Chapter 1152: Nine Nether Bone Dragon
Under the Eye-patch Woman’s fierce counterattack, and aside from Remnant Moon and the constantly descending Black Lightning, all of the Ghost Fiend Soul Chains in her immediate vicinity were completely cleared away in a short span of time.
However, by the time the Eye-patch Woman successfully swept away all the nearby Ghost Fiend Soul Chains, Yang Haoran’s hand seals were also complete.
"Ghost Art, Nine Nether Bone Dragon!"
A faint voice emanated from Yang Haoran’s lips. Though not loud, it reverberated throughout the entire area they occupied, clearly reaching the ears of the Eye-patch Woman and the others.
He didn't roar hysterically, nor did he let out a solemn low cry. His expression remained as before, a faint smile gracing his face, his voice calm and casual, even less serious than a waiter announcing dishes in a restaurant.
In the past, whenever Yang Haoran deployed a Ghost Art or opened his soul to summon his Soul Armament, he liked to raise his voice to enhance his aura. But now, he had long shed that habit, because he felt there was absolutely no need to elevate his presence in such a manner anymore. Or perhaps, he simply hadn't encountered an opponent who required him to boost his aura in that way—at least in the current situation, he felt there was no need whatsoever.
The instant Yang Haoran's voice rang out, the black clouds formed by Black Lightning suddenly ascended a considerable distance. Simultaneously, the space diagonally above him violently fluctuated, followed by the appearance of a black hole. A massive head then emerged from within the black hole.
This was a dragon's head devoid of flesh and blood, composed solely of stark white bones. Black Yin Qi visibly surged from this dragon head, conveying not majesty or dominance, but rather malevolence, ghastliness, and terror.
This was truly a Bone Dragon worthy of its name. Its colossal body, save for the white bones, contained not a trace of flesh or blood, and radiated a powerful aura of death from head to tail.
When the Bone Dragon's tail finally exited the black hole, the black hole vanished instantly. The Bone Dragon then violently swayed its body, letting out another dragon's roar.
The Ghost Art, Nine Nether Bone Dragon, belonged to the advanced Ghost Arts of the Underworld Office, completely incomparable to techniques like Ghost Fiend Soul Chains. Though only a single Bone Dragon was summoned, its destructive power was utterly astonishing.
Of course, casting this art consumed significantly more Spirit Power compared to Ghost Fiend Soul Chains, as Nine Nether Bone Dragon was, after all, an advanced Ghost Art.
Earlier, in preparation for the martial arts competition to vie for the position of Guardian, Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing had arrived in the Underworld ahead of time. There, they had spent a considerable amount of Soul Pills to learn several advanced Ghost Arts. Previously, they would have been reluctant and fearful to spend such a large quantity of Soul Pills on advanced Ghost Arts, but with the impending competition, they set aside such concerns. To increase their chances of success in becoming Guardians, they decisively opted to use a substantial number of Soul Pills to enhance their combat prowess by learning advanced Ghost Arts.
The Ghost Art Nine Nether Bone Dragon, which Yang Haoran was currently deploying, was one of those advanced Ghost Arts learned at that time. However, that day's competition turned out entirely different from his expectations; none of the advanced Ghost Arts he learned were put to use. Afterward, he never had the opportunity to use this Ghost Art against an enemy. Therefore, his current display of this Ghost Art marked its first public use before an opponent.
Gazing at the massive Bone Dragon in the sky, the Eye-patch Woman involuntarily suppressed the cold sneer on her face, her eyes now tinged with a hint of vigilance.
Her expression changed because she sensed the powerful fluctuations of energy emanating from the Bone Dragon. Even with her supreme confidence in her own strength and abilities, the sheer intensity of this power still instilled a sense of dread within her.
Meanwhile, her Guardian Spirit, who had immediately seized the opportunity to quickly form hand seals while she was busy dealing with the Ghost Fiend Soul Chains, knew that Yang Haoran was preparing to unleash a powerful Ghost Art. Since the Eye-patch Woman was preoccupied and had no chance to form seals for a Spirit Communication Art, he decided to perform a Spirit Communication Art to counter Yang Haoran's impending Ghost Art. He could not allow Yang Haoran to freely cast Ghost Arts against them, as that would only make their situation more passive.
