Chapter 1224: Relentless Pursuit
In just a short while, few people remained in the entire Snow Fox Mountain Range. Yet, the battle here still raged fiercely, and the commotion was equally grand, for the Death God and the Talisman Ancestor, these two True Gods, were locked in a desperate struggle, making it impossible for the uproar to be anything less than immense.
However, at this moment, even if the Snow Fox Mountain Range were turned upside down by the fighting, it had little to do with Yang Haoran. For he had already left Snow Fox Mountain and joined the pursuit of the fleeing Spirit Masters.
The group of Spirit Masters Yang Haoran was pursuing included two Grand Spirit Masters, several Spirit Masters, and several Exorcists of no small strength. Yang Haoran set his sights on the two Grand Spirit Masters, while his trusted subordinates targeted everyone else for elimination.
Although his subordinates were all gravely wounded and far fewer in number than the enemy, they were all Earth Soul realm experts, a realm above these individuals. Therefore, Yang Haoran believed that as long as no unexpected incidents occurred, his subordinates would undoubtedly be able to handle all their opponents without any issues.
As for Yang Haoran’s opponents, though both were Grand Spirit Masters, their respective realms were not the same: one was at the late stage, and the other at the late-stage peak.
Normally, Yang Haoran would never simultaneously pursue two individuals in public. It wasn't that he lacked the strength, but rather that he didn't want others to grow suspicious of his true power. The reason he dared to do so now was, first, because he had several powerful subordinates with him, who, in the eyes of outsiders, served as his helpers. Thus, even if he cut down both opponents, no one would find it strange.
Another reason was that both individuals had sustained serious injuries. It was both logical and reasonable for these two, at the end of their rope, to fall into his hands and have their lives taken. Even if some suspected foul play, the reasoning would still hold water.
Though both were severely wounded, they had somehow managed to achieve incredible speed, far exceeding what one would expect from gravely injured individuals.
A Gale Talisman was affixed to his body. Though it was just a Black Talisman, it was a top-tier Black Talisman, and its use significantly boosted Yang Haoran's speed. Seeing Yang Haoran closing in relentlessly and their own speed momentarily increasing, they anxiously gritted their teeth and unleashed a Spirit Art.
This Spirit Art was clearly one that provided a significant boost to speed. After they activated it, their speed demonstrably increased, and they were even three-tenths faster than Yang Haoran. This clearly showed the considerable speed enhancement provided by this Spirit Art.
However, successfully activating this art certainly required a considerable price. At least, given their current condition, unleashing this art would undoubtedly have significant repercussions for them. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gritted their teeth and made the decision to use it.
Watching the distance between them narrow, only for it to widen significantly again due to the two individuals' Spirit Art, Yang Haoran observed the scene without the slightest urgency. He swallowed a danyao to recover from his physical injuries, relentlessly pursuing them from behind.
He was already quite heavily wounded, and without the aid of danyao, it would obviously be impossible for him to recover quickly. Although taking healing danyao wouldn't instantly restore his injuries completely, it would at least allow his physical body to recover to some extent in a short period, which held only benefits and no drawbacks for him.
The two Grand Spirit Masters had activated a speed-boosting Spirit Art, preventing Yang Haoran from immediately catching up. However, this wasn't entirely a bad thing for Yang Haoran; after all, he could use this time to heal via the danyao.
Of course, to avoid losing track of the two, Yang Haoran not only used a Gale Talisman but also exerted more power to increase his speed, barely managing to match their pace.
The effect of the Gale Talisman had a time limit. However, in Yang Haoran's opinion, the Spirit Art unleashed by the two Grand Spirit Masters also had a time limit. He had plenty more Gale Talismans; once the power of this one was depleted, he could activate another. But the two Grand Spirit Masters would find it very difficult to do so. Once the effect of their Spirit Art wore off, given their current state, it would be hard for them to unleash it again in a short time.
Therefore, as long as Yang Haoran could maintain his speed equal to theirs, catching up to them was only a matter of time. As a whooshing sound rent the air, the three figures, one after another, streaked across the sky, vanishing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
In just the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, the two Grand Spirit Masters Yang Haoran was pursuing noticeably slowed down, especially the comparatively weaker Grand Spirit Master, who was finding it difficult to keep up with the other.
This was hardly surprising. His strength was inherently inferior to the other Grand Spirit Master, and his injuries were also more severe. Initially, he could keep up with the Grand Spirit Master's speed because he had expended more Communication Power than the other. Now, with scarcely any Communication Power left within him, the Spirit Art he had unleashed could not receive sufficient power support, hence his speed naturally dwindled.
The other Grand Spirit Master, seeing this, could not help but show a look of anxiety on his face.
