Chapter 399: The Battle of Spiritualists (Part II)
A Guardian Spirit is a Spirit Medium's most potent weapon. A Spirit Medium without their Guardian Spirit is like an Emissary of Death without a Soul Armament—their strength is severely diminished.
Zha Hong was undoubtedly a Spirit Medium. This was evident from the power fluctuations emanating from her body; an ordinary Spirit Medium could never possess such formidable Communication Power.
The Communication Power bursting forth from the man's body was slightly weaker than Zha Hong's, but the man had a Guardian Spirit, and that Guardian Spirit was a Malicious Spirit. Although it had only recently ascended to the Malicious Spirit realm, a Malicious Spirit was a Malicious Spirit after all. Its strength was incomparable to an Evil Spirit's, allowing him to gain the upper hand over Zha Hong.
"No wonder you dared to come seeking trouble with me. So your Guardian Spirit has successfully advanced to the Malicious Spirit realm."
Zha Hong wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. Her expression was serious, but she showed no signs of panic.
"Heh heh, if my Guardian Spirit hadn't advanced to the Malicious Spirit realm, did you think I wouldn't dare to come looking for you? " the man asked with a laugh.
"Hmph, do you or don't you? Don't you know in your own heart? " Zha Hong snorted, posing her question.
The man let out a cold laugh, not answering Zha Hong's question, but instead retorted,
"Heh heh, are you just stalling for time, talking nonsense with me here?"
Seeing this, the man burst into laughter and declared, "Did I hit the nail on the head? How embarrassing! I won't give you this opportunity. After tonight, Zha Hong will cease to exist in this world."
As his voice fell, the female Malicious Spirit's true form behind the man transformed into Ghost Qi and lunged at Zha Hong. The man also mobilized the Spirit Power within his body, launching an attack on Zha Hong.
The two sides clashed once more, but the situation was gravely unfavorable for Zha Hong. The man firmly held the advantage.
Yang Haoran had no idea what grudges had led to these two Spirit Mediums fighting, but he didn't care in the slightest.
To him, the more fiercely they fought, the more advantageous it would be for him. He wished they would fight until they were half-dead, so he could reap the benefits.
Bai Xue naturally understood Yang Haoran's intentions, so she remained silent and made no sound, quietly hiding in the shadows, watching the show.
Through his observations, Yang Haoran found that the strength of these two Spirit Mediums surpassed that of Du Da from back then, as the Communication Power released from their bodies was far greater than Du Da's.
In Yang Haoran's eyes at the time, Du Da was absolutely a master among masters, but now, Yang Haoran could confidently say that Du Da was no match for him.
And Yang Haoran's current strength, compared to the previous Emissary of Death Deng Feng, certainly still had a significant gap. If he hadn't coincidentally acquired and refined several of Deng Feng's specially concocted Death God Seals, the gap between them would have been even wider.
He was not as strong as the former Deng Feng, and Du Da's strength was not as great as his current self, yet Du Da still dared to scheme against Deng Feng back then. It wasn't because Du Da was stronger than Deng Feng, but because he wanted to achieve a great gain with little effort.
If Du Da had truly possessed the strength to directly confront Deng Feng back then, he wouldn't have resorted to such petty tricks, nor would he have forced Yang Haoran to lure Deng Feng into the Ghost Building where Zhong Siyu was sealed. He would have simply gone straight to Deng Feng, killed him, and been done with it.
And Deng Feng's true fear wasn't the Spirit Medium Du Da, but Zhong Siyu in the Ghost Building—the girl who had suffered torment and cruelty in life, and transformed into a Blood-Clad Malicious Spirit after death.
Of course, it couldn't be said that Du Da's strength was truly lacking. He was just not as powerful as Deng Feng and Zhong Siyu. To be fair, he was quite a formidable figure; his strength combined with his cunning made him a difficult opponent.
Otherwise, Deng Feng wouldn't have been unable to capture him for so many years. From Deng Feng's conversations with Yang Haoran back then, it was clear that Deng Feng had known Du Da, or at least known of him as a Spirit Medium, for a long time, yet he had always been powerless against him. This was precisely because Du Da was deeply calculating and cautious, making him hard to deal with.
Of course, these were all past events. The victor takes all. Whether it was the Spirit Medium Du Da or the former Emissary of Death Deng Feng, they had both undergone Soul Transformation. The ultimate beneficiaries were only two: Yang Haoran and the Malicious Spirit Zhong Siyu.
