But looking at it now, it was clear that in the previous battle in Void Land, Zhu Jiuyin had not unleashed her full strength. At the very least, she had never deployed the Heavenly Net Earthly Web.
Single-handedly pinning down four Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivators from the Cave Heavens and Paradises — Zhu Jiuyin absolutely possessed Eighth-Order strength.
In truth, Ti Zheng had miscalculated.
Back in Void Land, Zhu Jiuyin had truly held nothing back. The reason she appeared even stronger now than before was simply that her baseline power was already comparable to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. It was only because she had come from the Outer Void that she needed time to gradually recover. Two or three years had passed since that battle — not long, yet not insignificant either — and in that time Zhu Jiuyin had recovered a measure more of her strength, which was why she now appeared more formidable than before.
They had dispatched four Upper-Order cultivators and over twenty Mid-Order ones to form the Celestial Spirit-Locking Formation, yet they still failed to kill Yang Kai in the first exchange. And now they found themselves caught in Zhu Jiuyin's Heavenly Net Earthly Web, their movements restrained. Ti Zheng and the others wore expressions ashen with fury.
A thunderous roar rang out — a commanding bellow: "Fearless! Fearsome! Unthinking! Unknowing!"
Towering demonic qi surged and churned. Behind Ti Zheng, a colossal demon statue materialized without warning. Its body was covered in narrow, eerie eyes — there had to be over a thousand — every single one rolling and spinning as though seized by madness. In its grip the statue held a colossal cleaving blade dozens of zhang long, and its overwhelming might made heaven and earth tremble and the void collapse.
With the Thousand-Eyed Demon Statue's appearance, Ti Zheng's already terrifying aura soared to new heights.
"A Dharma Idol!" Old Bai gasped.
Dharma Idols were a secret art that only Upper-Order Open Heaven cultivators could hope to master. Moreover, not every Upper-Order cultivator possessed the ability to do so. Those who could manifest a Dharma Idol were the very cream of the Upper-Order crop.
As for someone like Yang Kai, who had comprehended a Dharma Idol while still in the Emperor Realm — how many such individuals had there been in all of history?
Ti Zheng was a man of the Myriad Demons Heaven. Having lived for so many years, he had immersed himself in the Upper-Order Open Heaven Realm for at least tens of thousands of years. That he could deploy a Dharma Idol was hardly surprising.
And once a Dharma Idol appeared, it meant Ti Zheng was holding nothing back.
At the very instant the Thousand-Eyed Demon Statue revealed itself, another Upper-Order cultivator simultaneously unleashed his own. Unlike Ti Zheng's Thousand-Eyed Demon Statue, this one appeared unremarkable on the surface — nothing more than a spirit peak hovering behind him. Yet from within that peak emanated an exceedingly dense and dangerous aura of the Earth element.
The remaining two Upper-Order cultivators brought forth no Dharma Idols. Whether they were deliberately concealing their capabilities or simply lacked the skill was unclear.
But it was almost certainly the latter. After all, all of them were now trapped within Zhu Jiuyin's Heavenly Net Earthly Web. Facing such a terrifying transcendent existence as Zhu Jiuyin, any reservation could prove fatal.
Still, even without Dharma Idols, the Divine Abilities and Secret Arts they deployed with casual ease were terrifying in their own right.
Clanging, ringing sounds filled the air without cease. Zhu Jiuyin's eight legs constantly hooked and pulled at the spider silk, manipulating the web, commanding this stretch of heaven and earth. As the demonic melodies rose and fell, ripples spread outward across the surface of both the Thousand-Eyed Demon Statue and the spirit peak.
The Thousand-Eyed Demon Statue roared. Countless eyes across its body erupted with beams of pitch-black demonic thread. The threads pierced through the void, striking at Zhu Jiuyin from every direction. Though she dodged incessantly, many of the threads still struck home, searing her body into charred patches. But she paid them no heed, as though she felt no pain. Ten thousand strands of spider silk transformed into indestructible blades of flowing light, weaving and darting through the air, swirling around all four Upper-Order cultivators.
The demon statue raised its cleaving blade and slashed downward with savage force. With a sharp clang, several strands of spider silk were severed.
Ti Zheng suddenly felt the pressure lighten. Overjoyed, he tried to break free from the Heavenly Net Earthly Web's restraint — but the moment he leaped upward, dozens of streaks of light came raining down from above, forcing him to drop back down in alarm.
When he looked again, the severed spider silk had already reknit itself.
Ti Zheng seethed with hatred!
In the void, the radiance of Secret Arts and Divine Abilities blazed as Zhu Jiuyin single-handedly held her own against four Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivators, the battle raging with ferocious intensity.
A fight of this caliber was far beyond what even Yue He and Qu Huachang — both Sixth-Order Open Heaven — could involve themselves in, let alone Old Bai, a Fifth-Order. All three could do was stand guard beside Yang Kai, shielding him from the shockwaves that swept their way. Fortunately, positioned at the very center of the web, most of the pressure was borne by Zhu Jiuyin, and what residual energy leaked through was manageable.
Yet anyone with eyes could see that although Zhu Jiuyin appeared overwhelmingly dominant, a prolonged defense must inevitably crumble — especially when her opponents vastly outnumbered her. Two fists simply could not match four hands.
And the moment Zhu Jiuyin's Secret Art was broken, they would have no chance of fighting back whatsoever.
Their only hope now was for Yang Kai to locate the entrance to the Shadowless Cave Heaven as quickly as possible, open it, and lead everyone inside to recover.
In the midst of the fierce battle, a piercing scream suddenly rang out. Everyone engaged in combat startled and turned to look.
Upon seeing what had happened, Zhu Jiuyin felt a wave of relief, while Ti Zheng and his allies were struck with fury.
A fragment of floating Spirit Continent had suddenly shattered apart, and from within it surged over twenty Mid-Order Open Heaven cultivators, who immediately unleashed a barrage of devastating attacks upon the Cave Heaven and Paradise forces maintaining the Celestial Spirit-Locking Formation.
These reinforcements had appeared far too abruptly. Everyone's attention had been captivated by the battle within the Heavenly Net Earthly Web, and no one had been on guard. By the time they realized what was happening, it was already too late.
In the span of a single exchange, several cultivators had fallen dead on the spot — among them, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven.