After the flash of bloodlight, all the luminous columns vanished instantly, sinking into the sand. Immediately thereafter, the ground beneath began to tremble, fissures spreading out and growing wider and wider. Seeing this, Black Scale chuckled, raised one hand in the air, and with a flick of his wrist, a purple-gold staff materialized in his grasp. He then shook it vigorously. Suddenly, a thunderclap roared overhead—under a radiant glow, a colossal staff phantom descended from the sky, striking the ground with the force of a heavenly weapon. A sound of earth-shattering magnitude followed, and the entire land cracked open. Over a hundred miles away, vast stretches of desert sank into the ground, forming deep hollows amid the booming rumble. Black Scale laughed heartily, then waved the purple-gold staff again, preparing to unleash even greater power with another series of powerful impacts. Yet at that very moment, as the booming sound beneath the sunken sand gradually softened, countless beams of various colors burst forth suddenly. Then, with a single surge, the entire sandy plain gave way, and a stone city emerged from the midst, rising steadily into the sky. At the front of the stone city, on a towering stone wall, the mother of the Shouluo Spider Clan, the cloaked elder, and hundreds of their subordinates watched with visibly displeased expressions the group aboard the flying vessel led by Han Li. "Hehe, we certainly won't be offended. But this time, we've come specifically for the Shriek Spider clan. If your clan is willing to offer your own crystal cores willingly, then naturally, we can turn our conflicts into harmony." Han Li smiled and said nothing, while the black-scaled one sneered and spoke first. "What? You want our clan's crystal cores? Then it seems you've also come after our clan's temporal power." The mother of the Shriek Spider clan's face fell, and she spoke without a trace of smile. "Not exactly, but close enough. How about it, noble lady—willing to surrender your crystal cores?" Xue Ran said calmly. "Surrender our crystal cores? You're dreaming! Since you've dared to say this in front of me, it means you've decided to make it a matter of life and death with our clan. Then go ahead and fight!" The woman spoke sharply, then turned sharply and waved her hand toward the rear. The members of the clan and subordinates behind him suddenly flashed with light, and then vanished in large numbers—only about fifteen remained. Among these fifteen, all radiated the spiritual pressure of Consolidation Stage cultivators, with four of the male and female figures surpassing the others in strength, nearly approaching the Grand Perfection Stage. These were precisely the four mature Shura Spiders. Mo Jianli's expression subtly changed. Han Li also narrowed his eyes slightly. When he last visited, there had only been three mature Shura Spiders in the clan's nest. Upon hearing the Shura Spider mother's firm reply, Xue Ran and He Lin exchanged glances and immediately turned stern, launching their attacks without hesitation. Xue Ran suddenly flicked her finger, pressing it into the air before a massive incense burner. A deep, resonant boom echoed, and the scent of blood surged from within the furnace. The azure light above began to flash more and more rapidly. These azure lights spun around, gradually transforming into large, ghost-faced bees, each about the size of a fist. These colossal bees not only bore ghostly, faceted patterns on their heads, but their bodies themselves were hazy and indistinct, as though not solid at all. Xue Ran shook her blood-stained sleeve toward the opposite side, murmuring a low command. A resonant hum surged forth, and instantly, tens of thousands of ghost-headed bees coalesced into a soft, pale blue swarm, rushing straight toward the opposing side. Xue Ran herself stepped forward with a decisive stride, then materialized in the space between the flying vessel and the stone city, trailed by eight glowing streaks of blood. Within those streaks, the faces of eight infants briefly revealed an eerie, smiling expression, and as each opened their mouths, eight beams of blood-colored light shot directly toward the mother of the Shura Spiders. The mother of the Shura Spiders had originally intended to speak a few more words to the elder beside her, but upon witnessing this unrelenting challenge, her anger flared instantly. With a flash of silver light across her body, she too materialized in the void, and with a single outstretched hand, a radiant golden glow blossomed before her. After the golden light spun swiftly, it suddenly intercepted all eight blood columns in a single motion, blocking them with a series of soft "puff" sounds. Only then did the light recede, revealing its true form—a massive golden shield two zhang high, which firmly protected the woman behind it. Upon seeing the two combatants engage, both Han Li and his companions, as well as the elderly man of the Yi surname, all focused intently on the scene, refraining from directly intervening in the fight. At that moment, the group of ghost-faced bees surged like the wind toward the woman, transforming into a delicate shade of green cloud that descended and enveloped her. The mother of the Shura spider clan emitted a cold sigh, then swept her long sleeve upward. A beam of white light, stretching over fifteen zhang, sliced through the air with a sharp crack. In a single flicker, it severed the green bee cloud right down the middle, and then spiraled upward, dancing like a streak of brilliant light. Immediately, a series of sharp "thuds" burst forth from the bee cloud, sounding like beans being struck. It was unclear what kind of treasure or divine power the white light possessed, but after circling the bee-cloud several times, all the ghost-faced bees suddenly trembled