Realm of the Night God

Yang Haoran paid no heed to the malevolent spirit's struggles, nor did he pay attention to its roars. He seized the Yin Qi formed by the malevolent spirit's soul body, like a hunter capturing a small beast, and forcefully stuffed it into the soul gathering bead.

As he gazed at the soul gathering bead before him, the malevolent spirit transformed within, its face contorted into a ghastly visage, roaring ferociously at Yang Haoran.

This soul gathering bead had been sealed by Yang Haoran; the sound within could not escape, nor could any external sounds penetrate it.

Thus, Yang Haoran couldn't hear the malevolent spirit's howls at this moment. However, judging from its mouth movements, it was certainly not speaking words of endearment or affection.

But it didn't matter. The more vehemently the spirit cursed now, the harsher its actions would be later, perhaps without a shred of remorse.

From what he saw through his ghost eye, this malevolent spirit wasn't naturally formed. It hadn't suffered much injustice in life, not even becoming an evil spirit after death; it was merely a common undead.

Yang Haoran couldn't see what happened after death with his ghost eye, but for an undead to gradually become a malevolent spirit, it must have consumed numerous ghosts. Of course, there might have been other opportunities along the way.

"The journey from an undead to a malevolent spirit, sealed for who knows how many years, yet still so formidable, truly an inspiring tale."

Yang Haoran smiled with a sense of wonder on his face. Then he freed himself from the stone wall, landing on the ground.

The soul gathering bead rapidly shrank and re-embedded itself into the ring. The soul weapon inserted into the ground nearby responded to Yang Haoran's summons, returning to his side.

Cough!

A violent cough erupted, and Yang Haoran spat out blood once again. Since becoming a Burial Master, he had never suffered such severe injuries before, a first for him.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with a smile, Yang Haoran couldn't help but sigh softly, "The first time always leaves a lasting impression. I've given you my first, and you'll surely repay me with your soul flying away in return."

With those words, Yang Haoran glanced towards the location where the formation master had been. Then, step by step, he walked over.

The formation had been destroyed, the formation master's remains turned to dust. As for the formation master's soul, Yang Haoran felt no trace of it.

The formation master had sealed the malevolent spirit here, but he had also sealed himself within the formation. As to why he did so, where his soul had gone—whether devoured by the malevolent spirit or used as a sacrifice for the formation, or for other reasons—none of it seemed important to Yang Haoran anymore.

He didn't bother delving into the origins of the great battle between the two sides. His purpose in heading towards where the formation master had been was simply to see if there might be any discoveries.

If he could find any relics left by the formation master, then his trip would yield unexpected gains.

Previously, due to the presence of the malevolent spirit, he hadn't had the chance to check if the formation master had left behind any relics. Now that the malevolent spirit had been dealt with and sealed within the soul gathering bead, he naturally had the time to investigate.

Imagination was delightful, reality was cruel. After a careful inspection, Yang Haoran found nothing. To avoid overlooking anything, he even dug up the ground beneath the formation master's remains, yet still found nothing.

With no other choice, he had to give up. After burying the dust of the formation master's remains, he dispelled the idea of trying to make another fortune.

The soul pill within his body continued to release a massive amount of pure Yin Qi, while his Yin spirit power continued to grow crazily. In such a situation, Yang Haoran decided it was time to leave this place.

Although he hadn't gained any additional rewards and had also suffered considerable injuries, his purpose for this trip had been achieved. Yang Haoran was quite satisfied, and it was time to depart.

The decision to leave now was because he needed to heal, and his soul pill needed refinement.

Even if he didn't deliberately refine the soul pill within his body, the pure Yin Qi released by it would still be absorbed by his body. However, deliberate refinement would accelerate the release of pure Yin Qi and the body's absorption rate.

Both tasks could be done here, but Yang Haoran chose to leave because his skirmish with the malevolent spirit had caused quite a commotion. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he decided it was best to depart from this place first.

