Chapter 1281: Ghost King (Part 2)
Yang Haoran retracted his hand, which had been poised in mid-air. He had felt Tang Shi's situation was already quite dire and couldn't bear to watch any longer, believing he had to intervene and forcefully interrupt Tang Shi's breakthrough. That was why he had decided to act. However, from the current state of affairs, a new turn of events had emerged: Tang Shi might not fail his breakthrough after all, and this possibility was quite significant.
Since he had discovered a high probability that Tang Shi would not fail his breakthrough, Yang Haoran naturally wouldn't interfere again. Such an action wouldn't be helping Tang Shi; it would only be harming him.
As Yang Haoran withdrew his hand, the dense Yin Qi had completely enveloped Tang Shi's entire Soul Body. At this point, trying to see Tang Shi with the naked eye would reveal not even a trace of his Soul Body's outline. Even with Yang Haoran's Ghost Eye activated, he could only make out a rough outline of Tang Shi's Soul Body, no longer able to discern every subtle change in Tang Shi's expression as he had before.
The power fluctuations emanating from Tang Shi's Soul Body continued to soar, showing no signs of stopping. Similarly, the dense Yin Qi being released from within him showed no intention of ceasing. In the blink of an eye, the entire stone chamber was filled with the thick Yin Qi.
Yang Haoran regarded the Yin Qi as nothing. He calmly picked up his teacup, sipping his tea while watching everything intently. Without a sound, he injected more Spirit Power into his Ghost Eye. With the augmentation of Spirit Power, his Ghost Eye's abilities naturally improved, and Tang Shi's Soul Body once again became clear within his sight.
After a few breaths, Tang Shi's power ceased its rapid ascent. The power fluctuations currently erupting from his Soul Body were already comparable to those of an Underworld Official who had opened both their Heaven and Earth Souls.
The change in power was merely one aspect; the most significant transformation now belonged to Tang Shi's Soul Body!
Under Yang Haoran's watchful gaze, Tang Shi closed his eyes. His Soul Body, which had been seated cross-legged, now slowly floated upwards. Not only did his Soul Body cease to spew forth large amounts of Yin Qi as before, but it now resembled a bottomless pit with a powerful suction force, voraciously devouring the Yin Qi within the stone chamber. All the Yin Qi in the room swiftly converged towards his Soul Body at that moment.
Ghosts typically lack a physical body of flesh and blood; to reconstruct one, they must reach the Ghost King realm. The fact that Tang Shi was currently capable of reconstructing his physical body indicated that his cultivation had nearly broken through to the Ghost King realm.
The reason for using "nearly" rather than "definitely" to describe it was because Tang Shi's physical body was still undergoing reconstruction and had not yet been thoroughly completed. Variables still existed during this process; if the physical body reconstruction failed, then Tang Shi would not have truly stepped into the Ghost King realm.
However, this worst-case scenario did not materialize. In just a few breaths, the extremely dense Yin Qi that had filled the stone chamber completely vanished, all of it devoured by Tang Shi, and with it, Tang Shi's physical body reconstruction concluded.
Tang Shi, now suspended in front of Yang Haoran, was no longer in his previous Soul Body state, nor did he resemble his earlier form clad in a skin. At this moment, he had once again acquired a physical body. Just like other living beings, he now possessed a body of flesh and blood.
However, his current physical body was vastly different from that of a normal person. Not only did it possess immense power, but it also had special abilities that a normal physical body lacked. To put it bluntly, his physical body was utterly incomparable to an ordinary one. Even Yang Haoran's own Guardian-level physical body couldn't be mentioned in the same breath as Tang Shi's, because a physical body reconstructed by a Ghost King could be corporeal or incorporeal. Even if Yang Haoran's strength surpassed Tang Shi's, he couldn't make his own physical body achieve such a feat.
Tang Shi now stood suspended in the air, his face devoid of pain, replaced by an expression of utter calm. His body no longer trembled incessantly as before, nor did his power fluctuations ebb and flow. The power fluctuations emanating from him were now not only incredibly stable but also exceptionally formidable, a level of might that a peak Evil Spirit couldn't even begin to compare with.
The moment Tang Shi opened his eyes, two sharp gleams erupted from them. Simultaneously, a powerful aura burst forth from his body—an aura that felt both keen and chilling.
Without any visible movement from Tang Shi, his freshly reconstructed physical body instantly transformed into a wisp of Yin Qi and vanished. Immediately afterward, a ball of Yin Qi suddenly appeared before Yang Haoran, violently swirling before rapidly coalescing and reforming into Tang Shi.
"Master, your subordinate has succeeded!"
Tang Shi knelt on one knee, speaking to Yang Haoran with a face full of reverence. Besides his deference, an almost imperceptible sense of pride and excitement shone in his eyes.
Indeed, a powerful surge of pride and excitement welled up within Tang Shi at this moment. He was proud because he had successfully broken through to the Ghost King realm through his own power. And he was thrilled that, despite having lost his physical body once before, he now possessed one again.
