Chapter 1416: Bitter Battle
Under Yang Haoran's manipulation, the three Soul Armaments unleashed their full might. In a high-stakes battle such as this, he dared not be careless, nor dared he hold back.
Previously, he had held back because he wanted to prolong the fight as much as possible, not daring to unleash all his techniques at once. Now that his mindset had changed, he naturally no longer needed to hold back. He aimed to deliver a decisive blow to the Tong Continent Great Emperor in one go, and it would be even better if he could slay him!
Remnant Moon was not used by Yang Haoran for offense but for defense, while Black Lightning, under his control, was used to attack the Tong Continent Great Emperor. As for Ghost Butterfly, it continued its role of amplifying the power of the other two Soul Armaments.
Due to the immense power of the Tong Continent Great Emperor's Stone Mirror, combined with the fact that the Tong Continent Great Emperor's strength was inherently superior to Yang Haoran's, Remnant Moon simply could not withstand it. It would shatter almost instantly after directly taking a single blow from the Stone Mirror, and the residual force would still inflict considerable damage upon Yang Haoran.
Therefore, while manipulating Remnant Moon to resist the Stone Mirror's attacks, Yang Haoran also exerted all his effort to evade, even resorting to using various talismans to protect himself.
Without doing so, facing the Stone Mirror's attacks would be courting death; he simply couldn't endure it. Yet, even with all these precautions, he still sustained considerable injuries in a short time, causing his wounds to grow increasingly severe.
On the other side, although Zhong Siyu wasn't as passive as Yang Haoran when facing the Tong Continent Great Emperor's sword-shaped Soul Armament, she did not gain the upper hand either. She, too, sustained significant injuries in a short period, her body bearing several hideous wounds. One reason for this was that her strength was inherently inferior to the Tong Continent Great Emperor's; while she was indeed stronger than Yang Haoran, the gap between her and the Tong Continent Great Emperor was still considerable. Another reason was the strong suppressive effect of Spirit Power on ghosts. If not for this, their combined efforts against the Tong Continent Great Emperor would have been far more favorable.
The combined force of Yang Haoran and Zhong Siyu indeed brought about a significant change in the situation. From the current perspective, although the two were still at a disadvantage, it was far better than when Yang Haoran faced the Tong Continent Great Emperor alone. If Zhong Siyu hadn't joined, Yang Haoran would have been reduced to dust had he dared to directly confront the Tong Continent Great Emperor head-on like this.
However, given the current circumstances, if the battle continued in this manner, it was highly likely that Yang Haoran and Zhong Siyu would still be the ones ultimately defeated.
Furthermore, he also had to manipulate the Xuanwu Shield to block the black lightning bolts unleashed by Yang Haoran's Soul Armament, Black Lightning, as well as the Ghost Arts and Spiritual Arts occasionally cast by Zhong Siyu through hand seals. This caused his Spirit Power to deplete even more rapidly.
Of course, the Tong Continent Great Emperor merely felt that it wasn't easy; he didn't believe he would be defeated because of it. After all, Spirit Power consumption could be replenished; it wasn't something that, once used, could not be regenerated.
Sensing his Spirit Power being consumed at an astonishing rate, the Tong Continent Great Emperor temporarily paused his assault on Yang Haoran. He retrieved several Soul Pills from his independent space and swallowed them in one gulp, hoping to recover his depleted Spirit Power through this method. He took several because a single Soul Pill simply couldn't meet his needs, and even with multiple Soul Pills consumed simultaneously, it was impossible to keep pace with the Spirit Power consumption from manipulating three Soul Armaments at once.
It wasn't that the Tong Continent Great Emperor *wanted* to pause his attack on Yang Haoran, but that he *had* to in order to consume the Soul Pills. He hadn't been forced into a situation where he had to hastily swallow Soul Pills while wildly swinging the Stone Mirror.
The Tong Continent Great Emperor's pause in attack finally gave Yang Haoran a moment to breathe.
However, the Tong Continent Great Emperor's assault on Zhong Siyu did not cease. This was because the sword-shaped Soul Armament attacked Zhong Siyu under his mental command, unlike the Stone Mirror which required physical manipulation. Thus, the process of swallowing Soul Pills did not affect his attack on Zhong Siyu, as multitasking was no difficult feat for him.
Yang Haoran's attention was entirely fixed on the Tong Continent Great Emperor. He needed to anticipate the Tong Continent Great Emperor's moves through his physical reactions, so he witnessed the entire scene of the Tong Continent Great Emperor pausing his attack to retrieve Soul Pills. This moment of respite was brief, and he did not waste it. Like the Tong Continent Great Emperor, he retrieved several Soul Pills from his independent space and swallowed them.
