Chapter 1414: A Turn for the Better
Facts proved that the Tong Continent Great Emperor's analysis was quite reasonable, because the scene that unfolded next confirmed this very point.
As the Spirit Talisman's power erupted, the flames in the Guardian District below intensified, as if intent on incinerating everything in the world.
Just then, a powerful energy fluctuation emanated from within the sea of flames. Previously, the Tong Continent Great Emperor had detected no other energy fluctuations or auras in this place, but now one suddenly appeared. The energy fluctuation was the Spirit Power he was familiar with, and the aura was also very familiar to the Tong Continent Great Emperor—it was indeed Yang Haoran's aura.
A path was cleaved through the sea of flames, and a figure, enveloped by dense Yin Qi, shot rapidly upwards from below. This person was none other than Yang Haoran, who had so mysteriously vanished.
Since the power of this Spirit Talisman was too immense, posing no small threat to Yang Haoran, he had mobilized a vast amount of Spirit Power to form a protective layer on his body's surface. The visibly dense Yin Qi was a manifestation of his Spirit Power being outwardly released.
Without such protection, it would have been utterly impossible for Yang Haoran to emerge from the sea of flames unscathed. Even if he didn't die, he would be severely wounded. After all, a fire talisman of the Spirit Talisman grade was no joke; its destructive power was formidable. Even at his current realm, he would be threatened, making strong defenses indispensable for breaking out of the fiery expanse.
Yang Haoran successfully burst forth from the sea of flames. The Yin Qi coiling around his body not only faded but also visibly shrank, and the blood-qi energy he had released from his body's surface had completely vanished.
Although this protective Yin Qi was not formed through the manifestation of a Ghost Art, it still consumed a vast amount of Spirit Power. For anyone who hadn't broken through to the Life Soul realm, destroying this protective Yin Qi would be virtually impossible. Yet, merely by bursting from the sea of flames, this protective Yin Qi had shrunk considerably, demonstrating the potency of this fire talisman.
If the Tong Continent Great Emperor were a Talisman Master, he could not only unleash the full power of this Spirit Talisman but even control the sea of flames beneath him for his own use. The problem was, he was not a Talisman Master. All he could do was activate this Spirit Talisman.
The reason Yang Haoran had suddenly vanished just now was that he had used a talisman capable of invisibility and sealing all of his own fluctuations.
The benefit of this talisman was that once used, one could vanish without a trace within a certain timeframe. The higher the grade of the talisman, the longer the invisibility duration. As long as one didn't encounter someone with special abilities, no matter how strong the opponent's power, they would absolutely not be able to see through the talisman's invisibility.
The drawback of this talisman was that during the invisibility, the user absolutely could not use any power. Even mobilizing internal power was forbidden. Even if just a tiny bit was used, the invisibility effect would dissipate on its own. This was a significant limitation, and precisely because of this flaw, the user couldn't launch a surprise attack while invisible.
After Yang Haoran used this talisman, he escaped to the ruins below with the speed of his physical body. The power of the Tong Continent Great Emperor's stone mirror Soul Armament was immense; if he hadn't used such a method to escape, he would have quickly died by the Tong Continent Great Emperor's hand.
This so-called escape was merely a way to create distance from the Tong Continent Great Emperor, temporarily finding a hidden place to hide using the power of the invisibility talisman. It wasn't a true escape, as the entire Guardian District was enveloped by the Absolute Prohibition, making it impossible for him to truly flee beyond its bounds.
His method allowed him to evade the stone mirror's sweep across the various areas above. Even the Unnamed Small Tower had been struck down at the time, yet he remained unharmed. At the same time, he also dodged the Xuanwu Shield's indiscriminate bombardment of the Guardian District below. Although he narrowly avoided being struck by the Xuanwu Shield multiple times, or being affected by the powerful shockwaves unleashed when the Xuanwu Shield crashed into the ground, he still managed to evade them through his exceptional foresight and the nimble reactions of his physical body.
It wasn't until the Tong Continent Great Emperor conjured the Spirit Talisman-grade fire talisman, turning the entire Guardian District into a sea of flames, that Yang Haoran, relying solely on the strength of his physical body, found it utterly impossible to resist or to burst from the flames and remain suspended in mid-air. If Yang Haoran wished to preserve his life amidst the scorching inferno, he had to use his powers, which led to the current scene.
