The demon spider said indifferently, "It seems your medicine didn't cure the sickness in your brain."
The smile on Yinhe's face froze. "Bai Zhi, you're still so stubborn even at death's door."
As he spoke, Yinhe suddenly raised both hands.
Boom, boom, boom!
Dozens of rock pillars burst out from the ground beneath the demon spider, shooting skyward with ferocious force.
But the demon spider's feet only flashed with bluish-purple lightning. Over a dozen lightning spears shot outward in every direction, and the rock pillars were instantly pulverized.
Crack! The sound of tearing air and explosive force rang out long.
One of the lightning spears, its might undiminished, its energy even surging, carried a dazzling bluish-purple radiance as it shot toward Yinhe.
"Bai Zhi, have you lost your mind?! Your lightning is useless against me!"
Yinhe's lips curled into a confident, vicious grin. The invisible film on his body abruptly solidified several degrees.
Almost simultaneously, the Ice Soul Cold Jiao's thick tail swept again, and the over ten-meter-tall ice storm howled once more toward the demon spider!
"Darkest -- at this very moment."
In that instant, it was as if a chant crossing ancient eons, a voice transmitted from the edges of deep space billions of years ago, resonated in every living being's ears, releasing a dark eternity upon the world.
The very next moment, profound meaning radiated from the demon spider's body. Though standing in broad daylight, it was as if it had just awakened from dark hell. Bluish-purple lightning light danced and drifted around its body like silk ribbons.
A brand-new "Lightning Net Barrier," thick with lightning light, instantly unfurled. Upon the barrier, ink-black halos existed, reflecting and mingling with the bluish-purple electric arcs.
The ice storm suddenly swept in, but the lightning spear, its light massively intensified, also crossed a hundred meters in an instant and blasted onto Yinhe's body.
But at this moment, Yinhe's face no longer held the confidence of being in control. It had been replaced by panic and terror.
Boom!
On the spider's side, the storm, like a myriad of ice blades, was intercepted by the lightning net, as if forcibly cleaved apart by a sharp axe, splitting into two chaotic currents surging left and right.
Crack!
On Yinhe's end, the lightning light was at once tragically beautiful and ferociously savage, ruthlessly piercing through his waist and abdomen, with arcs continuously flickering, clawing and fanging.
A sweet, coppery taste surged up Yinhe's throat. Blood flowed uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth. His expression was pained, his gaze stupefied.
He "saw" -- an invisible thread connected him and the demon spider...
It was precisely this thread that had, just moments ago, silently controlled his mind, rendering him unable to use his lightning-insulating ability.
'Bewitching Thread'!
Bai Jie had considered that Yinhe's psychic power was powerful and that he would easily detect the existence of the 'Bewitching Thread.' So it had waited until Yinhe had fallen into a state of fury and arrogance before activating this skill, catching him completely off guard.
"Bai... Zhi..."
He let out a beast-like low growl. Unwillingness and fury filled his heart. His psychic power transformed into a long blade and fiercely severed that invisible thread.
Then, the lightning still gnawing at his waist and abdomen was gradually extracted by his psychic power bit by bit, until nothing remained but a charred, blackened hole the size of a washbasin...
No, not just flesh and blood -- within the hole there were also metal-mechanical structures. Crimson blood and sparks from damaged components poured out together, relentlessly.
If an ordinary person had sustained such a heavy wound, they would have died long ago.
At this moment, one could see the miraculous nature of Yinhe's high Vitality value and this mechanically-modified body. He actually straightened up and stood.
"Bai Zhi!!!"
Yinhe's face twisted as he bellowed, losing all composure. Ever since becoming an A-rank Secret Keeper, he had never suffered such a severe injury or endured such humiliation.
His psychic power instantly swelled, then erupted outward, all of it concentrated on the uncanny spider silhouette within the lightning net.
Yet something he could never have anticipated happened again!
His psychic power could not actually penetrate the rock layers within the "Lightning Net Barrier"!
In this way, Yinhe could not force the demon spider to dispel the lightning curtain.
"Impossible!" His eyes widened, refusing to believe it.
He did not understand the powerful Authority of the demon spider's skill 'Darkest Hour.'
Rumble, rumble...
Suddenly, in the sky above, the clouds churned and rapidly darkened. Energy converged. The roar of furious thunder came through.
Long Bingheng, Yinhe, Gui Yu, and the other humans all felt it in their hearts and gazed skyward. Faintly visible among the dark clouds was bluish-purple lightning fluid swimming and rolling, like dragons and serpents hidden behind the clouds, occasionally revealing a single scale.
"That is..."
Long Bingheng's expression abruptly changed. She shouted loudly toward the Ice Soul Cold Jiao, "Bad -- come back, quickly."
Yinhe too was horrified, every hair on his body standing on end.
The Ice Soul Cold Jiao's body stiffened, as immobile as a sculpture, because it could feel itself firmly locked by a terrifying aura. Under this overwhelming might, it was actually too afraid to move!
Long Bingheng's warning was ultimately too late.
Boom!
Like a great temple bell ringing across heaven and earth, a bluish-purple lightning pillar several times thicker than a water vat suddenly burst through the cloud layer, descending like a giant dragon visiting the mortal world, crashing down!
The Thunder God descended to the world, the Heavenly Tribulation shook with fury. Heaven and earth were torn asunder. Destructive energy was entirely slammed onto the Ice Soul Cold Jiao's body.
In that instant, ice and snow were annihilated. The 'Winter Frozen Earth' domain was shattered into bits!
That was precisely the fourth transformation derived from the demon spider's Talent 'Thunder and Lightning Control,' following 'Lightning Spear,' 'Thunderous Wrath,' and 'Lightning Net Barrier' -- 'Heavenly Lightning Beckoning: Qilin'!
And it had been augmented by 'Darkest Hour.'
"Damnation!"
Although Yinhe had long since applied an "insulated" state to the Ice Soul Cold Jiao, he simply could not withstand the sheer terrifying power of this sky-descending, furious lightning, which directly pierced through his "insulating film."
Crackle! Hiss, crack!
"Moo!"
Furious lightning and fire instantly spread across the Ice Soul Cold Jiao's entire body. It struggled desperately, issuing sorrowful, piercing cries, yet it could not stop its Vitality from rapidly draining away...
"Stop!"
Long Bingheng's almond eyes turned bloodshot. She could only watch helplessly as her Gu creature suffered, not daring to approach a single step.
"Break for me!"
Veins bulging on his face, Yinhe abruptly let out a long howl. His aura surged. His deep, thick psychic power transformed into countless tendrils, ceaselessly purging the particle charges from the Ice Soul Cold Jiao.
The Ice Soul Cold Jiao was of critical importance in this battle; naturally, he could not stand by and watch it fall to the demon spider's hands.
Long Bingheng also formed hand seals. A snowflake magic array manifested beneath the Ice Soul Cold Jiao.
But how could Bai Jie possibly pass up this hard-won opportunity?
From the very start of the battle, it and the Secret Keeper side had been probing each other.
Having largely confirmed the abilities of the Ice Soul Cold Jiao and Yinhe, and seeing no more hidden cards, it had finally decided to heavily wound Yinhe with the 'Bewitching Thread' and deal a thunderous finishing blow to end the Cold Jiao's life.
It flashed directly to the Ice Soul Cold Jiao's neck. Its two massive fangs abruptly lengthened and bit down fiercely!
Skill: Devouring Bite, activated.
"Bai Zhi!"
"Wretched beast!"
Ignoring those two furious shouts and the agonized struggles of the Cold Jiao beneath it, searing-hot blood essence and wondrous spirit essence flooded into Bai Jie's body together.