Chapter 398: Foes on the Narrow Path

Chapter 398: Foes on the Narrow Path

At dusk, on a cliff overlooking the canyon.

Lu Ran and Deng Yuxiang stood silently, gazing into the horizon, awaiting the descent of Holy Spirit Qi.

As for the captured souls, Lu Ran had already confined them within the Divine-Demonic Sculpture Garden.

Throughout the day, Lu Ran and Deng Yuxiang had been interrogating and processing various pieces of intelligence.

Up until this moment, they had not fully digested all the information.

"Sect Leader," Deng Yuxiang said, standing behind Lu Ran.

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?" Deng Yuxiang looked at his back.

Deng Yuxiang, empathizing with him, was slightly worried that Lu Ran might be overwhelmed by the impact and his mental state would become unstable.

Previously, even though the gods were high above and treated human lives as servants, they were at least seen as saviors and protectors.

Just this fact alone was enough to inspire reverence and worship.

But now, the gods had suddenly become corrupt, colluding with demons, and had turned into a mountain of oppression for the human race.

Such a transformation, who could bear it?

"Do you know the name of this blade?" Lu Ran raised his hand and gripped the hilt of the blade on his shoulder.

Among the four blades that Lu Ran carried on his back, only this one had no inscriptions on its sheath.

"Yunhai Chenqing," Lu Ran answered his own question, "This name was given to me by my mother."

Deng Yuxiang remained silent, naturally aware of who Lu Ran's mother was.

As Lu Ran sought the Holy Spirit Qi, he continued, "She explicitly told me that the 'Yunhai' she spoke of referred to the gods."

Deng Yuxiang's heart trembled!

So, had Elder Qiao Wanjun already prepared Lu Ran for this?

Did this also indirectly confirm that their speculations were correct?

Lu Ran gazed at the cloud sea in the sky, "Mom said that the existence of Yunhai is inevitable, but what's important is Chenqing."

Deng Yuxiang speculated, "Elder Qiao hoped that you would use this blade to clear the dust within the Yunhai?"

"Yes, and she also gave me six words."

"What?"

"Never lose yourself."

"Never lose yourself," Deng Yuxiang murmured to herself.

The mother's advice to her son made Deng Yuxiang reflect deeply.

Indeed, no matter how the gods above might cause trouble, she only needed to stay focused on her goal.

B

As for the enemy...

Deng Yuxiang's eyes grew colder.

Anyone standing in their way was the enemy!

Lu Ran shifted the topic, "My mother doesn't know my secret, and in fact, whether or not she had given me this advice, I would never lose myself."

Deng Yuxiang listened to his firm words and looked at his back.

Previously, in Beifeng City, she had noticed that he had grown taller than her.

He had also shed his youthful shyness.

He appeared increasingly heroic and imposing, and could provide an unparalleled sense of security to those around him.

"Our goal is to eradicate the calamities in the mortal realm."

"Therefore, we embarked on a path of demon slaying."

"But if on this path, there are not only demons..." Lu Ran shrugged, leaving the implication unspoken.

"Hehe," Deng Yuxiang chuckled.

His meaning aligned perfectly with her thoughts.

"Holy Spirit Qi," Lu Ran suddenly spoke.

Deng Yuxiang looked up, but her senses were not as sharp as Lu Ran's, and she couldn't locate it immediately.

Lu Ran reached out to his side and summoned an ancient bronze mirror, which he then transformed into a floor mirror.

Demonic Mirror Technique - Mirror Flower Moon!

Another floor mirror appeared horizontally in the sky.

The Holy Spirit Qi fell into it and then floated out from the floor mirror next to Lu Ran.

Lu Ran's eyes turned into horizontal pupils, and he sucked the white mist into his eyes.

"Huff~"

The two floor mirrors vanished from the sky and the ground.

Lu Ran remained standing at the edge of the cliff, quietly gazing at the sky.

Seeing this, Deng Yuxiang furrowed her brows slightly, "Sect Leader, next time, let's wait for more Holy Spirit Qi to fall before you collect it."

Lu Ran stood with his hands behind his back, proud and unyielding, "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

Is my sister Xian'er also here at the Holy Spirit Mountain?