The several Soul Pills Yang Haoran had previously sealed within his body had already been depleted during his struggle with the Tong Continent Great Emperor. His realm was inferior to the Tong Continent Great Emperor's, and his Spirit Power reserves naturally couldn't compare either. Hence, the Tong Continent Great Emperor was only now taking Soul Pills, while Yang Haoran had long since begun using them, and all the previously consumed Soul Pills had already been refined.
Having absorbed the pre-consumed Soul Pills, Yang Haoran also wished to continue taking more to replenish his Spirit Power. However, facing the Tong Continent Great Emperor's fierce assault, he had no opportunity whatsoever and could only helplessly watch his Spirit Power dwindle. Now that the chance presented itself, he naturally wouldn't miss it.
At the realm Yang Haoran and the Tong Continent Great Emperor were in, the recovery effect of Soul Pills on Spirit Power was very limited. It wasn't because there was an issue with the Soul Pills themselves, but because the base amount of Spirit Power in their bodies at this realm was too vast. Moreover, every move they made, even a casual one, consumed a considerable amount of Spirit Power, though in their eyes, such consumption was negligible.
Precisely because of this, the recovery of Spirit Power from Soul Pills struggled to keep pace with their consumption rate. However, the more Soul Pills consumed, the faster the relative recovery of Spirit Power would be.
Therefore, neither Yang Haoran nor the Tong Continent Great Emperor, even by consuming several Soul Pills simultaneously, could keep up with the rate of Spirit Power depletion in a battle of this intensity. Nevertheless, taking Soul Pills was certainly better than not, and could even become the key to ultimate victory. So, even though both sides knew Soul Pills couldn't match the rate of Spirit Power consumption, they would still seize any opportunity to take them.
No sooner had Yang Haoran swallowed his Soul Pills than the Tong Continent Great Emperor, who had taken his a step earlier, once again aimed the Stone Mirror in his hand at him, without a moment's pause.
Boom!
Boom!
Yang Haoran was a half-beat too slow. In haste, he quickly manipulated Remnant Moon to block. Remnant Moon shattered with a crash, and immediately after, the protective shield formed by talismans on his body was also shattered. Finally, his body was sent flying.
Yang Haoran had already decided to move and dodge when he manipulated Remnant Moon to block, but unfortunately, he was still a half-beat too slow. Before his body could move, he was struck by the invisible force unleashed by the Stone Mirror.
A mouthful of fresh blood spurted out, and before Yang Haoran could steady himself, the Tong Continent Great Emperor's attack came again, still with the Stone Mirror aimed at him.
In such a situation, how could Yang Haoran hesitate for a moment? While forcibly stabilizing his body, he could only grit his teeth and once again deploy a large number of talismans, buying himself a little time to dodge.
If the Soul Armament the Tong Continent Great Emperor used against him had been the sword-shaped Soul Armament instead of the Stone Mirror, Yang Haoran felt that he would not only avoid being so passive but would even gain the upper hand. This was because he still possessed many Lock Yin Talismans. Once he engaged the sword-shaped Soul Armament, he could completely use the power of the Lock Yin Talismans to directly weaken it, just as he had before.
But the Stone Mirror was different from the sword-shaped Soul Armament. In the Tong Continent Great Emperor's hand, the method of attack was entirely different. The Stone Mirror would not make any substantive contact with him, so he had no opportunity to apply the power of the Lock Yin Talismans to it. Therefore, even with the Lock Yin Talismans in hand, he couldn't do anything to the Stone Mirror.
Over the years, Yang Haoran had indeed amassed a vast quantity of talismans, but even so, they could not withstand such consumption as today. Each time he sought to gain a little time to dodge, a large number of talismans would be consumed. No matter how deep his reserves, they couldn't endure such a drain.
Ultimately, it was because these talismans of this grade could hardly injure an expert of the Tong Continent Great Emperor's realm. If all these talismans were Spirit Talismans, then even two Tong Continent Great Emperors wouldn't be enough to kill!
"Yang Haoran, since this guy has even resorted to taking Soul Pills, it means his Spirit Power is running low. Let's both push harder, kill him in one swift blow! Hehehehehe, I can barely wait to devour him!"
Zhong Siyu, while fiercely resisting the relentless assault of the sword-shaped Soul Armament, spoke to Yang Haoran with a fierce, grimacing smile. She completely disregarded her and Yang Haoran's current predicament, her eyes seeing nothing but the Tong Continent Great Emperor, a prime piece of meat!
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