Chapter 386: Powerful Resentful Spirit |
Old Man's strength was not only extremely formidable for Bai Xue but also for Captain Luo. Otherwise, the two of them would not have been unable to defeat him even when joining forces, and instead ended up getting injured themselves.
Even without seeing the injuries on Captain Luo and Bai Xue, Yang Haoran would not have underestimated this Old Man. Just moments ago, he had barely withstood one of the Old Man's strikes, and his protective light barrier was nearly shattered by the opponent's attack. This alone showed that the Old Man's strength already posed a threat to him.
However, to Yang Haoran, it was merely a threat and did not mean that he was not a match for this Old Man. Since the two had not truly fought, no one knew who was stronger or weaker.
Nevertheless, Yang Haoran was not alone on his side. He had Bai Xue, the great demon, and Captain Luo, the team leader of the Spirit Police. The combined power of the three would undoubtedly be far more formidable than what Yang Haoran could unleash on his own.
No matter how strong the Old Man was, could he overpower the combined might of Yang Haoran, Bai Xue, and Captain Luo?
Bai Xue and Captain Luo had already engaged the Old Man in battle for some time, so they had some understanding of his strength. With Yang Haoran's arrival, both of them felt relieved. Earlier, their joint efforts against the Old Man had been fruitless, but now with Yang Haoran's addition, the situation was entirely different in their eyes.
Since Yang Haoran had forcibly absorbed all the ghost infants present into his soul-gathering bead, the Old Man appeared extremely angry and glared at Yang Haoran with fury in his eyes.
All those ghost infants on the scene were ones he had painstakingly created, expending a vast amount of time and effort on each one. Yet Yang Haoran had appeared and taken them all away – his hard work. How could he not be enraged!
"You brat! Quickly return my ghost infants to me!" The Old Man fixed his gaze on Yang Haoran and shouted angrily.
However, Yang Haoran had no intention of heeding the Old Man's words. With so many injured on the ground, including many of his own Night Watch members, if they did not receive treatment promptly, lives could be lost due to delayed assistance.
Therefore, he had to take down the Old Man as quickly as possible before tending to the injured. He would not waste time on idle chatter with the Old Man.
As the Old Man's words fell, not only did Yang Haoran not respond, but he also activated his Heaven Soul!
With the activation of Heaven Soul, the power emanating from Yang Haoran's body instantly became terrifyingly strong, at least twice as potent as the force he had unleashed earlier!
Sensing this formidable surge of power, the Old Man's expression changed, realizing that the strength Yang Haoran was now exuding far exceeded his expectations.
Meanwhile, Bai Xue and Captain Luo's faces revealed delight, confident that with such tremendous power, they would secure victory in this battle.
Captain Luo, wielding a peach wood sword, launched another attack on the Old Man, while Bai Xue reverted to her true white snake form and pounced toward the Old Man.
The two attacked simultaneously for multiple reasons: to drain the Old Man's strength, prevent him from employing any escape tactics, and create an opportunity for Yang Haoran to deliver a fatal strike.
A whirlpool of Yin Qi swirled beside Yang Haoran, enveloping the Waning Moon without revealing it. Yang Haoran did not strike immediately but searched for the most opportune moment.
With Captain Luo and Bai Xue restraining the Old Man, he could better seize the chance to attack!
The Old Man seemed to have realized the trio's ploy, his expression grim as he fended off Captain Luo and Bai Xue's assaults while contemplating a way to reverse the situation.
He was well aware that if he did not employ more potent techniques to change the circumstances, he might soon meet a gruesome demise at their combined hands.
With that in mind, the Old Man steeled himself and, seizing the opportunity while Yang Haoran was still searching for the perfect strike, he grabbed hold of a pendant hanging from his chest!
This pendant appeared exceptionally bizarre, depicting a distorted female figure with twisted limbs and a severed head, as if forcibly torn apart.
The moment the Old Man grasped the pendant, a flicker of hesitation crossed his face. The technique he was about to unleash appeared to be related to this pendant, but his reaction suggested he was unwilling to employ it, hence his hesitation.
In that split second of hesitation, his expression suddenly changed, as if sensing some danger. He promptly crushed the pendant in his hand and dodged to the side.
His reaction was swift, and he managed to evade Bai Xue and Captain Luo's attacks but failed to avoid Yang Haoran's strike.
A black flash flickered by, and one of the Old Man's arms flew off, spurting blood while a shrill scream escaped his mouth.
