Chapter 949: Chapter 673: Remnant Treasure_2
At the same time, he perceived that the surrounding environment also seemed to have changed, becoming even darker than before, as if something at the boundary between light and dark was stirring restlessly.
However, in terms of aura alone, his senior brother Ming Yue was stronger than the Pingxi Marquis, and even the Xiu Sect Master of the Yu Yuan Sect. As Ghost-level Apostles, there were naturally differences in strength, and among the Ghost-level Apostles Yang Xiao had seen, senior brother Ming Yue was a formidable presence.
"Junior brother, please go ahead."
Seeing that Yang Xiao had not yet made a move, senior brother Ming Yue stepped back two steps, while also retracting his aura, causing the Evil Qi that had been assaulting Yang Xiao to weaken slightly.
Yang Xiao lifted the Ghost Lantern, and as spiritual power was poured into it, the flame "whooshed" into life. The green ghostly light brightened, gradually dispelling the surrounding darkness, a sight that even senior brother Ming Yue could not help but find surprising.
As Yang Xiao directed the green light towards senior brother Ming Yue, the darkness behind him was like a thick ink that could not be dissolved. The green light was swallowed up by some force as it shone into it, and within that dark space, a tall shadow loomed indistinctly.
Yang Xiao felt that it was not that the Ghost Lantern could not dispel the darkness, but rather that his spiritual power was vastly inferior to that of senior brother Ming Yue.
Senior brother Ming Yue grabbed the killing rod with one hand and thumped it heavily beside him. He stood as upright as a Golden Armor Gate God, standing firm in his place.
"Junior brother, attack me!"
Upon witnessing this, Yang Xiao no longer held back. He closed his eyes and searched for that previous sensation. After brewing for a moment, he lifted the lantern and fiercely swung it towards senior brother Ming Yue.
In the next second, a sharp pain flashed through his mind, a vast amount of spiritual power was drained, continuously pouring into the Ghost Lantern. When he opened his eyes, he saw a field of green light. Senior brother Ming Yue had been trapped within an octagonal green light, his figure becoming ethereal as if he was drawn into another world.
Senior brother Ming Yue, taken aback by the sudden change, immediately tried to break free. He swung his rod constantly, propelling it forward. The killing rod whipped through the air fiercely, with black ghostly light streaking across, but all attacks were invariably blocked.
From the outside, it looked as if they were watching a movie. Senior brother Ming Yue appeared to be a character in a film, no longer in the same world as them.
Soon after, senior brother Ming Yue suddenly stopped. He gripped the killing rod tightly, with countless black mists emerging, obscuring his figure. Yang Xiao was shocked to discover that within the mist, faces of people flickered rapidly, men and women, old and young, each with a different expression, but all twisted. Tears of blood streamed from the torn corners of the eyes. Even through the Green Light Cage, one could feel their fear and agony.
Was this senior brother Ming Yue’s ability? Yang Xiao inwardly marveled. If his senior brother got serious, he might not even have the chance to make a move.
When nearly 5 to 6 minutes passed, Yang Xiao started to feel exhausted. The energy expended to trap senior brother Ming Yue was much more than what it took to trap the Little Mirror Ghost.
"It is enough." An aged voice came from behind the curtain, "Cease your attack."
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao immediately removed the Green Light Cage, but to his surprise, the encaged senior brother Ming Yue had no intention of stopping. A figure wrapped in black mist leaped into the air, rushing towards him fiercely, a killing rod coming down sharply, bringing with it a terrifying pressure that almost crushed Yang Xiao to pieces.
At this moment, Yang Xiao had no doubt that he was going to die. If that rod hit him, even nine lives wouldn’t be enough to save him.
Just at the critical moment, a chime resounded in Yang Xiao’s ears, the sound was melodious and profound, full of ancient charm. At first, it seemed to ring beside his ear, but upon careful listening, it seemed to emanate from all directions.
Simultaneously, the black mist that was about to reach him dissipated in an instant, revealing senior brother Ming Yue with blood-red eyes bulging. But at this moment, he appeared to be drained, as if sapped of all strength. The killing rod fell from his hand powerlessly, and he stumbled backwards, ultimately sitting down heavily on the ground, his chest heaving as he gasped for air.
"Ming Yue, you harbored a killing intent again. As punishment, you are confined for 7 days to face the wall and reflect upon your actions," the voice of the uncle from behind the curtain sounded again, with a slight fluctuation in tone.
"Yes... Yes, I realize my mistake," Ming Yue struggled to get up, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed in apology to the elder behind the curtain.
