Chapter 114: Defeating Tang Hao, Threats, Transactions, and Promises

"Sixth Spirit Skill: Ice Prison!"

"Clear Sky Nine Absolutes—Quake Absolute!"

Lan Xue's Ice Prison was unleashed, a wide-range control spirit skill; anyone hit would be instantly ice-sealed, though for those whose overall strength exceeded her own, the control effect would be significantly weakened.

If the opponent possessed skills that countered control spirit skills, the effect would be even worse.

Unfortunately, the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes was a special hammer technique containing various methods of exerting force; Tang Hao had studied this hammer technique for many years and had long since reached the point where he did not need the Clear Sky Hammer, as he could exert force from every part of his body.

At this moment, both of them had already activated their Avatar of the Martial Soul; Tang Hao and the Clear Sky Hammer had nearly merged into one, making the power of the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes several times stronger.

Seeing his muscles vibrate, he shook off all of Lan Xue's cold ice.

Unable to use Extreme Ice, she simply could not seal Tang Hao's movements.

"Clear Sky Nine Absolutes—Pierce Absolute!" Tang Hao, having broken free from his restraints, smashed down with a hammer; Lan Xue raised her Halberd to block, but the physical disparity between her one soul bone and his body of six soul bones meant their strength differed greatly; the moment the Clear Sky Hammer struck the Mysterious Ice Halberd, the shaft of the Halberd was nearly bent.

Lan Xue was forced to one knee, the webs of her hands split, and she spat out blood.

The Pierce Absolute could channel the power of the Clear Sky Hammer into the opponent's body, shattering their internal organs.

Fortunately, Lan Xue had used her soul power to protect her internal organs, otherwise, she would surely have died with her viscera shattered.

"No, if this continues, His Excellency Mysterious Ice will die at Tang Hao's hands; I can't worry about that anymore, Spirit Bone Skill—Medusa Gaze!" Dugu Bo could no longer wait for an opening; he had to save Lan Xue.

"Hmph, mere Medusa Gaze... what?" Tang Hao had originally not taken the Medusa Gaze seriously, believing that with Dugu Bo's soul power, he could not possibly break through his Clear Sky Protection.

Yet, he did not expect that when the gray-white light swept over, the Clear Sky Black Shield that had left Tang Hao's body would actually turn into stone in an instant.

Tang Hao hurriedly abandoned Lan Xue and retreated continuously, while the Clear Sky Hammer gathered power.

"Clear Sky Nine Absolutes—Break Absolute!"

When his power reached its limit, Tang Hao backhanded another hammer strike; this Break Absolute move possessed the ability to break skills, combining force with a swift and piercing strike.

Moreover, Tang Hao put all his strength into this blow, without holding back even the slightest bit.

One could even see that he was missing two spirit rings; clearly, he had detonated them. Although they were only his two weakest hundred-year spirit rings, the increase to his own power was not to be underestimated.

It could be said that without using the Great Sumeru Hammer, the Break Absolute he unleashed at this moment was one of his most powerful strikes.

It was even stronger than many of his spirit ring skills.

Tang Hao was someone who rarely used spirit skills; although he possessed a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring, in reality, this Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring from the Blue Silver Emperor did not have a very high compatibility with his Clear Sky Hammer, nor did he obtain any spirit skills with overwhelming attack power, so his methods of fighting had always been the Chaotic Wind Cloak, the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, Ring Detonation, and the Great Sumeru Hammer.

"Boom!"

The hammer body and the light of the Medusa Gaze collided, and Tang Hao and Dugu Bo were both shaken apart by the opponent's power.

Dugu Bo retreated seven steps, spitting blood.

Tang Hao did not fare much better; although he did not suffer any injuries, one side of the Clear Sky Hammer's face had clearly been petrified.

Perhaps Tang Hao could later use his own powerful soul power to slowly expel Dugu Bo's soul power and repair the Clear Sky Hammer, but at this very moment, he would inevitably fall into a passive position.

The Clear Sky Hammer was a double-sided hammer, and the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes were created according to the characteristics of the Clear Sky Hammer; now that one side was ruined, not only was the power of the Clear Sky Hammer itself suddenly greatly reduced, but the execution of the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes would also be severely restricted.

Lan Xue seized the opportunity and charged again; Tang Hao had no choice but to defend against the enemy with only one side of the hammer.

At this time, the situation began to gradually reverse; Lan Xue slowly gained the upper hand, and Tang Hao's hidden injuries were about to flare up.

The two fought faster and faster, to the point where even Dugu Bo, a Title Douluo, could barely see anything but the afterimages of the hammer and the Halberd.

Finally, Lan Xue slashed open Tang Hao's chest with her Halberd, while Tang Hao's heavy hammer also smashed into Lan Xue's shoulder.

With a loud explosion, both were blasted apart.

