All of the pillars of crimson light plunged into the ground down below in a flash, and the earth immediately began to tremor before widening rifts began to appear on its surface.

At the same time, Hei Lin made a grabbing motion to summon a purplish-golden staff, which he swung downward, unleashing a giant staff projection around 10,000 feet in length that crashed down onto the ground like a divine weapon.

An earth-shattering boom rang out, and the entire ground was completely shattered, creating a massive crater in the desert.

Hei Lin chortled as he raised his staff again, preparing to unleash even more attacks, but right at this moment, countless pillars of light of different colors erupted out of the crater in the sand.

Immediately thereafter, the desert bulged, and a stone city that was enshrouded within several layers of light barriers slowly emerged.

Standing atop the wall directly in front of the stone city were the green-robed woman, black-robed man, and several hundred subordinates, all of whom were appraising Han Li's group with grim expressions.

The green-robed woman was extremely infuriated, but she forcibly repressed her temper as she asked, "So it really is you. May I ask how our Asura Spider Race has offended you?"

Han Li's incredible spiritual sense had left her with a very deep impression, and she didn't want to have to battle him if it were avoidable, even though it was clear that Han Li's group wasn't here for a diplomatic meeting.

Of course, the green-robed woman was also trying to stall for time so more of their reinforcements could return.

"Hehe, we haven't ever crossed paths before, so you naturally haven't offended me in any way, but we came into this realm specifically for your Asura Spider Race. If you're willing to hand over the cores of your brethren, then we could end this peacefully," Hei Lin replied with a sinister smile in Han Li's stead.

The green-robed woman's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. "You want the cores of our brethren? In that case, you must be trying to harness our powers of time."

"Not exactly, but that's close enough. So? Are you willing to hand over the cores?" Xue Ran asked.

"Keep dreaming! Seeing as you've made your intentions clear, there's no need for any further discussion."

The woman waved a hand as she spoke, and most of the people behind her abruptly vanished amid a flash of light, leaving only less than 20 people still standing atop the city wall, most of whom were giving off Body Integration Stage auras, while four of them were close to the Grand Ascension Stage.

Those four were all mature Asura Spiders, and Mo Jianli's expression immediately changed slightly upon seeing this.

Han Li's eyes also narrowed ever so slightly.

Back when he had last visited the stone city, there had been only three mature Asura Spiders.

Xue Ran and Hei Lin exchanged a glance upon seeing this, and both of their expressions darkened as they sprang into action in unison.

Xue Ran flicked a finger toward the giant incense burner before him, and the rank odor emanating from the burner became drastically more pronounced, while a series of specks of azure light appeared above it.

These specks of azure light then transformed into fist-sized hornets with ghostly faces.

Not only were the heads of these giant hornets all riddled with ghostly patterns, their bodies were blurry and indistinct, as if they didn't possess substantial bodies.

"Go!" Xue Ran commanded as he swept a sleeve through the air, and the tens of thousands of ghost-faced hornets flew directly forward as an azure swarm.

Meanwhile, Xue Ran took a stride forward, appearing between the flying boat and the stone city with the eight balls of crimson light around him.

Within the balls of crimson light, the eight infants opened their mouths again in unison, blasting eight pillars of crimson light directly toward the green-robed woman.

The woman was just about to say something to the black-robed man beside her, but she was infuriated by this blatant act of provocation, and she also emerged before Xue Ran amid a flash of silver light, then swept a hand through the air to release a ball of golden light.

The ball of golden light managed to withstand all eight pillars of crimson light, and only then was it revealed to be a giant golden shield that was over 20 feet tall.

As all of this was taking place, Han Li and the black-robed man were appraising each other from afar, displaying no intention to intervene.

At this moment, the swarm of ghost-faced wasps also reached the green-robed woman before descending toward her.

The green-robed woman harrumphed coldly as she swept a sleeve upward, releasing a streak of white light over 100 feet in length that sliced the azure swarm in half down the middle.

A string of cracks and pops rang out from within the hornet swarm, and the streak of white light made several laps around the entire swarm, upon which all of the hornets exploded into specks of azure light again.

However, not only was Xue Ran not alarmed by this, a sinister smile appeared on his face as he opened his mouth to expel several mouthfuls of blood essence, all of which vanished into the giant incense burner in a flash.

The ghostly wails ringing out from within the burner instantly became more pronounced, and wisps of crimson light began to flash within the incense flame.

Immediately thereafter, all of the specks of azure light in the distance transformed into azure hornets again.

Before the green-robed woman had a chance to unleash her streak of white light again, all of the ghost-faced hornets suddenly vanished in unison.

In the next instant, howling winds swept through the nearby area, and a series of semi-transparent wind blades emerged before converging toward her.

These attacks appeared to be quite ordinary, but the green-robed woman's expression darkened slightly upon seeing this, and she immediately thrust a hand into the golden shield before her, creating a sound akin to that of a massive gong being struck.

The golden shield instantly transformed into a golden light barrier around her, and in the next instant, the storm of wind blades struck the light barrier in a frenzy.

The surface of the golden light barrier immediately began to ripple incessantly, but it was able to keep the destructive storm at bay.

The green-robed woman then plucked off a few strands of her own hair before blowing upon them, and the strands of hair instantly transformed into around a dozen giant black pythons that were over 1,000 feet in length, all of which pounced directly toward Xue Ran.

Xue Ran's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he immediately made a hand seal, upon which the infants in the eight balls of crimson light let loose inhuman roars before transforming into eight sinister devils with one horn on each of their heads.

The horned devils then flew toward the oncoming black pythons with crimson flames all over their bodies, while their fingers had transformed into sharp blades that were inflicting wounds upon the pythons with every swipe.

In contrast, the pythons possessed formidable strength, whipping their bodies through the air like devastating whips, or biting toward the horned devils with their sharp fangs while expelling clouds of extremely poisonous green mist.

Thus, a fierce battle ensued between the eight horned devils and the giant black pythons, but it was clear that the pythons held the upper hand.

Xue Ran's expression darkened slightly upon seeing this, and he was just about to summon another treasure when the green-robed woman laid a hand onto the top of her own head with a fierce expression.

A ball of green light immediately shot out of her head, transforming into a mountainous spider projection.

The spider was entirely green in color with tufts of hard fur all over its body that resembled steel needles.

In the next instant, the spider abruptly vanished on the spot, and Xue Ran was naturally very alarmed to see this.

However, before he had a chance to do anything, the green-robed woman opened her mouth to release countless green threads, which instantly appeared near Xue Ran as if by instantaneous teleportation.

At the same time, spatial fluctuations erupted above Xue Ran, and a pair of sharp spider claws that resembled lethal hooks emerged before plunging down toward his head like lightning.

Xue Ran's heart jolted upon seeing this, and he hurriedly reached into his own sleeve before pulling out a short yellow whip, which he immediately swept upward.

A yellow mountain projection that was over 1,000 feet tall appeared in a flash to oppose the pair of sharp claws, and sure enough, the two claws were repelled by the mountain projection with ease.

However, the green threads continued onward, preparing to pierce into Xue Ran's protective spiritual light.

Right at this moment, purplish-golden light flashed in front of Xue Ran, and a massive staff projection appeared without any warning before transforming into a purplish-golden light barrier to keep the green threads at bay.

Immediately thereafter, the staff-wielding Hei Lin emerged beside Xue Ran amid a burst of spatial fluctuations.