Chapter 1521: Fierce Insects Punished

A muffled thud echoed as a slender black spider silk struck the cyan shield, leaving a faint mark on its surface. The next moment, a blob of black liquid flew in and struck the shield, instantly emitting a puff of green smoke as a large hole was corroded through its surface.

A completely black Netherworld Spider, its fangs golden against its black body, charged directly at Wang Qingshan. Judging by its aura, it was a top-tier fourth-grade Netherworld Spider. A completely black spider web descended from the sky, instantly enveloping Wang Qingshan.

Wang Qingshan unleashed the Azure Lotus Karmic Fire, burning through the spider web. The Netherworld Spider had already lunged in front of him, its scythe-like claws aiming directly at Wang Qingshan's crown. A dazzling cyan light illuminated Wang Qingshan's chest, and a pale cyan light screen appeared out of thin air, shielding his entire body. He then summoned nine Azure Glazed Swords, which successively struck the Netherworld Spider, emitting "clinking" sounds of metal colliding. The spider's body remained unharmed. When its scythe-like claws struck the cyan light screen, it tore to shreds as if it were made of paper.

He reacted quickly, retreating backward. However, before he could fly far, the Netherworld Spider spewed dense black spider silks, aiming for him. A series of muffled thuds followed, and Wang Qingshan grunted as two black spider silks pierced his left shoulder. He opened his mouth to unleash the Azure Lotus Karmic Fire, burning through the silks, though his face had grown slightly pale.

He formed a sword seal, and the nine Azure Glazed Swords simultaneously emitted clear and resonant hums, transforming into nine enormous cyan lotus flowers that lunged at the black Netherworld Spider.

"Clang! Clang!"

A dull thud of colliding metal followed, yet the black Netherworld Spider remained completely unharmed. A golden humanoid puppet beast flew over, wielding a gleaming horse-chopping saber, which it slashed at the Netherworld Spider.

The Netherworld Spider spewed dense black spider silks, entangling the humanoid puppet beast. Muffled thuds echoed as the humanoid puppet beast became completely ensnared by the dense black spider silks, unable to move.

At this moment, the nine cyan lotus flowers also completely surrounded the Netherworld Spider, with sword energy splattering everywhere. The nine cyan lotus flowers spun rapidly, and countless cyan petals flew out, transforming into cyan flying swords. They struck the Netherworld Spider, sending sparks flying and producing continuous sounds of metal colliding.

Wang Qingshan did not expect the sword formation to slay the top-tier fourth-grade Netherworld Spider; he only needed it to be trapped for a moment. He flipped his hand and took out a Boundary Sealing Talisman, throwing it towards the black vortex. A dazzling spiritual light flared up, engulfing the black vortex. A moment later, the light dissipated, and the black vortex also vanished.

Boom! After a loud bang, the nine cyan lotus flowers scattered, transforming back into nine Azure Glazed Swords, their spiritual light now dim. Dense black spider silks then charged directly at Wang Qingshan. Wang Qingshan tried to dodge, but a shrill, piercing shriek rang out, making his head feel like it was splitting. His reaction was half a beat too slow.

Just then, a ball of golden flame descended from the sky, striking the black spider silks and turning them all to ash. A gigantic golden palm descended from the sky, slapping the black Netherworld Spider, which rapidly plummeted towards the ground. A house-sized cyan lightning ball and a house-sized golden flame struck the black Netherworld Spider. Boom! The cyan lightning and golden flames engulfed the black Netherworld Spider, from which a scream of agony echoed.

The attacks from the Nine Underworld Sect's and Three Flames Palace's prized treasures were naturally no small matter.

Wang Qingshan formed a sword seal, and the nine Azure Glazed Swords merged into one, forming a sky-piercing giant sword. Wang Qingshan then transformed into a streak of cyan light and merged into the colossal blade.

"Body and Sword as One."

The sky-piercing giant sword transformed into a cyan long rainbow and struck the black Netherworld Spider.

"Clang!"

With a muffled thud, the sky-piercing giant sword sliced the black Netherworld Spider in two, and a shower of blood rained down. A cyan light flashed, and the sky-piercing giant sword transformed back into Wang Qingshan and the nine Azure Glazed Swords. The swords' spiritual light was dim, clearly indicating damage to their spirituality; they would need to be stored in his Dantian and nourished by nascent soul fire for some time.

