Chapter 405: A Shower of Loot!
Zhao Hong's body, split in two, fell to the ground one after another. Yang Haoran, who had been lurking in the shadows, stepped out from under the moonlight, a relieved smile on his face, as he walked towards Zhao Hong's corpse.
The moment Bai Xue unleashed her sealed power, Zhao Hong sensed something amiss. However, Bai Xue's prepared strike was simply too swift, and coupled with the powerful burst of energy she gained after reverting to her true form, Zhao Hong was forced onto the defensive.
As for Yang Haoran, he hadn't unsealed his power alongside Bai Xue. Instead, he had remained hidden, patiently awaiting an opportunity to strike.
His initial intention was to strike Zhao Hong first, aiming for a killing blow. But before that chance arose, he noticed Zhao Hong's Guardian Spirit attempting to cast an illusion to affect Bai Xue.
Yang Haoran, of course, wouldn't allow that to happen. If the Guardian Spirit succeeded in trapping Bai Xue in an illusion, Bai Xue would be affected to some extent, giving Zhao Hong a chance to escape. Thus, upon detecting the Guardian Spirit's impending move, he preemptively struck.
His sudden move naturally required him to unseal the power within him, revealing his presence and his position simultaneously.
However, he didn't emerge from the shadows. As long as he remained unseen, even if his presence was known, his opponent couldn't deduce his next move from his facial expressions or body language. Therefore, his hidden position still granted him a significant advantage.
It was precisely for this reason that when Zhao Hong sacrificed her legs to escape from Bai Xue's maw, he seized the optimal moment to strike, accelerating Remnant Moon to its absolute limit, thus successfully achieving a single, fatal blow.
Watching Zhao Hong's body fall in two halves to the ground, listening to the dull thuds as the pieces hit, Zhao Hong's Guardian Spirit's face twisted in despair. It had believed that once the man was dealt with tonight, the battle would be over, never expecting others to reap the benefits.
Under Yang Haoran's activation, the Soul-Gathering Bead emitted an incredibly powerful suction. Even when the Guardian Spirit had struggled fiercely and resisted with all its might, it had found it immensely difficult, its Spirit Body still being forcibly drawn into the Soul-Gathering Bead piece by piece.
Now, due to its inner despair, its struggles and resistance became powerless, and its Spirit Body was instantly entirely absorbed into the Soul-Gathering Bead.
As the Guardian Spirit was drawn into the Soul-Gathering Bead, the chains that bound it also dissipated into Yin Qi, vanishing completely. The Soul-Gathering Bead, in turn, flew towards Yang Haoran's location.
Yang Haoran strolled leisurely, hands in his pockets, yet with every step, his body seemed to teleport forward. In just a few paces, he arrived beside Zhao Hong's corpse.
As his steps halted, the Soul-Gathering Bead slipped into his pocket, reseating itself on his ring.
At the same time, Remnant Moon emitted a soft hum, transforming into a black streak before returning to hover above his shoulder, slowly rotating and reflecting the faint moonlight.
Bai Xue opened her mouth and let out a roar—a thoroughly joyous and excited roar. With a sway of her massive snake body, enveloped in a layer of green light, she transformed back into her human form and landed beside him.
"Hehe, that was incredibly satisfying. This feeling of lurking in the shadows and hunting prey is much more enjoyable than a head-on confrontation," Bai Xue said with a charming smile, her expression one of lingering pleasure.
The reason Bai Xue felt so immensely satisfied at this moment was only partially what she stated. Another reason was that Zhao Hong's strength far surpassed her own, yet she had been utterly helpless against Bai Xue's onslaught, only managing to escape her maw by sacrificing her legs. This feeling instilled in her an unprecedented sense of accomplishment.
No sooner had Bai Xue's words faded than a sudden ripple appeared in the space above Zhao Hong's corpse. This unexpected phenomenon instantly caused both her and Yang Haoran's expressions to shift drastically.
Both of them instinctively retreated sharply, first creating a safe distance from the spatial distortion, then preparing to strike at any moment.
Under their wary gazes, a rift tore open in space. However, this spatial rift was unlike the usual ones used for teleportation. Typically, spatial rifts for teleportation open vertically, perpendicular to the ground.
