Chapter 1167: Full of Confident Preparations
As Yang Haoran's words fell, a powerful ripple of energy immediately erupted from his body. Visibly, black Yin Qi surged up from him, instantly enveloping his entire being.
On either side of his body, two masses of Yin Qi churned violently, nurturing his two Soul Armaments within them.
At this moment, Yang Haoran, though not shouting to bolster his momentum, had nonetheless opened his Heaven Soul and Earth Soul in rapid succession within a very short time. It was precisely for this reason that the energy fluctuations emanating from him had terrifyingly increased, now completely incomparable to before.
Yang Haoran had sustained considerable injuries during the great battle in Tongyou City, but under the effects of dānyào, his wounds had recovered significantly. Although his injuries were not fully healed and his strength had not returned to its peak, his overall condition was far superior to that of the heavily injured Ding Tianhua.
However, Ding Tianhua looked at Yang Haoran, who was wreathed in surging Yin Qi, and sensed the powerful energy fluctuations emanating from Yang Haoran’s body, yet showed not the slightest hint of fear.
As an Underworld Official himself, he naturally saw that Yang Haoran had opened his Heaven and Earth Souls at this moment, and understood that Yang Haoran intended to kill him. However, all of this was within his expectations, and he had long since prepared for it. Without full preparations, how would he dare lure Yang Haoran to this place and confidently intend to slay him here?
Indeed, Ding Tianhua had made complete preparations this time. Setting up a grand blood array here in advance and devising a plan to lure Yang Haoran to willingly step into it was one of his prior preparations.
In addition to this, he naturally had other preparations. Otherwise, given his current state, clashing head-on with Yang Haoran would yield no possibility of victory whatsoever. In such a scenario, Yang Haoran would not be slain by him; instead, he would die at Yang Haoran's hands.
Watching Yang Haoran enveloped entirely in dense Yin Qi, Ding Tianhua did not immediately open his Heaven and Earth Souls like Yang Haoran. He knew that even if he opened his Heaven and Earth Souls now, it wouldn't make much sense; his meager strength simply couldn't shake Yang Haoran, nor could it even withstand a single strike from him. Therefore, what he needed to do most right now was to immediately unleash the methods he had prepared in advance to deal with Yang Haoran.
The Heaven and Earth Souls would certainly be opened, but not now!
Ding Tianhua was seen holding a blood-colored Array Disk to control the formation with one hand, and retrieving an item from an independent space with the other.
This was a Gold Talisman. Because this Gold Talisman had been enchanted with a restrictive seal to prevent its power from diminishing over time, upon its retrieval, no energy fluctuations could be detected. However, as Ding Tianhua removed the seal from the Gold Talisman, a powerful surge of energy immediately erupted from it.
Without any hesitation, Ding Tianhua slammed the Gold Talisman onto his body. The talisman burned, and a golden protective barrier instantly appeared, enveloping Ding Tianhua entirely.
At the same time, a black streak of light shot out from Yang Haoran's position. Originally, the target of this black streak was Ding Tianhua, but due to the timely appearance of the golden protective barrier, the black streak ended up crashing into it.
Clang! ! !
With a crisp clang, sparks flew, and runes shimmered within the golden protective barrier. The black streak transformed into Remnant Moon, but Remnant Moon failed to break through the golden barrier. Instead, it was flung back by a powerful recoil.
"Hahahaha, Yang Haoran, I've long understood your attack methods! Both of your Soul Armaments are offensive types, specifically fast-attack types. Against such Soul Armaments, as long as I have an absolute defense you can't break, you won't even scratch a single hair on me!"
Ding Tianhua watched as the golden protective barrier remained completely unharmed under Remnant Moon's assault, even deflecting it. This filled his heart with immense joy, for it proved that this Gold Talisman of his was indeed effective, and its utility was considerable.
When his first strike failed to achieve the desired effect, Yang Haoran did not continue to control Remnant Moon to attack Ding Tianhua. Instead, he waved his hand and recalled Remnant Moon.
Although he hadn't used his full strength in that strike, he had still expended most of the power available at his current realm. Such a formidable attack not only failed to breach the barrier but didn't even harm it in the slightest, which alone showed just how strong the barrier's defense was.
Seeing Yang Haoran voluntarily recall his Soul Armament, Remnant Moon, Ding Tianhua instantly grew even more smug, for Yang Haoran's action not only proved the immense defensive power of his Gold Talisman but also confirmed that his pre-prepared method was highly effective.
"Hahahaha, Yang Haoran, the real show has just begun! I've prepared quite a few tricks for you this time, with only one goal: to successfully eliminate you and make you completely disappear from this world!"
Ding Tianhua burst into hearty laughter again, a look of excitement on his face, and he decisively opened his Heaven and Earth Souls!
"Heaven Soul! Open!"
As the excited cry escaped Ding Tianhua's lips, he opened his Heaven Soul, and the energy fluctuations emanating from him surged dramatically. A fiercely swirling mass of Yin Qi appeared by his side.
"Earth Soul! Open!"
