The lair left behind by the three Thousand-Year Ant Emperors was already well-built, so Fang Chang didn't need to put in much effort to transform it into what he wanted.
Most of the renovation work was actually done by Xiao Bai, while Fang Chang mostly played the role of a hands-off boss. Having subordinates to command felt amazing!
The lair now largely retained its original structure, divided into three sections arranged in a roughly triangular layout.
At the "three corners" of the triangle were three massive rooms, each about five to six meters high and over ten meters long and wide. These were the former living quarters of the three Thousand-Year Ant Emperors.
Connecting these three large rooms were several spacious tunnels. Originally, these tunnels were only about two meters in diameter, but after Xiao Bai's efforts over the past few days, they had been widened to nearly double their original size.
Now, even without using his "Flexible Size" skill, Fang Chang could easily pass through them in his normal form.
Following these tunnels to the central area of the lair, there was a slightly smaller room located closer to the surface, connected to the lair's original single entrance.
However, after Fang Chang took over the lair, he had Xiao Bai create a few hidden passages in discreet locations to serve as backdoors.
Surrounding the three main rooms were storage chambers, which turned out to be the biggest surprise of the lair.
These storage chambers contained treasures accumulated by the three Thousand-Year Ant Emperors over who knows how many years.
There were high-grade spirit fruits and medicinal herbs, rare materials collected from exotic soul beasts, and even some treasures left behind by deceased human Soul Masters.
After completing the lair's renovation, Fang Chang immediately moved on to his next plan—expanding his forces.
In simple terms, this meant recruiting more subordinates, and the first targets he set his sights on were the Earth Demon Spiders.
Unfortunately, these soul beasts were rare, and even fewer had cultivated to the ten-thousand-year level. After several days of searching using his "Hunting Instinct," Fang Chang could only identify four potential targets.
Now, all four of them had been captured and brought back to the lair.
"Don't be afraid, I won't eat you," Fang Chang transmitted his thoughts to the four Earth Demon Spiders huddled in the corner, too scared to make a sound.
These Earth Demon Spiders had soul power ranging from ten to twenty thousand years, and their bodies were less than half the size of Fang Chang's. Facing him and Xiao Bai, they didn't dare to breathe too loudly.
Hearing Fang Chang's words, they relaxed slightly but remained huddled together in the corner.
"From now on, you'll follow me. You'll get your share of benefits, but if you dare to run or have any other ideas, I guarantee you'll become my next meal."
At this, the four Earth Demon Spiders tilted their heads in unison, clearly not understanding what Fang Chang meant.
Seeing their confused expressions, Fang Chang had to resort to gesturing and explaining again.
"You," he said, pointing at the four Earth Demon Spiders with his shield-like foreleg. When they nodded, he continued.
"Follow me," he said, pointing the same leg back at himself. The four Earth Demon Spiders nodded again.
"Stay here," Fang Chang pointed at the lair, but the Earth Demon Spiders tilted their heads again, still not understanding.
Furious, Fang Chang rushed forward and smacked each of them with his spider leg. "Stay here!"
It took the four Earth Demon Spiders a long time to finally understand his meaning, and they nodded once more.
...
After more than half an hour, Fang Chang finally managed to get them to understand these simple sentences.
In terms of intelligence, these four Earth Demon Spiders, who had just surpassed the ten-thousand-year mark, were roughly equivalent to human children aged eight or nine. They could understand some things, but communicating with them normally still required effort.
Fortunately, these Earth Demon Spiders had the instincts of soul beasts and were filled with fear toward Fang Chang, not daring to defy him. This made things slightly easier for him.
Once they understood Fang Chang's intentions, the next steps were straightforward.
Fang Chang first retrieved a few precious herbs from the Thousand-Year Ant Emperors' storage chambers and tossed them in front of the four Earth Demon Spiders.
One of the Earth Demon Spiders hesitated for a moment before lowering its head to eat the herb in front of it. The other three quickly followed suit.
Although these herbs were far inferior to the immortal-grade treasures in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Lake, they were still highly beneficial to soul beasts that had just surpassed the ten-thousand-year mark.
Fang Chang's goal was to make them understand the benefits of following him.
Next, he had the Earth Demon Spiders lower their heads and bestowed the "Blessing" upon them one by one, evolving them into "Web Nest Demon Spiders."
This evolution retained the Earth Demon Spiders' innate ability to dig tunnels while granting them the innate skill "Demon Web Trap," allowing them to create traps and guard the lair.
Most importantly, this evolution path consumed the fewest evolution points among the options available to Earth Demon Spiders—only five hundred points.
Feeling the changes in their bodies, the Earth Demon Spiders grew excited. They had never imagined that following another spider could make them stronger.
Most spider-type soul beasts were solitary creatures and didn't understand the concept of obedience. But with their newfound intelligence, they could grasp what was beneficial to them.
As long as there were sufficient benefits, they would make compromises. It was like a spoiled child who, in order to get a desired toy, would obey an adult's instructions.
After giving them benefits, Fang Chang dragged out half of a ten-thousand-year Scale Armor Beast's corpse and began eating it in front of the four Earth Demon Spiders without any hesitation.
They instinctively took a few steps back, pressing themselves against the wall and trembling. At this moment, they realized once again that the spider before them was no benevolent figure. If they angered him, they might end up like the Scale Armor Beast.
The combination of rewards and punishments had always been the most effective method for those in power to control their subordinates. Fang Chang understood this well.
After this, the four Earth Demon Spiders became much more obedient, waiting quietly for Fang Chang's commands. Indeed, controlling soul beasts with intelligence was much easier.
The first command Fang Chang gave them was to dig a tunnel from the current lair all the way to the outer forest, where he had previously taken over the Blazing Fire Ants' lair.
While the deeper parts of the forest were rich in resources, the environment was also harsher. Fang Chang's plan was to connect the inner and outer forest, allowing young spiders to be sent outside for training.
Once they had gained some strength, they could be brought back. Ideally, he would also establish a few hunting grounds on the surface, specifically for young spiders to practice hunting.
When the lair was quiet again, Xiao Bai, her face flushed, approached Fang Chang and rubbed her head against him. Fang Chang felt a tingling sensation.
What he didn't know was that in the spider world, there was a custom: when a male spider courts a female, he would share part of his prey with her.
If the female accepted the offering, it meant she accepted his courtship...
It had been over half a month since Fang Chang had given Xiao Bai a third of the Thousand-Year Ant Emperor's corpse in the valley, but Fang Chang had shown no signs of interest, being too busy with building the lair.
Now, Xiao Bai could no longer hold back and took the initiative, trying to pique Fang Chang's interest.