Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 1656: Chapter 962: Heart Wood (Part 2)

After retreating some distance, Chen Nang immediately activated the ability of the Black Short Shirt, entering an invisible state.

On the other hand, Yang Xiao calmly injected his spiritual power into the Ghost Lantern, expanding the green light radius to about 4 or 5 meters, directly revealing Chen Nang who had circled halfway and was looking for an opportunity to attack.

At this moment, Chen Nang felt like a clown.

"Is it over just like this? Chen Nang, you’ve disappointed me too much; you’re not even qualified to follow me." Yang Xiao continued to exert pressure.

Chen Nang wasted no words, directly canceling his invisibility, and charged at Yang Xiao with his sword, clearly ready to fight to the death.

This was exactly what Yang Xiao wanted; he wanted to see where Chen Nang’s limits were.

Chen Nang’s sword moves were more than twice as fierce as before, evidently he had been holding back, but for Yang Xiao, who had the Ghost Lantern in hand, this wasn’t difficult. As long as he responded seriously, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Chen Nang had also wised up. He tried to divert Yang Xiao’s attention by attacking elsewhere, hoping to catch Yang Xiao off guard and seize the Ghost Lantern, turning the tide. However, he underestimated Yang Xiao’s cunning; Yang Xiao was using the Ghost Lantern as bait, and as soon as Chen Nang showed a flaw, Yang Xiao would strike him harshly with the back of his sword.

"Twenty-three moves, Chen Nang. If this is all there is, then our previous agreement is void, and you should just stay here to enjoy your twilight years." Yang Xiao easily parried Chen Nang’s sword edge, continuing to pressure him, "Remember, weakness is the original sin!"

Under Yang Xiao’s pressure, Chen Nang made frequent mistakes in his sword moves, which made Yang Xiao somewhat disappointed in him.

A true master must maintain absolute calm no matter how hazardous the environment is, which did not align with Chen Nang’s previously demonstrated ability to handle stress during missions.

After repelling Chen Nang with the last move, Yang Xiao put away his knife, sighing a bit disappointedly, "Twenty-nine moves, Chen Nang, this farce should end now."

Unexpectedly, the wild emotion on Chen Nang’s face quickly faded, replaced by a smile that Yang Xiao had warned him about before, "Yes, it should end. Chu Xi, you have lost."

Yang Xiao did not expect this little guy to have two faces, but clearly, the previous frenzy was feigned, just to make him lower his guard.

For the first time in front of Yang Xiao, Chen Nang straightened his back, his expression becoming increasingly inscrutable, "Chu Xi, to be honest, I’ve already planted a ’Heartwood seed’ in you. If I don’t help you resolve it, at most a quarter of an hour, it will sprout, and you’ll die, an ugly death at that. I think you understand what I mean; you must have learned about it before you came."

"Don’t count on anyone being able to save you; it’s too late. In the Nanzhe Province Public Office, there’s only one person I know who could do it, but considering that person’s status, he’s definitely not here right now. By the time he arrives, you would have died three times over."

"But don’t worry, considering our past relations, I won’t make things difficult for you. You let me out, and once I’m out, I’ll help you dissolve the ’Heartwood.’ From now on, we go our separate ways, how about it?" Chen Nang had put up with Yang Xiao for a long time, waiting for this moment.

In his view, since Yang Xiao was a person from the Patrol Defense Office, he must have a significant identity and status, and as long as he could leverage this, he could scramble for an escape.

As for what happens after escaping, he could no longer care; he just had to leave this ghost place, even if he would be shot to death outside, he’d take it.

Moreover, killing him wouldn’t be so simple now; with the Black Short Shirt, once he escapes, he’ll go invisible, and as long as he runs fast enough, even the Ghost Lantern wouldn’t be able to find him in time.

However, in the next second, Chen Nang was dumbfounded. Yang Xiao adjusted the Ghost Lantern’s green light to shine on his own chest. The green light, seemingly controlled by some force, penetrated Yang Xiao’s body, making his skin and flesh appear semi-transparent. In the rapidly beating heart, a gray shadow about the size of a bean grain was vaguely visible, indeed looking like a seed.

Chen Nang’s face became awkward, but he still threatened with a hardened heart, "How about it, I wasn’t lying to you, I’ve indeed planted a ’Heartwood’ in your heart, and it will soon take root and sprout; your time is running out!"

