Chapter 1126: Far From Enough
Forcibly shattering Remnant Moon, Yi Xuan didn't manifest another talisman to confront Yang Haoran as he had before. Instead, he directly transformed into a streak of golden light and charged towards Yang Haoran.
It wasn't that his personal dimension had run out of talismans; rather, he simply didn't want to waste them any further. He believed that with his current might, he could slay Yang Haoran even without resorting to a single one.
For the vast majority of Talisman Masters, engaging in close-quarters combat was absolutely not a favorable prospect. Most Talisman Masters were ill-suited for it, and the disparity when compared to physically robust demons was simply too immense.
Yi Xuan was no exception; he, too, was not proficient in close-quarters fighting. Yet, at this moment, he cast aside such concerns, for a higher cultivation realm could crush all!
In his estimation, as a Gold Talisman Master, he surpassed Yang Haoran by an entire realm. The gulf between their cultivation levels was an ocean nigh impossible to traverse. Even if Yang Haoran's strength exceeded his wildest imagination, in his eyes, Yang Haoran had still not opened his Heaven and Earth Souls. Thus, he believed his power could utterly overwhelm Yang Haoran, even without employing talismans. All he needed to do was imbue his body with Talisman Spirit Power, and his very form would become a weapon of attack!
His assessment was, in fact, not mistaken. Had Yang Haoran's cultivation realm merely been at the peak of Heaven Soul, then being utterly crushed by a Gold Talisman Master like Yi Xuan would have been perfectly normal. Unless Yang Haoran possessed some heaven-defying technique or external artifact, he would have inevitably been overwhelmed, a fate that no amount of acceptance or rejection could alter.
However, there was one crucial fact Yi Xuan was unaware of: Yang Haoran had long since opened both his Heaven and Earth Souls. Furthermore, aided by a multitude of Soul Pills, his power was utterly incomparable to that of an Underworld Official who had only just unlocked their Earth Soul.
He was ignorant of this truth, and even if he were told, he would not have believed it, for he simply refused to. Just as Yang Haoran had stated moments ago, the power fluctuation he currently unleashed was but a fraction of his true might. If he was unwilling to accept even that, how could he possibly conceive that Yang Haoran had already opened his Earth Soul?
Forget mere steel plates; even a towering mountain could be reduced to rubble with a single punch from a Gold Talisman Master. Judging by Yi Xuan's current momentum, he clearly intended to dispatch Yang Haoran with one decisive blow!
Confronted by such a mighty punch, Yang Haoran made no move to evade; it was as if the thought of dodging hadn't even crossed his mind. Yet, just as the strike was poised to land on his faintly smiling face, the power fluctuation he unleashed in that very instant surged upward like a rocket.
BOOM! ! !
Black and gold energies intertwined, erupting in a deafening crash that shook the very space around them. Moments later, a figure was sent hurtling backward.
This figure was not Yang Haoran, but the aggressive Yi Xuan, who had arrogantly believed he could dispatch Yang Haoran with a single blow!
Before his backward-flying body could even stabilize, Yi Xuan couldn't help but cough up a large mouthful of fresh blood. As he finally regained his balance, his eyes widened in disbelief, fixed upon Yang Haoran, his gaze brimming with an inexpressible shock!
Regarding Yang Haoran's strength, he had previously been taken by surprise and, naturally, quite astonished, for Yang Haoran's power had utterly exceeded his imagination, proving far, far greater than any intelligence he possessed.
However, that had merely been astonishment, not true shock. After all, he was a Gold Talisman Master, and in the eyes of one such as him, even Yang Haoran's power at the peak of Heaven Soul was nothing more than refuse.
But now, things were different. The formidable Spirit Power that Yang Haoran had unleashed was utterly beyond what an Underworld Official who had merely opened their Heaven Soul could possess. Furthermore, the punch Yi Xuan had just delivered not only failed to strike Yang Haoran but was instead repelled by the terrifying Spirit Power Yang Haoran abruptly unleashed, even causing Yi Xuan to vomit blood!
What did this signify?
It signified that Yang Haoran had not only opened both his Heaven and Earth Souls, but his power also surpassed Yi Xuan's, perhaps even vastly so. Otherwise, Yang Haoran could not possibly have repelled a Gold Talisman Master like him purely through a burst of Spirit Power!
At that moment, Yang Haoran's entire body was enveloped in a dense shroud of Yin Qi, making him appear as though he were ablaze, yet the burning flames were an eerie black. Around his form, two violently swirling masses of Yin Qi revolved slowly, with Yang Haoran's body serving as their focal point.
