Chapter 84 Brilliance How many split personalities must Zhong Jiuli have? Several of them…

Bai patted Huo Lan's back gently and said softly, "Please let go of me, okay?"

Huo Lan loosened her grip on Bai Ye's waist, her face inexplicably flushed. Before, Bai Ye didn't know her identity, so she could tease him without restraint; now, thinking back, she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

She lowered her gaze, her eyelashes glistening with tears, her eyes shimmering with a misty light, looking as if she was about to cry, a stark contrast to her previous flamboyant demeanor.

Bai's heart softened at the sight; she now roughly knew who Zhong Jiuli had learned her personality from.

She cleared her throat and said mysteriously, "Ahem~ I have a way to kill this giant spider, want to hear it?"

"What method?"

“A single attack won’t be able to break through the defense of the 12th-tier Spider King, so we need to cooperate…” Bai whispered to Huo Lan.

Huo Lan nodded thoughtfully, "We can give it a try."

"Let's go then."

The two of them, along with Jiao Jiao, quietly slipped to Ye Rugo's side.

She stood ten feet in front of the Spider Queen, her posture upright, holding a pipa, her slender fingers plucking the strings, appearing relaxed and carefree. Only her paler complexion proved that controlling the Spider Queen was not easy for her.

"This thing looks even uglier up close," Bai said, his gaze falling on the Spider Queen with a hint of disdain.

Ye Rugo said casually, "In ten more breaths, the Spider Queen will wake up."

"That's enough." Bai Ye spoke calmly, raising his right hand slightly. A nebula swirled in his palm, and countless golden points of light flowed into the nebula, condensing into a dazzling golden star.

Huo Lan formed hand seals, and her body radiated a bright, moon-like glow. Pure and vast Yin energy poured out, like swallows returning to their nests, and all of it disappeared into the golden star in Bai Ye's palm.

The two forces of yin and yang clashed fiercely within the star, intertwining, colliding, and merging, eventually breaking through the critical point.

The golden star collapsed, transforming into a hazy, inconspicuous ball of chaotic energy, which floated quietly in Bai Ye's palm. Primordial mist flowed across the surface of the ball, occasionally releasing a trace of destructive aura.

"Time's up!" Ye Rugo's fingertips suddenly stopped, and the pipa music came to an abrupt end.

As soon as the music stopped, the Spider King slowly raised its head and opened its compound eyes to look ahead.

"You've woken up just in time, please have some refreshments." Bai Ye said in a low voice, and the chaotic energy ball flew out silently.

It appears slow, but it is actually faster than the visual senses can perceive, and the space collapses wherever it goes.

A flicker of fear flashed in the Spider King's wide compound eyes. It retreated on all eight legs, trying to dodge, but the energy ball was several times faster than it could dodge.

The moment Bai threw the ball, he shot backward, followed closely by Huo Lan and Ye Rugo, who flashed out of the cave together.

The moment the three of them emerged from the cave, the chaotic energy sphere exploded silently. There was no earth-shattering roar, only a gray mist that seemed capable of devouring everything rapidly expanding.

The Spider Queen's shrill scream echoed throughout the entire rift valley.

The rift was ignited by the shrill whistle, and rustling crawling sounds rose from all directions, growing louder and denser than could be heard, making it difficult to discern just how many sand spiders were approaching them.

A moment later, the shrieking sounds in the cave gradually subsided, leaving only a deathly silence.

The three people and the tortoise huddled close to the rock wall of the narrow path, cautiously peering inside.

"He should be dead now, right?" Bai asked in a low voice.

Jiaojiao stood on her shoulder, imitating her, and stretched her neck to look inside. "I can only smell the scent of death. Yezai, the ball you made is so scary."

“There’s no movement inside. Even if they’re not dead, they should be out of fighting power,” Ye Rugo judged.

Huo Lan looked back at the dark passage behind her. "More and more sand spiders are gathering. With the Spider King gone, they will surely swarm here to seize the Spider King's body."

"The passage here is narrow, allowing only two or three sand spiders to enter at a time, which makes it easier for us to defend. We might as well take advantage of this location to quickly recover our spiritual energy and then break through the encirclement in full force."

“I think it’s a good idea.” Bai was the first to agree, feeling that whatever his wife said was right.

