Chapter 82: Evil Spirit
At this very moment, Yang Haoran was certain that the formidable entity he had sensed upon entering the villa was precisely this red-dressed female ghost before him.
This red-dressed female ghost seemed to know how to conceal the Yin Qi she exuded, which was why Ma Ling and Wang Yiming hadn't sensed her presence after entering the villa. Only Yang Haoran, as a Night Watcher, was an exception, for his Sense Yin ability was far beyond what Ma Ling and Wang Yiming possessed.
As for why he later couldn't sense the female ghost's presence, Yang Haoran hadn't understood before, but now he knew what had happened.
The reason he couldn't sense the red-dressed female ghost was that she had left the villa without his knowledge. From the current situation, it was highly probable she had left with Wu Junior.
Why the female ghost would follow Wu Junior was obvious—there must be some grievance between them. As for what that grievance was, Yang Haoran didn't have the time or inclination to ponder it, because the red-dressed female ghost gave him a very dangerous feeling. He had to launch a surprise attack to gain an advantage.
Thinking this, he acted accordingly. Without a ripple of emotion, he took out his Soul-Gathering Bead and violently hurled it towards the female ghost.
Propelled by Spirit Power, the Soul-Gathering Bead was incredibly fast, like a bullet. It instantly appeared before the female ghost, hurtling towards her face.
Just as it was about to strike the red-dressed female ghost, the Soul-Gathering Bead suddenly froze in mid-air, as if it had hit an invisible barrier, unable to advance even an inch.
The Yin wind generated by the Soul-Gathering Bead's rush stirred the black hair covering the red-dressed female ghost's face. A small gap appeared in her hair, revealing only one of her eyes and a corner of her mouth.
Everyone present who witnessed this scene was startled, without exception, including Yang Haoran, Ma Ling, and Wang Yiming.
However, the reason Yang Haoran and the other two were startled wasn't the red-dressed female ghost's terrifying and bizarre smile, but rather the eye revealed through the gap in her black hair.
This eye was milky white, a stark contrast to Yang Haoran's ink-black Ghost Eye, yet similarly, this milky-white eye also gave off an extremely unsettling sensation.
"White eyes, this is—" Wang Yiming's voice trembled slightly. He clearly knew what the white eye beneath the black hair signified.
"An Evil Spirit! It's actually an Evil Spirit! What a formidable one! " Ma Ling's face was also filled with astonishment at this moment.
By seeing just one eye, both Ma Ling and Wang Yiming recognized that this red-dressed female ghost was not a wangling, but an Evil Spirit.
While "wangling" and "Evil Spirit" differed by only a single character, the disparity in their power was like heaven and earth.
When an ordinary person dies normally, their Soul Body can condense after seven days, forming what is known as a wangling.
Ordinary wanglings possess little to no offensive power; they can only frighten living people in their dreams.
More powerful wanglings, such as the male and female ghosts Yang Haoran previously collected into his Soul-Gathering Bead, could not only frighten people in dreams but also influence living individuals with wavering resolve, causing them to experience illusions. However, if they encountered someone with firm resolve, their influence would definitely not be enough; for example, the male ghost from before had no effect on Old Master Wu.
These more powerful wanglings, superior to ordinary ones, mostly achieved their strength by devouring other wanglings. Of course, there were also those who died with immense resentment, whose Soul Bodies, once condensed, possessed power far exceeding ordinary wanglings.
The formation of Evil Spirits generally followed these two reasons: first, by devouring other wanglings to enhance oneself, advancing to an Evil Spirit once their power reached a certain level.
Second, if the deceased had harbored immense resentment before dying, especially if their death was unnatural, it was highly probable that after seven days, they would transform into an Evil Spirit!
Compared to wanglings, Evil Spirits were highly aggressive. They not only possessed all the abilities of wanglings but could also create realistic illusions, causing living people to lose themselves and be led by the nose.
While powerful wanglings could induce hallucinations in their targets, the gap between their illusions and those conjured by an Evil Spirit was considerable. It was like comparing an electric bicycle to a sports car—both were vehicles capable of transportation, yet there was a fundamental difference between them, making them incomparable.
Besides their power far exceeding that of wanglings, Evil Spirits possessed something wanglings did not: their eyes. An Evil Spirit's eyes were entirely white, the most striking distinguishing mark of an Evil Spirit. If one ever discovered a ghost whose eyes were milky white, there was no doubt: that ghost was certainly an Evil Spirit!
If Ma Ling and Wang Yiming could discern that the red-dressed female ghost before them was a powerful Evil Spirit, how could Yang Haoran, as a Night Watcher, fail to recognize it?
Yang Haoran had no time to pay attention to Ma Ling and Wang Yiming's astonishment. Seeing the Soul-Gathering Bead held motionless in mid-air, unable to advance even an inch, his expression subtly shifted. He immediately unleashed the full might of his Spirit Power to urge the Soul-Gathering Bead forward!
The Soul-Gathering Bead, fixed in mid-air, violently vibrated. Visible Yin Qi rose from it, and a powerful suction burst forth, enveloping the red-dressed Evil Spirit.
