At that moment, all the black spider threads tightened simultaneously.
The colossal beast let out a series of chaotic, harsh roars.
Erin exerted all her strength to control the dark threads, making them weave and twist in the air, forming pulling ropes to slowly drag the creature toward the great door.
Yu Sheng struggled to hold up the wider-than-usual door, trying to make it a little wider, a little steadier.
The "door" had the characteristic of separating the inner from the outer environment; merely opening it wouldn’t release the harsh conditions from the other side.
To destroy this monster, he would need to throw it wholly inside.
Normally, this characteristic of separation was beneficial.
It prevented Yu Sheng from accidentally creating a disastrous opening to a perilous area.
But at this moment, he wished that the door would allow the two environments to merge into one without any protection.
If he could just open the door over the lava lake, the magma gushing from the entrance would roast the beast, saving him from all this trouble.
Yet all he could do was think about it—he had barely grasped the power of the "door."
Making sure it opened in the right place was already a significant challenge; he couldn't expect it to serve as a flexible offensive weapon.
As thoughts raced through his mind, the monster was dragged to the door.
In fact, part of its limbs was already awkwardly inserted within, and through the doorway, Yu Sheng saw the portion that crossed the threshold quickly dehydrating and then igniting in the hellish heat, becoming carbonized…
In a daze, he even felt as if his own limbs were burning.
The behemoth’s struggle turned nearly frantic—instinctively sensing the great danger and fear, all its limbs trembled violently in the web.
Countless gashes formed on its body, and eyes, mouths, sharp teeth, and even human-like features burst forth!
From its grotesque, distorted mouths came more piercing screams.
The howls rang fiercely in Yu Sheng’s ears, filling his mind with a cacophony like a tsunami, making him feel dizzy.
Still, he held tightly to the handle of the ethereal door, watching as the behemoth was gradually pushed toward that infernal passageway.
Just then, he heard a series of disturbing cracking sounds.
Yu Sheng abruptly looked up in the direction of the noise.
The threads had not snapped—it was Erin, giving her all this time; not a single link had broken.
What was shattering was the behemoth’s skin and twisted limbs.
It began tearing itself away from the spider web, ripping its body apart.
Gory flesh was everywhere, and it seemed to feel no pain.
Some of its constrained limbs were pulled off entirely from its body, only for new limbs to sprout from the flesh, clinging to the nearby rocks, hastening its escape.
It transformed into a formless, flowing mass of flesh, quickly adapting to Erin's web and learning a new physiological structure.
“It can’t hold me!” Erin’s scream echoed nearby, “I am at my limit too! Think of something, Yu Sheng!”
Yu Sheng turned to see cracks rapidly appearing on Erin’s arms and cheeks; the puppet’s body was collapsing.
“Darn it!” he muttered under his breath, pushing against the door with one hand while reaching for the creature that was about to break free with the other.
But the next second, he suddenly heard a whistling wind, mixed with… a wolf’s howl.
A wolf’s howl?
Yu Sheng looked up in shock to see shadows racing across the night sky.
Forms resembling wolves took shape from the shadows, howling and charging toward the monster, tearing at its flesh and slowing its transformation.
Then, he heard a powerful shout from behind him, a resonant voice declaring, “I’m here to help you!”
In the next instant, a figure nearly two meters tall surged past him like a whirlwind.
In mid-air, the person executed a flying kick that struck the beast like a massive rock, echoing with a deep thud.
The blood-soaked giant lurched uncontrollably toward the door, its frenzied struggles and roars could no longer delay its fate.
The muscular man spun mid-air, landing gracefully before turning to Yu Sheng. “Luckily, I…”
Then he noticed Yu Sheng’s face.
The man’s expression changed to one of shock as realization dawned; his eyes filled with disbelief, and he looked as if he had been hit by lightning.
He radiated a sense of desolation, like someone who had been routed from one frontline to another due to foolish leadership.
Yu Sheng had no idea why this towering man’s expression shifted so dramatically upon seeing him, nor did he have time to ponder it.