"Then you guys recover quickly, I'll go ahead and block the road for you." Jiao Jiao volunteered and jumped out. She hadn't had a chance to make a move before, but now she was the one in the best condition among those present.

Bai also reminded her with concern, "Be careful, Jiaojiao. If you can't hold them off, retreat. We'll recover our spiritual power in half an hour at most."

"I know, let alone half an hour, even an hour, Jiaojiao can handle it." After she finished speaking, her small figure transformed into a golden stream of light and rushed into the depths of the path.

"Don't worry, Jiaojiao is a tenth-tier demon beast, and she's the most defensive dragon turtle. In this deep rift valley, apart from the Spider King, no other sand spider can break through her defenses," Huo Lan comforted her softly.

Bai nodded: "Let's go in and see if the Spider King is dead. If it is, we'll go and pick the Star Grass."

The three stepped into the underground cave again. As the pervasive gray mist dissipated, the Spider King's broken body was revealed.

The once impenetrable armor was now riddled with cracks, revealing charred flesh beneath, and its spear-like claws were broken, twisted, and dangling on the ground.

They did not approach rashly, but stopped about ten feet away from the Spider King.

"Let me try and see if it's really dead." Bai casually conjured a ball of lightning and threw it towards the Spider King.

The moment the lightning ball touched the Spider King, the Spider King, which had been lying quietly on the ground, suddenly sprang up and pounced on the three of them.

"Be careful!" Huo Lan exclaimed. The laws of time once again took control of this space, and the Spider King, who had leaped into the air, froze slightly.

Although it was only for a moment, it was enough.

The blade flashed like lightning, the sound waves vibrated, and the thunderous orbs roared. The three attacks erupted almost simultaneously, striking the Spider King's battered body.

Amidst the explosion, the Spider Queen, already at its last gasp, could no longer hold on and slowly fell to the ground amidst a sky full of lightning, completely losing its life.

As the smoke and dust cleared, Ye Rugo stepped forward, chopped off the Spider King's claws, then broke open its skull and took out a fist-sized demon core radiating spiritual light.

"Although the danger of this mission far exceeded expectations, thanks to the great help of Fellow Daoist Bai and Fellow Daoist Huo, it can be considered a perfect completion." After Ye Rugo finished speaking, she threw the demon core to Bai Ye.

Bai also caught it, weighed the demon core of the twelfth-order great demon in her hand, and tossed it back, laughing, "No need, Fellow Daoist Ye can keep it for himself. Fellow Daoist Huo and I are only going to take that Star Grass on this trip."

"In that case, thank you both very much." Seeing this, Ye Rugo did not pretend to refuse. She smiled and generously put the demon core into her storage ring.

Bai Ye then took Huo Lan's hand and led her to the Star Grass. "As expected of a celestial herb, even the Spider King was blown up, yet this little grass is completely unharmed."

Huo Lan stared at the immortal herb and said in a deep voice, "The Spider King only managed to break through to the twelfth rank by absorbing a little bit of its naturally dissipated energy over the years. If it can really break through the barrier naturally formed by the power of the stars and completely devour the immortal herb..."

"I'm afraid the three of us will all perish here today."

"Fortunately, it didn't have that opportunity. Without the power of the stars, it couldn't break through this star barrier," Bai replied with a light laugh.

A small white jade shovel appeared in her hand. She knelt on one knee and carefully dug around the Star Grass. Once the entire herb was extracted, she handed it to Huo Lan, saying, "Keep it."

"Keep it for upgrading your Star Body," Huo Lan said, waving her hand in refusal.

Bai shook his head and said frankly, "With my current cultivation level, using this Star Grass for cultivation would be a waste. It would be better for Fellow Daoist Huo to use it and improve his cultivation level as soon as possible."

Before Huo Lan could answer, Bai leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Besides, isn't there you, Fellow Daoist Huo, to help cultivate the Star Body? That senior said that the Star Path requires mutual support."

These words were rather shameless, making Huo Lan's ears burn.

If it were up to her previous temperament, she would have retorted with even more outrageous words, but now that this stinky tiger knows her identity, she can't bring herself to say those words.

Huo Lan's cheeks flushed slightly, and she reached out to push away the head that was too close. "Don't disturb me, I need to regulate my breathing and recover my spiritual energy."

