Chapter 157: Just You Wait and See

Ye Yan naturally had no way of knowing about the shattered spirit tablet.

All he knew was that the absorption process was not going as smoothly as he had imagined.

Miyamoto Musashi put up fierce resistance, but after all, an arm could not twist a thigh. Being merely a lingering remnant soul, it could hardly stir up any trouble in front of him. Soon, it was stripped from Miyamoto Isshin’s body and became a member of Ye Yan's army of banner spirits.

On the other hand, the Yamata no Orochi proved quite troublesome. As a calamitous beast of disaster, its eight heads were inherently difficult to handle.

Even though the mark had already been planted, its radiating effect merely caused four of the eight heads to fall into a submissive, dull-witted state.

As for the remaining four largest heads—black, white, green, and red—they still bared their fangs, glaring with malicious eyes as they resisted Ye Yan...

For the time being, Ye Yan had no immediate way to deal with it, turning the battle into a war of attrition where victory depended on which side broke first.

"Quite tricky indeed."

Ye Yan found the reaction of the Yamata no Orochi rather amusing. He was not in the slightest bit hurried; the initiative in this battle belonged to him anyway.

The one who should be anxious was his opponent.

Sure enough, just as Ye Yan was thinking this, Abe Shimoka on the other side began to crack under the pressure.

He could sense a strange power intervening between the "Avici Ghost Domain" and the Yamata no Orochi, seemingly attempting to vie with him for the control of this calamitous beast...

Though unaware of the origin of this power, Abe Shimoka still felt immense pressure. The spiritual energy within his body surged rapidly toward the Avici Ghost Domain, as if locked in a fierce tug-of-war.

"Damn it, why is this happening?"

To prevent the control of the Yamata no Orochi from being wrested away, he had no choice but to increase his spiritual energy input to sustain the tug-of-war and balance between them.

Consequently, his consumption of spiritual energy became astronomical. Maintaining this state, Abe Shimoka could only pray that this sudden, mysterious power would not last long.

However, his wishful thinking did not mean Ye Yan would play along. This was his home turf; how could Ye Yan let him off so easily in a battle of consumption?

While the Yamata no Orochi was suppressed to the point of immobility, the gigantic ink dragon was not.

At Ye Yan's behest, the massive ink-wash dragon pressed down toward Abe Shimoka, its ink-like cascading dragon breath pouring down like upside-down water, covering the ground below inch by inch.

The ink-colored dragon breath was scorching hot, sending chills through Abe Shimoka's heart even from afar.

Panic briefly seized him.

"What should I do..."

If this continued, his spiritual energy might hold out for a little longer.

Yet, that sense of mortal danger constantly lingered by his side, drawing closer and closer.

"This cannot go on."

The Yamata no Orochi might be important, but when forced to choose between it and his own life, Abe Shimoka chose the latter.

Just before the dragon breath could engulf his position, he forcefully severed the connection between the Avici Ghost Domain and the Yamata no Orochi, choosing to dodge.

Boom—

The scorching ink-colored dragon breath churned, enveloping and scorching the earth below, yet Abe Shimoka still managed to escape...

However, without the infusion of spiritual energy, the pressure of the contention dropped dramatically. The four snakeheads that had been struggling gradually slumped into a dull stupor.

The tide of battle tilted overwhelmingly in Ye Yan's favor.

The deep green light grew increasingly brilliant, marching across the territory like a conquering army. It first suppressed the fiery red snakehead among the four deadlocked ones, followed by the deep green snakehead, and finally the white snakehead...

In the process, the giant serpent, originally covered in fiery red patterns, gradually transformed into an enchanting, deep green. Its eyes flashed with eerie lights, resembling swaying wisps of ghost fire, looking exceptionally cool.

Ye Yan had originally thought that since seven out of the eight heads were dealt with, the last one would be easy to handle. To his surprise, even under the overwhelming coverage of the banner spirit's mark, this final black snakehead still retained its own self-awareness, which was quite telling.

"Are you with the Dark Vatican?"

The black snakehead raised its head. Its eyes, flickering like ghost fire, shone with sheer agony as it gazed across the empty space to meet Ye Yan's eyes.

"The Dark Vatican?"

Ye Yan asked in confusion, "Why would you think I'm with the Dark Vatican?"

He had no idea why the opponent suddenly brought this up. If he remembered correctly, the Dark Vatican it mentioned should be an extremely covert faction native to Germania...

To Ye Yan's inquiry, the black snakehead fell silent and spoke no further.

