Novels online

Chapter 1135: Death's Awakening

The Crippled Elder was both shocked and enraged to see that his wounds were not only more numerous but also deeper than Yang Haoran's.

"Yang Haoran, I never imagined your strength had already risen to the peak of the late Earth Soul realm! No wonder you're so calm in this situation!"

The Crippled Elder spoke in a deep voice, his face considerably grim. But the next second, his expression grew even uglier. His Guardian Spirit was struck by a black lightning bolt. Already having endured successive attacks, the Guardian Spirit's physical form was on the verge of collapse, so when it was hit by the black lightning, it could no longer hold on, instantly exploding and transforming into wisps of Yin Qi.

The wisps of Yin Qi rapidly converged, reforming its physical body. However, after rematerializing, the Ghost King's aura was significantly weaker, and its face had turned somewhat pale. In a short span of time, this Ghost King's physical form had been shattered twice by Yang Haoran, which was why it now looked so. . . depleted.

Yang Haoran was able to gain a steady upper hand against the combined assault of the Crippled Elder and Shang Yuanqi, even inflicting significant injuries on both of them and their Guardian Spirits, because he had unleashed his full power.

When the battle between the two sides began, although Yang Haoran had simultaneously opened his Heaven and Earth Souls, unleashing powerful energy fluctuations, he hadn't displayed his full strength at that time. He had merely kept his power controlled at the mid-Earth Soul realm, which was the general impression outsiders had of his capabilities.

It was precisely because he hadn't fully unleashed his strength then that the Grand Spirit Masters present had misunderstood his abilities, underestimating his true power and believing that taking him down would be no difficult task.

In the beginning, Yang Haoran, not yet at full power, indeed faced considerable pressure from the combined assault of the Crippled Elder and Shang Yuanqi. However, he persisted for a while, consuming a good deal of their techniques and Communication Power, which was, in fact, his objective.

Following his usual practice, Yang Haoran would not unleash his full power at the outset. A significant reason for this was to make his opponents lower their guard, to make them believe they could kill him. He would then seize this opportunity to deplete more of their techniques and strength, to gauge exactly how capable they were.

Of course, this approach would put him at a disadvantage early on, forcing him into a passive position in the fight. This was unavoidable, so he had to respond cautiously. He wanted to play the pig to eat the tiger, not genuinely become a pig to be devoured by one.

After a series of exchanges, Yang Haoran had gained a certain understanding of the two men's combat abilities and techniques, and his goal of deliberately concealing his strength had been achieved.

Once his objective was met, Yang Haoran saw no further need to hide his strength. He unleashed his power at the peak of the late Earth Soul realm, startling both the Crippled Elder and Shang Yuanqi, as neither of them had anticipated Yang Haoran's true cultivation realm would differ so significantly from the information they had gathered.

As soon as Yang Haoran unleashed his full power, the Crippled Elder and Shang Yuanqi immediately went from having the advantage to being at a disadvantage. Not only did their wounds multiply, but even the physical forms of their Guardian Spirits were repeatedly shattered.

"Impossible! How could your strength have increased so rapidly! ! !"

No sooner had the Crippled Elder's shocked words fallen than Shang Yuanqi, too, spoke with a look of utter astonishment. Comparatively, Shang Yuanqi's shock was far more intense than the Crippled Elder's, as he possessed a greater understanding of Yang Haoran than the elder, hence his more profound disbelief at this moment.

Yang Haoran merely smiled faintly in response, offering no answer to their question. Instead, the speed with which he controlled his two Soul Armaments accelerated, naturally making the two already disadvantaged opponents even more passive.

Deafening explosions reverberated ceaselessly. Above, dark clouds suddenly unleashed several bolts of black lightning, striking down towards the Crippled Elder and Shang Yuanqi below. The Crippled Elder narrowly dodged the descending lightning, but Shang Yuanqi was not so fortunate. After barely evading one black lightning bolt, he was unable to dodge another, and his body was struck.

A powerful sensation of numbness spread throughout his body, causing him to halt. Shang Yuanqi knew something was wrong, aware that his situation was extremely dangerous in this state. However, before he could recover, Remnant Moon transformed into a black streak of light, piercing directly through his neck.

Shang Yuanqi's eyes widened. The instant a chill ran down his neck, he understood what was happening, yet his eyes showed neither disbelief nor fear. All that remained in them was intense unwillingness.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but in the end, nothing came out. His head rolled from his neck, and blood gushed out like a geyser.

As the battle raged on, Shang Yuanqi became the first casualty, which inevitably instilled a sense of crisis in the previously confident Crippled Elder. He felt that if things continued this way, he himself would most likely be the next to die.