Lu Ran rubbed the back of his head and said with dissatisfaction, "Am I not your sect leader?"

Damn!

I let my guard down around you, and you slap me on the back of my head?

Deng Yuxiang retracted her hand and took two steps back, "Sect Leader, do you remember?"

Lu Ran: "."

What a traitor!

But speaking of which, this matter is indeed quite serious.

Luo Furen had provided intelligence: the high skies were a forbidden zone for the human race.

Extremely dangerous!

Even if the sky was clear and cloudless, appearing to have nothing, if humans dared to fly up there, they might be punished by an invisible force!

Luo Furen had personally witnessed someone trying to escape pursuit by flying upwards.

Since this mysterious force wasn't always present, the fugitive, out of luck, kept flying higher!

At that time, the pursuers didn't even need to take action.

The mysterious force suddenly appeared and instantly blasted the fugitive into pieces!

Limbs and flesh rained down from the sky!

How tragic.

This so-called Holy Spirit Mountain Realm, though appearing vast and open, was actually a cage.

Lu Ran thought for a moment and then explained, "The Yunhai is less than a thousand meters away from our mountain peak, and the high skies Luo Furen mentioned are even higher."

Deng Yuxiang interrupted Lu Ran, "Hmm?"

Lu Ran hesitated, "Okay, I was rash, hmm. Like this!

Guardian, please kneel down, and I'll apologize to you."

Deng Yuxiang was speechless and ignored Lu Ran.

Lu Ran also ignored the traitor and turned his attention to the spiritual world.

"Buzz~"

Within the Divine-Demonic Sculpture Garden, the Lietyen God Sculpture finally began to vibrate.

It seemed that the energy was sufficient!

Lu Ran was determined that even without the Celestial Sheep Sect, he could still activate the divine or demonic sculpture.

In his mind, he quickly organized the divine techniques of the Lietyen Sect.

Behind him, Deng Yuxiang's eyes narrowed!

She saw Lu Ran casually grip a large hammer, its surface covered in cracks.

The usually calm and collected Deng Yuxiang was suddenly in a daze, "This, what is this?"

Lu Ran finally regained some of his dignity as the sect leader and asked, "What is it?"

In an instant, Deng Yuxiang realized the severity of the situation.

"Is this the Divine Technique of Blazing Heaven - Blazing Heaven Hammer?"

"Mhm," Lu Ran casually waved the Blazing Heaven Hammer and said, "Blazing Heaven Hammer."

Deng Yuxiang suppressed the turmoil in her heart and her thoughts raced, "In your Demon Sculpture Garden, do you also have statues of the divine camp?"

Lu Ran finally turned around and looked at Deng Yuxiang, "That's why I won't get lost.

Because my goal has never been limited to demons."

Deng Yuxiang raised her eyes and stared directly at Lu Ran's lifeless horizontal pupils.

After a long while, she suddenly lowered her head and laughed, "Hmph."

Deng Yuxiang had always thought that she knew Lu Ran well.

Not long after Lu Ran became a believer, she met him and then took him on missions, staying by his side all the way to the present.

However, reality had given Deng Yuxiang one slap after another.

After the battle in Beifeng City, she was astonished to discover that the human youth who had always accompanied her through life and death was actually the Demon Lord.

And today, she received another huge shock.

Lu Ran wasn't just the Demon Lord.

Should he be called the Demigod Lord?

"You," Deng Yuxiang's expression was complex, "How many more secrets do you have that I don't know about?"

"Only these," Lu Ran said awkwardly, "Sorry, I've kept it from you for so long."

Only these?

Is that all?

Isn't that a lot?!

You have a Sculpture Garden with both demonic and divine statues!

You can replace all the gods and demons in this world.

Deng Yuxiang was speechless for a moment, unsure of what to say.

She did feel displeased about being kept in the dark.

She had always thought that Lu Ran could trust her.

But Deng Yuxiang also understood that this secret was too shocking and unconventional. Only when she let go of her reverence and fantasy for the gods could Lu Ran reveal these secrets.

