The Old Gods

Chapter 1030 Tomb

It was late at night on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month.

Rain poured down in Yuxiang City, and bursts of thunder echoed through the empty town.

The Lu residence was pitch black, but it was not empty.

Inside the small bedroom, a young man dressed in a noble imperial robe was kneeling quietly before the shrine, patiently awaiting the deity's reply.

A few days ago, after having a long talk with his father all night, Lu Ran went home, had breakfast, and then came to the small shrine to offer his prayers.

Lord Immortal Sheep said, "Wait."

Lu Ran waited quietly in front of the shrine.

And this wait lasted until his father, Lu Xing, advanced to the third level of the Heavenly Realm, and then until he devoured the divine soul and transformed into a new Blood Skull.

Not long ago, Lu Ran sent his father into the Blazing Phoenix Pattern Gourd, instructing him to subdue the top-tier magic artifact, the Blood Skull Necklace.

"Whoosh~~~" A strong wind was blowing outside the window.

Intertwined with torrential rain, it ravaged this abandoned, dilapidated town.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning ripped through the night sky, and in an instant, the rain-soaked alleyway was as bright as day.

Lu Ran subconsciously looked up at the window.

In a daze, he saw the small statue of the fairy sheep in the shrine, the sheep's head already turned black.

Those dead sheep eyes seemed to be staring at him the whole time.

Horrifying, eerie.

"Lord Immortal Sheep?" Lu Ran asked tentatively.

"Hmm." A voice entered my mind.

Lu Ran clasped his hands together and bowed his head in respect: "Thank you, Immortal Sheep, for saving my father. I will never forget your great kindness."

"Boom!"

After the lightning, came a terrifying thunderclap, as if the sky itself was about to shatter.

In the pitch-black room, the phoenix-patterned gourd flew over from the small bed.

The little creature seemed a bit scared. It used its gourd-shaped mouth to lift the hem of the imperial robe, then crawled inside and clung tightly to Lu Ran's waist.

Top-tier magical artifacts, what kind of spectacle haven't they seen?

Naturally, they will not be frightened by the storms of life.

The fear stemmed from the chilling aura permeating the small shrine, which even made divine weapons and magical artifacts feel sinister and terrifying.

It was a thick aura of death.

"I will never forget you." The soft voice etched itself into Lu Ran's mind. "Then you'll probably remember it for a very, very long time."

Lu Ran also felt a bone-chilling cold, but his eyes were bright and resolute as he looked up at the small shrine: "As long as I live, I will remember it."

【Hehe.】The Immortal Sheep's laughter was hoarse.

He seemed quite satisfied, but also somewhat sentimental.

"Lord Immortal Sheep, I defeated the Evil Spear Emperor on the third day of the third month, and then took over the remaining forces in the Northwest. Now I have completely unified the Great Xia God and Demon camp."

Yes, I saw it with my own eyes these past few days.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ran understood. It turned out that the Immortal Sheep had been inspecting the results of the Ran Sect over the past few days.

"You did very well, very well." The sheep's tone of praise was surprisingly undisguised, which was quite rare.

"The Immortal Sheep has gifted me a sculpture garden. If I cannot defeat the God and Demon faction, then I am truly useless."

There's no need to underestimate yourself.

Lu Ran looked up at the strange little statue.

Xianyang's tone became slightly serious: "[Anyone else would have long lost their inner convictions and become lost in the face of overwhelming power.]"

With this sculpture garden, as the lord of gods and demons, you should be the only one of your kind in heaven and earth.

But you forged your own path.

After the telepathic message ended, the Immortal Sheep smiled and added four more words: "As I wish."

"My own path?" Lu Ran murmured.

You were meant to be a solitary king; you had the strength and the right to rule everything alone.

[But you are not stingy in sharing divine and evil sculptures, transforming your loyal servants, who were once completely yours, into warriors of different natures and independent thoughts.]

You possess a personal charm and magnanimity that most people lack; you have forged your own path.

As he spoke, the immortal sheep let out a long sigh.

Along the way, it has learned enough and has too many examples to prove its point.

Despite the successive transformations of the warriors of the Burning Gate into gods and demons, they remained steadfast in their loyalty to their sect leader.

On Mount Nüying, the towering Valkyrie, who throughout her life only acknowledged the Faceless Jade Venerable, willingly severed her own blade for a mere ant.

That arrogant and domineering Evil Gun Emperor would actually acknowledge a lowly species, be willing to fight fairly, and entrust all his subordinates to him with peace of mind.

Lu Ran has embarked on a true path to becoming a king.

This king was now worshipping before the shrine, as respectful as ever.

He's no different from the boy he was a few years ago.

They even became more devout.

[Hehe.] The fairy sheep suddenly laughed, clearly aware that Lu Ran still did not believe in God.

He knelt before the statue of the god very few times, and each time, he was not kneeling before the god.

It is gratitude.

That's good, very good.

"Lord Immortal Sheep," Lu Ran's voice trembled slightly, "Don't go."

The fairy sheep fell silent.

Lu Ran isn't stupid.

If possible, he would prefer that in this conversation, Lord Immortal Sheep would speak coldly and sarcastically as before, or even mock and ridicule him.

But the fairy sheep said a lot of words of praise.

"You've accomplished everything I entrusted to you. If I don't leave, I'll be blocking your path to further progress." After a long while, those gentle words echoed in my mind once more.

