In the world of martial arts, one works tirelessly to attain enlightenment.

Chapter 159, Aftermath, Searching for Zhou Yu

On the ground, a small hill.

After a brief exchange with the Spirit Master, Lin Ran concluded that finding Zhou Yu and then using his curses to kill and annihilate the alien race was a very good method.

"Let's go find Zhou Yu."

Lin Ran immediately decided to set off.

He suddenly looked down again, his gaze piercing through layers of space, and saw two people rapidly approaching. They were the leaders of the two groups from before, and they were coming for him.

Lin Ran paused after a brief moment of thought.

Soon, the two team leaders burst out of the ground and landed in front of Lin Ran.

A team leader, with a bright smile, cupped his hands in greeting to Lin Ran.

"How shall I address you?"

"I have other things to do. Just say what it is."

Lin Ran didn't give them any face and expressed doubt that these people could complete the plan.

The team leader's smile faded considerably, and he continued,

"It was my fault before; I accidentally offended you. I'm offering some resources as an apology, and I hope you won't mind."

He offered a ring, and the gloomy man, without saying a word, also offered a ring.

Lin Ran scanned the area with his mental energy and saw that it contained a lot of resources, showing considerable sincerity.

He nodded.

"Okay, I'll accept the things."

After putting the ring away, Lin Ran turned and left.

The smiling tour leader stopped laughing and his face turned as gloomy as the man's.

"Go back and check his identity. So what if he can summon the Human Race's Heavenly Eye? We can summon the Human Race's Heavenly Eye just as well after we complete this mission."

The gloomy man nodded.

"it is good."

……

After leaving the Fire Clan's territory for a while, Lin Ran took out the hovercar, confirmed Zhou Yu's direction, and set off.

Along the way, he practiced four different techniques. Because the Four Pillars Yuan Technique was one level higher, it boosted the experience gain of the other skills at an extremely fast pace, and the Eight Gates Formation was also affected.

Two weeks later, the hovercraft arrived near Zhou Yu's location.

[Eight Gates Formation LV5: 2100/2500]

【Soul Nourishing Technique - Fourth Level LV7→LV10: 590/5000】

【Sword Manual Part 4 - Killing Sword Intent LV4: 1800/2000】

【Four Pillars of Destiny Method - Fifth Level LV1: 50/500】

Lin Ran let out a breath. In a few more days, he could upgrade his Soul Nourishing Technique and Eight Gates Formation by one level. At that time, his overall combat strength should be comparable to that of a mid-level Divine Fire Realm cultivator in the late stage!

Consciousness entered the spiritual space, sensing Zhou Yu's direction, and Lin Ran pulled the spirit master along to set off.

……

The area Zhou Yu chose was chaotic, consisting of dozens of small races with a maximum level of only four and a dozen large races with a maximum level of six.

Due to racial differences, fighting is taking place constantly throughout this vast area.

Furthermore, there are races that are close to the abyss, and there are also a very large number of magical beasts in this area.

As Lin Ran walked, she suddenly felt as if she were passing through a transparent barrier, but also a real boundary.

Then the spiritual energy changed.

The original spiritual energy was very quiet and had almost no attribute bias.

After passing through the barrier, the spiritual energy became restless and extremely violent.

Living in such conditions for a long time would make creatures irritable and prone to exploding at the slightest provocation, which is probably the reason for the constant warfare.

After only a few steps, the figure of the abyssal monster appeared ahead.

It was a black bear that was over ten meters tall. Jian Dan, Lin Ran, and the Spirit Master immediately roared and pounced.

Lin Ran's eyes flashed, and his aura collided with the black bear, but he was shaken off by the bear's fur.

Then, he spread his five fingers, and the earth's spiritual energy transformed into golden chains that rushed towards the black bear from all directions.

The black bear roared and slammed its fist at the iron chain, but it was easily dodged. Then the chain wrapped around its arm and then its whole body.

boom!

