Chapter 1137: Realm-Seizing Blood Refining Grand Art
Several bolts of black lightning suddenly descended from the sky, but instead of striking a single area, they dispersed, cutting off all escape routes for the Crippled Elder's Guardian Spirit.
The Guardian Spirit’s expression instantly changed drastically. The moment the explosive sound reverberated from above, he knew something was amiss, but he had no time to look up and see what was happening. All he could do was instinctively move his body to dodge.
Boom! ! !
Although the Guardian Spirit's instinctive dodge allowed him to evade the black lightning bolt descending directly above him, he couldn't completely avoid all the black lightning. These bolts were scattered, completely sealing off all his escape routes. Thus, even with his timely dodge, his body was still struck by one of the black lightning bolts.
The instant the lightning bolt struck his body, what he felt wasn't numbness. He didn't experience that intense paralyzing sensation, because his physical body was directly shattered by the black lightning.
Given the weakened state of his physical body, how could he possibly withstand a blow from Black Lightning? Even if it was just a single bolt of black lightning that fell, it was enough to completely disperse his weakened corporeal form.
The strands of Yin Qi, into which his physical body had dispersed, attempted to re-coalesce and reform under the Guardian Spirit’s control. However, at that very moment, Yang Haoran suddenly appeared. A Soul-Gathering Bead was brought forth, and under Yang Haoran’s manipulation, the Soul-Gathering Bead emitted a powerful suction force, forcibly drawing all the strands of Yin Qi into itself.
Though the Yin Qi struggled fiercely, trying to break free from the suction’s control, no matter how it thrashed, it was utterly ineffective, for this powerful suction was simply beyond its ability to resist.
In the blink of an eye, all the Yin Qi that the Guardian Spirit had transformed into was collected into the Soul-Gathering Bead. With a light wave of his hand, Yang Haoran stowed the Soul-Gathering Bead into his independent space, and a joyful smile appeared on his face.
Yang Haoran was indeed very happy at this moment, for his primary objective on this trip was indeed these Grand Spirit Masters, but what he valued wasn’t their souls, but rather their Guardian Spirits.
Since Yang Haoran was no longer satisfied with the rate at which Soul Pills improved his power, he had conceived of the even higher-grade Soul Crystals. Given the immense Pure Yin Qi contained within a Soul Crystal, consuming each one would undoubtedly bring a significant boost to his strength.
The problem, however, was that Soul Crystals were not easily refined. The chances of successfully refining one were pitifully low. For a long time now, apart from the occasional stroke of explosive luck that yielded a Soul Crystal, most of the time, the Soul-Refining Cauldron produced Soul Pills.
Up to this point, Yang Haoran had no idea how many Soul Pills he had refined using the Soul-Refining Cauldron; he couldn't remember the exact number. However, he remembered precisely how many Soul Crystals he had produced, for the quantity of refined Soul Crystals was simply too small. To date, he had only refined a total of four Soul Crystals. With such a meager number and the preciousness of Soul Crystals, how could he possibly forget?
Through in-depth research and combining his experience from the four successful Soul Crystal refinements, Yang Haoran discovered that the stronger the ghostly being used for refining, the greater the chance of producing a Soul Crystal. This was why he had set his sights on the Guardian Spirits of Grand Spirit Masters.
Because the Guardian Spirits of Grand Spirit Masters were formed in both strength and realm, even the weakest Grand Spirit Master's Guardian Spirit was at least a peak Evil Spirit (evil Spirit). Many Guardian Spirits of slightly stronger Grand Spirit Masters had even reached the Ghost King realm. Using their Guardian Spirits to refine Soul Crystals certainly wouldn't yield a frighteningly high success rate, but it would at least be higher than the success rate of refining Soul Crystals from low-level ghostly beings.
Just moments after Yang Haoran had slain Shang Yuanqi, he had immediately, with lightning speed, collected Shang Yuanqi's Guardian Spirit into the Soul-Gathering Bead. Not long after, he successfully collected another Guardian Spirit, and this one was even a peak early-stage Ghost King Guardian Spirit. How could this not make him happy?
Having dealt with the Guardian Spirit, the next target was naturally the trio, including the Crippled Elder. In Yang Haoran's view, the Crippled Elder and the other two must have looked extremely grim at this moment, as the Guardian Spirit hadn't bought them much time. From the moment the Guardian Spirit actively attacked him to the present moment when he collected it into the Soul-Gathering Bead, it had only taken a few breaths from start to finish. This amount of time was truly too short for them.
Especially the Crippled Elder. Yang Haoran believed the Crippled Elder's expression must be the most unsightly among the three, because the collected Guardian Spirit happened to be his own. Witnessing his Guardian Spirit so easily taken away by his opponent, it would be strange indeed if the Crippled Elder's face looked any good.
