Chapter 1409: The Turtle Shell
The Blood Slave fought with increasing ferocity, showing no signs of weakening despite its body undergoing repeated repairs. However, the blood mist shimmering on Yang Haoran's skin was steadily diminishing, noticeably thinning each time the Blood Slave healed a wounded part of its body.
The reason for this phenomenon was that controlling the Blood Slave required blood energy, or more precisely, controlling the Unnamed Small Tower consumed blood energy.
The Unnamed Small Tower was activated by sacrificing the flesh, blood, and power of others; the higher the quality of the sacrifice, the stronger the activated power. Then, the controller's own blood energy was consumed as a catalyst, allowing them to achieve control over the Unnamed Small Tower.
Yang Haoran knew that controlling the Unnamed Small Tower would consume his own blood energy, which was why he hadn't chosen to use it against the Tongzhou Great Emperor earlier. Excessive consumption of blood energy would have a considerable impact on his physical body, and he dared not risk it.
Moreover, unleashing the Unnamed Small Tower, a demonic artifact, and summoning the Blood Slave right from the start, given the Blood Slave's might, would likely provoke the Tongzhou Great Emperor into employing even more formidable techniques. This would contradict Yang Haoran's objective of stalling for time.
The reason he was now deploying the powerful demonic artifact, the Unnamed Small Tower, and summoning the Blood Slave, was that his three Soul Armaments could no longer significantly affect the Tongzhou Great Emperor. If he didn't unleash some truly potent means, he would surely perish at the Tongzhou Great Emperor's hands.
The reason he had unsealed the Dānyào within his body—the Dānyào that strengthened his physical form—was precisely to control the Unnamed Small Tower against his foe. Such Dānyào could vastly boost his internal blood energy, allowing him to control the Unnamed Small Tower for a longer duration without quickly overdrawing his physical body, or literally being drained dry by the Unnamed Small Tower!
The appearance of the Blood Slave allowed Yang Haoran to reverse the tide. With the sword-shaped Soul Armament firmly suppressed, Yang Haoran finally gained a moment to catch his breath.
Boom! ! !
The Blood Slave unleashed another punch. This time, not only did its arm not explode, but its fist also remained perfectly intact. The retreating sword-shaped Soul Armament had no chance to retaliate, passively receiving the Blood Slave's blow. It merely caused some minor recoil for the Blood Slave, completely unlike their previous head-on clash of powers.
Crack, crack!
The sword-shaped Soul Armament was sent flying by the Blood Slave's punch. Two sharp cracking sounds echoed, and two new fissures appeared on its surface.
Rumble!
Black Lightning descended from the heavens, successfully striking the rapidly retreating sword-shaped Soul Armament. Before it could stabilize itself, the sword-shaped Soul Armament was hit by that bolt of Black Lightning, immediately plummeting from the sky. Several more cracks appeared on its surface.
Boom! ! !
At the same time, Remnant Moon transformed into a black streak and slashed with extreme speed into the middle of the sword-shaped Soul Armament's body. Accompanied by a colossal explosion, the Tongzhou Great Emperor's incomparably mighty sword-shaped Soul Armament actually shattered into countless wisps of Yin Qi.
With his Soul Armament forcibly shattered, the Tongzhou Great Emperor, as its master, naturally suffered a considerable backlash. A muffled groan escaped his lips, and his expression became one of disbelief. He genuinely hadn't expected Yang Haoran to be capable of shattering his Soul Armament!
While the Tongzhou Great Emperor was still reeling from shock, Remnant Moon and Black Lightning, along with the unique entity that was the Blood Slave, showed not the slightest pause after shattering the sword-shaped Soul Armament. They immediately launched an assault on the Tongzhou Great Emperor's main body!
Black Lightning was the swiftest, striking the protective barrier around the Tongzhou Great Emperor's body with a thunderous boom. Close behind followed Remnant Moon's sharp edge, and the Blood Slave's surging, domineering fist!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions resounded continuously, each stronger than the last. The barrier first vibrated violently, then utterly shattered, following in the sword-shaped Soul Armament's wake, transforming into wisps of Yin Qi. This barrier was a product of the Tongzhou Great Emperor's Ghost Art, condensed through its activation. As it was inherently a high-level defensive Ghost Art, wielded by the Tongzhou Great Emperor himself, its astonishing defensive capabilities were self-evident. However, for comparison, the barrier's sturdiness was certainly inferior to the Tongzhou Great Emperor's sword-shaped Soul Armament.
