The Old Gods

Chapter 1048 The Sword Spirit Forms, Dark Clouds Gather
A series of astonishingly large mist tornadoes descended from the sky.

Lu Ran gripped the buzzing, trembling Zun-zhan Dao (Slaying Venerable Blade), secretly marveling that he had finally succeeded.

This heavy blade, personally crafted by the god Tianchen, is finally about to take shape after targeted special training, gathering its weapon spirit.

Lu Ran still couldn't be happy.

Strictly speaking, the success of the Slaying Venerable Blade is linked to the deaths of Dragon God General and Flower Heaven General.

The very existence of this knife is based on the principle of insubordination.

This time, the Jade Venerable herself led her army to attack, using absolute power to assault the Divine Mountain and slaughter the soldiers of the Burning Gate, demonstrating her supreme power that surpasses even gods and demons.

This also made Lu Ran realize his own weakness.

Despite the overwhelming disparity in strength, he fearlessly confronted the colossal Jade Venerable, and while enduring the grief of his fallen comrades, he went on a mad rampage, slaughtering the Jade Venerable's minions.
This triggered the Demon-Slaying Blade, leading him to take a step towards godhood.

does it worth?
This is not a problem, because this was not an exchange, but a harsh reality.

It's a helpless acceptance.

Lu Ran's face was ashen as he picked up the heavy Zhan Zun Blade and looked at its slender blade through the mist.

The Dragon Blade in his other hand trembled, and his desire intensified.

Perhaps, I really can advance in the hands of the number one genius of the Great Xia Dynasty.

When the owner returns, give her a surprise.

"call"

The massive fog tornado arrived quickly and dissipated just as fast.

Yan Shuangzi pursed her lips tightly, gazing up at the vast and silent sky, and at that solitary figure.

Thick, dark clouds still blanketed the sky and earth.

The young man in imperial robes stood motionless beneath the dark clouds, his dark eyes seemingly filled with a thick, lingering gloom.

Suddenly, a surge of energy erupted from the blade, sending a phantom figure flying backward.

Slay the Spirit of the Supreme Blade!
He was also dressed in a black and gold imperial robe, and his appearance was exactly the same as Lu Ran's, but his expression was different.

The Demon Slayer Blade Spirit was majestic and imposing, its aura overwhelming!
He stood ramrod straight, head slightly raised, his imperial robes fluttering even without wind, his short hair swaying in the breeze.

He was clearly wearing imperial robes; he should be a king of the world.

But he seemed to be the one in a lower position; his deep eyes seemed to burn with an inextinguishable wildfire, and he also had an indescribable arrogance.

It's hard to imagine that this is the kind of splendor that a first-tier divine weapon spirit could display.

Standing at his current level, Lu Ran's personally cultivated divine weapon is worlds apart from the divine weapons that ordinary believers cultivate by chance.

"Why isn't there a mask?" Lu Ran suddenly asked.

The Blade Spirit of the Slaying Venerable perfectly replicated everything about Lu Ran, from his appearance to his clothing, except for the Blood Crystal Mask.

She seemed unwilling to cover the lower half of her face.

The spirit of the Blade of Slaying Venerable did not respond, but instead said, "You are very sad."

Lu Ran shrugged.

The spirit of the Blade of Slaying Venerables turned around and looked towards the dim sky further southeast, as if it could see the retreating army of Jade Venerables across the distance:

"Just kill them all."

"Heh." Lu Ran snorted coldly, "A mere first-tier divine weapon, yet you speak so arrogantly."

The spirit of the Blade of Slaying Venerables laughed, its illusory figure slowly flying backward, perfectly merging with Lu Ran's body:
"Me, another you."

Lu Ran: "."

The spirit of the weapon is formed from the essence of the master of divine weapons. It is an extension of the master's ideology and represents a certain aspect of Lu Ran's spiritual will.

Therefore, it wasn't that the Blade Spirit of the Slaying Venerable was boastful; it all stemmed from what Lu Ran thought in his heart.

