Realm of the Night God

What was the purpose behind the malevolent spirit's current actions, and how could Yang Haoran possibly not understand? He certainly wouldn't allow the malevolent spirit to continue devouring unchecked.

The moment he sensed the malevolent spirit devouring the Yin spirit power within him, he frantically mobilized his own Yin spirit power, attempting to break free from its confinement.

Underneath this struggle, Yang Haoran's body suddenly trembled violently. Then, the restraint was shattered, and a roar erupted from his mouth. With his Yin spirit power fully unleashed, the Yin Qi formed by the malevolent spirit was instantly dispersed!

Although Yang Haoran's body still emitted a strong Yin Qi, these current traces were all transformed by his own Yin spirit power, not the malevolent spirit's.

Although the Yin Qi formed by the malevolent spirit was dispersed, it didn't dissipate. Streams of Yin Qi converged together, coalescing once more. Within this mass of Yin Qi, a head emerged, none other than the malevolent spirit itself.

Licking its lips, the malevolent spirit wore an expression of lingering enjoyment.

"Yin spirit power is indeed delicious. Unfortunately... you're a bit stingy."

Yang Haoran's expression soured slightly. While the amount of Yin spirit power he lost just now wasn't substantial, it was enough to cause him distress.

"I may indeed be stingy. Those who know me are aware. How you're feasting on the Yin spirit power within me now, I'll make sure you regurgitate it all later. Do you believe me?"

The threat from Yang Haoran naturally didn't concern the malevolent spirit. It chuckled, its head dissipating into the Yin Qi once more, then launched another attack on Yang Haoran!

It sought to repeat its previous tactics, but Yang Haoran was already on guard, denying it any chance to get close. Instead, he directed Waning Moon to counterattack fiercely.

Initially, the malevolent spirit didn't intend for Yang Haoran to exhaust too much Yin spirit power. However, from the current situation, if it didn't consume a portion of Yang Haoran's Yin spirit power, it would be challenging to completely control him.

Thus, the malevolent spirit also unleashed its full force, intending to maim Yang Haoran before anything else!

Both sides exerted their utmost efforts, their clash resounding incessantly. The ancient tomb trembled continuously under their combat, yet surprisingly, it remained remarkably sturdy. Despite the constant shaking, there were no signs of imminent collapse.

Half an hour later, Yang Haoran, along with his soul weapon, was sent flying, crashing into a stone wall. His body embedded itself in a large pit, while his soul weapon, Waning Moon, lodged itself in the nearby wall.

Spurt!

A mouthful of blood sprayed out, and Yang Haoran's face paled. Several wounds of varying depths appeared on his body. Although he promptly sealed these wounds with Yin spirit power, before sealing them, the blood from the wounds soaked his clothes.

At this moment, he appeared somewhat miserable, evidently heavily injured.

As for his adversary, the malevolent spirit, its situation had changed considerably compared to before. Its soul body, initially solid, now appeared ethereal. It was apparent at a glance that it was a soul body and not a physical one.

However, compared to Yang Haoran, the malevolent spirit's condition was much better. This disparity was evident from the fluctuations of power emanating from both sides.

Observing Yang Haoran's entire body embedded in the stone wall, the malevolent spirit burst into hearty laughter. Although it had suffered some injuries at Yang Haoran's hands, compared to gaining Yang Haoran, an Underworld Envoy, as a harvest, these injuries were negligible. There was no reason for it not to be delighted.

Injuries could be healed, which was no big deal. But gaining an Underworld Envoy meant that its strength would skyrocket at a terrifying speed. Between the two, which was more significant, it couldn't possibly be unclear.

"What happened to your arrogance just now?" the malevolent spirit asked, looking at Yang Haoran embedded in the wall, amusement evident in its voice.

Yang Haoran didn't immediately respond to the malevolent spirit. He freed himself from the wall, then coughed up another mouthful of blood.

The malevolent spirit, who had initially intended to attack immediately, found itself unexpectedly tempted to toy with Yang Haoran upon seeing his pitiful state.

Being a ghost, and facing an Underworld Envoy, the malevolent spirit knew it was a ghost's natural enemy. To have personally crippled an Underworld Envoy gave it a considerable sense of accomplishment.

