Chapter 2321: Asura War (1)

After a flash of bloody light, pillars of light vanished instantly into the sand. The next moment, the ground below began to tremble, and cracks appeared, growing wider and wider. Seeing this, Hei Lin chuckled, grabbed something from the air with one hand, and a purple-gold long staff flashed into existence, which he then abruptly shook.

A clap of thunder immediately split the clear sky! Under a myriad of shimmering lights, a colossal staff's phantom, a thousand zhang long, descended from the sky. In a flash, it struck the ground like a mighty divine weapon. After a world-shattering roar, the entire ground completely shattered. A large section of the desert within a hundred-mile radius suddenly caved in with a rumbling sound.

Hei Lin let out a few wild laughs, and with another shake of his purple-gold staff, he prepared to unleash an even greater force and continue smashing down. Just then, after the rumbling from the sunken sand subsided slightly, countless pillars of light of various colors suddenly burst forth. Then, the entire sand expanse bulged, and a stone city, protected by layers of light screens, emerged from within, slowly rising into the sky.

On a tall stone wall directly in front of the stone city, the Asura Spider Matriarch, the black-robed elder, and others, accompanied by hundreds of their subordinates, watched with extremely grim expressions the group of people, including Han Li, on the flying boat opposite them. "It is you, after all. I'm not sure how our Asura Spider clan has offended you, fellow Daoists, that you repeatedly come to cause trouble for my clan," the Asura Spider Matriarch asked, suppressing her extreme anger, even as the stone city came to a steady halt in the void, level with the flying boat. After all, Han Li's powerful spiritual sense from their last encounter had left a deep impression on her. If unnecessary, she truly did not want to engage in combat with them, even though these individuals clearly appeared to be aggressive. The deeper reason, of course, was that the woman wanted to stall for more time, allowing reinforcements who had not yet arrived to return in time.

"Heh heh, there's no talk of offense, naturally. However, our purpose in entering this realm is precisely for the Asura Spider clan. If your clan is willing to voluntarily offer up your crystal cores, then naturally, hostility can be turned into friendship," Hei Lin interjected with a sinister laugh, while Han Li simply smiled without answering.

"What? You want my clan's crystal cores? So, you've also come for our clan's power of time," the Asura Spider Matriarch's expression changed dramatically upon hearing this, and she spoke without any trace of a smile.

"While that's not entirely the meaning, it's close enough. So, is your esteemed clan willing to hand over the crystal cores voluntarily?" Xue Ran said indifferently.

"Hand over the crystal cores? You must be dreaming! Since you dare utter such words in front of me, it means endless war between our clans. Attack!" the woman snapped, then, without looking back, waved her hand behind her.

The clan members and subordinates behind her instantly vanished from the city wall in a flash of light, leaving only a dozen or so individuals. Among these dozen or so, all emanated Spirit Pressure at the Integration stage, with the aura of four individuals, male and female, far surpassing the others, almost reaching the Grand Ascension stage. These were precisely four adult Asura Spiders. Mo Jianli's expression subtly changed upon seeing this. Han Li's eyes also narrowed slightly. When he had last scouted them, there had only been three adult Asura Spiders in their nest.

At this moment, upon hearing the Asura Spider Matriarch's impolite reply, Xue Ran and Hei Lin exchanged a glance, their expressions darkening, and without hesitation, they made their move. Xue Ran suddenly flicked a finger towards the large censer in front of him. After a low rumble, a strong bloody scent rose from the censer, and even more specks of green light began to flash above it. As these green lights swirled, they transformed into numerous fist-sized ghost-faced bees. These giant bees not only had their heads covered in ghost-mask-like patterns, but their bodies were also indistinct and hazy, as if they were not physical entities.

"Go!" Xue Ran flicked his sleeve towards the opposite side, letting out a low cry. A loud buzzing filled the air as tens of thousands of ghost-headed bees immediately formed a pale green swarm, charging directly towards the opposite side. Xue Ran himself took a large step forward, and with eight clusters of bloody light, he flashed into the void between the flying boat and the stone city. Within the bloody light, eight infants appeared with eerie smiles on their faces, and simultaneously opened their mouths, unleashing eight more crimson beams of light directly towards the Asura Spider Matriarch.

The Asura Spider Matriarch had initially intended to say a few more words to the elder beside her, but seeing such blatant provocation, she was instantly filled with extreme fury. With a flash of silver light around her body, she too appeared in the void with a flicker, and with a mere wave of her hand, a burst of golden light bloomed in front of her. As the golden light spun, it blocked all eight crimson beams one after another with popping sounds. Only then did the golden light recede, revealing its true form: a massive golden shield two zhang tall, completely shielding the woman behind it. Upon seeing the two begin to fight, Han Li and the elder surnamed Yi all watched intently from the sidelines, none of them showing any intention of directly interfering in the battle for the moment. At this moment, the swarm of ghost-faced bees also flew like the wind above the woman, forming a faint green cloud that enveloped her from above.