This sudden black gleam that appeared and severed the Old Man's arm was naturally Yang Haoran's soul weapon, Waning Moon.
The moment the Old Man grabbed the pendant, Yang Haoran knew he was about to unleash a more potent technique, so he decisively struck first to prevent it.
However, the Old Man's reaction was indeed swift enough that he not only sensed the danger beforehand and attempted to dodge but also managed to crush the pendant in his hand, albeit at the cost of losing one arm.
At the instant the pendant was crushed, a blurred shadow appeared beside the Old Man. As his entire arm was sliced off by Waning Moon, spurting blood landed directly on this shadowy figure.
The blood did not scatter in the air but seemed to adhere to the shadow, sticking firmly to it before being rapidly absorbed. The shadow then grew more distinct, eventually transforming into a horrifying, contorted female figure.
Her head was tilted at an eerie angle on her shoulder, as if lacking skeletal support, but she appeared accustomed to her disfigured state, showing no signs of distress. Instead, she flashed a smile at Yang Haoran's trio.
Yet her smile exuded an extremely unsettling aura.
Dense Yin Qi swirled around the woman, emanating intense resentment. Her appearance caused Yang Haoran and the others to pause momentarily.
They sensed danger from her, especially Bai Xue and Captain Luo, who perceived the strongest sense of peril.
"Be careful, this is a Resentful Spirit, far more powerful than those ghost infants we faced earlier, by several times at least!" Yang Haoran warned Bai Xue and Captain Luo with a grave expression.
"Hmph! You realize too late! Now you can look forward to becoming her food!" The Old Man, enduring the excruciating pain, spoke through a contorted expression.
At this point, his wound had stopped bleeding, as he had sealed it with his own power. However, the arm severed by Waning Moon had vanished without a trace.
Although no longer bleeding, the Old Man's gaze toward Yang Haoran was filled with malice. It was simple – if not for Yang Haoran's interference, the situation would not have taken such a drastic turn, and he would not have lost so many ghost infants and one of his arms.
Therefore, the Old Man harbored a profound desire to kill Yang Haoran, his sole thought being to eliminate him first. In his view, once Yang Haoran was slain, dealing with the others would be straightforward.
"Kill him! His blood is far more delicious than mine! As an Underworld Envoy, the Yin spirit power within him is your favorite! Go on! Devour him! I believe in you..."
Before the Old Man could finish, the Resentful Spirit vanished from its spot. He thought it had launched an attack on Yang Haoran but soon realized the reality was entirely different from his expectations.
Yang Haoran put Xiaokang down from his arms and looked towards Xiu Juan floating in the air.
"This time when I came back, I brought you something good. I believe you will definitely like it."
As the words fell, Yang Haoran snapped his fingers, and a human skin was taken out from his independent space, floating in the air.
Both Xiu Juan and Xiaokang were very curious about what Yang Haoran would take out, but when they saw clearly the floating human skin in front of them, Xiu Juan's expression changed, while Xiaokang let out a shrill scream and hid behind Yang Haoran.
Although Xiaokang lived with ghosts and demons every day, the only demon he had seen was Bai Xue, and when Bai Xue did not regain her true form, she did not look scary at all.
As for ghosts, he loved his mother the most and was with her every day, so of course he would not be afraid.
He was not afraid of Bai Xue or Xiu Juan, but that did not mean that all terrifying things could not scare him. So at this moment, seeing the human skin floating in the air, he was not only startled but also reacted very strongly.
With how terrifying this human skin looked, even an adult who suddenly saw this scene would probably be scared half to death.
Not to mention humans, even the evil spirit Xiu Juan changed her expression when she saw this human skin suddenly appear. One can imagine how an ordinary person would react to such a scene.
It was not that Xiu Juan and Xiaokang were cowardly, but this human skin was indeed quite scary, just like it was forcibly peeled off from a living person. It was normal to feel a chill at the first glance of such a thing.
"Yang... Uncle Yang... did you... did you kill someone?" Xiaokang hid behind Yang Haoran and asked with a trembling voice.
Sensing Xiaokang's fear, Yang Haoran pulled him out from behind with his hand.
"Xiaokang, killing people is something I try to avoid as much as possible, but if it becomes absolutely necessary, those who deserve to die must be killed." Yang Haoran said with a smile, as if talking about a trivial matter.
In fact, there was one thing that Yang Haoran himself did not realize. As his strength grew stronger and he encountered more things, his personality also gradually became colder.
However, this coldness was not towards the people around him, but towards those outside his circle.
