Chapter 589 - 341: Run
In that moment, all eyes turned to Yang An as he emerged from Earth Demon Cliff.
Heart and the others, captured by Xuan You, had low Cultivation Levels, so they were unable to perceive what realm Yang An’s Cultivation Level had now reached.
But it was obvious. Xuan You was a cultivator of the Insect Dao, while Yang An had only been a Zombie God. Only a single hour had passed; how much could he have possibly improved in such a short time?
’He probably had no other choice but to show himself, intending to sacrifice himself to save us.’
’Of course, that was all assuming Xuan You would willingly let them go.’
’Before this, Xuan You had only said he would kill them to force Yang An out. He never said he would release them if Yang An appeared.’
At this thought, the captives’ hearts grew heavy with complex emotions, and they teetered on the brink of despair.
’It seemed the final outcome would be just as the Workshop Master had said: as long as their souls remained intact, they could, at worst, simply start over.’
’They had done everything in their power to stall for time, and Yang An, by appearing and not abandoning them, had also done all he could. The only problem was that the gap in their respective strengths was simply too great.’
"You’ve finally come out! I was starting to think you’d hide in there for the rest of your life.
Now, beg me. Who knows? If I’m pleased, I might just let them go."
A sinister smile spread across Xuan You’s face. In truth, if Yang An had really remained hidden inside, ignoring the lives of the people in his hands, Xuan You would have been powerless to do anything to him.
’But since he dared to come out, he should be prepared to die.’
He already saw Yang An as a man who had come out seeking death, and he was waiting for him to open his mouth and beg for the lives of these people.
’If it wasn’t for these people, why else would he have come out?’
’He’d never said he’d let them go if Yang An showed up, though. After he killed Yang An, these people would have lost their purpose, so he’d just dispose of them as well.’
’He had no interest in dragging a few mangled corpses back to the Central Sect; the Sect Leader only wanted a result, after all.’
But to everyone’s surprise, Yang An did not do as Xuan You wished. Instead, he gave a faint, knowing smile.
"Someone recently fought a great battle with the Death Lord. The result? He was beaten so badly his own mother wouldn’t recognize him and even had to abandon one of his pet monsters..."
BOOM—
An aura erupted from Xuan You. Heart and the others, imprisoned in branches beside him, bore the brunt of it. In the face of this aura, their very flesh and blood began to tremble and contort as if unable to bear the strain.
But Yang An wasn’t finished.
As he said this, a strange look appeared in his eyes, which grew brighter with excitement.
"In other words, you’re weaker now than you were before?"
Yang An had been secretly observing the battle between Xuan You and Huan from within Earth Demon Cliff.
When Xuan You was ultimately killed by Huan, he had used that skeleton to resurrect. The skeleton’s aura had then vanished completely, leading Yang An to conclude that Xuan You had sacrificed one of his monsters to revive himself.
This was the best possible news for him, but at the same time, he had gleaned an incredibly important piece of information from it.
As long as those monsters under Xuan You’s command were not all dead, he still had a chance to resurrect.
’But losing one of his monsters would certainly impact Xuan You’s strength. He has to be weaker now than he was before.’
’Needless to say, the loss of that skeleton’s bizarre power-weakening ability was definitely a major blow to Xuan You’s strength.’
’Without that ability, what will you use to stop me?’
The sinister smile on Xuan You’s face twisted into a cold sneer.
’What arrogance!’
’Yang An was right, of course. After losing the Four Earth Disaster Bones, his strength was indeed diminished, and he had even lost some of his abilities. But those were not words that should be coming from the mouth of a mere Zombie God.’
’Even if he was weaker than before, he was still a master of the Insect Dao.’
’He would make this upstart truly understand the consequences of spouting such arrogance in the presence of one who follows the Insect Dao!’
BOOM!
Xuan You’s aura erupted in full. The powerful shockwave instantly sent the bound Heart and the others flying, slamming them so hard their bodies were embedded deep within the mountain rock.
Xuan You had no intention of killing them yet, just in case Yang An was overwhelmed and tried to flee back into Earth Demon Cliff.
’Until Yang An was dead, these people were still useful.’
In the blink of an eye, Xuan You’s figure appeared before Yang An, his hand shooting out to grab him.
With the speed granted by the Insect Dao, his movement should have been too fast for a Zombie God to even react. This time, Xuan You held nothing back, determined to kill Yang An with the greatest possible speed.
But just as his hand was about to touch Yang An, his opponent’s form erupted in a flash of brilliant light and instantly vanished.
Xuan You grabbed nothing but air; Yang An had dodged him with surprising ease.
A sharp CRACK echoed as Xuan You’s grip crushed the very air. When he turned, Yang An had already reappeared several hundred meters away in another direction.
’He’s so much faster than before!’
Xuan You frowned slightly. He keenly sensed a massive change in Yang An’s speed. In the instant he vanished, even Xuan You hadn’t been able to react, only realizing what happened when his hand grasped nothing.
’Could the leap from the Middle Stage of Zombie God to the Late Stage of Zombie God really be this dramatic?’
"You really have gotten weaker!"
In stark contrast, Yang An was watching him, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk.
His speed had indeed increased. Thanks to the boost his higher Cultivation Level provided to his Dao of Destiny Technique, the teleportation speed of his Light and Shadow Escape Technique was much faster now.
Now, he only needed a single thought to activate the Escape Technique, allowing him to travel several thousand meters in an instant. His speed was at least three times what it was before; even a cultivator of the Insect Dao at Xuan You’s level would be hard-pressed to even touch him.