The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1501

"Specters? Wraiths?" Ryuk pensively repeated, "What are those? I have...not heard those words before."

Hao Xuan rolled his eyes.

*sigh*

"Specter is just a generic term for spirits from beyond the veil. Not only are they amongst the most common kinds of spiritual beings found within the Umbral Planes but they are also endless since they are birthed from the negative thoughts and emotions of mortals, to which there is no end. That's also why each one is a little different, almost like a reflection of the kinds of humans whose thoughts conjured them."

Hao Xuan raised the sword over his head and closed his eyes, going through the list of blessings while continuing the explanation for Ryuk.

'Bless my weapon in your name, so I may wage war against those who wish to harm me!'

Total Favour fell by fifty as a black spark jumped from the Crown of Darkness and fell upon the blade.

*Zzzzt*

It dug into the steel frame, burning a set of four hieroglyphs on each side. And while this was happening Hao Xuan did not stop talking.

"Wraiths on the other hand are a more evolved version of specters. They are stronger, a lot more varied, and much more dangerous. Where specters usually don't hold much ill-well towards the living, wraiths feed off of them. They actively hunt the denizens of the material planes, cursing them in the process until they lose their sanity and go mad."

When the last hieroglyph was completed they came alive with a bluish aura, burning brightly for a few seconds before slowly returning to normal.

"-And since they are both spirits, you usually can't hurt them with normal objects," he muttered in a low voice while closely examining the blade, "Salt can be used to limit their movements and temporarily weaken their hold on the material planes. Metals like Iron and silver are quite useful but hard to come by."

Hao Xuan swung the blade twice in front of him in a crisis cross manner, leaving behind a faint trail of bluish-white light.

"Magic 'is' effective," he continued, "but requires a lot of preparation unless you're a gifted witch or a wizard. But if you're in a pinch and have the means, the blessing of a powerful Umbral diety is just as good...although technically you are just borrowing power from someone stronger than you."

Ryuk's semi-transparent head phased through from underneath the floor, "That is what you did?"

Hao Xuan nodded, continuing in much the same hushed undertone, "Yes. Thankfully it wasn't that expensive but...it's better to have and not need than to need and not have. Remember, preparation is key."

He sat down and closed his eyes, slowly releasing every single thread of spiritual sense he could muster.

One by one the golden threads began to spread out in all directions like the tentacles of a squid, covering everything in an area of 10 meters around him. Now Hao Xuan would be able to sense them if they ever came close enough but more than that, he could also quite clearly 'see' everything within this area.

It was in black and white but at least he could tell the rough shapes of anything within the range. It was no different from feeling for it with his own hands.

That was the last thing he needed to do before heading out. He jumped down, disappearing into the foggy currents filled with the intense Yin energy.

Ryuk followed after him out of pure curiosity.

Having one's sight in such a situation could even prove to be a hindrance as he realized soon after. There was so much fast-moving Yin energy that it pierced through Hao Xuan's thick skin and any orifices left unprotected.

He didn't have to go far to come across the first spirit. And as expected, it was a specter.

A legless apparition made up of corrupted 'otherworldly' energies. It was floating half a meter above ground, absorbing all the Yin energy from the air.

In fact, it was so busy in this endeavor that it wasn't even moving around looking for Nae Shin. Simply hovering in one spot was enough to satiate it.

And as Hao Xuan got close he understood why. It was becoming stronger ever so slightly with each passing second.

He circled around once to make sure there were no other spirits nearby before dashing forward and slicing it in half in one swift motion. The hieroglyphs on the blade monetarily flashed with the blue light, just as the blade passed through its ghastly form.

The specter couldn't even react before its body began to dematerialize, turning into a white powder that drifted away with the billowing wind.

From afar it looked like the flash of a camera and sounded not much different.

'Alright, that's one down,' he thought to himself before continuing on his way, 'There shouldn't be too many others since it hasn't been that long-' he had barely moved 20 meters before alarm bells started ringing inside his head.

Hao Xuan froze mid-stride, 'One, two...five of them in one spot?!'

They were all clustered together in front of him, blocking the only path forward.

'I can't kill them fast enough, at least one or two will wake up and make a ruckus. Better to avoid a full-on fight until I know where the breach is for sure.'

He 'looked' around a little and found a way around from the neighboring street.