Chapter 670: Nether Ice Mirror
As the pillar of Demon Power erupted from the Cat Demon's mouth, Yang Haoran's hand seals halted accordingly.
"Ghost Art! Nether Ice Mirror!"
As the words resounded, a surge of Yin Qi gushed forth from Yang Haoran's body, then rapidly coalesced before him, forming a massive, grotesque ghost head.
The ghost head possessed a nose, eyes, and mouth; blood streamed from its eyes, its disheveled long hair writhed wildly, and its massive maw suddenly gaped open. Within its mouth was a considerable block of ice, entirely black in color, its surface smooth and even, resembling a mirror.
The Nether Ice Mirror referred precisely to this black ice block held in the ghost head's mouth!
The instant the Nether Ice Mirror materialized, the Demon Power spewed by the Cat Demon struck the Nether Ice Mirror held within the ghost head's mouth. However, after the Demon Power hit the Nether Ice Mirror, it did not erupt with a deafening crash. Instead, it was swallowed and absorbed by the Nether Ice Mirror.
This sight instantly changed the Cat Demon's expression. It had not expected this Ghost Art, unleashed by Yang Haoran at this moment, to be so bizarre and potent, effortlessly devouring and absorbing the Demon Power it had condensed.
While it was still marveling at the Ghost Art's mystique, the Nether Ice Mirror suddenly vibrated slightly, and then a stream of green Demon Power erupted from its surface, surging towards it with extreme speed.
It was no fool. What exactly was happening? At this moment, a guess roughly formed in its mind: the Nether Ice Mirror within this colossal ghost head before it could reflect an opponent's attacks!
In but a blink of an eye, the Demon Power reflected by the Nether Ice Mirror was upon it. The incident was so sudden, the Cat Demon was utterly unprepared, as it had simply not anticipated such a thing would occur. Thus, unable to dodge in time, it was solidly struck by that stream of Demon Power.
Boom! ! !
The Cat Demon's massive body was sent flying by the Demon Power. The protective demon qi coiling around its body was instantly dispersed, and the immense destructive force made it involuntarily spit out a mouthful of blood.
This strike was originally meant to heavily wound Yang Haoran, but now it had landed on its own body. As powerful as that strike was, so too was the damage it inflicted upon itself.
Meanwhile, Yang Haoran, gazing at the colossal ghost head before him, though the smile on his face remained unchanged, a look of satisfaction gleamed in his eyes. It was clear that he was exceedingly pleased with this Nether Ice Mirror.
The Cat Demon was injured, wounded by its own attack. This filled its heart with immense frustration. It had originally believed it could swiftly dispatch a newcomer to the Yin Division like Yang Haoran in a short time, and then join forces with the Ox Demon to eliminate Bai Xue. But now, things had turned out quite differently: Yang Haoran was perfectly fine, while it had been injured first. What angered it even more was that Yang Haoran hadn't even opened his Heaven Soul yet, nor had he summoned his Soul Armament.
Steadying its body, the Cat Demon, fueled by its anger, charged towards Yang Haoran. However, with the Nether Ice Mirror blocking Yang Haoran's front, to inflict damage upon Yang Haoran, it either had to break through the Nether Ice Mirror with sheer force, or bypass it. It chose the latter.
With a flash of its form, the Cat Demon appeared to one side of Yang Haoran. Although the Nether Ice Mirror was also a defensive Ghost Art, it differed significantly from the Yin Qi Shield. A Yin Qi Shield could provide complete, all-directional protection to the caster, whereas the Nether Ice Mirror could only defend from a single direction.
The Cat Demon, having circled the Yin Qi Shield, appeared on Yang Haoran's other side. Its purpose was simple: to launch an unobstructed attack on Yang Haoran.
Demon Power once again condensed in its mouth. The instant its body circled past the Nether Ice Mirror, it immediately spewed a green beam of light at Yang Haoran.
But what drove the Cat Demon mad was that the moment it spewed out the Demon Power, the Nether Ice Mirror also moved with extreme speed; the emitted Demon Power did not hit Yang Haoran, but was once again caught and devoured by the Nether Ice Mirror.
Faced with this situation, the Cat Demon, without a word, instantly flashed its body away. It had just suffered a loss; it could not afford to suffer the same loss a second time.
Sure enough, one second its body had just flashed away, and the next second, the Nether Ice Mirror ejected the Demon Power it had just spewed. Had it not dodged quickly enough this time, its body would undoubtedly have been wounded by its own attack once more.
