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Chapter 1148: Who Is the Prey?

From the moment she stepped into Tongyou City, the Eyepatch Woman had been secretly observing the situation, making her acutely aware of the current state of affairs.

Even after Yang Haoran appeared, she continued to observe from the shadows. Although Yang Haoran hadn't been present for long, she had still managed to deduce a few things, one of which was her belief that Yang Haoran had come alone on this trip.

This conjecture wasn't mere intuition; it was an analysis based on what she had observed in that short span of time.

In her opinion, if Yang Haoran hadn't come alone, then when Ding Tianhua faced a mortal threat, it wouldn't have been Yang Haoran, the Guardian, who intervened, but rather the formidable experts Yang Haoran had brought with him.

If, among the powerful individuals Yang Haoran had brought, there was no one strong enough to contend with Cold Yue, and only Yang Haoran, the Guardian, could save Ding Tianhua's life at such a critical juncture, then after Yang Haoran had intervened to save Ding Tianhua, his accompanying experts should, by all logic, have immediately revealed themselves and swiftly dealt with Cold Yue. They wouldn't have simply stood by, watching their own Guardian simultaneously confront Cold Yue and her Ghost King guardian spirit.

Regardless of whether Yang Haoran could defeat Cold Yue and her guardian spirit, Yang Haoran, as a Guardian, had already made his move. Could the experts he brought still stand in the shadows and watch the show?

The Eyepatch Woman thought this possibility was highly unlikely; in fact, she considered it almost zero. In her view, a Guardian naturally commanded a Guardian's presence. Problems that subordinates could handle would certainly be left to them. If the Guardian personally stepped forward to address issues beyond their subordinates' capabilities, those subordinates would absolutely not dare to stand idle. They would undoubtedly do everything within their power and achieve results to impress Yang Haoran, their Guardian.

Even if the formidable individuals Yang Haoran brought had absolute confidence in his strength and felt no need to intervene in his battle, the Tongyou City Yin Division had already suffered extremely heavy losses, to the point of being almost annihilated. Surely these experts should have intervened to help the Tongyou City Yin Division deal with other external enemies?

Given this, it could only mean one thing: Yang Haoran hadn't brought any other subordinates on this trip; he had come to Tongyou City alone.

When Yang Haoran first appeared, the Eyepatch Woman had felt a degree of apprehension. She worried that Yang Haoran had brought many powerful experts with him. If that were the case, the situation would be dire. They, who had been waiting to catch a big fish, might instead be swallowed by it. This was not the outcome she desired, but it was far from impossible.

However, after her careful observation and her analysis that Yang Haoran had likely not brought any other powerful experts to Tongyou City, her earlier apprehension vanished instantly, replaced by elation. Yang Haoran was too significant a catch; if they could secure this 'big fish,' their operation would send shockwaves throughout the entire New Beginning Realm. Not only would those involved in this mission receive astonishing rewards, but their organization of Spirit Mediums would also reap tremendous benefits from this affair.

For instance, when the previous Jingling Great Emperor of the Underworld Office and two Guardians fell into their Spirit Mediums' hands, their organization subsequently reaped immense benefits. The greatest advantage was that some forces, whose relationship with the Underworld Office had originally been quite amicable, saw that relationship become delicate afterward. Some forces even directly chose to stand in opposition to the Underworld Office, forming alliances with their Spirit Mediums. Although the vast majority of these forces were obscure minor powers, their inclusion was, by all accounts, a good start.

If, this time, their Spirit Mediums could eliminate Yang Haoran, this newly appointed Guardian, in Tongyou City, the impact, though not comparable to the fall of the previous Jingling Great Emperor of the Underworld Office, would certainly not be small, nor would the benefits brought to their Spirit Mediums be insignificant. If they could capture Yang Haoran, the Guardian, alive, the impact would naturally be even greater, and the benefits even more substantial!

