The Old Gods

Chapter 1077 Deep Kindness Betrayed
The scene of Lu Ran bidding farewell to Jian Yi was uploaded to the internet, attracting hundreds of millions of viewers.

He was like a devout human believer, bowing respectfully to Jian Yi, his sorrow and reluctance evident.

Especially when Lu Ran summoned the teleportation mirror and left, he looked up at her again, his emotions so complex that they would move anyone.

This is not just a farewell, but also a memorial.

It was a farewell.

Why Lu Ran was able to use the evil magic of the Niejing clan is no longer important; what matters is the brief conversation between the two.

No one knows exactly what he said, but Jianyi's words filled the heavens and earth, enough for all living beings to glean some information.

She asked Lu Ran if the enemy had come again.

It seems that the recent fall of many gods was due to this so-called enemy.

Unbeknownst to most, Lu Ran had been fighting all along.
Jianyi also said that she accepted this farewell.

For the first time in decades, she smiled at the world, and her smile was so beautiful.

No, that smile is not for the world.

It's for him alone.

Some conspiracy theories were disproven, and no one said anymore that Jian Yi was forced to give way to Lu Ran's mother.

People also began to grieve and weep, spontaneously offering sacrifices to the gods who were about to fall.

Because Lu Ran's actions have already shown the world that Lord Jianyi is not simply stepping down from the "throne" to enjoy a leisurely life.

To abdicate means the fall of a god.

It means extinction.

For over forty years, the Jianyi Sect's assistance to the world and its impact on the entire Great Xia Dynasty have been evident to all.

Every year on the night of the fifteenth, wherever a disciple of Jianyi appears, the human race receives a shot of adrenaline.

Sword cultivators who kill countless enemies are always able to eliminate the most powerful and rampant demons in a region.

Ultimately, it was Master Jianyi who bestowed everything upon his disciples and protected humanity.

Now she is leaving, departing forever.
Lu Ran's visit completely changed the nature of this grand ceremony, casting a shadow over the entire Great Xia Dynasty, and the whole country mourned.

Unfortunately, the will of the gods will not be altered by insignificant ants.

The first day of the Lunar New Year arrived as scheduled.

The moment when Jian Yi left finally arrived.

The sky over Beijing was somewhat overcast, and snowflakes were falling gently, creating a rather poignant scene.

She held Qiao Wanjun in her palm, her indifferent gaze sweeping over the ancient city, its streets and alleys, watching the masses kneeling in grief.

It wasn't the feeling I had imagined.

It seems that the true taste of parting cannot be given to her by ants, even if the whole world is dressed in white and the heavens and earth grieve together.

The real farewell happened on the banks of the Yangtze River half a month ago.

It happened two days ago, on my own fingertips.

Jian Yi smiled again, his gaze sweeping over the human woman bowing in worship in his palm.

With a series of cracking sounds, the magnificent divine sculpture gradually revealed cracks.

The top-tier divine sword that it carried on its back slowly floated to the side and hung upside down in the air, witnessing its master's departure.

The sound of the divine sculpture shattering was earth-shattering.

It trembled in the eardrums of all beings and tore at their minds.

Jian Yi signed an inheritance contract with Qiao Wanjun, just like Lu Ran led his soldiers to inherit the stone sculpture in the garden. She shattered into countless stones and merged into Qiao Wanjun's body.

The transformation of Qiao Wanjun's physical body into a divine soul and divine position quickly brought about a qualitative change.

Before any living being could even react, the tiny human race had transformed into a towering, earth-shaking goddess statue.

This brand-new human god statue bears a striking resemblance to Jian Yi, with seven or eight points of similarity.

The same ancient-style long dress, the same cascading long hair, the same unparalleled beauty.

The difference is that Qiao Wanjun's eyebrows and eyes are more defined.

It made him appear even colder and more indifferent.

Her body had clearly turned into stone, and her eyes had also become stone, but that did not affect the aura emanating from those eyes.

The pool was deep and cold, icy and lifeless.

Wherever her gaze fell, everyone felt a bone-chilling cold, and it was hard to breathe, as if they were about to drown in the frigid pool.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Emperor showed great mercy.

Fortunately, she slowly closed her eyes.

Thus, Sword Heaven Palace had a new master, and Great Xia welcomed a new god.

However, the proudly standing goddess statue was still humming and trembling.

Similar to the process by which the warriors of the Burning Gate inherited the divine sculpture, Qiao Wanjun will need several more days of integration before she can truly ascend to the divine realm.

The divine sword, hanging upside down in the air, slowly floated to its new master's side.

This sword has an extraordinary name—Tianqing.

The name of the divine weapon overlaps with that of Guan Yiren! Because of this, the domains of the two divine weapons also overlap.

It is evident that Guan Yiren, a former disciple of Jianyi, knows very little about the deity she worships, or rather, the world knows very little about Jianyi.

Humans are not qualified to communicate with the gods. Disciples may never receive a telepathic message in their entire lives, let alone be qualified to know about their divine weapons.

If Guan Yiren knew that Jian Yi's divine weapon was named "Tianqing", she would definitely have deliberately avoided it.

Qiao Wanjun gently grasped the top-tier divine weapon, the Heavenly Inclination Sword, inheriting everything from Sword One.

Lu Ran was not present.

He was located in the southwest of the Heavenly Battlefield, directly in front of the White Jade City Wall, and was frantically bombarding and hindering the Jade Venerable Clan's advance.