Lan Xue clutched her shoulder, which had become limp due to broken bones, her body swaying slightly; this injury was not fatal to a Title Douluo, and she would recover given some time.

"Tang Hao, you have lost!"

The outcome of this battle was decided; Tang Hao's injuries were clearly much heavier than hers, and even if she could not exert her Extreme Ice power, if she could not even beat a Clear Sky Hammer with halved power, she might as well quit.

In the final clash, her cold energy had already entered Tang Hao's body, and although she had also been injured by the Clear Sky Hammer, with her meridians shaken and several bones broken, she did not care in the slightest.

Suddenly, cold energy emanated from Lan Xue's entire body, and the next moment, she stood up as if nothing had happened.

"Crazy woman!" Tang Hao was instantly horrified; this crazy woman was actually using the power of cold ice to freeze and connect her broken meridians and bones, and by relying on the freezing air to dull her own pain, she could still exert her strongest combat power for a short time.

Conversely, not only had Lan Xue frozen his injuries with cold air, but Dugu Bo's Medusa Gaze had petrified half of his Clear Sky Hammer, and his original hidden injuries had completely flared up; he had no strength left to fight.

Tang Hao cursed her as a crazy woman in his heart; he considered himself crazy enough when fighting, but this woman was even crazier. It was hard to imagine if Nan Tianchen had a masochistic streak to dare marry such a woman.

"Hehe, good, very good. I never thought that even when Qian Xunji brought Ju Hua Guan and the others, they couldn't do anything to me, yet today I have been wounded like this by the two of you." Tang Hao stroked the huge wound on his chest, his palm already stained red with blood, laughing in extreme anger. "Dugu Bo, that Medusa Gaze of yours just now was comparable to a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Skill. Lan Xue, your level has actually increased to Level 95 in such a short time. It seems you two have had some fortuitous encounters over these years!"

Tang Hao knew deep down that he had completely lost this battle, not because his strength was lacking, but because he was suffering from hidden injuries and lacked sufficient intelligence.

Originally, the reason he dared to come out and fight two people so arrogantly was that he believed Lan Xue and Dugu Bo were among the weaker ones of the Title Douluo.

Dugu Bo had always had the reputation of being the weakest in one-on-one fights among Title Douluo, with his soul power long trapped at Level 91; Tang Hao estimated he could knock him away with one hammer, but he never expected this guy to not only have Level 93 soul power but also possess a Ten-Thousand-Year level spirit skill.

Tang Hao really wanted to ask: since you had such ability, how did you lose to Ju Hua Guan back then? Were you holding back before, or did you just "open up" recently?

As for Lan Xue, if Dugu Bo had "opened up," then Lan Xue had never closed it at all; her soul power began to run wild after Level 70, and she had just broken through to Title Douluo a few years ago. He had originally thought she would be at most Level 91 or 92, but it turned out she was a Super Douluo. It was hard to imagine how strong she would be right now if he hadn't wasted seven or eight years of her time back then.

In fact, Lan Xue also knew that her victory today was not honorable, but today was not a fair Spirit Master spirit fighting competition; it was a decisive battle for a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast, so for the sake of her son, she could not care about that anymore.

"Lan Xue, don't be arrogant. Before I came, I already arranged for people to head to the Clear Sky Sect. If I die here today, my eldest brother will immediately know that you killed me!" Tang Hao threatened through gritted teeth. "I did lose today's battle, but don't think I will just close my eyes and wait for death. I have the confidence to take you both down with me!"

He could admit defeat, but he would not wait for death; otherwise, to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots, Lan Xue would definitely go to kill his son not far away.

His son Tang San was his only hope for defeating the Spirit Hall; nothing must happen to him.

For this, he did not hesitate to lie and deceive, even bringing up the Clear Sky Sect.

"Lan Xue, I hope you consider this clearly. I am no longer the me of the past. When I fought you back then, my Ring Detonation secret technique was just beginning, so I couldn't detonate many spirit rings, but now, I can detonate all nine rings. Qian Xunji died under my Great Sumeru Hammer when I detonated a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring back then. Do you think you will have better luck than Qian Xunji?" Tang Hao said coldly, his aura rising further, and that blood-red Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring trembling slightly.

"Take us down with you? Ring Detonation? Just with those hidden injuries all over your body?" Dugu Bo said disdainfully. As a Title Douluo, having fought for so long, both he and Lan Xue had already discovered Tang Hao's hidden injuries.

He only felt that Tang Hao was just bluffing at this moment.

"Haha, under normal circumstances, of course not, but do you know what spirit beast my Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring came from? I will tell you today." Tang Hao recounted his past with A Yin.

His ninth ring was the Ten-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor.

After hearing about the grievances between Tang Hao and the Spirit Hall, Lan Xue realized, "So that's how it is. Your wife was actually a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast in human form. In that case, you kept that rabbit not for her Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring and soul bone, but because you hoped she and your son would achieve a positive result?"