It was precisely because the Eyepatch Woman had considered the various benefits that would come from taking down Yang Haoran that her apprehension vanished, replaced by a feeling that Cold Yue's decision that day had been absolutely correct. However, she held no admiration for Cold Yue; she simply believed Cold Yue had been lucky and gambled correctly this time.

Had Cold Yue not gambled correctly this time, her mood at this moment would naturally be quite different.

Approximately three more minutes passed. Cold Yue, in the sky, found herself in an increasingly dire situation under Yang Haoran's fierce assault. Previously, she had been able to successfully dodge the continuous barrage of lightning and even form hand seals to cast Spiritual Arts while evading.

But now, let alone casting Spiritual Arts while dodging, even her evasive movements had become strained. In just these three short minutes, her body had been struck by five bolts of falling lightning. Each direct hit exacerbated her injuries considerably. The five lightning strikes, one after another, caused her to spew several mouthfuls of blood.

However, although the damage to her physical body was severe, it was relatively secondary. Truly, her most grievous injuries were to her soul, because the lightning unleashed by Black Lightning inflicted far greater harm to the soul than to the physical body.

Thus, at this moment, Cold Yue not only suffered intense discomfort from her physical injuries, but the damage to her soul was even more agonizing. In just three minutes, she had been struck by lightning a total of five times, and these five bolts had utterly stunned her.

Her face was now pale and bloodless, and the power fluctuations emanating from her body had become incredibly faint. Compared to when Yang Haoran first appeared, the difference was like heaven and earth.

The weakness of her body caused a dizzy spell in her brain, blurring her consciousness. In this state, let alone forming hand seals to cast Spiritual Arts, even dodging the lightning falling from above became a problem for her. How could she possibly have the ability to form hand seals and cast Spiritual Arts? As for her guardian spirit, she naturally couldn't spare a thought for it!

Not long ago, Ding Tianhua had nearly died beneath the Spirit Aspect summoned by Cold Yue. At that time, the Spirit Aspect Cold Yue had summoned was incredibly powerful, while Ding Tianhua was at the end of his rope, utterly lacking the strength to contend with it. And now, Cold Yue's situation was no different from Ding Tianhua's then; in fact, it was arguably even worse.

The Ghost King guardian spirit's situation was no better than that of its master, Cold Yue. Originally, its physical condition was much superior to Cold Yue's, but facing the lightning unleashed by Black Lightning and the relentless assault of Remnant Moon, it was forcibly worn down to severe injury by Yang Haoran, unable to even materialize a physical body, let alone resist. It could only continuously evade, enduring extreme humiliation.

In a short time, the Yin Qi transformed from the Ghost King, under the attacks of lightning and Remnant Moon, was no longer just a few clusters as before, but had fragmented into dozens of clusters of varying sizes.

These clusters of Yin Qi did not hover motionlessly in the air like inanimate objects; instead, they constantly dodged like living beings, evading the incoming attacks. If not for this, the Yin Qi in this area would have been far more than just dozens of clusters.

These dozens of Yin Qi clusters were all that remained after the Ghost King's physical body was dispersed. If the Ghost King wanted to reform its physical body, it would have to gather all these dozens of Yin Qi clusters together; not a single one could be missing.

Without external interference, let alone gathering dozens of Yin Qi clusters, even hundreds could be reformed without difficulty, accomplished in just a few breaths.

However, at this moment, the Ghost King was not only facing external interference, but this interference was also quite strong. Therefore, its desire to gather all these dozens of Yin Qi clusters of varying sizes together was naturally many times more difficult than with the initial few clusters of Yin Qi. It was precisely because of this that the Ghost King's attempt to reform its physical body also became extremely arduous.

Furthermore, because the Ghost King was now severely weakened from the torment, the Yin Qi it had transformed into was no longer as swift in dodging as before. Evading the lightning and Remnant Moon descending from above became extremely difficult, leading to an increasing number of hits from both the lightning and Remnant Moon.