The Cat Demon was exasperated with rage. An angry roar erupted from its mouth, and its body rapidly began to move again. As it moved, it continuously spewed streams of Demon Power at Yang Haoran.
Under Yang Haoran's control, the Nether Ice Mirror repeatedly caught and devoured the Demon Power spewed by the Cat Demon, then reflected it back over and over. However, after continuously devouring several streams of Demon Power, the Nether Ice Mirror unexpectedly began to tremble violently, followed by crisp cracking sounds. The smooth mirror surface had actually developed numerous cracks.
Seeing this, the Cat Demon was overjoyed. It had originally been racking its brain over how to break through this irritating Nether Ice Mirror. The appearance of the cracks offered it a glimmer of hope.
So, the Nether Ice Mirror was not indestructible after all! Once it absorbed enough damage, the ice mirror would shatter, and this Ghost Art would naturally be broken.
Filled with elation, the Cat Demon once again spewed a stream of Demon Power. This stream of Demon Power was not aimed at Yang Haoran, but directly at the Nether Ice Mirror.
With this attack, the Nether Ice Mirror only managed to devour half of the Demon Power, unable to continue absorbing it. The remaining Demon Power directly slammed into the mirror surface of the Nether Ice Mirror.
The already cracked mirror surface, how could it withstand such violent force? With a bang, the Nether Ice Mirror shattered, and the colossal ghost head that had held it also dispersed into Yin Qi, vanishing completely in the explosion.
Without the Nether Ice Mirror, the Cat Demon breathed a sigh of relief. Had this Nether Ice Mirror not shattered, it truly would have been at a loss on how to deal with Yang Haoran for a while.
With the Nether Ice Mirror shattered, the Cat Demon, fueled by its inner rage and frustration, charged directly at Yang Haoran with its massive body.
It no longer spewed Demon Power. Having just continuously emitted several streams of Demon Power, it had expended a significant amount of its energy. Thus, at present, it opted for close-quarters combat. It intended to tear Yang Haoran to shreds with its sharp claws, and bathe its body in Yang Haoran's fresh blood. Only then could it vent its inner fury!
"Quickly, open your Heaven Soul! Fight me properly!"
The Cat Demon roared. Its speed was incredibly swift. Before its voice even faded, it was already before Yang Haoran. By the time its voice completely died away, it had already launched several attacks on Yang Haoran, its sharp claws continuously slashing, directing a fierce onslaught at Yang Haoran's vital points.
Without the protection of the Yin Qi Shield or the Nether Ice Mirror, Yang Haoran struggled greatly against the Cat Demon's onslaught. Under the Cat Demon's fierce attacks, his body continuously retreated through the air, only barely able to parry, and utterly unable to counter.
Ghost Arts were not one-time uses. As long as one possessed enough Yin Qi, it was perfectly fine to use the same Ghost Art multiple times within a single battle. Although Yang Haoran had successively cast three Ghost Arts, his Yin Qi had been somewhat depleted. However, he still had enough Yin Qi to continue performing Ghost Arts. It was simply that the Cat Demon's attacks were too ferocious, and its speed too rapid, leaving him no time to form hand seals.
"If you don't open your Heaven Soul now, you won't get another chance!"
The Cat Demon spoke as it attacked. The reason it kept urging Yang Haoran to open his Heaven Soul was because it wanted to see Yang Haoran's true strength. If, after Yang Haoran opened his Heaven Soul, his formidable power remained within its acceptable limits, then it would continue fighting, until Yang Haoran was slain.
However, if Yang Haoran's strength after opening his Heaven Soul exceeded its acceptable limits, then it would immediately flee the area without a second thought.
Before coming here, it had absolutely no such considerations in mind, as it believed a newcomer to the Yin Division like Yang Haoran couldn't possibly be that strong. But after a short exchange of blows, it realized that it had severely underestimated Yang Haoran's strength, leaving it in a difficult, "tiger-riding-and-hard-to-dismount" situation.
If it were to simply flee like this, it certainly wouldn't be resigned to it, nor could it save face. Therefore, it needed to ascertain Yang Haoran's true capabilities. Even if it had to flee, it needed a justifiable reason to do so.
The two sides clashed once more. Yang Haoran was sent flying backward. Steadying his body, Yang Haoran chuckled and replied,
"Heh heh, since you're so eager to see, I'll grant your wish."
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