Realm of the Night God

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Duda had been gone for quite some time, and it wasn't until then that Yang Haoran snapped out of his daze. His face, once relaxed with a carefree smile, now bore a grim expression.

His earlier laughter stemmed firstly from a resolve to face death, then from coping with Duda. Now, despite not meeting his demise and with Duda's departure, laughter eluded him completely.

Though he had survived tonight, it was only temporary. If this matter wasn't handled well, he only had a month left to live in this lifetime.

As for the next life, those whose souls scattered in death had no qualification to speak of it.

"That old coot's heart is truly venomous. How hasn't such a calamity been struck down by lightning yet? He not only survives but thrives, truly a thousand-year-old curse."

Rubbing his temples, feeling neither pain nor relief, Yang Haoran couldn't help but shake his head, sighing deeply.

"Alas, possessing powers beyond those of an ordinary person. While it may lead to a more exhilarating life than that of an ordinary person, it also brings greater danger. An ordinary person, as long as they're not terribly unlucky, even if they lose their life, at least their soul remains, able to reincarnate. But as for us, we might end up with nothing but scattered souls."

As he sighed inwardly, the phone on the bed began to ring in an odd tone. Listening to the strange ringtone, Yang Haoran managed a bitter smile.

Since matters had progressed to this point, the next step was to figure out a solution. Regardless of success, one had to exert their utmost effort to change the situation, rather than lamenting or complaining.

Because lamenting and complaining not only fail to solve the problem but also lead to greater distress, possibly even depression.

Standing up from the floor, Yang Haoran walked towards the bedside. The room was small, and he reached the bed in just a couple of steps.

The Death God pendant imbued with power by Deng Feng had returned to its normal state, lying quietly on the bed without a stir, only the mobile phone ringing incessantly.

Yang Haoran picked up the mobile phone and glanced at the caller ID. Surprisingly, it was Master Jiang calling.

Without hesitation, Yang Haoran quickly answered the call.

"Hello, Master Jiang..."

Though Yang Haoran tried to keep his voice calm, it still sounded weary.

He had barely started speaking when Master Jiang interrupted him.

"Xiao Yang, as long as you're safe, that's good. Something big has happened, hurry back to the temple!"

Master Jiang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing Yang Haoran's voice, but then his tone became extremely urgent, tinged with weakness, even more so than Yang Haoran. It seemed he had suffered serious injuries.

Hearing Master Jiang's weakened voice, Yang Haoran also breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless, the fact that Master Jiang was still alive was good news for Yang Haoran.

And perhaps Master Jiang, upon hearing Yang Haoran's voice, harbored similar thoughts.

Without offering further explanation to Yang Haoran, Master Jiang hung up the phone. Yang Haoran could still hear Deng Feng's angry scolding from the other end.

Though this scolding wasn't directed at Yang Haoran, it indicated Deng Feng, the Burial Master's, extremely bad mood at the moment.

Ending the call, Yang Haoran knew without a doubt that their losses in the Night Watch tonight must have been severe. Otherwise, Deng Feng wouldn't be this furious. Even on Yang Haoran's end of the call, Deng Feng's angry voice could be heard.

At this moment, Yang Haoran felt he had underestimated Duda, the old man. Despite being with him all night, it seemed he had still inflicted significant losses upon their Night Watch.

If he were to appear, wouldn't their Night Watch be completely wiped out?

Thinking of this, and of the soul scattering needle inside him, Yang Haoran took all three items on the bed and left the grocery store, heading towards South Lake Death God Temple, lost in thought along the way.

Throughout the journey, he pondered one question incessantly: was the soul scattering needle inside him truly as inaccessible to others as Duda, that old coot, claimed?

For Duda to plan for over a decade, sacrificing even his own disciples as bait to deal with Lecheng, the Underworld Envoy, and Deng Feng... whatever his motives, it was certain that Duda held a great fear of Deng Feng.

This fear didn't stem from Deng Feng's identity as the Burial Master; once one became a spirit master, they should be prepared to oppose the Yin Division, willing to stand against it entirely. How could they care about the identity of a Burial Master?

What he feared was Deng Feng's strength!

This question was rather easy to comprehend. If Duda didn't fear Deng Feng's strength, why go through such elaborate schemes? Why plan for over a decade when he could simply kill Deng Feng outright?