Under normal circumstances, an ordinary wangling encountering this situation would be easily collected by the Soul-Gathering Bead. Even a powerful wangling, though perhaps not immediately drawn into the bead, would certainly be significantly affected.
However, facing Yang Haoran's fully unleashed Soul-Gathering Bead, the red-dressed Evil Spirit's Soul Body showed no signs of distortion or deformation. She floated steadily in the air, her Soul Body not moving in the slightest, save for the swaying of her red skirt and a few wisps of hair fluttering.
Yang Haoran was greatly astonished. He hadn't expected that even with the full force of his Soul-Gathering Bead, he couldn't even shake the opponent's Soul Body!
Since becoming a Night Watcher, Yang Haoran had never encountered an Evil Spirit, nor had he fought one. He knew Evil Spirits were powerful, but he hadn't imagined they could be powerful to such an extent!
One had to remember that the Soul-Gathering Bead and Spirit Power had an extremely strong suppressive effect on spirits. Yet, even so, he couldn't budge the Evil Spirit's Soul Body in the slightest. This clearly showed just how immensely powerful this Evil Spirit was.
Astonished as he was, Yang Haoran didn't give up his attack. Once an arrow was shot from the bow, there was no turning back. Since he had made his move, he had to use every possible method to shake the red-dressed Evil Spirit and collect her into the Soul-Gathering Bead!
A large amount of Yin Qi erupted from within the Soul-Gathering Bead, transforming into an iron chain as thick as an arm, and shot towards the red-dressed Evil Spirit!
It was unclear whether it was because the chain was too fast for the red-dressed Evil Spirit to dodge, or if she simply didn't deign to notice the attack, but the chain successfully bound her body tightly.
The chain rattled loudly. Under Yang Haoran's control, it immediately stretched taut and began to retract, inch by inch, towards the Soul-Gathering Bead, seemingly intending to forcibly pull the red-dressed Evil Spirit inside.
To Yang Haoran's shock, the appearance of the chains did not achieve his desired effect. The red-dressed Evil Spirit's Soul Body remained suspended in place, completely unmoved.
"Wang Yiming! Ghost-Slaying Talisman!"
Yang Haoran knew that trying to collect this red-dressed Evil Spirit into the Soul-Gathering Bead with his power alone was clearly impossible; therefore, he had to rely on the strength of Wang Yiming and Ma Ling.
Wang Yiming responded with a serious expression, and a Ghost-Slaying Talisman appeared between his two fingers. Without the slightest hesitation, he unleashed this talisman towards the red-dressed Evil Spirit.
Yang Haoran had witnessed the power of the Ghost-Slaying Talisman before; it could instantly slice a powerful wangling into fragments, possessing immense offensive capability!
No unexpected events occurred. The Ghost-Slaying Talisman successfully struck the red-dressed Evil Spirit, and after burning on her body, it indeed subjected her to a continuous series of cuts. However, the imagined scene did not unfold; the Evil Spirit was not cut into fragments, merely acquiring a few extra gashes on her body.
The Ghost-Slaying Talisman was a special talisman used by the Talisman Order specifically against ghosts. It possessed powerful lethality against any ghostly entity, and Evil Spirits were no exception. However, the power of a Ghost-Slaying Talisman was directly linked to the strength of the talisman master who drew it: the stronger the master, the greater the power of any talisman they created, and vice versa.
Wang Yiming's strength was limited; the Ghost-Slaying Talisman he drew was not powerful enough to eradicate a spirit of the Evil Spirit caliber, which was why the current situation unfolded.
Since the Ghost-Slaying Talisman didn't have the desired effect, Wang Yiming prepared to take out other talismans to try. Regardless of their exact function, anything that could have some impact on this red-dressed Evil Spirit would be beneficial.
However, before he could even retrieve another talisman, the red-dressed Evil Spirit, which had remained motionless in mid-air, suddenly moved at that very moment.
She first let out a ghostly shriek, indistinguishable as male or female, then violently exerted force, directly shattering the chains binding her.
The chain, formed of Yin Qi, was as flimsy as noodles before her. Once shattered, it dissipated into wisps of Yin Qi, vanishing completely.
After shattering the chains, the red-dressed Evil Spirit's body regained its freedom. At that moment, without any visible movement from her, the Soul-Gathering Bead in front of her flew directly away, embedding itself in the wall.
All of this took long to describe, but in reality, it happened in an instant. By the time Yang Haoran reacted, the Soul-Gathering Bead had already been sent flying.
Without the Soul-Gathering Bead blocking her, the red-dressed Evil Spirit seemed to have lost even her last shred of threat. She tossed her head, and a massive amount of black hair, like thousands of steel needles, shot towards Yang Haoran!
From her actions, it seemed she intended to eliminate Yang Haoran, the Night Watcher, first, before dealing with the others.
Yang Haoran's face was stern. He didn't dodge, nor did he show any intention of counterattacking, allowing the dense mass of hair to strike him like raindrops.
No matter how powerful an Evil Spirit was, it was ultimately a spirit. She possessed only a Soul Body, not a physical one. This meant that no part of her body could harm a living person. That was why Yang Haoran appeared so composed in the face of the dense hair piercing towards him, without any thought of dodging.
But in the next moment, he froze!
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