Battle Through the Heavens: The Holy Sun Immortal Venerable

Chapter 202 Xun'er departs, her destination the Earthly Fiend Palace!

"Is that kid really that strong?!"

Yang Hao clenched his fists, filled with disbelief. Although he knew Lin Ran had some abilities, he never expected Lin Ran to have such formidable strength.

Upon hearing Elder Lin's words, Yang Hao immediately began to question them, but he had no way to do so.

The reason is simple: at this moment, the commander of the Black Annihilation Army, Gu Yao, the top genius of the younger generation of the Ancient Clan, is still lying on the ground in a sorry state, unconscious.

However, among the younger generation of the ancient clans, only that one person could probably accomplish the feat of defeating five Dou Zun, including a peak first-stage Dou Zun, single-handedly...

"If that guy is really that strong, his talent is probably already comparable to that of the Grand Commander..." Gu Zhen said with a sigh.

"Hmph, the Grand Commander is hailed as the most talented person in our clan for thousands of years, second only to Miss. That brat is merely a five-star Dou Zun. Even if he possesses a pure Yang body, how can he compare to the Grand Commander?"

Gu Qian snorted coldly, but a hint of apprehension still appeared in his eyes.

To defeat five Dou Zun single-handedly, including three of them—Nine Heavenly Venerables, Eight Heavenly Venerables, and Four Heavenly Venerables—Lin Ran's true combat strength is probably around the third or even fourth level Dou Zun.

No wonder that guy was so fearless in front of me, and the young lady was also trying her best to stop me from fighting him...

"When did our ancient people ever enjoy gossiping about others behind their backs?"

As a clear, cold voice rang out, Xun'er's graceful figure slowly emerged from the house. Her gaze lingered briefly on the ancient demon on the ground before she calmly said, "Let's go."

"Miss!"

Upon hearing Xun'er's words, Elder Lin and the others were startled and their faces lit up with joy.

Miss has finally come to her senses; Miss is finally going back to her clan!

In fact, several years ago, after the ancient clan learned that the Xiao family's key was lost (it was thought to have been taken by the Soul Palace, but it was actually in Lin Ran's hands), they had been trying to get Xun'er back into the clan. However, Xun'er's attitude was extremely firm, and she kept refusing.

As for the reason, Elder Lin actually knew it too. It was because of that boy from the Xiao family, Miss's childhood sweetheart, Xiao Yan!

That boy was supposed to enroll in school with the young lady, but for various reasons, he is still cultivating outside and has been out of contact for several years.

Under these circumstances, Xun'er persisted and believed that Xiao Yan would come to Canaan Academy to find her. This situation reached its peak after Gu Yuan took the initiative to recruit Lin Ran to nurture Xun'er's meridians.

Elder Lin was even a little worried. This time, the clan was making such a big fuss about bringing Xun'er back. What if Xun'er still didn't want to go back? What would they do then? Could they just resort to force?

Fortunately, Xun'er did not refuse this time, and did not even have much resistance, which relieved Old Lin.

But at the same time, he was also somewhat surprised.

Could it be that our young lady has come to terms with it and is no longer willing to waste her time on that Xiao family boy?

Old Lin was secretly delighted. If that were really the case, that would be wonderful.

Although Elder Lin had no grudges against Xiao Yan and even liked him quite a bit, Xiao Yan was indeed commendable for fulfilling the three-year agreement.

However, to think that he would accept Xiao Yan and make him their ancient clan's son-in-law based solely on this is really wishful thinking.

The more ancient a race is, the more it values ​​marriage between people of equal social standing, especially since they are of imperial lineage!

Among the ancient clans, there are clear rules against intermarriage with other clans. Therefore, although Elder Lin admires Xiao Yan, he absolutely does not approve of Xiao Yan and Xun'er.

In fact, he thought that choosing Lin Ran was better than choosing Xiao Yan... After all, although Lin Ran was also from another race, the aptitude, ability and potential that Lin Ran had shown were quite outstanding, and he was indeed worthy of Xun'er.

"Wait a minute, how could I have thought of that brat Lin Ran... And how could Miss possibly marry someone from another race? What nonsense am I thinking?"

Old Lin shook his head violently, clearing his mind of the jumbled thoughts, and then hurriedly followed Xun'er's steps.

Gu Zhen glanced at Gu Yao lying on the ground, cupped his hands to Gu Qian, and left. Yang Hao quickly followed his commander. In an instant, only Gu Yao and Gu Qian remained.

"How long are you going to keep playing dead? The young lady is already gone."

Gu Qian snorted coldly, and Gu Yao, who should have been unconscious on the ground, actually opened his eyes slowly, his eyes filled with resentment and venom.

"He's humiliating me!"

Almost gritting his teeth, the ancient demon's face was contorted with rage: "I am the commander of the ancient clan! I am the Asura commander of the ancient clan! How dare he humiliate me! How dare he humiliate me like this!"

