Chapter 709: Bone Blade
Facing the oncoming evil spirit, Yang Haoran still wore a smile.
Remnant Moon, previously embedded in the ground, quivered slightly, emitting a hum before dissolving into a wisp of Yin Qi and vanishing.
When Remnant Moon reformed, it was already in front of Yang Haoran, blocking the evil spirit that lunged at him.
The two collided once more, but this time Yang Haoran was prepared. Remnant Moon was not sent flying; instead, it successfully fended off the evil spirit's attack.
However, the Guardian Spirit, which had been bound by his chains, seized this opportunity to shatter the restraints. Not only did it avoid being collected by Yang Haoran into his Soul-Gathering Bead, but it also successfully broke free.
Since illusions had no effect on Yang Haoran, and powers of object control were equally negligible against him, while possession was impossible given how he couldn't even get close, the Guardian Spirit, left with no choice, simply took the opportunity to put distance between himself and Yang Haoran, then swiftly began forming hand seals.
Judging by his actions, he was preparing to unleash a Spirit Art.
However, the very moment he began forming hand seals, Yang Haoran's figure flickered. Ignoring both the evil spirit and the Old Town Head, he charged directly towards him.
The Guardian Spirit's heart seized. He knew he was no match for Yang Haoran. If Yang Haoran clung to him relentlessly, he would have no opportunity to cast a Spirit Art and would very likely be forcibly absorbed into the Soul-Gathering Bead.
Faced with this predicament, the Guardian Spirit could only choose to evade. Mimicking the Old Town Head's earlier tactic, he fled while attempting to form seals. Yet, the disparity in his speed compared to Yang Haoran was too vast. In the blink of an eye, Yang Haoran caught up to him. Before he could even react, Yang Haoran grabbed him by the neck, then plummeted downwards, forcing him brutally onto the ground. The immense impact cracked the very earth.
He was originally an Evil Spirit, his Spirit Body capable of dispersing into Yin Qi at any moment. But gripped by Yang Haoran's palm, which was enveloped in copious Spirit Power, his Spirit Body simply could not dissipate.
Startled, he struggled violently, desperate to break free from Yang Haoran's grip, but no matter how hard he exerted himself, he could not escape from that tenacious palm.
Under his gaze, Yang Haoran extended a hand and, with a sucking motion, drew the Soul-Gathering Bead he had previously manifested directly into his other hand.
"I'll deal with you first, then we'll talk."
Yang Haoran chuckled, then lifted the Soul-Gathering Bead, poised to smash it down onto the Guardian Spirit pinned beneath him. It was clear from his actions that he intended to forcibly collect the Guardian Spirit into the Soul-Gathering Bead at this very moment.
Yet, at that precise moment, Yang Haoran seemed to sense something. His hand paused, and he surprisingly abandoned his attack, sharply pulling his body back.
The instant Yang Haoran retreated, the ground where he had just been standing suddenly cracked open, and a beam of white light shot forth.
If he had moved even a fraction of a second slower, his body might very well have been cleaved open from bottom to top by that white light.
Steadying himself, Yang Haoran looked up at the white light above. He saw that the light had now coalesced into a white Bone Blade.
This Bone Blade was entirely forged from individual white bones; "assembled" might be a more fitting description than "forged."
Yang Haoran had seen a Bone Blade made of bones before. The previous Emissary of Death for Lecheng, Deng Feng, had a Soul Armament that was a Bone Blade.
However, Deng Feng's Bone Blade was black, named Black Bone Blade, while the Bone Blade before him was white. The two Bone Blades not only had diametrically opposing colors and different forms, but more importantly, their natures were also distinct.
Deng Feng's Black Bone Blade was a Soul Armament, but this current Bone Blade was not. Although it appeared to be composed of individual white bones, Yang Haoran could sense the Communication Power emanating from each bone within it. According to his analysis, this should be a construct formed by a Spirit Art.
As expected, the Old Town Head's voice subsequently confirmed his suspicions.
"Heh heh, Emissary Yang," the Old Town Head scoffed, "how do you like my Spirit Art: Bone Blade?"
The Old Town Head scoffed, but Yang Haoran had no mind to humor him. For as the Old Town Head's voice rang out, the hovering Bone Blade above once again transformed into a streak of white light and shot downwards.
Simultaneously, the Guardian Spirit, now free, immediately put distance between them and once more began forming hand seals, preparing to unleash a Spirit Art against him.
On the other side, the evil spirit, having devoured several hearts, had dramatically increased its strength. In its ceaseless clashes with Remnant Moon, it was actually gaining the upper hand.
