That despicable, scheming woman, she actually disguised herself as an elf lady!

In the dark cave, only the dim firelight illuminated the rugged stone walls around them. Suddenly, the two noticed the scarlet compound eyes that belonged only to the cave spider in the darkness.

"Be careful!"

Liu Huan and Ophelia simultaneously drew their longswords from their waists, stood back to back close together, and warily watched for the dangers emanating from their surroundings.

"Squeak—"

The burrowing spider lurks in a slightly larger crevice in the rock. Its body is covered with a dark brown carapace, and its joints emit a dark blue glow.

Liu Huan raised the torch, and what came into view were the long and sharp eight limbs of the burrowing spider. Occasionally, venom would drip onto the ground as its mouthparts opened and closed, making a sizzling, corrosive sound.

"These are cave spiders. Adult cave spiders have the strength of the Refining Realm, but fortunately, these three are all sub-adults!"

Ophelia squinted, and after clearly assessing the enemy's strength, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Huan shook his head. "Even sub-adult cave spiders possess the strength of the Bone Forging Realm. The leader's strength is probably beyond the Bone Forging Realm, but it seems weaker than the Dirty Refining Realm!"

"Hiss!"

The larger burrowing spider hissed, its joints slightly bent, and its eight limbs suddenly unleashed tremendous power.

In the blink of an eye, it arrived above their heads.

"Watch out!" Upon hearing this, Liu Huan dodged the attack, looked around, and loudly asked, "Cough cough! Ophelia, are you alright?!"

The moment the burrowing spider landed, dust billowed up, instantly filling the air and obscuring visibility.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me!"

Fortunately, a clear and melodious female voice came from afar.

Ophelia's pale fingertips emitted an icy blue light, like a piece of ice rising from the water. As she chanted an incantation, she cried out, "Can you buy me some time?"

Two against three!

In any case, the advantage is not mine!

Ophelia decided to take the initiative and eliminate the cave spider that looked like the leader first, so that the chances of the two of them surviving would be increased.

Upon hearing this, Liu Huan's expression turned serious, and he nodded, saying, "Leave it to me!"

In the past few days, thanks to the nourishment of the Purple Spirit Fruit, Liu Huan's bone forging process has progressed to over 60% in its third attempt.

Faced with a demon whose strength was at the Refining Realm, Liu Huan knew he was no match and could only flee for his life.

But what about a mere monster at the Bone Forging Realm?

Hmph, my sword is never dull!

"drink!"

With a slight flick of his wrist, Liu Huan sent the torch, like a long needle, piercing the stone wall and casting a faint glow that dispelled the darkness.

The larger cave spider hissed, and a strong, foul stench seemed to engulf him.

It then leaped toward Liu Huan, waving its long, sharp legs like blades.

Liu Huan was not afraid at all. He swung his greatsword to block the sharp, long legs that were thrusting at him. In an instant, sparks flew everywhere.

Seeing this, the other two demons stopped watching and jumped up to attack Liu Huan.

He single-handedly blocked the attack of three cave spiders. Although it was difficult, he was able to hold out for several tens of seconds!

"Luckily, I got a two-handed greatsword from Eric; otherwise, with that broken sword alone, I'd probably be that spider's dung by now!"

In a flash, these words came to Liu Huan's mind.

With a whoosh!

The longsword grazed the spider's legs, producing a loud, ear-piercing friction sound, and sparks flew at the point of contact.

Half a minute later,

Just as Liu Huan was about to reach his limit, Ophelia finally finished chanting the arcane spell, and in an instant, an intricate magic circle appeared out of thin air in front of her.

The inner circle of the magic circle spun rapidly, like a windmill, and the magic power escaping from the air was swept into the magic circle like dandelion seeds.

At that moment, a phantom of a spear materialized out of thin air in front of Ophelia, and gradually solidified as magic surged into it.

"Arcane - Frost Spear!"

With a wave of her hand, Ophelia sent the fully formed Frost Spear hurtling toward the Crypt Spider Commander like a shooting star emitting a brilliant blue light, creating a loud explosion as it streaked across the sky.

"Click—"

In an instant, the icy spear pierced straight into the cave spider's body, before a large clump of purple blood could even flow out.

A chilling aura swept over the entire cave spider, freezing and sealing it like a lifelike ice sculpture.

With a wave of her hand, Ophelia had already dealt with a sub-adult cave spider whose strength far exceeded that of the Bone Forging Realm!

"This power is a bit exaggerated!"

Upon seeing this, Liu Huan was speechless, as if an invisible hand had gripped his throat.

