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Chapter 1390: The Sacrifices

The chubby man and the middle-aged woman both possessed peak late-stage Earth Soul strength. Looking across the entire group of Guardians within the Underworld Office, while they couldn't be considered top-tier, they definitely ranked in the upper-middle. Only Guardians who had opened all three souls—Heaven, Earth, and Life—could reach the very top, but such Guardians were exceedingly rare.

Not only were Guardians who had opened all three souls extremely rare, but even those like the chubby man and the middle-aged woman, who were peak late-stage Earth Soul Guardians, were few in number. It was precisely because of this that the chubby man and the middle-aged woman had absolute confidence in their strength when facing Yang Haoran, this junior. They believed they could utterly crush him, and deep down, they genuinely looked down on Yang Haoran, feeling that he was not on the same level as them.

Yet now, their absolute confidence was shattered by Yang Haoran's single wave of a hand. The moment torrents of fresh blood spurted from their mouths, they no longer doubted the reality of the situation. They knew that the scene unfolding before them was not a dream, but genuine—Yang Haoran, this junior, had truly opened his Heaven, Earth, and Life Souls!

"Escape this building! Report to the Great Emperor!"

The middle-aged woman's voice had lost its previous snide and mocking tone, for her heart was now filled with terror, with fear of Yang Haoran. She didn't even have time to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth, instead warning the chubby man while simultaneously attempting to tear space, hoping to escape the Unnamed Small Tower in this manner.

The middle-aged woman chose to tear space to leave the Unnamed Small Tower for two reasons: one, it was the most convenient method. Although she knew the Unnamed Small Tower had a restricting barrier, for someone of her strength, tearing space within such a barrier was a normal feat.

The other reason was that the stairway entrance was sealed by a barrier of light. To leave through the stairway, they would first have to break open the barrier of light sealing it. She believed that in her current state, she could definitely break through the barrier of light and wouldn't be bounced back like the chubby man earlier. However, this method would still consume some time, and she simply could not afford to waste that time.

Considering these two points, the middle-aged woman concluded that tearing space directly to escape the Unnamed Small Tower was the most suitable course of action. However, the next moment left her utterly dumbfounded: she found that she was actually unable to successfully tear space here!

A look of panic immediately appeared on the middle-aged woman's face. She turned her head to look at the chubby man not far away, only to see that he, too, wore a look of panic. From this, it was clear that the chubby man must have also tried to tear space. The result was self-evident: like her, he had failed, which was why the panic on his face was even more intense than hers.

"Trying to tear space here, not only can you not do it, but even for me, it would take some effort. If the space here could be easily torn, then my confidant wouldn't have chosen to leave through the stairway just now."

Yang Haoran spoke placidly, his face devoid of expression. His words immediately made the middle-aged woman and the chubby man recall Old Master Wu, who had just left. As Yang Haoran said, Old Master Wu had not used the method of tearing space to leave the building at that time, but had departed through the stairway. Although the two of them had witnessed this, they hadn't given it much thought. They assumed Old Master Wu hadn't done so because his own strength was insufficient, forcing him to choose the stairway.

Now, hearing Yang Haoran's explanation, they finally understood. Old Master Wu hadn't chosen to tear space here not because he lacked the ability to tear space within a restricting barrier, but because this building was peculiar and couldn't be judged by conventional means.

Though they understood this point, neither of them felt any joy, for it was not good news. It meant they couldn't leave this place via spatial teleportation.

Unable to tear space, they did not give up. The chubby man chose to increase the force of his attempt to tear space, wanting to forcibly tear open the space here. He didn't believe Yang Haoran's words, nor did he dare to. He thought Yang Haoran was spreading alarmist lies. Furthermore, the panic in his heart significantly impacted his thoughts and judgment, which was why he made such a decision.

Although the middle-aged woman was also in a panic, her mind was clearer than the chubby man's. From Yang Haoran's tone and expression, she felt he wasn't exaggerating, meaning even if she used all her strength, she wouldn't be able to successfully tear space here. So, she made a different decision than the young man; she didn't increase the force of her spatial tearing attempt. Instead, she settled for the next best option, rushing towards the stairway entrance, preparing to use her full power to forcibly break open the barrier sealing it. In her view, this method wasn't guaranteed to succeed, but the success rate was relatively higher. Their thoughts differed, yet the outcome was identical. Before either of them could implement their ideas, Yang Haoran waved his hand again, and two torrents of savage power once more sent them flying.

Boom!

Boom!

Their bodies crashed against the second-floor wall again, blood gushing from their mouths. Having already suffered considerable injuries from Yang Haoran's previous attack, this new blow added injury upon injury, leaving them visibly weakened.

As Guardians, and furthermore, ranking in the upper-middle among other Guardians, their strength was rare to behold throughout the New Beginning Realm. Yet, facing Yang Haoran now, they were like infants facing an adult, utterly incapable of retaliation. This was the gap between the Life Soul and Earth Soul realms; even though they were at peak late-stage Earth Soul, just a single step away from the Life Soul realm, that single step represented an insurmountable ocean of power difference.

Both knew this clearly. So, when they realized Yang Haoran was actually a Life Soul expert, their first thought wasn't to confront him head-on. Their first thought was to escape this place, because they knew that under normal circumstances, even both of them combined would not be a match for a Life Soul expert. Therefore, escaping this building to attract the attention of the Tong Continent Great Emperor and having him deal with Yang Haoran was the most sagacious course of action.

Unfortunately, Yang Haoran did not give them such an opportunity.

"Since things have escalated to this irreversible point, I have no reason to let you leave. So, don't blame me; you brought this upon yourselves. This building is a powerful treasure I obtained by chance; not only is its sturdiness rarely seen in the world, but its destructive power is also astonishing. However, to fully unleash its might, it requires powerful sacrifices. Both of you possess decent strength, perfectly suited as sacrifices."

Sacrifices?

Yang Haoran's words caused the chubby man and the middle-aged woman's faces to contort. They involuntarily looked towards the altar, which previously held no offerings. Upon first arriving on the second floor, they had noticed this altar. Although they found it a bit strange that there was only this one altar on the second floor, they hadn't thought much of it, as there was nothing on it. But now, after hearing Yang Haoran's words, their gaze towards the altar immediately changed, becoming filled with terror.

Anyone who knew they were about to be treated as a sacrifice would find it hard to remain calm. After all, their opponent's strength could utterly crush them. If the opponent's strength were equal to theirs, or the gap not too significant, giving them a chance to fight, then as Guardians, they would certainly not show fear, for they had seen their fair share of storms. But with an opponent possessing the power to crush them, the situation was completely different, because they, too, feared death.

"Damn it! Yang Haoran! I'll fight you to the death! ! !"

The chubby man knew Yang Haoran definitely wouldn't let either of them go, and with their current strength, they couldn't escape this building. To survive, the chubby man decided to pay the price and desperately fight Yang Haoran, hoping to secure a sliver of hope for survival.

With a furious roar from the chubby man, Yin Qi surged in his hand, and an exquisite wooden box materialized. Seeing this wooden box, Yang Haoran couldn't help but feel a touch of emotion. Although he could only see one side of the box, he still recognized its origin by its delicate patterns and craftsmanship: this wooden box came from his Jingran Pharmacy, and it was the exclusive container for Rising Yin Pills.

The Jingran Pharmacy had chosen specialized wooden boxes instead of pill bottles precisely to increase the selling price of the Rising Yin Pills. Each exquisite wooden box contained only one Rising Yin Pill. The chubby man's intent in taking out a Rising Yin Pill at this moment was self-evident!