The Old Gods

Chapter 825 Cool Night
The 18th day of the 11th lunar month, night.

The hazy moonlight illuminated a frozen lake surrounded by snow-covered forests.

On the lakeside, a young man wearing a fox fur cloak sat quietly under a tree, gazing at a woman holding a long sword on the frozen lake.

She was also dressed in a snow-white fox fur cloak, dancing lightly in the moonlight.

The ethereal figures swayed and danced, like flowing wind and swirling snow, blending seamlessly into this icy and snowy landscape.

Lu Ran stared intently at Jiang Ruyi.

To be precise, it was her physical body.

Over the past few days, Jiang Ruyi has shattered the jade talisman and the ghost talisman doll stone sculpture, merging the divine and evil sculptures into one, and transforming into a pseudo-god stone statue that resides in Lu Ran's mind.

To commemorate this special day, Lu Ran took her to one of the Seven Views of the Holy Spirit—Ice Heart Lake.

According to Lu Yuan and his apprentice, the light snow here is breathtakingly beautiful.

Before coming to Ice Heart Lake, Lu Ran had already visited five of the Seven Holy Spirit Views, so he naturally wouldn't question Lu Yuan and his apprentice's aesthetic sense.

But this time, Lu Ran really had something to say.

Compared to the moonlit frosty forest and the icy lake with light snow, the stunningly beautiful figure dancing gracefully in the middle of the lake captivated him even more.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

A burst of applause suddenly rang out from the tranquil lakeside.

"One more time, one more time." Lu Ran looked at the woman slowly finishing her dance, wanting her to dance again, but before he could finish speaking, the Moon Fairy suddenly turned to look at him.

Lu Ran swallowed back the words of greed.

With a hint of reproach in her eyes, Jiang Ruyi slowly flew over: "It's late, you should go back and rest. We have to set off for the Heavenly Battlefield tomorrow."

Lu Ran doesn't know when he'll get another break.

"Oh," Lu Ran replied reluctantly.

Jiang Ruyi stood in front of Lu Ran and raised her hand to straighten his collar: "Listen to me, next time we go back to Holy Spirit Mountain, I'll accompany you to the last of the Seven Holy Spirit Views."

"That won't work."

"Hmm?" Jiang Ruyi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Lu Ran said apologetically, "Xiao Yuanxi booked Moon Shadow Heavenly Pool a long time ago, and I can't go back on my word."

Jiang Ruyi understood immediately: "Then when do you plan to take her?"

"Wait until Xiao Yuanxi advances to the Heavenly Realm~" Lu Ran casually pulled Fairy Jiang into his arms, gazing up at the snowflakes fluttering in the wind.

In mid-winter, Xiao Yuanxi has already advanced to the third stage of the Sea Realm, and her advancement to the Heaven Realm is just around the corner.

Since ascending to immortality, Lu Ran feels that his journey of struggle has become particularly promising.

In the past, he could only give stone sculptures to others to help them cultivate and advance faster.

But things are different now!
Lu Ran can personally cultivate his closest and dearest people and help them reach the second or even third level of the Heavenly Realm!

The sense of accomplishment from creating a god with your own hands is something that outsiders can hardly experience.

The True God-Making Plan!
The little girl in front of him, Xiao Ruyi, who returned from the deep sea and became a guardian of the dragon, and Tu Tianjiang who rejoined the team in the Soul Locking Mountain Area, are the key targets for Lu Ran's next stage of training.

These false gods are all Lu Ran's capital for challenging gods and demons in the future.

"What are you thinking about?" A cool voice suddenly came from beside my ear.

Lu Ran did not respond, but lowered his head slightly and kissed her cool, thin lips.

Under the moonlight, on the shore of the frozen lake.

Light snowflakes drifted down and landed on their shoulders.

But then someone spoiled the mood, asking vaguely, "If I kiss your body, will you be jealous?"

Jiang Ruyi: ? ? ?

This physical body was created by her own hands, while the soul of this body was shaped by her divine and demonic afterimages.

From the inside out, body and mind, everything belongs to Jiang Ruyi.

This can be seen as a form in which Jiang Ruyi exists in the world.

