Chapter 1840: Chapter 1050: Don’t Open the Door (Part 2)
To avoid this strike, one can only retreat, and behind is the door of the Daoist temple.
For ordinary people, they would have been scared half to death by this punch and retreated early, but Yang Xiao is not an ordinary person. Instead of being frightened, he is delighted because he sees an opportunity in this punch.
This punch is particularly strange, not only in angle but also not fast in speed. It feels less like it’s meant to kill, and more like... it wants to force him back.
Exactly, that’s it!
"These guys don’t dare to kill me!" Yang Xiao immediately realized this fact.
To test this hypothesis, Yang Xiao made a decision that defies ancestral teachings; instead of retreating, he advanced and even deliberately leaned his head toward the opponent’s fist.
This was a risky gamble, a matter of life and death. The fist brushed past Yang Xiao’s face, the wind from the punch stinging his cheek, yet the punch... missed!
And at this moment, the stone weighing heavy in Yang Xiao’s heart fell completely. He knew he had gambled right; this Source Ghost fundamentally lacks the capability to kill!
It and the living puppets and puppets controlled by it can, at most, only wound him.
Additionally, Yang Xiao discovered another key point: the closer he was to this Daoist temple, the lower the damage from the Source Ghost and puppets, as they were restricted by some power.
Seeing the plan uncovered, Beiyu Ye unwillingly glanced at Yang Xiao, then turned and fled.
"Trying to escape now? Too late!" Yang Xiao understood the truth of kicking someone when they’re down, pursuing aggressively.
Since he knows the opponent can’t kill him, there’s nothing to fear. Besides the Daoist temple, no other place here is lethal.
Getting injured is a commonplace for Yang Xiao, thanks to his good sister who bestowed him with high resistance to pain.
Honestly speaking, if his good sister doesn’t push him for a long time, he feels something is missing.
Meanwhile, two puppets rushed forward to stop Yang Xiao’s pursuit, and unless he handles the Source Ghost, he still can’t break this secret realm. When the time is up, he’ll be left here forever.
There must be a reason why the Source Ghost fled, Yang Xiao deduced the closer it was to the Daoist temple, the more suppressed its powers were. Otherwise, it would have no reason not to attack him with the magic artifact, as he hasn’t seen it use that peach wood nail anymore.
Not long ago, that peach wood nail nearly destroyed Yang Xiao’s six or seven magic artifacts, even costing him the Taoist Great Demon of Dragon Tiger Mountain, leaving Yang Xiao in a state worse than death.
"Don’t run!" Yang Xiao roared, "Beiyu Ye, you dog, stand still!"
As the opponent ran farther and farther away, Yang Xiao made up his mind to take a desperate gamble. He summoned the Ghost Lantern, and in the next second, a green light shot towards the back of the fleeing Beiyu Ye, enveloping him in a Green Light Cage.
The mystery of this Green Light Cage is that while it looks as if the person is still fleeing, their body is actually trapped in place unmoving, creating a separate space within.
That alone wasn’t enough. Yang Xiao endured the puppets hitting him on his back and accelerated sharply, meanwhile throwing something from his hand, a human skin mask, towards Beiyu Ye trapped inside the Green Light Cage.
At this moment, Beiyu Ye’s spiritual power had drastically declined, and from surpassing the Half-step Nether Realm level, it fell below the peak of Ghost Level. Near the Daoist temple, both Beiyu Ye himself and the two puppets have reduced battle strength.
Judging the strength only by sight or feeling is impossible; it requires actual combat to understand.
As the human skin mask landed accurately inside the Green Light Cage, it was simultaneously revoked, followed by an intangible domain appearing. The world in front of Beiyu Ye’s eyes plunged into utter darkness, until target circles began lighting up centered around him.
This is another ability of the Startled Ghost Mask Domain, capable of binding someone within. Yang Xiao comprehended this from the ancient books left by a young Sect Master.
