Chapter 160: Execution!

…

However, this creature was hardly made of clay.

Stimulated by the excruciating pain, the tiny sliver of rationality it possessed was completely overrun by blinding rage.

The Bone Spider shrieked loudly, its entire body trembling violently.

In the next instant, it actually molested its shell!

Its size shrank by a tiny fraction, yet its injuries were fully healed, and it instantly broke free from Cao Chengyu’s entangling Venom-Dissolving Mist.

Just as Cao Chengyu intended to press the attack further,

The Bone Spider abruptly flung open its gruesome mandibles, or rather, its chelicerae, unleashing a surging cloud of pale pink mist that collided directly with him.

Instantly, he felt a wave of intense heat rush upward, his entire body breaking out in a feverish, burning dryness.

"What the hell? Even spiders use aphrodisiacs?"

Cao Chengyu’s venom-dissolving divine ability—the intangible toxic mist he projected—was essentially an extension of his own physical body; infusing himself with the Oblivion Toxin was a hazardous undertaking to begin with.

He only dared to pull this off by relying on his formidable Myriad-Poison-Immune Constitution.

As for lust-inducing toxins, colloquially speaking, it was essentially a toxic version of Viagra.

While Cao Chengyu could immunize himself against the toxicity, he could not immunize himself against the aphrodisiac effect.

After all, such licentious drugs fundamentally functioned by inducing an excited mental state and heightening bodily sensitivity. The seductive component was entirely non-toxic; in fact, it stimulated blood circulation, removed blood stasis, and drained excessive vital energy.

It was utterly absurd.

Cao Chengyu had never imagined that one day he would be drugged with an aphrodisiac by a spider, nor had he ever considered whether his Myriad-Poison-Immune Constitution could neutralize it.

Caught off guard, his venom-dissolving state was instantly shattered by the violent surge of his vital blood and Qi.

Growing somewhat exasperated and embarrassed, he raised his right hand. The Void-Shattering Heavy Hammer materialized instantly, and he circulated the Divine Elephant Prison-Suppressing Skill.

A resonant elephant trumpeting echoed through the air.

Behind him emerged a towering divine elephant phantom standing a hundred meters tall, its movements perfectly synchronized with Cao Chengyu.

With its trunk and legs raised high, alongside the Void-Shattering Heavy Hammer swung down by Cao Chengyu, the phantom stomped down heavily.

This was the embryonic capability of the Law Manifestation of Heaven and Earth, an exclusive privilege for body-refining cultivators.

Even so, Cao Chengyu was able to harness a fraction of this immense power in advance.

As for the Bone Spider, it belonged to the ferocious beast category; its physical body was equivalent to a Dharma Manifestation, and its baseline strength was overwhelmingly formidable.

Raising two of its spider legs high, it fiercely stabbed upward to meet the Dharma Manifestation behind Cao Chengyu.

Clang—!

Resembling the clash of divine metals, the spider legs and the elephant leg locked in a stalemate, which in turn caused the Void-Shattering Heavy Hammer in Cao Chengyu's grip to remain suspended in mid-air.

For a moment, the scene was both profound and utterly awkward.

***

However, Cao Chengyu was different. The Dharma Manifestation was merely one of his various abilities, whereas for the Bone Spider, it was the sum total of its might.

"Go to hell!!"

With an angry roar, silver flames surged out from beneath Cao Chengyu’s lower abdomen, instantly condensing into five silver true dragons.

This was his first time attempting to superimpose the Five Elements Dragon-Control Technique with the dual attributes of Yin and Yang. Its destructive might was far more ferocious than the pure Five Elements alone. Covering a total of seven attributes, he could currently only achieve a pairwise fusion.

Each element required the incorporation of the Yin-Yang attributes; while merging the Five Elements purely was feasible, adding Yin and Yang still lacked a suitable medium to bear the strain.

He wasn't entirely sure what specific catalyst was missing.

Yet he could be certain that this degree of Yin-Yang Five-Element Divine Dragons represented his most formidable offensive means at present.

Simultaneously, one of the five silver dragons soared upward, unleashing a torrential breath of black, gold, and red tri-colored flames upon the Bone Spider, bathing it in a blazing flood of fire.

The spider finally let out a shriek of agony.

The other four dragons each performed their respective duties: the Yin-Yang Wood Dragon absorbed the Bone Spider’s vital life essence, drawing out massive waves of milky-white energy into its maw to expand its own size and further increase its suction pull; the Yin-Yang Water Dragon condensed the ambient moisture into ice, thoroughly freezing the spider’s remaining six legs; the Yin-Yang Earth Dragon was even more direct, sinking its jaws deep into the Bone Spider’s rear as petrification began to spread outward from the wound; and finally, the Yin-Yang Gold Dragon spat out sword qi, each breath carving deep, razor-sharp lacerations across its carapace.

