The Demon with Holy Radiance

These were all just unfused Forbidden Artifact Fragments. They were all Middle Grade, and there was even one extremely rare Upper Grade Forbidden Artifact Fragment among them.

But Hai Yun remained utterly dismissive.

Although unfused Forbidden Artifact Fragments could be forcefully controlled, the Power of Rules they could unleash was a far cry from their full potential after fusion.

Even if Yang An had already fused with the fragments, Hai Yun wouldn’t have been afraid in the slightest—let alone when they were in this state.

The Power of Rules wielded by a complete Forbidden Artifact was worlds apart from that of a mere fragment.

Yang An had naturally realized this as well, but if he didn’t do this, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

The Zombie God he had faced outside was nothing compared to Hai Yun, a master of the Insect Dao.

’To kill him, I have to use any means necessary, no matter the cost.’

As for why he revealed these Forbidden Artifact Fragments in front of Hai Yun, it was his only option.

’Energy Barrier!’

He poured a stream of Mana into one of the fragments.

Almost instantly, a figure abruptly appeared behind Hai Yun.

It was a figure that both Hai Yun and Yang An knew all too well.

It was Hai Shu!

Hai Shu sat quietly upon a golden Lotus Platform, pointing a single, gentle finger at Hai Yun.

The Power of Rules of the Energy Barrier could manifest whatever a living being found most unbelievable.

In other words, it could also be what they feared most.

Yang An was stunned that the Power of Rules had manifested Hai Shu, and Hai Yun was taken aback as well.

But in the blink of an eye, Hai Yun made no move to evade, allowing Hai Shu’s finger to press against him and sink into his body.

Hai Yun’s body trembled. A trace of crimson appeared in his once pitch-black eyes, and a crazed smile spread across his face.

"So it’s you, Senior Brother!"

He struck Hai Shu with a backhanded palm. The manifestation, created by the Power of Rules, froze on the spot before being torn to shreds and bursting apart under Hai Yun’s frenzied assault.

Hai Yun watched the blood on his hand gradually fade, looking unsatisfied.

"Too weak. My Senior Brother was never this weak."

He turned to look at Yang An.

"One."

To his surprise, the manifested Hai Shu had only made Hai Yun more excited, and he had destroyed it with a casual wave of his hand.

’Night Fang!’

Yang An charged at Hai Yun. He instantly activated a Power of Rules, drawing countless threads of blood from his own body that instantly enveloped Hai Yun.

As Yang An’s palm struck Hai Yun, the blood threads instantly tightened.

Hai Yun’s once-sturdy frame began to collapse in the blink of an eye, the speed of its compression increasing with every one of Yang An’s strikes.

In less than two breaths, Hai Yun had collapsed amidst the countless blood threads into a bead the size of a date pit.

Yang An clenched his fist around the bead as his body once again erupted in brilliant light, instantly crushing and dissolving it.

Hai Yun’s presence vanished. He had been killed once more.

But the sense of danger in Yang An’s heart did not fade. He knew he had failed. Even the Power of Rules that could forcibly crush a living being was useless.

Just an instant later, an invisible ripple spread out, and Hai Yun’s figure condensed once more behind Yang An, a cold sneer on his face.

Why had he suddenly dropped all defenses and given Yang An three chances? He wanted to see the look on Yang An’s face.

The look of growing despair from wanting to kill him but being utterly powerless—that was the true psychological assault.

It was like watching someone, unable to resist, walk slowly into an abyss, only to be devoured by it.

Yang An had now reached that critical point. One more step, and he would fall into the abyss.

And Hai Yun *was* the abyss.

VMMMM—

The surrounding space began to tremble violently. In the blink of an eye, an area several thousand meters wide was sealed off by an invisible Power of Rules. A dense torrent of Buddhist Mantras rained down from the sky, shrouding the entire space.

Phantoms of Buddhist Mantras appeared from all directions, falling upon Yang An like chains. They linked to him, forming a layer of Armor woven from the mantras themselves.

This was an Upper Grade Forbidden Artifact Fragment named Life Rejuvenation Spell, obtained after he killed Hai Shu’s doppelgänger.

This was his last hope.

Using three unfused, unpurified Forbidden Artifact Fragments in a row had not only drained a portion of his lifespan, but their backlash was also beginning to take effect.

Yang An could already feel a chaotic disconnect from the space around him, as if he had been cast out of it. Yet a powerful, distorting force pressed down on him, relentlessly ravaging his mind and body.

As time went on, the backlash would only grow more severe.

But he couldn’t worry about that now.

Even covered in Buddhist Mantras, his body could not contain the light radiating from within. The air crackled, and Yang An charged toward Hai Yun once more.

But just as he was about to reach Hai Yun, another invisible ripple spread out, abruptly freezing him in place.

"Life Rejuvenation Spell. I know it. That is a Power of Rules my Senior Brother Hai Shu once used. Since you have that Forbidden Artifact Fragment, how can you still claim you aren’t the Buddha’s Son?"

"The Life Rejuvenation Spell is useless against me. It seems you won’t be able to kill me with your third chance, either. Why don’t I just send you on your way to the afterlife ahead of schedule?"

A look of disappointment crossed Hai Yun’s face, but beneath it, he felt a growing excitement.

This was his goal. To truly kill someone, you had to not only destroy their physical body but also extinguish their very soul.