Tang Hao nodded, "Exactly. I do not wish for the tragedy of A Yin and me to repeat itself with Tang San and Xiao Wu. Title Douluo Mysterious Ice, Poison Douluo, please understand my determination as a father. Let Xiao Wu go, and Tang Hao will be eternally grateful!"

Lan Xue has a simple personality; in truth, she was even a little moved by Tang Hao's story.

But the cold-hearted Dugu Bo did not care at all; he only felt that it was none of his business, as he was not the one who killed that Blue Silver Emperor, and his current target was that rabbit.

You, Tang Hao, have already shown off enough by obtaining a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring, but must every transformed Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast in this world belong to your family?

Spirit Masters hunting Spirit Beasts is the rule of the continent; as long as they do not kill indiscriminately, any Spirit Master has the right to hunt Spirit Beasts.

Even if that Spirit Beast is your wife or daughter-in-law, it is the same.

Could it be that the Spirit Beasts you, Tang Hao, hunted back then were all solitary individuals? If those Spirit Beasts also had wives and children, I never saw you show any mercy.

Dugu Bo wanted to continue attacking, but at this moment, Lan Xue reached out to stop him and said in a low voice, "Master Dugu, please wait a moment. Tang Hao might truly still have a trump card. The Blue Silver Emperor is the existence with the strongest life force among plant-type Spirit Beasts. This kind of Spirit Beast might not be able to give Tang Hao any super-powerful attack skills, but there might be some way to restore his life force in a short time. If he can really detonate all nine rings, even if he can only strike one hammer, even if we can kill him, I cannot guarantee that we ourselves will be unscathed."

Lan Xue had experienced the power of Ring Detonation back then. At that time, Tang Hao had only detonated two rings, and the increase was already that great; if he detonated all nine rings, she truly had no confidence in her heart.

"Furthermore, he just said that before coming to find us, he had already sent someone to notify the Clear Sky Sect. Although this is not worth believing, we cannot afford not to be prepared. I have heard that the Elders of the Clear Sky Sect are very displeased with Tang Hao because of what happened back then, but the depth of the brotherly bond between Tang Xiao and Tang Hao is known to the entire continent. If he learns that Tang Hao died at our hands, he will surely spare no effort to retaliate against us. We originally had no grudges against Tang Hao, and what we are competing for is only that Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast; there is no need to provoke a powerful enemy like the Clear Sky Sect."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo nodded and said to Tang Hao, "Tang Hao, we can let you go, and we can also let that little rabbit go. However, as the winning side, you must also give us sufficient compensation. As an exchange for buying your life, this is not excessive, right?"

"What do you want?" Tang Hao nodded; he understood that it was unlikely to make these two Title Douluo return empty-handed.

"Hehe, it's very simple. That little rabbit has two treasures on her: a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring and a soul bone. Although my granddaughter and Xiaofeijiang cannot absorb the Spirit Ring for the time being, at worst, we can just have His Excellency Profound Ice use Ice Seal on it. Neither of the two treasures will be wasted. So, if you want us to let her go, you must also bring out two treasures. First, we want the Hundred Thousand Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone in your possession. You, Tang Hao, are already full of soul bones, so when your wife sacrificed herself for you, this Hundred Thousand Year soul bone definitely could not be absorbed. You don't need to deny this point; you can't hide it from an old man like me. Second, I want the Ring Detonation secret technique of your Clear Sky Sect," Dugu Bo laughed.

This is also Tang Hao's own fault; who told you to describe the things your wife sacrificed so powerfully, and to describe your own Ring Detonation as so majestic?

You asked for it by showing off randomly, and now you've been targeted.

"What?" Tang Hao was shocked. This bastard Old Poison was actually opening his mouth like a lion. After hearing such a tragic story about him and A Yin, is this guy not moved at all? He is truly a person who only sees profit and has no feelings in his eyes. He actually even wants A Yin's soul bone; he is truly courting death. If it weren't for his internal injuries, he would have killed this Old Poison.

And Ring Detonation—this is a secret technique that the Clear Sky Sect never passes on to outsiders. Even within the sect, only disciples who can obtain the Clear Sky Douluo title are qualified to learn it. He would never hand it over, even in death.

"Don't be in a hurry to get angry; listen to what this old man has to say. No matter how precious your wife's soul bone is, it is ultimately just a dead object. Is it not worth it to trade it for your daughter-in-law's life? Even if one day you don't want that little rabbit to be your daughter-in-law anymore and kill her to make a soul bone, that is just a one-for-one trade; you won't lose out. Don't talk to this old man about deep love between husband and wife; this old man is a snake, a cold-blooded animal."