Operating in perfect coordination, the five dragons suppressed the creature relentlessly.

After a prolonged stalemate, the Bone Spider could no longer endure it.

Its pink eyes suddenly flared with a dazzling brilliance.

The familiar, ear-splitting shriek rang out once more.

Soul attack!

Cao Chengyu’s eyes gleamed; he had been guarding against this exact trick all along.

A thin, crimson membrane instantly coated the surface of his skin—this was the protective utility provided by the Human-Soul Undying Chapter.

When the sonic wave, which rippled visibly through the air, crashed against him, the crimson membrane vibrated violently and a portion of it dissipated, yet it successfully held the line.

Cao Chengyu smiled faintly.

Though the five silver dragons suffered a momentary lapse due to the impact, their firepower quickly intensified.

"Screee!"

Hearing this, the Bone Spider no longer dared to contest raw physical strength with the divine elephant. It retracted its two strongest limbs, shook its body fiercely, and prepared to trigger its molting technique once more to heal its injuries.

Yet it had forgotten about the Void-Shattering Heavy Hammer, which Cao Chengyu had been holding back, descending alongside the divine elephant's leg.

Its spellcasting was violently interrupted.

With a deafening crash, the Bone Spider was driven straight down into the bluestone pavement, plunging to a depth of over twenty meters.

Cao Chengyu shifted his stance, swinging the Void-Shattering Heavy Hammer down in a furious, unrelenting barrage. The divine elephant phantom behind him moved with manic intensity, its massive elephantine legs stamping the ground into a blur of afterimages.

Beating a drowning dog was something he excelled at; having secured the upper hand, he naturally had to press the attack relentlessly, knowing that giving it a chance to recover would spell disaster.

By now, Cao Chengyu had figured it out.

Such Bone Spiders were recorded within the *Hundred Interpretations of Immortal Cultivation*:

"Resembling white bones in appearance and spiders in form, with pink pupils and illusionary arts, possessing the ability to manipulate white bones and spiritual souls, excelling in agility while lacking in physical strength, their bloodline traces back to a ferocious beast known as the Heavenly Demonic Spider Emperor."

In other words, raw physical might was not the forte of this Bone Bewitching Spider. Trying to match strength with Cao Chengyu was a gravely disadvantageous matchup for it.

Yet given its late-stage Blood-Transformation cultivation base, how could it possibly fear a mere minor Purple Mansion cultivator?

This was simply an unmerited disaster brought about by conventional wisdom.

Casually putting away the warped Void-Shattering Heavy Hammer, Cao Chengyu commanded the five dragons to plunge directly into the crater he had hammered out.

Earth-shaking explosions reverberated throughout the entire cavern.

A seven-colored pillar of fire shot straight up into the air.

The pungent odor of scorched protein wafted outward from the depths. Sensing the environment with his spiritual consciousness and confirming that the creature was thoroughly dead, Cao Chengyu finally let out a breath of relief.

Ferocious beasts did not cultivate their souls; even if they possessed soul-based abilities, those traits stemmed from their bloodline and consumed bloodline energy, making them rather peculiar entities.

Indeed, no demonic soul had manifested upon its death.

Following this entire sequence of combat, Cao Chengyu had expended seventy percent of his magic power, leaving him with roughly thirty percent, while his physical stamina was also severely depleted.

He casually summoned the Jade-Pure White Lotus Platform to absorb spiritual energy and restore himself, swallowing a few medicinal pills as well.

After sitting quietly for a brief moment, his battle prowess was essentially restored.

His agitated blood had also calmed down, and the towering stance of his lower region finally subsided into a limp state.

The issue was finally resolved.

Stowing the corpse of the Bone Bewitching Spider into his spatial snake-skin belt—a carcass that would greatly benefit his body-refining path, allowing him to consume it gradually and maintain a rapid growth trajectory whenever his physical cultivation broke through—he finally proceeded further into the palace.

Having disposed of the large spider, unless he encountered obstructions like protective barriers or formation arrays, the probability of facing further mortal danger was quite low.

Demonic beasts placed an immense emphasis on territorial boundaries; for ferocious beasts in particular, the size of their domain dictated their foraging range. Even if there were other demonic beasts in the vicinity, their cultivation levels could not possibly be very high.

As Cao Chengyu walked leisurely forward, a sudden thought struck him.

"The Vampire Werewolf?"

He quickened his pace immediately, almost having forgotten about that matter.