Chapter 1515: Battle Against the Insects (IV)

He would not harm Fan Ruoruo in front of so many people. He had saved her twice, and she might prove useful when dealing with the Nine Nether Sect in the future.

*Boom!* A deafening roar echoed as the yellow sand curtain exploded. Another mutated Underworld Spider broke free, its abdomen uneven and its body tangled with golden spider silk, looking somewhat disheveled.

As soon as it appeared, a colossal club descended from the sky, striking its body.

With a dull thud, the mutated Underworld Spider crashed rapidly to the ground like a falling meteor, excavating a large crater.

Just as it rose, dozens of fist-thick yellow iron chains burst from the earth, coiling around its body.

It immediately spewed a blast of golden demonic fire onto the yellow chains. With a fierce swing of its scythe-like claws, the chains shattered completely.

In the distance, the Five-Element Talisman Soldier emanated a bright yellow light. It slammed its right fist onto the ground, causing a crack to appear and rapidly expand. A colossal yellow hand, over a dozen zhang in size, burst from the earth and pinned down the mutated Underworld Spider.

Enraged, the Underworld Spider let out an extremely sharp shriek, opening its mouth to unleash a hazy golden sound wave that instantly reached the Five-Element Talisman Soldier.

Specks of blue light materialized, forming a blue water wall in front of it.

The golden sound wave struck the blue water wall, causing it to instantly shatter. The wave then hit the Five-Element Talisman Soldier, sending it flying backward.

A whooshing sound filled the air as dense golden spider silk shot forth, piercing through the Five-Element Talisman Soldier's body.

With a flash of yellow light, the Five-Element Talisman Soldier transformed into a vast expanse of yellow sand, scattering across the ground.

A mound of earth swelled in the distance, and the Five-Element Talisman Soldier burrowed out from beneath. Its five-colored armor appeared slightly dim, indicating it had sustained some damage.

Wang Ruyan had painstakingly researched talisman soldiers for over a century, discarding vast quantities of materials before successfully crafting this Five-Element Talisman Soldier. It was impossible for it to be so easily destroyed.

Seizing the opportunity, the Underworld Spider bent its scythe-like claws, smashing the yellow hand to pieces and regaining its freedom.

Just then, an unbearable heat wave emanated from high above. A house-sized golden fireball descended, striking the Underworld Spider, and a surge of golden flames engulfed it.

The Underworld Spider let out a mournful shriek, thrashing violently and continuously swinging its scythe-like claws.

The air shrieked loudly as a blue sword light, over a hundred zhang long, descended from above and struck the Underworld Spider's body.

*Clang!* A dull thud of metal striking metal echoed. A terrifying sword mark appeared on the Underworld Spider's body, and tiny cracks began to form on its hard shell.

Three streaks of red light shot forth, striking the sword mark and instantly piercing through the Underworld Spider's body.

The red lights flashed, revealing their true forms: three gleaming red nails, their surfaces covered with mysterious runes.

A loud sword hum filled the air as a blue arc of light shot forth, swiftly passing through the Underworld Spider's head. Its head rolled off, and its body thrashed violently for a long moment before finally ceasing to struggle.

Song Xiruo let out a long sigh of relief. Just as she was about to speak, a deafening roar erupted. In the distant sky, a blinding flash of fire suddenly appeared, followed by a massive red mushroom cloud rising high into the air, visible from afar.

Wang Qingshan and the others were startled, exchanging glances. According to their plan, Ye Yan was supposed to command the other cultivators in a two-pronged pincer attack. Had something happened to Ye Yan? That couldn't be; Ye Yan was a Spirit Transformation stage cultivator!

A red light flew from afar, manifesting in Liu Ye's hand as a gleaming red spirit compass. Liu Ye's gaze swept over it, and his expression instantly changed.

"This is bad. Things have changed. A fifth-tier Underworld Spider has appeared. Daoist Ye was caught off guard and suffered some minor injuries. Follow me immediately to provide support."

Liu Ye's gaze darkened. He opened his mouth, and four spiritual lights of various colors flew out—four gleaming flying swords. After circling once, they merged into a four-colored flying sword over a hundred zhang long, heading straight for the Underworld Spider below.

With a dull *clang*, the four-colored flying sword struck a mutated Underworld Spider, which let out a mournful shriek.

A flicker of surprise crossed Liu Ye's eyes. A mid-fourth-tier Underworld Spider had actually withstood one of his sword attacks. The defensive power of a fifth-tier Underworld Spider must be even greater; no wonder Ye Yan had been injured by one.

He formed a sword incantation, and a vast expanse of dazzling silver lightning surged from the four-colored flying sword, engulfing the Underworld Spider. A faint, mournful shriek could be heard.

With a *sizzle*, the Underworld Spider was sliced in half by the four-colored flying sword as easily as tofu, blood gushing onto the ground.

Liu Ye frowned. The fourth-tier mutated Underworld Spider was more resilient than he had anticipated.

He raised his right hand, and countless four-colored sword lights suddenly materialized in the void, thousands upon thousands of them, hanging densely in the sky like myriad stars.

He slammed his right hand down, and the dense four-colored sword lights descended like a meteor shower, striking the Underworld Spiders below.

*Boom!* A deafening roar echoed as tens of thousands of Underworld Spiders were pulverized by the dense four-colored sword lights.

The four-colored flying sword unleashed a vast expanse of silver electric arcs, heading directly for the fourth-tier Underworld Spider.

With a few dull *thwacks*, the fourth-tier Underworld Spider was sliced into two halves by the four-colored sword light as easily as if it were made of paper.

He formed a sword incantation, and the four-colored flying sword flew back to him. He commanded, "All of you, follow me to assist Daoist Ye. A fifth-tier Underworld Spider has appeared, and this is serious trouble. If that creature escapes, the Underworld Spiders will plague not just the Northern Frontier, but the entire Dongli Realm."

No wonder the number of mutated Underworld Spiders had been increasing. It was likely due to the appearance of a fifth-tier Underworld Spider, as mutated Underworld Spiders were its offspring. If the fifth-tier Underworld Spider wasn't eliminated, mutated spiders would continuously appear. In that case, the fifth-tier Underworld Spider would become the next Zhou Sihong, bringing immense trouble wherever it went.

Liu Ye transformed into a four-colored sword light and streaked through the air, vanishing into the sky in an instant. Wang Qingshan and the others promptly followed.

Before long, they arrived at their destination.

Millions of Underworld Spiders were besieging thousands of cultivators, with a significant portion of them being mutated variants. A beautiful young woman in a golden dress was battling Ye Yan. She had golden spiritual patterns on her arms and a third eye on her forehead. From her mouth, she spewed a vast amount of golden spider silk, which, in its density, pierced through dozens of mountain peaks, forming a gigantic spider web.

Judging by the golden-dressed young woman's aura, she had clearly reached the Spirit Transformation stage.

Besides the golden-dressed young woman, there were as many as fifty fourth-tier Underworld Spiders, most of which were mutated. A few of these spiders had more than half of their bodies transformed into gold.