Chapter 1136: Fighting for Time with Their Lives
The White-Haired Old Woman and Cold Yue had dispersed the Spirit Aspects they summoned before joining the battle. That was because the Spirit Aspects consumed too much of their Communication Power, and they could no longer sustain them.
The previous fierce struggle had left them with very little Communication Power. Although they had taken alchemical pills, the recovery speed of their Communication Power simply couldn't keep up with the rate of consumption. If they hadn't dispersed their Spirit Aspects, their Communication Power would have quickly been depleted. And if they had no Communication Power left, how could they possibly inflict damage upon Yang Haoran?
It was precisely because they considered this point that both of them, without prior agreement, dispersed their Spirit Aspects.
Seeing that the two had finally regained their senses, no longer fighting each other but instead immediately coming to his aid against Yang Haoran, the Crippled Elder felt a wave of relief. But it was only a fleeting relief; he wasn't genuinely happy about it.
The reason was simple: at this moment, both the White-Haired Old Woman and Cold Yue were severely wounded. Cold Yue, being slightly weaker, had injuries considerably more serious than those of the White-Haired Old Woman.
Not only did they have little Communication Power left, but their physical bodies were also grievously injured, leaving them with hardly any combat effectiveness. Most crucially, neither of them had a Guardian Spirit. In such a state, their coming to support him, while not entirely useless, offered truly limited assistance. Of course, he couldn't be happy.
Of course, even if the help they could provide wasn't enough to satisfy him, at least they weren't fighting each other anymore. This was a blessing in disguise, which was why he sighed with relief.
Seeing Cold Yue and the White-Haired Old Woman join the fray, and both of them treating Yang Haoran as their primary target, Bai Xue felt a pang of worry. She launched an even more ferocious assault against her two opponents, eager to dispatch them quickly so she could lend Yang Haoran a hand.
Nevertheless, Bai Xue didn't lessen her fierce offensive. Even if Yang Haoran wasn't at a disadvantage against three, quickly taking care of her current two opponents would still be a good thing, with absolutely no downsides.
At this moment, Yang Haoran was indeed unperturbed and felt little pressure. Although he now faced two more opponents, he didn't take it to heart. His internal assessment was actually not much different from the Crippled Elder's; in his view, their addition wouldn't significantly impact him. They were merely rushing to deliver their heads on a platter.
And indeed, that was the truth. The severely injured and greatly weakened Cold Yue and White-Haired Old Woman truly didn't have much impact on Yang Haoran. The situation remained unchanged; their side was still at a disadvantage against Yang Haoran's fierce assault.
“You two, find a way to stall him for a little while! ! ! ”
For the Crippled Elder to shout at this moment, it was obvious he was preparing to unleash some powerful technique. Neither the White-Haired Old Woman nor Cold Yue spoke, but both responded with their actions.
Their figures flashed, and they appeared one after another in front of the Crippled Elder. Cold Yue manifested a black shield above the heads of all three, gritting her teeth as she channeled her meager remaining Communication Power into the shield to enhance its defensive capabilities.
This shield was clearly intended to block the black lightning that could descend from above at any moment; otherwise, she wouldn't have foolishly conjured it directly above their heads.
At the same time, the White-Haired Old Woman waved her hand, deploying a black barrier. This barrier was circular, enveloping all three without any blind spots. And like Cold Yue, she frantically poured her scant remaining Communication Power into the barrier to enhance its durability.
The White-Haired Old Woman did this because both of Yang Haoran’s Soul Armaments were offensive types. The shield Cold Yue conjured was only to defend against Black Lightning; his other Soul Armament, Remnant Moon, couldn't be stopped by it. Her circular barrier served precisely to compensate for this flaw.
After all, given their current physical condition, this was the only way they could possibly buy a little time for the Crippled Elder. If they chose to use offensive means to restrain Yang Haoran, they knew full well they simply didn't possess that capability in their current state.
The irony of the situation was stark: if only the two of them had been so cautious and prudent with Yang Haoran from the very beginning, they wouldn't have ended up in their current predicament. It would have been Yang Haoran with the headache, not them.
But they hadn't done so. Not only had they failed to be cautious, they had actually fought each other, which was precisely why the situation had devolved into its current state.
The primary purpose of their defensive measures was, naturally, to withstand Yang Haoran's assault and to buy as much time as possible for the Crippled Elder, so he could unleash his formidable techniques. As for whether they would succeed, they had no certainty in their hearts.
As for the Crippled Elder's Guardian Spirit, it also wasn't idle. However, it wasn't inside the barrier; instead, it swiftly moved outside the protective shield, exerting all its might to continuously launch attacks against Yang Haoran.