The giant beast was struggling once again, even with half of its body already roasted to ash, its other half was stubbornly wedged at the door’s edge, swiftly regenerating.
A strange connection surged through Yu Sheng, stirring emotions of… anger and hatred.
Within the trembling eyes of the beast, primitive “emotions” and thoughts flickered to life.
The nameless giant sensed the commotion beside him and hurriedly looked up, exclaiming, “Oh no! It can still fight back!”
Then Erin’s scream reached his ears: “It’s going to snap!”
The puppet’s arms, covered in cracks, broke apart as the black threads shattered in an instant.
The web emitted a series of sharp crackling sounds before dispersing altogether.
The giant beast had broken free.
Just as Yu Sheng felt all was lost and prepared to call for everyone to flee, an intense blue flame suddenly ignited from the corner of his eye.
Hu Li, who had been lurking behind a nearby wall, boldly charged out.
She glared at the creature struggling at the doorway, her entire being a wild beast, her silver-white fox tail spread wide against the night sky.
Large plumes of blue spiritual fire blazed at the tips of her tails.
The fox girl let out a low, guttural growl.
Almost simultaneously, dark spikes and skeletal pieces erupted from her limbs, anchoring her to the ground.
Yu Sheng shouted anxiously, “Don’t worry about that—”
But before he could finish, he saw Hu Li, hands and knees on the ground, step forward, breaking the spikes’ hold.
She then swiftly adjusted her stance—
The fox fire erupted in a brilliant flash, slicing through the darkness.
The silver cone behind her surged with ghostly blue flames, shooting towards the monstrous beast that was struggling to escape the door.
Yu Sheng barely had time to comprehend what was happening when the beast’s back exploded in a fierce flash of light.
Though the ensuing blast was intentionally confined by Hu Li, the nearby Yu Sheng felt as if his bones were being shattered by the sound—while the silver projectile struck the creature directly, causing it to lose balance.
The already beleaguered giant stumbled twice before finally crashing through the door.
Amidst the rapidly fading roars, Yu Sheng suddenly released his hold on the door.
The ethereal door vanished in an instant.
Silence blanketed the ruins of the broken temple, the suddenness of it felt surreal.
Erin collapsed to the ground, unable to lift her fractured arms.
A young girl clad in red, riding a phantom wolf, approached from outside the ruins, her face displaying astonishment.
Beside her was a seemingly ordinary young man with black hair.
The young man noticed Yu Sheng from a distance, his expression froze, as if recalling something, his brows furrowing deeply.
The nearly two-meter tall man stared wide-eyed in the direction where the door had vanished, seemingly engulfed in shock and contemplation.
But Yu Sheng didn’t bother greeting these “temporary allies” who appeared out of nowhere.
Instead, he turned quickly to Hu Li.
The fox girl was straining to get up.
Her fox fire had dimmed significantly, but she was still alive.
Yu Sheng was taken aback: so what flew past earlier was not a headbutt?
Then he noticed that Hu Li seemed to be missing a tail.
Yu Sheng: “…”
So what had she just fired off?
Can you even do that?!
Yu Sheng was at a loss for words.
Realizing that the blue-flame projectile that zoomed out was, in fact, Hu Li’s tail left him dumbfounded, pushing aside the thrill of defeating a formidable foe.
He didn’t understand celestial methods or demon skills, but instinct informed him that such powers certainly didn’t include “a nine-tailed fox can launch its tails like missiles.”
But Hu Li was oblivious to her benefactor’s bewildered expression.
Struggling to her feet, she realized that the wounds from the black spikes had vanished.
Breathless, she stumbled towards Yu Sheng, urgency painted on her face. “Benefactor…”
Yu Sheng quickly reached out to steady the woozy fox girl, “You need to rest…”
However, Hu Li urgently interrupted, “No time to rest, Benefactor! It’s not over yet!”
Yu Sheng was taken aback.
(End of Chapter)