"Heh heh, a Ghost King's physical body can be corporeal or incorporeal. While I knew this, I'd never witnessed it before. Today, you've certainly broadened my horizons."
Yang Haoran looked at Tang Shi, who was kneeling on one knee before him, and spoke with a faint smile. As his words faded, he once again picked up the teacup beside him and took a small sip. Though the tea in the cup had long gone cold, he paid it no mind.
"Your subordinate would not dare," Tang Shi respectfully replied. "This subordinate owes everything to Master's guidance. Without Master, this subordinate might have long since suffered Soul Transformation, let alone reconstructed a physical body. Moreover, even with this physical body that can be corporeal or incorporeal, it would still be utterly vulnerable before Master's formidable power."
"Heh heh, there's no need for modesty. My words aren't meant to mock you, but rather come from the bottom of my heart. Your physical body truly makes me envious, but it's merely admiration, not jealousy, for you've earned this through countless hardships."
As his words fell, Yang Haoran waved his hand, retrieving the skins he had brought this time from his independent space. They landed neatly on the stone table beside him, a thick stack.
"Heh heh, you may rise now."
Yang Haoran said with a smile. Hearing this, Tang Shi finally stood up, his gaze falling upon the skins Yang Haoran had taken out.
"Take this batch of skins for now. For the recently joined members, I will send their skins over later."
Yang Haoran said. Tang Shi respectfully affirmed, but he did not immediately put away the skins in Yang Haoran's presence.
"You've just broken through, and you'll need Soul Pills to stabilize your realm. Do you have enough Soul Pills on hand?"
Yang Haoran asked with a smile. Tang Shi immediately gave a respectful reply.
"The Soul Pill your subordinate just consumed has only been used for a small part. If I thoroughly refine this Soul Pill, my realm should be stabilized."
Tang Shi did not directly answer Yang Haoran's question about whether he had enough Soul Pills. Instead, he merely stated that the remaining Pure Yin Qi within the Soul Pill he had consumed would be sufficient to stabilize his realm. Yang Haoran understood the implication.
"Heh heh, the next time I come over, I'll prepare a batch of Soul Pills for you. The Myriad Ghost Grotto is currently the most important and strongest organization under my command; I certainly won't let the Myriad Ghost Grotto face a shortage of Soul Pills."
At this point, Yang Haoran stood up and continued.
"The reason I came to the Myriad Ghost Grotto today was precisely my concern that your breakthrough might encounter problems and lead to Soul Transformation. Now that the matter is settled, and you have successfully broken through to the Ghost King realm, I will not linger here any longer. There are still many other matters awaiting my attention."
Seeing Yang Haoran prepare to leave, Tang Shi hesitated slightly, then spoke up.
"Master, our Myriad Ghost Grotto has collected quite a few treasures of various kinds recently. Would you like to take a look?"
Yang Haoran thought for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head.
"Heh heh, no need this time. I'll take a look on my next visit."
Seeing Yang Haoran's resolve to leave, Tang Shi dared not try to persuade him to stay.
"Your subordinate respectfully bids Master farewell!"
As Tang Shi bowed, Yang Haoran waved his hand, tearing through space and directly leaving the Myriad Ghost Grotto through the spatial rift. Although the Myriad Ghost Grotto was protected by a grand array, it could not prevent the current Yang Haoran from departing. Even when inside this grand array, Yang Haoran could still easily rip space apart.
The grand array currently used by the Myriad Ghost Grotto was no longer the same set of formation flags as before. Just as Tang Shi had mentioned, their Myriad Ghost Grotto had now collected quite a number of various treasures, and naturally, among them were powerful formation flags. To ensure the safety and concealment of the Myriad Ghost Grotto, Tang Shi had selected the most formidable and suitable set of formation flags from all those collected, establishing it as the Myriad Ghost Grotto's guardian grand array.
However, the formidable nature of this guardian grand array was merely relative. For ordinary powerful individuals, it was undoubtedly very strong, but for a powerhouse of Yang Haoran's caliber, this guardian grand array was quite mediocre.
After leaving the Myriad Ghost Grotto, Yang Haoran immediately hurried back to the Guardian District. When he stepped out of the spatial rift, his Death God attire had already reverted to its normal appearance.
The Guardian District was vast, yet sparsely populated, which made it appear quite desolate. Yang Haoran took all of this in, but he wasn't anxious, for he knew it was only temporary. In just a little more time, his Guardian District would become exceptionally lively, and Lecheng's entire economy and security would experience a tremendous leap forward due to its existence.
Yang Haoran's return naturally drew the attention of others within the Guardian District. Without wasting any time, he immediately pulled out Communication Talismans one by one from his independent space, summoning all his trusted subordinates to the Guardian District's conference room for a meeting.
For this meeting, he intended to assign suitable positions to his trusted subordinates.
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