The Old Gods

Chapter 857 Immortal guides the way
"Here! To the left, to the left!"

In the basement of Tianya Residence, Lu Ran sat cross-legged, muttering to himself.

The mist brought about by Huangfu Zhao's advancement, both in terms of its coverage and the terrifying divine power contained within it, was something that the members of the Burning Gate had never heard of or seen before.

In such an extremely special environment, cultivators can progress by leaps and bounds!
After more than ten days of arduous training, Lu Ran's results were quite gratifying, but he was still just a little bit short.

Heart area!

Lu Ran had already discovered this problem during the first two rounds of nourishing and transforming his body: the pure holy spirit energy he extracted from the vast divine power within his body was difficult to be directly generated on the left side of his chest.

But the spirit of the Holy Spirit is out of control!
Once it appears, whether this mysterious gas stays in place or drifts aimlessly is entirely up to fate.

"Tsk~" Lu Ran clicked his tongue in discomfort.

He wanted the Holy Spirit to fill his heart, but it appeared on the right side of his chest and then moved toward his right shoulder.
Chun Chun is such a brat.

"Whoo~"

The light, fluttering silk ribbon brushed against Lu Ran's cheek, as if to comfort him.

"Om~"

The little phoenix in his arms trembled slightly, as if to comfort him, but also as if to volunteer.

Lu Ran held the gourd in both hands and tilted his head back to drink it down.

"Glug, glug"

In such a cultivation environment rich in divine power, Lu Ran drank heavily, giving people a very luxurious feeling.

Finally, another wisp of holy spirit was purified.

Lu Ran perked up. Although the wisp of energy did not originate on the left side of his chest, it appeared above his chest at the Xuanji acupoint.

What excited him even more was that the Holy Spirit's energy seemed to be drifting downwards!

There is a play!

You son of a bitch!

Lu Ran's face stiffened as he sensed the Holy Spirit energy slowly drifting downwards. He suddenly slammed on the brakes, then turned sharply back, and the energy drifted toward his neck.

Damn it? !
Can it still be like this?
Lu Ran was stunned for a while. The holy spirit stopped at his Adam's apple, nourished him for a moment, and then disappeared without a trace.

"Heh." Lu Ran laughed in exasperation and lay back down.

However, lying flat is not an option either.

The smoky silk gently caught Lu Ran and helped him sit back down.

Lu Ran: "."

The path of cultivation always gets harder and harder. The gentle voice was imprinted in Lu Ran's mind.

That was Yanxia Ling's voice.

As soft and delicate as silk, it floats lightly through my mind, as if even the air itself is rippling with gentle waves.

The spirit of the Smoke and Cloud Silk is not human.

The spirit was like a wisp of smoke or mist, mysterious and ethereal, perfectly matching the material of the ribbon itself. This could be considered an item-type spirit, filling a gap in Lu Ran's knowledge.

Lu Ran's divine weapons and spirits are all in the form of humans, or even Lu Ran himself.

This also objectively demonstrates the close connection between the divine weapon and its owner.

The two magical artifacts, the Phoenix Pattern Gourd and the Black Jade Tiger Talisman, are both in the form of beasts: a small phoenix woven from golden fire lines and a small tiger as black as ink.

Since acquiring the Misty Cloud Silk, Lu Ran has also obtained an item-type artifact spirit.

[The last step before reaching the summit is the hardest.] The gentle female voice rang out again.

"Hmm." Lu Ran reached to the side with one hand, his fingertips brushing against the flowing ribbons.

When he first entered the Heavenly Realm, cultivation was indeed relatively simple.

As a human being with flesh and blood, every part of him needed to be modified. Lu Ran was like a pioneer, exploring unknown areas wherever the Holy Spirit Qi wandered.

Now, Lu Ran only needs to work on the heart area, which naturally increases the difficulty level.

That being said, from a higher perspective, the Holy Spirit energy that ran away wasn't wasted, since after advancing to the second level of the Heavenly Realm, he still had to go to the third level.

Consider this preparation for the next stage.

Lu Ran sat up straight, concentrated, and focused once again on purifying the Holy Spirit Qi.