Yang Haoran appeared. The Tong Continent Great Emperor's gaze locked onto him. Though some of the fury in the Tong Continent Great Emperor's heart had been released, his expression remained grim, no longer as monstrous as before, but still exceedingly unpleasant. His eyes, fixed on Yang Haoran, were filled with icy killing intent.
His three Soul Armaments, now fist-sized, rotated around the Tong Continent Great Emperor's body. The Tong Continent Great Emperor extended his right hand, and the stone mirror Soul Armament immediately flew into his grasp, seized firmly by him.
The Tong Continent Great Emperor had no intention of wasting words with Yang Haoran. Holding the stone mirror, he immediately thought to activate it and cut Yang Haoran down!
Yang Haoran felt the Tong Continent Great Emperor's intense killing intent and also perceived that the Tong Continent Great Emperor had no desire to waste words with him. In this situation, he could only fully mobilize the Spirit Power within his body and prepare to unseal the Rising Yin Pill inside him.
Reaching this point, he no longer cared about the side effects of taking the Rising Yin Pill. Any increase in strength, no matter how small, was an advantage. This way, he might live a little longer. Without using the Rising Yin Pill, he would only die faster.
Just as the Tong Continent Great Emperor was preparing to strike at Yang Haoran once more, and Yang Haoran was about to unseal the Rising Yin Pill, another powerful energy fluctuation emanated from the sea of flames below. The appearance of this fluctuation immediately drew both their attentions, and they simultaneously looked towards the area where the power erupted.
They saw a black light shoot rapidly upwards from the sea of flames below. The surging inferno was cleaved open by this black light, creating a path. The black light flashed past, coming to a stop beside Yang Haoran.
The black light dispersed, revealing a figure in white. This person was a sweet and lovely girl in a white dress—none other than Zhong Siyu.
Dense, visible Yin Qi emanated from Zhong Siyu's body, starkly contrasting her white dress. Simultaneously, a powerful energy fluctuation could be sensed from her, indicating that she had expended considerable power to break out of the sea of flames.
Zhong Siyu's appearance brought a sigh of relief to Yang Haoran's heart. A late-stage Ghost King like Zhong Siyu corresponded to the early-to-mid Life Soul realm. Although Zhong Siyu hadn't been in this realm for long and still lagged behind the Tong Continent Great Emperor, she certainly possessed the strength to contend with him. With him also present, their combined efforts might not guarantee a complete victory over the Tong Continent Great Emperor, but it would certainly not be easy for the Tong Continent Great Emperor to defeat both of them!
If Ye Zhiqiu were also in the Guardian District, Yang Haoran would have had absolute confidence in turning the tide and slaying the Tong Continent Great Emperor. Unfortunately, Ye Zhiqiu was not in the Guardian District, nor even in the Jingling Continent. To ensure Ma Ling's safety and the smooth completion of her array-laying task, he had sent Ye Zhiqiu to protect her. Now, even if he wanted to summon Ye Zhiqiu back, he couldn't, as time wouldn't permit it. By the time Ye Zhiqiu arrived, his corpse would be cold.
Yang Haoran couldn't foresee the future, so he had no knowledge of today's calamity. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Ye Zhiqiu to protect Ma Ling; he would have assigned someone else to the task. That way, in today's battle, with him, Ye Zhiqiu, and Zhong Siyu, he would have had full confidence in slaying the Tong Continent Great Emperor, and certainly wouldn't be in such a wretched state.
The Tong Continent Great Emperor didn't recognize Zhong Siyu; he didn't even know such a person existed. Witnessing Zhong Siyu emerge from the sea of flames with his own eyes, he was somewhat astonished and also a little puzzled.
He was astonished that after he had ravaged Yang Haoran's Guardian District to such an extent, there was still someone hiding within it. He hadn't detected the other party's presence before, which clearly meant they had sealed all their energy fluctuations, only forced to reveal themselves by using power when the sea of flames engulfed the Guardian District.
He was puzzled by Zhong Siyu's strength. Although Zhong Siyu hadn't unleashed her full power at this moment, nor even entered her Blood-Clad state, breaking out of this sea of flames was not something just anyone was qualified to do. Anyone capable of it would certainly possess formidable strength. He could tell that Zhong Siyu hadn't used her full power to emerge from the sea of flames, which left him curious about the true extent of her strength.
“Heh heh, I thought perhaps you had sensed something amiss long ago and secretly fled the Guardian District. It seems I was mistaken about you. ”
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