After the flash of blood-red light, the beams all vanished into the sand in an instant.
In the next moment, the ground below began to tremble, cracks appearing one after another, growing wider and deeper.
Seeing this, Hei Lin chuckled darkly, reaching out with one hand to grasp the air. In a flash, a purple-golden staff appeared in his grip, which he then shook violently.
A thunderous boom echoed through the clear sky!
Under a dazzling radiance, a thousand-zhang-long shadow of a colossal staff descended from the heavens, crashing onto the ground like a divine weapon.
With an earth-shattering roar, the entire ground shattered completely.
A vast stretch of desert spanning hundreds of miles suddenly collapsed inward with a deafening rumble, sinking into a massive depression.
Hei Lin let out a few wild laughs, then swung his purple-golden staff once more, preparing to unleash an even more devastating strike.
But at that moment, the rumbling from the sunken sand below abruptly quieted before countless beams of multicolored light erupted from within.
The sand bulged upward, and a stone city emerged, encased in layers of light barriers, slowly ascending into the sky.
On a high section of the city’s front wall, the Spider Matriarch, the black-robed elder, and their hundreds of subordinates stood, their expressions grim as they glared at Han Li and his group on the opposing flying vessel.
“So it is you. I wonder what offense our Asura Spider clan has committed against you all, that you would repeatedly trouble us,” the Spider Matriarch said, suppressing her fury as the stone city stabilized in midair, level with the flying vessel.
After all, Han Li’s overwhelming spiritual pressure from their last encounter had left a deep impression on her.
If possible, she had no desire to engage in battle with them—especially given their clearly hostile demeanor.
Of course, her deeper motive was to buy time, allowing reinforcements that had yet to arrive to catch up.
“Hmph, offense is hardly the word. But we’ve come to this realm specifically for your Asura Spider clan. If you willingly surrender your crystal cores, we can avoid unnecessary bloodshed,” Han Li remained silent, but Hei Lin sneered and spoke first.
“What? You want our crystal cores? So, you’re after our clan’s time-manipulation powers as well?” The Spider Matriarch’s face darkened, all traces of politeness gone.
“Not entirely, but close enough. So, will your clan hand them over?” Xue Ran said coolly.
“Hand them over? You’re dreaming! Since you dare utter such words before me, consider this a declaration of war to the death!” The Matriarch snarled, then gestured sharply behind her.
In a flash of light, most of her followers vanished from the city walls, leaving only a dozen or so behind.
These remaining individuals all exuded the aura of Body Integration cultivators, with four among them—two men and two women—far surpassing the others, their power nearing that of Mahayana cultivators.
These were four adult Asura Spiders.
Mo Jianli’s expression shifted slightly at the sight.
Han Li’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly.
During his previous reconnaissance, there had only been three adult Asura Spiders in their lair.
Hearing the Matriarch’s defiant reply, Xue Ran and Hei Lin exchanged a glance before coldly launching their attacks without hesitation.
Xue Ran flicked a finger toward the massive incense burner before him.
A low rumble sounded as a bloody scent surged from the burner, and above it, specks of green light multiplied rapidly.
These green lights swirled and transformed into fist-sized ghost-faced wasps.
The wasps bore eerie, ghostly patterns on their heads, and their bodies flickered in and out of visibility, as if not entirely corporeal.
“Go!”
Xue Ran flicked his sleeve toward the enemy and uttered a low command.
A deafening buzz erupted as tens of thousands of ghost-faced wasps surged forward like a pale green cloud.
Meanwhile, Xue Ran himself took a single step, vanishing with eight streaks of bloody light before reappearing in the void between the flying vessel and the stone city.
From within the bloody light, eight infantile faces grinned grotesquely before each spat out a crimson beam, all aimed directly at the Spider Matriarch.
The Matriarch, who had been about to speak to the elder beside her, was instantly enraged by this brazen assault.
With a flash of silver light, she too vanished, reappearing in the void and waving a hand to summon a golden shield that expanded before her.