This was indeed what Yang Haoran was thinking at the moment, but when his gaze fell upon the location of the Crippled Elder and the other two, the smile on his face couldn’t help but falter somewhat, because what he saw was slightly different from what he had conjectured in his mind.
The expressions of the White-Haired Old Woman and Cold Yue were indeed rather grim, which didn't surprise Yang Haoran. However, the Crippled Elder's reaction was somewhat thought-provoking.
Although the Crippled Elder's face was a little grim, it was only a little, not even as grim as the White-Haired Old Woman's or Cold Yue's. As the master of the Guardian Spirit, to personally witness his own Guardian Spirit being forcibly taken away, yet his expression was less grim than two bystanders – this was clearly abnormal.
Besides his abnormal expression, Yang Haoran also discerned something else in the Crippled Elder’s eyes. This gaze exuded a sense of decisiveness, as if he had made some kind of resolution.
Just as Yang Haoran entertained this thought, the Crippled Elder, who was within the two protective barriers, suddenly made his move. However, his targets were not Yang Haoran, but rather the White-Haired Old Woman and Cold Yue, who had erected the two protective barriers for him!
The Crippled Elder moved with lightning speed, his two palms like sharp daggers, easily plunging into the backs of the two women.
Both the White-Haired Old Woman and Cold Yue had their complete attention fixed on Yang Haoran at that moment, never imagining that the Crippled Elder, whom they were protecting from behind, would attack them. Consequently, they had not the slightest defense against him. Even after the Crippled Elder's palms plunged into their bodies, they didn't immediately comprehend what was happening.
The expressions on their faces froze abruptly. Their first thought was whether Yang Haoran had employed some trick to cause the attack on their backs, but then they quickly dismissed this conjecture themselves, because the protective barriers they had erected were still present, not even damaged. Moreover, Yang Haoran had just been dealing with the Guardian Spirit and hadn't had time to attack them.
Having understood this point, and sensing the familiar power fluctuations coming from behind them, the two instantly knew who the attacker was. Who else could it be but the Crippled Elder whom they had been protecting?
They were filled with both fury and confusion. Fury because they had been protecting the Crippled Elder from the front, yet he had stabbed them in the back – how could this not enrage them?
The confusion stemmed from the fact that they simply couldn’t understand why the Crippled Elder would attack them both, especially in the current situation where they should have been united. Yet, the Crippled Elder had chosen to stab them in the back; how could they not be perplexed?
Not only were the two women deeply perplexed, but even Yang Haoran, who witnessed the entire scene, also felt a surge of confusion, unable to comprehend why the Crippled Elder would commit such a foolish act of cutting off his own retreat.
The Crippled Elder’s hands did not pierce directly through their bodies; only his palms had partially entered, sinking deep into their forms.
Although both were physically weak at this moment, they should have been able to employ at least basic means of resistance. Yet, after realizing what had happened, they did not immediately flash away from their positions, nor did they use any defensive techniques.
It wasn't that they didn't want to, but at that moment, they both felt a surge of powerlessness throughout their bodies, as if all their strength had been instantly drained away. Not only were they unable to employ any means of resistance, but even moving their bodies became incredibly difficult.
Although they couldn’t move their bodies or employ any resistance, the two still struggled to twist, attempting to look at the Crippled Elder behind them. However, neither of them succeeded, only managing to slightly turn their bodies a small amount, still far from being able to properly face the Crippled Elder behind them.
"Why. . . why. . ."
Those few short words, beyond confusion and pain, carried a deeper undercurrent of bitter resentment.
"I apologize, but I need your realms!"
Whether it was out of inner shame or some other reason, the Crippled Elder did not remain silent, but instead replied to the White-Haired Old Woman with those words.
He uttered these words as a reply to the White-Haired Old Woman, and also for Cold Yue to hear. Before the two could comprehend the meaning of his statement, they suddenly heard a low roar from the Crippled Elder behind them!
"Realm-Seizing Blood Refining Grand Art! ! !"
As the Crippled Elder's voice rang out, a dense surge of Yin Qi suddenly erupted from his body, and the power fluctuations emanating from within him intensified at that very moment. As for the White-Haired Old Woman and Cold Yue, their bodies visibly shriveled at a speed discernible to the naked eye.
Crack! ! !
Crack! ! !
With two sharp cracks, Cold Yue's condensed shield shattered first, dissolving into strands of dissipating Yin Qi. Immediately after, the protective barrier conjured by the White-Haired Old Woman also developed cracks, then shattered and vanished.
The Crippled Elder retracted his hands, and the corpses of the White-Haired Old Woman and Cold Yue plummeted from the air. Their expressions rigid, their eyes vacant, they had completely lost all signs of life. In just an instant, the elder had devoured them until only empty husks remained.
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