More accurately, only when he was absolutely sure that she wouldn't leave him would he tell her.

Deng Yuxiang smoothed her wind-tousled long hair, as if organizing her thoughts, and sighed softly, "Do you have statues of all the gods in your Sculpture Garden?"

Lu Ran: "More or less."

Deng Yuxiang cautiously asked, "Planning to make a move on Blazing Heaven first?"

In her mind, a flawlessly beautiful face appeared.

In the future, the maid beside Lady Luoxian would also become her colleague.

Lu Ran shrugged, "Blazing Heaven's believers are neither human nor ghost, unable to integrate into society, and there are too many casualties.

And they're too dangerous, with far too many deaths at their hands."

Deng Yuxiang thought of something, and her expression turned serious, "When you're mentally connected with the Blazing Heaven Sculpture, do you become emotionally agitated?"

Lu Ran reassured her, "How is that possible? I often connect with the Evil Dog Sculpture, and I haven't become mentally unstable, biting people all over the place."

Deng Yuxiang: "..."

Lu Ran said, "In fact, you have more say in this than I do.

Y

Deng Yuxiang finally felt at ease and gave a precise answer, "I'm still me."

Lu Ran nodded, "That's right, you won't become cruel, nor will you yearn for fresh blood and flesh.

Y

You're inheriting external things.

But your inner self, your heart, will always belong to the Holy Spirit Qi!"

Deng Yuxiang: "..."

Lu Ran quickly summoned the Bronze Mirror.

Deng Yuxiang immediately reminded him, "Distance."

Lu Ran's movements froze.

Alright, being cautious isn't a bad thing.

Lu Ran patiently waited for a moment, until the Holy Spirit Qi was about 30 meters away from the Cloud Sea, then he transformed the basic technique Bronze Mirror into a Floor Mirror.

The Holy Spirit Qi once again floated out of the mirror, and Lu Ran widened his cold horizontal pupils, absorbing the Holy Spirit Qi into his eyes.

"Roar!"

The Blazing Heaven Sculpture trembled.

Mist Realm Second Stage, Third Stage, Fourth Stage, Fifth Stage

Stream Realm First Stage!

"Hiss!" Lu Ran gasped and casually waved away the Floor Mirror.

Holy cow!

The two strands of Holy Spirit Qi successfully activated the statue.

This last strand of Holy Spirit Qi had just pushed the Blazing Heaven Sculpture from the Mist Realm First Stage to the Stream Realm First Stage?

A rough calculation showed that one strand of Holy Spirit Qi was equivalent to a River Realm soul.

No wonder it was so pure and nourishing, being the energy that burst forth during the battle between gods and demons.

Lu Ran had just equipped the Divine Technique of Blazing Heaven Hammer, and now he had gained two more techniques.

Divine Technique of Blazing Heaven - Thousand Flames: Smashing a hammer into the ground, causing a sea of fire to surge forward.

Divine Technique of Blazing Heaven - Explosive Heaven Dome: A long-range output technique, throwing out a burning war hammer that can be detonated, causing area damage.

The ultimate output of the Blazing Heaven faction is no joke!

And for Lu Ran to achieve cross-level killing, he needed the Divine Technique of Blazing Heaven Tyrant, which was suitable for the River Realm First Stage.

"Mhm," Lu Ran was full of anticipation and vigor.

To speak loudly in front of the Sea Realm powerhouses, he still needed to cultivate his divine sculptures!

"Someone's here!" Lu Ran suddenly tilted his head and listened carefully.

Deng Yuxiang immediately turned around and looked towards the mountain forest.

After a moment, she slightly raised her head and saw several men and women flying rapidly, sticking close to the treetops.

There were six of them, two in white robes and the other four in dark clothing.

Without exception, they were all surrounded by jade plaques.

Were these people Jade Talisman believers?

Deng Yuxiang's expression remained calm, but her heart sank.

She noticed a distinctive long-haired man with an oval-shaped birthmark on his right cheek, like a fingerprint.

This was Luo Furen's lover, the leader of Tiantu Mountain Camp, Luo Tiantu?

Today's third watch, 12, 18, 22.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end