The Old Gods

Chapter 1073 The Beginning of Breaking the Stalemate?

Lu Ran and Jiang Ruyi discussed it and came up with names for the three skills of the Faceless Stone Venerable.

First Divine Technique - Body Erosion: When the hands and feet of the Faceless Stone Venerable touch an enemy, they can corrupt the enemy's body and petrify them.

Second Divine Technique - Soul Erosion: This technique allows Stone Lord's minions to absorb the souls of the dead on the spot, fueling the sect's rampant plunder of resources on the battlefield.

The Third Divine Technique: Formless and Mindless: A defensive technique.

In conclusion, the Faceless Stone Zun is ultimately a counterfeit, and it differs far too much from the genuine article.

Let alone the Faceless Jade Venerable's mobility, the Faceless Stone Venerable can't even fly!
It's a real headache.
However, the Divine Art of Body Corrosion still has some use; at least it can corrupt the Jade Venerable.

In addition, this method is also effective against gods and demons.

And it has a remarkable effect because it's even more sinister!

After all, if you were to contaminate the Jade Venerable, the petrification of its skin would be visible to the naked eye.

You used this trick to corrupt the gods and demons. The stone body may appear unchanged, but its nature has been completely altered!
The defensive capabilities of divine and evil sculptures are beyond doubt. However, once the stone skin is contaminated and petrified, it becomes incredibly brittle and can be easily crushed into powder.

"Sigh," Lu Ran sighed, petrifying the four-meter-tall Jade Venerable henchman before gently poking her forehead with his finger.

"Snap! Snap!"

The cracks on the Jade Venerable's forehead spread out like a spider web, instantly covering his entire body before finally shattering completely.

The ground was covered with pebbles.

The scene was impressive, but Lu Ran felt somewhat disappointed.

Jiang Ruyi naturally knew that Lu Ran valued the stone statue highly, even regarding this special stone sculpture as a key factor in determining victory or defeat!
Clearly, the Stone Clan's capabilities fell far short of his expectations.

Jiang Ruyi, however, did not think so. She organized her thoughts and said softly, "The Jade Venerable's physical strength far surpasses that of gods and demons. There is a qualitative difference between the soldiers and your strength. It is really difficult for them to destroy the Jade Venerable himself."

With the addition of the Faceless Stone Lord, our side finally has a powerful ally.

Lu Ran nodded silently.

This is true.

The Jade Venerable's overly domineering body is an insurmountable barrier, but the Stone Venerable can use special methods to dismantle this barrier.

"Once the Stone Venerable is nurtured, let's create more minions, the more the better."

Jiang Ruyi spoke again, calmly analyzing: "With the help of teleportation techniques, we can directly unleash a large number of Stone Venerable minions onto the Jade Venerable himself."

"Hmm?" Lu Ran's eyes lit up.

This tactic is unbeatable!
The Divine Art: Other Shore Flower can use living beings as teleportation targets; you only need to leave a spatial mark on the target beforehand.

Since that's the case, why not just set up a teleportation array on top of the massive Jade Venerable's head? Wouldn't enough Stone Venerable minions be able to instantly overwhelm the Jade Venerable himself like a waterfall?

The more Lu Ran thought about it, the brighter his eyes became!

He put one arm around the woman beside him and exclaimed in admiration, "As expected of Lady Ranmen! She can come up with a targeted battle plan so quickly by combining the characteristics of her race."

She's practically a female version of Tatsujin!

Jiang Ruyi: ?

Who wants to be the female version of Follow the Dragon?
Lu Ran murmured excitedly, "Now, the Ran Clan can change its tactics. The soldiers no longer need to fight with bayonets, but can focus on distraction and control, letting the henchmen inflict casualties."

Professional matters should be left to professionals!
Anyway, we don't care if the henchmen die; we can just use the energy to make more, it's inexhaustible.

Simply perfect!
Jiang Ruyi sensed the deep joy in his heart, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

All of Lu Ran's efforts were worthwhile.

Upon careful consideration, if used properly, the Faceless Stone Venerable could indeed reverse the decline of the Burning Gate!

Lu Ran's hand, which was wrapped around her waist, playfully tugged at her hair with his fingertips, clearly in a very good mood: "The Faceless Stone Venerable, after all, has little independent consciousness."

We should find a capable leader to succeed us, someone who can better fulfill the tasks we've been given.

Jiang Ruyi quickly composed herself and pondered, "If it's about resurrection, it could take anywhere from six months to a year?"

The smile on Lu Ran's face gradually faded, and he nodded silently.

“The Jade Venerable Clan probably won’t give us that much time.” Jiang Ruyi frowned in thought, and said softly, “Find one from among the surviving Heavenly Realm soldiers. That’s right.”

Jiang Ruyi looked up at Lu Ran: "Can the Faceless Stone Venerable advance to the God Realm?"

Lu Ran shook his head: "I don't know, we need time to give you an answer."

Logically speaking, he used a full six Jade Venerables' souls to build the stone sculpture, so how could the Faceless Stone Venerable have become a god?
But the question is, does the Jade Venerable's soul really have a divine position?

The Jade Venerable is not within the framework of gods and demons; the two systems are different.

Even if she truly held a divine position, the Faceless Jade Venerable had not truly died! She should still be firmly holding onto her divine status.

Lu Ran had already made the necessary mental preparations: perhaps his Faceless Stone Venerable could only advance to the third level of the Heavenly Realm.

In this way, the highest level that the minions created by the Faceless Stone Venerable can reach is only the second level of the Heavenly Realm.

Hmm. It's alright!