The shield spun rapidly, deflecting all eight blood-red beams with a series of dull thuds.
As the golden light faded, the shield’s true form was revealed—a massive golden barrier, two zhang tall, shielding the Matriarch completely.
Han Li, the Yi-named elder, and the others watched intently, none immediately intervening in the battle.
Meanwhile, the swarm of ghost-faced wasps reached the Matriarch’s position, descending like a faint green mist.
The Matriarch snorted coldly, flicking a sleeve upward.
A beam of white light, dozens of zhang long, slashed through the air, cleaving the green wasp cloud in two before swirling into a dazzling arc.
A rapid series of pops erupted from the wasp cloud as the white light—whether a treasure or a technique—circled it several times, causing every ghost-faced wasp to explode into motes of green light.
Xue Ran, far from dismayed, smirked cruelly before spitting out several globs of bloody essence, which vanished into the incense burner.
The wails from within the burner grew clearer, and the candles inside flickered with crimson threads.
Then, something incredible happened.
The scattered green lights in the distance coalesced, reforming the ghost-faced wasps in perfect condition.
Before the Matriarch could react, the wasps blurred and vanished again.
The next instant, a fierce gale erupted, howling through the void as translucent wind blades materialized, streaking toward the Matriarch with a sharp whistling sound.
Though the attacks seemed ordinary, the Matriarch’s expression tightened. She slapped the golden shield before her, producing a resonant, bell-like chime.
The shield blurred, expanding into a golden curtain that enveloped her completely.
The storm of wind blades crashed against the barrier, sending ripples across its surface—yet it held firm, deflecting every strike.
Not stopping there, the Matriarch chanted a spell, then plucked a strand of hair from her bun. With a cold laugh, she blew on it lightly.
A thunderous boom followed as the jet-black hair vanished from her hand, and the sky darkened.
A dozen colossal black pythons, each a hundred zhang long, descended from the heavens, lunging at Xue Ran.
Xue Ran’s expression flickered. Without delay, he formed a hand seal, and the eight infants within the bloody light let out inhuman roars.
Strange patterns on their bodies glowed as the bloody light intensified, transforming them into eight horned, fiendish demons that charged at the black pythons.
The demons moved with eerie speed, their bodies wreathed in bloody flames, their fingers elongating into razor-sharp claws that tore through the pythons’ scales and flesh.
The pythons retaliated with their massive bodies and terrifying strength, coiling and thrashing like hurricanes, their fangs dripping venom as they spat clouds of lethal green gas.
The sky trembled with the clash—howls and roars intertwined, emerald mist and crimson flames swirling in chaotic combat.
Yet, it was clear the eight demons were being overpowered by the black pythons.
Xue Ran’s face darkened. He withdrew a hand into his sleeve, preparing to summon another treasure, but the Spider Matriarch’s eyes gleamed with malice.
She slapped the crown of her head, and a sphere of green light shot forth, expanding midair into a colossal spider the size of a small hill.
The spider’s emerald body bristled with needle-like hairs, and with a mere twitch of its six legs, it vanished with a soft pop.
Xue Ran’s heart lurched. Before he could react, the Matriarch opened her mouth, and countless green threads shot forth, instantly appearing before him as if teleported.
Simultaneously, the space above Xue Ran rippled as a pair of hooked, hairy claws emerged from the void, stabbing toward his skull.
Acting on instinct, Xue Ran whipped out a pale-yellow short whip from his sleeve and lashed upward.
A gust of wind and thunder accompanied the sudden appearance of a hundred-zhang-tall mountain illusion, intercepting the claws.
Two sharp cracks echoed as the claws rebounded off the mountain’s surface.
The green threads, however, trembled ominously before erupting with a sinister glow, poised to pierce Xue Ran’s protective aura.
But at that moment, a flash of purple-gold light appeared before him—a massive staff materialized out of nowhere, swaying slightly before forming a barrier that blocked every thread.
Beside Xue Ran, space distorted as Hei Lin emerged, gripping his purple-gold staff with a vicious grin.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage