Chapter 1301: Third Soul Armament (Part Fourteen)
Due to his body being restrained, his speed was considerably affected, so Yang Haoran's dodge was not entirely successful. Although he managed to avoid the massive black seal, it was only by a hair's breadth. Precisely because of this, the moment he brushed past the massive black seal, the violent power it unleashed, combined with the immense impact force from its descent, directly sent his body flying.
Yang Haoran let out a muffled groan as he steadied himself in mid-air, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of his mouth. It was clear his physical body had sustained some damage. Thankfully, he had managed to evade the massive black seal's direct strike. If it had truly landed a solid blow on him, there was no doubt his injuries would have been far more severe than they were now, certainly not something a mere trickle of blood from his mouth could resolve.
Yang Haoran was injured, but Ulan was in no better shape. She was already at a disadvantage under the assault of Yang Haoran's two Soul Armaments. However, after summoning her third Soul Armament, she chose to use it for offense rather than defense. Consequently, unable to fully fend off the attacks, she sustained a hideous wound from Remnant Moon.
The wound was on Ulan's waist, and blood was gushing from it. Had she not evaded in time, narrowly avoiding a vital spot, and had her Death God attire not possessed formidable defensive capabilities, she might well have been bisected by now.
Of course, since she dared to abandon defense in favor of offense, she must have had a certain level of confidence. With her extensive combat experience, she would never have acted this way without some assurance of success.
Moreover, though injured, Ulan found an opening: Yang Haoran, forced to dodge the massive black seal's assault, had momentarily faltered in his control over Remnant Moon and Black Lightning. She seized this precise opportunity to channel the Spirit Power within her body and reform her Ghost Head Shield.
As Yang Haoran stabilized himself, Ulan successfully reformed her shattered Ghost Head Shield, maneuvering it to block the black lightning descending from above. Meanwhile, the Soft Sword in her hand was employed to fend off Remnant Moon's assault.
Time was critically short, and everything she did was a race against the clock. This meant she didn't even have time to seal the wound on her waist, and a considerable amount of blood had flowed out in a short span.
Similarly, into the slender Soft Sword in her hand, she also injected a greater amount of Spirit Power, thus enabling it to block Remnant Moon's offensive.
Although Ulan's disadvantage wasn't immediately reversed, she had, at the cost of injury, successfully reformed her Ghost Head Shield and fended off the attacks from Remnant Moon and Black Lightning. However, her injuries were considerably more severe than Yang Haoran's in comparison.
In Ulan's view, this maneuver was undoubtedly a net loss for her, but it was a worthwhile one. Because if she hadn't done so, she would have only grown more passive, and the price she'd pay wouldn't be as simple as just an injury; she might even lose her life. Thus, even with her injuries being far graver than Yang Haoran's, she still deemed it worthwhile.
After successfully blocking Remnant Moon and Black Lightning, Ulan immediately channeled the Spirit Power within her body to seal the wound on her waist. If she didn't seal it and allowed the blood to keep gushing out, she would soon fall into a state of weakness. The impact of this on her would be far from minor, so she absolutely had to seal the wound.
As the wound was sealed by Spirit Power, blood ceased to flow from it. However, such a hideous injury would naturally not heal overnight. Ulan didn't bother with the wound for now; after all, it wasn't the time. As long as blood wasn't gushing out anymore, it was sufficient. What she wanted most right now was to leave a similar wound on Yang Haoran.
With the addition of another Soul Armament, Ulan's focus shifted from controlling two to three at once. Simultaneously manipulating three Soul Armaments consumed a considerable amount of her mental energy and Spirit Power. Yet, to slay Yang Haoran, she could no longer concern herself with such matters.
At this moment, although Yang Haoran's evasion of the massive black seal's attack appeared somewhat clumsy, his condition was far superior to Ulan's. On one hand, his injuries were not as severe as hers; on the other hand, neither his mental energy consumption nor his Spirit Power consumption matched Ulan's. This was because, so far, he had only been controlling two Soul Armaments, whereas Ulan was controlling three. Furthermore, to reclaim the advantage, Ulan had channeled even more Spirit Power into her Soul Armaments than before, resulting in a much greater expenditure of both mental energy and Spirit Power for her than for Yang Haoran.
For Yang Haoran, this was, of course, a good thing. The more his opponent consumed, the easier it would be to deal with them later. Although expended Spirit Power could be replenished, at the cultivation level of Yang Haoran and Ulan, relying on Soul Pills to recover Spirit Power consumption would definitely not keep up with the pace of battle. Such replenishment held little utility during a fierce fight, unless what was being consumed was not a Soul Pill, but a Soul Crystal.
However, Soul Crystals were far too precious. Even a Guardian, noble as their rank was, might not necessarily possess a Soul Crystal, and if they did, the quantity would be extremely limited. After all, not all Guardians, unlike Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing, possessed a Soul-Refining Cauldron and could refine Soul Crystals themselves, relying on abundant resources and luck.
Whether Ulan possessed Soul Crystals was something Yang Haoran couldn't be certain of. Ulan was a veteran Guardian, possessing substantial assets both in the Underworld and the mortal realm. It wasn't entirely impossible for her to acquire a small number of Soul Crystals through her connections and considerable wealth.
However, even if Ulan currently possessed Soul Crystals and could use them to recover her expended Spirit Power during battle, what about the drain on her mental energy? Soul Crystals offered no way to restore mental energy consumption. Even among Dānyào, those capable of restoring mental energy were exceedingly rare, and it was unlikely Ulan had any at hand.
Therefore, as long as Ulan continued to expend her energy this way, it would only benefit Yang Haoran and cause him no harm. However, Yang Haoran was not satisfied with this. To push a Life Soul realm Guardian to the brink of exhaustion was simply impossible within a mere hour, unless there was a colossal disparity in their strengths.
Yang Haoran's cultivation realm was already not significantly different from Ulan's. If he didn't employ special means, forcing Ulan to the brink of exhaustion within an hour was simply unrealistic, let alone slaying her. Thus, even though he currently held the advantage, he remained unsatisfied.
Yang Haoran was dissatisfied with his current advantage, and Ulan, whose consumption exceeded his, was even more displeased. She had initially thought that by reforming her Ghost Head Shield and injecting more Spirit Power into her three Soul Armaments, she could turn the tide and gain an upper hand against Yang Haoran. Yet, to her surprise, the power of Yang Haoran's Soul Armaments, Remnant Moon and Black Lightning, continued to grow. Faced with this situation, she had no choice but to inject even more Spirit Power into her three Soul Armaments.
Ulan's ideal outcome was the same as Yang Haoran's: to slay Yang Haoran within an hour, lest he slip away or contact Luo Yao after the Absolute Prohibition dissipated.
Such was her ideal outcome, yet reality diverged vastly from it. As things stood, let alone slaying Yang Haoran within an hour, it would be a blessing if she wasn't killed by him herself.
To prevent such a tragedy from truly befalling her, Ulan's expression turned frigid, and she ceased holding back. At this moment, she unleashed her power to its absolute limit, furiously injecting even more Spirit Power into her three Soul Armaments. This massive influx of Spirit Power in a short period caused all three Soul Armaments to tremble violently.
Ulan, who had initially been intent on provoking Yang Haoran, not only failed to achieve that but was now, paradoxically, enraged by Yang Haoran himself. Her current state presented both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage lay in the immense boost of Spirit Power she received, which dramatically amplified the power of her three Soul Armaments, allowing her to genuinely reverse her disadvantage.
The disadvantage, however, was that in her enraged state, she lost her usual rationality. Her actions were utterly heedless of consequences, riddled with flaws!
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