Chapter 1503: Underworld Spider Attack

The Three Flames Palace, Council Hall.

Three gleaming golden jade chairs were arranged at the front. Two men and one woman occupied these chairs, while over a dozen elders sat on silver jade chairs. Everyone’s expression was exceptionally solemn.

Song Xiruo, seated on a golden jade chair, had her brows tightly furrowed.

“Palace Master, are we still unable to contact Senior Martial Uncle Ye?” Song Xiruo looked at the middle-aged man beside her and asked, frowning.

The middle-aged man was tall, dressed in a red Taoist robe, and wore a red jade crown. His features were resolute, giving him an air of natural authority.

This was Jin Yan, the Palace Master of Three Flames Palace, a late Nascent Soul cultivator.

Setting aside Soul Transformation cultivators, the overall strength of Three Flames Palace surpassed that of the Nine Nether Sect. However, the Three Flames Palace did not seek fame, so the Nine Nether Sect was known as the foremost sect in the Northern Frontier.

Jin Yan shook his head, his face grim, and said, “No, he was invited to the South Sea previously and hasn’t returned yet. However, I’ve already sent out widespread notices. If Senior Martial Uncle Ye receives the message, he should return as soon as possible.”

“Senior Brother Sect Master, even if we can’t reach Senior Martial Uncle Ye, what about True Monarch Seven Flames from Seven Flames Manor and Old Woman Black Butterfly from Butterfly Valley? Both of these seniors also cultivate fire-attribute techniques. If they act, I believe the Nether Spiders will be dealt with quickly.” Song Xiruo said with a frown. The overall strength of the South Sea cultivation world was ranked first in the East-Li Realm, followed by the Central Plains cultivation world, then the Northern Frontier cultivation world. The Eastern Desolate cultivation world was the weakest overall. There were quite a few Soul Transformation cultivators in the Northern Frontier; Song Xiruo alone knew of three.

“True Monarch Seven Flames last appeared over a hundred years ago. I sent people to contact his disciples, and they said True Monarch Seven Flames was out wandering and hadn’t returned. As for Old Woman Black Butterfly, she hasn’t appeared in over three hundred years, so it’s uncertain if she is still alive.” Jin Yan sighed, stating that most Soul Transformation cultivators were either in secluded cultivation or wandering the world seeking opportunities for breakthroughs.

With the emergence of the Nether Spiders, the Soul Transformation cultivators Jin Yan knew were either still wandering or in death-seclusion. The sect masters of the Northern Frontier’s Ten Great Sects could only dispatch a large number of cultivators to contain the Nether Spiders, preventing them from breaking out of the Myriad Puppet Mountain Range. However, the current situation indicated that the number of Fourth-tier Nether Spiders was continuously increasing, and several Nascent Soul cultivators had already been killed.

Indeed, if Soul Transformation cultivators didn’t intervene, no one could truly handle this mess.

“What should we do then, Senior Brother Sect Master? The Nether Spiders have evolved into a different kind of fierce insect. If we stand by and do nothing, the number of Fourth-tier Nether Spiders will only continue to grow.” Song Xiruo’s face was filled with worry. The Nether Spiders had been sealed for thousands of years. After regaining their freedom, they had consumed a large number of spiritual items and rapidly bred, causing their numbers to skyrocket. The longer they delayed, the more troublesome the Nether Spiders would become.

“How about deploying that Fourth-tier High-grade puppet beast? Combined with the Taiyang Bottle, it should be able to eliminate the Fourth-tier Nether Spiders.” A graceful young woman in a red dress suggested. The Three Flames Palace possessed five great sect-guarding treasures, and both the Fourth-tier High-grade puppet beast and the Taiyang Bottle were among them. Deploying two such treasures clearly demonstrated the Three Flames Palace’s grave concern for the situation.

