Chapter 1140: Howling Ghosts and Wailing Wolves
Yang Haoran's originally solemn expression vanished, replaced by his faint smile. This was because he had already realized the Crippled Elder had successfully broken through. Since this matter was a foregone conclusion, impossible to change through any other means, he could only choose to accept the reality. There was no need to keep a long face and ruin his mood.
Adjusting his mindset and emotions, allowing his inner self to relax, would make his mind work faster and enable him to devise better solutions. If he continued to frown and worry, not only would the problem remain unsolved, but he would also allow his opponent to easily see through his thoughts.
The Crippled Elder's reaction was vastly different from Yang Haoran's and Bai Xue's. After realizing his successful breakthrough, he first froze, seemingly unable to believe it was true. Then, after a self-assessment confirmed his breakthrough, his wrinkled old face immediately lit up with wild joy, and he couldn't help but burst into hearty laughter, fully expressing his inner delight through the sound.
"Lord Emissary, what do we do now?"
While the Crippled Elder was laughing, Bai Xue quietly asked Yang Haoran. If she were alone in this situation, she wouldn't even hesitate; she would immediately use every means possible to escape. She knew very well the immense gap between her strength and that of a Spiritualist King. Even if this Spiritualist King was severely wounded, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and the opponent was far from losing their combat ability. Facing such a being alone would be absolute suicide, so she would unhesitatingly choose to flee.
But the current situation was different. Besides her, Yang Haoran was present, and Yang Haoran was her backbone. Therefore, when encountering this, she didn't choose to flee immediately but instead asked Yang Haoran for his plan.
"Heh, let's observe the situation first."
Yang Haoran replied with a faint smile. This answer surprised Bai Xue slightly, but after a moment's thought, it seemed perfectly reasonable.
Bai Xue responded with just one word and then said no more, for Yang Haoran's reply had given her a clear answer, and she could somewhat guess his current thoughts.
If it were purely based on Bai Xue's innermost thoughts, she felt it would be best to escape this place first in such a situation. Although she knew the Crippled Elder wouldn't just let them flee, they at least had a chance to try.
However, since Yang Haoran had decided to observe the situation first, she naturally wouldn't abandon him and run. No matter what, she would stay with Yang Haoran.
Moreover, given her understanding of Yang Haoran's character, his decision to wait and see implied that he definitely had a way to handle the current predicament; otherwise, he would never have made such a choice.
Yang Haoran did not choose to immediately escape but instead prepared to observe the situation before deciding for three reasons.
The first reason was that the Crippled Elder was currently severely wounded. Even though he had successfully broken through to the Spiritualist King realm, and his injuries had recovered to some extent due to the qualitative change in his power, he was still far from fully recovered. Therefore, the Crippled Elder remained in a gravely wounded state.
The second reason was that the Crippled Elder had lost his Guardian Spirit. For a Spiritualist to unleash their full power, a Guardian Spirit was absolutely essential. If a Spiritualist lost their Guardian Spirit, their strength would certainly be greatly diminished, like losing both arms. This was precisely the case for the Crippled Elder.
The third reason was precisely what Bai Xue had guessed: he indeed still possessed some means to handle the current situation. If the Crippled Elder he faced at this moment were not severely wounded and had not lost his Guardian Spirit, then even if Yang Haoran had some countermeasures, he wouldn't dare take such a great risk. But the reality was that the Crippled Elder was severely wounded and had lost his Guardian Spirit, leading Yang Haoran to believe his countermeasures would definitely be effective, and greatly so!
It was precisely because Yang Haoran considered these three points that he decided to temporarily observe the situation.
After a burst of hearty laughter, the Crippled Elder did not immediately launch an attack on Yang Haoran and Bai Xue. It was unclear if this was because his physical body was severely injured and needed some time to recover, or if he needed time to adapt to the sudden surge of power within him, or perhaps there were other reasons. In any case, it was a fact that he did not immediately make a move against Yang Haoran and Bai Xue.
After his laughter ceased, the first thing he did was not to look at Bai Xue, nor at Yang Haoran, but rather at Zhong Siyu, who was still unconscious below.
Seeing that the protective barrier around Zhong Siyu showed no damage, and Zhong Siyu lay quietly within the barrier, the smile on his face deepened considerably. Immediately after, he withdrew his gaze from Zhong Siyu and then looked at Yang Haoran. As for Bai Xue, who had reverted to her true form beside Yang Haoran, she was completely ignored by him.