Previously, he had thought that killing Yang Haoran would be an easy task; after all, they had strength in numbers. He even believed that he could toy with Yang Haoran in the palm of his hand, easily eliminating him, even if they fought one-on-one. But reality had now given him an answer, an answer he didn't want to believe yet had no choice but to accept.

Shang Yuanqi's death did not cause Yang Haoran to cease his attack, nor did his expression change in the slightest. It was as if slaying Shang Yuanqi was but a trivial matter to him, insufficient to sway his emotions.

The Crippled Elder clearly saw Yang Haoran's reaction, and this sight utterly shattered his confidence. The sense of crisis intensified. Watching Cold Yue and the White-Haired Old Woman still fighting to the death below, his anger flared up, nearly making him erupt in rage!

"Do you two intend to die here today? ? ?"

The Crippled Elder roared at the two below. As his shout echoed, Shang Yuanqi's headless corpse happened to plummet past them. This sight instantly stunned the two. Their eyes, previously reddened with bloodlust, now registered that Shang Yuanqi was dead.

Both were greatly astonished, for they believed such a thing shouldn't have happened. If anyone were to be slain, it should have been Yang Haoran or Bai Xue, not one of their own.

Carrying their confusion and shock, both ceased their attacks on each other and instead cast their gazes skyward.

Upon seeing this, the expressions of both women changed dramatically once more. They saw the Crippled Elder, covered in wounds, being completely suppressed by Yang Haoran, barely able to cope with the successive attacks of Yang Haoran's two Soul Armaments. In stark contrast, Yang Haoran appeared completely unharmed, presenting a profound difference between the two.

Yet, this was not what surprised them the most. What truly astonished them was the powerful energy fluctuation erupting from Yang Haoran's body. With their discerning eyes, they instantly determined that Yang Haoran's current realm had reached the peak of the late Earth Soul!

Although the Spirit Mediums and the Underworld Office had different cultivation classifications, when converted, Yang Haoran's realm was equivalent to the peak of the late Grand Spirit Master realm among them. He had become the highest-ranked individual present, and how could this not astonish the two of them?

On the other side, the power fluctuation unleashed by Bai Xue, having reverted to her white snake true form, equally surprised the two.

In their eyes, Bai Xue, trailing behind Yang Haoran, was nothing more than his follower, her strength surely not being formidable. The only reason Yang Haoran would keep such a woman by his side, they believed, was undoubtedly for her astounding beauty.

In other words, in their perception, Bai Xue was merely a decorative vase, beautiful to behold but useless in a fight. Yet, the scene unfolding before them revealed their conjecture was not only wrong, but ridiculously so.

The formidable power fluctuation erupting from Bai Xue at this moment had actually reached the peak of the mid-Demon King realm. This cultivation level was equivalent to the peak of the mid-Grand Spirit Master realm among their Spirit Mediums. Conversely, her two opponents, one having just entered the mid-Grand Spirit Master realm and the other just the early Grand Spirit Master realm, were both inferior to Bai Xue in terms of cultivation.

While cultivation realms serve as a standard for judging one's power, they do not necessarily represent a person's overall combat prowess. If one possesses strong techniques and ample combat experience, and the disparity in realms is not too great, it is not entirely impossible for someone of a slightly lower realm to defeat or even slay someone of a higher realm.

The two Grand Spirit Masters were indeed slightly weaker than Bai Xue in terms of cultivation, but the difference in their realms wasn't too significant. Furthermore, Bai Xue was alone, while they were two. Therefore, with good coordination, potent techniques, rich combat experience, and an understanding of how to exploit every available advantage, the probability of the two of them defeating Bai Xue was quite high.

Yet, the reality was precisely the opposite. Facing Bai Xue, who had reverted to her true form, the two, even with their combined efforts and their respective Guardian Spirits, not only failed to defeat her but were instead suppressed by Bai Xue, finding themselves completely at a disadvantage.

There were only two explanations for this situation: either the two were deliberately holding back, not unleashing their true strength at all, or Bai Xue's techniques were superior to theirs, and her combat experience far richer, which was why their combined efforts gained them no advantage against her.

However, both the White-Haired Old Woman and Cold Yue believed the former possibility to be unlikely, while the latter held more credence.

With just a single glance, the two clearly grasped the current situation. They knew the Crippled Elder wasn't exaggerating; if things continued this way, their Spirit Medium faction was doomed to defeat. At this moment, Yang Haoran had only slain Shang Yuanqi, but if the situation remained unchanged, it wouldn't be long before the Crippled Elder was killed. Once the Crippled Elder died, it was obvious it would be their turn next.

Thinking of this, the two, whose minds had been clouded by greed, instantly sobered up. Neither of them mentioned the Blood-Clad Ghost King again, nor did they continue attacking each other. Instead, they dismissed the Spirit Aspects they had summoned and shot upwards with the fastest possible speed, joining the battle. Their target was none other than Yang Haoran.