Why are you jealous?

"Nonsense." Jiang Ruyi said with displeasure, pressing her forehead against Lu Ran's forehead, her body gradually stiffening.

The afterimage of the god and demon detached from her physical body, and the divine weapon in her hand, the Liangye Sword, also transformed into a pure energy body, merging with the afterimage of the god and demon, and returning to the sculpture garden together.

"Hey? Don't go!" Lu Ran looked at the beautiful but blank doll in his arms and knew that she had returned to the sculpture park.

"Pfft~"

Sure enough, the energy of the beauty in his arms vanished with the wind.

A body that has lost its soul loses the necessary condition for its existence in the world.

Lu Ran's arms were empty, leaving only a fox fur cloak.

Jiang Ruyi's stone sculpture depicts her wearing the noble magical artifact, the Phoenix Robe.

The demonic minions she summoned were naturally depicted as wearing phoenix robes (energy transformations). The reason Lu Ran kept a cloak in his arms was because it was a genuine garment.

Jiang Ruyi specially took this out of the wardrobe and draped it over herself for this snow-viewing trip.

"Tsk." Lu Ran smacked his lips as he held the clothes.

My girlfriend is unhappy~
"Go home and sleep." Jiang Ruyi's voice echoed in my mind.

"I'll enjoy the snow a little longer. Hey? Don't stomp your feet, don't, don't, don't!" Lu Ran covered his head with one hand. "I'm going home now."

[Hmph~] Jiang Ruyi snorted, but a smile appeared on her face.

After all these years, she has finally found an effective way to deal with Lu Ran.

No need for much trouble, just a gentle stomp of your foot.

As his girlfriend calmed down, Lu Ran muttered to himself, "Being a little confused doesn't hurt your brain, the force was just right~"

If he could, he hoped Fairy Jiang wouldn't trample on his mind, but instead step directly on his body. Cough cough. Lu Ran shook his head, banishing the chaotic thoughts, and quickly opened his palm.

"Whoo~"

A huge, mysterious, jet-black flower bloomed in his palm.

Dust Shadow Divine Art: The Other Shore Flower!
The blooming flower appeared as a phantom, encompassing Lu Ran, before rapidly closing its petals.

On the lakeside, the young man's figure disappeared along with the flower buds.

Energy stirred up gusts of wind and waves, leaving only scattered frost and snow dancing wildly.

The teleportation techniques of one god and one demon each have their advantages and disadvantages.

The "Mirror of Evil and Demonic Arts: Mirror Flower Moon" technique clearly has an extra step: it requires first summoning a basic bronze mirror, and then transforming its properties into a floor mirror.

Although the procedures are complicated, the Niejing clan has opened a portal that can exist indefinitely.

The Dust Shadow faction, on the other hand, makes a quick and easy deal, but it causes a great stir.

After all, what blooms in Lu Ran's hands is a flower, but for the teleportation location, it's a huge teleportation array!
At this moment, in the mountains outside Tianya Residence, a dreamlike topographical map suddenly appeared on a woman's body.

Yan Shuangzi suddenly looked up and saw a breathtaking scene.

Waves of energy surged, like grains of sand slowly shifting, piecing together undulating mountains and ever-flowing rivers.

In the magnificent scene, a figure appears out of thin air and lands steadily on the ground.

"Master," Yan Shuangzi called softly, looking at the elegantly dressed young man.

It's obvious that Lu Ran's teleportation target wasn't a specific location, but rather he was heading straight for people!
He had already left a spatial mark on Yan Shuangzi; where she would be teleported to depend on her location.

"Is no one home? Why are you still standing guard here?" Lu Ran asked.

Yan Shuangzi lowered her head slightly and remained silent.

Lu Ran hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "You're almost at the peak level too, aren't you?"

Yan Shuangzi said in a low voice, "I advanced to the fourth stage of the Sea Realm on the seventh day of the eighth month, but I'm still... lacking some skill."

"It's been more than three months, it'll be over soon." Lu Ran patted the woman's shoulder and comforted her, "Several warriors in the Ran Clan are currently stuck at their peak, who knows, one day one of them might have an epiphany and be able to help you along the way."