Bai also stepped back and sat down next to her, closing his eyes to begin regulating his breathing.

The cave quieted down, allowing her to sort out the current situation.

It is certain that Huo Lan is Zhong Jiuli. However, Ye Rugo's identity remains a mystery; the only certainty is that Zhong Jiuli must know her.

Otherwise, given Zhong Jiuli's personality, it's impossible for her to share a bed with another woman, even if all three of them are dressed neatly.

[Didn't you sense the Yin energy in Ye Rugo before? Why don't you think about it a bit more broadly?]

Bai was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and thought to himself, "Your thinking is a bit too far-fetched."

What if?

"How many split personalities would Zhong Jiuli have to create multiple clones to play with me?"

[Maybe she just enjoys this kind of thing, likes role-playing. Look how uninhibited she is when she's playing Huo Lan, she's completely different from Zhong Jiu Li, otherwise you wouldn't have taken so long to confirm her identity.]

"Don't you think Huo Lan's personality is very similar to someone else's?"

[Boss Liu?]

Huo Lan, who was meditating nearby, gradually frowned. She really couldn't stand listening to the conversation between the two of them anymore.

Ye Rugo was the first to stand up and looked at the group, saying, "Fellow Daoist Bai, Fellow Daoist Huo, the time is almost up. If we delay any longer, I'm afraid Jiaojiao alone will not be able to withstand it."

Bai slowly finished her practice and opened her eyes to meet Huo Lan's slightly angry gaze. She asked, somewhat bewildered, "What's wrong?"

"Hmph!" Huo Lan snorted coldly, and after trying to hold back, she couldn't help but pinch that tender little face lightly.

"What are you doing?" Bai asked innocently, her words muffled. "Why did you pinch me after only a short while of resting?"

Huo Lan thought angrily to herself: "Because you and that Xiao Wang have been making up stories about me in your minds! I'm so angry!"

"Fine, pinch me if you want." Bai Ye looked completely unconcerned.

Ye Rugo glanced at the two of them, stepped in front of Bai Ye, reached out and pinched her other cheek.

Bai's eyes widened, his face full of question marks.

"Fellow Daoist Bai, weren't you supposed to pinch my face?" Ye Rugo tilted her head, a look of confusion on her face. Despite her confusion, she didn't loosen her grip at all.

"No! I didn't tell you to pinch her!" Bai Ye looked at Huo Lan with a wronged expression. "Aren't you going to do anything about her?"

Huo Lan's lips curled slightly, and a soft laugh escaped her lips. "Serves you right!"

After she finished speaking, she turned and walked down the path. Seeing this, Ye Rugo also let go of her hand and followed closely behind.

Bai watched as the two women left without a word, and had no choice but to stay and clean up the mess. She put away the remains of the Spider King; this thing couldn't be kept, in case a sand spider ate the Spider King's body and upgraded to become the new Spider King.

Of course, most importantly, the best food should be saved for Jiaojiao.

After doing all this, Bai turned around and quickly followed. The two people hadn't gone far; they were waiting at the entrance of the alley.

The three had only traveled a few miles along the path when they heard a series of crashing and screeching sounds ahead. They quickened their pace and, after turning a few corners, spotted the golden dragon turtle.

Jiaojiao's body grew several times larger, and her golden tortoise shell completely blocked the entire passage. Countless sand spiders frantically rammed against the tortoise shell, making a dull "thump-thump" sound.

Meanwhile, Jiao Jiao, surrounded by sand spiders, was listlessly drooping her head, slowly chewing on a spider leg in her mouth. When she saw the three figures, her eyes lit up immediately, "Ye Zai! You've finally arrived!"

Bai also chuckled and scolded, "If I hadn't come, you would have been stuffed, wouldn't you?"

Jiaojiao chuckled smugly, "How could Jiaojiao be full? I could eat all the sand spiders here!"

"Eat my foot! You'll grow eight legs by then, let's see what you do then." Bai patted her head. "No need to block it anymore, let's fight our way out."

"Okay!" Jiao Jiao replied cheerfully, her huge body instantly shrinking to the size of a palm as she landed on Bai Ye's shoulder.

Ahead in the passage, the sand spiders, which were frantically slapping their shells, discovered that the golden wall had disappeared. They were stunned for a moment, and then surged towards the three people and the tortoise like a tide.

