Chapter 1127: Who Is Whose Prey (Part One)
Just as the Old Crone was preparing to unleash even more powerful techniques to properly teach the girl a lesson, not far from their location, space suddenly rippled violently.
Such a sudden development, while leaving the girl's expression unchanged, caused subtle shifts in the faces of both the White-Haired Old Woman and the Crippled Elder. They had no way of knowing whether the newcomers were friends or foes, and judging by the intensity of the spatial tremors, the new arrivals were not weak.
The White-Haired Old Woman did not halt her assault. She didn't even glance towards the rippling space, instead continuing her relentless attack on the girl. However, the even more potent technique she had been about to unleash remained withheld. Naturally, she had her reasons for this decision.
The Crippled Elder's reaction differed from the White-Haired Old Woman's. On one hand, he had nothing else to do; on the other, he had just pledged to the White-Haired Old Woman that he would deal with any encroaching enemies, preventing anyone from disturbing her capture of the girl. While his words were only half-sincere, he couldn't so quickly contradict himself. He still hoped to gain substantial benefits from the White-Haired Old Woman.
Thus, when the spatial fluctuations appeared, the Crippled Elder cast his gaze towards them, subtly mobilizing the power within his body.
A spatial rift opened, and with it, four figures emerged. After clearly discerning their attire and appearances, the Crippled Elder couldn't help but be slightly taken aback. It was then that he remembered a problem that gave him a headache.
The four figures who stepped out of the spatial rift were dressed in the attire of Spirit Mediums, and the faint power fluctuations emanating from their bodies were also Communication Power. These two points alone were enough to confirm their identities as Spirit Mediums.
If Yang Haoran had been present, he would surely have recognized the leading Spirit Medium. This Spirit Medium was none other than Cold Yue, who had stealthily escaped during the battle in Tongyou City.
Besides Cold Yue, Yang Haoran also knew one other person among the four: Shang Yuanqi, who had once been one of the thirteen Spirit Summoner Masters of Gu Mo City.
The White-Haired Old Woman, who had initially paid no attention to the four, couldn't help but cast a perplexed glance their way as they emerged from the spatial rift. She sensed the Communication Power emanating from them, realizing they were her own.
However, upon recognizing Cold Yue as the leader, her brow involuntarily furrowed slightly. She then withdrew her gaze and resumed her assault on the girl, forcing her to retreat step by step.
Cold Yue's reaction was unlike that of the White-Haired Old Woman and the Crippled Elder. Upon seeing the pair, a look of delight involuntarily bloomed on her face. When she noticed the severely wounded girl being forced to retreat step by step, the joy on her face intensified.
Under Cold Yue's lead, the four flew towards the Crippled Elder's location. As for why they didn't fly towards the White-Haired Old Woman and offer aid, it was because the White-Haired Old Woman didn't need any help. She held a clear advantage, and furthermore, she seemed to prefer no one assisting her; otherwise, the Crippled Elder wouldn't have been idly observing – he surely would have intervened long ago.
Cold Yue understood this clearly, so instead of leading her group to disturb the White-Haired Old Woman, she arrived at the Crippled Elder's position.
"It seems this Blood-Clad Ghost King won't last much longer. We truly owe a great debt of gratitude to Spirit Envoy Lan and Spirit Envoy Lu for their powerful assistance. Without the two of you, let alone severely wounding this Blood-Clad Ghost King, merely escaping with our lives from her would have been a triumph. I truly never expected the Blood-Clad Ghost King's strength to be so formidable."
Approaching the Crippled Elder, Cold Yue immediately bowed with a smile and began to speak. Hearing her words, the other three all revealed expressions of lingering fear.
The Crippled Elder, of course, knew very well why Cold Yue spoke such words. And precisely because he knew, he felt a headache coming on when he realized the newcomers were Cold Yue and her three companions.
During the battle in Tongyou City, Cold Yue had successfully escaped with her life, but in doing so, she had lost her Guardian Spirit, suffering a massive blow to her strength.
To restore her strength to its peak, she naturally needed a new Guardian Spirit. Only by acquiring one and regaining her former power would she have the capital to survive this chaotic era and accumulate more merits.
However, given her mid-to-late stage Grand Spirit Master cultivation, she naturally disdained ordinary Guardian Spirits. In her mind, a new Guardian Spirit would need to be at least a Ghost King.
While Ghost King level spirits were not easily found, cultivating one herself would require vast resources and time. And with the battle between the Spirit Mediums and the Underworld Office reaching a fever pitch, she simply didn't have that much time. Thus, seeking out a Ghost King remained her top priority.
