At the same time...
The dirt pit gradually grew larger, and a giant dark brown spider emerged from the soil.
The spider was about three and a half meters tall, covered in stone flakes, its eight eyes constantly scanning before fixing on Bai Ye.
"Human, are you disturbing me? Do you know what the consequences will be?"
"Who knows?" Bai Ye spread his hands. "Before considering my consequences, shouldn't you consider your own?"
Sizzle, sizzle!
Lightning orbs materialized in Bai Ye's palms, and he hurled them forward.
Boom!
When the lightning orbs struck the earthen spider's head, they instantly detonated, a surge of electricity erupting. Amidst the thunderous roar, the earthen spider's body lurched.
But, the next instant...
As the dust settled, the earthen spider straightened itself, seemingly unharmed.
"This is bad," Gao Ming said. "Earth spiders are earth-attributed. Lightning doesn't do much to them; it's countered."
Meanwhile, the earthen spider looked at Bai Ye. "Human, is that all you've got? You've disappointed me!"
As it spoke, the earthen spider opened its mouth and spat out a net of silk, which descended towards Bai Ye.
Bai Ye looked up, showing no intention of moving.
Gao Ming hesitated, wondering whether to help. Bai Ye's lightning was countered; the earthen spider's earth attribute could redirect the lightning into the ground, reducing its impact, putting Bai Ye at a significant disadvantage.
However, the earthen spider's strength exceeded Gao Ming's expectations. One strike had sent his men reeling. If he charged in, he might not be able to help and could even leave behind a few more corpses.
Just then...
Bai Ye spread his hands again. This time, however, instead of electricity, flames appeared in his palms.
As the flames materialized, the surrounding temperature rose sharply.
In the next moment, Bai Ye waved his hand towards the sky, a wave of fire sweeping out. The descending silk was instantly incinerated.
Indeed, the formidable power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit seemed to have little effect against the earthen spider. After all, the attribute disadvantage was unavoidable.
But so what?
He could simply switch to another ability!
After burning the earthen spider's silk, Bai Ye raised his palms to the sky, and even hotter flames erupted from his palms.
"Domain!" Bai Ye said solemnly. "Activate!"
Domain: Phoenix Perch (A domain ability, constructed with the Phoenix's homeland as its background. Hostile targets within the domain continuously suffer damage, the effect of the Phoenix ability is increased by 50%, triggering the 'Bathed in Fire' effect, and enemy weapons' quality decreases by one tier. After each activation, the next activation requires a 48-hour cooldown.)
As Bai Ye shouted, the flames in his palms suddenly spread outwards, forming a massive ring of fire that isolated a large area.
In Gao Ming's eyes, a giant hemisphere appeared before him, engulfing both Bai Ye and the earthen spider.
And within the domain's space...
Heat, immense heat!
It was a towering mountain, a burning mountain.
The entire mountain was covered in flames, burning fiercely. The mountainside was a searing red and scalding hot, and even the clouds in the sky were crimson.
Trees?
Naturally, there would be none. Any tree would be completely incinerated in this environment.
No, there was one!
At the summit, amidst the raging inferno, a colossal tree piercing the clouds stood proudly.
It was a Wutong tree, but not an ordinary one.
It was...
The Phoenix Perch Wutong!
This was the homeland of the phoenix!
This was the birthplace of the phoenix!
This was the Phoenix Perch!
Bai Ye took a step forward. Immediately, the 'Bathed in Fire' effect activated. A vast expanse of flames surged from beneath Bai Ye's feet, burning fiercely and enveloping his body, allowing him to walk through fire.
The earthen spider let out a pained cry, constantly retreating.
Even though Bai Ye had not yet attacked, the 'Scorching World Flame' effect had begun to burn the earthen spider.
Bai Ye looked up at the earthen spider and said, "Ready to say your last words?"
As he spoke, Bai Ye leaped into the air.
In truth, the earthen spider's earth attribute wasn't particularly afraid of fire, but insects, as a species, had an extreme fear of flames.
The next instant...
Mid-air, Bai Ye spun his body, and a torrent of flames began to swirl around him.
In the blink of an eye, as the flames revolved, a massive fire tornado appeared, surging forward.
"No, humans cannot kill..."
Before the earthen spider could finish, the fire tornado slammed into its body, completely engulfing it.
Miserable screams echoed incessantly.
Within the fiery vortex, only the earthen spider's dark silhouette could be seen, struggling desperately.
Its sharp, blade-like legs swept across the ground, tearing it apart.
The earthen spider attempted to cleave through the churning flames, but no matter how much it sliced, new flames would constantly surge forth, swallowing it whole.
Moments later...
Bang!
The earthen spider's massive body crashed to the ground as the surrounding flames gradually dissipated.
Its colossal form had been reduced to charred charcoal, completely still!
Bai Ye casually waved his hand, retracting the domain. The flames that had formed the domain dispersed with the wind.
Gao Ming looked at the scorched corpse of the earthen spider, exclaiming, "It's done?"
Bai Ye replied, "What else did you expect? Did you want to have tea, a meal? Perhaps play a few rounds of mahjong afterward?"
"Heh heh!" Gao Ming gave Bai Ye a thumbs-up. "Holy shit, amazing."
Gao Ming was now numb to Bai Ye's strength and didn't know what else to say. He could only lament his lack of vocabulary, resorting to "holy shit" for everything.
Bai Ye said, "Let's open the treasure chest!"
After defeating a Boss, there was a treasure chest with an uncertain amount and quality of items.
However, considering it was a hidden Boss, there should at least be a few red-quality items guaranteed.
Of course, Bai Ye wouldn't participate. Given his own terrible luck, he was afraid even the guaranteed items would be swallowed.
Meanwhile, Gao Ming ordered someone to open the treasure chest. A screen of light then appeared before everyone, flooding their vision.
The hidden Boss certainly made an impression, with a huge pile of items scrolling by. Unlike regular Bosses, the distribution was random.
This had been agreed upon beforehand: items dropped by hidden Bosses were distributed by luck, whatever was randomly assigned would be what they got. This was considered Bai Ye's reward for helping defeat the hidden Boss.
In reality, Gao Ming felt a bit embarrassed. This was hardly just "helping"; Bai Ye had handled it all by himself.
...