Lin Mu felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest, because of the immense fear he was feeling. He could not bring himself to stop staring at the ten golden yellow eyes. The fear had rendered him frozen and unable to move at all.
Lin Mu was stuck in a limbo and only snapped out of it when he heard the voice. The voice seemed ancient and rumbled inside of his head.
"You've been staring for an awful long time, human." The creature said.
"You… You… You what are you?" Lin Mu asked while stuttering.
"Hmm, you're the one who came here, and you ask me what I am." The creature replied.
"I… I… I don't know, what you are and I don't know how I came here either." Lin Mu said.
"There is no chance that you don't know how you came here. Especially you, a human who's barely a cultivator. Even celestials would not dare come here." The creature spoke with an emotionless tone.
Lin Mu could sense the crushing raw power emanating from the creature above him. Knowing that there was no use hiding anything from a being this powerful, Lin Mu decided to tell the complete story.
"I came here through some kind of spatial rift. It originally appeared as a black crack and sucked me in, when it expanded later on." Lin Mu answered.
Upon hearing Lin Mu's answer, the creature hummed, as if it was thinking. After a couple of minutes, the voice spoke again.
"The most likely reason for your arrival here seems to be an artifact. That too an immensely strong artifact, as only those would be able to open a spatial rift to the Grand Void." The creature said.
Upon hearing the creature's words, Lin Mu subconsciously stared at the mysterious ring on his right hand and then the mysterious ring buzzed, as if it reciprocated with his thoughts. This action of Lin Mu's did not go unnoticed. The ten golden yellow eyes were studying Lin Mu's every move.
"Ah, so I was right. That ring on your right hand seems to be the real cause." The creature spoke but then suddenly stopped.
"What is this? Such pure and strong spatial energy." The creature muttered.
Suddenly Lin Mu felt as if the pressure on his body was doubled and a stabbing pain arose in his head. He felt as if he was being covered with some kind of veil. But when the veil reached the mysterious ring, it reacted violently and a burst of qi repelled the veil. When the veil was completely repelled, the pressure on Lin Mu disappeared and the pain stopped as well.
"Oh, it's much stronger than I thought and it's even bound to your soul." The creature said.
Lin Mu was lost at the creature's words and did not understand what they meant.
"What do you mean?" Lin Mu ask.
"Seems like you had a fortunate encounter. That ring you're wearing, it's a very strong artifact. The likes of which I've never seen before." The creature answered.
"Yes I know that, it's a magical artifact." Lin Mu naively answered.
"Hahaha, perhaps you're the only person, who would call it a magical artifact. It's much more than that. Just the pure spatial energy its emanating is enough to make millions of cultivators covet it." The creature said.
"However the ring had been bound to your soul and cannot be removed or transferred to another person. It's likely that even if you die, the ring will just disappear and search for another owner." The creature continued.
Perhaps because Lin Mu had talked with the creature for a while, he no longer felt as terrified as before and had calmed down. Curiosity arose in his mind and he asked what was bugging him the most.
"What are you? I don't know of any creature like you that looks like ten floating eyes." Lin Mu asked.
"You can't even see me? Ah, you have not refined your spirit sense yet." The creature replied.
After listening to the creature's words, Lin Mu was finally able to see its true form as it revealed itself to him. The creature's body was the size of a mountain and the ten golden eyes were located on its head. Lin Mu had to turn his head from one side to another to get a complete view of the creature.
The more Lin Mu looked, the greater the shock he received. After observing for a minute, Lin Mu was able to perceive that the creature was a humongous spider. It had eight legs that were so long that he could not see where they ended. Its entire body was bony white, except for its ten eyes that shined like lanterns.
"I am what you humans call, a Void Weaver Spider." The creature answered.
"My name is Lin Mu."
An awkward silence descended when Lin Mu cut in and gave out his name. Both of them stayed silent until Lin Mu spoke again after he could not bear the silence.
"Can you tell me how to get back to my home?" Lin Mu asked.
"I can, but what can you give me in exchange?" The Void weaver spider replied.
Lin Mu was at a loss for words upon hearing the Void weaver spider's answer. He did not know what he could offer to the spider. He did have a lot of stuff in his ring but he did not think it would be worth anything to the spider.
"I don't know what to offer you. I have some pills and spirit stones if you would accept them." Lin Mu said.
"Those things are only of use to humans, not to beings like me." The Void weaver spider replied.
"Then can you tell me what would be acceptable?" Lin Mu asked.
"Yes, we can make a deal. What I want is the ring or more specifically the spatial energy from that ring." The void weaver spider answered.
"But you said that the ring is bound to me, so how will you take the spatial energy?" Lin Mu questioned.
"It's simple, I'll live inside the ring and absorb the energy there." The void weaver spider answered.
Lin Mu was stumped, as he did not even know if the ring had enough space to fit the mountain sized body of the void weaver spider.
"I don't think you will fit in the ring, besides there is no air in the ring so you'll suffocate." Lin Mu replied.
"Hahaha, do you think I need air to live. Beside there's no air here either, normally." The Void Weaver spider spoke with a chuckle.
Lin Mu felt weird upon hearing such an enormous being laughing and chuckling. It just felt unbecoming to him.
"But how am I able to breath here then?" Lin Mu asked with raised brows.
"What you're breathing is the air that leaked in from the spatial crack. I don't think it'll last long, so you better make your decision quick." The Void weaver spider answered teasingly.
The Void weaver spider's revelation made Lin Mu even tenser. He didn't think he would be running out of time.
"Ok I accept, but how will your huge body enter the ring?" Lin Mu asked.
"My body will not be leaving this place, my duty here is not over yet." The void weaver spider answered enigmatically.
Lin Mu tilted his head in confusion, but did not question further when he saw what the Void weaver spider did. A fissure appeared between the eyes of the void weaver spider and from within it, a small orb shot down. The orb gently descended and then floated in front of Lin Mu. The orb then faded away and left behind a tiny spider. The spider was small enough to fit on the tip of a pinkie finger.
"Now, before we leave let me tell you some things. That ring is a unique artifact and if you don't hide it you will be courting death. The ring has been emanating spatial energy, which can be sensed by high level cultivators." The tiny Void weaver spider spoke.
"Huh, but no one has been able to see the ring until now. Not even cultivators, you're the first to be able to see it." Lin Mu answered.
"Is that so? Hmm, so the ring can mask its presence, but it seems to be limited by your own cultivation. Anyway you won't have to worry about it as I'll be restricting any spatial energy that leaks from the ring." The tiny spider confidently answered.
"Oh, and before we leave. Here's a gift for you." The tiny void weaver spider spoke.
"What gif…" before Lin Mu could complete his sentence a vast energy doused him. The energy was released by the main body of the void weaver spider. The energy seemed as if it covered Lin Mu and formed an invisible shell on his body.
"What was that?" Lin Mu asked while gasping.
"Something to keep you safe. It will warn any strong beings that come near you, at least for a while during which I hope you get strong enough to handle them yourself." The tiny Void weaver spider answered.
"Now, allow me inside the ring."