Yan Shuangzi nodded silently.

Lu Ran turned and walked towards the cave entrance: "The Heavenly Grade Evil Dog Evil Technique - Shadow is not as strong as we imagined. Our consciousness can indeed enter the clone, and we no longer need to control it from a third-person perspective, but..."

As he spoke, Lu Ran sighed helplessly: "If the main body is a little far away from the clone, it will lose contact."

The idea of ​​separating the two realms and using clones to live in the human world or explore the celestial battlefield is simply impossible!

"Mmm," Yan Shuangzi responded softly.

The Evil Dog Evil Technique: Shadow is essentially a baiting technique, but Lu Yan and the other two were so powerful that they managed to turn the baiting method into a clone technique.

However, no matter how strong the decoy is, it cannot escape the fundamental principles of technique.

However, Yan Shuangzi was not too disappointed.

Unlike Lu Ran, she never thought of letting her clone go out and explore on her own. She wanted to carry out missions with her clone and protect Lu Ran.

More perspectives and more powerful physical strength naturally lead to more possibilities.

"The night is quiet and peaceful. After I leave tomorrow, don't let anyone disturb it." Lu Ran stood at the bedroom door, turned his head slightly, and said.

"Yes," Yan Shuangzi replied softly.

The divine weapon that suppressed the Silent Night Blade is likely in the hands of the true god and demon. To avoid any accidents, Lu Ran had no choice but to temporarily put the Silent Night Blade in the study at home.

Nothing more was said that night, until the next morning.

Lu Ran donned a green raincoat and bamboo hat, transforming into a chivalrous swordsman.

He then put on the blood crystal mask that covered the lower half of his face, transforming the classic martial arts style into an Eastern fantasy style, before heading to the ends of the earth.

A devastating squad has been waiting here for a long time.

"Wow~" Lu Ran's gaze swept over the uniformly dressed crowd, and his sense of accomplishment grew even stronger.

The soldiers of the Burning Gate were all dressed in uniform, wearing green raincoats and blue hats, and each of them wore a Tianchen steel mask, revealing only their eyes.

With Nightmare Guardian as the team leader, along with Martial Emperor, Luo Shen General, Yan Tian General, and Bai Tian General, there are a total of five damage-dealing units.

Lu Yuan serves as the team's teleporter, Bai Yanhui as the team's early warning system, and Wei Yun as the team's scout.

The latter three are the real bodies, not the physical bodies of lackeys.

Bai Yanhui and Wei Yun, although they are the successors of the Spellcaster and the Witch Crow, are both only at the second stage of the Sea Realm and do not yet have the conditions to fuse with the stone sculpture.

Lu Yuan was indeed a powerful being at the Heavenly Realm, but after Lu Ran helped him sign a contract with the Divine Sculpture·Dust Shadow Flower, he did not allow the old man to merge with the stone sculpture.

As the stone-carved successor of the gods, Lu Yuan is unable to summon minions with flesh and blood.

Fortunately, Qin Yanzhi has already reached the peak of the Sea Realm. As the inheritor of the Demonic Mirror, once he advances to the Heaven Realm, he will be able to cooperate with Lu Yuan.

"Is everything ready?" Lu Ran asked with a smile, quite confident in this combination.

Led by the Great Nightmare, the group nodded in agreement.

“There are quite a few people, so you should all go inside the gourd first.” Lu Ran handed out the Phoenix Pattern Gourd with one hand and summoned the Ancient Bronze Mirror with the other.

Since it's done secretly, the spider lily cannot be activated.

A moment later, Lu Ran grasped the returning magic gourd and stepped into the full-length mirror.

Heaven, here I come. Hmm?
Lu Ran's expression froze.

Inside the sculpture park, Jiang Ruyi frowned slightly as a giant stone hand descended and grasped the stone-shaped divine weapon, Liangye Sword, at her waist.

"Om!!"

The Liangye Sword trembled so violently that it even made Jiang Ruyi buzz along with it.

A voice filled with immense joy was imprinted in Jiang Ruyi's mind:
[Master! I...I can sense that divine weapon!]

(End of this chapter)