Realm of the Night God

The seemingly self-inflicted act of the serpent demon was actually her forcibly removing a scale from her own body.

"I'm giving you this scale. If one day you need to harness my power, you can destroy it, and I'll come to you as quickly as possible," the serpent demon said to Yang Haoran with a smile.

As the serpent demon's words fell, the scale slowly left her palm and drifted towards Yang Haoran.

Perhaps fearing Yang Haoran's refusal, the serpent demon continued to smile, "Don't underestimate me now. I may be weakened, but I am a great demon. Once my injuries are fully healed, you might not even be my match."

Yang Haoran didn't know the full extent of the serpent demon's peak strength, but she had driven a black talisman master mad, so she must possess considerable power.

Moreover, that black talisman master couldn't kill her back then; they could only seal her in a wooden hut. This also indicated the serpent demon's strength.

As for whether the serpent demon in her prime could handle him, that remained uncertain. It was possible, as she claimed, or perhaps not as straightforward.

Yang Haoran didn't dwell on this issue because it seemed meaningless to him. What mattered was that before leaving, the serpent demon had decided to give him a gift. Regardless of its value, he could feel the sincerity behind it.

With a smile on his face, Yang Haoran accepted the scale and thanked the serpent demon, saying, "Thank you. If I ever need your help, I'll definitely trouble you."

"Hehe, as long as you dare to trouble me, I'll generously assist you. Although we've only made a transaction, I'm grateful for your role in setting me free. If you hadn't appeared, I wouldn't know when I could regain my freedom," the serpent demon said with a flattering smile.

With that, the serpent demon turned and left. Yang Haoran didn't stop her or inquire about her destination. He simply watched her leave with a faint smile.

After a few steps, the serpent demon paused and turned back to look at Yang Haoran.

"I can't quite figure out what kind of person you are, but you give me a good feeling. You're the best man I've met so far."

Yang Haoran smiled and replied, "That's because you've met too few men. As you encounter more, your perspective might change."

"Is that so?" The serpent demon seemed to be questioning Yang Haoran and herself. With a flirtatious smile, she didn't give Yang Haoran a chance to answer and bid her final farewell.

"I'm leaving. Goodbye."

The serpent demon left without hesitation this time. Yang Haoran watched her disappear into the darkness before turning his gaze to the scale in his hand.

After examining it for a moment, he smiled, and the scale disappeared into his hand, sent into his own independent space.

Now that he had found the malevolent spirit, his next task was to retrieve it. To do so, he needed to break the restriction barrier.

The barrier here was formed by an array, something he knew little about. His knowledge was insufficient to easily break it.

His only option to break the barrier was to use brute force.

However, considering the tourists in the scenic area, he didn't plan to act immediately to avoid harming innocents. He decided to wait until nightfall.

During the following time, Yang Haoran didn't leave the area. He wandered around the barrier, hoping to make other discoveries.

Unfortunately, he found nothing around the barrier. He wasn't disappointed by this result, as he had prepared himself for it.

Yet, he wasn't pleased either. He remained calm; his nerves were steady. After finding nothing, he didn't continue to push himself. Instead, he found a large rock, brushed off the dust, and sat down to rest, waiting for the ideal time to act.

As night fell and the Shilin Forest Scenic Area closed, Yang Haoran, who had been resting with closed eyes, slowly opened them, focusing on the barrier that sealed the malevolent spirit.

The barrier resembled an inverted bowl, sealing both the malevolent spirit and the formation master within.

"It's time to make a move."

With such thoughts in mind, the space around Yang Haoran trembled slightly, and several chains manifested, charging towards the restriction barrier.

Yang Haoran wasted no time and acted decisively because he had already planned and decided what to do during the daytime.

The moment the chains touched the barrier, invisible to the naked eye, the barrier manifested and repelled the aggressive chains.

Several chains froze in mid-air, unable to break through the barrier but also not shattered by it. However, this situation lasted only a moment. Before Yang Haoran could inject more Yin spirit power into the chains, they were flung away by the barrier, dissipating into Yin Qi.

This time, the power surge from the barrier was much stronger than when the serpent demon used demonic spiritual power to probe it during the day, many times stronger.

Yang Haoran didn't show surprise as he watched the chains being shattered by the barrier. It seemed as if everything was within his expectations.

Following that, more chains appeared around the barrier. With a clattering sound, a large number of chains instantly entangled the entire barrier and rapidly tightened.

It seemed that Yang Haoran intended to forcibly crush the barrier in this manner!

The chains clanged as they tightened, and the barrier shook violently, seemingly unable to hold on.

However, at that moment, spiritual lights flashed on the ground below the malevolent spirit, followed by a huge formation that appeared. The skeletal figure seated at its center.

This formation had always been there, just previously concealed. Now, with the barrier about to collapse under Yang Haoran's attack, the true nature of the formation was revealed.

With the appearance of the formation, the barrier seemed to receive a surge of power, stabilizing from its previous instability. The chains, formed from Yin spirit power, began to crumble one after another under this influence.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The shattered chains turned into Yin Qi and dissipated. Within a few breaths, all the black chains were shattered, none left intact.

Yang Haoran witnessed all this without changing his expression, as if he had already mentally prepared for it.

If the chains could break the barrier, that would be great, as it would save him a lot of effort.

But if not, it was also fine because he had other means to deal with the barrier, and he didn't expect it to be so easily broken.

From the current situation, Yang Haoran couldn't be sure whether the full power of the formation had been unleashed yet, as he didn't understand formations.

However, he wouldn't stop because of this. Even if the full power of the formation hadn't been unleashed, he hadn't exerted his full strength either, right?

Yang Haoran kept an eye on the changes in the formation, observing every detail.

At the same time, a dense cloud of Yin Qi appeared out of nowhere beside him, while the Yin Qi emanating from his body and the power fluctuations released from within him soared at this moment.

The changes in Yang Haoran's body caused a cold and eerie wind to blow in the area.

As the Yin Qi churned violently, the soul weapon Waning Moon slowly rose from it, hovering above Yang Haoran's side.

At this moment, Yang Haoran was shrouded in intense Yin Qi, and the power fluctuations emanating from him peaked, unable to rise any further.

Yang Haoran, who rarely exerted his full strength, was now going all out. If he couldn't break the formation here and now, things would be troublesome.

With a thought, Waning Moon hummed, then quickly spun and cleaved through the void, instantly striking the barrier released by the formation.

Boom!!!