Yet Yang Xiao didn’t pay him any heed. After carefully feeling the thing, Yang Xiao continued to manipulate the Ghost Lantern, contracting the beam into a point. The next scene nearly made Chen Nang’s eyes fall out: the green light converged onto the seed, and the Heartwood seed actually melted and disappeared completely in just a few seconds.

This wasn’t an illusion technique; after all, the Heartwood seed had a connection with Chen Nang, and it had indeed been dissolved by a Ghost-level Apostle with spiritual power similar to his.

At this moment, Chen Nang felt shattered, his body and his resolve breaking together.

"How... how is it possible?" Chen Nang’s mind was blank; he didn’t know what went wrong, but something definitely had. It was like a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from!

"Final move." After saying this, Yang Xiao’s body instantly vanished; the next second, he appeared behind Chen Nang, grabbing his head with one hand.

"Given you a chance, but you’re useless... you’re useless..." Yang Xiao shook Chen Nang’s head forcefully, while Chen Nang knelt on the ground, his resolve shattered, on the verge of tears.

Years of self-respect and confidence crumbled at that moment. He once thought he was a genius, believing that he could make a name for himself once he escaped this prison, but now his resolve was utterly shattered by Yang Xiao, leaving him broken. If the outside world was filled with people like Yang Xiao, why even bother escaping? He might as well stay here and serve his time peacefully; at least he’d have fast food from Kengide on Thursdays.

Seeing that the lesson was nearly enough, Yang Xiao let go, aware that he had subdued Chen Nang, but moderation was key.

Despite his verbal pressure on Chen Nang, he was actually quite satisfied with him. At least until Chen Nang proactively informed him about the Heartwood, he had absolutely no awareness of it. Admittedly, the thing was indeed formidable.

But as the Heartwood started to take root and sprout, Yang Xiao could sense it, meaning as long as he held the Ghost Lantern, any attempt Chen Nang made to kill him with this technique was sheer fantasy.

However, Yang Xiao also admitted he had a significant advantage over Chen Nang, using one Ghost Lantern to suppress three of his artifacts, pushing him to the brink. This wasn’t because of his own ability; it was purely due to his good elder sister’s discerning eye, who gifted both the Hundred Demons Coffin Clothes and the Ghost Lantern as a buy-one-get-one.

Even with ten plus artifacts now combined on him and the Mirror Ghost, he still had to concede that his best items were gifted by his dear sister, whose appraisal value kept rising.

Looking at the defeated person in front of him, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but sigh; the earlier intel was wrong, and this guy’s curse conditions were not as demanding as he’d known; he could curse kill face to face.

And the methods were extremely mysterious; even while combating him, he was guarded, but still couldn’t sense exactly when Chen Nang made his move.

He suspected it was during the latter half when Chen Nang feigned madness. At that time, Chen Nang stopped using Illusion Sword or the Black Short Shirt’s abilities, not because he didn’t want to use them, but because he couldn’t conveniently use them, as he needed to focus his spiritual power to curse Yang Xiao.

Through the exchange, Yang Xiao had almost figured out Chen Nang’s methods. This person was indeed talented, and once fully recovered, should have no match among the same level of Apostles.

After all, not many Ghost-level Apostles possessed a dispelling magic tool, which was rarer than a space-type magical artifact. Thus far, Yang Xiao had only seen two of them.

One was his Ghost Lantern, and the other one, owned by his Second Demon Uncle, was the Soul Suppressing Bell.

Back in Xiang Ma Town, when he conflicted with the Ghost Slave leader, he nearly called out the White-robed Great Bodhisattva in a panic. But before it appeared, he was forcefully dispelled by the bell sound, making his head buzz and his soul feel like it would fly away.

"Hey, pack up your stuff. I’ll be waiting outside in ten minutes." Yang Xiao said as he stored away the artifacts, preparing to leave.

Upon hearing this, the previously broken Chen Nang’s head jerked up, his bloodshot eyes filled with disbelief, "You’re... you’re letting me go?" freёwebnoѵel.com

"You’re mediocre at best, but you helped me in the mission, and I appreciate it. Chen Nang, you will work for me once we’re out, am I right?" Yang Xiao asked.

"Yes!" Chen Nang nodded heavily, "Chu Xi, I won’t forget your help today! I, Chen Nang, will surely repay you!"