The Old Gods

Chapter 1002 The Common People in a Cup
The Evil Spear Emperor smiled calmly: "They will eventually perish, but I never expected that they would not die at the hands of the Jade Venerable."

Lu Ran nodded silently.

The gods and demons faction is indeed like a pile of loose sand, outwardly united but inwardly divided.

If they continue to be devoured by the Faceless Jade Venerable, their demise is probably only a matter of time.

However, Lu Ran suddenly rose to prominence and inflicted heavy casualties on the God and Demon faction in a very short time, which also thwarted the Faceless Jade Venerable's "boiling frog in lukewarm water" strategy.

"Human, what is your goal?" the Evil Spear Emperor asked.

Lu Ran's fingertips traced the exquisite golden goblet repeatedly, and a muffled voice came from behind the blood crystal mask:

"The sea of ​​clouds and dust have cleared, and peace will last for a thousand autumns."

"Yun Hai Chen Qing." The Evil Spear Emperor nodded slightly and raised the golden goblet once more. "Your mother is indeed a creature worthy of respect."

Lu Ran was taken aback and looked up.

The Evil Spear Emperor gulped down plum wine, the clear liquid sliding down his lips and dripping onto his black and gold imperial robe.

"Glug, glug"

Lu Ran waited silently until the emperor put down his wine cup before asking, "Have you paid attention to my mother?"

A look of reminiscence crossed the face of the Evil Spear Emperor as he sighed, "The collapsed sect hall, the tragically killed followers, and the broken swords."

A blood-stained figure, staggering steps, and a bowed head.

And those hands that once held the power of life and death over all things were reduced to trembling, repeatedly wiping away tears.

Lu Ran's eyes widened!

With just a few words, he had already sketched out a tragic picture of his mother in his mind.

Lu Ran was unaware of all this.

Lu Ran only had a general idea of ​​his mother's history of resistance, and did not know the specific battles fought.

Yunhai's former subordinates never revealed any of this, and Yunhai Sword never mentioned it either.

The gods and demons who submitted to the Burning Gate were probably filled with worry and dared not mention this past event.

"The scene of an emperor's downfall," the Evil Spear Emperor sighed softly, picking up the wine jug with one hand. "If you saw it, you would also sigh."

Lu Ran clenched his fists tightly.

Different people see the world from different perspectives.

For Yunhai's former followers, Qiao Wanjun was their loyal sect leader; in the eyes of the Evil Spear Emperor, Qiao Wanjun might be the human emperor of that world.

But for Lu Ran, Qiao Wanjun is his mother.

“I thought you were here to discuss cooperation,” Lu Ran said in a deep voice.

If we want to negotiate, we should avoid the most difficult issues and seek common ground while reserving differences, rather than putting sharp conflicts on the table.

Let a son listen to his mother's history of suffering.

The Evil Spear Emperor was deeply impressed by the scene of "The End of an Emperor," which clearly shows that he was present at the scene and was one of the gods and demons who surrounded Qiao Wanjun.

"Cooperation?" The Evil Spear Emperor laughed, his smile utterly carefree. "Given your style, would you really be willing to share the Great Xia with me?"

Lu Ran nodded slowly: "Then why did you invite me here?"

As the Evil Spear Emperor poured wine, he said, "Since only one of you and I is destined to exist, let's decide this battle of life and death between us."

Lu Ran's expression froze.

What do you mean?
Shall we have a one-on-one fight?
What I'm saying is, is it possible that I'm only at the second level of the Heavenly Realm?
The Evil Spear Emperor filled his cup with wine and flicked his sleeve: "Human race, you sent an envoy to visit us before, saying that the struggle between our two forces should stop on the battlefield of the Heavenly Realm."

It should remain at the level of gods and demons.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Lu Ran felt a little uncomfortable.

The Evil Gun Emperor's opinion was more than just "deeply agreeable".
He went a step further, gambling everything on both sides, and directly deciding the life-or-death situation at the leadership level.
As expected, the Evil Spear Emperor continued, "The common people are nothing but ants, and gods and demons are nothing but appendages beneath their feet."

