The Old Gods

Chapter 954 The Pact of the Phoenix and the Luan

Thick, dark clouds shrouded the Yanzhi Divine Mountain.

A stunningly beautiful woman, adorned in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, still stands atop the sacred mountain.

She used to be expressionless, always gazing into the distance, as if expecting something, or waiting for something.

Now, her eyes and brows are gentle, and the corners of her lips are slightly curved, making her beautiful and charming.

Her hands, hanging naturally at her sides, were concealed by her wide sleeves, and in her palms lay a tiny human.

Lu Ran activated his divine weapons and magical artifacts, focusing his attention on his spiritual world as he arrived at the God and Demon Sculpture Garden.

"Thank you, Sect Master, for saving my life!"

The massive stone sculpture of Tufeng, supporting its broken body, knelt before Lady Ranmen as if pushing down a mountain of gold and a pillar of jade.

He bowed his head deeply, feeling not only gratitude but also guilt.

The pair of stone maces that the sect leader had specially gifted him shattered during the battle.

That was a fourth-tier divine weapon! It was seized from the divine Cloud Mace. However, Tu Feng was defeated by the martial monks and, in addition to the stone mace, that first-tier divine weapon halberd was also shattered.

As the one who controls the right arm of the god Dongting, Tu Feng should have also taken the fourth-tier divine weapon halberd from its hand, but...
Everything happened so suddenly.

Tu Feng failed to succeed, and Yan Shuangzi only took away Dong Ting's remains and Cai Shenjiang.

That top-tier divine weapon was thus submerged in the ruins of the sacred mountain along with the terrifying golden dragon's impact, its fate unknown.

too poor!
Tu Feng kept his head bowed deeply.

Looking back on my performance in this battle, it was truly terrible. If it weren't for the sect leader and the evil shadow protector risking their lives to save me, I should have been executed by the monks.

“We are comrades-in-arms who have shared life and death.” Lu Ran stood on the fingertips of the fairy jade sculpture and said in a deep voice.

Qiao Yuanxi and Yu Changsheng used healing techniques to repair the stone sculptures that had been damaged and shattered on the battlefield.

At this moment, almost all the soldiers of the Burning Gate had returned to the sculpture garden. Only Huangfu Zhao, who was still advancing to find Yifei and devouring divine souls, remained inside the Fiery Phoenix Pattern Gourd to prevent Lu Ran's brain from buzzing.

The atmosphere inside the park was somber.

Jiang Ruyi said softly, "Although the monks didn't see Lu Ran, they saw the faces of the rest of us. Maybe they can find out something."

“Oh dear, my mom!” Si Xianxian suddenly exclaimed.

Si Mu Si Caiqin was the only person Si Xianxian missed in the mortal world.

Previously at Mount Nüying, the Mad Immortal Protector had stood before the deity Jiuzhu and sternly warned him to treat his disciples better.

Si Caiqin was a follower of Jiuzhu.

"My wife and daughters," Elder Lu Yuan stepped forward for the first time and spoke up.

"I will return to the mortal realm and bring the families of the soldiers back to Holy Spirit Mountain."

“I’m afraid even Luoxian Mountain is no longer safe. Lord Xianyang might be found out.” Jiang Ruyi’s fingertips trembled slightly as she reminded Lu Ran, “In the mortal realm, I am the wife of the sect leader of the Xianyang faction.”

During the previous battle, the monk should have seen Jiang Ruyi's face.

As a supreme god, the martial monk naturally wouldn't concern himself with the mundane affairs of the mortal world. Just now on the battlefield, when facing the warriors of the Burning Gate, he only recognized Tu Feng.

But as long as the monks investigate, the truth will eventually come to light.

The sudden rescue by the gods and demons caught the Burning Gate off guard and disrupted all their plans.

The only result of the Burning Gate was the death of Dong Ting, a second-class god, and the acquisition of a half-god position by Huangfu Zhao.

Is it worth it?
It's pointless to discuss this now.

Lu Ran said worriedly, "I'll go talk to Lord Immortal Sheep. You two can replenish each other's energy and get back into shape quickly."

What awaits us in the future is truly unknown.

"Does anyone have any way to directly deal with the monks?" Before leaving, Lu Ran still couldn't give up and asked a question.

In fact, the reason he led his team back to Yanzhi Mountain was because he still harbored a sliver of unrealistic fantasy deep down.

Rouge Paper Mountain is adjacent to Thunder Mountain, and it is the safest place Lu Ran could find that is closest to the battlefield.

If the Burning Gate can quickly devise a plan, regroup, return to the battlefield, and defeat the monks, the situation won't be so bad!

Unfortunately, the garden fell silent in the face of Lu Ran's question.

The combat power of a first-class god is unmatched by other gods and demons!

That golden, radiant warrior monk is the epitome of high attack and high defense, possessing innate purification techniques and immune to all illusions, poisons, curses, mental attacks, and so on.
Only hard control!

The only solution is to use the Silence Domain, preventing the opponent from even using Purification.

For so long, the targets of the Burning Gate have all been gods and demons of the third rank and below. Only today, after everyone has done their homework thoroughly, do they dare to launch a sneak attack on a powerful second-rank god.

The martial monk, a first-class deity, truly exceeds the current capabilities of the Burning Sect.

Perhaps, after Huangfu Zhao devours the divine soul and transforms into a second-class god, and then, in conjunction with the sect leader's silence domain and with the assistance of the Burning Sect's generals, they will be able to attempt to make some progress.