It crashed heavily to the ground, and before it could regain its balance, Lin Ran pierced its head with a sword.

Lin Ran collected the corpse and placed it in a separate storage ring. She planned to sell it to the research institute later for a considerable price.

"Let's go, continue."

Soon after, another abyssal creature blocked their path, but it posed no threat.

After going several dozen kilometers deeper, the level of spiritual energy agitation noticeably increased.

Lin Ran sensed the restless emotions stirring within him, and immediately put his consciousness into the emotion shielding model, whereupon all the agitated emotions vanished instantly.

Without the influence of emotions, the restless spiritual energy in the outside world made his own spiritual energy more active, indirectly increasing his strength by a small amount.

Lin Ran killed dozens of abyssal creatures and several smaller races along the way.

This race's true form is a giant butterfly with brightly colored wings and a dreamlike halo. Their bodies can transform into human form, but that is actually a visual illusion; their true form remains unchanged.

"There's still some distance to go."

Lin Ran paused briefly and looked in the direction of Zhou Yu's location.

He saw a rugged city that was faintly visible, and he could vaguely see that there were many different styles in the city, which gave it a bizarre and wonderful feel.

Lin Ran tried to contact Zhou Yu, but received no response.

He led the spirit master and, after speeding up, arrived at the city entrance in just a few minutes.

In front of the city gate was a bottomless abyss, with only a long bridge connecting the two sides of the abyss.

On one side is the city gate, and on the other is the wilderness.

As Lin Ran approached, she noticed that many different races of creatures were gathered in twos and threes on this side of the wilderness, and she wondered why they weren't going into the city.

He stood at the edge of the abyss, his gaze fixed on the sky, and activated [Truth: Eye Technique].

In the empty space, white and gold interwoven lines slowly appear, representing another kind of "rule".

This rule is simple, but its effect is "no-fly zone" and "one hundred times the force of gravity".

The two effects combined mean that living beings can only pass over the bridge; any creature that attempts to fly across will be pulled into the abyss by the rules, and as for what lies below...

Lin Ran observed for a while but saw nothing. He then activated his Truth Eye Technique, but all he saw was endless darkness.

He withdrew his gaze and stepped onto the long bridge.

Some alien creatures looked over, but then stopped paying attention.

Stroll along.

Lin Ran tried to observe the levels of the powerful individuals within the city, but the city also had its own set of rules, making it impossible to observe them directly.

"Lord Spirit, can you see through the city walls?"

"I can only see a little bit, nothing more." The Spirit Lord's eyes gleamed.

"What can you see?"

"The strongest creature in the city is at the sixth rank."

The Spirit Lord tried to see more, but triggered the rules' counter-mechanism.

A single eye appeared out of nowhere above the city, its emotionless gaze sweeping over.

Lin Ran pulled the Spirit Master behind her and made eye contact with the one-eyed man.

boom!

Twisted spiritual light burst forth from the sky, its dazzling colors leaving many alien races bewildered, unaware of what had happened.

Seeing that its attack had been blocked, the one-eyed creature began to gather its strength, preparing to launch an even stronger attack.

Lin Ran raised her hand, and the true form of Jian Linglong quietly appeared. A blood-red halo attached itself to the blade, and then the power of [Pupil Technique: Space] was used to enhance her strength.

call out!

The flying sword streaked across the sky and struck the one-eyed man squarely.

A transparent barrier appeared on the outer layer of the single eye, but it was easily pierced by the flying sword, which then passed right through the pupil.

boom!

The single eye began to crack from its pupil, then exploded into fragments with a deafening roar.

The light above the city instantly distorted, displaying all sorts of bizarre and fantastical images—the manifestation of the corresponding power after the [rules] were affected.

The sword, Linglong, returned to Lin Ran's hands. The latter grabbed the Spirit Master and darted into the city.

Then, several figures appeared out of thin air above the city.

(End of this chapter)