Chapter 1194: Division Phantom
The White Fox Patriarch was extremely reluctant, but Jing Miao paid no mind to it at all. After all, any normal person encountering such a situation would naturally be unwilling; they certainly wouldn't greet it with a smile.
As the White Fox Patriarch's exceedingly reluctant voice faded, Jing Miao showed not the slightest intention of wasting words. With a flick of her arm, a black light shot rapidly towards the White Fox Patriarch's location.
The White Fox Patriarch watched this unfold, his brows tightly furrowed, yet he showed not the slightest trace of panic, nor any intention of intercepting the black light. He chose to compromise out of consideration for his clan members. Putting that aside, he felt no fear towards Jing Miao whatsoever, nor did he believe Jing Miao possessed any means to threaten him. Thus, facing the rapidly approaching black light, he did not think it could cause him any harm, and he allowed it to draw closer.
Several meters in front of the White Fox Patriarch, the black light suddenly halted in mid-air, transforming into a black talisman. The talisman then spontaneously combusted, and a figure emerged.
The figure was blurry at first, but then it rapidly sharpened. In just the span of a single breath, a clear human figure fully materialized. Although it was merely an insubstantial phantom, it was so lifelike it was indistinguishable from reality. And this condensed phantom was none other than Yang Haoran.
"Division Charm!"
The White Fox Patriarch narrowed his eyes slightly, recognizing the origin of the talisman.
Although the Division Charm possessed no offensive or defensive capabilities, it could separate a portion of the user's consciousness and condense it within the talisman without harming the user. Once this talisman was activated, it would form a phantom of the user. This phantom was linked to the user's mind, allowing the user to control it at will. What the phantom saw, heard, and sensed could all be accurately and precisely transmitted back to the user themselves. Its only drawback was that the phantom did not possess the user's power.
To put it bluntly, the Division Charm allowed the user to have an additional phantom projection linked to their mind. This phantom differed fundamentally from a clone (clone). Clones possessed various abilities depending on their strength, while the phantom created by a Division Charm, apart from retaining a certain degree of the user's sensory perception, could not utilize any of the user's power or methods, because it inherently possessed no power of its own.
However, as Bai Xue watched, her heart couldn't help but sink. Her actions this time had not received Yang Haoran's permission; her behavior was entirely a case of "act first, report later. " Thus, she was somewhat worried Yang Haoran would take issue with it, and seeing him now, a trace of trepidation couldn't help but rise within her.
"You're the boss behind this woman, pulling all the strings?"
The White Fox Patriarch looked at Yang Haoran's phantom and questioned him coldly. Since he recognized the Division Charm, he naturally understood its capabilities. He knew that Yang Haoran could see and hear the events here through the phantom, which was why he spoke directly to it.
Yang Haoran smiled. He didn't immediately answer the White Fox Patriarch. Instead, he first turned his head to glance in the direction of Bai Xue and the other three. Seeing that none of them were seriously harmed, he said nothing and withdrew his gaze from them.
Yang Haoran's reaction caused the already uneasy Bai Xue's trepidation to deepen involuntarily by several degrees.
Then, Yang Haoran's gaze swept over the White Fox clan members who had lost their reason and reverted to their true forms. He merely gave them a rough glance, again saying nothing, and not even the slightest change appeared on his face. He withdrew his gaze once more, finally redirecting it towards the White Fox Patriarch in front of him.
"Heh heh, White Fox Patriarch, Demon Saint Bai Yuanhua, it is truly fortunate to meet you in person today."
Yang Haoran looked at the White Fox Patriarch and spoke with a faint smile. Not only did he not answer the other party's question, but he revealed the other's identity with a single remark.
In truth, Yang Haoran hadn't known of Bai Yuanhua from the start. He only became aware of him because, after Bai Xue left the Guardian District, he did some impromptu research on the matter. His source of information, of course, was Tang Shi's Myriad Ghost Grotto.
Currently, the Myriad Ghost Grotto's scope of activity was no longer limited to Jingling Continent; its members were active in all four continents. Therefore, Yang Haoran's desire to know information about the White Fox Clan in Jun Prefecture was not a difficult matter for the Myriad Ghost Grotto.
Furthermore, the information on the White Fox Clan that the Myriad Ghost Grotto gathered for Yang Haoran was not limited to commonly known surface details; it also included some secrets unknown to outsiders. Had Yang Haoran not been in such urgent need of the White Fox Clan's information, giving Tang Shi more time would surely have allowed him to gather even more detailed intelligence.
However, in Yang Haoran's opinion, the information Tang Shi gathered for him in such a short time was entirely sufficient.
"Hmph, you know me, but I don't know you."
Bai Yuanhua snorted coldly, then spoke with a chilling tone. He wasn't surprised that Yang Haoran knew him. After all, looking across the entire Jun Prefecture, he, Bai Yuanhua, commanded both status and strength; countless people knew him, and even those who didn't had at least heard of him.