As the Bone Dragon's second roar echoed, the Guardian Spirit's hand seals were nearing completion. But precisely as he was about to succeed, several bolts of black lightning simultaneously plummeted towards his area. These bolts did not strike a single spot but were dispersed, completely sealing off all his escape routes. Furthermore, Remnant Moon, the Soul Armament that had persistently attacked the Eye-patch Woman, now also targeted him.
The Ghost King had no escape. His body was first struck by a bolt of black lightning, interrupting his hand seals, and the Spirit Communication Art on the verge of completion was thus aborted.
Yet, that was merely secondary. The instant he was struck by the black lightning, his body was briefly paralyzed. Before he could recover from the paralysis, Remnant Moon also struck him. A black flash, and Remnant Moon sliced directly through his neck. Immediately after, a head flew, and blood spurted like a geyser.
The Eye-patch Woman was still reeling from the powerful energy fluctuations emanating from the Bone Dragon when this sudden event occurred, instantly dispelling her astonishment. She paused for a moment, then an overwhelming fury wellled up, causing the cold sneer on her face to vanish completely as her anger clearly showed.
She had truly not expected Yang Haoran to act this way. The Ghost Art had already been successfully cast, yet Yang Haoran didn't immediately control the Bone Dragon to attack her. Instead, he seized this opportunity to launch a fierce assault on her Guardian Spirit, and the attack was highly successful, not only interrupting her Guardian Spirit's nearly complete Spirit Communication Art but even severing its head.
The anger swelling in her heart made the Eye-patch Woman want to curse Yang Haoran aloud, but before she could utter a word, the Bone Dragon lunged towards her position.
Though massive, the Bone Dragon's speed was far from slow. With a few powerful swings of its body, it appeared diagonally above the Eye-patch Woman.
"Yang Haoran! You despicable scoundrel! You are too insidious!"
The rage in her heart simply wouldn't allow the Eye-patch Woman to remain silent. Even as the Bone Dragon lunged towards her, she couldn't help but curse Yang Haoran. However, despite her curses, her actions didn't cease. Facing the incoming Bone Dragon, she decisively unleashed a large quantity of Spirit Power to resist the Bone Dragon's attack, and even activated several top-tier Black Talismans.
"Heh heh, this isn't insidious. I merely did what I should have done."
Yang Haoran chuckled faintly, his tone calm, completely unfazed by the Eye-patch Woman's angry retort.
Although he often spoke falsehoods to his enemies, what he said now was his honest truth. He had clearly noticed the Eye-patch Woman's Guardian Spirit secretly forming hand seals to cast a Spirit Communication Art, and he was fully capable of preventing it and even severely injuring her Guardian Spirit in the process. So, why wouldn't he act?
He had no reason not to act. Therefore, he didn't believe his actions had anything to do with being insidious. As he said, he merely did what he felt needed to be done.
The Eye-patch Woman, of course, would not agree with Yang Haoran's statement. Just as she was about to refute him, Yang Haoran suddenly vanished from his spot.
From the moment Yang Haoran appeared until now, he had not moved his body, but at this very instant, he broke that pattern.
This scene immediately filled the Eye-patch Woman's heart with a sense of foreboding. She certainly wasn't naive enough to believe that Yang Haoran had suddenly vanished merely for fun. Since Yang Haoran had remained stationary until now, and then abruptly moved, he must be planning something significant.
Her first thought went to her Guardian Spirit, because Yang Haoran had just severed her Guardian Spirit's head, and it hadn't yet had time to reattach it. Yang Haoran's sudden disappearance, she suspected, might be to seize this opportunity to eliminate her Guardian Spirit.
At this thought, the Eye-patch Woman's bad premonition intensified. She immediately yelled anxiously at her Guardian Spirit:
"Quickly reform your physical body!"