Purify it, then let it slip away.

Success, failure, then success again, then failure again.
Fate seemed to be playing a cruel joke on Lu Ran, until one day he truly began to believe in the supernatural.

[As I remember.]

"Hmm?" Jiang Xianzi's voice echoed in his mind.

As early as the first day of Huangfu's advancement, Lu Ran contacted the three teams on the Heavenly Realm battlefield and called on everyone to return to the sect.

While cultivating, one can also temporarily withdraw from the battlefield and recuperate in peace. Why not?
The first and third squads responded to the call, joined forces, and were brought back by Jiang Ruyi.

Deng Yuxiang's second squad did not return; she had only led her team to the battlefield not long ago, and it was not yet time for them to "rest."

"Could you come to the seclusion room for a bit?" Lu Ran requested.

In the study, the fairy who was sitting cross-legged on the floor quietly became ethereal and slowly disappeared into the ground.

The illusory figure passed through the ground and solid walls, arriving in the secluded cultivation room and standing in front of Lu Ran: "Tired?"

“No, come here.” Lu Ran reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Jiang Ruyi was confused, but following his force, she knelt down in front of him.

Lu Ran fiddled with the fairy's delicate hand, picked out an index finger, and touched his heart.

Feeling the strong heartbeat beneath her fingertips, Jiang Ruyi asked in confusion, "What is this?"

Lu Ran closed his eyes and mumbled, "This move... it's called 'The Immortal Points the Way'~"

Jiang Ruyi: "."

It's clear that Lu Ran is in a good mood, and Jiang Ruyi is willing to play along with his antics, maintaining the pose throughout.

After a long time, another wisp of holy energy was extracted.

“As I remember, as I remember, it is as I wish.” Lu Ran was completely stunned.

I never dared to dream of something this horrific!
He had hoped to benefit from the fairy's good fortune, to generate holy energy around his heart, and to pray that the holy energy would flow towards his heart area.

Unexpectedly, the Holy Spirit's energy was born directly at the destination!
Left side of the chest.

Heart area!

“…I mean.” Lu Ran hesitated for a moment before uttering the last word. “Hoo!!”

A violent surge of divine power rippled outwards.

Jiang Ruyi's long hair fluttered in the wind, and a faint smile appeared on her exquisite face.

There's no such thing as luck.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

Jiang Ruyi quietly retreated, her figure blurring and merging into the stone wall.

It has a strong sense of "leaving without a trace after accomplishing the task, keeping the merit and fame hidden deep within".

Lu Ran couldn't care less about that anymore!
His body trembled violently, and a deep, hoarse voice echoed in his mind: "Closer."

Lord Xianyang?

Located on the distant Holy Spirit Mountain, Lu Ran heard the voice of the Immortal Sheep once again.

It was very friendly, but it also surprised Lu Ran.

What's getting closer?
Are we getting closer to challenging the gods and demons?
still is
He couldn't help but think of the relationship between a human and a god.

Lu Ran took a step closer to the highest heaven, meaning he was one step closer to the Immortal Sheep God.

As the successor, his approaching death was tantamount to the imminent demise of the immortal sheep.

【Lord Xianyang.】

"How's the cleaning of the knife in your hand?" Boss Yang interrupted Lu Ran's words directly, still domineering.

Knife?

Lu Ran first thought of the divine weapon, then felt that the Immortal Sheep should not have specifically asked about the divine weapon, so what the other party was asking about...
Burning Gate!

A fake god statue!

Lu Ran responded: "Currently, among the disciples of the Ran Sect, there are 19 pseudo-god stone statues at the second level of the Heavenly Realm, one stone statue at the third level of the Heavenly Realm, and one human at the third level of the Heavenly Realm."

Nineteen people refers to the number of soldiers from the Burning Gate.

If the divine and evil sculptures that have been merged into one are separated, the number would naturally be more than nineteen.

[The stone sculpture of the Three Heavens, Deng Yuxiang.] The deep voice fell again.

This was the first time Lu Ran had ever heard those three words from the Immortal Sheep.