If Yang Haoran didn't stop, and continued to mercilessly assault the Ghost King in this manner, then the Ghost King would certainly bid farewell to this world earlier than its master, Cold Yue. After all, Soul Armaments inflicted too much damage on spiritual beings, especially the lightning unleashed by Black Lightning, which caused even greater harm. If this torment continued, in just a short while, the Ghost King would undoubtedly suffer Soul Transformation, certainly preceding its master.

However, Yang Haoran wouldn't do that. The Ghost King's value was simply too great to him, so much so that it stirred his heart. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't destroy a Ghost King's soul, as that would simply be a waste for him.

Yang Haoran observed the weakening of both Cold Yue and the Ghost King. If this had happened in ordinary circumstances, his character dictated he wouldn't show any obvious change in expression. Yet, now, he was uncharacteristically beaming with overt delight. While not quite excitement, his inner happiness was evident to anyone who saw it.

And the changes in his expression, not a single one missed, fell entirely into the eyes of the lanky man and the Eyepatch Woman, who were lurking in the shadows. Both could see that Yang Haoran was very happy at this moment. As for why Yang Haoran was happy, they both knew perfectly well.

“If you and I don’t intervene now, it might be too late. ”

The lanky man's brow was deeply furrowed. As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Yang Haoran's every move in the sky. Though his words were directed at the Eyepatch Woman, he didn't look at her.

Because he dared not. It wasn't that he feared the Eyepatch Woman, hence his reluctance to look at her. Rather, given the current situation, he simply couldn't afford to shift his gaze from Yang Haoran. He worried that if his attention wavered, and Yang Haoran happened to make a subtle move at that exact moment, or directly employ other methods to deliver a killing blow to Cold Yue, the situation would be dire. Cold Yue might very well lose her life as a result.

Conversely, if he kept his gaze locked on Yang Haoran, he could immediately intervene to rescue Cold Yue should he detect the slightest anomaly. He hadn't been so cautious before because the situation hadn't reached this critical point, but the current state of affairs left no room for even the slightest distraction.

The Eyepatch Woman wasn't as vigilant as the lanky man. To be precise, it wasn't that she lacked vigilance, but rather that she didn't seem to value Cold Yue's life and death as much as he did. As the lanky man's voice sounded, she turned her gaze towards him.

From the lanky man's tightly furrowed brows and his clenched fists, the Eyepatch Woman could tell that he was, in fact, very tense at this moment.

This scene made the Eyepatch Woman unable to resist a cold smile. She was just about to mock the lanky man when, at that very moment, his figure suddenly vanished from its spot.

Such a sudden occurrence caused the Eyepatch Woman's expression to subtly shift. She seemed to realize something and once again directed her gaze towards Yang Haoran's position in the sky.

She saw Yang Haoran take out a bead and offer it up, sending it towards the Yin Qi transformed from the Ghost King. Although she was a considerable distance from Yang Haoran, the Eyepatch Woman recognized at a glance what the bead he had offered was: a Soul-Gathering Bead, unique to the Underworld Office!

Why Yang Haoran would offer the Soul-Gathering Bead towards the area of Yin Qi transformed from the Ghost King was obvious; it was undoubtedly to collect the Ghost King into the Soul-Gathering Bead. As for when Yang Haoran took out the Soul-Gathering Bead, in the Eyepatch Woman's opinion, it must have been when she had turned her gaze towards the lanky man.

Why the lanky man had suddenly vanished from his spot just now—the Eyepatch Woman immediately understood what was happening the moment she saw the Soul-Gathering Bead Yang Haoran offered. It must have been because the lanky man saw Yang Haoran take out the Soul-Gathering Bead, understood Yang Haoran's intentions, and decided to stop observing from the shadows, immediately taking action even before she could respond!

“Heh, he’s truly impatient. But indeed, it's time to act now. If we continue to watch, Cold Yue and her guardian spirit might truly fall into Yang Haoran’s hands. ”

The Eyepatch Woman thought to herself, then her body also vanished from its spot.