The Eye-patch Woman had witnessed firsthand how Cold Yue's Guardian Spirit had been tormented by Yang Haoran, almost even being collected into the Soul-Gathering Bead. So, she worried that Yang Haoran would use the same tactic, launching a fierce assault while her Guardian Spirit was disembodied. In that scenario, her Guardian Spirit was highly likely to suffer the same fate as Cold Yue's Guardian Spirit. It was precisely this fear that made her quickly remind her Guardian Spirit to reform its physical body, to avoid becoming even more passive.
Besides her anxious reminder, the Eye-patch Woman also unleashed a precious Gold Talisman towards the location of her Guardian Spirit.
This Gold Talisman had been obtained by the Eye-patch Woman at a considerable cost from a Gold Talisman Master. Since she herself was not a Talisman Master and couldn't fully unleash the talisman's power, combined with the inherent preciousness of Gold Talismans, she had never used this talisman after acquiring it. Her main purpose in obtaining it then was to have such a talisman on hand, for it might prove useful someday.
In the current situation, as she had to deal with the Nine Nether Bone Dragon and couldn't spare a hand to help her Guardian Spirit, she decided to deploy this Gold Talisman to assist her Guardian Spirit in reattaching its severed head.
Upon being unleashed, the Gold Talisman immediately ignited, then transformed into a dazzling golden bell. The golden bell was semi-transparent, formed from condensed power, thus not a physical entity. On its surface, complex and mysterious runes rotated, continuously emitting a brilliant golden light.
The Eye-patch Woman's Guardian Spirit was currently inside this golden bell. With the golden bell's protection, the Eye-patch Woman believed it would be no difficult task for her Guardian Spirit to reattach its head. Whether it was the lightning descending from above or Yang Haoran's Soul Armament Remnant Moon, this golden bell should be able to withstand them for a while. Even if it was only for a short time, she considered it enough, as her Guardian Spirit didn't need much time to reattach its head.
However, what the Eye-patch Woman never expected was that after the golden bell enveloped her Guardian Spirit, the imagined Remnant Moon didn't appear, nor did black lightning descend. Her Guardian Spirit therefore successfully reattached its severed head to its body. Although the entire process was brief, it was extremely smooth.
For the Eye-patch Woman, this should have been good news, but she couldn't feel happy at all, because it was completely different from what she had imagined. Just as she wondered what trick Yang Haoran was playing, a terrified cry for help suddenly echoed from a distance, immediately grabbing her attention.
"Save me! ! !"
This cry for help attracted not only the attention of the Eye-patch Woman and her Guardian Spirit, but also that of the lanky man and his Guardian Spirit. As all four cast their gazes towards the source of the cry, they witnessed a scene that drastically changed their expressions.
Yang Haoran had appeared behind Cold Yue's Guardian Spirit. His Soul Armament Remnant Moon transformed into a streak of black light, directly slicing Cold Yue's Guardian Spirit in half at the waist. Immediately after, two bolts of black lightning struck, each hitting one of the severed halves of the Guardian Spirit's body.
Boom!
Boom!
Two loud bangs sounded almost simultaneously. Struck by the black lightning, the Guardian Spirit's two halves instantly dissipated into two masses of Yin Qi. Cold Yue's Guardian Spirit was already extremely weak; it could hardly withstand such an assault from Yang Haoran. Its physical body scattering into Yin Qi was entirely within reason.
Before the two masses of Yin Qi formed from the Guardian Spirit's physical body could escape, Yang Haoran conjured his Soul-Gathering Bead. Chains whistled out, tightly entangling the two masses of Yin Qi formed by the Guardian Spirit. Then, with lightning speed, he forcibly pulled these two masses of Yin Qi into the Soul-Gathering Bead.
All of this transpired in but an instant. By the time the Eye-patch Woman and the others reacted, Cold Yue's Guardian Spirit had already been captured by Yang Haoran into the Soul-Gathering Bead.
Moreover, even if they had reacted in time, they couldn't have rescued Cold Yue's Guardian Spirit. The distance between them was too great; they were beyond reach. Furthermore, each of them was already dealing with Yang Haoran's fierce attacks and couldn't spare a hand to help Cold Yue's Guardian Spirit.