"Furthermore, this old man has also heard of your deeds as the Clear Sky Douluo. I won't believe that you, Tang Hao, would really treat Spirit Beasts like humans because of the Blue Silver Emperor. In your eyes, probably only the Blue Silver Emperor and that Soft Bone Rabbit are special, because one is your wife and the other is your daughter-in-law."

"Master Dugu is right. Tang Hao, I remember that when I first fought you back then, you only had two sect-inherited soul bones on you. At that time, you were at level 70-something, but when you fought Qian Xunji at level 80-something, you were fully equipped? I am very curious: from level 70-something to 80-something, there was only one Spirit Ring difference in between; how did you suddenly burst out four soul bones at once, and they all happened to be parts you didn't have?" Because of Dugu Bo's words, Lan Xue immediately figured it out; she had almost been truly moved by Tang Hao's story.

"You wouldn't tell me that your soul bones were all picked up, cheated for, or robbed, would you? Tell me, how many Spirit Beasts have you killed indiscriminately? At that time, did you care about your wife's thoughts?"

The only method Lan Xue could think of was the large-scale hunting of Spirit Beasts.

In fact, these Tang family members all have the same thought: when others kill their Spirit Beasts, it is evil, but when they kill Spirit Beasts at will, it is only natural. At worst, they just label the Spirit Beasts they want to kill as 'Evil' first.

Tang Hao clenched his fists. He did not answer, knowing that answering anything would be useless. Today, he could only save one: A Yin's soul bone or Xiao Wu's life.

"A Yin's soul bone, I will give it to you!" Tang Hao's voice was cold. At this moment, he chose Xiao Wu first. After all, if life is gone, it is truly gone, but a soul bone can be taken back. There is no need to say that Lan Xue and the others want this soul bone for Nan Feihuang. Once he heals his injuries and kills Nan Feihuang in the future, he can just have it burst out again.

"However, the Ring Detonation secret technique, I cannot give to you. Change to another condition."

Tang Hao's bottom line was the Clear Sky Sect.

"Tang Hao, for Ring Detonation, you only need to say the incantation. We don't need the mental cultivation method. This should be acceptable, right?" Dugu Bo retreated to the next best thing; he only wanted the incantation and not the mental method.

"Only the incantation?" Tang Hao was somewhat puzzled. What use would that have? The incantation is actually just a summary of the steps for practicing and using the Ring Detonation secret technique.

But how to use soul power and how to exert force in each step must rely on the mental cultivation method.

It can be said that without the mental method, the incantation is completely useless.

Dugu Bo confirmed, "Yes, only the incantation. We can try to deduce the mental method ourselves. If we deduce it, it counts as our ability; if we can't, you, Tang Hao, won't lose anything."

Tang Hao considered it. Ring Detonation and the Great Sumeru Hammer both belong to the supreme secret arts of the Clear Sky Sect. It is absolutely impossible to deduce the mental method on one's own just by relying on the incantation. Let alone mere Lan Xue and Dugu Bo, even if Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi worked together to deduce it, it wouldn't work.

"Very well, then I will teach you the incantation. After this, the deal is reached; the two of you are not allowed to attack Xiao Wu again, nor may you use any schemes or plots to calculate against her." Tang Hao made his final decision. For his son, this kind of behavior, which did not count as an excessive betrayal of the Clear Sky Sect, had not yet exceeded his bottom line.

Dugu Bo was indeed an old fox; he grasped the key point that Tang Hao would agree to.

If the soul bone is given, he can find an opportunity to snatch it back, so he agreed.

If the incantation is given, it is useless without the mental method, so he could also agree.

I fear that once Tang Hao thinks about it later, he will even feel that he didn't lose out, having played the two of them for fools.

It is a pity that once the soul bone reaches Nan Feihuang's hands, he will never be able to get it back in this lifetime. As for the mental method, have you heard of the Daoist Formless Skill? It is in the Dunjia Heavenly Book; it can simulate an opponent's True Qi and execute the opponent's moves. Dugu Bo had heard Nan Feihuang mention it.

As long as Nan Feihuang knows the incantation for Ring Detonation, the next time he fights Tang Hao, he will be able to instantly simulate his Ring Detonation secret technique and deduce the full set of mental methods himself.

Tang Hao first handed the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone to Lan Xue. He usually kept this soul bone in the cave where A Yin was planted, and only carried it with him when going on long trips to avoid it being stolen by someone sneaking in. It was fortunate that he brought it; otherwise, Lan Xue and Dugu Bo would not have given him the time to go get it and come back.

They only believed in benefits that could be obtained immediately and did not believe in the 'big pie' being drawn.

Then Tang Hao informed Dugu Bo of the incantation. He knew that the two people in front of him were both people who valued their word; since they had promised not to move against Xiao Wu, they would definitely do it.

Besides, at this moment, other than believing in them, he did not have much strength to resist. Having lived for so many years, today was the most stifling.

(End of chapter)