Yet the spatial rift before them had opened horizontally, parallel to the ground.
Moreover, the opening wasn't large; it was far too small for an adult to pass through.
After the spatial rift appeared, no figures emerged. Instead, various items tumbled out with a continuous clatter.
Seeing this scene, Yang Haoran's eyes instantly lit up. He understood what was happening.
Bai Xue froze for a moment, then also realized, a smile blossoming on her astonished face like a flower.
"It dropped! It finally dropped! " Yang Haoran exclaimed, a hint of excitement in his voice.
Yang Haoran knew what this scene signified, but he had never witnessed it before, and that novelty was precisely why he felt such excitement.
When an expert possessing a personal spatial dimension dies, there's a very low, but real, chance that all items within their dimension will be 'dropped' or 'exploded out. ' The scene Yang Haoran and Bai Xue witnessed was precisely this: Zhao Hong's collection from her personal spatial dimension being forcefully expelled.
Regardless of the value of the items within Zhao Hong's personal spatial dimension, Yang Haoran, experiencing such a fortunate event for the first time, had every reason for his emotions to surge with excitement.
"Holy crap, Senior Underworld Official, it looks like we've struck it rich this time! " Bai Xue exclaimed, her face alight with excitement as she watched the endless stream of items pouring out of the spatial rift.
Yang Haoran's face was wreathed in smiles, just as he was about to reply to Bai Xue, when he suddenly sensed something. A hint of coldness crept into his expression.
Under Bai Xue's puzzled gaze, Yang Haoran suddenly struck. Several chains, formed from condensed Spirit Power, appeared out of thin air and plunged into the ground in front of Zhao Hong's corpse.
Shards of rock scattered, the ground churned, and the Spirit Power chains seemed to pursue some unseen prey beneath the earth. Moments later, several chains were violently yanked from the ground simultaneously. Amidst the swirling dust, something was bound at the end of the chains.
As the dust settled, what was bound at the end of the chains was fully revealed: a soul, Zhao Hong's soul.
Seeing Zhao Hong's soul, a look of surprise appeared on Bai Xue's face. Clearly, she hadn't expected Zhao Hong to have tampered with her own physical body long ago, allowing her soul to rapidly coalesce into a spirit after her body's destruction.
Even more, she hadn't anticipated that Zhao Hong's soul would seize the opportunity to escape while her and Yang Haoran's attention was diverted by the spatial rift spilling out various items.
In truth, Zhao Hong's soul chose the right moment to escape, as this was indeed the best opportunity. Once all the collectibles from her personal spatial dimension had spilled out, Yang Haoran would undoubtedly extract her soul from her corpse. At that point, Yang Haoran would certainly discover that her soul had long been tampered with, making escape from his grasp far more difficult, with the chances of success virtually nil.
Therefore, she very cleverly chose to slip away after Yang Haoran and Bai Xue's attention was drawn away. However, what she hadn't expected was that Yang Haoran was far more cautious than she imagined. Even with his attention diverted by her collection, he hadn't let his guard down, still keeping a portion of his awareness on her corpse.
Thus, the current scene unfolded: the moment her soul detached from her corpse, Yang Haoran sensed it, and with lightning-fast precision, he directly seized her soul from beneath the ground.
"Hehe, my apologies, but I can't allow your soul to simply escape like this," Yang Haoran said, a genial smile on his face, addressing Zhao Hong's soul.
Zhao Hong's expression was grim. Bound by the chains, she made no attempt to struggle, for she knew it would be futile. With her current Spirit Body's strength, it was utterly impossible to break free from the chains formed by Yang Haoran's Spirit Power.
However, though she didn't struggle, her gaze towards Yang Haoran was filled with venomous malice.
"I know you. The newly appointed Emissary of Death for Lecheng. I had already planned to deal with you soon, but I didn't expect you to get there first. You truly have good fortune!"
After spitting these words at Yang Haoran with a face full of malevolence, Zhao Hong clamped her mouth shut, unwilling to utter another syllable. Yet, the venomous malice in her eyes remained undiminished.
Comments