Just then, Ophelia saw another burrowing spider attack Liu Huan and couldn't help but whisper, "Watch out!!"

In a moment of desperation, she drew her sword to block the long, sharp legs of the cave spider, the force of which made her arm go numb.

She immediately snapped, "What are you daydreaming about?"

"I'm sorry." Liu Huan recalled the sharp, long legs that the cave spider had stabbed at him, and felt a wave of fear. Even the back of his clothes was soaked with sweat.

He was still able to react to what Ophelia had just done, but after hesitating for a moment, he chose to trust her since Ophelia had made her move.

However, it's not a pleasant feeling to entrust your life to someone else, even someone you trust deeply, like Ophelia!

After defeating the mini-boss, the others are no different from the minions.

The two easily killed the other two cave spiders, who were only at the Bone Forging Realm.

"Giving these magic cores to merchants or guilds should bring in a decent income!"

Liu Huan cleaved the corpse of the cave spider in two with a single sword strike, and purple blood instantly flowed out like a trickle. At the core of the monster was a purple crystal core.

This is the Demon Core!

As the most essential part of a monster, the value of the magic core is beyond doubt, as it contains powerful energy.

This material is effective whether used to create magical artifacts, maintain mage towers, or power powerful war machines.

Besides serving as an energy source, the energy contained in the magic core can also be absorbed by adventurers. However, this energy is full of violence and pollution. If absorbed for a long time or forcibly, it may cause mental damage and death from body explosion.

However, with the help of the apothecaries on Oak Street, they can actually create various magical potions, such as strength potions, speed potions, and antidotes.

Therefore, magic cores have become an absolute equivalent among adventurers, serving as a strategic resource that anchors the value of gold coins.

By the way, Ophelia's magic sword is inlaid with the magic core of a powerful monster, which can improve the weapon's sharpness and durability.

"Can you hear the sound of rushing water?"

Liu Huan held his breath, pressed his ear against the stone wall, and turned to Ophelia to continue, "As we go deeper into the cave, the humidity actually increases instead of decreasing!"

The cave was originally very narrow, only allowing two people to pass through at a time, but now it is larger than a football field, suggesting that there may be a hidden world below!

After discussing it, the two decided to continue.

Liu Huan didn't care at all; if there was danger, he could just drag Ophelia along and sneak off to the real world.

As for whether the secret would be leaked, he didn't care that much, because the lives of his closest friends were far more important than any so-called secret!

Suddenly, Liu Huan seemed to have thought of something.

He hesitated for a moment, then thought to himself, "Right, I should be able to bring people with me when I time-travel, right?"

"I guess so?!"

However, no one could give him an answer!

As the two walked, they discovered a light at the end of the cave, like a distant lighthouse floating erratically in the dark depths of the sea.

The air coming in from the cave entrance was no longer stuffy and unpleasant, but rather refreshing.

Seeing this, Liu Huan had his answer!

The cave's exit is suspended in mid-air, in the center of a massive stone wall.

Looking up, the ceiling is still made of stone, but below is an unimaginably large lake!

Liu Huan and Ophelia stood side by side at the end of the cave, exclaiming in amazement, "I never imagined there would be a place like this underground in the swamp forest!"

Around the lake grew some vines that emitted a faint blue light, and the aquatic plants on the lake shore also emitted a faint glow.

The surface of the entire lake was calm and still, as still as a frozen night sky.

The deep blue water is like silk, and when droplets of water fall from the cave into the lake, they create viscous ripples.

Ophelia glanced around, then her eyes lit up with delight. "Look! There are Jade Moss Scale Fruits over there!"

The appearance of the Jade Moss Scale Fruit resembles a pine cone, with its skin layered like scales, and its color is similar to that of moss, hence the name Jade Moss Scale Fruit.

On the edge of this lake, next to a few aquatic plants, a clump of jade moss scale fruits grows, resembling small tomatoes hanging from branches.

Upon hearing this, Liu Huan's face lit up with slight joy: "In that case, there really is hope for your cousin!"

However, to his astonishment, a pure white jade lotus seemed to be growing in the center of the lake!

This looks like a silver-heart lotus!

The chieftain of the Gray Feather tribe once introduced Liu Huan to some treasures that could help the human body enter forbidden realms and undergo four rounds of body tempering.

One of them is the root of this silver-hearted lotus—the silver-hearted lotus root!

Liu Huan suddenly grabbed Ophelia, took a deep breath, and then said, "Did you see the lotus flower in the middle of the lake?"

"I want it no matter what it takes, and I hope you can help me!"