The other soldiers need to remain at the main camp, waiting for the Evil Shadow Protector, Yan Tianjiang, and others to dismantle the walls and teleport the Jade Venerable's minions to the vicinity of the sacred mountain. Only in this way can the Burning Gate gods devour the resources on the spot after the Jade Venerable's minions die.

Lu Ran is different.

He can control the spirits of the dead from a distance!
Thanks to this, after Lu Ran destroyed the city wall, the subsequent Jade Venerable minions were unable to devour the souls of their fallen comrades and recycle the resources on the spot.

Therefore, Lu Ran is one of only two people in the Ran Clan who are truly fighting on the front lines of the battlefield.

The other one is the newly joined General Li Rouyin!

She can conjure illusory copper coins invisible to ordinary people, imprisoning and retrieving lost souls from a distance.

She also possesses the ultimate divine technique, the Yellow Springs Road Guide, which can summon paths invisible to ordinary people and draw all the dead souls on the battlefield into her body.

Currently, Li Rouyin is on the northwestern frontier, where, under the protection of Emperor Lu Tian, ​​she is hindering the approach of the magnificent city walls.

Race against time!

At this stage, for every additional Jade Venerable minion killed by the Burning Gate, the soldiers will face one less minion when the great battle begins.

However, such an action is undoubtedly a drop in the ocean.

The white jade city wall surrounding the entire celestial realm continued to press down towards the divine mountain.

Lu Ran didn't seek to repel the Jade Venerable's army, nor did he seek to stop the city walls from pressing in; he simply wanted to delay.

But reality is so cruel.

He could not stop the enemies invading from all directions.

It's truly disheartening.
[Lu Ran.]

A clear, cold voice echoed in Lu Ran's mind.

【Hmm.】Lu Ran retreated rapidly, facing the surging, chaotic souls he controlled.

Layer upon layer, some even obscuring the view.

Jiang Ruyi said softly, "Lord Jianyi is gone."

Lu Ran's body, which was flying backwards, came to a stop.

Aunt Qiao has turned to stone and is currently undergoing the fusion process. Her maidservant remains by her side to protect her, and the succession is proceeding smoothly.

【Um. 】

Hearing the young man's indifferent response, Jiang Ruyi hesitated for a moment, but finally asked softly with concern, "Are you alright?"

Lu Ran smiled and lowered his head, then reached out to stroke the cold, slaying blade.

His smile was very bitter.

At the summit of the sacred mountain, the Immortal Jasmine statue looked worried. After a long while, receiving no response from Lu Ran, she softly called out again: 【Lu Ran?】

Finally, the young man's hoarse voice echoed in my mind: "I visited the banks of the Yangtze River two weeks ago."

Jiang Ruyi was a little confused, wondering why Lu Ran suddenly brought this up.

Of course she knew that he had returned to the mortal realm on the fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month, and it was because of that special experience that the Venerable Slayer Blade was fortunate enough to advance in rank.

[It was at dusk, and Kenichi was trying very hard to feel, to feel everything.]

[A dignified deity, yet so innocent as a naive little girl.]

At this point, Lu Ran sighed deeply: "Lord Jianyi also asked my mother, and me, what I felt in that environment, at that moment of impending separation."

Jiang Ruyi listened silently.

Listening to stories I never knew, I joined him in remembering the past.

It's better for him to say it than to keep it bottled up inside.

I didn't know how to answer, and my mother remained silent until sunset. Even after I saw them off back to Beijing, she still didn't reply.

Lu Ran lowered his eyes and said softly, "[Later I realized that Mom had answered.]"

Jiang Ruyi: [Oh?]

[The day before yesterday, the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, after bidding farewell to Lord Jian, I wanted to calm myself down before returning to the Heavenly Battlefield, so I opened a portal and, as if by some strange twist of fate, ended up on the banks of the Yangtze River, in that little pavilion.]

I wanted to see the river view, but instead, I found a note left by my mother on a pavilion pillar.

[I wonder when she carved it; I imagine even Sword Master doesn't know.]

Jiang Ruyi pursed her lips and inquired, "What did Aunt Qiao write?"

After a long, long time, a hoarse voice finally imprinted in her mind: "My lord, you have been adrift for so long. For over twenty years, I have failed to repay your deepest kindness, even in death, as your teacher and friend."

Jiang Ruyi's expression was complicated, and a touch of bitterness quietly rose in her heart.

She seemed to know why Qiao Wanjun didn't dare to respond in person; perhaps she lacked the courage, or perhaps she felt too guilty.

I have failed to repay the deepest kindness, even in life and death, to my teachers and friends.

These eight short words fully express Qiao Wanjun's disappointment, her helplessness, pain, and shame, and her inability to repay this kindness.

"Whoo~~~"

Far to the southwest, Lu Ran flew backwards, his black and gold imperial robes fluttering in the wind, his short hair flying forward.

His smile remained bitter.

Ever since I saw the words carved on the pavilion pillars, my heart has felt like it's being stabbed with a knife.

He failed to repay a deep debt of gratitude.

So why isn't he?
The Immortal Sheep had given him a second chance at life, acting as both a teacher and a father to him, nurturing and protecting him all the way, and ultimately helping him reach the summit through his own demise.

Jianyi protected him and his family, and even Lu Ran himself didn't realize that he was able to survive because of her.

Now, both of them have left.

Lu Ran was left behind in this dim world, bearing the burden of this betrayal.

It exists eternally.

(End of this chapter)