Why don't we eliminate the complexities between us and leave only one master?

If you win, all the gods and demons under my command will submit to you, and you will rule the Great Xia.

"If you are defeated, I will treat your soldiers well."

After a long silence, Lu Ran finally spoke, "Our side is stronger, so it seems I have no need to take any risks?"

The Evil Spear Emperor remained calm: "Human, you have exposed your weakness."

"Oh?"

"This upward climb has not extinguished your humanity; your actions show that you still care about all living beings."

Lu Ran remained expressionless, but his heart sank.

The other party's threatening intent was already quite clear.

Even today, there are still a large number of human believers who worship the gods of the Northwest forces.

Gun Rot, Western Wilderness, Thousand Bones, Poisonous Bee, Radiant Sparrow, Spirit Sign.
The gods do indeed have the power to cause mountains of corpses to pile up on Earth.

Lu Ran slowly said, "You have already agreed to keep the struggle between the two forces confined to the Heavenly Realm battlefield and the level of gods and demons, so why are you saying such things now?"

The Evil Spear Emperor smiled, his jet-black eyes gently gazing at Lu Ran:

"Am I not a ruthless and cunning demon?"

"Heh." Lu Ran snorted coldly, "I thought you had your own pride and wouldn't stoop to such methods."

The Evil Spear Emperor still smiled, his tone tinged with amusement: "I also thought that you wanted to end this chaotic world as soon as possible, so that all living beings could live out their remaining years in peace."

Lu Ran raised his voice slightly: "You want me, a second-level Heavenly Realm cultivator, to fight a life-or-death battle against you, a first-class evil god?"

The Evil Spear Emperor scoffed: "You, a mere Heavenly Realm human, first killed the martial monk, then beheaded the Blood Skull, and left the Fire Goddess of India in Great Xia, didn't you?"

Lu Ran: ? ? ?
Did I do that all by myself?
Do you not know how much my loyal and devoted soldiers have contributed to the cause of the Burning Gate?

Lu Ran remained silent, and the Evil Spear Emperor was not in a hurry either, tilting his head back to drink another cup of wine.

"Glug, glug," the way he drank so heartily made Lu Ran want to rush over and kick him hard!
By the time the Evil Spear Emperor put down his wine cup, Lu Ran's face had become as still as a stagnant pool.

"Hahahaha!" The Evil Spear Emperor looked at the "Human Emperor" who had been driven to the brink of despair and laughed wildly. "Humans, as long as you still care about those ants, you have no other choice."

Lu Ran's voice was icy cold: "After you die, how can you guarantee that your subordinates will obediently submit to me?"

"Hmm?" The Evil Spear Emperor raised an eyebrow and looked at Lu Ran.

"What, do you really think I'm afraid of you?" Lu Ran raised an eyebrow, responding sharply.

I possess a multitude of divine weapons and magical artifacts, and countless techniques at my disposal!
Invisibility, teleportation, and the fire that can kill beyond one's level.
Are they all just for show?
Seeing the young man's assertive demeanor, the Evil Spear Emperor slowly nodded, seemingly in approval or perhaps in praise.

His tone even carried a hint of emotion: "If I were defeated by you, the gods and demons kneeling at my feet would naturally bow down and submit to you."

After saying this, he drank the remaining plum wine in the golden goblet in one gulp.

Very dashing.

Lu Ran suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Judging from the other person's tone and appearance, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

This is the Evil Spear Emperor.
Lu Ran pondered for a moment, then said coldly, "You, a first-class evil god, have killed a mere Heaven Realm person like me. Even if you consider yourself victorious, my brothers will not accept you."

"Boom" sound.

The Evil Spear Emperor placed the golden goblet on the table and casually waved his hand: "It's alright!"
If you perish, the Burning Gate will naturally disintegrate.

Lu Ran stared intently into the eyes of the Evil Spear Emperor, as if trying to read something from those dark pupils.

