The Old Gods

Chapter 1053 No More Pain
"唳~~~"

A melodious phoenix cry rang out.

The Fire Evil Monk stared intently at the phantom phoenix swooping down, somewhat at a loss.

The new leader of the Great Xia Gods and Demons is far too domineering!

The Fire Evil Monk considered many conditions, but kept them to himself, not daring to speak. He also did not explicitly express his willingness to follow, but the young man in the imperial robes issued the order without further ado.

Phoenix Soul Imprint?

What kind of magic weapon is this?
Should I dodge it? Can I dodge it?
The Fire Evil Monk hesitated for a moment, then saw the Lord of the Burning Gate standing diagonally above him, looking down at him.

A pair of unique, jet-black horizontal pupils, so cold and menacing.

"Ah! Ahhh!" The Fire Evil Monk suddenly clutched his head with both hands and cried out in pain.

Even a first-rate evil god ultimately didn't dare to dodge.

As the illusory little phoenix entered his soul, a sharp pain followed.

"Give up your loyalty, and you will no longer suffer."

The hoarse voice was extremely penetrating, lingering inside and outside the money bag.

The fiery monk, his face contorted in a ferocious expression, suddenly looked up at the young man in the imperial robes.

The intense pain seemed to embolden him.
Lu Ran weighed the Soul Prison Group in his hand: "You will get what you want. Everything Mr. Long promised you will stand."

Your divine position will be complete.

In the future, you too can take charge of the Tianzhu war zone and become a powerful regional governor of the Ranmen.

The Fire Evil Monk's trembling body had become noticeably calmer.

As he immersed himself in wonderful dreams, the pain decreased dramatically, but it still persisted.

After all, at this moment, the Phoenix Soul Imprint is in the "engraving" stage, which takes about nine minutes to fully take shape.

In other words, the real disciplinary phase begins nine minutes later.

As for when it will end, there is no specific deadline; it depends on when the evil monk no longer harbors any disloyal intentions.

If a distracting thought arises even once, the punishment will continue for that entire day.

Lu Ran slowly descended, getting closer to the Fire Evil Monk, and looked at the huge and twisted stone surface: "The only thing you have to do is offer your loyalty."

Surrender, and you will no longer suffer.

Once you recognize reality, you'll be free.

The fiery monk gripped his head tightly with both hands, his eyes wide open!

Lu Ran looked at the other person expressionlessly.

During the process of imprinting the Phoenix Soul Mark, the Fire Evil Monk could naturally resist or try to escape.

Whether they can resist and escape successfully is another matter, but in any case, the window of opportunity is only nine minutes long.

Lu Ran stood diagonally above the Fire Evil Monk, clearly intending to supervise the entire process and keep the Fire Evil Monk intimidated.

"Whoo~"

The fluttering imperial robes exuded an aura of overwhelming imperial power.

The flickering black flames, exuding a thick aura of death, seemed to be accompanied by gusts of eerie wind.

A hoarse voice came from the human youth once again: "You made me say a lot of things."

He seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

He was dissatisfied that his recruitment efforts were not being responded to.

"Uh..." The Fire Evil Monk was still trembling violently, whether from the Phoenix Soul Mark or from the young man in the Imperial Robe.

The gazes of the human and the evil god met.

The battle of gazes extended to the dimension of the soul, and it was completely one-sided, with one side simply crushing the other and the other desperately resisting.

The silent exchange quickly yielded a result.

Before the Phoenix Soul Imprint was completely engraved, the Fire Evil Monk resignedly bowed his head and knelt on the ground: "This humble monk has come to follow you."

"Hmm." Lu Ran nodded in satisfaction.

That would be best.

If not, he wouldn't mind doing it himself!

Let this first-rate evil god from India know what it means to have a heaven beyond heaven.

An eerie silence fell over both the inside and outside of the money bag.

Nine minutes passed quickly.

With the window of opportunity completely closed, the Fire Evil Monk's even more painful wails followed.

"Ah! Ahhhhh!" He fell to the side, clutching his head tightly with both hands, rolling around in agony.

The screams were far more piercing than the screams of the previous nine minutes.

It seems that the Phoenix Soul Imprint has taken root and entered the true stage of discipline and punishment.

"Heh." Lu Ran let out a cold laugh.

This scene was not surprising.

He dispersed the Soul Prison Mist in his hand, offered up a Rebirth Coin, and took the Fire Goddess's soul into it.

Lu Ran picked up the string of Rebirth Coins, removing one coin as he coldly watched the first-class evil god of India suffering horrific torment below.
"Think about what I told you."

The fiery monk's eyes were bloodshot, and he had been rolling on the ground, but he paused for a moment.

Under extreme pain, the Fire Monk not only lacked the ability to resist, but also had very limited ability to think.

Yet that hoarse voice still seems to linger in my ears:

Surrender,

Then you won't feel pain anymore.

Once you recognize reality, you'll be free.

"Whoosh~" Lu Ran flew out of the small money bag, the black flames on his body gradually died down, and his strange horizontal pupils turned back into human eyes.

He tossed the money containing the spirit of the Fire Goddess to Jiang Ruyi: "Give him the spirit once he behaves."

Jiang Ruyi knew Lu Ran too well. Realizing he was about to leave, she quickly called out, "Lu Ran!"

"Hmm?" Lu Ran turned his head to look.

Jiang Ruyi opened her mouth, but hadn't thought of what to say. She just subconsciously called out to him.

The last time they met, he felt unfamiliar and distant to her.

Now that he has finally returned from the border, she doesn't want him to leave like this. Jiang Ruyi, quick-witted, immediately said, "Recently, there's been no sign of Jade Venerable's minions on the Heavenly Realm battlefield; something big is likely happening."