“Absolutely not. The Fourth-tier High-grade puppet beast cannot be easily deployed. Our sect spent a thousand years to create this Fourth-tier High-grade puppet beast, damaging countless Fourth-tier High-grade demonic beast souls in the process. It was incredibly difficult to refine, and the damaged materials alone were worth tens of millions. Even if our sect had another thousand years, we might not be able to refine a second Fourth-tier High-grade puppet beast.” Jin Yan flatly refused. He pondered for a moment, then instructed, “Junior Sister Song, please take the Taiyang Bottle and make this trip. Coordinate with fellow Daoists to eliminate the Fourth-tier Nether Spiders. I expect other sects will also deploy their sect-guarding treasures. With each sect deploying one, we should be able to wipe out a large number of Fourth-tier Nether Spiders.”

“Even if we can’t completely destroy the Nether Spiders, as long as we prevent them from breaking out of the Myriad Puppet Mountain Range, that will suffice. Senior Martial Uncle Ye must be on his way back by now.”

Song Xiruo nodded, her expression serious. “Alright, I will take the Taiyang Bottle and go. I should be able to stop the Nether Spiders.”

On the outskirts of the Myriad Puppet Mountain Range, a towering city stood majestically on the plain.

Inside a palace with golden bricks and glazed tiles, Wang Qingshan and others were discussing battle strategies.

In the center of the hall was a spell formation over ten zhang in size, covered with abstruse runes that vaguely formed thick silver chains, locking down a Fourth-tier Nether Spider. A faint silver light barrier enveloped the entire formation.

This Fourth-tier Nether Spider had been captured by Wang Qingshan, and the demon was already severely wounded.

The Nether Spider let out a sharp, piercing shriek, tugging at the silver chains on its body. It seemed extremely agitated, unwilling to stop even for a moment.

“Fellow Daoist Fan, Fellow Daoist Wu, Fellow Daoist Fang, as you’ve all seen, Fourth-tier Nether Spiders are indeed difficult to handle. Magic treasures struggle to harm them. And this is just a Nether Spider that recently advanced to the Fourth-tier. If it were those Nether Spiders that have been at the Fourth-tier for hundreds of years, they would likely be even more challenging.” Wang Qingshan said, frowning. They had used this Nether Spider for experimentation, attacking it with various methods, and found that Nether Spiders were indeed tough to deal with.

Besides treasures of extreme Yang and rigidity, and soul attacks, immense physical strength could also counter Nether Spiders. However, the number of body cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage was already small, and body cultivators didn't necessarily always suppress Nether Spiders. Aside from other factors, the sheer number of Nether Spiders was overwhelming. Wuchang and Li Ling'er were surrounded by over a hundred thousand Nether Spiders that day and nearly lost their lives.

“Ice-attribute spells are also effective against Nether Spiders, but their numbers are too vast. It’s unrealistic to try and freeze all of them. Moreover, the demon fire and venom they spew have the effect of defiling magic treasures.” Fan Ruoruo’s delicate brows were tightly furrowed. Nether Spiders were truly too difficult to handle, especially the mutated ones.

Just then, a deafening roar echoed, and alarms blared loudly.

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack! The Nether Spiders have broken through again!” A panicked voice suddenly cried out.

Upon hearing this, Fan Ruoruo and the others’ expressions turned grim.

“Let’s go, let’s go out and see.” Fan Ruoruo took a deep breath and flew out first, with the others following closely behind.

It wasn’t long before they appeared on the city wall. Seeing the situation outside the city, Wang Qingshan and the others involuntarily gasped.

Hundreds of thousands of Nether Spiders surged out of the Myriad Puppet Mountain Range, heading straight for the massive city they were in. They were surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Nether Spiders, with ten Fourth-tier Nether Spiders among them, though only one was a mutated Fourth-tier Nether Spider.

Vast numbers of Nether Spiders were packed tightly together, a dense, horrifying mass that made one’s scalp tingle.

“Damn it, how can so many Nether Spiders have broken out of the Myriad Puppet Mountain Range? The situation in the other four cities is probably similar.” Fan Ruoruo’s brows were tightly furrowed. Ten Fourth-tier Nether Spiders were leading hundreds of thousands of Nether Spiders in their assault. The other four cities wouldn’t be faring any better.

This implied that the number of Fourth-tier Nether Spiders surely exceeded their estimates. There might even be over a hundred Fourth-tier Nether Spiders.