When his Earth Soul opened, another fiercely swirling mass of Yin Qi appeared by Ding Tianhua's side, and the energy fluctuations emanating from his body increased significantly once more as a result. Dense Yin Qi rose from him; although far less intense and surging than the Yin Qi radiating from Yang Haoran, its momentum was still considerable.
The reason Ding Tianhua only opened his Heaven and Earth Souls after activating the Gold Talisman was that with the Gold Talisman's protection, he had the opportunity to employ more techniques, which naturally included opening his Heaven and Earth Souls.
Conversely, if he had opened his Heaven and Earth Souls first, he would certainly not have had the chance to unleash the Gold Talisman again. The rapid arrival of Remnant Moon just moments ago perfectly illustrated this point. If the protective barrier released by the Gold Talisman hadn't blocked Remnant Moon, given his current physical condition, even if he had opened his Heaven and Earth Souls, he wouldn't have been able to stop Remnant Moon, and his body would surely have been severed.
Facts proved that his approach was entirely correct. Now, with the Gold Talisman's protection, he could not only open his Heaven and Earth Souls but also confidently deploy other methods.
Although Ding Tianhua knew that merely opening his Heaven and Earth Souls would not be enough to deal with Yang Haoran, in the current situation, successfully opening them brought him only benefits and no drawbacks. Moreover, the methods he had prepared for Yang Haoran were not limited to his own strength.
"Yang Haoran, why aren't you attacking anymore? Is your broken moon wheel useless? Don't you still have that damn black lightning? Come on, just throw everything you've got at me, let's see if I can withstand your assault!"
After Ding Tianhua opened his Heaven and Earth Souls, it wasn't just his strength that increased, but also his courage. Seeing that Yang Haoran wasn't controlling Remnant Moon to continue attacking him, his confidence swelled, and he began to provoke Yang Haoran.
"Heh heh, I have to admit, your preparations are quite thorough. It seems you've put in a lot of effort to deal with me this time."
Facing Ding Tianhua's taunts, Yang Haoran remained unmoved. He spoke with a smile, but still showed no intention of attacking.
"Hmph, you're right. I truly put in a lot of effort to get rid of you."
Ding Tianhua snorted coldly, his face brimming with satisfaction as he spoke. However, just as he finished, his expression changed, and his words abruptly ceased.
"You're not attacking, but instead you're wasting a lot of breath on me here, heh heh. Are you trying to conserve your Spirit Power first, and then attack me once the power of my Gold Talisman is exhausted? Yang Haoran, oh Yang Haoran, you truly are as insidious as Brother Huo said. One can't be careless at all when dealing with a treacherous person like you."
Speaking thus, Ding Tianhua pointed a finger at the blood-colored Array Disk in his hand.
"Since you don't want to attack and waste your Spirit Power, then I won't be polite!"
The Array Disk clacked and spun, its speed increasing rapidly. Simultaneously, the grand array in the sky also began to revolve swiftly. The scent of blood in the air grew dense at that moment, and a pair of blood-red eyes appeared within the grand array above.
These were two gigantic blood-red eyes, their sheer size incomparable to any normal eyes. A dense, bloody aura surged forth from within these blood-red eyes.
Behind the blood-red eyes was a head even larger than them. Under the rapid rotation of the grand array, this mountain-like head quickly solidified, then poked out from within the formation.
This massive head not only had a pair of blood-red eyes but also two curved horns on its crown. Its appearance was partly human, partly goat, a veritable monster.
As this enormous head poked out from the grand array, a pair of arms then stretched out from within the formation. These large hands immediately braced themselves against the sides of the grand array, then exerted force.
The grand array vibrated violently and emitted a buzzing sound, as if it could not withstand the monster's powerful hands. Seeing this, Ding Tianhua hastily infused more power into the Array Disk in his hand. With this added power, the grand array in the sky, though still trembling violently, showed no signs of breaking.
"ROAR! ! !"
At the same time, the monster let out a ferocious roar. Its hands again pushed hard, and its colossal body slowly pulled itself out from within the formation.
This horned monster was like a bloodthirsty creature about to crawl out of hell, and the grand array was like its shackles. At this moment, it desired to break free from these shackles and regain its liberty.
The massive commotion overhead naturally drew Yang Haoran's gaze. Looking at the monster gradually pulling itself free from the grand array, the smile on his face couldn't help but diminish a few shades.
He reacted this way because he sensed a powerful energy fluctuation from the monster's body. Although the energy fluctuation currently emanating from the monster had not yet reached a level he couldn't contend with, the monster had not fully broken free from the grand array. Once the monster's colossal body completely emerged from the array, the power it could unleash would definitely be much stronger than now. He didn't know to what extent it would increase, but he knew it would certainly pose a considerable threat to him, perhaps even forcing him to use his full strength.
Thinking this, Yang Haoran decided to first test the monster's abilities. Although the energy fluctuations currently released by the monster were quite formidable, its overall strength still needed to be tested. For example, its attack methods and reaction speed couldn't be accurately judged by energy fluctuations alone; they had to be tested to be known.
