Chapter 327: A Parting Gift: The Scale
What appeared to be an act of self-mutilation on the snake demon's part was, in fact, her forcibly removing a Snake Scale from her body.
"This Snake Scale is for you. If ever you need to borrow my strength, you may destroy it, and I will rush to your side with the utmost speed," the snake demon said with a smile to Yang Haoran.
As the snake demon's words fell, the Snake Scale slowly floated from her palm, then drifted towards Yang Haoran.
As if fearing Yang Haoran would refuse, the snake demon continued with a smile, "Don't mind that my current strength is weak. I am, after all, a powerful demon; it's just that my injuries are severe and haven't recovered. When my strength is fully restored, it's quite possible even you won't be my match."
Yang Haoran didn't know how strong the snake demon had been at her peak, but she had driven a Black Talisman Master to madness, so she certainly couldn't have been weak.
Moreover, even that Black Talisman Master back then couldn't slay her; he could only seal her within the wooden hut at the last moment. This also showed that the snake demon's power was considerable.
As for whether the snake demon at her peak was truly insurmountable even for him, that was hard to say. It might be as she claimed, or it might not.
Yang Haoran didn't dwell on this question, as he saw no meaning in it. What he considered now was that the snake demon had decided to give him a gift before leaving. Regardless of the gift's value, he could at least feel the sincerity behind it.
With a smile on his face, Yang Haoran took the Snake Scale, then chuckled at the snake demon, "Thank you. If I truly need your help someday, I'll definitely brazenly trouble you."
As her words faded, the snake demon turned and departed. Yang Haoran didn't try to stop her, nor did he ask where she intended to go. He simply watched her with a faint smile, seeing her off.
After a few steps, the snake demon paused and turned to look at Yang Haoran once more.
"I can't truly see what kind of person you are, but you give me a very good feeling. You're the best among all the men I've met."
Yang Haoran chuckled and replied, "That's because you've seen too few men. Once you interact with more and more men, perhaps your perspective will change."
"Is that so? " The snake demon seemed to be asking Yang Haoran, yet also asking herself. With a charming smile, she didn't give Yang Haoran a chance to answer, and made her final farewell.
"I'm leaving. Goodbye."
The snake demon departed. This time, she didn't linger. Yang Haoran watched the snake demon vanish into the darkness before finally turning his gaze to the Snake Scale in his hand.
After a moment's look, he smiled. Then, the Snake Scale vanished from his hand, sent into his personal spatial dimension.
Now that the Evil Spirit had been found, the next task was to capture it. To capture the Evil Spirit, he first had to break through the restrictive barrier.
The restrictive barrier here was formed by an array formation. He knew nothing about array formations, possessing only some basic common sense. And that common sense wouldn't allow him to easily open the barrier.
To break open the barrier, for him now, there was only one method: to forcibly tear it open with brute force!
However, considering the tourists in the scenic area, he wasn't going to act immediately to avoid harming the innocent. He decided the time to act would be at night.
For the rest of the day, Yang Haoran didn't leave the area. Instead, he centered himself on the barrier and wandered around it to see if there were any other discoveries to be made.
Unfortunately, he found nothing around the barrier. Yang Haoran wasn't disappointed by this outcome, as he had long prepared for it.
Of course, he also wasn't happy about the lack of findings; after all, he wasn't wired incorrectly.
His reaction was calm, neither joyful nor sorrowful. After confirming there were truly no findings, he didn't continue to exert himself. Instead, he found a large stone, wiped off the dust and sat down, closing his eyes to rest, waiting for the ideal time he had in mind.
As night fell, the Stone Forest scenic area closed. Yang Haoran, who had been resting with closed eyes, slowly opened them, his gaze landing on the barrier sealing the Evil Spirit.
This barrier was like an overturned bowl, sealing the Evil Spirit while also sealing the Array Master himself within it.
"It's time to act."
Thinking this to himself, the space around Yang Haoran rippled slightly behind him. Then, several chains materialized and slammed towards the restrictive barrier.
Yang Haoran acted as soon as he spoke, without a hint of hesitation, because he had already planned and decided what to do during the day.
The moment the chains touched the barrier, the invisible barrier became visible, blocking all the fiercely approaching chains.
The chains froze in mid-air, failing to break through the barrier, but also not shattered by it. However, this situation only lasted for a fleeting moment. Before Yang Haoran could even increase his Spirit Power injection into the chains, they were sent flying back, dissipating into Yin Qi.
This time, the power fluctuations unleashed by the barrier were incredibly strong. They were many times more powerful than the fluctuations released when the snake demon tested the barrier with her Demon Power during the day.
Watching the chains shatter against the barrier, Yang Haoran showed no surprise, as if it had all been within his expectations.
Immediately after, more chains appeared around the barrier. Amidst a clanging sound, a vast number of chains instantly wrapped around the entire barrier, then rapidly tightened.
From the looks of it, Yang Haoran seemed prepared to use this method to forcibly crush the barrier!
The chains clattered loudly, tightening more and more. The barrier, meanwhile, trembled violently, appearing unable to hold on much longer.
However, at this very moment, streaks of spiritual light suddenly flashed across the ground beneath the Evil Spirit. Then, a massive array formation revealed itself, with the white bones sitting cross-legged right at its very center.
This array formation had always been there; it just hadn't revealed itself before. Now that the barrier was on the verge of collapsing under Yang Haoran's attack, this array formation finally showed its true colors.
After the array formation appeared, the barrier instantly seemed to receive a powerful boost of energy. The barrier, which had been violently fluctuating and unstable, actually began to stabilize. Meanwhile, the chains condensed from Spirit Power began to shatter one after another under its influence.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The shattering chains dissipated into Yin Qi. In just a few breaths, all the black chains had shattered completely, not a single one remaining intact.
Yang Haoran witnessed all of this firsthand, yet his expression remained unchanged, as he had already prepared himself mentally.
If the chains could break through the barrier, that would be ideal, as it would save him a lot of effort.
If they couldn't break it, it didn't matter, because he had other methods prepared for the barrier. Besides, he hadn't expected to break this barrier so easily.
From the current situation, Yang Haoran wasn't yet certain if the array formation's power here had fully erupted; after all, he didn't understand array formations.
However, he naturally wouldn't stop for that reason. Even if the array formation's power hadn't fully erupted, so what? He hadn't gone all out either, had he?
Yang Haoran's gaze followed the array formation's changes, observing every single detail.
At the same time, a dense mass of Yin Qi appeared out of thin air beside his body. Both his own Yin Qi and the power fluctuations emanating from his body began to rise steadily at this moment.
The changes occurring in Yang Haoran caused a chilling Yin wind to suddenly gust through the area.
The Yin Qi churned violently, and his Soul Armament, Remnant Moon, slowly ascended from within the Yin Qi, hovering suspended above Yang Haoran's side.
At this moment, Yang Haoran's entire body was enveloped in intense Yin Qi, and the power fluctuations emanating from within him had reached their peak, unable to rise further.
Opening his Heaven Soul and summoning his Soul Armament, Yang Haoran, who rarely used his full strength, was now unleashing his full power. If even in this state he couldn't break the array formation here, then things would be troublesome indeed.
With a thought, Remnant Moon vibrated with a hum, then rapidly spun, tearing through the void, and instantly cleaved into the barrier released by the array formation.
Boom!
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