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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 5: The Web of Eight Desolations
Black Eyes found Xia Zhou's words utterly absurd. "Since you have such confidence, I want to see what you're really capable of."
"Spider Web, form a path!"
With a swift motion, Black Eyes thrust one of her front legs forward, and a web shot out along the ground like a carpet, racing towards Xia Zhou. Xia Zhou was taken aback. "This web can travel along the ground?"
Though surprised and intrigued, Xia Zhou quickly realized that the target of the ground-level web was his legs. Understanding Black Eyes' intention, he immediately leaped backward, performing several somersaults in quick succession. However, the Spider Web seemed to have no distance limit, extending five or six yards without showing any signs of stopping.
The web stretched from three yards away at the base of Penance Tower, where Black Eyes stood, all the way to the exit before finally halting just in front of one of Purgatory Palace's subordinates. The subordinate wiped sweat from his forehead and sighed in relief. "That was close."
The sprawling web lay just half a yard away from Ji Zichen, resembling a white carpet extending toward the exit. Ji Zichen also appeared astonished. "What a long silk thread!"
Xia Zhou had flipped backward in a straight line, so the Spider Web lunged directly at him. He found himself standing within the web, yet his feet remained untrapped.
Black Eyes looked on in disbelief. "What’s going on?"
Peering closely at Xia Zhou's feet, Black Eyes noticed two Eight Desolation Needles propping him up from below. In a moment of quick thinking, Xia Zhou had managed to escape disaster by standing on the needles. He chuckled triumphantly. "You didn't catch me!"
Realizing the situation, Black Eyes let out a strange cold laugh. "I thought you had some extraordinary ability to avoid my Silk Thread; turns out you were just relying on a couple of needles to escape."
Seeing Xia Zhou balance on the Eight Desolation Needles, Ji Zichen breathed a deep sigh of relief and thought to herself, "I didn't expect him to have such good balance."
Xia Zhou grinned at Black Eyes. "You're quite interesting for a spider. This Spider Web spreads out like a carpet—are you welcoming me with this web carpet?"
Black Eyes shot him an ominous glance. "You think those needles can prolong your life? They’ll only buy you a moment more; today, I will make you my meal!"
Xia Zhou certainly would not be intimidated by Black Eyes' words. With a light laugh, Xia Zhou said, "I also want to see how you plan to eat me."
The Demon Purging Palace had lost face, and although Black Eyes did not turn around, he could feel Samoyan's gloomy gaze. Coldly, Black Eyes remarked, "Your skills are impressive, but my Spider Web is here to welcome you—specifically, your demise!"
"Web Ball!"
As the Spider Web was launched, it formed a ball the size of half a plaza. In the blink of an eye, Xia Zhou found himself trapped within this spherical web. The ball resembled a hydrangea, with layers upon layers of Spider Web sealing off any gaps that could allow Xia Zhou to escape. Inside, it felt like a grand circular hall.
Xia Zhou had not anticipated that the extended Spider Web could rebound and form a sphere. He couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "This is truly bizarre."
From above, suddenly more than ten strands of Spider Web shot down, attempting to ensnare Xia Zhou. The internal space was quite large, and Xia Zhou leaped and twisted to evade them. Although the webs missed him, they did not retract; instead, they stuck to the ground, filling the space within four or five zhang with a chaotic mass of Spider Web.
Ji Zichen saw that Xia Zhou was in danger and leaped into action, aiming to use the Demon-Slaying Sword to cut through the Spider Web and rescue him. Black Eyes spat out more Spider Webs and Ji Zichen quickly dodged. Black Eyes barked, "Don't interfere!"
Turning his gaze toward his subordinates at the exit, Black Eyes shouted, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and kill him!"
At that moment, under Black Eyes' command, his subordinates surged toward Ji Zichen. In response, Ji Zichen unleashed a fire dragon that roared and engulfed more than ten of them.
While Ji Zichen struggled against the minions of Purgatory Palace outside, Xia Zhou was also devising a way to save himself from within the Spider Web ball.
Seeing that the four or five zhang of space was dominated by the Spider Web, Xia Zhou thought to himself, "If he continues shooting down Spider Webs and occupying this space, my room for evasion will diminish even further."
Xia Zhou took out three Eight Desolation Needles and declared, "First, let's blow those Silk Threads apart!"
He threw the three Eight Desolation Needles with a loud bang. The frontmost strands of Silk Thread merely quivered without showing any signs of breaking. Xia Zhou screamed in frustration, "What the hell! Why didn't they break?!"
Black Eyes laughed arrogantly, "Oh, so your needles can explode too? But unfortunately, you used them in the wrong place. These Silk Threads are the strongest Silk Threads in my body; nothing can break them. However, the Silk Threads inside the sphere have several times the attacking power compared to the ones outside!"
At that moment, three Silk Threads shot out from a wall of the sphere that was as tall as a person. Xia Zhou tried to dodge, but the incoming Silk Threads were even faster than those above. Unable to evade in time, one of the Silk Threads struck Xia Zhou in the chest, causing him to cry out, "Wow!" as he coughed up a spray of blood and fell to the ground.
The Silk Thread continued on its straight path after hitting Xia Zhou, sticking to the opposite wall of the sphere.
Struck in the chest, Xia Zhou felt that the Silk Thread was unusually solid; it was not as soft as it appeared but felt like being hit by a heavy club.
With a pale face, Xia Zhou clutched his chest and said, "Ugh~ It hurts so much. Why does his Silk Thread feel like a stick?"
Staggering to his feet, Xia Zhou glared fiercely at Black Eyes, who looked at him in surprise and said, "Oh? You can still stand? I didn't expect you to be so resilient. But this shouldn't be possible; if you were human, your ribs would surely be broken by now. You look like you've only been knocked around."