However, just as he was about to leave, his expression suddenly changed slightly, and his gaze shifted towards the sky above.

The space above was vast, but it was empty, devoid of anything. However, from Yang Haoran's expression, it seemed he sensed something.

"So much heavy Demonic Qi! Could the commotion from earlier have actually attracted a demon?"

With this thought in mind, Yang Haoran furrowed his brow slightly. Then, a crack appeared in the space before him, and he decided to immediately leave through the space rift.

With injuries on his body, he had no intention of confronting the incoming entity head-on. If the newcomer was just a minor demon, it would be fine, but if it was a great demon, things would become troublesome.

It wasn't fear that drove him, but rather a sense of unnecessary risk. He simply didn't want to stir up trouble at this moment; he just wanted to leave.

Yang Haoran had just torn open the space, yet before he could step into the rift, a loud noise resounded from above. Immediately after, a large hole was torn open in the top of the ancient tomb, and a large number of rocks came crashing down.

Seeing this scene, Yang Haoran didn't hesitate at all. Subconsciously, he stepped into the space rift before him.

The space rift healed, and Yang Haoran disappeared completely.

Meanwhile, rocks of various sizes continued to thunder down. Amidst the rubble, there was also a white snake as thick as a water bucket!

The white snake crashed onto the ground, stirring up a lot of dust. As the rubble fell, some landed on the ground while others struck the white snake's body.

The white snake emitted a painful hiss, blood flowing from its mouth and nose. Its snake body bore numerous wounds of varying depths, all bleeding profusely.

This white snake was none other than Bai Xue, the serpent demon who had left earlier!

As Bai Xue looked at where Yang Haoran had disappeared, a deep sadness and disappointment filled her eyes. When she fell from the sky amidst the rubble, she witnessed Yang Haoran stepping into the space rift and disappearing.

"He... he finally left." A weak voice emanated from Bai Xue's mouth. As she spoke, she spat out another mouthful of blood, her snake body writhing in pain amidst the rubble.

The cold moonlight fell upon Bai Xue's heavily scarred body, rendering her a picture of indescribable misery.

At the same time, a figure descended from the sky and landed in front of Bai Xue.

This person was quite sloppy, with unkempt hair, stubble covering his face, and a coat that seemed like it hadn't been washed in ages, emitting a strong odor of alcohol.

This person was none other than the sloppy man who had been searching for Bai Xue in Shilin Town today!

The sloppy man had initially thought he would come up empty-handed today, but he hadn't expected to sense Demonic Qi in the evening.

At that time, Bai Xue had wanted to leave the Lecheng area as soon as possible, so she had used her demonic spiritual power. However, when she released her demonic spiritual power, the sloppy man sensed it.

The sloppy man caught up with her, and the two engaged in a fierce battle. However, with Bai Xue's strength not yet fully recovered, she was no match for the sloppy man.

Although Bai Xue was losing, she didn't want to die at the hands of the sloppy man. She had just gained her freedom, and there were still many unknowns in this world waiting for her to explore. She wanted to live.

So, she thought of Yang Haoran. She knew that only Yang Haoran could save her life at that moment. Thus, she used all her abilities to fend off the sloppy man's attacks while retreating towards the direction of the ancient tomb.

Having narrowly escaped death to arrive here, Bai Xue sensed the power fluctuations and intense Yin Qi emanating from beneath the stone forest. But before she could even relax, she suffered a fierce blow from the sloppy man.

Her body was struck, and the powerful force caused her to smash a large hole in the ground, her body falling down amidst the rubble towards the bottom of the ancient tomb.

However, what she didn't expect was that while she had guessed the beginning, she hadn't anticipated the end. Yang Haoran indeed was still within the ancient tomb, but as her body plummeted from high above, she witnessed Yang Haoran's departure with her own eyes.

In that instant, Bai Xue's heart shattered. She felt an unprecedented sense of helplessness and despair.