"Speak while you still can. Say a few more words quickly, lest you chatter incessantly while I dine, which would ruin my appetite," the malevolent spirit said with a laugh.

Yang Haoran slowly straightened his body, gazing at the malevolent spirit. Instead of showing indignation, his face bore a smile, his trademark gentle smile.

"Do you sound so confident as if you've already got me figured out?" Yang Haoran asked with a smile.

"Oh? Isn't it so?" the malevolent spirit retorted.

Yang Haoran's smile didn't falter. He locked eyes with the malevolent spirit and chuckled, "I just wanted to test my current limits against you. Do you really think I have no way to deal with you?"

The malevolent spirit burst into laughter. To him, Yang Haoran's words were merely bravado. He wouldn't take them seriously.

However, what Yang Haoran did next caused his smile to freeze abruptly.

Suddenly, a ripple appeared in the space before Yang Haoran, and a square wooden box materialized out of thin air. The box opened on its own, revealing a thumb-sized black pill emitting pure and dense Yin Qi.

Seeing this black pill, the malevolent spirit's eyes widened in disbelief.

"This... this is a soul pill!"

Yang Haoran smiled and said, "Your eyesight is sharp indeed. This is indeed a soul pill. It's been with me for some time now, and I haven't found a reason to take it. But now, I have a reason that I cannot ignore."

When he became the Burial Master, Yang Haoran received three soul pills from the cloaked figure. One was used to pay the Night Watch under his command, and he hadn't used it up yet. The other two were carefully preserved by him.

He hadn't taken these two soul pills because he was somewhat reluctant. After all, soul pills were extremely precious to him, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Moreover, he wanted to keep them for emergencies. Perhaps they could save his life at a critical moment. So, he had kept these two soul pills safe.

There had been several occasions when he wanted to swallow these two soul pills to boost his strength. However, due to the aforementioned reasons, he restrained himself from acting on impulse.

At present, the malevolent spirit's strength was already surpassing his own by far. If he didn't use the soul pill under such circumstances, he, as the Burial Master, would be buried by ghosts, becoming a joke in the eyes of ghosts and a disgrace in the eyes of the Yin Division.

"Heh, Old Man, you don't know me. I'm very cautious and vigilant in everything I do. I'll stay here and confront you head-on. Without any preparation, I wouldn't take such risks," Yang Haoran said with a smile.

The malevolent spirit didn't respond. In this situation, he had no time to spare for a conversation. His soul body transformed into Yin Qi, rushing towards Yang Haoran at the fastest speed.

From his reaction, he seemed to want to snatch away the soul pill in front of Yang Haoran, or perhaps prevent Yang Haoran from consuming the soul pill!

Since Yang Haoran dared to take out the soul pill in front of him and even had the leisure to exchange words with him, how could he not be prepared?

The moment the malevolent spirit's soul body turned into Yin Qi and approached, Waning Moon inserted into the stone wall broke free and slashed towards the malevolent spirit.

At the same time, a barrier formed by Yin spirit power appeared in front of Yang Haoran, shielding him.

Facing the incoming Waning Moon, theoretically, the malevolent spirit should choose to evade, as being struck by a soul weapon would cause considerable harm. However, in the current situation, he had no intention of bothering with that. To save more time, he would rather suffer injuries to his soul body than waste time evading.

In the blink of an eye, Waning Moon struck the Yin Qi formed by the malevolent spirit. The Yin Qi split into two, with both masses maintaining their speed and converging once more on their way, albeit considerably dimmer than before.

In the next moment, the Yin Qi appeared in front of the barrier formed by Yin spirit power. Watching the Yin Qi formed by the malevolent spirit, Yang Haoran smiled, calmly picked up the soul pill, and then popped it into his mouth.

Boom!

The Yin Qi collided with the protective barrier. The barrier lasted only a moment before it couldn't withstand the terrifying force of the malevolent spirit and shattered!

However, even in the brief moment when the barrier blocked the malevolent spirit, Yang Haoran's body disappeared from the spot. As the malevolent spirit broke through the barrier, it found itself striking empty air!