Since he didn't do that and resorted to so many schemes, it was highly likely that Duda feared Deng Feng's strength.

He demanded that Yang Haoran lure Deng Feng into the Ghost Tower and insisted that Deng Feng must fight with the individual inside the tower. Besides revealing Duda's desire to reap the benefits of this situation, it also showed his intention to eliminate the figure inside the tower. This figure seemed to be highly feared, hence Duda's elaborate scheme!

However, there was still one thing Yang Haoran couldn't understand: what exactly was Duda's purpose in doing all this? Was it for revenge, or was it to gain something, or perhaps both?

Lost in these thoughts, Yang Haoran arrived at South Lake Death God Temple without realizing it. He left his car on the side and hurried towards the temple...

The temple was eerily quiet, except for the fact that the main gate remained open, everything else seemed unchanged, as was typical for Death God Temple after midnight.

Without pausing, Yang Haoran ran towards the secluded cottage inside the temple, then entered the main hall through the stone wall.

Upon entering the hall, he caught a whiff of faint blood. Soon, two bodies, their flesh mangled beyond recognition, came into Yang Haoran's view.

Due to severe facial damage, Yang Haoran couldn't immediately identify the two individuals. However, both were dressed in the unique black robes of the Death God Temple.

A glance around the room revealed that two Night Watch members were missing. From this, it was evident that the two unrecognizable bodies on the ground were the missing members.

Two more deaths in such a short time!

Apart from the deceased, every other Night Watch member present bore injuries, especially Master Jiang, who was most severely injured.

In comparison, Yang Haoran seemed the cleanest among them all. He was neatly dressed, with no wounds except for some residual blood on his face and redness in his eyes.

The redness in his eyes and the bloodstains were remnants of forcefully activating the ghost eye during his earlier entrapment in the illusion.

As for Duda's guardian yin spirit devouring his entire head and tearing at his neck, that was merely an illusion. Hence, it was normal for him to have no wounds.

At this moment, standing among all the Night Watch members, Yang Haoran appeared out of place. However, who could know that, except for the two corpses on the ground, he was the most pitiful among all the Night Watch members!

Approaching Master Jiang, Yang Haoran asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

Though he had a rough idea in mind, a guess was still just a guess, not necessarily the truth, hence his inquiry.

With a weak expression, Master Jiang explained, "They both belong to the same temple. Tonight, they left the gathering and were ambushed by evil spirits. Those trapped in the illusion mistook their companions for enemies, leading to the current situation."

"And how did you get injured? What about their injuries?" Yang Haoran continued.

"After falling into the illusion, they immediately sent out a distress signal through the Death God pendant. Upon learning of the situation, I immediately led my temple priests towards the location indicated by the pendant's signal. Since the other Night Watch members hadn't gone far at that time, we met up along the way. Little did we know, the other side had already anticipated our route and laid an ambush early on. Our rescue attempt...

also failed, and we were also trapped in the illusion," Master Jiang explained.

"Then the injuries you sustained and those on the other Night Watch members were caused by others?" Yang Haoran asked.

Master Jiang nodded, then continued, "I was the first to realize something was wrong and knew we were trapped in an evil spirit's illusion. So, I refrained from attacking and only focused on defense. Even so, I almost died in the illusion. When dealing with entities like evil spirits, especially powerful ones, the fewer people, the better. Having more people will only hasten your demise!"

Yang Haoran furrowed his brow slightly. From Master Jiang's words, it seemed that Duda had employed two additional evil spirits tonight to deal with the other Night Watch members. Including the crack-mouthed female ghost that appeared in the grocery store, Duda had three evil spirits under his command. And these three evil spirits weren't ordinary; they were all exceptionally powerful.

The evil spirit that trapped Master Jiang and the others must undoubtedly be formidable. Otherwise, how could they trap so many people and cause them all harm? Master Jiang had almost been killed, which wouldn't have been possible without formidable strength.

As for the evil spirits that killed the two Night Watch members, it went without saying—they could make two seasoned Night Watch members turn on each other to death in such a short time. Without absolute strength, such a feat would have been impossible.

And as for the crack-mouthed female Yang Haoran faced, only Duda knew her identity. If Duda hadn't restrained her from killing him, there would now be three corpses lying here instead of two.

[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! BokuBoku]