So these abnormal physical signs were not irreversible after all -- though it was still unknown what method could suppress them... The demon spider was suddenly enlightened.
"How do you feel? Any discomfort?" the demon spider transmitted telepathically.
"I feel... like I've been reborn. I don't feel any discomfort either." Wang Miaoyin gazed at her jade-like hands, where several bluish-purple vein-like patterns had appeared.
"Also, my abilities have been enhanced, and it seems... I can use spider silk now!"
As she spoke, Wang Miaoyin flicked her wrist, and strands of spider silk shot through the air, faintly carrying the sound of blades tearing through the atmosphere.
Bai Jie nodded inwardly. If a moderate dose couldn't grant spider silk-related abilities, that would be rather unreasonable.
"Hold on... I still feel very cold..."
Wang Miaoyin suddenly wrapped her arms around herself and tugged at her sleeves.
At the same time, a bleak gust of cold wind blew past, as if deep autumn had arrived.
The surrounding temperature had noticeably dropped significantly.
The demon spider gazed skyward. The sky above was covered by a layer of something resembling an ice crystal membrane, stretching all the way down to the foot of the mountain.
"It seems... this should be the manifestation of that barrier domain, causing even the climate of the rear mountain to change."
"Fortunately, Bai Huahua has already led the little ones away."
Thoughts flowing, Bai Jie fixed its gaze toward the foot of the mountain and murmured inwardly, "Have they come?"
At this moment, it still didn't understand how the humans had figured out its location, but that point no longer mattered now.
A familiar aura entered Bai Jie's perception.
Long Ge had entered the mountain.
But not as an Agent this time -- rather as an inner-hall disciple of the Wu Gu Clan who had come to exterminate the monstrous creature.
It had told Long Ge beforehand that he could join the mountain operation to avoid arousing suspicion from his clansmen.
Though Long Ge was full of terror and trembling, he had still agreed. If Lord Bai Zhi were to perish, then he as the Proxy human would also have no chance of survival.
Whoosh, whoosh.
The wind grew stronger, the air colder, and a thin layer of frost formed on the leaves.
One moment ago, the sky had been shining with bright sun; now, it had turned gloomy and oppressive.
Rustle, rustle...
The howling cold wind shook the branches and leaves, like a reckless drunkard staggering wildly among the trees. Freezing and piercing, it poured into Wang Miaoyin's collar, making even her shiver.
And what was colder than the weather was Bai Jie's state of mind at this moment, and the look in Wang Miaoyin's eyes.
Tiny specks of white descended from the sky, sparse and gentle, landing on leaves, spider legs, human faces, and the ground, then swiftly melting away and vanishing.
It was snowing.
Bai Jie also saw, in the distance, two large ice-blue butterflies fluttering wings more beautiful than the snowflakes, flying toward it.
The gorgeous butterflies danced with the pure white snowflakes, as threads of warm sunlight shone through the clear, crystalline blue sky onto the frost-covered vegetation, forming an exquisite picture of winter's frosty descent.
Yet within this exquisite picture lay fatal danger and the lingering resonance of death, making it hard to relax and appreciate the view.
"September... snow, is it? This barrier is rather interesting."
"Why does it seem like... I've suffered some great injustice..."
"These humans want to encircle me. We'll see soon enough who is truly the prey."
Before its eight eyes, a string of illusory characters instantly surfaced.
[Target]: Ice Mirror Butterfly (Semi-Demonic Body)
[Vitality]: 101
[Body Length]: 65cm
[Status]: Healthy
(Weak spirit essence reaction detected)
For some reason, Bai Jie sensed that its Invisibility Camouflage skill was utterly useless in the eyes of these butterflies.
No hiding place -- like running naked through a snowy field.
The trees at the mountaintop were not dense, and there were many open spaces, so there was no need to deploy "psychic power." Standing on a branch, Bai Jie could see with its naked eyes a tall, beautiful woman's figure behind the butterflies, gracefully walking toward it with measured steps.
With every step she took, a snowflake-like imprint was left beneath her jade feet.
"That person... could it be a Secret Keeper?"
Wang Miaoyin stared fixedly at that figure, but quickly rejected her own thought. The woman's aura was clearly different from the Secret Keepers they had encountered before.
Hiss, hiss.
Amidst drifting black smoke, space was compressed and distorted. Ink-like thin lines appeared vertically beneath the demon spider's feet.
The lines expanded, and smoke filled the gaps, forming a black curtain several meters high. From within, several werewolves over two meters tall emerged one after another, followed by countless dark-red bats that fluttered into a black cloud, hovering above the werewolves' heads.
"Go."
At the clear, cold words, the Howling Moon Werewolves and the vampire bats all mobilized at once, rapidly closing in on the two butterflies.
The Ice Mirror Butterflies did not wait passively for death. As cold energy swirled, dozens of icy, rhombus-shaped thin sheets condensed, reflecting dangerous cold light like throwing knives, leaving trails of white mist in the air as they shot toward the werewolves and the bat cloud.
Shing, shing!
The thin sheets flew with incredible speed and sharpness. Some were shattered by a single punch from a werewolf, but the majority stabbed deep into the werewolves' flesh, and sliced the bats into pieces as easily as cutting fruit.
Those thin sheets were clearly mirrors formed of ice, yet they were sharper than blades and swords.
Rhombus ice mirrors were generated without cease, tearing through the air. A cold mist erupted, and incredibly, they managed to halt the advance of all the Howling Moon Werewolves, rapidly pushing them into a state of heavy injury. Blue blood flowed across the ground.
However, the more gravely wounded the werewolves were, the more fearlessly they fought. Combined with the sheer numerical advantage of the vampire bats trading their lives to block attacks, they finally broke through the ice mirror offensive and completely surrounded the butterflies.
"Only two Ice Mirror Butterflies in total -- their means shouldn't end at just this much." Bai Jie's gaze was locked intently on the butterflies shrouded by the black cloud.
Yet the butterfly counterattack Bai Jie expected did not occur. In the blink of an eye, they were dismembered by the bats. Wings and severed limbs fell like fine snow.
"Wait..."
It suddenly realized something was wrong.
The dismembered butterflies had all turned into shattered mirror shards. Then, four brand-new Ice Mirror Butterflies slowly descended from above, once again breathing mirrors into existence that rained down into the bat cloud like a downpour.
"Two actually became four?!" Wang Miaoyin's expression shifted slightly.
She had witnessed the strength of the creatures the demon spider summoned, but right now the enemy seemed even more formidable.
"Shriek!"
This time, it was the bats' turn to plummet down one after another.
As the wails and sorrowful cries gradually faded, two breaths later, the Howling Moon Werewolves and vampire bats had all been annihilated.
"Bai Zhi."
Just then, a pleasant female voice suddenly called out.
Its timbre was like an orchid in an empty valley -- and surprisingly, it came from one of the four butterflies.
"Finding you was surprisingly easy. I thought you would keep hiding, but you couldn't hold back from making a move so soon, could you?"
"Or do you think... that humans are insufficient to pose a threat to you?"
But Bai Jie had already shifted its gaze and attention straight ahead, to the tall, graceful figure stepping into view.