Yet, despite spending considerable time, she had failed to find a suitable spirit. This left her feeling quite frustrated. She couldn't remain without a Guardian Spirit indefinitely, so out of desperation, she was forced to change her decision. She was ready to lower her standards, settling for the next best thing: seeking out a peak Evil Spirit to form a contract with, then investing more time and resources to have her Guardian Spirit quickly advance to the Ghost King realm.
Just as she was preparing to do this, the girl who was currently battling the White-Haired Old Woman appeared and launched an attack on their Spirit Mediums.
At first, the Spirit Mediums didn't know the main purpose of the girl's attacks. They initially assumed that someone among their own Spirit Mediums had offended the girl, prompting her to seek revenge.
However, after the girl attacked their Spirit Mediums several times, they discovered a pattern: each time she struck, her targets were Grand Spirit Masters. While some regular Spirit Mediums had also died at the girl's hands, all signs indicated that the girl's true targets were Grand Spirit Masters. The slain Spirit Mediums were merely collateral damage. Furthermore, the girl's primary goal in killing Grand Spirit Masters was actually to devour their Guardian Spirits and the Grand Spirit Masters' own power.
From this perspective, the girl's main purpose in attacking their Spirit Mediums was likely not revenge, but rather to enhance her own strength through consumption. That's why she targeted Grand Spirit Masters; in her eyes, they were far more valuable than ordinary Spirit Mediums. The power boost she could gain from either a Grand Spirit Master themselves or their Guardian Spirit was simply incomparable to what a regular Spirit Medium could offer.
Few Grand Spirit Masters targeted by the girl survived. In a short span, three Grand Spirit Masters met tragic ends at the girl's hands, and their Guardian Spirits were, of course, no exception; all were devoured by the girl.
This incident had a considerable impact on the Spirit Mediums of Jingling Continent. The Jingling Continent Spirit Land even convened a special assembly to discuss how to deal with the girl. Cold Yue proposed a strategy: find a way to lure the girl out, trap her, and then figure out how to subdue her, making her a Guardian Spirit to serve their Spirit Mediums.
This idea was indeed excellent. While extremely difficult, it wasn't entirely impossible. Moreover, if successful, the Grand Spirit Master who contracted with her would surely experience a rapid surge in power. This would undoubtedly be a boon for the Spirit Mediums of Jingling Continent, and indeed, for all Spirit Mediums across the New Beginning Realm.
Cold Yue had already lost her Guardian Spirit, and before the girl's appearance, she hadn't been able to find a suitable replacement. The girl's emergence filled her with immense delight. Although she hadn't met or fought the girl personally at that time, the information they had gathered indicated that the girl had not only reached the Ghost King realm but was also a Blood-Clad entity. This made her an ideal candidate for a Guardian Spirit. Therefore, after proposing her strategy at the assembly, Cold Yue immediately volunteered to take charge of the girl's matter.
Other Grand Spirit Masters understood why Cold Yue eagerly volunteered to handle the girl's case. They all knew that since losing her Guardian Spirit, Cold Yue hadn't acquired a new one. With a Blood-Clad Ghost King suddenly appearing, she naturally wouldn't let such an opportunity slip away.
The Spirit Land Master also understood Cold Yue's intentions and thus approved her application. After all, Cold Yue's initiative in stepping forward to handle this matter would not only bring no harm to their Jingling Continent Spirit Land but would also resolve a significant problem for them.
Cold Yue wasn't the only one who valued the girl, this Blood-Clad Ghost King. At the assembly, a considerable number of Grand Spirit Masters had designs on the girl. They knew that once she was subdued, they would possess a powerful Ghost King with limitless potential. In the future, should their own Guardian Spirits fall in battle, they would have an even better replacement. Naturally, they all greatly desired the girl.
Precisely for this reason, after Cold Yue volunteered to deal with the girl, other Grand Spirit Masters immediately emulated her, also proactively applying to the Spirit Land Master to handle the girl. This infuriated Cold Yue greatly, as it was clear these Grand Spirit Masters were openly competing with her for the girl.
Fortunately, the applications from the other Grand Spirit Masters were not approved. The reason was that all other Grand Spirit Masters already possessed their own Guardian Spirits, whereas Cold Yue did not. Therefore, after careful consideration, the Spirit Land Master decided to entrust the matter to Cold Yue. After all, if Cold Yue's overall combat power was restored to its peak, it would only benefit the Jingling Continent Spirit Mediums and cause no harm. Conversely, if other Grand Spirit Masters obtained the girl, it would somewhat resemble "occupying the latrine without defecating," suggesting they were hoarding a resource without truly needing it.
Although the Spirit Land wouldn't provide Cold Yue with any assistance, this alone filled her with immense joy. At the very least, the Spirit Land had entrusted the matter to her to handle, rather than to other Grand Spirit Masters. This, of course, was cause for celebration.
Comments