To be precise, it was not only towards people outside his circle, but towards anything outside his circle, be it humans, demons, or even ghosts. He became increasingly indifferent to their lives.
In his eyes, whether these beings were alive or dead, they had nothing to do with him, so he did not care. Even when facing them, he always had a smile on his face, but his inner indifference only grew more severe.
Xiaokang was still too young, so he did not quite understand what Yang Haoran meant by those words. Although he did not understand the meaning behind Yang Haoran's words, his response made Yang Haoran feel a mix of amusement and exasperation.
"Even if she deserved to die, Uncle Yang... Uncle Yang, you should not have peeled off her skin. It looks too cruel," Xiaokang said timidly.
Hearing this, Yang Haoran laughed and forcibly pulled Xiaokang out from behind him.
"Xiaokang, don't be afraid. Be a little braver. In the future, there will be many things that will make you feel disgusted or terrified. If you accept these things early, then when you encounter such scenes in the future, you will not be afraid and can face them calmly," Yang Haoran said with a smile.
As Xiaokang's mother, Xiu Juan initially wanted to stop Yang Haoran because in her view, exposing Xiaokang to these things too early might not be good.
However, in the end, she did not do so because she trusted Yang Haoran. In her eyes, Yang Haoran was like their reborn father, and she had absolute trust in him. So she believed that Yang Haoran must have his considerations for doing this.
Moreover, she felt that Yang Haoran's words made sense. As Xiaokang's mother, she just did not want him to be exposed to such bloody, horrific, and harsh realities too early.
Xiaokang was also unwilling to face the terrifying human skin directly. He really did not have the courage. However, his strength was no match for Yang Haoran's, and he was easily carried to the front by Yang Haoran.
He just kept his head down, not daring to look up at the floating human skin above.
"Don't be afraid. Look at her. The more you look, the less afraid you will be. You are a man. Aren't you going to protect your mother and Uncle Yang in the future? If you don't even have this bit of courage, how will you protect us later?" Yang Haoran asked with a smile.
Upon hearing Yang Haoran's words, Xiaokang finally mustered up his courage and slowly raised his head to look at the position where the human skin was floating.
"Don't worry, Uncle Yang and your mother are both here. Not to mention that she is just a dead thing, even if she were alive, what could she do to you?" Yang Haoran continued to ask with a smile.
Hearing Yang Haoran say this, Xiaokang felt that it was true. In his eyes, Yang Haoran was like a god-like existence. Thinking carefully, he indeed had nothing to be afraid of.
"Xiaokang is not afraid, Xiaokang is a real man!"
Xiaokang gritted his teeth, raised his head, and stared directly at the floating human skin above.
At first, although he tried to appear calm when staring at the human skin, he was still a little afraid in his heart. However, as he looked at it for a while, he felt that Yang Haoran was right – this human skin was indeed not scary at all.
"When Uncle Yang became a Night Watch member back then, he suffered a similar setback. At that time, Uncle Yang was just an ordinary person, but he had to face a large number of ghosts, which scared Uncle Yang so much that he almost wet his pants. Uncle Yang doesn't want you to embarrass yourself like that in the future, so he's training you early."
Hearing that Yang Haoran was once so scared that he almost wet his pants, Xiaokang burst into laughter, and the last bit of fear in his heart dissipated.
"I'm not afraid anymore. Xiaokang is not afraid of this thing now!" Xiaokang said with a laugh.
"This is just a dead thing, so naturally there is nothing to be afraid of. After a while, Uncle Yang will have Grandpa Wu give you special training to thoroughly change your courage. Are you afraid?" Yang Haoran asked with a smile.
"Not afraid! Xiaokang will definitely not be afraid!"
Xiaokang answered very resolutely, as if he had suddenly gained tremendous courage. However, when Xiu Juan heard these words, the smile on her face became strained.
As Xiaokang's mother, she was naturally worried that Xiaokang might be harmed, especially spiritually, during the training.
Seeing that Xiaokang was no longer afraid of the human skin and had also agreed to undergo special training, the smile on Yang Haoran's face showed more relief.
"Actually, this person wasn't killed by Uncle Yang. This human skin wasn't peeled off from a person's body but was artificially made. However, it can't be sold in the human world. I brought it from the underworld. Just now, the reason I said those words was to train your courage and enhance your bravery."
As the words fell, Yang Haoran looked towards Xiu Juan and said, "Xiu Juan, try fusing your soul body into this human skin."
[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! SlaySaga]