Bai immediately unleashed the True Fire of the Sun.

Golden stars flew from her palm, roaring as they fell into the swarm of sand spiders. Flames roared, and the sand spiders, engulfed in flames, emitted mournful screams; the air was filled with the acrid smell of burning protein.

Jiaojiao stood on Bai Ye's shoulder, sniffed lightly with her little nose, and licked her little tongue, saying, "It seems that it smells even better when it's cooked!"

"Stop eating!" Bai stopped her from biting the sand spider. "I packed up the remains of the Spider King for you. I'll give them to you when we get out. Don't eat them now."

"Really? Great!" Upon hearing that there would be a spider king to eat, Jiao Jiao's little eyes were filled with joy and anticipation, and the sand spiders in front of her instantly became insignificant to her.

"Hold on tight! I'm charging!" Bai shouted, wielding a large shield in his left hand and a spirit sword in his right, charging ahead like a burning sun into the surging spider swarm.

The swarm of spiders that charged forward were blocked by the large shield. The true fire of the sun was attached to the longsword, and with each strike, raging flames rose up.

Huo Lan and Ye Rugo followed closely behind. Neither of them were afraid of the scorching heat of the sun's true fire. They walked lightly on the fire, their short knives and zither strings reaping the fish that managed to escape the sea of ​​fire.

The three men and the tortoise formed a cone formation, with Bai as the arrowhead, like a burning arrow, plunging into the spider swarm with overwhelming force.

They advanced at an extremely fast pace, bursting out of the narrow passage in the blink of an eye.

Surrounded by sand spiders frantically attacking from all sides, including above and behind, Bai Ye's arrow seemed rather inadequate at this moment.

"Go to the back, I'll clear the way."

The moment Huo Lan shouted, she flashed to the front and instantly switched positions with Bai Ye.

Bai also retreated to the back. At this moment, Huo Lan was like a top ballet dancer, her body spinning wildly among the spiders.

Hundreds of arc-shaped blade beams, like deathly lotuses blooming in an instant, shot out in all directions.

Wherever the blade passed, the sand spiders fell in swathes like harvested rice, instantly clearing out a large area.

"She's so beautiful! So pretty and cool, buddy, you're really lucky to have a wife like that." Xiao Wang's voice was full of emotion.

"Yes, she is really beautiful." Bai also wholeheartedly agreed.

"Don't daydream." Ye Rugo said in a low voice, her hands suddenly moving more quickly as she plucked the strings of her zither, and the music became much louder.

Bai also instantly cut off her chatter with Xiao Wang. She put away the large shield, held the longsword in one hand, and made a fist in the other, where a small ball of lightning instantly appeared in her palm.

"Clean up the spider eggs," Huo Lan's voice came from ahead.

"I know," Bai replied loudly. She had never intended to use the lightning ball to attack the sand spiders.

Surrounding them were high-level sand spiders. Her lightning balls wouldn't be fatal to these tough creatures, but they were perfect for blowing up spider eggs.

The stray lightning strikes and releases tens of thousands of spider eggs.

The three worked in perfect harmony, advancing like a bulldozer. Huo Lan transformed into a humanoid weapon, Ye Rugo became the strongest support, and Bai became the Thunder King, giving electrotherapy to the unhatched spider eggs.

The depths of the rift valley had become a meat grinder, and even these nearly irrational, crazed sand spiders would instinctively feel fear.

Their forward momentum noticeably slowed, fear gleamed in their compound eyes, and a brief vacuum appeared around the three of them.

Huo Lan seized the opportunity and turned to the two of them, whispering, "Go, break out of here."

The three of them simultaneously leaped into the air, transforming into streaks of light and shooting towards the top of the rift valley.

"Squeak!"

The sand spiders let out sharp, piercing hiss, and their attack, which had been slightly deterred by fear, resumed, surging forward with even greater frenzy.

They climbed upwards relentlessly, and many sand spiders that were already clinging to the rock face opened their mouthparts and spat out sticky spider silk.

In an instant, a massive, sky-covering net took shape, layer upon layer, completely sealing off the exit of the rift valley.

At the same time, countless sand spiders leaped up using the rock walls, rushing towards the three streaks of light from all directions, trying to drag them back into the depths of the rift valley.

