Meanwhile…
The dirt pit gradually grew larger, and a giant, dark brown spider emerged from the earth.
The spider stood about three and a half meters tall, covered in stone fragments. Its eight eyes darted around, then fixed on Bai Ye.
"Human, did you disturb me? Do you know what your fate will be?"
"Who knows?" Bai Ye spread his hands. "Before you consider my fate, have you considered your own?"
Sizzle, sizzle!
Lightning orbs appeared in Bai Ye's palms and were hurled forward.
Boom!
When the lightning orbs struck the mud spider's head, they instantly detonated. Large currents flickered, and amidst the thunderous roar, the mud spider's body lurched.
But, the next moment…
As the dust settled, the mud spider straightened itself, seemingly unharmed.
"This is bad," Gao Ming said. "The mud spider is of the earth element. Lightning has little effect on it; it's being countered."
On the other side, the mud spider looked at Bai Ye and said, "Human, is that all you've got? You disappoint me!"
As it spoke, the mud spider opened its mouth and spat out a net of silk, which descended towards Bai Ye.
Bai Ye looked up but made no move to evade.
Gao Ming hesitated, wondering whether to intervene. Bai Ye's lightning was being countered, and the mud spider's earth element could channel the lightning into the ground, reducing its damage, putting Bai Ye at a severe disadvantage.
However, the mud spider's strength was beyond Gao Ming's imagination. A single strike had sent his men reeling. If he rushed forward now, he might not be able to help and could end up leaving behind several corpses.
Just then…
Bai Ye spread his hands again. This time, however, it was not electricity that appeared in his palms, but flames.
As the flames appeared in Bai Ye's palms, the surrounding temperature rose sharply.
The next instant, Bai Ye waved his hand towards the sky, and the flames swept out, instantly incinerating the descending silk.
Indeed, the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit seemed to have little effect against the mud spider. After all, elemental counters were unavoidable.
But so what?
He could simply switch abilities!
After burning the mud spider's silk, Bai Ye directly raised his palm to the sky, and even fiercer flames appeared from his palms.
"Domain!" Bai Ye said solemnly, "Activate!"
Domain: Phoenix Perch (Domain ability, constructed with the phoenix's homeland as its background. All hostile targets within the domain continuously take damage. Undying Bird ability effects are boosted by 50%, and the 'Body of Fiery Rebirth' effect is triggered. Enemy weapons' quality is reduced by one tier. After each domain activation, there is a 48-hour cooldown before the next activation.)
As Bai Ye shouted, the flames in his palms suddenly spread outwards, forming a massive fiery ring that isolated a large area.
In Gao Ming's eyes, a colossal hemisphere appeared before him, enclosing both Bai Ye and the mud spider.
And within the domain's space…
It was scorching hot, incredibly scorching hot!
This was a tall mountain, a burning mountain.
The entire mountain was engulfed in flames, burning fiercely. The mountain's body was crimson and scalding hot, and even the clouds in the sky were tinged with crimson.
Trees?
Naturally, there were none. Any tree would be utterly incinerated in such an environment.
No, there was still one!
At the mountain's peak, amidst the raging sea of fire, a tree that pierced 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 Undying Bird!
This was the Phoenix Perch!
Bai Ye took a step forward. Immediately, the 'Body of Fiery Rebirth' activated. A vast expanse of flames surged from beneath Bai Ye's feet, burning fiercely and engulfing his body, allowing him to walk through fire.
The mud spider let out a pained howl and continuously retreated.
Although Bai Ye had not yet launched an attack, due to the effect of the 'World-Scorching Flame,' the mud spider had already begun to be scorched by the flames.
Bai Ye looked up at the mud spider and said, "Ready to deliver your last words?"
As Bai Ye spoke, he leaped into the air.
In truth, the mud spider's earth element was not particularly afraid of fire, but insects, in general, had an extreme fear of flames.
The next instant…
Bai Ye, now airborne, twisted his body, and a large amount of flames began to swirl around him.
In the blink of an eye, as the flames spun, a massive fire tornado appeared and surged forward madly.
"No, humans cannot kill…"
Before the mud spider could finish speaking, the fire tornado slammed into it, completely engulfing it.
Faint screams echoed continuously.
Within the fiery vortex, only the mud spider's dark silhouette could be seen, struggling desperately.
Its razor-sharp legs, like blades, swept out, tearing the ground apart.
The mud spider attempted to slice through the swirling flames around it, but no matter how much it cleaved, new flames continuously surged forth, completely submerging it.
After a while…
Bang!
The mud spider's massive body crashed to the ground, and the surrounding flames gradually dispersed.
Its colossal body had been burned to a crisp, completely still!
Bai Ye waved his hand casually, dispelling the domain. The flames that had formed the domain scattered in the wind.
Gao Ming looked at the charred corpse of the mud spider and exclaimed, "It's done?"
Bai Ye retorted, "What else? Did you expect to have tea and a meal? Perhaps play a couple of rounds of mahjong?"
"Heh heh!" Gao Ming gave Bai Ye a thumbs-up. "Holy crap, you're 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 crap" for everything.
Bai Ye said, "Let's open the treasure chest!"
After defeating a boss, there was a treasure chest. The contents, quantity, and quality were uncertain.
However, as a hidden boss, it was bound to have at least a few red-quality items as a guarantee.
Of course, Bai Ye wouldn't be the one opening it. With his notoriously bad luck, he was afraid even the guaranteed items would be swallowed up.
Meanwhile, Gao Ming instructed someone to open the treasure chest. Then, a luminous screen appeared before everyone, flooding their vision.
The hidden boss did have its flair. A mountain of items scrolled by, and unlike regular bosses, they were distributed randomly.
This had been agreed upon beforehand: the loot from the hidden boss would be distributed by luck, whatever was randomly assigned. This was considered Bai Ye's reward for helping to defeat the hidden boss.
In fact, Gao Ming felt a little embarrassed. This was hardly just 'helping'; Bai Ye had handled it all himself.
…