Chapter 1029: The Vanished Souls
Xiang Chuan's proposal was a good one, and Huang Sha was quite tempted. After all, with Xiang Chuan's strength, even if he couldn't kill Zhuang Mingzhe in a short time, he certainly wouldn't be defeated, so he had no worries about Xiang Chuan's safety.
However, he glanced at Yang Haoran, who was smoking in the distance, thought for a moment, and then dismissed the idea, rejecting Xiang Chuan's suggestion.
"We'll talk about the Human Spirits later; first, you and I will join forces to eliminate this person!"
As Huang Sha spoke, Xiang Chuan had already entered the combat zone between him and Zhuang Mingzhe.
He made this decision because he worried that if the battle dragged on, complications might arise, and if that displeased Yang Haoran, the gains wouldn't be worth the loss.
Although his time interacting with Yang Haoran had been brief, he could sense that Yang Haoran was a ruthless individual. It was just that Yang Haoran didn't like to show his inner emotions on his face. Despite Yang Haoran constantly wearing a harmless smile, in Huang Sha's view, such people were the most terrifying, and thus he harbored a deep reverence for Yang Haoran.
It was precisely for this reason that he did not accept Xiang Chuan's proposal. He didn't want to incur Yang Haoran's displeasure for a small benefit.
"Suit yourself. Human Spirits are useless to me anyway. I was just giving you a kind reminder; what you do is your business."
Dealing with Huang Sha alone was already quite taxing for Zhuang Mingzhe. Now, with the addition of Xiang Chuan, who was equally formidable, how could he possibly be a match? After barely parrying a few blows, he was sent flying, spitting blood from his mouth, and his Guardian Spirit was scattered.
Huang Sha and Xiang Chuan had no intention of giving Zhuang Mingzhe a moment to catch his breath. Seizing the opportunity of Zhuang Mingzhe being airborne, the two launched an even fiercer assault, seemingly determined to finish him off in one go.
"It's over!"
Zhuang Mingzhe was sent flying by one of Xiang Chuan's moves. Huang Sha, with a flash of his figure, appeared behind Zhuang Mingzhe. As his voice rang out, Huang Sha struck Zhuang Mingzhe's back with a palm.
Pfft! ! !
Zhuang Mingzhe spat out another mouthful of blood, but this time he wasn't sent flying; instead, his body froze in mid-air. However, his body then underwent a bizarre transformation, rapidly turning to sand. In the blink of an eye, his body disintegrated into a pile of yellow sand, scattering from the sky. Meanwhile, his Guardian Spirit was forcibly restrained in mid-air by a technique Xiang Chuan deployed.
Xiang Chuan watched Zhuang Mingzhe's body turn to sand and scatter, then couldn't help but say with a laugh,
"With such meager strength, he dared to proactively seek trouble. I really don't know what those Spirit Mediums in Gu Mo City are thinking. It's a bit of a shame though, I didn't manage to burst open this guy's independent space; otherwise, we could have gotten some extra income."
After successfully killing Zhuang Mingzhe, Xiang Chuan returned to Yang Haoran's side with a smug expression. Huang Sha, meanwhile, allowed his body to land, then slammed a palm onto the ground.
Boom! ! !
A dull thud echoed, and the earth trembled slightly. The ground around the Spirit Mediums' corpses instantly turned into quicksand. The quicksand churned, enveloping the corpses. Then, the quicksand dispersed, and the Spirit Mediums' bodies shriveled up. Not only were the Human Spirits within the corpses completely devoured, but their blood was also drained dry.
Huang Sha wore an expression of enjoyment. Although the strength of these Spirit Mediums wasn't particularly impressive, their sheer number meant the gains were still considerable for him, allowing his cultivation to improve to a certain extent.
The collection of souls was being handled by Shui Ling and her subordinate, so he didn't concern himself with that matter. After successfully devouring the Human Spirits of all the Spirit Mediums present, he too returned to Yang Haoran's side.
