Chapter 1169: All-Out Assault
From the moment he began fighting the horned monster until now, Yang Haoran had not been struck even once.
But at this very moment, influenced by the swirling snow, Yang Haoran was hit by the horned monster's fist, sent flying directly backward until he crashed into the barrier enveloping the village, finally coming to a halt.
The immense impact force caused the light curtain of the grand formation's barrier to tremble, though this tremor was not particularly strong, and it was far from shattering.
Pfft!
Yang Haoran spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. The horned monster's punch was indeed incredibly powerful, and coupled with the immense secondary damage his body sustained upon crashing into the barrier's light curtain, he couldn't hold it back; a mouthful of blood erupted from his mouth.
His physical injuries hadn't fully recovered, and he hadn't even unleashed his full strength, operating only at the mid-stage of the Earth Soul. This was why his body reacted so violently to the horned monster's strike.
At the location of the barrier's light curtain, a large number of snowflakes also drifted down. From the moment Yang Haoran was sent flying to his body crashing against the barrier and spitting blood, though the process was brief, numerous snowflakes landed on him, causing the weight imposed on him to multiply several times, as if he were carrying a small mountain on his back.
Yang Haoran knew perfectly well that if he didn't resolve the issue with the snowflakes, he would undoubtedly remain in a passive position. If that were truly the case, he'd be fortunate just to take a few fewer punches from the horned monster, let alone eliminate it.
The snowflakes imposed weight only after landing on him and melting. If he could find a way to prevent the snowflakes from landing on him, would this eerie weight then stop accumulating?
With this thought, Yang Haoran didn't bother wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He immediately mobilized the Spirit Power within his body, condensing a protective shield around his physical form, intending to use it to block the falling snowflakes.
After Yang Haoran condensed the shield, he did indeed successfully prevent the snowflakes from landing on him, and the weight imposed on his body ceased to increase. This appeared to be a positive development, as if his method had truly resolved the snowflake issue. However, as the wielder of the art, he could clearly perceive that while the eerie weight of the snowflakes was not being applied to his body, it was instead being applied to the shield he had condensed.
In just a single instant, numerous snowflakes landed on the shield and melted into its light curtain. Because this shield was a temporarily condensed construct, and not too much Spirit Power had been used in its creation, its defensive capability was quite limited. When the gravity of these snowflakes acted upon the shield, it emitted a groaning, creaking sound, immediately followed by the appearance of cracks, looking as if it would shatter at any moment.
Seeing this, Yang Haoran wanted to act, injecting more Spirit Power into the shield to enhance its defensive capabilities. However, at that very moment, the horned monster pursued him, swinging its fist at him once more.
Faced with this situation, Yang Haoran could only dodge while simultaneously injecting more Spirit Power into the shield, all while not forgetting to control Remnant Moon to launch an attack.
With the shield's temporary protection, Yang Haoran barely managed to evade the horned monster's punch. The fist didn't strike him, but rather slammed into the barrier's light curtain.
Boom! ! !
As the horned monster's punch landed, the light curtain trembled once more, though this time the tremor was far more violent than when Yang Haoran had crashed into it earlier.
The shield enveloping Yang Haoran's body, though bolstered by his injected Spirit Power, didn't shatter immediately. However, the cracks didn't disappear; in fact, there were even more than a moment before.
This outcome was perfectly normal, as the amount of Spirit Power Yang Haoran could inject into the shield in such a brief instant was quite limited. Furthermore, with the snowflakes continuously falling, the pressure on the shield from each melting snowflake would multiply. Thus, the Spirit Power Yang Haoran injected in that fleeting moment was nowhere near enough to fully repair the shield, let alone stop the cracks from spreading. Under these circumstances, it was already quite remarkable that the shield hadn't shattered on the spot.
As for the Soul Armament, Remnant Moon, which Yang Haoran controlled with his mind, it launched several attacks against the horned monster in that brief instant. However, the effect achieved by this assault was a world apart from previous attacks.
Previously, each successful hit by Remnant Moon, though not inflicting fatal damage, had caused a certain degree of harm, and this accumulated damage had a considerable impact on the horned monster.
Yet, now, Remnant Moon's attacks on the horned monster were like striking an unbreakable metal, producing nothing but a shower of sparks, without inflicting any real damage.
Nevertheless, throughout the dodging, Yang Haoran's injection of Spirit Power into the shield did not cease. Yet, the horned monster's assault on him also did not stop. When one punch failed to connect, the horned monster didn't retract its fist; instead, it swung its other fist, blasting it towards him.
Boom! ! !
This punch missed again, once more slamming into the barrier's light curtain. Accompanied by a deafening roar, the barrier's light curtain trembled violently again.
Nevertheless, although Yang Haoran evaded this punch from the horned monster, his dodge was so precarious that he was still caught by the immense impact force generated by the blow. Not only was his body blasted away, but even the shield enveloping him shattered under the influence of this powerful shockwave.
