Chapter 1497: Northwest Frontier Pest Extermination

North Frontier, Myriad Puppet Mountain Range.

In an open area on the outskirts, hundreds of cultivators were battling over a thousand Dark Nether Spiders. The ground was littered with many corpses of cultivators, while there were relatively few spider carcasses. Scattered on the ground were numerous fragments of magical artifacts, remnants of puppet beasts, and over a hundred craters of varying sizes.

Most of the cultivators' heads were split open, seemingly pierced by a sharp weapon.

The highest-cultivated individual was a burly man in red, with a tiger-like back and a bear-like waist. He held a crimson folding fan in his hand. With a gentle flick, rolling flames surged out, engulfing two entirely black Dark Nether Spiders. The spiders let out painful shrieks.

A giant crimson hand, over a hundred feet wide, descended from the sky and slammed onto the two Dark Nether Spiders.

Rumble!

After a loud bang, the two Dark Nether Spiders were crushed by the crimson hand, and dark green liquid splattered everywhere, filling the air with an extremely foul, fishy smell.

Just then, a series of "hissing" sounds rent the air, and a large expanse of delicate golden spider silk shot out, striking the red-clad man's protective spiritual light. His protective light instantly shattered, and his body was ensnared by the dense golden spider silk. Crimson flames struck the golden silk, but it remained completely undamaged.

An extremely sharp shriek rang out, and a Dark Nether Spider with some golden patterns on its body charged over.

The red-clad man was greatly alarmed, but his hands and feet were entangled by the golden spider silk, leaving him immobile.

Dark Nether Spiders particularly enjoyed consuming the brain marrow of cultivators. If it were an ordinary Dark Nether Spider, it would be one thing, but the spider charging at him was a mutated Dark Nether Spider.

He quickly opened his mouth and spat out a glittering red pair of scissors, which instantly grew in size and clipped at the golden spider silk, producing "clanging" sounds like metal colliding.

Mutated Dark Nether Spiders were even more difficult to deal with. Ordinary flames were ineffective, and the spider silk they spat out was impervious to blades, spears, water, and fire.

A dark ray of light shot over, instantly appearing in front of the spider.

The Dark Nether Spider swung its scythe-like golden claws, striking at the dark ray.

Rumble!

A deafening roar erupted. The dark ray exploded, transforming into a dazzling silver lightning ball that enveloped the Dark Nether Spider's body. The golden spider silk snapped, and the red-clad man regained his freedom. He quickly fanned the red feather fan in his hand, and rolling flames surged out, striking the silver lightning ball.

Rumbling explosions resounded as the silver lightning and crimson flames intertwined.

The ground suddenly tore open, and a large amount of debris flew out, shooting towards the red-clad man.

The red-clad man quickly fanned the red feather fan in his hand, and dozens of crimson fireballs, each the size of a human head, flew out to meet them.

Rumble!

A series of explosions erupted, unleashing powerful airwaves and rolling flames.

A gigantic Dark Nether Spider descended from the sky, appearing in front of the red-clad man. Its scythe-like claws went straight for him.

With a scream, the red-clad man dodged, but his right arm was severed, bleeding profusely.

The Dark Nether Spider charged towards him. At this point, only a little over a hundred cultivators were still alive, with most having sacrificed themselves.

He glanced at the other cultivators, a look of unwillingness in his eyes. He transformed into a red light and soared away. "Where there's life, there's hope." He had clearly sent out a distress signal, so why hadn't any cultivators come to support them?

"Hissing" sounds echoed as countless golden spider silks flew through the air. One golden silk ensnared the red-clad man's right foot.

The red-clad man let out a scream as his ankle was pierced by the golden silk, bleeding profusely. He plummeted from mid-air, rapidly moving towards the Dark Nether Spider.

He looked at the spider's exposed golden fangs, despair written across his face.

Just then, a sword cry that shook the heavens and earth rang out. A azure rainbow shot from the distant horizon, swiftly streaking through the Dark Nether Spider's body. The spider was split in two, turning into a large shower of blood.

The azure rainbow danced through the crowd, and one after another, Dark Nether Spiders turned into large showers of blood.

In less than five breaths, all the Dark Nether Spiders lay in pools of blood, none surviving. The azure rainbow flew back the way it came.

"Reinforcements are finally here! Look, azure lotus flowers!"

Someone shouted, and the cultivators successively looked up into the sky. They saw azure lotus flowers appearing on the distant horizon. A tall young man in an azure robe stood on a several-zhang-long azure sword light, his hands clasped behind his back, his expression resolute, giving a strong sense of security. An azure lotus pattern was embroidered on his clothes.

Dozens of cultivators, treading on various azure lotus artifacts, followed closely behind.

"It's the Azure Lotus Sword Venerable! It's the Azure Lotus Sword Venerable from Azure Lotus Island in the South Sea!"

The red-clad man exclaimed with joy, a grateful expression on his face.

The Azure Lotus Sword Venerable was a renowned sword cultivator who had been famous for many years and possessed formidable strength. No wonder those third-order Dark Nether Spiders couldn't withstand the azure rainbow.

Wang Qingshan frowned as he looked at the corpses on the ground.

He had just arrived in the North Frontier when he received astonishing news: Dark Nether Spiders had begun to surge out of the Myriad Puppet Mountain Range, aggressively attacking cultivators. He had brought a group of his clansmen to provide support.

This was an excellent opportunity to train his clansmen. Wang Qingshan brought along a group of them, including Wang Jiyun, Chen Xudong, and Wang Yingjie. Among them, Wang Yingjie had volunteered to come. He wanted to reach the Nascent Soul stage and needed more cultivation resources. When Wang Qingshan learned of the insect extermination mission in the North Frontier, Wang Yingjie volunteered to accompany him.

"Junior程焱 (Cheng Yan) greets Senior Wang. Thank you, Senior Wang, for saving my life."

The red-clad man bowed respectfully, expressing his gratitude.

"We greet Senior Wang. Thank you, Senior Wang, for saving our lives."

The cultivators all bowed in respectful salutation.

"Why are only you here? Where are Fellow Daoist Wu and the others?"

Wang Qingshan frowned and asked. The Qianyang Immortal Couple had also participated in the insect extermination and had departed earlier.

"Senior Wu and the other seniors are deep within the mountain range. This junior is not clear on the specifics."

Cheng Yan pointed to the depths of the mountain range, a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Some of you stay behind to take care of them. The rest of you follow me. Eliminating demons and defending the righteous path is the duty of us cultivators. With the Dark Nether Spiders causing chaos, we cannot stand idly by."

After Wang Qingshan finished speaking, the azure sword light beneath him intensified, greatly increasing his escape speed.

"Yes, Old Ancestor."

Wang Jiyun and the others quickly followed on their artifacts, their expressions excited. To achieve great deeds by following Wang Qingshan was something many clansmen longed for but could not attain. Since they had the fortune to achieve great deeds with Wang Qingshan, they naturally had to perform well.

Wang Yingjie's expression was solemn. His strength was relatively weaker, but he was proficient in Five Elements spells and could control puppet beasts in combat. He could certainly hold off a third-order Dark Nether Spider.

As for defeating a third-order Dark Nether Spider, that would be left to Wang Jiyun and Chen Xudong.

To be honest, Wang Yingjie was somewhat puzzled as to why Wang Qingshan would bring Wang Jiyun. It would be bad if something unexpected happened. Wang Jiyun's Daoist title was Immortal Black Sparrow, and besides Wang Qingshan, her sword cultivation talent was the highest among the Wang family members.