Yang Haoran hovered motionless in the air. Remnant Moon circled around his body. Controlled by his will, Remnant Moon immediately transformed into a black streak of light, shooting towards the monster's position in the sky. Along the way, Remnant Moon's size instantly inflated like a balloon, quickly transforming into the size of a mountain, its volume no smaller than the horned monster's head.
In the blink of an eye, Remnant Moon approached the horned monster's head. At this point, half of the horned monster's body had already forcibly torn itself out from within the grand array.
Facing the rapidly approaching Remnant Moon, the horned monster did not use its hands to block. Perhaps it didn't use its hands because its remaining half of the body still needed its hands to break free from the array, or perhaps it simply didn't want to block with them.
Its chosen method of defense was simple but brutal. Facing the rapidly approaching Remnant Moon, it merely stretched its neck forward, then savagely opened its mouth and bit down on Remnant Moon's sharp edge.
Remnant Moon failed to cut through its head, not for lack of trying, but because it couldn't. Even though the monster's defense method seemed crude, its strength was truly immense. Not only did it bite Remnant Moon, but it also swung its head, directly flinging Remnant Moon away. The direction Remnant Moon was flung was precisely towards Yang Haoran's position, and its speed was no slower than when it attacked the monster.
Buzz! ! !
Remnant Moon emitted a buzzing sound, finally stopping in front of Yang Haoran, without harming its master.
Although Remnant Moon's attack was merely a test by Yang Haoran, after controlling Remnant Moon to attack the horned monster, Yang Haoran immediately launched another offensive. Two black chains, as thick as water buckets, were instantly condensed by him, then violently shot out from the void near the horned monster's two arms.
Even though there were only two chains, and their number was small, they had consumed a considerable amount of Yang Haoran's Spirit Power to condense, a fact evident from the thick size of the two chains.
Due to the black chains' extreme speed, their close proximity, and Remnant Moon's initial attack, the horned monster didn't even have time to react before its two arms were tightly bound by these two thick chains.
In fact, given the horned monster's current predicament, even without Remnant Moon's initial attack, it would have been helpless against these two chains, forced to watch as the chains coiled around its arms. This was because it needed these two arms to break free from the grand array. If these two arms were used to block the chains, it would be uncertain whether it could still break free from the array, and even if it could, it would likely take more time.
Yang Haoran's decision to attack its two arms was precisely due to this consideration. He indeed wanted to test the horned monster's strength, but if he could interrupt the horned monster's descent in the process, that would naturally be for the best.
The moment the chains coiled around the horned monster's hands, they immediately tugged fiercely in opposite directions, aiming to inflict a greater impact on the horned monster in this manner.
However, when the horned monster bit Remnant Moon and flung it away, its two chained arms immediately erupted with a bloody light. With a fierce burst of strength, they directly snapped the two chains, which had consumed a significant amount of Yang Haoran's Spirit Power to condense.
At the same time, the remaining half of the monster's body completely broke free from within the grand array, and from above, it lunged downwards towards Yang Haoran.
Although the colossal Remnant Moon blocking his view, Yang Haoran could sense the horned monster's rapid approach. This was partly due to the powerful energy fluctuations emanating from the horned monster, and partly because as the horned monster quickly descended from above, he felt a considerable sense of oppression, as if a large mountain were pressing down on him.
From these two points alone, even if he hadn't physically witnessed the horned monster's descent, he would have known what was happening.
Yang Haoran's body remained motionless, but more Spirit Power surged from within him and injected into Remnant Moon above. Bathed in a large amount of Spirit Power, Remnant Moon not only became more lustrous but also radiated dense Yin Qi.
BOOM! ! !
The horned monster's fist struck Remnant Moon, producing a colossal crash, causing Remnant Moon to tremble violently.
In truth, the horned monster's intended target was not Remnant Moon, but Yang Haoran. However, Remnant Moon blocked the space above Yang Haoran, and given Remnant Moon's immense size, it was impossible for the monster to bypass it to attack Yang Haoran. Hence, it simply slammed its fist onto Remnant Moon.
Judging by its posture, it was fully intent on savagely and brutally crushing all obstacles in its path.
After enduring the horned monster's punch, Remnant Moon, though not shattered, plummeted sharply, nearly pressing directly onto Yang Haoran's body.
Seeing that Remnant Moon wasn't shattered by its punch, and had even successfully blocked its fist, the horned monster let out an enraged roar, then immediately delivered another punch down onto Remnant Moon.
However, at that very moment, Yang Haoran's body suddenly vanished from its original spot, and Remnant Moon likewise dispersed into a mass of Yin Qi.
The horned monster's powerful punch landed on empty air. Missing Remnant Moon was a minor issue; the main problem was that after its punch missed, its body lost balance in mid-air, ultimately crashing miserably onto the ground below!
CRASH! ! !
A house was directly shattered by the horned monster's colossal body. Not just the house, but even the ground beneath it was likewise smashed, forming a large crater by the horned monster's impact.
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