The indomitable spirit of the sword spirit, and the endless wildfire burning in its eyes, if traced back to their source, all originated from Lu Ran's heart.

"Whoosh~" The illusory image of the sword spirit, perfectly overlapping with its master, finally converged in Lu Ran's hand and gradually merged into the Zun-Zhan sword.

"Young Master." Si Xianxian flew up and placed her hand under his feet.

She wanted to congratulate him, but the atmosphere was off.

The words reached his lips and he swallowed them back.

"Okay, let's go back." Lu Ran's gaze swept over the several huge stone sculptures around him, and with a flick of his hand, a giant spider lily bloomed.

The next moment, everyone returned to Mount Nüying.

As soon as he appeared, Lu Ran's expression darkened further.

There was a statue of a deity wearing a long robe and resembling a middle-aged man, kneeling with his head bowed.

Fourth-Rank God - Mud Lord!
"You're back." Jiang Ruyi said softly as she stepped forward and took the sect leader's certificate from the Mad Immortal Protector.

Lu Ran looked at the clay statue below and asked, "Have you come to apologize?"

Jiang Ruyi slowly shook her head: "They were captured. Nüying said he deserted in the face of battle."

The clay statue trembled slightly and hurriedly explained, "My lord, I am powerless to stop the faceless jade lord! Unable to fight him head-on, I can only temporarily relocate and seek another opportunity."

"Heh." Lu Ran let out a cold laugh, as if he was laughing out of anger.

The Mud God trembled as he said, "Later...later, I guarded the sacred mountain and repelled a large number of Jade God's minions."

Lu Ran said in a deep voice, "I'm going to save you. The Evil Shadow Protector has also arrived."

The clay statue's face was stiff.

Lu Ran continued, "If my support hadn't arrived in time, that would have been one thing, but you abandoned us and ran away after we both arrived, leaving us to face the Jade Venerable."

Jiang Ruyi's face was covered with frost, and a murderous intent emanated from her.

It wasn't anger, but murderous intent.

To this day, almost no one in the Ranmen dares to anger Lady Ranmen.

Mud Lord was the first to transcend anger and directly ignite murderous intent in her heart.

"My lord! No, no, I panicked and lost my composure. I..." Ni Zun explained hastily, filled with fear.

Lu Ran turned to look at Nü Ying. After all, this was the sacred mountain she guarded, and the likes of Ni Zun and Xuan Yuan were all her subordinates.

Nu Ying also had a cold face and looked at Ni Zun with disdain.

Does this guy deserve to be called a comrade-in-arms?

Normally, killing Jade Lord's henchmen doesn't reveal much, but when it comes to a critical moment, his true nature is directly exposed.

He abandoned his comrades, and the worst part is that those two comrades were specifically there to rescue him!
Lu Ran respected Nv Ying and looked over.

Jiang Ruyi looked directly at the evil shadow.

Yan Shuangzi looked inquisitive, then saw the lady's gaze shift downwards and land on the magic weapon, the Demon-Binding Chain, at her waist.

She understood immediately, teleported behind Mud God, and the chains in her hands were already wrapped around his neck.

The clay statue's expression changed drastically, and it hurriedly begged for forgiveness: "My lord! I was truly flustered at the time. I... I know I was wrong! Please, I promise I won't do it again next time."

Jiang Ruyi ignored the god's pleas for mercy and instead looked at Lu Ran: "Go and rest for a while, leave this to me."

Since things had come to this, Lu Ran didn't say anything and simply teleported to Nv Ying's shoulder.

He intended to comfort Nüying, after all, Nizun was her subordinate, but then he heard her whisper:

"I also made mistakes in this battle."

She turned around and gazed at the southeastern sky: "If I hadn't rashly attacked and had remained seated on the mountaintop, perhaps Longxiang would have survived."

Lu Ran pursed his lips, but ultimately said nothing.

"Sect Leader Lu," Nüying called softly.

"Ok?"

"Our side suffered heavy casualties this time. I failed in my duty to protect the sacred mountain and am willing to accept punishment," Nüying said softly.