Boom! With an earth-shattering roar, Grandmaster Qingxu split a peak in half, sending dust flying. A completely golden Netherworld Spider then burst out from the rubble, bearing a noticeable slash mark on its body. The defensive power between mutated and non-mutated Netherworld Spiders varied greatly. If a top-tier fourth-grade Netherworld Spider was this difficult to handle, a fifth-grade one would be even more formidable.

"Let's all join forces to eliminate this demon," Wang Qingshan shouted. "The spatial node has been sealed, so you can fight without worries." Wang Qingshan grunted, his face turning pale, as he realized the black spider silk contained potent venom, and he had been poisoned.

"Fellow Daoist Wang," Song Xiruo said, tossing a cyan porcelain bottle to him, "this is our Three Flames Palace's unique secret medicine, the Three Flames True Spirit Pill. Quickly take it to heal your injuries! Leave the rest to us." She then soared towards the top-tier fourth-grade Netherworld Spider.

Wang Qingshan took the cyan porcelain bottle, poured out a red pill, and swallowed it. The humanoid puppet beast flew back to guard him.

Outside the secret realm, Ye Yan and Liu Ye joined forces against the golden-robed maiden. Though she was impervious to water and fire and difficult to harm with magic treasures, she hadn't been in the fifth-grade for long. Facing the attacks of two Soul Transformation cultivators, she felt immense strain. The golden-robed maiden's body was covered in wounds, from which golden blood flowed. She knew very well that if she continued to delay, she would definitely not be able to escape.

She let out an extremely ear-piercing shriek. Over a dozen peaks instantly exploded, and dozens of Core Formation cultivators clutched their heads, their bodies going limp as they bled from their seven orifices and died. Liu Ye and Ye Yan felt dizzy and disoriented, experiencing such a phenomenon for the first time since they entered the Soul Transformation stage. Seizing this opportunity, the golden-robed maiden transformed into a golden rainbow and shot through the air, covering a hundred zhang in an instant.

Just then, a clear and resonant bird cry rang out. A golden crow, over ten zhang in size, appeared out of thin air above the golden-robed maiden. Its body was enveloped in golden flames, its wings enormous, and its eyes emerald green, emitting a monstrous wave of heat. This was a fourth-grade Azure-eyed Golden Crow, a descendant of the Golden Crow.

The Azure-eyed Golden Crow spewed a pale golden flame, striking the golden-robed maiden. The maiden instantly let out a painful shriek, then spewed a shimmering golden spider silk that instantly pierced through the Golden Crow's body. The Golden Crow, however, transformed into a ball of golden flame and vanished, revealing it was merely a Fire Escape technique.

A cyan spiritual light suddenly flared up, revealing a giant cyan pagoda over a hundred zhang tall. Its surface was carved with numerous beast patterns—flood dragons, phoenixes, ice apes, and others—exuding an overwhelming spiritual aura. This was the Myriad Beasts Pagoda, the foremost of the Five Prized Treasures of Myriad Beast Island, a Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure. Dragon roars, phoenix cries, tiger growls, and ape howls could be heard as the beast patterns on the Myriad Beasts Pagoda's surface seemed to come alive. The Myriad Beasts Pagoda spewed a hazy cyan mist, enveloping the golden-robed maiden and drawing her inside.

The Azure-eyed Golden Crow flew in from a distance, carrying Gongsun Yang and a burly old man in a cyan robe on its back. The old man in the cyan robe had a dignified face and a pair of tiger-like eyes that exuded natural authority without anger. There was no trace of spiritual power fluctuation on his body, as if he were an ordinary mortal. The Myriad Beasts Pagoda rapidly shrunk, flying back into the cyan-robed old man's sleeve and vanishing.

"Old Ghost Sun, you've finally arrived!" Ye Yan complained. "I thought you weren't coming!"

"I was in secluded cultivation earlier," the old man in the cyan robe said with a smile. "As soon as I received the news, I rushed over with my nephew Gongsun. Thankfully, we weren't late."

Sun Tianhu, a cultivator in the Mid-Soul Transformation stage, was the guardian deity of Myriad Beast Island.