The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1505

"!?!"

'Then it's already evolved to a stage where it can have a physical presence in the material planes. But as long as I am able to cut it with my sword, it should be destroyed or- at the very least exorcised regardless of its hold on this plane.'

With his sword pointed at the Wraith, Nae Shin bravely came forth.

"What do we do?"

"WE don't do anything. I'll take care of it just- protect Liet in case one of our attacks comes in this direction."

His head bobbed up and down, "I can do that but...it looks really strong. Are you sure this will be okay? We could call someone-"

"No time," Hao Xuan cut him off, "It already evolved once, I can't risk another one...not that we have time for it. And I already know what to expect."

Like most other beings, Wraiths also had pre-determined paths of evolution set aside for them at the start, that depended entirely on their circumstances like the type of energies in the environment where the evolution took place.

And since there were copious amounts of Yin energy in this place it could only have gone down into a select few paths.

'It's probably ice-related or a branch thereof. The first evolution shouldn't be too much trouble. I just have to be a little cautious. Need to test the waters first-'

Without any warning Hao Xuan's silhouette shot into the air within the blink of an eye, propelled by brute force alone.

He 'appeared' in front of the wraith did not seem to have caused a reaction at all. His sword cut through its form and for a brief moment, Hao Xuan was ecstatic since he could feel some resistance.

But the flash of blue light that usually followed afterwards did not come. The wraith was cut in half and its body began to separate almost in slow motion. And just then alarm bells started going off inside his head.

Hao Xuan struck the ceiling to send himself back but he still wasn't fast enough to completely escape the explosion that followed.

The wraith's severed body turned into an ice statue before shattering into hundreds of small icicles.

His right foot was caught within the initial explosion and it turned into a block of ice immediately while the rest of his body was bombarded with the icicles.

Thankfully, his reaction speed far exceeded someone of his level.

"ARGH!"

With a powerful roar, Hao Xuan's arm moved like the blades of a fan as he started swinging the sword more times than he cared to count, creating a temporary wall of steel and air that destroyed everything that came close.

All of this happened in less than 2 seconds. To the eyes of any observers like Nae Shin, it was instantaneous. All he saw was Hao Xuan's exquisite blade work that destroyed hundreds of incoming projectiles from just a couple of meters away.

Hao Xuan shot back to the ground, using the sword to break his fall and expertly landing with one good leg.

He examined his right foot which was encased in ice. Virulent threads of Yin Qi were boring into his flesh and trying to wrap around the bones. But before that could happen all Qi was forcefully pulled towards the gaping hole that was left in place of his central meridian.

Because not only was he unable to cultivate spiritual energy, but any energy of any kind that entered his body was also expunged almost instantaneously.

But Nae Shin did not know that. He saw the ice and felt its corrosive energy and offered to help.

"A-Are you okay?! Let me help, I can-"

Hao Xuan took in a deep breath to regulate his breathing and circulate more blood towards the affected area, "No need," he muttered through gritted teeth before smashing his foot on the ground, creating a minor tremor.

The ice block shattered and evaporated as his body temperature rose higher and higher.

"Hmm-rrrrrrr!"

A low, guttural growl escaped from Hao Xuan's throat as muscles bulged all over.

Nae Shin stumbled back in shock, "L-Lycan! You're a Lycan?!" he exclaimed but Hao Xuan couldn't even hear him anymore.

All of his attention was directed towards the wraith that had gone back into hiding.

'It is far more intelligent than I gave it credit for. Not only did it set a trap but used itself as bait. I can't risk it anymore.'

He leaped back and disappeared within the billowing streams of foggy Yin energy.

A few seconds later flashes of blue light began to pop off in every other direction. That was the only thing Nae Shin could use to keep track of Hao Xuan's general location.

One second it was behind him and the other on the exact opposite side. The young master of the Shin clan was utterly dumbstruck by what little he could see.

'How is he moving this fast without any spiritual energy?! What kind of movement technique allows for such speed and flexibility?!!'

As was the case with most cultivators, he couldn't help but put himself in this situation.