The light overhead was blocked by spider webs and swarms of sand spiders, and the path ahead was completely cut off.

Bai Ye's eyes narrowed slightly, and with a flap of his wings, his speed instantly increased, allowing him to swiftly reach Huo Lan's side and embrace her waist.

Then, in a flash, he appeared beside Ye Rugo, grabbed her arm, and the next moment, he activated the Void Escape Technique, causing ripples in the space.

Just as countless sharp claws were about to strike them, the three figures disappeared into the ravine, leaving only the sand spiders, who had missed their target, colliding with each other and falling into the deep valley like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Having lost their target, the spider swarm unleashed all their fury upon the rift above.

Countless sand spiders transformed into streams of black torrents, continuously gushing forth from the rift valley.

Above, as soon as Bai Ye and his two companions appeared, they shouted to the people on the spirit boat who were on high alert, "Quickly, activate the great formation."

"Activate the formation!"

The array flags that had been placed around the rift valley in advance burst forth with pillars of light that shot into the sky, converging high above to form a semi-transparent light shield, like an inverted bowl, completely sealing off the entire rift valley and its surrounding area.

The next moment, divine punishment descended.

Countless enormous, burning fireballs appeared out of thin air, trailing long flames like divine punishment, and roared down from the sky, bombarding the spider swarm that had just emerged from the rift and had not yet dispersed.

This was just the beginning. The formation kept changing, with ice spikes, lightning snakes, and earth spikes raining down from above and crashing into the depths of the rift.

Looking down from the sky, the enormous, bottomless chasm below is no longer what it used to be.

It transformed into a raging, winding fire serpent, as if roaring angrily at the world.

A heat wave shot into the sky, and the three people suspended in mid-air had their clothes and hair flying in the heat.

Bai also silently watched the hellish scene below, a sight that was truly shocking to her.

With each attack, countless lives were reaped.

"But do you think it's cruel?" Ye Rugo's voice cut through the roar of the explosion and clearly reached Bai Ye's ears.

Bai slowly shook his head, his gaze never leaving the burning sea of ​​fire below, and said calmly, "There's nothing cruel about it. It's survival of the fittest."

"They were wiped out today because they were not strong enough. If we are lenient today and let them continue to grow, when the spider swarms become rampant and food is scarce, that will be the time when they break out of the Rama Desert, hunt the people, and cause widespread devastation."

“That’s right.” Ye Rugo nodded. “Outside the Rama Desert, there are eight giant cities. They stand on the edge of the desert and are subjected to a large-scale beast tide almost every few years. Each time the beast tide comes, countless human cultivators have to risk their lives to fill it and suppress it in order to maintain peace for a while.”

"The environment of Xizhou is indeed not very suitable for human survival, and there is also the ever-present threat of fire poison." Bai Ye looked at this boundless desert, his tone filled with confusion, "Why don't the people here move to other states?"

"Fool." Huo Lan chuckled lightly, "You think the Wilderness State is suitable?"

Bai thought about it seriously for a moment and nodded, saying, "I think it's quite suitable. There are mountains and rivers, and you can also farm. Although there are many monsters, it won't be like Xizhou, where there are endless beast tides."

“But there is no spiritual energy!” Ye Rugo said. “When cultivators lose their spiritual energy, they are like fish out of water, their path to enlightenment severed. When mortals lose the protection of cultivators, they are like fish on a chopping block. The weak, no matter where they hide, will ultimately not escape the fate of destruction.”

"Although the Nine Provinces are vast, there has never been a peaceful place. Human cultivators fight for a path to immortality, demon beasts fight for food, and ordinary people fight for nothing more than a meal." Huo Lan's voice was soft, but her words were deafening.

"Heaven and earth are a furnace, and all living beings suffer."

At that moment, Bai suddenly felt that his heart had shrunk a little.

From the moment she embarked on the path of cultivation, all she sought was to protect her mother from being bullied, safeguard her people, and find her way home.

There is also Zhong Jiuli, and that is all she has.

But they are different; they are dazzling and radiant.

Their hearts hold mountains and rivers, lakes and seas, all living beings, and the entire human world.

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Author's Note: [Hugs][Hugs][Hugs] I'm totally smitten by Sister Zhong!