As for the Old Town Head, he not only had to control the evil spirit to contend with Remnant Moon, but now also manipulate the Bone Blade to deal with Yang Haoran. He had no spare attention to cast other Spirit Arts, yet simultaneously controlling two Spirit Arts against an enemy, and to such a degree, clearly demonstrated his capabilities.
In the Old Town Head's view, with the evil spirit suppressing Yang Haoran's Soul Armament, Remnant Moon, and the Bone Blade suppressing Yang Haoran himself, Yang Haoran would have no chance whatsoever to free his hands and cast other Spirit Arts.
Under such circumstances, as long as his Guardian Spirit unleashed an offensive Spirit Art, Yang Haoran's situation would become even more perilous; taking Yang Haoran's life would simply be a matter of time.
While this was merely the Old Town Head's personal thought, it wasn't entirely without possibility.
His current predicament was somewhat dire, something Yang Haoran himself clearly understood. As he dodged the Bone Blade's attacks, he couldn't help but sigh, thinking, "Sometimes, there truly is strength in numbers."
When fighting Spirit Mediums, the disadvantage always lay in the numbers, because you weren't just facing the Spirit Medium, but also their Guardian Spirit.
If there was a vast disparity in strength between the two sides, it wouldn't matter; an extra Guardian Spirit or one less would make no difference—one could just sweep them all away.
But if the difference in strength between the two sides wasn't too significant, then battling would indeed become troublesome.
His figure flickered, and with a resounding crash, Yang Haoran once again evaded a blow from the Bone Blade. However, his suit was rent open by the blade. If he had dodged a moment slower, that strike would have sliced through his flesh.
Previously, the Old Town Head's expression had been quite grim, but now, seeing Yang Haoran's "discomfited" state, his heart instantly lightened, and a smile blossomed anew on his face.
This so-called discomfiture was merely the Old Town Head's unilateral perception. In truth, Yang Haoran was hardly in a state of distress at all. He was simply dodging the Bone Blade's attacks as usual; his clothes merely had a rip, and no blood was drawn. This truly couldn't be called much of a predicament.
To deal with Yang Haoran in this state, the Old Town Head had nearly exerted his full strength. He had originally been very confident in his abilities, but Yang Haoran's repeated surges in power made him feel not only troublesome but also as if Yang Haoran were toying with him, which was why his expression had been so unsightly before.
But now, he felt as though he could already see victory beckoning, and his mood instantly cleared.
In truth, there was one problem the Old Town Head had overlooked: although his Bone Blade was swift, it was by no means as fast as Yang Haoran's Soul Armament, Remnant Moon. Moreover, his own movement speed was somewhat inferior to Yang Haoran's. Had he observed carefully, he would have realized this.
So, the question arose: Remnant Moon was faster than his Bone Blade, and Yang Haoran was faster than him. Why then, had he been able to dodge Remnant Moon's attacks while simultaneously forming seals to cast a Spirit Art, yet Yang Haoran supposedly could not?
If he had considered this point, he likely wouldn't be able to feel happy right now. But the crucial fact was that he hadn't thought of it at all.
"Heh heh, Emissary Yang," the Old Town Head chuckled, his tone even revealing a hint of triumph. "If you have no other tricks up your sleeve, then today's performance is likely drawing to a close."
The Old Town Head spoke with a smile, his tone even revealing a hint of triumph. At this moment, the Guardian Spirit ceased his hand-sealing movements.
"Spirit Art! Bone Spikes!"
The Spirit Art unleashed by the Guardian Spirit was merely a very common one, extremely similar to the "Yin Wind Blade" in its nature, though its manifested form differed. Both were Spirit Arts designed for area-of-effect attacks.
Compared to the Old Town Head's Spirit Art, the Bone Blade, Bone Spikes were slightly lower in rank. This was because Bone Spikes had a short duration, while the Bone Blade lasted much longer. Furthermore, the Bone Blade was sharper and more durable, not easily destroyed.
The Guardian Spirit's primary objective in deploying the Bone Spikes Spirit Art in this situation was singular: to seal off Yang Haoran's escape routes. Once this art was cast, Yang Haoran's evasion space would shrink. If the Old Town Head coordinated well with the Guardian Spirit's attack, they might be able to heavily wound Yang Haoran with a single blow, or even directly slay him.
That the Guardian Spirit would think to use such a wide-range Spirit Art at this moment indicated he was no fool, and his battle experience was indeed rich. As for why he didn't unleash an even more powerful wide-range Spirit Art, it wasn't that he didn't want to, but rather that he simply didn't know how. Otherwise, how could he possibly have shown mercy to Yang Haoran, an Underworld Official.
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