His temporarily condensed shield already had numerous cracks, and thus simply could not withstand such a powerful impact.
The moment the shield shattered, many snowflakes fell onto Yang Haoran. As the snowflakes melted, the gravity imposed on him multiplied once more. His body plummeted sharply in mid-air, nearly crushed by the added weight. Had he not reacted swiftly, promptly mobilizing more Spirit Power to protect his body, he would certainly have plummeted from the sky and sprawled directly onto the ground.
Though he managed to stabilize his body by promptly mobilizing Spirit Power, the gravity imposed on him made him feel as if he couldn't move an inch. He clearly understood his current state; in his present condition, if he faced another attack from the horned monster, he would absolutely have no way to dodge it. And if his body truly took a few solid hits from the horned monster, he would, nine times out of ten, be crippled.
Just as this thought crossed Yang Haoran's mind, the horned monster, its two consecutive punches having missed, roared with intense fury, raising its foot and stomping down on him!
Boom! ! !
The ground trembled violently. The horned monster's stomp directly created a deep crater, and a vast amount of dust and smoke billowed up, obscuring the view.
Ding Tianhua looked at the swirling dust, a brilliant smile spreading across his face.
As the spellcaster, he knew perfectly well how powerful the horned monster's stomp was, and that the gravity imposed on Yang Haoran would also inflict a certain degree of damage and severely impact his movements. Now that Yang Haoran had no shield to block the snowflakes and had taken a solid stomp from the horned monster, the damage he sustained must surely be beyond imagination.
Considering the current situation, if he were to switch places with Yang Haoran, he felt certain he would die given his current physical condition.
Although Yang Haoran's physical state was considerably better than his own, such a blow would undoubtedly cause immense pain. In his view, even if Yang Haoran didn't die, he would be crippled, which was why Ding Tianhua was smiling so delightedly.
If Yang Haoran were to die under the horned monster's foot just like that, it would naturally be for the best. Not only would he achieve his objective, but he would also save himself a great deal of trouble.
And if Yang Haoran wasn't dead, merely severely wounded, that would also be easy to handle: just have the horned monster deliver another stomp. Even if Yang Haoran had a body of iron, he absolutely wouldn't be able to withstand a second stomp from the horned monster in his severely injured state. Ding Tianhua was confident he could control the horned monster to crush Yang Haoran into dust with a single stomp.
"Hahahahaha, Yang Haoran, oh Yang Haoran! As soon as you die, the position of Guardian for the Ninth District of the Jingling Continent Underworld Office will undoubtedly be mine, Ding Tianhua's! With my mid-stage Earth Soul strength, coupled with Brother Huo's powerful assistance, this Guardian position is already in my pocket! No one can snatch this Guardian position from my grasp!"
The joy in his heart made Ding Tianhua burst into unrestrained laughter. At this moment, he felt as if he could already see himself, clad in the Guardian's Death God attire, imposingly commanding thousands of Emissaries of Death.
As Ding Tianhua's laughter faded, a strong gust of wind suddenly swept through the area, dispersing the swirling dust and smoke. A powerful energy fluctuation erupted from beneath the horned monster.
Ding Tianhua's laughter abruptly ceased. The sight before him left him completely frozen in place, too shocked to utter a single word. This suddenly appearing, powerful energy fluctuation was not erupting from the horned monster; rather, it was their Underworld Office's unique Spirit Power!
Within this entire forbidden barrier, there were only two individuals from the Underworld Office: himself, Ding Tianhua, and Yang Haoran.
Whether this suddenly erupted powerful energy fluctuation originated from himself was something Ding Tianhua knew better than anyone. He knew this energy fluctuation did not belong to him, and he also knew he did not possess the ability to unleash such formidable power.
In other words, this terrifying Spirit Power that had suddenly erupted belonged only to the other person present: Yang Haoran!
He was shocked because he knew Yang Haoran's strength was at the mid-stage Earth Soul. Based on the information he had gathered and the power Yang Haoran displayed during the martial arts competition held by the Jingling Continent Underworld Office in the Underworld, Yang Haoran's strength, though superior to his own, had not surpassed the mid-stage Earth Soul realm.
However, the powerful Spirit Power he was currently sensing had completely surpassed the mid-stage Earth Soul, reaching the terrifying late-stage Earth Soul!
While Ding Tianhua had not yet reached the late-stage Earth Soul realm himself, he wasn't ignorant of its power. He had, after all, encountered formidable experts at that level and was keenly aware of the sheer might of their Spirit Power. That was why he could definitively confirm that this powerful Spirit Power had reached the late-stage Earth Soul realm; a mid-stage Earth Soul simply could not unleash such potent Spirit Power.
And this immense Spirit Power was so formidable that it even instilled a strong sense of dread within his heart.
