Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the others stared toward the distant void in horror. There, a massive shadow was slowly pressing forward, growing clearer and clearer against the dim sky. It was an enormous floating demon beast—like a colossal floating fortress.
Even the Nether Lamp Giant Beast seemed utterly insignificant in comparison.
As the floating demon beast drew ever closer, Du Ze and Lu Piao grew desperately tense. That demon beast could very well be something even more terrifying than the Nether Lamp Giant Beast. If they didn't leave now, there would be no chance.
But Nie Li was still inside!
Facing the imminent threat of death, they didn't budge an inch.
"Even if I die, I'm going to rescue Nie Li!" Du Ze's eyes flashed with unwavering determination as he charged toward the center of the Nether Lamp Giant Beast.
Lu Piao glanced at Xiao Xue, hesitated for a moment, but then still clutched Xiao Xue and followed resolutely after Du Ze. He didn't know if Xiao Xue would blame him, but Nie Li was his brother—he would absolutely not abandon him.
Behind them, Wei Nan and the others followed close behind, searching frantically for Nie Li.
Nie Li let out a slight breath of relief. Fortunately, the Nether Lamp Giant Beast had stopped attacking him—otherwise it would have been quite troublesome. It seemed the Book of Time-Space Demon Spirit had indeed dealt considerable damage to the Nether Lamp Giant Beast.
Hiss, hiss. The dark shadow in the sky grew ever closer. What an enormous creature it was! The Nether Lamp Giant Beast looked like an insignificant little dog in front of it.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
The massive creature in the sky shot out strands of webbing, wrapping around the Nether Lamp Giant Beast.
The Nether Lamp Giant Beast cried out in anguish as it struggled, but it couldn't break free from those strands of webbing.
The colossal beast in the sky slowly descended, extended its forelimbs, and pierced them—thud, thud, thud—into the Nether Lamp Giant Beast's body. Then it slowly rose again, lifting the Nether Lamp Giant Beast up.
The enormous Nether Lamp Giant Beast—who just moments ago had been viciously slaughtering hordes of Red Ghosts—was now prey. Hunted and killed by that terrifying giant beast. The Nether Lamp Giant Beast let out a mournful cry, and then the lamp on its forehead gradually dimmed until it finally died.
The Nether Lamp Giant Beast was just like that... eliminated?
That enormous floating demon beast didn't even spare a glance at Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the others before taking to the sky and flying off. Perhaps in the eyes of that floating demon beast, Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the rest were like specks of dust—not worth its attention.
"Nie Li! Nie Li!" Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the others kept shouting, searching for Nie Li.
But on the ground, aside from the mountain-like pile of the Nether Lamp Giant Beast's shattered tongue, there was nothing. Where were Nie Li and Xiao Ning'er? Had they been eaten by the Nether Lamp Giant Beast?
Tears instantly fell from Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the others' eyes.
"He'll be fine!"
"If you little bastard really died like this, I'll never forgive you for the rest of my life! Nie Li, you little bastard, get your ass out here!" Lu Piao held Xiao Xue in one arm while frantically clawing at the shattered tongue fragments on the ground with the other.
"Nie Li won't die!" Du Ze and the others also frantically dug through the ground, searching for any trace of Nie Li.
They combed the area methodically until they dug through a pile of tongue fragments as large as a small mountain—and finally found Nie Li. There he was, knuckle spikes still in a defensive stance, panting and looking somewhat exhausted, while Xiao Ning'er clung tightly to his body in a rather peculiar position.
"I knew it—you tough bastard, you can't die!" Lu Piao burst into wild laughter, tears still glistening in his eyes.
"Come on, you guys were actually cursing me to die. You think it was easy for me to come back? How could I possibly die?" Nie Li let out several deep breaths, looked around, confirmed there was no longer any threat from the Nether Lamp Giant Beast, and only then did he finally relax.
Although they didn't quite understand the last part of what Nie Li said, Du Ze and the others all broke into relieved laughter.
Suddenly, they seemed to notice something, and their gazes turned strange as they looked at Nie Li. There he was, half-crouching, with Xiao Ning'er clinging tightly to him—their position couldn't have looked more intimate.
"I didn't see anything." Du Ze shrugged.
Lu Piao looked at Nie Li with undisguised disdain, shaking his head with an expression of deep shame on his behalf. "Nie Li, tell me—what exactly did you do to Goddess Ning'er?" He had completely forgotten that he was still holding Xiao Xue in his own arms.
Wei Nan and the other two also laughed and turned away.
Nie Li could only smile bitterly. The Nether Lamp Giant Beast's saliva contained hallucinogenic substances. Once caught in it, if you accidentally inhaled those substances, you'd fall into a brief semi-conscious state. He didn't know what Ning'er had dreamed about during that semi-conscious state, but she had latched onto him with a grip so tight that not even prying could loosen it. He'd had no choice.
Seeing Wei Nan and the others turn away, Nie Li took out a piece of clothing from his cosmic ring, wrapped it around Ning'er, and quietly waited for her to wake up.