"Sigh," Lu Ran sighed, seeing everyone remain silent, and then disappeared without a trace.

In the real world, he opened his eyes and once again felt humble and insignificant.

Without him noticing, the paper figure raised its hand, its enormous eyes gently gazing at him. Previously, the spirited Lu Ran wouldn't have felt anything, but now, in his disheveled retreat, he trembled under the gaze of the deity.

The absolute gap in realm, strength, and skill level deeply stung Lu Ran's heart.

This tastes absolutely awful!

If they were stronger, perhaps the Burning Gate wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat in that battle.

The situation faced by the Burning Gate is not so bad.
"What's wrong?" Yan Zhiren's soft voice interrupted Lu Ran's thoughts.

Lu Ran silently shook his head, organizing his thoughts in his mind, wondering how to tell the Immortal Sheep.

Perhaps, the only option is to ask the Immortal Sheep to come out of seclusion.

Sheep once said that it could turn gods and demons into lambs to the slaughter, but doing so would result in a rather long period of weakness for itself.

Even a celestial sheep can become a weak lamb, at the mercy of others.

Lu Ran was confident that he could protect Lord Immortal Sheep during this period.

The question is, is Lord Immortal Sheep really willing to do that?
Even if it wanted to, its departure from the sacred mountain and its solo arrival would inevitably attract the attention of gods and demons. If it remained stationed on the sacred mountain and arrived as a phantom, then its true divine form would be in a vulnerable state.

No matter what you do, other gods and demons will notice!

At that point, the situation will likely take an even more unpredictable turn.

"It's just one failure, why be so downcast?" the paper doll said softly.

“This is not a simple failure. My plans are completely messed up. The monks might be able to follow the clues and find Lord Immortal Sheep,” Lu Ran finally spoke, his heart filled with bitterness.

"A martial monk?" The paper figure was somewhat surprised.

She had always thought that the Ranmen had been defeated and fled here in a sorry state by Dongting, but it turns out that martial monks were also involved.
"Unfortunately, my divine power is insufficient; my Silence Domain is only enough to take down Dongting," Lu Ran said bitterly.

At this moment, the gourd with the phoenix pattern was hanging behind his waist, continuously supplying him with energy.

Little Chifeng is really well-equipped, but it will take a very long time to fill Lu Ran's body.

The harsher reality is that even if Lu Ran were at his peak right now, would a mere three or four seconds of silence be enough to defeat the monk?
"You've already won over Dongting?" Yan Zhiren's heart stirred slightly.

Lu Ran nodded: "I'll stop here for now."

"I can give you divine power."

"Huh?" Lu Ran looked up at the goddess statue.

The paper doll wore an elegant smile: "I can let you return to the battlefield in your prime."

"Really? Now?" Lu Ran suddenly stood up.

The paper figure nodded slightly: "Not only that, I can also extend the duration of your silence domain."

"What...what do I need to do?" Lu Ran stammered anxiously.

time does not wait!
The group had only been back here for a minute or two. If they could fight their way back now, it might not be too late to mend their ways!
"Make a contract with me." The paper figure slightly raised its hand, presenting Lu Ran to its eyes.

"Sign a contract?" Lu Ran's heart sank.

Is the paper doll still unwilling to give up?
Does he still want to break his contract with Lord Immortal Sheep and join Yan Zhi's faction?
Lu Ran really wanted to deal with the monks, because once the monks were gone, many problems would be solved.

But how could he possibly betray his sect?
Putting aside personal character, the relationship between humans and gods, and all other factors, let's just talk about the most realistic point: the garden of gods and demons that exists in my mind uses the Immortal Sheep Divine Art - Eye of the Dead as its entrance and exit.

Once the Immortal Goat Divine Magic is gone...
“Young Master Lu need not worry, it is not a sect contract,” the paper figure said softly, “but a contract with my magical artifact.”

She used to call Lu Ran "Lu Jun", but Lu Ran wasn't used to it and told her to just call him by his name.

But the paper doll didn't have one.

Throughout the subsequent conversation, the pronoun "you" was consistently used.

At this moment, the paper doll finally changed her address, but it did not fulfill Lu Ran's wish. Her address remained simple and unadorned, changing from "Jun" to "Lang".

"Form a contract with a magical artifact?" Lu Ran couldn't care less about that now. He raised his head and looked at the phoenix crown on the paper doll's head.

Even though it is made of stone, its elegance and exquisiteness are still undeniable.

As early as when Lu Ran first arrived here and approached the paper doll, the divine weapons and magical artifacts on its body told Lu Ran that the phoenix crown on the paper doll's head was a top-tier fourth-order magical artifact!

Lu Ran simply never asked what the purpose of this phoenix crown was.

The paper doll said softly, "This is the Phoenix and Luan Hearts Crown. If you are willing to form a contract with it, from now on our fates will be intertwined."

"What are the specific effects of being bound by fate?" Lu Ran asked hurriedly.

"When you and I are in the same world, we sing in harmony, share divine power, and share our wounds."

Her voice was soft, but the words that came out of her lips were shocking: "After we form the Pact of Love and Union, everything I have will be yours, all my divine power and energy will be at your disposal."

If Lu Lang dies, Yan Zhi cannot live on alone.

Lu Ran was skeptical of the last sentence, since this magical artifact belonged to the paper doll and might be able to unilaterally break the contract.

But he didn't say any of that. Instead, he said in a deep voice:
"vice versa?"

The paper doll smiled gently, her eyes tender: "Young Master Lu, would you be willing to form this pact of love and devotion with me?"

(End of this chapter)