and burst open, transforming into scattered points of azure light that drifted anew through the void. Xue Ran, seeing this, did not react with surprise—instead, a cold smile played upon her lips. She immediately opened her mouth. Several clumps of blood-colored essence shot out and vanished in a flash, merging into the massive incense burner. The ghost wailing within the burner grew slightly clearer, and the incense candles began to shimmer with faint streaks of blood. An astonishing scene unfolded. The scattered points of azure light at a distance coalesced, and then the ghost-faced bees reappeared, intact and as before. Before the mother of the Shura Spider Clan could even settle her expression or summon the white light to crush them, the ghost-faced bees suddenly blurred and vanished simultaneously upon their very appearance. At that instant, strong gusts of wind surged up from the surrounding void, roaring loudly and intensifying in volume. A series of nearly transparent wind blades gradually emerged, faintly visible in the air, before suddenly rushing toward the woman with a series of sharp rushing sounds. Though these attacks appeared ordinary, upon entering the eyes of the Shura Spider mother, they caused her expression to tighten. With a lightning-fast motion, she pressed her hand against the golden shield before her, producing a resonant, bell-like sound. The massive golden shield blurred momentarily before solidifying into a shimmering golden veil, fully enclosing the woman. Immediately thereafter, the dense stream of wind blades struck the veil with the force of a gale. For an instant, the surface of the golden veil rippled with vibrant light, yet remained steadfast, deflecting all the blades and holding them at bay. Moreover, after subtly channeling her secret technique to strengthen the shield, the Shura Spider mother gently brushed her hand over her hair, instantly plucking a small strand, then emitted a cold laugh before blowing a soft stream of air directly into the woman’s face. A tremendous roar echoed as, at the very instant the dark, lustrous hair vanished from the woman's hands, the sky dimmed. A dozen black giant serpents, each stretching over a hundred zhang in length, burst through the air and surged directly toward Xue Ran, the foreign cultivator of great attainment. Xue Ran's expression shifted slightly, swiftly raising a hand and forming a seal. At that moment, the eight infants glowing with blood hues beside her suddenly emitted low, unnatural cries. Strange patterns on their bodies flashed brightly, transforming into eight fierce, monstrous ghostly beings each crowned with a single horn, who immediately confronted the dozen black serpents. As these eight ghostly beings moved, their bodies shimmered with blood-colored flames, and their ten fingers transformed into sharp blades. When they grasped the black serpents, vast patches of scales and flesh tumbled off instantly. These colossal pythons, relying on their immense bodies and terrifying strength, swept or spiraled through the air, creating a windstorm in their wake. Their jagged fangs plunged into the evil spirits with relentless bites, occasionally spewing out dense, strangely toxic green vapors. The sky trembled, with the roar and growl of the spirits interweaving, while the swirling green mist and blazing blood flames either clashed in duels or darted swiftly, chasing one another across the heavens. Nevertheless, on the battlefield, the eight evil spirits were clearly being pressed down by the black, towering pythons. Blood-Ran's face grew pale. With one hand, he drew it inward toward his sleeve, preparing to summon another rare artifact. At that moment, however, the mother of the Shura Spiders on the opposite side flashed a fierce gaze, then suddenly struck the crown of her head with a single palm. A surge of green light erupted, arcing through the air, and upon catching the wind, instantly expanded into a colossal spider, towering like a small mountain. This spider was not only uniformly emerald green, but covered in stiff, needle-like hairs that seemed forged from steel. As soon as its six legs trembled slightly, it vanished in a soft "pffft" sound right where it stood. Xue Ran was startled, just about to react, when the woman who had summoned the giant spider opened her mouth. A series of sharp "shush-shush" sounds erupted, and countless green filaments burst through the air—faintly blurred, they instantly materialized directly before her. At the same moment, a ripple of energy surged above Xue Ran's head, and two long, bristly, hook-shaped claws, like those of a crane's talons, emerged from the void and plunged swiftly toward his cranial center. Xue Ran was taken aback; without hesitation, he reached swiftly into his sleeve with one hand and drew forth a short, pale-yellow whip. Without a word, he struck it upward with full force. At once, a gust of wind and thunder roared, and a vivid, pale-yellow mountain peak, over a hundred zhang in height, materialized and instantly blocked the path of the two claws. After two crisp snaps, the yellow glow on the smaller mountain's phantom surface flickered and was easily rebounded by the larger mountain's phantom form. The green filaments, encountering no resistance, merely trembled slightly before bursting with luminous intensity and rushing directly toward the blood-ran's protective spiritual aura. At that very moment, a flash of purple-gold light appeared before blood-ran, and a thick staff figure materialized without any prior sign, only to gently sway and instantly transform into a broad sheet of purple-gold light, fully blocking the green filaments outside. Simultaneously, a ripple of movement surged beside blood-ran, and Black-Scaled, wielding a long purple-gold staff, stepped forward with a hint of fierce determination.