After the blood-colored flashes subsided, all of the light pillars vanished into the sand below in the blink of an eye.
The very next moment, the ground beneath them began to tremble. Cracks appeared across the surface, growing wider and more numerous by the second.
Black Scale, standing nearby, let out a hearty laugh. He made a casual grasping motion in midair, and a purple-gold staff materialized in his hand. With a violent shake— A deafening crack of thunder split the clear sky!
Beneath a burst of radiant light spanning ten thousand zhang, the illusory shadow of a colossal staff a thousand zhang long descended from the heavens. In a single flash, it smashed into the ground like a divine weapon propping up the firmament.
With a cataclysmic boom that seemed to split the earth and shatter the sky, the ground ruptured completely. An enormous swath of desert spanning a hundred li in every direction collapsed inward with a thunderous rumble, as though a vast chunk of earth had simply been punched out of existence.
Black Scale let out several wild laughs, then shook the purple-gold staff once more, preparing to channel even greater power and continue his relentless bombardment.
But just at that moment, the rumbling from the sunken depression in the sand below subsided slightly—then countless pillars of multicolored light erupted upward in a torrent.
Immediately after, the entire expanse of sand bulged outward, and a stone citadel crowned with layer upon layer of protective light barriers rose from beneath the surface, ascending slowly into the sky.
Standing atop a towering stone wall at the front of the citadel were the Asura Spider Queen, the black-robed elder, and their companions, along with several hundred subordinates. Their faces were grim beyond expression as they stared across at Han Li and the others aboard the flying vessel.
"So it was you after all. I fail to see how our Asura Spider clan has offended you honored daoists, that you would repeatedly come to harass my clan." Though the Asura Spider Queen was seething with fury inside, the moment the stone citadel came to a stable halt in the void at the same altitude as the opposing flying vessel, she forced down her anger and posed the question.
After all, Han Li's spiritual sense had left far too deep an impression on her from their last encounter. Unless absolutely necessary, she had no desire to engage this group in combat — even if they had clearly arrived with hostile intent.
Of course, the deeper reason was that the woman wished to buy more time, so that certain allies who had not yet returned could arrive before the fighting began.
"Heh heh, offense is a strong word," Black Scale said with a sinister grin, cutting in before Han Li could answer. "But the sole reason we entered this realm was for the Asura Spider clan. If your clan would be willing to voluntarily hand over your crystal cores, why, we could all put down our weapons and make peace."
"What? You want the crystal cores of my clan? So you've come for our power over time as well." The Asura Spider Queen's expression changed drastically, every trace of civility vanishing from her face.
"That's not entirely accurate, but it's close enough," Blood Burn said coolly. "Well? Is your honorable clan willing to surrender the crystal cores of its own accord?"
"Surrender the crystal cores? You must be dreaming! Since you dare speak those words to my face, it means you've declared a war of extermination against my clan. Attack!" The woman's voice rang out sharp and shrill, and without so much as a backward glance, she waved her hand behind her.
The clansmen and subordinates standing behind her flickered with light and vanished from the wall in an instant — more than half of them disappearing at once, leaving only a dozen or so behind.
Every one of those remaining exuded spiritual pressure at the Body Integration stage. Among them, four men and women radiated auras far surpassing the others, approaching the threshold of the Mahayana stage.
These were four adult Asura Spiders.
Mo Jianli's expression shifted slightly at the sight.
Han Li narrowed his eyes as well.
The last time he had scouted the nest, there had been only three adult Asura Spiders inside.
At that moment, Blood Burn and Black Scale exchanged a glance upon hearing the Asura Spider Queen's unceremonious rebuff. Their faces darkened, and without the slightest hesitation, they struck.
Blood Burn flicked a finger at the enormous incense burner floating before him.
A deep, resonant boom echoed forth. The stench of blood within the burner intensified dramatically, and the green light above it flickered and multiplied, droplet after droplet appearing in rapid succession. These droplets of light swirled around and transformed into ghost-faced wasps the size of fists — each one bearing a demonic, mask-like pattern across its head, its body wavering in and out of solidity as though it were not entirely corporeal.
"Go!" Blood Burn swept his sleeve toward the enemy and barked the command.
A deafening hum erupted as tens of thousands of the ghost-headed wasps coalesced into a pale-green insect cloud and hurtled straight toward the stone citadel.
Blood Burn himself took a single great stride forward, surrounded by eight orbs of blood-red light, and appeared in a flash in the void between the flying vessel and the citadel. Within each orb of blood light, an infant's face materialized with an eerie grin. All eight opened their mouths simultaneously and spat eight beams of blood-colored light directly at the Asura Spider Queen.
The Asura Spider Queen had originally intended to exchange a few more words with the black-robed elder beside her, but seeing such brazen provocation, she was consumed with rage. Silver light flashed across her body, and she too vanished and reappeared in the void with a flicker. With a single wave of her hand, a ball of golden light blossomed before her. The golden light whirled around, and with a series of muffled pops, it blocked all eight blood pillars one after another.