Had it been before, how would he dare ignore Bai Xue? After all, Bai Xue posed a significant threat to him. Even at his peak, he wouldn't underestimate Bai Xue, let alone after suffering severe injuries.
But now, in his eyes, Bai Xue posed no threat whatsoever. Even though he was gravely wounded at the moment, he had, after all, successfully broken through to the Spiritualist King realm. From this realm, looking at Bai Xue was like looking at an ant. Of course, he dared to ignore Bai Xue.
Forget Bai Xue; even Yang Haoran, whom he had just been completely unable to contend with, was now merely an ant in his eyes, albeit an ant slightly larger than Bai Xue.
The moment the Crippled Elder's gaze landed on Yang Haoran, the smile on his face couldn't help but freeze. This was because he didn't see the expression he wanted to see on Yang Haoran's face; instead, he saw a calm smile, which was utterly unexpected.
He had initially believed that his successful breakthrough to the Spiritualist King realm at this crucial moment would terrify Yang Haoran, and that Yang Haoran's face would be extremely unsightly at this moment. Yang Haoran's unpleasant expression was precisely what he most desired to see. However, reality was precisely the opposite of what he had imagined. Not only was Yang Haoran's face not unsightly, but it even carried a serene smile, which truly astonished him.
But then, the Crippled Elder quickly reacted, and the frozen expression on his face returned to normal. Yet, compared to before, the smile on his face had taken on a different quality, tinged with a hint of coldness.
In truth, the surprise in the Crippled Elder's heart had not entirely faded. Besides surprise, he also felt some doubt and vigilance, for Yang Haoran's ability to smile so calmly at this moment instinctively made him feel that something was amiss.
"Heh, to remain so composed in this situation, you must surely have some trump card you haven't revealed. I'm quite curious to see what kind of trump card can make you so confident!"
The Crippled Elder sneered. Originally, he had wanted to thoroughly humiliate Yang Haoran with words to gain more pleasure and satisfy his vanity, but Yang Haoran's composure made him change his mind. He felt it would be better to take Yang Haoran down immediately. After all, his injuries were too severe at the moment, and the longer the delay, the more unforeseen variables might arise. Therefore, a quick resolution was preferable.
It was precisely because he had made this decision in his heart that, after uttering these words, he immediately formed hand seals, appearing ready to cast a Spiritual Art.
"Go!"
Yang Haoran pointed a finger through the air at the Crippled Elder's location. Remnant Moon let out a hum, then spun rapidly, slashing towards the Crippled Elder.
Above, the dark clouds formed by Black Lightning also began to churn violently at this moment. Rolling thunder rumbled incessantly, accompanied by continuous explosions. Streaks of black lightning descended from the sky, striking down towards the Crippled Elder, each explosion accompanied by a falling bolt of black lightning.
At this very moment, Bai Xue also resumed her assault on the Crippled Elder. However, she no longer launched fierce charges or slaps directly at him as before. This time, she didn't approach the Crippled Elder too closely. Instead, maintaining a certain distance, she opened her mouth and remotely sprayed beams of light formed by Demon Power at him.
Her current method of attack was, in fact, no weaker than directly ramming the target with her physical body. It merely consumed a significant amount of Demon Power. In contrast, physical collisions only depleted her stamina, and stamina recovered far more quickly than Demon Power. That was why she had previously used this method as an auxiliary, with physical attacks as her primary means.
Now, the situation was different. The Crippled Elder was no longer the same Crippled Elder as before. If she continued to use her previous attack style, it would undoubtedly put her in a dangerous and passive position, as that method required direct physical contact with the opponent.
Therefore, for the sake of safety and to achieve the objective of attacking, Bai Xue chose this long-range method that consumed Demon Power.
Faced with the duo's fierce assault, the Crippled Elder astonishingly remained unconcerned, showing no intention of dodging. He allowed their attacks to strike him from different directions.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
With a series of explosions, the Crippled Elder's protective Yin Qi was shattered. However, it was only his protective Yin Qi that dispersed; his body sustained not the slightest injury under their combined assault.
Had it been before, if the Crippled Elder had stubbornly endured such a fierce attack from the two without dodging at all, not only would his protective Yin Qi have been shattered, but even his physical body would have been blasted to smithereens. Yet, now, only his protective Yin Qi had been dispersed, with his body completely unharmed. This clearly demonstrated the terrifying extent to which his breakthrough in realm had elevated his power.
The moment the Crippled Elder's protective Yin Qi was shattered, his hand seals also ceased!
"Spiritual Art, Howling Ghosts and Wailing Wolves! ! !"
Comments