Since defensive measures were being deployed, offense naturally needed to be handled by someone else to better stall for time and create an opportunity for the Crippled Elder. With Cold Yue and the White-Haired Old Woman both hiding inside the barrier, the task of attacking naturally fell upon the Crippled Elder’s Guardian Spirit.
Although the Crippled Elder's Guardian Spirit had reached the Ghost King realm, it was only at the peak of the early Ghost King stage, and it wasn't a terrifying Blood-Clad entity, but rather an ordinary ghost that had ascended to Ghost King. Coupled with the powerful suppression Spirit Power had over ghostly entities, and its severe injuries at present, this Guardian Spirit facing Yang Haoran—a Guardian at the peak of the late Earth Soul realm—was, without a doubt, seeking its own demise.
This Guardian Spirit was, of course, well aware of this, but it had no other choice. Even if it didn't attack, Yang Haoran would still come for it. It wouldn't be so naive as to believe Yang Haoran would spare it, attacking only others but not it.
As for why it didn't hide inside the barrier with the White-Haired Old Woman and Cold Yue, it was because the two of them seemingly hadn't even considered letting it in. While it was still dodging Yang Haoran's attacks, they had already erected the barrier, showing no intention of waiting for it whatsoever.
By the time it reacted, it was already blocked outside the barrier. In such a situation, it could only grit its teeth and actively launch an attack against Yang Haoran, doing its best to buy its master a little more time. No matter how dangerous, this was the only course of action, and at least, in its view, it was better than waiting for death.
Seeing the Guardian Spirit actually take the initiative to attack him, the smile on Yang Haoran’s face deepened.
The Guardian Spirit knew that attempting to use illusions to confuse Yang Haoran with its current strength was clearly impossible. It had tried before, but the moment Yang Haoran activated his Ghost Eye, not only was he unaffected by the illusion, but the Guardian Spirit itself suffered a backlash. After that, it never dared to use illusions on Yang Haoran again, for the backlash inflicted considerable damage, and in its current physical state, it simply couldn't withstand the harm caused by such a recoil.
The attack method the Guardian Spirit chose was, naturally, Spiritual Art. Because its strength was limited, basic attacks wouldn't have much effect on Yang Haoran, so it could only resort to using Spiritual Arts against him.
Of course, the Spiritual Arts it could currently employ were far from powerful. Potent Spiritual Arts not only required a certain amount of time to cast but also sufficient power—two requirements it currently lacked. Therefore, it could only use Spiritual Arts that consumed less power and had shorter incantation times.
The Guardian Spirit also knew that such Spiritual Arts couldn't possibly inflict significant damage on Yang Haoran. However, its main objective wasn't to gravely injure Yang Haoran, but merely to create some trouble for him, successfully pinning him down for a short while.
After a few ordinary attacks served as a feint, the Guardian Spirit immediately formed a hand seal and unleashed the Spiritual Art: Yin Wind Blade. This was merely a very common Spiritual Art, and its power was quite average. Its advantage lay in its uncomplicated hand seal, and combined with the Guardian Spirit's extreme proficiency in its incantation, it completed the seal almost instantly, successfully casting the Spiritual Art.
The weakness of the Yin Wind Blade was merely relative. In truth, when this Spiritual Art was unleashed by the Guardian Spirit, both its power and momentum were considerable. However, it was facing Yang Haoran, who was far stronger, which was why its move appeared to lack any real potency.
A dense flurry of Yin Wind Blades shot towards Yang Haoran's location, not only fast but also incredibly numerous. Yang Haoran's expression remained unchanged; he didn't even shift his body by an inch. Under his mental command, Remnant Moon suddenly expanded in size, spinning rapidly to block the incoming Yin Wind Blades. The countless blades struck Remnant Moon, creating a sound akin to metal colliding.
Under the fierce onslaught of the Yin Wind Blades, Remnant Moon remained utterly still, unshaken in the slightest. Conversely, the Yin Wind Blades controlled by the Guardian Spirit, upon colliding with Remnant Moon, were immediately shattered by a powerful counter-shock, dissolving into Yin Qi and vanishing.
This scene didn't cause the Guardian Spirit to show any surprise, as it was entirely within its expectations. It knew that the Yin Wind Blades it unleashed couldn't harm Yang Haoran. All it wanted was to temporarily hold Yang Haoran back for a short while using this technique, so as to buy its master enough time to unleash a powerful move.
At this point, it had already decided what Spiritual Art to deploy next against Yang Haoran. The moment the power of the Yin Wind Blades was exhausted, it would immediately cast that spell.
However, just at that moment, a peal of thunder echoed through the area, followed by several bolts of black lightning descending from the sky, striking towards the Guardian Spirit's position!
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