Chapter 272 One Wave Subsides, Another Rises
With his Ghost Eye activated, the world before him transformed. The surrounding black water turned viscous, its density owed to the Yin Qi that had reached an extreme concentration.
Even before activating his Ghost Eye, Yang Haoran had already sensed the terrifying Yin Qi contained within the water. Now, with his Ghost Eye activated, apart from seeing everything more directly, it brought him no further surprise.
At this moment, his gaze was entirely drawn to the rapidly approaching black shadow.
This black shadow was a mass of Yin Qi, dark as ink. As it rapidly approached, the black water around Yang Haoran suddenly began to boil, then transformed into twisted ghostly faces, covering the protective barrier he had conjured, and began gnawing furiously.
Each of these suddenly appearing ghostly faces was incredibly gruesome. If an ordinary person saw them, they would most likely be scared unconscious on the spot. However, in Yang Haoran's eyes, these ghostly faces were utterly unremarkable, devoid of any unique characteristics.
Yet, these very ghostly faces, so unremarkable in his eyes, possessed no small combat power. With a wave of their gnawing, the protective barrier enveloping his body actually became unstable, appearing as if it could shatter at any moment.
Under these circumstances, he could only multitask, simultaneously channeling more Spirit Power into the barrier, and striking out at the approaching black shadow.
Several black chains, as thick as arms, suddenly shot out from the black water, binding the incoming black shadow. However, no sooner had the black shadow been successfully bound than the chains were directly shattered by the black shadow, dissipating into Yin Qi.
As for the black shadow, it successfully crashed into Yang Haoran's barrier.
Yang Haoran's body was sent flying by the black shadow's impact, and the protective barrier around him, which he had just reinforced, actually developed numerous cracks under this single blow from the black shadow.
As for the ghostly faces gnawing at the barrier, they were all dispersed by this impact, transforming into wisps of Yin Qi that melted back into the black water.
Yang Haoran was surprised internally, but his expression remained unchanged. With a wave of his hand, more Spirit Power was infused into the barrier.
The cracked barrier, bolstered by the additional Spirit Power, repaired itself in the blink of an eye, becoming even sturdier than before.
However, in the instant it took him to repair the barrier, the black shadow attacked him again.
Outside the Blackwater Pool, the three controlled Spirit Police officers had successfully broken free from their chains. They became savage, bloodthirsty, fierce as enraged beasts, and launched an attack on Zhou Fudui and his three companions.
However, the strength of the three of them was negligible before Zhou Fudui. They were quickly subdued by Zhou Fudui, who also freed them from their control.
The three bodies were neatly arranged beneath a large tree. The black Yin Qi was no longer visible on them. Freed from control, they were now nothing more than ordinary corpses.
"Brothers, rest assured," Zhou Fudui said, his face cold, as he spoke to the three corpses before him. "Once this mission is complete, I will take you home."
The other three Spirit Police officers stood to the side, their heads bowed, silent. But their faces bore a sadness that anyone could discern.
No sooner had Zhou Fudui's words fallen than a significant commotion suddenly arose from the Blackwater Pool. The gazes of the four men were immediately drawn to the Blackwater Pool.
At that moment, the Blackwater Pool suddenly began to boil, and then a massive whirlpool emerged.
Boom!
A deafening explosion, as if a bomb had suddenly detonated beneath the Blackwater Pool, sent water surging outwards, as a figure shot out from within the Blackwater Pool.
This person was none other than Yang Haoran.
Following Yang Haoran, a mass of dense Yin Qi surged out of the pool as well.
The Yin Qi dispersed, revealing a figure. It was a man, his entire body pale and bloated, many parts of his body already rotten and reeking. Due to his prolonged stay underwater, strands of waterweed had actually grown on his body.
However, these waterweeds were entirely black, as if sprayed with ink. Furthermore, these waterweeds also emitted Yin Qi.
The man's body was not a Spirit Body, but a genuine physical entity. However, his flesh was severely decomposed, making him both repulsive and terrifying.
At this moment, the man's gaze was locked onto Yang Haoran, as he sensed the immense threat Yang Haoran posed to him.
Similarly, Yang Haoran's gaze was also locked onto the man. However, compared to his earlier apprehension, his heart felt considerably more at ease now.