"No, if we continue like this, it's only a matter of time before Yang Haoran catches us. Furthermore, constantly fleeing like this will greatly deplete our dwindling Communication Power, and we can't withstand such consumption right now."
The late-stage peak Grand Spirit Master wore an exceedingly grim expression as he spoke to the other Grand Spirit Master in a deep voice.
"What do we do if we don't run? Clash head-on with Yang Haoran?"
The late-stage Grand Spirit Master asked, his tone lacking confidence as he spoke. From this, it was not difficult to see that he seemed not to approve of this approach.
"Apart from clashing head-on with him, we simply have no other choice."
The late-stage peak Grand Spirit Master said in a deep voice, his face stony, his tone filled with both anger and helplessness.
"If we're going to clash head-on with him, why didn't we do it before? Now, because we used a Spirit Art to escape, our Communication Power has been further depleted, and our strength has also been greatly diminished. Choosing to clash head-on with Yang Haoran in this state, we will certainly be the ones to suffer in the end!"
The late-stage Grand Spirit Master's tone held no blame, only puzzlement, yet he still harbored some blame for the other party in his heart. However, he concealed it well, not revealing his true inner emotions.
"Are you a pig? If we had clashed head-on with Yang Haoran earlier, our fate would either be to be besieged and killed by numerous Underworld Officials, or to be slain by Life Soul realm experts of the Underworld Office. After all, being too close to Snow Fox Mountain, these two possibilities were very high. But now that we are far from Snow Fox Mountain, it's different. We only need to face Yang Haoran alone. Even if it cost us some Communication Power to escape Yang Haoran, it was still worth it!"
Upon hearing the late-stage peak Grand Spirit Master's words, the late-stage Grand Spirit Master immediately felt that what he said was not without reason. Consequently, his inner blame diminished by seven or eight tenths, and his heart even stirred with eagerness.
"When fighting at Snow Fox Mountain, I specifically observed Yang Haoran, this Guardian. From the power fluctuations he emitted, he should be at the late Earth Soul realm, the same realm as you, but considerably weaker than me. Although the two of us are gravely wounded right now, Yang Haoran's physical condition isn't much better; he's not much different from the two of us. Do you think he can defeat the two of us combined?"
The late-stage peak Grand Spirit Master continued to ask. The other Grand Spirit Master did not immediately reply upon hearing this, but after a moment's consideration, he shook his head with a look of certainty.
"If the two of us join forces and employ all our means, I also believe Yang Haoran would absolutely not be a match for the two of us."
His words greatly pleased the late-stage peak Grand Spirit Master, because he happened to be thinking the exact same thing. Since their thoughts were in agreement, then their subsequent joint cooperation to counter-kill Yang Haoran would be a perfectly logical course of action, and neither side would have any objections.
"Hmph, if he, Yang Haoran, had even a shred of caution, he would never have rashly pursued us this far. I think he's been blinded by victory, believing that all Spirit Masters have lost the ability to resist and can only be slaughtered at will by these Underworld dogs. That's why he dared to venture so far from Snow Fox Mountain. If he hadn't pursued us this far, we truly would have no way to deal with him. Since he dared to pursue us without fear of death, then we'll just keep him here forever!"
The late-stage peak Grand Spirit Master said coldly. As his words fell, his body, which had been rapidly fleeing into the distance, abruptly halted in mid-air, no longer fleeing into the distance.
The other Grand Spirit Master, seeing this, naturally understood the former's intention. So he also stopped in mid-air, and like the former, turned to face Yang Haoran, who had been relentlessly pursuing them from behind.
A whooshing sound rent the air, and Yang Haoran subsequently stopped fifty meters away from the two. Seeing that neither of them was fleeing anymore, but had instead turned to face him, their pursuer, head-on, he immediately guessed their intentions roughly.
"Heh heh, it seems the two of you aren't planning to run anymore. That's good too; saves me the trouble of continuing to chase you."
Yang Haoran wore a faint smile on his face, his gaze sweeping over the two of them. Then he spoke with a laugh. Although his tone was very calm as he said this, his words concealed a strong killing intent, and they also gave one the feeling that he had them completely cornered.
"Hmph, constantly pursued by a mad dog. . . if we don't take some forceful measures to slaughter this mad dog, it will surely chase us endlessly, wouldn't you agree?"
A cold snort escaped the late-stage peak Grand Spirit Master's lips, and he then launched a personal attack on Yang Haoran with his words, which carried a strong killing intent.
Yang Haoran's expression remained unchanged at this, but his Soul Armament, Remnant Moon, transformed into a black streak of light at that moment, shooting rapidly towards the Grand Spirit Master who had just mocked him.
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