At this moment, the only one not facing Yang Haoran's fierce attack was Cold Yue herself, who was on the ground. However, although Cold Yue was not under direct assault, she was severely wounded, and her safety was entirely dependent on the Spirit Communication Shield conjured by the lanky man. Even though she had consumed a Dānyào to recover from her injuries, not enough time had passed for her to regain much of her strength. In such a state, how could she possibly rescue her Guardian Spirit?
Cold Yue also witnessed the entire process of Yang Haoran dissipating her Guardian Spirit and collecting it into the Soul-Gathering Bead. Compared to others, she felt the most anguish. After all, the Ghost King collected by Yang Haoran into the Soul-Gathering Bead was her Guardian Spirit; as its master, how could she not feel heartbroken?
Not only had she developed a deep bond with this Guardian Spirit, but this Guardian Spirit was also a crucial source of her combat power. Yang Haoran taking her Guardian Spirit was like severing her left and right arms. It would be strange if she weren't heartbroken!
Yet, no amount of heartache would help, for she could do nothing at all.
Watching helplessly as her Guardian Spirit was captured by Yang Haoran into the Soul-Gathering Bead, Cold Yue did not scream hysterically, but the look in her eyes erupted with unprecedented killing intent. At this moment, besides the profound pain of losing her Guardian Spirit, her hatred for Yang Haoran reached an all-time high.
Indeed, Cold Yue's Guardian Spirit was quite tragic. He thought that by hiding at the back, escaping the area covered by the black clouds, Yang Haoran would no longer have the energy to pay attention to him. After all, Yang Haoran had to face two Grand Spirit Masters and their Guardian Spirits simultaneously; in such a situation, how could Yang Haoran have any energy to spare for him?
But he did not know that Yang Haoran had never ignored him from beginning to end. Even as he quietly retreated to the rear, he remained under Yang Haoran's hidden observation, and Yang Haoran had guessed his intentions.
Precisely for this reason, just as he was about to quietly escape Black Lightning's strike range, Yang Haoran arrived in time and blocked his path, then used swift and decisive means to shatter his physical body and collect him into the Soul-Gathering Bead.
The final outcome showed that, from the very beginning, his calculations were flawed.
Above, the Eye-patch Woman watched Cold Yue's Guardian Spirit being collected by Yang Haoran into the Soul-Gathering Bead, and finally understood why Yang Haoran had suddenly vanished earlier.
It turned out that Yang Haoran's disappearance was not targeting her Guardian Spirit at all, but Cold Yue's Guardian Spirit, which was why her ideal scenario didn't play out. Her misjudgment, however, cost her a precious Gold Talisman, making her feel both furious and incredibly embarrassed. She felt she had been tricked by Yang Haoran!
"Yang Haoran, you. . ."
The fury in her heart made the Eye-patch Woman want to curse Yang Haoran again. But before she could finish her curse, the Nine Nether Bone Dragon's claw suddenly seized her body, and then it opened its maw, snapping down towards her head.
The Eye-patch Woman's face changed. In this situation, she forcefully swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and counterattacked. Her Guardian Spirit also reacted at this moment. He had no time to grieve for a fallen comrade, as he certainly didn't want to be the next one captured into the Soul-Gathering Bead.
Therefore, upon reacting, he immediately unleashed his object control ability upon the Nine Nether Bone Dragon. Just as the Bone Dragon's monstrous maw was about to bite the Eye-patch Woman's head, the Bone Dragon's large mouth suddenly froze in mid-air.
This sudden halt in the Bone Dragon's movement immediately gave the Eye-patch Woman an opportunity. Not only did she successfully break free from the Bone Dragon's claw, but her counterattack also landed on the Bone Dragon's head, sending its massive body flying.
Seizing this chance, both the Eye-patch Woman and her Guardian Spirit quickly formed hand seals, seemingly preparing to unleash a powerful Spirit Communication Art.
Meanwhile, Yang Haoran first sealed the Soul-Gathering Bead in his hand to prevent Cold Yue's Guardian Spirit from escaping, then placed the Soul-Gathering Bead into his independent space. Next, Yin Qi surged in his hands, and he retrieved two Soul Pills, consuming them without any hesitation.
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