Just as Ding Tianhua was still reeling from the terrifying power of this Spirit Power, a black light shot up from below, piercing the sky and slicing the horned monster's body clean through. The swirling dust and smoke were instantly dispersed by a gust of Yin wind, and the colossal horned monster let out a painful shriek.
Before the shriek had even faded, a line of blood appeared on the horned monster's body, running through its entire form. Immediately after, blood sprayed out, and the horned monster's body split in two, collapsing with a crash. A figure then slowly rose from between the sliced corpse.
This figure was none other than Yang Haoran, who had just been stomped into the ground by the horned monster. At this moment, Yang Haoran was covered in dust, even with blood at the corner of his mouth, looking utterly disheveled. Yet, his face still bore that faint smile.
The energy fluctuation emanating from Yang Haoran's body now was completely incomparable to before, for he was no longer concealing his strength. He had unleashed his full late-stage Earth Soul power.
And the Spirit Power that had made even Ding Tianhua feel dread was precisely what emanated from Yang Haoran.
Yang Haoran's choice to use his full strength was also unavoidable. If he didn't unleash his complete power, he might genuinely be stomped into meat paste alive by the horned monster, an outcome he certainly didn't desire.
Thus, in order to escape his current predicament and avoid being stomped into meat paste by the horned monster, he ultimately chose to unleash his full power. Here, there were only he and Ding Tianhua. Even if he used all his strength, no third party would know. Later, he would slay Ding Tianhua and extract and dispose of his soul, ensuring his true strength would remain a secret to everyone else.
Previously, he had indeed struggled immensely against the horned monster, especially after it underwent a second empowerment; even his Soul Armament, Remnant Moon, had been unable to breach its defenses. But once he unleashed his full power, the horned monster's meager defense was simply not much to look at. Remnant Moon not only easily broke through its defenses, but even instantly cleaved the horned monster's massive body in two.
Instantly dealing with the troublesome horned monster was just one part of it. The swirling snow that had also posed a great threat to him could now no longer affect him, as another black protective shield had once again expanded around his body.
This shield shared similarities with the one he had condensed earlier, but it also had crucial differences.
The similarity lay in the fact that the shield condensed now was also a product directly formed from Yang Haoran's Spirit Power, not a Ghost Art, as there simply wasn't enough time for that.
The difference, however, was significant. While both were products directly condensed from Spirit Power, the previous shield couldn't withstand the swirling snowflakes at all, lasting for only a single instant before shattering under the continuously multiplying gravity. This current shield, however, showed not the slightest sign of shattering in the face of the constantly falling snow.
If the snowflakes continued to fall on the shield Yang Haoran had now condensed, it was certain the shield would eventually shatter as the gravity continuously increased. But judging from the current stability of this shield, even with the constant snowfall, it would be difficult for it to shatter in a short period of time.
Yang Haoran's body slowly ascended. Though described as "slowly," it didn't mean his ascent speed was actually sluggish; this slowness was merely relative to the lightning-fast Remnant Moon. Compared to what ordinary people would consider slow, there was a vast difference.
This time, he didn't stop at the same height as Ding Tianhua. Instead, he ascended to an even greater altitude before steadily hovering in the air, then looked down condescendingly at Ding Tianhua below him.
Meanwhile, the horned monster's body, split in two, had already crashed to the ground, stirring up a massive cloud of dust and simultaneously carving two large craters into the earth. As its bifurcated body rapidly dissipated into bloody light, the number of blood-red snowflakes falling from above also diminished.
This change occurred because the moment Yang Haoran controlled Remnant Moon to cleave the horned monster's body with a single strike, the blood-colored array disk resting in Ding Tianhua's palm immediately began vibrating violently. The vibration lasted only a short while before emitting a crisp "crack," and then a crack appeared.
With the array disk damaged, the snowflakes, also condensed through the formation, were naturally affected. This was why, as the horned monster's bifurcated body rapidly dissipated, the number of snowflakes falling from above also decreased.
Ding Tianhua watched as a crack suddenly appeared on the array disk above his palm, an expression of disbelief momentarily seizing his face. The immense psychological shock caused his body to involuntarily sway, nearly sending him toppling to the ground.
His extreme reaction was not surprising. This set of formations was arguably his strongest killing move in this assassination attempt against Yang Haoran. However, now that the horned monster had been slain by Yang Haoran and the array disk had cracked, it meant the formation was about to lose its intended powerful destructive capability. One could only imagine how devastating this blow was to him.
However, the appearance of one crack on the blood-colored array disk was merely the beginning. Immediately after, another crisp crack sounded, and a second crack appeared on the blood-colored array disk. With the emergence of this second crack, the massive formation in the sky suddenly ceased to operate, and the swirling snowflakes instantly transformed into bloody mist, vanishing completely.
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