"I’m not that easy to kill!" Xia Zhou gritted his teeth defiantly.
Black Eyes's eyes gleamed with a menacing light that pierced into one's heart. "I don’t know how your body can withstand my attack, but you must be in excruciating pain right now. Those people from Shangyu Village don’t know you; why would you endure such suffering for them?"
"I may not know them," Xia Zhou replied, "but I can't turn a blind eye to all of this."
Coldly, Black Eyes sneered, "Can't turn a blind eye? Heh heh, is that noble spirit acting up again? Let me tell you, you can't save anyone. Once I kill you, I'll start with Ji Zichen, then the village chief, and after that all the villagers of Shangyu Village. This is the fate of those who resist us from Purgatory Palace!"
The Eight Desolation Needles posed no threat to the Silk Threads inside the sphere. Feeling a sense of helplessness wash over him, Xia Zhou's expression darkened.
Seeing Xia Zhou looking ashen, Black Eyes was quite pleased with his reaction. He continued, "This is where it ends for you; now I'm going to swallow you whole!"
The massive Spider Ball suddenly shrank, binding Xia Zhou with Silk Threads, wrapping him up like a mummy. The threads continued to constrict tighter and tighter, causing excruciating pain throughout his body. As his cries echoed into Ji Zichen's ears, she wished to help but found herself entangled by the minions of Purgatory Palace.
Black Eyes shot out a Silk Thread from its mouth, connecting Xia Zhou's body, which resembled that of a mummy. The Silk Thread from Black Eyes began to move, pulling Xia Zhou closer to its mouth.
Ji Zichen had the minions of Purgatory Palace entangled, making it difficult for others to escape. At that moment, Ji Zichen activated the Thunder Pearl, and lightning struck down once more, hitting the Silk Thread in Black Eyes' mouth.
The Silk Thread immediately caught fire, and with a loud pop, it snapped.
Black Eyes' face turned dark with anger as the lightning burned the Silk Thread. The flames spread along the thread, and Black Eyes, in a fit of rage, bit through the burning Silk Thread. The charred remnants fell beneath Black Eyes, while the thread connected to Xia Zhou also caught fire, with flames creeping toward the mummy-like figure of Xia Zhou.
With the burning Silk Thread loosening its grip suddenly, Xia Zhou felt the bindings relax. He twisted his body to the left and rolled away, shedding the loose Silk Thread that fell to the ground.
Having freed himself from the restraints of the Silk Thread, Xia Zhou leaped up from the ground and pointed at Black Eyes, declaring, "You spider! I will blow you to bits!"
Seeing Xia Zhou escape, Ji Zichen felt a surge of joy and called out, "How are you doing?"
Though still bound, Xia Zhou heard the sound of thunder and realized it was Ji Zichen who had come to his rescue. He laughed heartily, "I'm fine! Thankfully your lightning arrived just in time."
Noticing how quickly Xia Zhou's emotions shifted, Ji Zichen smiled wryly and said, "Be careful; I can only summon lightning twice."
With vigilance, Xia Zhou eyed Black Eyes, replying, "I understand."
Black Eyes stared intently at Xia Zhou, saying, "You have quite a life, but if you think you can blow me up, you're delusional. Don't you realize? I'm not afraid of your needles. Whether you're in the Spider Ball or outside it, you can't hurt me."
A confident smile spread across Xia Zhou's face. "Is that so? I haven't used the Continuous Eight Desolations in a long time; now I'll shatter you!"
Suddenly, he charged toward Black Eyes. As he got within ten feet of it, he shouted, "Continuous Eight Desolations! Face Needle!”
Ten Eight Desolation Needles flew toward Black Eyes, and as Xia Zhou shot the Face Needle, he did not stop his movements, leaping onto a high platform. With a commanding shout, Xia Zhou declared, "Continuous Eight Desolation! Shoulder Needle!" The ten needles flew toward Black Eyes's shoulder.
Then, Xia Zhou continued to shout, "Continuous Eight Desolation! Back Needle! Chest Needle! Leg Needle!"
The final needle! "Eight Desolation Pillar!"
Xia Zhou did not throw the last needle at Black Eyes, but instead launched it upward. At that moment, the five Eight Desolation Needles targeting the face, shoulder, back, chest, and legs simultaneously detonated. The explosion of fifty Eight Desolation Needles unleashed tremendous power.
Boom! The thunderous sound shook the ground.
In the plaza of Purgatory Palace, a massive pit was created by the explosion. Surrounding buildings collapsed, leaving debris scattered everywhere. The body of Penance Tower displayed cracks, and stones fell in a cascade as the skeletons on the tower trembled ominously, seemingly howling in despair.
Skeleton heads continuously plummeted from the towering structure, shattering upon impact.
The explosion occurred on the inner side of the plaza. Near the main entrance, aside from a cloud of dust that obscured visibility, everything remained relatively unchanged. However, Ji Zichen and the subordinates of Purgatory Palace were knocked to the ground by the shockwave from the blast. Some unfortunate subordinates were thrown against walls by the force of the impact, resulting in fatal injuries.
Others were injured by flying debris or rendered unconscious by the shock. A piece of shattered tile had grazed Ji Zichen's brow, leaving a trail of blood running down his face.
Everyone in the plaza was covered in dust and dirt. Xia Zhou fixed his gaze on the deep pit, for that was where Black Eyes had been located. At that moment, he heard strange sounds coming from below the pit.
A chill ran through Xia Zhou! Gritting his teeth in anger, he thought, "He’s not dead yet!"
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