Chapter 56: Essence Source?

Chapter 56: Essence Source?

As expected, Jiang Ruyi did not disappoint!

That very night, while the team was lodging in Stone City, she had a sudden epiphany and successfully advanced.

Unfortunately, only Tian Tian was a witness, and Lu Ran and Deng Yutang were temporarily unaware.

After all, the team was sleeping in separate rooms.

At that moment, Lu Ran was in the bathroom of his room, carefully washing his bloodstained clothes.

"Oh right, Divine Sheep," Lu Ran paused in his movements.

He furrowed his brows slightly and pondered, "As long as I venture deep into the demon abyss and go far enough, I can reach the front line at the stone wall.

If I can catch up with the malevolent demon army's invasion..."

The more he spoke, the brighter Lu Ran's eyes became, "What is the maximum range of our soul-capturing ability?

Can I stand on the wall and, with the help of the military, harvest the souls of the demons on a large scale?"

This was far more efficient than Lu Ran killing the demons himself.

Suddenly, a voice transmitted into his mind, "Being too reckless will expose your existence prematurely."

"Exposed?"

The Divine Sheep suddenly asked, "Do you think that we are using the souls of the demon minions to nourish the demonic sculptures in our garden?"

Lu Ran was a bit puzzled, "Isn't that the case?"

"No, it's energy."

"Energy?"

Divine Sheep: "Although the demon minions are independent individuals, their lives are all granted by the malevolent demon statue."

Lu Ran nodded.

Divine Sheep: "Each minion carries a strand of 'energy' from the malevolent demon statue.

You can understand this strand of energy as the essence source of the malevolent demon.

This strand of energy is hidden deep within the souls of the demon minions."

The Divine Sheep's voice was hoarse and somewhat gloomy as he continued, "The reason our demonic sculptures grow and become stronger is that we are constantly seizing the essence source from the enemy's statue."

Holy shit!

Lu Ran was startled.

Isn't this like pulling a tooth from a tiger's mouth?

Divine Sheep: "If you capture a large number of souls in a short time, it will definitely attract the attention of the malevolent demon statue.

At that time, it will be difficult to predict what consequences will arise."

Lu Ran's head buzzed with thoughts!

He remained silent for a long time, then said, "But if we continue like this, constantly seizing the essence source from the malevolent demon and using it to nurture our own demonic sculptures, won't they eventually discover us?"

Divine Sheep: "Yes, they will definitely find out.

The sculpture garden in your mind is enough to shake the foundation of the malevolent demon.

You must gain sufficient strength before they become aware, so you can withstand the wrath of the malevolent demon."

Lu Ran's mouth hung slightly open, unable to speak.

He had always thought that the full moon on the 15th day of each lunar month was like a sharp sword hanging over his head.

But now,

There was an even sharper and more dangerous sword!

The Divine Sheep gave Lu Ran another stern warning, "Withstanding wrath is not enough to describe the situation you will face.

You should know that you are slowly eroding the malevolent demon and stealing its essence source!

So, when the malevolent demon comes knocking on your door,

It will be either your death or its destruction!"

Lu Ran: "..."

The Divine Sheep advised, "Beware of greed and recklessness, and do not absorb a large number of souls in a short time."

"I understand," Lu Ran nodded firmly.

Seeing Lu Ran's anxiety, the Divine Sheep said, "There's no need to worry too much.

Every day, a large number of demon minions die, and as their souls return, there will inevitably be some loss of that strand of energy.

Moreover, the malevolent demon statue is constantly growing stronger.

With the total number of souls you have absorbed so far, it is not enough to attract the attention of the malevolent demon."

Lu Ran spoke with a heavy voice, "Since that's the case, at what level of growth of our demonic sculptures might they be discovered by the enemy?"

The Divine Sheep pondered for a moment and transmitted, "It's difficult to give a precise answer.

Perhaps it will be at the Riverine Realm, the Sea Realm, or even a higher realm."

Lu Ran couldn't help but feel relieved.

After all, the Divine Sheep had mentioned the Riverine Realm.

In other words, as long as he didn't intentionally seek death, he would be fine for a considerable period in the future.

If he was cautious enough, perhaps he could secretly cultivate his own demonic sculpture to the Sea Realm, or even higher realms?

"Divine Sheep!" Lu Ran's mind raced, and he asked, "Regarding soul-capturing, can I control it myself?"

Although Lu Ran had mentioned soul-capturing, he had never actually performed the act of capturing.

Every time Lu Ran slaughtered demons, their souls would automatically enter the garden.

If he could control it himself, Lu Ran could go to the front lines and absorb them slowly.

Divine Sheep: "You should know that the demonic sculpture in your spiritual world is real.

Within a fifty-meter radius around you, when a demon minion dies, the sculpture will automatically absorb its soul.

As the demonic sculpture's realm improves and it becomes more massive, its absorption range will also expand.

Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"I can help you close this demonic sculpture garden."

"There's no need to be so extreme!" Lu Ran immediately refused, "Rest assured.

I will proceed with caution and strive for a future...er, I will be careful!"

"Good." It was clear that the Divine Sheep was satisfied with Lu Ran's response.

Indeed, this was the case regarding the mortal struggle with the Demon Clan. Lu Ran felt like he had a thorn in his back, but he accepted it calmly.