Yang Xiao charged with full force towards Beiyu Ye, but injured as he was, he could hardly match the two puppets. Very soon, they caught up with him from behind. Just as a puppet swung a fist at his leg, Yang Xiao triggered the confining power of the Ghost Lantern.
This time, not aimed at the puppets or Beiyu Ye, but at himself.
In a blink, Yang Xiao’s form turned ethereal, and the puppet’s punches and kicks went through him without any hindrance, causing no damage.
But Yang Xiao used the Ghost Lantern to open a passage to the Startled Ghost Mask Domain, situating himself within the target domain, and this time, he wasn’t at the bullseye.
He wasn’t the target, the trapped Beiyu Ye was, and he was an observer.
The strongest aspect of the Startled Ghost Mask Domain is its adaptability to strength, ideally suited to trapping troublesome opponents. This was Yang Xiao’s first time deploying this artifact in a real battle.
After all, this object is tricky to control. If not for the improvement in Yang Xiao’s spiritual power and the destruction of other artifacts, he wouldn’t have used it rashly.
Yet unexpectedly, the effect was remarkably good, as a twisted ghost shadow appeared, trembling as it slowly approached the heart of the target, Beiyu Ye.
The Startled Ghost Mask Domain can reflect one’s heart, revealing the deepest fears of the person trapped inside.
Yang Xiao was curious too, about what the man Beiyu Ye feared the most in his heart.
With the twisted ghost shadow gradually manifesting, Yang Xiao was taken aback; it was a woman, quite young, roughly the same age as Beiyu Ye, full of heroic spirit between her brows, with eyes of extraordinary liveliness, wearing a Daoist robe.
"This is... Beiyu Ye’s senior sister?" Yang Xiao hadn’t expected that the young prodigy of Dragon Tiger Mountain’s generation was most afraid of a young woman, particularly one from the same sect.
As the woman appeared, Beiyu Ye reacted like a mouse seeing a cat, instinctively retreating and trembling uncontrollably. After the Source Ghost possessed Beiyu Ye, it inherited part of his memory. Clearly, this senior sister from the same sect was Beiyu Ye’s deepest nightmare.
Although untimely, at this moment, Yang Xiao’s spirit of gossip instantly awakened.
He sharply sensed that there was something between Beiyu Ye and this Taoist woman, a hidden secret perhaps.
Yang Xiao liked peeking into others’ secrets and each secret concealed a fascinating story, potentially serving as leverage.
A melodramatic drama played in Yang Xiao’s mind, but he didn’t strike yet, as the moment hadn’t come. He needed the ghost from the ghost face to deplete Beiyu Ye’s spiritual power.
Only when the psychological defense of the opponent crumbles, would be the time for Yang Xiao to act.
Despite its apparent strength and cunning, the Source Ghost had obvious weaknesses. Having possessed Beiyu Ye, it was also influenced by his memories, just like now.
The terrifying presence in Beiyu Ye’s memory was terrifying to the Source Ghost too, which was precisely Yang Xiao’s opportunity.
To avoid being approached by this Taoist woman, Beiyu Ye tried everything he knew. Yet, it was impossible for Beiyu Ye, on his first encounter with the Startled Ghost Mask Domain, to skillfully prevent the approach of the Taoist woman.
As the Taoist woman drew closer, Beiyu Ye had to concentrate all of his spiritual power to deal with her, even bringing out the peach wood nail, which was precisely what Yang Xiao was waiting for.
As the peach wood nail aimed at the woman, Yang Xiao moved, sprinting quickly towards Beiyu Ye’s back. But the Source Ghost’s perception was tremendously strong, detecting Yang Xiao’s presence in the sprawling dark chaos, and turned, raising the peach wood nail to stab down at Yang Xiao.
The peach wood nail grazed Yang Xiao’s arm, pinning a little girl who had her eyes gouged out and coffin nails in her head, while Yang Xiao pulled open the Hundred Demons Coffin Clothes, and from the inner Nether Garment side fished out a piece of Joss Paper Money with a lightning-quick grasp, pressing it against Beiyu Ye’s forehead.
One finger to steady the universe.
