Slaying

"When the Spirit Bolt Technique hit the ghostfire shield, it consumed far too little yin energy from the shield. Judging by the ghostfire shield's current state, it would take at least seven Spirit Bolt Techniques to break it. But my spiritual power is only enough for three Spirit Bolt Techniques!"

"Could it be that I really have no choice but to give up on this Special Yin Soul?"

Hu Donghan frowned, glanced at the Special Yin Soul that was steadily closing in again, struggled inwardly, and fired another Spirit Bolt Technique behind him, temporarily halting the Special Yin Soul's advance.

"I only have enough spiritual power left for two Spirit Bolt Techniques. Should I take the risk and try close combat?"

The thought had barely surfaced before Hu Donghan himself pressed it down—

"I'm not backed into a corner. Why should I take such a risk? If I can truly kill this Special Yin Soul, that would naturally be best. But if I can't, there's no need to put myself in danger."

Hu Donghan had always been a cautious man. When he acted, he had never harbored any reckless impulse.

A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall; after all, a person only had one life. No matter what one encountered, preserving one's life was the most important thing. How to secure greater benefits while guaranteeing his absolute safety—that was Hu Donghan's pursuit! Among cultivators, those who risked their lives for profit had the highest death rate. Looking across the entire Yin Soul Sect, of those ancestors who had cultivated steadily to the Golden Core and Nascent Soul realms, only a tiny number had truly fought and killed their way up step by step.

As far as Hu Donghan knew, quite a few sect cultivators had been killed or injured while carrying out sect missions.

And the reason for those deaths and injuries was nothing more than their choosing missions far beyond their own abilities.

"Forget it! Forget it! It simply isn't worth risking my life for this. Even if I have a jade talisman for calling for help, using it would cost five hundred Spirit Stones. Even if I kill this Yin Soul, the most likely reward would only be a Mortal Ghost, worth no more than thirty Spirit Stones... The Yin Souls and ghost creatures in Lonely Soul Ridge are indeed growing stronger and stronger. It's no longer suitable for me to stay here..."

As Hu Donghan's thoughts turned, he had already made his decision.

He sent out another Spirit Bolt Technique, temporarily blocking the Special Yin Soul behind him once more.

Then Hu Donghan suddenly exerted himself. After several swift shifts of position, he was already standing before the bone horse.

Just as he was about to mount it, the sight of the bone horse's enormous skeleton suddenly sparked an idea in Hu Donghan's mind—

"Wait! Earlier, I only thought of riding the bone horse to escape, or using it to hold back this Yin Soul. I never considered that, if I used this bone horse properly, it could block one attack from the Special Yin Soul!"

"Though the bone horse is timid and will flee at the slightest attack, its strength is there for all to see. Even if it takes one hit, it won't die immediately. Once the Yin Soul attacks, its control over the ghostfire shield will weaken accordingly. If I seize that opportunity, I might be able to kill it in one strike!"

"Whether this plan succeeds or fails, at worst I'll only scare off a bone horse. As for me, with the Spirit Shield Technique protecting me, even without the bone horse, I'll only have to take a few more detours. I can always escape."

Hu Donghan immediately ran through the scenario in his mind. After calculating it several times, even in the worst-case outcome, the bone horse would merely be smashed into scattered bones.

"This plan will work!"

Hu Donghan looked at the pursuing Special Yin Soul behind him. With a flicker of his body, he had already swung himself onto the horse.

At present, the Special Yin Soul still regarded Hu Donghan as its target. If he wanted the bone horse to serve as his shield, the only way was to suddenly dodge just as the Special Yin Soul drew close enough to attack.

Although Hu Donghan had mounted the bone horse, he did not urge it onward. Instead, he quietly waited for the Yin Soul to approach. In Hu Donghan's hand, a Spirit Bolt Technique had already been silently formed and held before him, awaiting the right moment.

Seeing that its prey had stopped, the Special Yin Soul let out a shrill howl. Then a huge mouth abruptly appeared in the air and lunged toward Hu Donghan to devour him!

"Now!"

As Hu Donghan watched that enormous mouth fly toward him, his body moved. He dismounted from the other side, while his eyes locked onto the gap not protected by the Special Yin Soul's ghostfire shield. The Spirit Bolt Technique shot forth!

After Hu Donghan dodged aside, the huge mouth in the air indeed did not change direction to follow him. Instead, it bit directly into the bone horse's skeletal body. Hu Donghan, meanwhile, safely hid on the bone horse's other side and suffered no harm at all.

At the same time, Hu Donghan's final, suddenly unleashed Spirit Bolt Technique slipped wonderfully past the ghostfire shield and struck the Yin Soul directly. As the Spirit Bolt Technique neared, the Special Yin Soul had tried to control the ghostfire shield to block it as well. But attacking and defending at once split its attention; its strength fell short, and though the difference was only a hair's breadth, it failed to block the attack.

"Hiss hiss hiss hiss..."

"Bang..."

Two sounds rang out in succession.

The hissing cry came from the injured and frightened bone horse. The following "bang" was the sound of the Yin Soul's Soul Body being directly struck, bursting apart and dissipating. And after that bang, at the spot where the Yin Soul had died, a spirit entity glowing faintly white appeared!

"It's a Ghost Wraith!"

Hu Donghan had long been watching the area around the Special Yin Soul. The instant that spirit entity appeared, his fingers swiftly formed two hand seals, and he collected the Ghost Wraith into the Soul Ring in his hand.

Afterward, Hu Donghan swiftly ran after the bone horse fleeing into the distance. With what little spiritual power remained in his body, he accelerated several times and finally caught up with it. He vaulted onto its back and poured spiritual power into its skeleton, trying to soothe it—

If this bone horse simply ran off, Hu Donghan would not suffer any real loss, but he would be left without a means of transportation.

Therefore, if the bone horse could stay, that would naturally be for the best.

Although Hu Donghan continued soothing it, the bone horse had clearly been badly frightened. It ran for another two li or so before its speed finally slowed, and at last it stopped.

Once the bone horse stopped, Hu Donghan also let out a sigh of relief.

After soothing the bone horse for a while longer, Hu Donghan realized that, without noticing, the horse had carried him into the inner region of Lonely Soul Ridge. The number of Yin Souls and ghost creatures in Lonely Soul Ridge's inner region was far greater than at the outskirts, and they were much stronger as well. Within a hundred meters of Hu Donghan, he could see four or five Yin Souls wandering back and forth. In Hu Donghan's current state, if those Yin Souls surrounded him, he would undoubtedly die without any chance of survival!

"No matter what, I should leave this place first. The inner region of Lonely Soul Ridge is simply too dangerous."

Thinking this, Hu Donghan identified the direction and lightly urged the bone horse toward the outskirts.

(End of Chapter)