The faceless jade deity must be plotting something.

Lu Ran nodded slightly in agreement.

Previously, when he received Yan Shuangzi's telepathic message, he was exploring and slaughtering Jade Venerables in the border region.

The white jade wave, composed of the Jade Emperor's minions, became even more turbulent and terrifying.

Jiang Ruyi continued, "Should we leave the Fire Evil Monk with us for now?"

"Hmm," Lu Ran hesitated for a moment.

Since the two sides met, the Fire Evil Monk has been trembling with fear and behaving very poorly.

But this is in front of Lu Ran!
The Fire Evil Monk presents a completely different face to the world.

As a first-class evil god within the Second War Zone of India, and one who is about to possess a complete divine position, his specific strength is comparable to that of Wu Xiao.

That is, the Martial Emperor who possesses the dual divine positions of martial arts actor and yin flower opera actress!

It's not to say that those with only one divine position, such as Qiang Xiu, Yan Chou (Evil Spear Emperor), He Qifeng (Martial Monk), and Bai Rao (Jade-Faced Snake), are necessarily inferior to the Fire Evil Monk.

After all, the concept of combat power is influenced by many factors, and real and brutal battles are never a comparison of strength on paper.

Otherwise, Lu Ran couldn't have killed his father seven times in five minutes.
How well you perform on the battlefield depends on your overall qualities, including your strategic intelligence, experience, skills, and techniques.

Lu Ran was only certain that the Fire Evil Monk was definitely a T1 level monk!

It's debatable whether he's stronger than the Burning Gate Heavenly Emperor and the Heavenly Generals, but he would certainly be a piece of cake when facing the Jade Venerable's lackeys.

“Let’s keep him here,” Lu Ran decided. “Keeping him hidden in the magic bag will give him a chance to become a surprise weapon.”

As he spoke, he looked at Yan Shuangzi beside him and asked, "When you brought the Fire Evil Monk here, did the Jade Venerable Clan see him?"

“No.” Yan Shuangzi immediately shook her head. “Mr. Long is very attentive to this. I picked them up inside the Demon Cave.”

"Okay." Lu Ran turned to look at Yu Changsheng, his expression softening somewhat. "Thank you for your hard work these past few days, sir."

Yu Changsheng dared not look at his sect leader, and his usual composure and ease were gone.

"This is what I should do."

Lu Ran remained silent.

They were aware that they were "hated" by many, and that every minute they stood there was a disaster for the gods.

Lu Ran turned around and looked at the gloomy sky in the south: "If you have any situation or plans, report to Madam."

"Lu Ran".

"Hmm?" Lu Ran frowned slightly; this was the second time she had stopped him from leaving.

He turned his head slightly and glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye.

But then he saw the Empress, clad in a phoenix robe, stride forward and stand behind him until...
She gently hugged him from behind.

Lu Ran's expression froze.

The two guardians of the evil dragon were also somewhat taken aback, and they lowered their heads even further.

Jiang Ruyi's fair cheeks were pressed against Lu Ran's neck, and her arms were wrapped tightly around him.

"Whoo~~~"

The noble phoenix robe moved with its master's will, like golden and red waves covering the black and gold waves, surrounding the young man.

Black and Gold Imperial Robe: "."

We all possess top-tier magical artifacts and robes of the king level. Do I not care about my reputation?

Just as the emperor hesitated about whether to resist, Lu Ran spoke:

"I'd like to talk to Ruyi."

"Yes."

"Yes." The two protectors quickly left.

On the giant stone hand sculpted by the fairy jade, only a young man and woman remain, but they are not entirely at peace.

Because screams were still coming from inside the small purse.

Lu Ran slowly turned around, his black and gold imperial robe fluttering in the wind, the black and gold waves vying for supremacy with the gold and red waves.

He lowered his eyes slightly, looking at the cold and beautiful face so close to his, and he also saw her lips trembling slightly.

To Lu Ran's surprise, she suddenly kissed him.

"Mmm." Lu Ran looked at her closed beautiful eyes and felt her gentle lips and teeth.

Fairy Jiang has always been reserved.

It's inappropriate to engage in intimate behavior in front of outsiders, and it's even more inappropriate to be so forward.

Although there were no enemies on the battlefield at this time, as the leader of the Burning Gate, she had many things to do.

He consulted with Protector Long about the situation, discussed with his subordinates the composition of the Divine Mountain warriors, how to deploy them, and explored the possibilities of various tactics employed by the Jade Emperor.
But at this moment, her delicate body trembled slightly as she tightly embraced Lu Ran and kissed him tenderly.

After a long while, she stopped, her forehead pressed against Lu Ran's, breathing softly, and whispered:

"Don't ignore me."

The voice was soft and gentle, without any hint of reproach or anger, but rather carried a trace of humility.

It was heartbreaking to hear.

Lu Ran remained silent, but finally understood.

Why did the Empress suddenly step down from her high throne during this serious and crucial period?

Two words—the heart of the Way!
That was the foundation of her existence, and also the root of all problems.

Lu Ran raised his hand and tucked a few strands of long hair that had fallen across her forehead behind her ear.

Poor little Ruyi.
In this lifetime, you've completely fallen into my hands.

Sensing Lu Ran's response, a glimmer of light appeared in Jiang Ruyi's eyes.

She raised her eyelids, looked into those eyes that made even the gods tremble, and whispered, "Is it alright?"

In a daze, Lu Ran seemed to have returned to his student days.

She was just as gentle and cautious back then.

Lu Ran's gaze softened considerably, and he nodded slightly.

"Om!!"

The third-tier divine weapon, the Cool Night Sword, beneath the phoenix robe trembled violently.

(End of this chapter)