Chapter 388: Pyrrhic Victory |
The resentful spirit was fearless and lacked reason, which was both its advantage and disadvantage.
Being fearless allowed it to unleash terrifying destructive power, pushing its destructive abilities to the extreme. However, lacking reason made it easily manipulated.
The resentful spirit before them belonged to this type. It possessed immense destructive power, evident from how it dealt with the Old Man.
Moreover, it didn't seem greatly affected after having its body scattered twice, further showcasing its formidable strength.
Yet, it didn't evade attacks, only using brute force to counter, which was its weakness. If they could exploit this flaw and relentlessly wear it down, they might stand a chance.
Yang Haoran had this thought in mind at the moment.
However, he was also very clear that although they could target the resentful spirit's weakness, its tremendous destructive power was undeniable. A single misstep could lead to severe injuries or even death. Therefore, they had to be cautious when facing this resentful spirit.
Under Yang Haoran's lead, the three launched another attack on the resentful spirit. Yang Haoran's Yin spirit power had a strong suppressive effect on ghosts, so his attacks inflicted the most damage.
Next was Captain Luo, whose peach wood sword also had a degree of control over ghosts, enabling him to deal considerable damage.
The two sides engaged in a fierce battle. Under the trio's relentless assault, the resentful spirit's body was scattered repeatedly. However, they didn't fare much better, sustaining various wounds from the spirit's ferocious attacks despite being extremely cautious. Bai Xue, having reverted to her true form, had the most wounds among them, with her massive serpentine body covered in injuries, some deep enough to expose bone.
Despite this, Bai Xue didn't retreat. Instead, she grew increasingly enraged, using her enormous body as a weapon to furiously attack the resentful spirit, venting her anger and frustration.
Under the combined efforts of the three, the resentful spirit's body was scattered and reformed repeatedly. Initially, there seemed to be no visible change or impact on it after each reformation.
However, as the frequency of its body being scattered increased, its form became increasingly ethereal, and its strength gradually diminished.
As its power waned, the threat it posed to Yang Haoran's group naturally lessened.
Eventually, it could no longer harm them at all, completely suppressed by the trio.
The intense battle lasted three full hours. After three hours, a panting Yang Haoran forcibly sealed the weakened resentful spirit into the soul-gathering bead.
Even he was gasping for breath, so one could imagine the state Bai Xue and Captain Luo were in. Their strength was almost entirely depleted, leaving them utterly exhausted.
If the resentful spirit had been slightly stronger, perhaps it wouldn't have been the one relentlessly worn down to death today, but rather the three of them.
With the malevolent spirit forcibly sealed in the soul-gathering bead, this fierce battle finally concluded, and Yang Haoran's side emerged victorious. However, this victory came at a significant cost.
Despite their triumph, no one cheered, for there was no one else left at this location besides the three of them.
The other Night Watch members and Spirit Police had already departed, leaving during a previous skirmish with the resentful spirit. Yang Haoran had seized an opportunity to tear open a spatial rift, allowing the surviving Night Watch and Spirit Police to evacuate with the injured and deceased.
He did this because he knew they couldn't subdue the resentful spirit quickly. The injured Night Watch and Spirit Police couldn't wait any longer; without immediate treatment, they might lose their lives. So he created the rift to allow the living to retreat with the injured and deceased.
Their evacuation point was the Spirit Police headquarters, which had an advanced medical team on standby with state-of-the-art facilities, far superior to any hospital in Lecheng. Treating the wounded there would yield better results.
After their retreat, only Yang Haoran's trio and the vicious resentful spirit remained at the scene.
Although they didn't receive cheers from others, Yang Haoran's trio breathed a sigh of relief. They had paid a significant price to subdue this resentful spirit, nearly losing their lives in the process. Now that it was finally dealt with, they naturally felt relieved.
"Didn't expect such a fierce battle right upon my return. This isn't a good omen," Yang Haoran said wryly after catching his breath and putting away the soul-gathering bead.
"It's a good thing you came back. If you hadn't made it today, the situation would have been dire. We might not even have had a chance to collect our remains," Bai Xue, in human form, appeared beside Yang Haoran, gasping as she responded.
Captain Luo also rejoined them, drenched in sweat and looking shaken, his heavy breathing echoing.
"We've known all along that this Old Man wasn't a simple character, so we've been preparing and didn't dare act rashly against him. Today, we decided to take action because we thought everything was ready, but we still underestimated him. If the divine envoy Yang hadn't arrived in time, we might have suffered complete annihilation here."
Captain Luo then explained to Yang Haoran, allowing him to understand what had transpired.
After Fatty Qu's capture, he revealed everything, including that the ghost infant came from the boss of Hao You Lai Funeral Supplies Store—the Old Man devoured by the resentful spirit.
Uncertain of the Old Man's strength, the Spirit Police didn't dare act recklessly. Instead, they spent a long time using various methods to assess his abilities.
Once they had a rough understanding, Captain Luo took considerable time planning and arranging countermeasures, including the type of restriction barrier to employ.
Only after everything was prepared did Captain Luo decide to take action, but they still underestimated the Old Man's strength, nearly perishing here.
If possible, Captain Luo didn't want to make an enemy of such a formidable being, but from his position, he had to eliminate the Old Man.
The reason was simple: the Old Man's materials for refining resentful spirits were unspeakable—human souls, bodies of the dying, newborn infants, and pregnant women. To refine so many resentful spirits required an appalling quantity of materials, often obtained through murder!
In other words, the Old Man had killed countless people, primarily infants and pregnant women, to refine his resentful spirits. Such a depraved madman couldn't be allowed to exist, so Captain Luo had to find a way to eliminate him.
Even without Captain Luo's explanation, Yang Haoran could somewhat guess the Old Man's identity given the Fatty Qu incident.
During the explanation, the trio recovered slightly, though not to their peak, at least no longer gasping heavily.
"Should we go down and take a look?" Bai Xue glanced at Yang Haoran and Captain Luo, then at a dilapidated house by the roadside below.
"Going down to check wouldn't hurt. If there's anything left behind in the shop, it could cause trouble and harm ordinary people later," Captain Luo said.
Yang Haoran nodded in agreement. Although the Old Man and the resentful spirit were dealt with, who could guarantee the funeral supplies store didn't conceal other harmful things?
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