Precisely for this reason, the sword-shaped Soul Armament, facing the fierce onslaught of Yang Haoran's two Soul Armaments and the Blood Slave, coupled with the Ghost Butterfly Soul Armament's power amplification, managed to endure for a period before finally shattering. In contrast, the barrier conjured by the Ghost Art shattered with a roar after resisting for merely an instant.
The Tongzhou Great Emperor, who had maintained his calm demeanor and imperial bearing throughout, couldn't help but drastically change his expression the instant the barrier shattered. It wasn't that he didn't want to stop it; it was simply that everything happened too swiftly for him to react in time.
Now, without the barrier, his physical body was left unprotected, exposed to Yang Haoran's assault. Under Yang Haoran's control, Remnant Moon, Black Lightning, and the Blood Slave, having broken through the Tongzhou Great Emperor's protective barrier, immediately launched an attack on his main body.
The situation was critical, and the Tongzhou Great Emperor could no longer afford to maintain his imperial dignity. He abruptly recoiled, trying to create distance, but Yang Haoran's assault relentlessly pursued him. With a grim expression, the Tongzhou Great Emperor gritted his teeth and summoned his second Soul Armament.
A black light shot forth from a swirling mass of Yin Qi at the Tongzhou Great Emperor's side, instantly expanding in volume. It formed a black wall, shielding the Tongzhou Great Emperor. His retreating body also halted with the appearance of this black light, as if, in his view, with this Soul Armament present, Yang Haoran's attacks could not possibly harm his physical body.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The attacks of both Soul Armaments and the Blood Slave all slammed into this black light. Surprisingly, this Soul Armament was not forced back; only the black light emanating from its surface was scattered, revealing the Soul Armament's true form.
The second Soul Armament summoned by the Tongzhou Great Emperor was, astonishingly, a complete turtle shell. Its patterns were distinct, its body as black as ink, and it emanated a dense, visible Yin Qi.
The lightning unleashed by Black Lightning struck the turtle shell, leaving only a small pit before the black lightning's power dissipated and vanished.
Remnant Moon slashed across the turtle shell, leaving only a shallow cut mark. Affected by the recoil, Remnant Moon was sent flying.
The Blood Slave's fist struck it, merely causing the turtle shell's surface to slightly dent and pushing it back a little. In turn, the Blood Slave itself was forced back several meters!
A black light flashed across the turtle shell's surface. Whether it was the small pit left by Black Lightning, the cut mark from Remnant Moon, or the indentation caused by the Blood Slave's fist, everything healed in an instant, and the turtle shell was restored to its pristine, brand-new state.
Yang Haoran watched this scene, his eye twitching involuntarily. He felt a bitterness he couldn't express. The defensive power of the Tongzhou Great Emperor's Soul Armament was simply too astonishing. With his current strength, breaking through this turtle shell was almost an impossibility.
In other words, with this Soul Armament for defense, it would be extremely difficult for him to pose any threat to the Tongzhou Great Emperor's physical body. Even merely wishing to harm a single strand of hair on the Tongzhou Great Emperor would be a thousand times harder. Conversely, the Tongzhou Great Emperor could unleash attacks on him without restraint, daringly employing all sorts of techniques to torment him. The bitterness in Yang Haoran's heart was unimaginable.
The Tongzhou Great Emperor also witnessed the scene unfolding before him. Observing how his Soul Armament effortlessly blocked all of Yang Haoran's attacks, he didn't crack a smile. Far from showing any joy, his expression was even uglier than before.
This was because his erroneous estimations had led to him being repeatedly slapped in the face by Yang Haoran. Even without Yang Haoran mocking him verbally, he felt utterly humiliated, his cheeks burning, and his heart heavy with frustration.
Another reason stemmed from this turtle shell Soul Armament of his. If he had a choice, he truly wouldn't want to summon this Soul Armament, because he found this turtle shell utterly displeasing to his eye, even embarrassing. If not for his precarious and urgent situation just now, where he desperately needed a defensive measure, he would rather have sacrificed another one of his Soul Armaments than bring out this turtle shell. Being forced to deploy it, his mood naturally plummeted to rock bottom!
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