"This disciple dares to request to share the divine body with you!" Lu Ran said in a deep voice. With his fresh blood joining, should he be able to extend the lifespan of the Immortal Sheep Lord?

"Heh." The fairy sheep chuckled softly. "If you did that, you wouldn't be sharing my body, but with someone else."

"Huh?" Lu Ran was a little confused.

"The person you've been searching for."

Lu Ran reacted for a moment, then asked in surprise, "Grandpa Cheng Xin?"

[Yes, I had already taken control of the Immortal Sheep Sculpture, which I later gave to Cheng Xin.]

Lu Ran: !!!
"So, this disciple has always been revering Grandpa Cheng Xin?"

"Others are worshipping Cheng Xin, but you are not," Xian Yang said calmly. "You are my disciple, my only disciple."

Lu Ran hesitated for a while, then quickly said, "Then, I can take another route! There are plenty of stone sculptures in the sculpture park, and quite a few of them have divine status."

[Hehe.] The Immortal Sheep laughed again. [These so-called divine and evil sculptures are nothing but a pile of stones. How could they be worthy of my disciple?]

His tone was full of disdain, leaving Lu Ran dumbfounded.

Many years ago, the fairy sheep had scorned: Gods? They're nothing but a pile of stones.

Such words can be understood as a form of contempt for gods and demons, which is perfectly acceptable.

But the context is different now!
In the eyes of the Immortal Sheep, the existence of divine sculptures and evil sculptures was not worthy of his disciple.
Both divine and evil sculptures possess extremely long lifespans and divine positions, making them supreme beings within the Three Realms.

This still doesn't meet Yang Zong's approval?

You have seen my true form.

Lu Ran immediately realized: "That ram's head burning with black flames?"

Yes, the Blackfire Ram's Head isn't made of stone. Wait a minute!

Since the Blackfire Ram Head is the true form of the Immortal Ram, its existence is unique and cannot be classified as a divine or evil sculpture.

In essence, Lord Immortal Sheep
Lu Ran stared at the small shrine, at the eerie, dark sheep face:

"You are neither a god nor a demon?"

"Crack!" Another thick bolt of lightning ripped through the rainy night.

The city of Yuxiang lit up again and again, the lightning reflecting off the astonished face of the young man in imperial robes.

A hoarse voice was etched into my mind:
My name is Grave.

Lu Ran's mind raced, and he respectfully inquired about the deity's name: "Is it the 'shepherd' of grazing or the 'grave' of tombs?"

"The latter," the immortal sheep said with a playful tone, "Then you should be able to understand what the God and Demon Sculpture Garden I gifted you is actually."

What is the reality?
Lu Ran immediately understood the answer by combining Yang Zong's real name with his own.

"Gulp." His Adam's apple bobbed, and he said in a trembling voice, "The Gods and Demons Sculpture Garden is actually the graveyard of the gods?"

Is it a cemetery?
"Hmm, this child is teachable." The immortal sheep was quite satisfied.

A huge uproar ensued in Lu Ran's heart.

Yes, the sculpture garden is just a fancy name; the garden is always filled with a chilling wind and an aura of death.

The stone sculptures standing in the park also grow stronger by devouring the souls of the dead.

I am neither a god nor a demon, but an existence that transcends both gods and demons.

"Boom!"

The thunder following the lightning struck Lu Ran's eardrums painfully.

The hoarse voice imprinted in his mind shook Lu Ran's soul.

Gods feed on faith.

Demons feed on emotions.

And I feed on gods and demons.

Lu Ran opened his eyes wide and stared blankly at the small statue in the shrine.

Suddenly, Lu Ran's vision blurred.

The small shrine in sight constantly shifted between scenes shrouded in a light black mist.

The next moment, he entered the Gods and Demons Sculpture Garden.

In the sky, a ram's head engulfed in flames, its dead ram eyes staring down at the tiny humans below: "You want to share my body to prolong my life, is that right?"

"Yes," Lu Ran nodded in agreement.

Upon hearing this, those lifeless, dull sheep eyes softened slightly:

"You think that I am like those stones, with the passage of time, the energy I draw from heaven and earth and the energy I can retain for my own use are becoming less and less."

Lu Ran nodded again.

The black-headed ram said in a hoarse voice, "You think I will die?"

Lu Ran's heart skipped a beat, and his face showed astonishment: "Are you immortal?"
Didn't you say before that it would eventually disappear?

"Whoo~"

The black fire ram's head slowly descended, landing in front of Lu Ran: "Death is my choice."

choose?!
Lu Ran's eyes widened!
The black-headed ram slowly spoke: "I am different from that pile of stones. Leaving is the destiny I want to pursue, not an inevitable end due to my powerlessness."

As long as gods and demons exist, I will never perish.

Lu Ran was stunned for a while, then immediately asked, "Why? Why do you have to leave?"

"Not just me, but all living beings."

"All living beings?"

The black-fire ram-headed creature didn't respond further, but instead asked, "Lu Ran, do gods and demons really age and die?"

Lu Ran was full of doubts: "You just said that the Divine and Evil Sculptors will gradually lose their ability to retain energy in the body and eventually perish over time."

The black-headed ram revealed a mysterious smile: "I did say that."

But do you really think that time caused them to gradually decay?

Lu Ran stood there, stunned.

Is not it?
The black-headed ram's voice was hoarse as he spoke, each word distinct: "I've already told you."
I feed on gods and demons.

Lu Ran's head buzzed!
(End of this chapter)