volcanoes in this area are very stable,” Tie Xin Ning said softly. “Legend has it that during a catastrophic change in heaven and earth a thousand years ago, Cliff Mountain was erupting when a divine being descended with a sacred object that absorbed the heat from the magma, thus sealing the volcano. Therefore, this volcano’s eruption was incomplete. The caves we’re walking through now are passages created by magma attempting to break through from the mountain’s core.”

The two women let out a long “Oh,” marveling at this revelation. So Cliff Mountain’s eruption back then never fully manifested but was contained within its body. Given its extraordinary altitude, the magma couldn’t reach the summit and receded, leaving the entire mountain riddled with holes.

Mountains contain impurities that cannot withstand erosion. After the magma flowed out or cooled, Cliff Mountain’s interior was carved into an extremely complex maze, which proved to be a blessing for other creatures.