The Great Nightmare finally deserves a name!
"Yes, it's the woman you helped rescue in Northwind City back then! She inherited the Northwind-Nightmare Stone Sculpture." Lu Ran said immediately.

Who is the other person from the Third Heaven?

[His name is Huangfu Zhao. He is a disciple of my mother's Yunhai Sect and is currently the inheritor of the Dongting Divine Sculpture, but he has not yet merged with the stone sculpture.]

There was no further telepathic communication in his mind, and he had no idea what the Immortal Sheep was thinking of writing.

Lu Ran waited patiently for a moment, then inquired, "With my current abilities, am I capable of challenging gods and demons?"

This time, the gods' response was straightforward: "Go to the second heaven, see for yourself, and judge for yourself."

【Lord Immortal Sheep.】Lu Ran said somewhat helplessly, 【I know you've always wanted me to forge my own path, but that doesn't stop you from giving me some advice!】

Just a little, just a little will do!

Lu Ran's mind fell silent once again.

Just when he thought Lord Immortal Sheep had left, a hoarse voice came down: "It's worth a try."

[Oh?] Lu Ran's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Let's pick the weakest link." The voice transmission fell coldly.

Lu Ran completely ignored the domineering sheep's mocking tone, his mind filled with the words "worth a try".

at last!

finally!!
He tried his best to calm himself down and said, "[Lord Immortal Sheep, this disciple plans to start with the seventh-rank evil god, the Wrathful Sea Flame Dragon.]"

Fairy Sheep: "."

Do you think that by adding the prefix "seventh-level evil god," the raging sea dragon will become an easy target?

[I have discussed this issue with my subordinates. The Angry Sea Flame Flood Dragon is mentally deficient, extremely irritable, and lacks mental fortitude, which are very serious flaws.] Lu Ran quickly explained.

【Ha.】The Immortal Sheep let out a cold laugh.

Lu Ran stopped immediately.

I expected to be met with more merciless ridicule, but instead, a phrase flashed through my mind: "You've got some nerve."

Lu Ran blinked, her little mouth as sweet as if she'd just tasted honey:
"That would require an audacious degree! Otherwise, how could one be worthy of being your disciple?"

The Immortal Sheep snorted coldly: "Even a stone statue from the Third Heaven would be shattered to pieces if touched by the raging sea fiery dragon."

[The Northern Wind Night Demon Deng Yuxiang, the Eastern Thunder Demon Peng Huangfu Zhao, and me, who comes and goes without a trace.] Lu Ran sat upright, his face resolute. [I bet the Angry Sea Flame Dragon can't touch us!]

[Why take such a great risk when there are other mentally deficient evil gods?]

Lu Ran said solemnly, "Once the raging sea flame dragon is shattered and the divine position is seized, the Mad Immortal Protector will become a true god. And a true god, above false gods, can sign master-servant contracts with the stone statues."

In this way, all the false gods of the Burning Gate can ignite their flames before they possess true divine positions.

They all possess the ability to kill enemies of higher levels!
Lu Ran's words were resounding, while a sinister, eerie laugh echoed in his mind:
【Hey~】

The sudden, sinister laughter instantly turned Lu Ran into a little fox spirit, making his hair stand on end!
This is the path you'll be taking, hehehehehe.

Lu Ran couldn't help but shiver again.

In comparison, he still prefers the aloof and domineering demeanor of Yang Zong.

[Almost there.] A voice transmission suddenly descended.

【what? 】

"A true god is not someone that two mere false gods can rival." The immortal sheep's tone did not soften; instead, it grew even colder.

"What about Si Xianxian, who inherited the Lietian Stone Sculpture, and Jiang Ruyi, who inherited the Jade Talisman-Ghost Talisman?" Lu Ran asked tentatively.

Add an explosive damage output and a powerful control effect!
Fairy Jiang's bewitching array should be surprisingly effective against the Angry Sea Flame Dragon, which has low intelligence and weak defenses.

[Almost there.] The voice transmission dropped again, word for word.

Lu Ran: "."

Are you a tape recorder?

(End of this chapter)