Lu Ran was a human, and from the moment of his birth, he was at odds with the Demon Clan.

Your weakness will not earn you their mercy.

Your tearful pleas for mercy will only excite and embolden the Demons, making them more ruthless.

For humans, there is only one path to survival—resistance!

"Lu Ge?" Outside the wooden door, Deng Yutang's voice called out.

"Huh?"

"I really need to use the bathroom."

"Oh." Lu Ran quickly washed his clothes.

Deng Yutang waited anxiously for nearly two minutes before knocking on the door again, "Lu Ge, I don't want to end up like Qian Hao."

"Just a moment, hold it in! Think of your glorious reputation!"

The next day, Lu Ran and Deng Yutang checked the time and headed to the dining hall on the first floor of the Stone Inn.

When they arrived, Jiang Ruyi and Tian Tian were already seated at a small square table, starting their meal.

"Yutang," Jiang Ruyi lifted her hand and waved gently.

Lu Ran's expression was odd, as he had clearly been walking in front of Deng Yutang.

Jiang Ruyi noticed Lu Ran's expression and gave him a sidelong glance, then lowered her head to peel a boiled egg.

"Haha!" Deng Yutang laughed and looked at Lu Ran, "Jiang Ban Zhang is still mad at you."

"Just appease her, I'll only teach you once!" Lu Ran picked up a plate as he spoke.

The previous day, his words, "You don't need to chase me, I promise you," had been incredibly powerful! It made Ms. Jiang both shy and annoyed, and she hadn't spoken to Lu Ran for a long time.

"Okay." Deng Yutang was a bit excited.

The breakfast provided at the Stone Inn was simple, consisting of thin porridge, steamed buns, stir-fried radish, and boiled eggs.

Lu Ran and Deng Yutang quickly got their breakfast and headed to the small square table.

"Yutang told me to appease you." Lu Ran put down his plate and started peeling an egg.

Deng Yutang was surprised, "Huh?"

Didn't you say that yourself?

Jiang Ruyi didn't even lift her head, continuing to eat her egg in small bites.

"I know I was wrong, you... you're angry," Lu Ran said.

Tian Tian was stunned for a moment, and a trace of pity rose in her heart.

Deng Yutang also paused, feeling that something was amiss.

"You!" Jiang Ruyi was both amused and annoyed.

The 'baa' was well hidden?

"Huh?" This time, it was Lu Ran's turn to be dumbfounded.)



Deng Yutang and Tian Tian had fallen for it. If Lu Ran continued with the 'baa', they might start calling him 'Ran Bao'.

But Jiang Ruyi...

Lu Ran's eyes lit up, "You advanced?"

"Mhm." Jiang Ruyi extended her hand and waved it in front of Tian Tian's eyes, "Snap out of it."

"Oh, oh." Tian Tian came back to her senses and quickly lowered her head to eat.

"You're teaching me this?" Deng Yutang also realized, "I won't be able to learn this!"

Lu Ran shrugged, "Well, I taught you anyway."

He looked at Jiang Ruyi and asked, "Did you learn the Frost Talisman too?"

Jiang Ruyi raised her hand, and with a flick of her fingertip, a frosty mist appeared.

Her gaze moved from her fingertip to Lu Ran across the table, and in her beautiful eyes, there was a hint of threat, "If you dare to hide your words again..."

Unfortunately, Ms. Jiang was too gentle, and her threatening words held little intimidation.

"Congratulations!" Lu Ran's face lit up with joy, completely ignoring her words.

As expected of Jiang Ruyi, the top student, her talent was truly exceptional!

Luck, epiphanies, and the like were all built upon the foundation of talent.

Although Jiang Ruyi was a third-rank deity and a believer of the Jade Talisman Gate, don't forget that she had rejected the second-rank deity, Tian Luan, at the altar.

In other words, Jiang Ruyi's innate talent was at least on par with Deng Yuxiang's.

"We don't have to worry about Mist Shadow Demons anymore." Deng Yutang sighed in relief.

There were many types of demons, each with unique physical structures.

Not only were there demons made of mist, but also various stone demons, wooden demons, and more.

Using the Electric Seal Talisman on these demons would have little effect, but if Jiang Ruyi used the Frost Talisman...

They would be frozen solid!

At the very least, they would be slowed down.

"Eat quickly!" Lu Ran urged, "Let's go kill some dogs and test the power of the Frost Talisman!"

Jiang Ruyi hummed in agreement, not objecting.

Poor little doggies,

Previously, Jiang Ruyi had used electricity to paralyze them and then cooked them until they were charred on the outside and tender on the inside.

Now, they were going to be frozen into ice sculptures.

In fact, the dogs could have suffered less if Jiang Ruyi had gone to Fog Spirit Mountain as she had intended.

But the Evil Dog Clan's Evil Arts were too tempting, and Lu Ran couldn't resist the allure.

At this moment, Lu Ran's goal was crystal clear:

From this moment until the team left the Demon Abyss, he needed to kill 300 Stream Realm Demon Dogs.

Once the Evil Dog Statuette reached the third stage of the Stream Realm, he could add the Malevolent Shadow Spell to his skill set!

This evil art allowed the caster to summon a phantom to lure and distract enemies.

As Lu Ran continued to enhance the quality of the Malevolent Shadow Spell, the phantom he summoned could even transform into a clone of himself!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end