As Yi Xuan's gaze fell upon those two slowly revolving masses of Yin Qi, his pupils instantly dilated. As a Gold Talisman Master, he naturally comprehended the significance of the two swirling masses of Yin Qi around Yang Haoran's body, and the shock in his heart consequently escalated yet another level.
"I told you just moments ago that my true strength far surpasses what you've witnessed, yet you stubbornly refused to believe. Do you believe it now?"
As Yang Haoran's voice, tinged with a faint smile, resonated, a black lightning bolt slowly ascended from one of the swirling masses of Yin Qi. By the time his words faded, the black lightning bolt was already level with his face, before it distorted and vanished from sight.
This black lightning bolt was precisely Black Lightning, the Soul Armament he had acquired after opening his Earth Soul.
As Black Lightning vanished, dark clouds suddenly gathered above Yi Xuan's head. Due to the restrictive barrier, the cloud cover was exceedingly low, and precisely this proximity created an even more oppressive sensation. Bursts of muffled thunder rumbled, jolting Yi Xuan from his stunned state.
He had no time to wipe the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth, nor did he have the luxury of retorting Yang Haoran. The first thing he did upon snapping back to reality was to flee the spot with the utmost speed, dodging sharply to the side.
BOOM! ! !
No sooner had Yi Xuan's body vanished from its original position than a black lightning bolt descended from the heavens, striking precisely where he had stood moments before. Shards of rock erupted, and the ground was rent asunder by the black lightning, forming a massive crater from which visible tendrils of Yin Qi billowed upwards.
It must be said, Yi Xuan's reaction speed was remarkably swift. The moment he snapped out of his shock, he instantly recognized the grave danger of his predicament, prompting him to evade without a second thought.
Yet, before he could even catch his breath, or indeed, before his body could come to a halt, a second black lightning bolt descended, hurtling towards him once more!
Yi Xuan's countenance drastically changed. He had never anticipated such a rapid succession of black lightning bolts; no sooner had the previous one fallen than the second arrived, even locking onto him as its target.
In desperation, he cast aside all other considerations. He could only force himself to evade, expending a vast amount of Talisman Spirit Power to conjure a protective shield around his body, thus providing himself with an additional layer of defense.
He narrowly dodged the second black lightning bolt, but in rapid succession, the third, fourth, and fifth descended. Black lightning bolts poured down like a torrential rain, not only swift in their frequency but also incredibly dense. In such circumstances, he found himself utterly unable to execute an effective dodge, for every one of his escape routes was completely sealed off by the relentless black lightning.
Yi Xuan hadn't experienced the emotion of fear in countless years, for he had encountered no one or nothing capable of instilling such a feeling. Yet, in this very moment, confronting the storm of black lightning, genuine terror blossomed within his heart.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Explosions reverberated one after another, and, without any surprise, Yi Xuan was immediately struck by the dense black lightning. The protective shield he had erected was instantly blasted into smithereens.
Yi Xuan's expression drastically altered. Without the shield's protection, it was utterly unrealistic for his physical body to endure these black lightning bolts. Even if he wasn't instantly struck dead, the outcome would undoubtedly be agonizingly close. Thus, he had to devise a countermeasure immediately, or his predicament would be far more dire than merely passive.
The first thought that sprang to his mind was to conjure another protective shield for himself with the utmost speed. Moreover, this new shield had to be vastly superior to the previous one; only then might he hope to stand his ground against the fierce onslaught of the black lightning!
Though his heart was consumed by terror, his reaction speed remained unyielding. The very instant the shield shattered, he simultaneously evaded and conjured another protective barrier.
But this shield had only just materialized. He didn't even have time to imbue it with more Talisman Spirit Power to enhance its defensive capabilities before it was once again shattered by the black lightning.
This time, he had no opportunity to erect another shield, for in the very instant the previous one disintegrated, a black lightning bolt struck his body.
BOOM!
Yi Xuan's body convulsed, his dodging form freezing in place. The black lightning carried a potent paralyzing effect, causing his attempting-to-evade body to instantly lock up where it stood.
The very moment his body froze in place, a powerful sense of impending danger abruptly surged within his heart. Yet, no sooner had this premonition surfaced than a black ray pierced through his neck!
A bone-chilling cold spread throughout his entire body. Yi Xuan's facial expression became rigid; he had already grasped the origin of this frigid sensation!
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