At this, Ye Yan merely smiled faintly. "If you don't want to talk, fine... That's your prerogative. More important than that is the matter at hand."

"I'll give you two choices."

"First, give up resistance."

"Second, I'll chop off this head of yours, and then you give up resistance."

"Make your choice."

The two sides had been locked in a stalemate, and the situation was quite vexing. Constantly tangled up like this, Ye Yan's patience was wearing thin.

"What difference does that make?"

Faced with Ye Yan's tyrannical approach, the black snakehead appeared somewhat helpless and powerless.

The banner spirit's mark was already halfway operational; it wasn't something it could easily shake off just by wanting to.

Though it was a renowned calamitous beast of Fusang, here it felt like a lamb trapped in a cage... a fish on a chopping block, with no choice but to be carved up at will.

The last person who had made it feel this utterly powerless was Susanoo, hailed as a deity—a fellow who had perished long ago.

"Difference?"

Ye Yan gave a playful smile. "The difference is whether you live or die."

"Though chopping off your largest head would probably cause the combat prowess of this physical body to plummet severely, you have to give something to gain something."

"After all, it's something I got for free. Even with some losses, it doesn't matter."

The black snakehead fell silent once more.

This realm of absolute darkness, coupled with a banner capable of capturing souls, was proof enough of this man's extraordinary might... The black snakehead did not doubt his ability to truly annihilate its existence.

"Very well, you win."

After a moment of deliberation, the black snakehead, which held absolute control over the body, chose to yield.

In any case, having already been suppressed within the Avici Ghost Domain and stripped of its freedom, this was already the worst possible outcome for the Yamata no Orochi. Being captured now merely meant changing locations.

"Wise choice..."

The smile on Ye Yan's face grew wider.

As he spoke, he increased the driving force upon the demon banner.

With the black snakehead offering no further resistance, the atomization process naturally accelerated significantly.

Once the floating mark completely merged into the body of the Yamata no Orochi, this Fusang beast was thoroughly reduced to a banner spirit.

With such a massive commotion caused by the atomization, how could Abe Shimoka, the master of the Avici Ghost Domain, fail to feel it?

The moment their connection was severed, Abe Shimoka suffered a backlash. He vomited a mouthful of blood and collapsed limply to the ground.

The ancestors of the Miyamoto family had been captured, and the Yamata no Orochi had been captured as well.

Ye Yan, who was initially at a numerical disadvantage, had completed his harvest, gorging himself on the spoils and even turning the tables on the enemy... The only one left with any combat capability was Goma Yuto.

Under these circumstances, there was no need for Ye Yan to maintain the sovereign domain.

He raised a hand to take off his sunglasses, hanging them back on his collar. His previously blocked vision instantly returned to normal, taking in the mountains, rivers, and bright moon.

Free from the obstruction of darkness, Goma Yuto immediately saw the situation on the field.

The hundred ghosts had long been cleared away.

Abe Shimoka was unconscious and unresponsive.

The Yamata no Orochi was nowhere to be seen.

Miyamoto Isshin wore a withered expression.

The only person left in a pristine state in the entire arena was him. After all, he hadn't received much special attention from Ye Yan and had basically slacked off for the majority of the time.

In contrast, Ye Yan's side had suffered virtually zero losses.

One deep green spirit after another surrounded the area impenetrably, hemming Goma Yuto and the others tightly within.

They flexed their muscles, seemingly waiting only for Ye Yan's command to pounce and tear these people to shreds.

"Well, gentlemen, after tossing about for so long in the middle of the night, isn't it about time this farce came to an end?"

Ye Yan casually brushed his sleeves, his chilling gaze falling upon Goma Yuto.

These fellows had broken into the forbidden grounds of the Tang Sect, injured Tang Qiushan, and caused quite a massive uproar. Yet even so, Ye Yan had no intention of punishing them; his only goal was to drive them away.

It wasn't that his stance had wavered or that he was leaning toward the Fusang delegation.

Rather, although his role was that of the person in charge, he could not overstep his bounds. He was not a member of the Tang Sect, nor did he have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the company.

When it concerned two nations, even the most trivial matter could be magnified manifold, potentially affecting international relations and causing adverse repercussions.

As for punishments,

the company—or rather, the nation—would not simply let this slide. Whether it was issuing a condemnation against the Fusang delegation or handing down other penalties, those were matters for Zhao Fangxu, the chairman, and the country's top leadership to handle.

All he needed to do right now was to drive them off and ensure they caused no secondary impact.

That was enough...