Lu Ran's smile was somewhat forced.

Nü Ying and Wang Longxiang are truly cut from the same cloth.

Even after the Dragon God died in battle, his spirit was still blaming himself, apologizing to Lu Ran and saying that his subordinate was incompetent.

"Ahhhhh!!"

Screams and pleas for mercy came from a distance behind.

Guan Yiren was startled and quickly spread her white phoenix wings and flew up. The black ape, which had been completely healed, also climbed the mountain at a fast speed and witnessed the execution of Ni Zun.

Both of them looked horrified.

Looking at the powerless Mud God, and then at Lady Ranmen's cold face.

A moment later, the sound of shattering echoed throughout the sacred mountain, and the thick fog dissipated.

【Lu Ran, Divine Soul.】These few words were imprinted in my mind, carrying with them a lingering chilling killing intent.

【Hmm.】Lu Ran moved skillfully and then entered the gourd with the phoenix pattern.

He brought out the false god, the clay statue, from the sculpture garden and ordered it to devour the soul. He also brought out the false god, the bamboo and wood demon statue, from the garden and ordered it to devour the soul of the nine bamboo spirits.

Should we further shrink our lines and reduce the number of sacred mountains?

[Simplified?] Lu Ran flew out of the gourd mouth.

In the thick fog, the Immortal Jasmine statue slowly raised its hand: "After this battle, only Nüying, the Bamboo Demon, and the Black Ape will remain on Mount Nüying."

Lu Ran remained silent, then reached back and grasped the magic gourd.

Jiang Ruyi knew that such a battle report would make Lu Ran's heart bleed, but she unusually emphasized: "Yu Zun's strength is great, and his attitude towards battle has changed significantly."

Even if you led the powerful gods of several sacred mountains to your aid, Mount Nüying still suffered heavy casualties.

Lu Ran nodded silently.

The incompetent one was neither Wang Longxiang, who was full of self-reproach, nor Nü Ying, who took the initiative to apologize.

But himself.

Jiang Ruyi suggested, "Let's further consolidate our forces and merge the Nüying Squad into either Longshen Mountain or Liyuan Shen Mountain, concentrating our strength to fight against the Jade Venerable Clan."

"Alright," Lu Ran replied.

Jiang Ruyi was somewhat disappointed. She kept her hand raised, but the person did not arrive as expected.

She whispered: "Lu Ran, things are different now. You have witnessed firsthand the changes in the Jade Venerable Clan's tactics and attitudes."

Jade Venerable is determined to destroy us completely, at any cost.

She failed to achieve her goal this time and has retreated temporarily. When she returns, she will undoubtedly be even more ferocious!

"Hmm." Lu Ran responded in a deep voice.

Jiang Ruyi's voice transmission was very soft, but every word was clear: "You should also take a step further so that you can lead us to resist the Jade Venerable and fight our way out."

Burning Gate Warriors, fellow human beings, our homeland
If you lack sufficient strength, everything will ultimately be reduced to dust under the onslaught of the Jade Emperor's army.

Lu Ran looked up at the magnificent statue of the Immortal Jasmine God.

She stubbornly raised her hand, waiting for the person to return to her fingertips, and also waiting for an answer.

The summit of the sacred mountain was deathly silent.

The abundant primordial energy was completely absorbed by the gods.

A deep voice finally entered Jiang Ruyi's mind: "I understand. Handle the rest for me. I'm going back."

"Okay." Jiang Ruyi agreed in her heart.

"call!!"

A full-length mirror ruthlessly tore open the space, and Lu Ran stepped into the human world, returning to his old house in the rainy alley town.

Inside the small bedroom, Lu Ran came to the shrine and looked at the small sculpture of a fairy sheep inside.

He clasped his hands together and bowed respectfully.

The small jade carving was pure white, but a touch of black had quietly appeared on the smiling sheep's face.

A hoarse voice fell, carrying a unique eerie and chilling quality:
Have you come to terms with reality?

(End of this chapter)