"Hehe, Big Brother, how was that? My strength isn't bad, right? Didn't disgrace you, did I?"
No sooner had Huang Sha returned to Yang Haoran's side than he heard Xiang Chuan showing off to Yang Haoran. Yang Haoran, as usual, had a faint smile on his face and calmly smoked his cigarette.
Seeing that Yang Haoran wasn't speaking, Xiang Chuan let out an unamused "Tsk," then looked at the Night Watcher held in mid-air by chains behind Yang Haoran. With a chuckle, he walked over to Lu Wu, who was guarding the Night Watcher.
"Hehe, Lu Wu, you Night Watchers from Gu Mo City are really something, daring to lay hands on your own superior. I wouldn't even dare to do that. I truly admire your courage."
Upon hearing Xiang Chuan's words, Lu Wu's pale face showed anger, but his anger wasn't directed at Xiang Chuan; it was aimed at the Night Watcher suspended above his head.
"Don't lump all Night Watchers together. The squad I led was different from this traitor. Though they all died, they were heroes of our Underworld Office. They fought for their beliefs and died for their glory, unlike this traitor. Don't look down on the other Night Watchers of our Gu Mo City because of him."
Xiang Chuan gave a noncommittal laugh and started chatting with Lu Wu. Since Yang Haoran wasn't paying him any mind, and he wasn't one to sit still, he simply started idly chatting with Lu Wu.
Huang Sha was unlike Xiang Chuan. Seeing that Yang Haoran had no intention of speaking and seemed to be deep in thought, he didn't dare to speak carelessly. He stood respectfully behind Yang Haoran.
Shui Ling and her subordinate moved quickly. Shortly after Huang Sha absorbed the Human Spirits, they both returned to Yang Haoran's front.
"Emissary, all the Spirit Mediums' souls and Guardian Spirits have been collected into the Soul-Gathering Beads, but. . ."
Shui Ling looked serious, hesitating to speak.
Yang Haoran heard her and asked with a smile,
"Heh, but what?"
Shui Ling glanced at Huang Sha behind Yang Haoran, hesitated for a moment, and then replied,
"It's just that Zhuang Mingzhe's soul was not found. I only collected his Guardian Spirit."
Shui Ling's words made Huang Sha's expression change. Xiang Chuan, who had been idly chatting with Lu Wu, also fell silent and looked at Shui Ling, a bewildered expression on his face.
As for Yang Haoran, his expression remained the same, a faint smile on his face, utterly unchanged.
"Zhuang Mingzhe, is that the Spirit Master who was just turned into sand by Old Sha's palm?"
Xiang Chuan asked Shui Ling. Shui Ling nodded at Xiang Chuan. Although she didn't speak, she gave an affirmative answer.
Receiving Shui Ling's affirmative reply, Xiang Chuan looked at Huang Sha in confusion and couldn't help but ask,
"Old Sha, you didn't accidentally scatter that guy's soul with one palm, did you?"
Huang Sha's expression changed slightly, then he replied,
"Sh-shouldn't be, right?"
Huang Sha's tone was somewhat uncertain.
"Oh, come on, you sound so unconfident. It looks like that guy's soul might really have been scattered by you. Otherwise, why can't his soul be found?"
Huang Sha thought for a moment, then said,
"Could that guy have used some Spiritual Art to make his soul escape?"
Before Xiang Chuan could answer, Yang Haoran took a puff from his cigarette and said with a faint smile,
"He did indeed use a Spiritual Art, but his soul didn't escape. His true body never appeared, which is why Shui Ling couldn't sense his soul after his physical body was destroyed."
Yang Haoran's words caused the expressions of everyone else present to change again. Shui Ling's delicate brows furrowed slightly, as if something suddenly occurred to her.
"I've also heard of such a Spiritual Art. As long as one understands this secret art, they can make a paper figure their substitute. The substitute looks no different from a real person, not only having flesh and blood, but also possessing the main body's power. However, when Zhuang Mingzhe died just now, no paper figure was found."
Comments