Moreover, in his view, Yang Haoran's targeting of their White Fox Clan this time surely meant he had already understood them in advance, knew Bai Yuanhua was the patriarch, and could recognize him at a glance. There was nothing strange about that.
As for who Yang Haoran was, Bai Yuanhua truly didn't know, because he truly had no impression whatsoever of Yang Haoran's exceedingly ordinary face.
Of course, he couldn't be entirely sure that he and Yang Haoran hadn't met before. After all, Yang Haoran's appearance was simply too unremarkable; perhaps they had crossed paths, but because of Yang Haoran's common looks, he had forgotten him.
His "not knowing" merely referred to him not knowing Yang Haoran's name, and it certainly didn't mean he hadn't recognized Yang Haoran's identity as an Underworld Official. After all, Yang Haoran's Death God uniform, the attire of an Underworld Office Guardian, was quite eye-catching. Even before Yang Haoran's phantom had fully formed, he had already recognized Yang Haoran's status as an Underworld Official.
"Heh heh, I am Yang Haoran."
Yang Haoran responded with a smile, his expression gentle, like the sunlight in winter. However, Bai Yuanhua was not fooled by Yang Haoran's smile.
"Yang Haoran? As far as I know, there isn't an Underworld Office Guardian named Yang Haoran in Jun Prefecture. Are you not a Guardian of the Jun Prefecture Underworld Office, or has another Guardian of your Jun Prefecture Underworld Office died at the hands of a Spirit Master, and you're merely cannon fodder brought in as a replacement?"
Bai Yuanhua's voice carried an intense chill, and his words were equally unreserved. From this, one could discern the intensity of the fury in his heart. If he weren't compelled by the current situation, he would have long since unleashed his anger, rather than trying to suppress it.
Yang Haoran's expression remained unchanged. He showed not the slightest emotional shift due to Bai Yuanhua's sarcasm and taunts. As if he didn't feel Bai Yuanhua's hostility and anger, he still responded with a faint smile.
"Heh heh, Patriarch Yuanhua is right, I am indeed cannon fodder. It's just that, compared to the other cannon fodder in our Underworld Office, I'm a tad more senior. However, I'm not cannon fodder for the Jun Prefecture Underworld Office, but for the Jingling Continent Underworld Office."
Yang Haoran had no intention of hiding anything from Bai Yuanhua, directly announcing his affiliation. He knew very well that hiding had no meaning, as
Bai Yuanhua could easily find out about Yang Haoran's background if he spent a little time researching. Therefore, concealing his true identity would merely be self-deception and would only make others think he was trying to be clever.
Yang Haoran, of course, wouldn't do something so meaningless, so he simply and openly introduced himself.
"Jingling Continent Underworld Office? Where did my White Fox Clan offend your Jingling Continent Underworld Office, enough to warrant you sending someone from Jingling Continent to cause trouble on my Snow Fox Mountain in Jun Prefecture?"
Bai Yuanhua asked angrily, while Yang Haoran responded with a faint smile.
"Heh heh, Bai Jiumeng is a member of the Flock of Demons Society, and I happen to have some connection with the Flock of Demons Society. So, of course, I couldn't just stand by and watch the members of the Flock of Demons Society be bullied. While I don't know what happened here before, I believe my people wouldn't act recklessly, and I also believe that our friends from the Flock of Demons Society wouldn't deliberately come to Snow Fox Mountain to cause trouble. Since things have escalated to this point, there must be some reason connected to Snow Fox Mountain itself."
Bai Yuanhua's expression was already quite unsightly. After hearing Yang Haoran's words, his face remained grim, and even the corners of his eyes twitched in sheer fury from the intense anger within him.
"Your meaning is, your people were justified in causing trouble here? Also, Bai Jiumeng is a member of my White Fox Clan. I don't care what organization she joined outside; the fact that she is a member of our White Fox Clan cannot be changed. Since she is a member of our White Fox Clan, if she violated clan rules, she must be punished accordingly. You outsiders interfered in this matter, and even transformed members of my White Fox Clan into their current state. If you don't give me a reasonable explanation for this, my White Fox Clan is not done with you, Yang Haoran!"
If it weren't for the situation compelling him, Bai Yuanhua would never have reasoned with Yang Haoran. After all, he wasn't someone who liked to reason, and as a Demon Saint, he certainly wouldn't easily reason with others. The fact that he was reasoning with Yang Haoran now, and even threatening him at the end, was largely to save some face.
"Heh heh, Patriarch Yuanhua, do you know why the vast majority of your clan members were so easily controlled by my subordinates?"
Yang Haoran didn't immediately give Bai Yuanhua a reasonable explanation; instead, he smiled and asked him this question.
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