Chapter 288: The Subterranean Plain

This settlement was another spidermen colony, sprawling around a lava lake and occupying every surrounding cavern. Its population was massive, numbering at least ten thousand.

As before, Wu Qingsong loudly declared his identity and purpose while advancing toward the colony. Yet, just like the other insectoids they had encountered, the spidermen gave no response to his words. Instead, they attacked relentlessly.

Forced to defend himself, Wu Qingsong continued pushing toward their nest. 

A full day later, he managed to capture the queen.

To his surprise, this settlement was ruled by six queens. Fragmented memories extracted from them revealed that long ago, they too had migrated from an even larger colony. After annihilating the original inhabitants of this area, they claimed the territory as their own. Over time, as their population exploded, they dispatched splinter groups led by younger queens to venture into the unknown depths of the abyss.

The spidermen settlement they had previously encountered was merely one of hundreds of such expeditionary forces sent out over many years. Most of these expeditions likely died, either starving along the way or exhausting themselves in battles for new territory. Only a fraction of these groups ever succeeded. Only one in a hundred survived.

For survival, the insectoids had no choice but to kill any creatures that entered their territory and did not belong to their colony. This was the only way they could reproduce, expand their populations, and preserve their existence.

“Keep moving forward?” Nina asked.

She looked slightly downcast after listening to Wu Qingsong’s explanation. These insectoids reminded her of her own people.

“Of course,” Wu Qingsong replied. “Even if we have to kill every single insectoid in this abyss, we must find a way out.”

The journey continued. Wu Qingsong finally obtained a valuable memory fragment from the oldest queen at the next spidermen colony. It showed a vast, boundless expanse of darkness. At the center of this space was a massive underground volcano, its molten lava gushing out from the crater and flowing toward the surrounding lowlands. Around the volcano and along the lava rivers were countless patches of insect moss and insectoid nests.

Could this be the lair of the Crimson Demon Lord or another abyssal ruler?

The volcano’s color seemed fitting for the name Crimson.

Wu Qingsong couldn’t gather more information. All he learned was that these spidermen colonies had migrated long ago from the underground plain. And that plain wasn’t far from the cave system where they currently were.

“Nina, are you ready?”

“Of course! Let’s go!”

Their long journey was finally approaching its conclusion. Whatever awaited them ahead, the two of them would not back down.

Along the way, they practiced the mental training technique Wu Qingsong had acquired from the harpies. 

In truth, the method didn’t significantly impact Wu Qingsong himself. His primary means of strengthening his mental power came from continuously collecting, purifying, and merging soul fragments, as well as engaging in mental interactions and battles with the insect queens. These not only boosted his mental strength but also allowed him to refine his control over the undead and even learn how to perceive distant events through them and issue precise commands.

For Nina, however, the training method proved highly effective.

She was naturally talented, and the vast amounts of time available in the underground world allowed her to rapidly enhance her mental strength. Though she hadn’t yet had the opportunity to awaken her potential and test how this increase in mental power would affect her Silvermoon light—mainly due to concerns about destabilizing Wu Qingsong’s undead army—Wu Qingsong had no doubts about the results.

“No one can stop us now!” Wu Qingsong said.

He activated the soul fragments he had painstakingly gathered over this period, along with the power of the second soul stone, and reanimated all the nearby spidermen corpses.

After several intervals of rest, another skirmish broke out. By this point, Wu Qingsong was commanding nearly twenty thousand undead. Although the majority were spidermen, which had lost their venomous fangs and were thus less effective in battle against other insectoids, their sheer numbers were enough to offset any disadvantage.

The resistance was quickly crushed. Controlling the giant scorpion, Wu Qingsong moved forward at a quick pace. A wave of hot air carrying the smell of sulfur suddenly blew from the cave ahead. 

Moments later, the surroundings began to brighten again. When they turned a corner, an expansive view opened up before their eyes.

“Wow!” 

Though he had already seen this sight in the memory fragments, Wu Qingsong couldn’t help but let out a soft exclamation.

Before them stretched an unimaginably vast underground space. They were currently standing near the edge, close to the top of this massive cavern, at least two to three hundred meters above the ground below. However, this wasn’t the highest point of the cave. In the center of this expansive space, the terrain abruptly rose upward, forming a massive, bottomless hollow. Beneath this hollow loomed a towering volcanic cone, at least several hundred meters high, its summit spewing molten lava.

A deep, unsettling rumble echoed continuously from within the volcanic cone. Fortunately, the eruption wasn’t violent. Lava flowed from a gap at the volcano’s summit, cascading down what appeared to be a deliberately carved pathway. At the base, the lava split into multiple streams, spreading out in all directions.

From their vantage point, they couldn’t see clearly, but Wu Qingsong knew that the lands along the banks of those lava rivers must be densely covered in insect moss.

Even here, at the elevated cave entrance where they had paused, low-lying insect moss grew sparsely. Perhaps due to the dim light providing insufficient energy, the moss here was thin and scattered, clearly untouched by any artificial cultivation. Yet even so, the mere presence of these plants made Wu Qingsong marvel at the resilience of life.

Even without sunlight, life finds its way to solve problems.

If the dark red lava were replaced with flowing water, this scene would resemble an environment familiar to Wu Qingsong—mountain reservoirs, vast and intricate irrigation systems, and expansive farmland. However, in this world, under the glow of the dark red lava, the entire space was bathed in an orange-red hue, giving the plain an eerie yet undeniably awe-inspiring beauty.

“Wu!” Nina pointed to an area not far below them. 

A nest built from insect moss stalks and stones stood there. Faintly, they could see numerous insectoids pouring out of it, rapidly climbing up the rocky walls toward their position.

Would battle be unavoidable again?

Wu Qingsong scanned the expansive space and quickly spotted another nest in a location far from the lava river.

This area was undoubtedly home to a massive number of insectoids, but where was their ruler?

Attack!

He commanded the undead.

In the abyss, there was no mercy, no hesitation, no retreat. Since they were in the abyss, they had to follow its rules.