While the minions at the first, second, and third levels of the Heavenly Realm do indeed differ greatly in physical strength, there isn't a significant gap in their spellcasting abilities. The minions all use Heavenly-grade techniques; given enough numbers, they can swiftly and decisively dismantle the Jade Venerable's true form!

"Shadow Five, what do you think?" Jiang Ruyi suggested.

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow slightly.

Shadow Five, formerly known as Wang Hanchuan, the master of Blade Ridge Peak, must have possessed exceptional overall qualities to have reached that position.

The Heavenly Realm soldiers inside the Burning Gate are clearly in short supply.

This also shows that the Holy Spirit Mountain, under the rule of gods and demons, is more capable of cultivating powerful beings at the Heavenly Realm!
The method of raising Gu poison is indeed cruel, but it is also truly effective.

Real-world examples are right here: ever since Lu Ran overthrew the rule of gods and demons and rectified the atmosphere of the mountain realm, not a single peak-level expert from Holy Spirit Mountain has ascended to the Heavenly Realm.

Currently, Wang Hanchuan, who is at the second level of the Heavenly Realm, is practically the only candidate available to the Burning Sect.

Fortunately, this person is particularly suitable!

Deep within his soul was etched a phoenix spirit mark, which had long since disciplined him into a loyal servant at the feet of Lady Ranmen.

"Okay!" Lu Ran made the decision.

A person with self-awareness, high overall quality, and who exists with the will of the leader of the Burning Gate can certainly be entrusted with important responsibilities.

“Then I’ll call him over, and you go and nurture the stone sculpture,” Jiang Ruyi whispered.

"Buzz!"

Before Lu Ran could speak, the Zan Zun Blade at his waist hummed again.

They seem to be eagerly anticipating it.

Lu Ran was indeed in a good mood. He casually drew his blade and said, half jokingly and half provocatively, "I've been leading you in killing for half a month, fighting day and night."

"You've been buzzing since the fifteenth, but you haven't been able to make any sense of it."

"Whoosh~" The spirit of the Slaying Venerable Blade flew out, a rare occurrence.

His appearance was also that of a young man in imperial robes, but he lacked the blood crystal mask, which made him less eerie and more majestic.

At this moment, the emperor was unhappy and was looking at Lu Ran with anger in his eyes.

"What, can't I say anything?" Lu Ran looked at the second-tier divine weapon and marveled at its unique nature.

Although the divine weapons and magical artifacts he possessed had different personalities, they all recognized their masters.

Even the most powerful Eight Desolations Annihilation Blade treated Lu Ran with utmost respect, yet this Venerable Slayer Blade...
Offending the master of divine weapons is practically commonplace for him.

"I am different from your mask," the Blade Spirit of the Slayer said in a deep voice.

"And then what?" At this moment, Lu Ran had not yet realized the seriousness of the problem.

The spirit of the Blade of Slaying Venerables let out a cold snort, then asked in a chilling tone, "Can I break away from my master and grow independently?"

Lu Ran: ? ? ?
Oh my god?
Has a huge pot been dumped on my head?

Jiang Ruyi's expression was somewhat strange. She looked at the young man in imperial robes a few meters away, and then at the young man in imperial robes who was holding her in his arms.

The two young emperors stared at each other, both clearly quite angry.

Jiang Ruyi hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Power is the capital that allows you to defy authority, and it is now reflected in the effectiveness of the First Divine Weapon Domain."

I think the second divine weapon domain might be a further step beyond this.

In an instant, both young men in imperial robes looked over.

Jiang Ruyi ignored the spirit of the Demon-Slaying Blade. She nestled in Lu Ran's arms, her cold and alluring face upturned, gently gazing into Lu Ran's dark eyes:
"First, we need to determine the general direction. The effect of the Slaying Venerable Blade's domain is to amplify the abilities of the Divine Weapon Master."

Following this line of thought, perhaps the next realm could amplify the spellcasting effects of the Lord of Divine Weapons?

Lu Ran blinked: "Like the Blazing Heavenly King?"

The Flame of Overpowered Killing?
Doesn't this overlap again?
If this growth path is followed, even if the Venerable Slayer Blade helps me to constantly break free from my dependence on divine and evil sculptures, I can still stand above all the gods and demons in the world with just this one divine weapon.
"Why not give it a try?" Jiang Ruyi's soul trembled as she softly suggested, "It could also be a specialization in a certain attribute, such as strength, speed, agility, self-healing ability, or energy recovery."
These are all powers in a broad sense, and they can all be bestowed upon the master of the divine weapon.

The commander and the soldier moved in an astonishingly synchronized manner, both nodding in exactly the same way.

Ultimately, the sword spirit is an extension of Lu Ran's spiritual will.

"I'm just offering a suggestion; the specifics are up to you." Jiang Ruyi gently squeezed Lu Ran's arm. "Go and understand it."

"Hmm," Lu Ran pondered for a moment, then twirled his knife in his hand. "Let's go."

The spirit of the Blade of Slaying Venerable also appeared deep in thought, its figure swiftly merging into the small blade.

As Lu Ran left, Jiang Ruyi's pressure eased considerably. Gazing at him displaying his prowess on the battlefield, a faint smile gradually appeared on her face.

Whether the Blade of Slaying the Venerable is a bonus or a timely help, it's all secondary now.

Lu Ran has laid a foundation for the victory of the Ran Sect with his absolute strength, hard work and wise decisions!

The completion of the faceless stone statue will inevitably change the course of this war.

Whatever Yu Zun is preparing, we'll wait until she comes again.
That's the moment to lure the enemy deep into our territory and launch a fierce counterattack!
(End of this chapter)