The Asura Spider Matriarch let out a cold snort and flicked a long sleeve into the air. A streak of white light, several tens of zhang long, sliced through the air. With just a flash, it forcibly split the green bee swarm down the middle, then circled once before transforming into a dazzling rainbow and dancing about. Popping sounds, like exploding beans, immediately emanated from the bee swarm. It was unknown what kind of treasure or divine ability that white light was, but after circling the bee swarm a few times, all the ghost-faced bees trembled and exploded, turning into specks of green light that floated anew in the void.

Far from being surprised, Xue Ran showed a sinister smile in his eyes upon seeing this, and immediately opened his mouth. Several clusters of blood-red vital energy immediately spurted out, vanishing instantly into the large censer. The wailing in the censer became clearer, and the incense sticks inside began to flicker with wisps of bloody light. An incredible scene unfolded. After the distant specks of green light coalesced, a dense swarm of ghost-headed bees reappeared, completely intact. Before the Asura Spider Matriarch's expression could darken and she could try to activate the white light for another attack, these ghost-headed bees suddenly blurred and vanished the instant they reappeared.

The next moment, fierce winds suddenly surged through the nearby void, their howling growing intense! Streaks of almost transparent wind blades emerged, appearing and disappearing in the wind, then shot abruptly towards the woman with whistling sounds. As these seemingly ordinary attacks entered the Asura Spider Matriarch's eyes, her expression tightened. She slapped the golden shield in front of her with lightning speed, and a bell-like roar reverberated. After the golden shield blurred, it transformed into a golden barrier, protecting the woman within. The next moment, countless wind blades struck the light barrier like a storm. Instantly, spiritual light rippled across the surface of the golden barrier, yet it remained as stable as a mountain, blocking all the wind blades.

Not only that, but after the Asura Spider Matriarch activated the golden shield with a secret technique, her fair hand moved to brush over her hair bun. In that instant, she pinched off a small strand of long hair, then, with a cold laugh, blew gently at it. With a thunderous roar, the sky instantly dimmed the moment the dark, lustrous hair vanished from the woman's hand. Over a dozen black pythons, a hundred zhang long, tore through the air, charging directly at Xue Ran, the foreign Grand Ascension cultivator.

Xue Ran's expression subtly shifted. Daring not to be negligent, he also formed a hand seal with one hand. The eight infants within the bloody light beside him suddenly let out unearthly roars. The strange patterns on their bodies glowed, and amidst the surging bloody light, they transformed into eight ferocious demons with single horns, directly confronting the dozen or so black pythons. As these eight demons moved, their bodies pulsed with crimson flames, and their ten fingers transformed into sharp blades. With each strike at the black pythons, large patches of scales and flesh would fall away. The giant pythons, relying on their massive bodies and terrifying strength, either swept or coiled, their movements like a hurricane. Simultaneously, their fangs bared, they ferociously bit down on the demons, occasionally spewing out clumps of incredibly potent green gas. For a time, the high altitude vibrated intensely, whistles and roars intertwining, while billowing green gas and clusters of bloody flames either clashed in pairs or chased each other like lightning across the sky. However, from the scene, it was clear that the eight demons were being suppressed by the black pythons.

Xue Ran's expression turned somewhat grim. He withdrew a hand into his sleeve, just about to unleash another exotic treasure, when the Asura Spider Matriarch opposite him flashed a fierce glint in her eyes. She suddenly slapped the top of her head, and a ball of green light shot out, transforming instantly into a colossal spider the size of a small mountain after swaying in the wind. This spider was not only entirely emerald green, but its body was also covered in stiff hairs like steel needles. With a slight movement of its six legs, it vanished from its spot with a soft 'whoosh'. Xue Ran was startled. Just as he was about to react, the woman who had released the giant spider opened her mouth. Hissing sounds erupted as countless green threads shot through the air. After a mere blur, they instantly appeared right in front of him, as if teleported. At the same time, fluctuations appeared above Xue Ran's head, and a pair of barbed, hairy claws emerged from the void, striking like lightning towards his skull below.

Xue Ran's heart tightened. Without further thought, he swiftly pulled out a pale yellow short whip from his sleeve with one hand and struck sharply at the sky without a word. Instantly, the sound of wind and thunder rang out, and a hundred-zhang-tall phantom of a pale yellow mountain flashed into existence, perfectly blocking the two sharp claws. After two "snap" sounds, a yellow halo flashed on the surface of the small mountain's phantom, and it was easily repelled by the mountain's illusion. The green threads, meeting no obstruction, merely trembled slightly, then erupted with strange light, poised to pierce directly into Xue Ran's protective spiritual light. But at this very moment, a flash of purple-gold light appeared before Xue Ran. A thick staff's shadow, without any prior sign, flashed into existence, and after a slight sway, it transformed into a purple-gold light barrier, blocking all the green threads. At the same time, fluctuations appeared beside Xue Ran as Hei Lin, holding his purple-gold long staff, emerged with a trace of a sinister smile on his face.