As he secretly watched the two Spirit Mediums clashing, Yang Haoran couldn't help but recall the Spirit Medium Du Da, the man who had almost caused his own Soul Transformation.
The fierce battle continued for a full half an hour. After half an hour, the area where the two had fought was riddled with craters, and their battleground spanned a hundred meters in every direction.
Due to the absence of a Guardian Spirit, Zha Hong was ultimately no match for the man. After being struck by his blow and sent flying, she spat out a mouthful of blood, her face turning pale, and her entire being appeared listless.
"Tsk tsk, a Spirit Medium without a Guardian Spirit is like an ordinary person without hands—they're simply too easy to deal with, utterly vulnerable!"
Zha Hong ignored the man. Her expression was grim, lost in thought.
The man sneered, approaching Zha Hong step by step, and continued,
"If you hadn't meddled in old man Du Da's affairs last year, you wouldn't be in this predicament today. To have your own Guardian Spirit forcibly undergo Soul Transformation must be incredibly painful. I know you now have a new Guardian Spirit, but I wonder where you've sent it to feed? I'm afraid I won't have the chance to meet it tonight."
The man's words caused Yang Haoran's expression to subtly change in the shadows. This made him recall that not long before the Ghost Building battle, Deng Feng had indeed sustained an injury, an injury that hadn't fully healed even by the time of the Ghost Building confrontation.
At the time, based on his understanding, Deng Feng had been injured while intercepting Du Da, and Du Da had also lost a powerful Evil Spirit in addition to his Guardian Spirit. But now, it seemed Deng Feng's injury back then wasn't quite as he had understood it. From the man's words, this Spirit Medium Zha Hong had also been involved, and she too had lost her Guardian Spirit.
If the man hadn't mentioned this tonight, Yang Haoran probably would never have known.
However, even though he now knew, he was merely surprised, not concerned. What he cared about was why the man wasn't seizing this opportunity to kill her.
If it were him, he wouldn't waste a single word. He would kill the person first, then forcibly extract their soul. Anything that needed to be said could be leisurely discussed with the soul. Why bother with unnecessary chatter at such a critical moment?
"This guy, he's strong, but ultimately too young. If he keeps babbling, Zha Hong might just turn the tables and kill him," Yang Haoran couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Zha Hong still ignored the man. Seeing him drawing closer, she suddenly scrambled to her feet and sprinted wildly in one direction. Along the way, she even mobilized the Communication Power within her body, attempting to open a spatial rift and escape through it.
However, just as a crack appeared in space, before it could fully open, her body was once again sent flying by the Communication Power. The spatial fissure, deprived of further power injection, immediately vanished, and space returned to normal.
"Hmph, truly persistent! Still thinking of opening a spatial rift to escape? Do you think I'd give you that chance?"
Throughout their chase, Zha Hong had attempted to open a spatial rift to escape more than once, but the man had kept her under tight surveillance, giving her no opportunity whatsoever. As soon as he detected any sign of her attempting to open a rift, he would immediately interrupt her with decisive force.
It was precisely because of this that she had tried to open a spatial rift multiple times along the way, yet never once succeeded.
The man's body flickered several times, appearing before Zha Hong. The sneer on his face transformed into a vicious grin. He seized Zha Hong by the neck, lifting her entire body into the air.
"Zha Hong, when you controlled your Guardian Spirit to devour mine, did you ever imagine this day would come? Did you ever dream that not only would I regain a Guardian Spirit, but I'd also be able to help her ascend to the Malicious Spirit realm in such a short time? Hahahahaha, aren't you shocked?"
With a savage grin, the man slammed Zha Hong violently onto the ground.
Crushed stones scattered as Zha Hong's body left a small crater in the earth.
The man didn't stop there. He lifted Zha Hong from the rubble again, continuing his sinister laugh: "I know you're waiting for your Guardian Spirit to return. I didn't want to give you this time, but not giving it to you would make it seem like I'm afraid of you. So I'll give you this time. But how much time you get depends on how long you can endure my violence!"
As the man's words fell, he savagely slammed Zha Hong onto the ground once more, in the very same spot as before.
With a dull thud, Zha Hong instantly coughed up a mouthful of blood, blood streaming from her ears and nose, and her entire head seemed to burst open.
Comments