The Evil Spear Emperor sensed something and looked up.

The gazes of the emperor of the gods and demons and the newly crowned human emperor in his eyes met.

Inside the main hall of worship, a deathly silence fell.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Ran slowly raised his hand and removed the blood crystal mask: "I once imprisoned Yu Fu's soul. He had something I wanted, so he tried to negotiate with me."

Do you know what the requirements are for a jade talisman?

The Evil Spear Emperor raised a slight eyebrow.

"He said he wanted me to hand over his soul to the Evil Spear Emperor." Lu Ran looked directly into the Evil Spear Emperor's eyes. "I have dealt with too many gods and demons and know how despicable they are."

So when Yu Fu made this condition, I asked him if he wasn't worried about his soul being devoured by the Evil Spear Emperor.

Looking back now, I realize I was overthinking it.

The Evil Spear Emperor quietly watched Lu Ran.

Lu Ran observed the other party's reaction and continued, "Later, the Paper Man told me that the Evil Spear Emperor was different from other gods and demons; he was a true king."

He possesses far too many excellent qualities that a leader should have.

It seems that this is indeed the case.

The Evil Spear Emperor spoke up: "Human, what do you want to say?"

Lu Ran sighed inwardly at his lack of skill, still unsure whether the Evil Spear Emperor was trying to find a way out for his followers because the Northwest camp was in decline.

Throughout the Burning Gate's journey, only a handful of the gods and demons it has faced have survived.

Once the Burning Gate and the Northwest forces go to war, the Northwest gods and demons will inevitably suffer heavy casualties.

They might even be wiped out, just like the forces of Wu Sheng and Yu Mian She!
However, if a full-scale war is not waged and the outcome is determined solely by the battle between leaders, and the subordinate gods and demons directly follow Lu Ran and submit to the Ran Sect, then a large number of them should survive!

Lu Ran's reasoning was based on the nature of the Evil Spear Emperor and his unique reputation among the gods and demons.

This was also based on the unusually threatening methods employed by the Evil Gun Emperor tonight.

Since he couldn't find out anything by testing, Lu Ran simply said, "One battle isn't enough, let's change the life-or-death battle into three!"

I cannot accept the divination slips and the fact that Lie Tian has submitted to the Burning Gate.

The Evil Spear Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly: "You're quite sharp-tongued, but you're actually aiming for a best-of-three match."

Unexpectedly, Lu Ran shook his head and said, "Those two life-or-death battles can be disregarded; the outcome is solely between you and me."

Even if you kill me, I want to see them both die first before I die!

The Evil Spear Emperor's expression was quite interesting: "That much hatred?"

"It's quite ironic, isn't it?" Lu Ran shook his head with a smile. "You invade the human world on the fifteenth of every month, and I'm drinking and laughing with you. Those two are gods who bestowed divine laws upon the human race, yet I am their mortal enemy."

The Evil Gun Emperor asked with a playful tone, "Are you so sure you can win both of these matches?"

Lu Ran shrugged, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Equally dashing.

It also exudes a strong sense of confidence.

"Hahahaha!" The Evil Spear Emperor laughed loudly, extremely boldly, "Good, good, good! Since that's the case, then let's have generals against generals, kings against kings!"

The final battle, with some opening embellishments.

"I'll accept on their behalf!"

Lu Ran said, "This is a life-or-death battle. Can you guarantee that Lingqian will participate?"

The Evil Spear Emperor poured wine into the golden goblet and said calmly, "No one can disturb your battle with me."

"Alright!" Lu Ran picked up the golden goblet for the first time and gestured from afar.

"Please!" The Evil Spear Emperor also raised his golden goblet, smiling as he looked at the human youth.

"Glug, glug"

Lu Ran raised his head and drank the wine in the cup in one gulp.

A strong sense of bitterness.

A faint plum scent.

The last chapter was the 1000th chapter, I forgot to throw confetti, so here it is!
ヽ(°▽°)ノ

Hooray!
(End of this chapter)