But in the next moment, Ming Yue turned direction and likewise kowtowed to Yang Xiao, "Junior brother, please forgive me, I didn’t mean to do it!"
This scene frightened Yang Xiao, and he hurriedly stepped forward to support senior brother Ming Yue, "Senior brother, what... what are you doing? It’s just a spar, no harm done."
But the seriously-wounded Ming Yue, who was helped to his feet, looked at him with a solemn face and nodded gravely, saying in a low voice: "Junior brother, I indeed wanted to kill you just now, but it wasn’t me—it was that ghost. It disturbed my mind. I... often can’t control it."
"Yang Xiao." The elder rarely called Yang Xiao by his name, "Use your lantern to attack me, use the same move that trapped Ming Yue."
Seeing that his master had spoken, Ming Yue tactfully stepped back. Yang Xiao steadied his mind, pondered for a moment, and suddenly lashed the Ghost Lantern toward the elder behind the curtain. The next second, the same Green Light Cage trapped the elder within it.
However, this time, the drain on Yang Xiao was terrifying. In less than 10 seconds, he felt as though he had been completely drained, with sharp pains throbbing in his head and his legs becoming unstable, trembling unsteadily.
And the elder behind the curtain merely lifted his arm casually, clawing at the void a few times while turning his neck to look around.
"Uncle Master, your disciple... your disciple can’t hold on much longer!" The disparity between their strengths was as vast as the difference between clouds and mud. Even if the Uncle Master wasn’t a match for the Dean of the Ru Lin Academy, he must not be far behind, and was certainly a Netherworld-level Apostle.
The stronger the opponent, the weaker the effectiveness of the cage. Although it was able to contain, the duration was greatly reduced. However, this also gave Yang Xiao an idea; in the future, when facing much stronger enemies, he could take the initiative to trap them first. While he might not win the fight, he could buy time to escape.
But this move required more practice; the current lead-up time to execute the skill was too long. By the time he was ready to strike, he might already be a corpse.
The next second, Yang Xiao saw the Uncle Master lift his arm, shake the wide sleeve of his robe, and suddenly, everything went black before Yang Xiao’s eyes, as if all his strength had been drained away, nearly causing him to collapse. The lantern slipped from his grip and crashed to the ground.
"Yang Xiao, come forward."
Enduring the throbbing pain in his head, Yang Xiao walked forward and knelt respectfully on the cushion before the curtain. At this moment, he had not fully recovered, not having seen the Uncle Master make any significant moves earlier and was now suffering the backlash from the broken cage.
"Tell me the full story of how you came into possession of this Magic Artifact, the more details, the better."
The last time he saw the elder so serious was when he saw his senior brother’s Magic Artifact. Yang Xiao did not dare to neglect, and apart from the matter involving the Drama Robe female ghost, he recounted almost everything else, knowing that his Uncle Master must have noticed something.
"Strange, how could something like this appear there?" The elder behind the curtain muttered to himself, then asked, "Did anything strange happen nearby when you acquired this Magic Artifact?"
Yang Xiao thought for a moment, then shook his head, "It seems... there was nothing. At the time, the Patrol Defense Office had lost a captain and some other people, with only a few of us surviving."
"Was there only this one Magic Artifact nearby?" The elder suddenly asked.
This question confused Yang Xiao, who took a moment to come to his senses, "Just this one, the supernatural event at that time was triggered by it."
"Strange incidents..." The elder seemed to be caught in a logical paradox, then after a moment, he raised his head. Even through the thick curtain, Yang Xiao could feel the penetrating gaze.
He could sense the elder did not fully believe what he had said. After all, the elder was a Netherworld-level Apostle and of great age, with a high standing in the world of martial arts, a contemporary of the Old Clan Leader’s parents from the Ru Lin Academy. It would be an extremely difficult task for Yang Xiao, with his limited experience, to come up with a flawless story.
Yet Yang Xiao’s response was quite simple: with an unchanged expression, he looked through the curtain with an inquisitive, exploring gaze at his Uncle Master.
A moment later, the elder spoke: "If judged by its grade, this thing of yours is definitely a Netherworld-level Magic Artifact, no less powerful than my Soul Suppressing Bell and... it’s a Remnant Treasure."
"Remnant Treasure?" This was the first time Yang Xiao heard the term.
"Mhm, it means this Magic Artifact is not complete; it’s missing a part."
Pausing for a moment, the elder lowered his voice: "If you are fortunate enough to find the missing part and piece it together, this treasure would rank among the top three Netherworld-level Magic Artifacts I have seen."