Because, this man was not as powerful as he had imagined.
The man's eyes were red, these eyes indicating his realm among ghostly beings: he was an Evil Spirit.
However, his eyes were not frighteningly red. Compared to Zhong Siyu in the past, there was a significant difference. Dealing with an Evil Spirit of this level, while somewhat troublesome, Yang Haoran was still confident.
As for why the Yin Qi within the Blackwater Pool was so heavy, and furthermore, neither gathered nor dispersed, making it difficult even for the ghosts hiding within to perceive, in his opinion, it should be due to the Blackwater Pool itself.
As for the exact reason that caused the Blackwater Pool to become so peculiar, he would only be able to investigate further after dealing with this Evil Spirit before him.
With his Ghost Eye activated, Yang Haoran saw scenes from the Evil Spirit's life before death. Although he couldn't see what happened to him after death, through his experiences before death, Yang Haoran still had some conjectures regarding the formation of this Evil Spirit.
The man was a resident of the village below the mountain. Once, after attending a temple fair on the mountain, he accidentally fell into the Blackwater Pool while descending and drowned. At that time, he didn't possess much resentment; instead, he felt more fear towards death. Therefore, in such circumstances, it was impossible for him to immediately transform into an Evil Spirit.
Forget an Evil Spirit; it would have been impossible for him to become even an Evil Spirit (evil spirit), or even a slightly stronger Wánglíng.
Yet, for him to advance from an ordinary Wánglíng to a powerful existence like an Evil Spirit, in Yang Haoran's view, he must have devoured a significant number of souls after he became a Wánglíng.
Furthermore, the mysterious Blackwater Pool must also have played a part. However, Yang Haoran's current knowledge was limited, so he could only make such a general conjecture. As for whether his guess was correct, he couldn't be certain at the moment.
Besides, now was not the time for him to analyze this matter.
"You're already dead, yet you're unwilling to abandon this already decaying corpse, brother. You're quite persistent, aren't you? " Yang Haoran said with a smile, looking at the man before him.
"You are not welcome here. Get out, quickly, or don't blame me for being impolite! " The man threatened, staring coldly at Yang Haoran.
Threats from others were not something Yang Haoran encountered only once or twice, but few were truly capable of bothering him.
"Brother, you probably never left this mountain, did you? You should really go out and see more of the world. However, I'm afraid you won't have the chance anymore. " Yang Haoran said with a smile.
"Brother? Heh heh, aren't you afraid of shortening your lifespan? I've been dead for over a hundred years. If we're really talking about age, you little whippersnapper aren't even qualified to call me grandpa."
The man seemed not to have understood the meaning of Yang Haoran's words. Instead, he latched onto Yang Haoran's address for him.
Yang Haoran didn't explain. His smile unchanged, he continued, "Come with me, I'll take you away from here. You no longer belong to this world. I know you won't agree, but I still have to say it, because it's a necessary procedure."
No sooner had Yang Haoran's words fallen than Zhou Fudui appeared beside him. He released his own power, also allowing his body to hover in the air.
"Were those three brothers of mine killed by you? Were their souls devoured by you? " Zhou Fudui's expression was icy cold, as he looked at the Evil Spirit before him, and asked with surging killing intent.
He already had a conclusion in his heart; his question merely an attempt to confirm whether his inner conjecture was correct.
The Evil Spirit let out a cold laugh, glancing at the three corpses beneath the large tree not far away, then turned his head back to look at Yang Haoran and Zhou Fudui.
"You're right, I not only killed those three, but also forcibly devoured their souls. And it's not just the three of them; the streamer from last night, and the police officers who arrived afterwards, all had their souls devoured by me. If you don't know your place, you'll be next to die."
Upon receiving the Evil Spirit's affirmative reply, not only did cold killing intent erupt in Zhou Fudui's eyes, but furious rage also burned in the eyes of the three Spirit Police officers below.
The rage in their hearts was utterly irrepressible. All four of them wanted to immediately attack the Evil Spirit before them at that moment. But precisely at this moment, Yang Haoran, who had originally been smiling, suddenly froze, his smile stiffening.
He abruptly turned his head to look in one direction, his expression turning serious.
"Zhou Fudui, be careful, a big one is here!"
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