Although the Eyepatch Woman didn't particularly care for Cold Yue, and the two rarely got along, the current situation was different. They shared a common mission and a common enemy, so personal grievances had to be set aside for now. Completing the shared mission and eliminating the common enemy was paramount. Thus, even if she didn't get along with Cold Yue, she wasn't prepared to remain here and continue watching the show.

Of course, when Cold Yue was being beaten by Yang Haoran with no power to retaliate, her decision not to intervene, apart from wanting to complete the mission better, inevitably contained a degree of selfishness, as she was quite pleased to see Cold Yue suffer a bit more.

However, Cold Yue could no longer hold on. If they continued to watch, Cold Yue would die at Yang Haoran's hands. This included Cold Yue's Ghost King guardian spirit, which would also become Yang Haoran's spoils of war. Once Yang Haoran successfully collected Cold Yue's guardian spirit into the Soul-Gathering Bead, then Cold Yue's death would swiftly follow.

Knowing this in her heart, the Eyepatch Woman did not continue to hide in the shadows and watch the show. After the lanky man chose to reveal himself, she likewise appeared, determined to use her full strength to subdue Yang Haoran and seize Tongyou City in the shortest possible time.

Above, Yang Haoran had just offered a Soul-Gathering Bead, preparing to collect Cold Yue's Ghost King guardian spirit into it, when suddenly, a powerful surge of Communication Power ripped through space, shooting rapidly from afar. Its target was not him, but the Soul-Gathering Bead he had just offered.

Such a sudden development should, by all rights, have startled Yang Haoran, but the truth was precisely the opposite. Not a hint of surprise could be seen on Yang Haoran's face; he appeared completely calm.

Under his control, several bolts of lightning suddenly thundered down from above. However, this time, the targets of these lightning strikes were not the weakened Cold Yue, nor the Yin Qi transformed from the Ghost King, but rather the powerful surge of Communication Power that had suddenly shot forth from afar.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The moment the Communication Power entered Black Lightning's strike range, it was immediately subjected to a furious assault from bolts of lightning. With each lightning strike, a portion of the incoming Communication Power's strength was consumed. By the time this surge of Communication Power neared the Soul-Gathering Bead, it had already endured several lightning attacks, its power forcibly depleted by them. In that instant, as it approached the Soul-Gathering Bead, it dissipated completely, its strength exhausted before it could even make contact.

On the contrary, the Soul-Gathering Bead offered by Yang Haoran was not idle during this process. A powerful suction force emanated from it, causing the clusters of Yin Qi, transformed from the Ghost King below, to involuntarily converge towards the Soul-Gathering Bead under this pull.

Although the Ghost King's body had transformed into Yin Qi, its consciousness had not vanished. Its consciousness resided within these clusters of Yin Qi, which was also why these Yin Qi clusters dodged attacks like living beings, for they were all under its control.

Now, influenced by the Soul-Gathering Bead, all the Yin Qi clusters involuntarily converged towards it. The Ghost King's consciousness immediately panicked, for it knew very well that once Yang Haoran successfully collected it into the Soul-Gathering Bead, it would be difficult to break free and regain its liberty. Thus, through its consciousness, it frantically struggled to control the Yin Qi, desperate to escape the suction force emanating from the Soul-Gathering Bead.

However, with Yang Haoran's power bolstering it, the Soul-Gathering Bead's suction force was exceptionally strong. Although the Ghost King's struggle had some effect, it couldn't fully escape the bead's pull. The clusters of Yin Qi it had transformed into continued to converge towards the Soul-Gathering Bead's location.

“Yang Haoran, your opponent is me! ”

The lanky man's voice sounded at this moment. As his voice echoed, two surges of Communication Power howled forth. One attacked the Soul-Gathering Bead as before, while the other targeted Yang Haoran himself!