Looking at Ye Yan standing casually before them with a relaxed expression, surrounded by his banner spirits and the towering ink-wash dragon, Goma Yuto knew very well in his heart that their mission had failed.

With Ye Yan standing here, it was utterly impossible for them to proceed to the Tang Tombs to search for information regarding Hirumaru.

Furthermore, today's raid had been meticulously planned and carefully prepared by them.

If even such preparation could not succeed, any future attempts would undoubtedly be met with even stricter precautions from the other side...

With these thoughts, Goma Yuto felt a sense of melancholy.

Fortunately, shielded by their status as a diplomatic delegation, even though their mission failed, they would not be executed.

Upon returning to their homeland, the worst they would face was a few toothless reprimands from their official authorities.

"Let's retreat..."

Reluctant as he was to say those words, the current situation no longer allowed them much choice.

They had played all their trump cards and still been thoroughly beaten to a pulp; continuing the stalemate was meaningless.

Just as Goma Yuto intended to abandon the mission and leave with the other two,

Miyamoto Isshin, whose eyes were bloodshot, lunged frantically toward Ye Yan. "What did you do to my ancestor? Give him back!"

"If you know what's good for you, honestly return my family's ancestor, or else my uncle will never let you go..."

He stumbled forward, but before he could even get close to Ye Yan, Lu Dashan flicked his wrist, grabbed the back of Miyamoto Isshin's collar, and hoisted him up into the air.

"Let me go..."

Suspended in Lu Dashan's grip, Miyamoto Isshin kept his eyes locked onto Ye Yan, brimming with venom.

"Big Brother Yan, how should we handle this?"

Lu Dashan held Miyamoto Isshin with one hand while stupidly scratching his head with the other.

Though he couldn't understand a single word the foreigner was saying, he could read the body language.

Just looking at the man's near-cannibalistic glare, Ye Yan could roughly guess what Miyamoto Isshin was blabbering about—unquestionably demanding his ancestor back, accompanied probably by some threatening words.

"No worries, I'll handle it."

Ye Yan didn't take Miyamoto Isshin's threats to heart in the slightest.

He smiled amicably at the hoisted Miyamoto Isshin, gently patted his shoulder, and spoke in a teasing tone,

"There's an old saying in our Dragon Kingdom: getting angry hurts the liver. Young man, don't be so hot-tempered; the world is such a wonderful place..."

Before Ye Yan could finish his words of comfort, a glob of saliva landed right on his collar—and the person who spat was none other than the suspended Miyamoto Isshin.

"You..."

Seeing Ye Yan being insulted, Lu Dashan flew into a rage. Raising a fist the size of a sandbag, he intended to pulp this ungrateful bastard.

"Stop..."

Before Lu Dashan's fist could land, Ye Yan raised a hand to block him. "Don't hit him, let him go."

"But Big Brother Yan..."

Lu Dashan blinked, his eyes filled with reluctance.

Seeing this, Ye Yan frowned, his voice suddenly rising a notch: "Did you not hear what I said? I said—let—him—go!"

"Understood."

Though deeply unwilling, Lu Dashan obediently executed Ye Yan's order.

With a fierce swing of his arm, he hurled Miyamoto Isshin back the way he came.

The fellow's body traced an arc through the air, and just before crashing into the ground, he was deftly snatched up by Goma Yuto, narrowly sparing him the indignity of eating dirt.

"I'll pretend what just happened never took place. Now... take your people and get lost!"

Ye Yan's voice was stern and unyielding.

As his words fell, the banner spirits surrounding the perimeter neatly parted, clearing a pathway leading outward...

With the path cleared, the situation became crystal clear.

Even across a language barrier, Goma Yuto understood that this was Ye Yan granting them permission to leave.

Daring not to delay, he heaved the unconscious Abe Shimoka onto his shoulder, tucked the vacant-eyed Miyamoto Isshin under his arm, and fled swiftly.

After the three of them departed, Lu Dashan scratched his head in bewilderment. "Old Ma, why do you think Big Brother Yan's temper is so good today?"

"Someone spat right on his clothes, yet he didn't even get mad and just let them all go... That doesn't fit his character at all."

Hearing Lu Dashan's words, Old Horse Fifth wore a smirk on his equine face.

"Calling you a blockhead is an understatement. You can't even see through that? What Big Brother Yan just did was clearly setting a trap for the opposition."

"A trap?"

Lu Dashan remained clueless.

Old Horse Fifth crossed his arms, wearing a playful smile. "Just you wait and watch..."