In other places and at other times, such humiliation would be acceptable, since there is indeed a difference in strength between the two. He would accept that he was inferior in skill, and in fact, he was the one who started the trash talk.

But that was in front of Xun'er!

The ancient demon's love for Xun'er was known to everyone in the ancient clan, and many elders even thought highly of the two of them and wanted to bring them together.

However, Xun'er kept him at arm's length.

Over the years, in order to gain Xun'er's approval when they meet, Gu Yao has been improving himself. He not only became the commander of the Black Annihilation Army, but also tested his seventh-grade bloodline power in the last bloodline test. He was hailed by countless ancient clan powerhouses as a top genius that the ancient clans rarely see in a hundred years.

Everything was so wonderful. I just wanted to see Xun'er again, to show myself well, to win her heart.

But who could have imagined that just by saying a few extra words, he would end up like this, losing all face in front of Xun'er...

The thought of being humiliated by Lin Ran in front of Xun'er nearly drove Gu Yao to the brink of collapse. His face became increasingly ferocious and distorted, and his chilling killing intent and malevolent aura almost solidified. Even Gu Qian, who was at the peak of the first stage of cultivation, was somewhat surprised.

"Alright, it's just the two of us here, so there's no need for impotent rage," Gu Qian said calmly.

"Impotent rage?!"

Upon hearing this, the ancient demon's face twisted even more, and even his voice became extremely shrill: "I want him dead! I want him dead!"

"Don't look at me like that. You heard what Elder Lin said. Even Blood River, one of the Four Heavenly Venerables of the Soul Palace, died at his hands. Your defeat was not unjust."

What level of cultivation does the Fourth Heavenly Venerable Blood River possess? He is at the peak of the First Rank Dou Zun, an existence on par with Gu Qian.

Even he perished at Lin Ran's hands. With only a Seven-Star Dou Zun at this moment, Gu Yao was no match for Lin Ran at all.

"You possess the blood of an emperor, and your bloodline power is abundant. Your future achievements will surely surpass mine." Gu Qian said calmly, "Go back and cultivate diligently. Although the Pure Yang Body is strong, it is impossible to stand at the pinnacle of this world just by relying on it. In terms of aptitude, you have the advantage."

"..."

The ancient demon did not speak, but clenched his fists tightly, and bright red blood seeped from between his fingers, showing the anger and resentment in his heart.

Seeing Gu Yao's expression, Gu Qian didn't bother to say anything more. He had already given Gu Yao, the commander of the Black Annihilation Army, enough face by speaking so frankly.

With surging battle qi, Gu Qian tore through space and stepped inside. Gu Yao gritted his teeth, slammed his fist heavily on the ground, and let out an extremely unwilling roar before finally stepping into the spatial rift as well.

But those eyes, once filled with murderous intent and malevolence, now grew even more sinister...

……

Xun'er's departure went unnoticed by anyone except the higher-ups of Canaan Academy and the Holy Rain Sect.

However, Xun'er was, after all, the most beloved and favored girl in Canaan Academy. The fact that such a goddess had not appeared for a long time eventually led to inquiries from everyone. After learning that Xun'er had left, countless wails of grief resounded throughout the academy.

Countless students felt their long-sought-after true love had been extinguished, and for a time, countless heartbroken individuals filled every corner of the academy…

Xun'er's departure had a significant impact on Canaan Academy, but it didn't affect the Holy Rain Sect much.

Everything in the Holy Rain Sect proceeded as usual: those who needed to cultivate continued to cultivate, those who needed to refine pills continued to refine pills, those who needed to build spatial wormholes continued to build as usual, and those who needed to recruit powerful individuals from the outside world continued to recruit as usual.

Lin Ran was not idle either. After Xun'er left, he had an important task to attend to.

"Yes, Sect Master, the nearest branch of the Soul Hall is located in the Sky-Supporting Mountains..."

"The Sky-Supporting Mountains?!"

Upon hearing the report from the man in green, Lin Ran narrowed his eyes, plotting something in his mind.

Lin Ran possessed a considerable amount of information about the Soul Palace, not only from his previous life's records but also from his interactions with the Soul Palace over the years.

The Soul Palace, the most powerful force on the surface of the Dou Qi Continent, was founded by the Soul Clan, one of the eight ancient clans.

Its organization is mainly divided into two structures: the Heavenly Gang Hall and the Earthly Fiend Hall. The Heavenly Gang Hall is further divided into three halls: Heaven, Earth, and Man. These three halls are currently the gathering place of the Soul Hall's highest combat power. Even the weakest hall, the Man Hall, is so powerful that Lin Ran cannot shake it. Naturally, Lin Ran would not be so audacious as to set his sights on them.

His target is the Earthly Fiend Palace!

The so-called Earthly Fiend Hall refers to a branch hall whose master and deputy master are both Dou Zun level experts. In the Soul Hall, this type of branch hall is called the Earthly Fiend Hall.

The Soul Palace has many Earthly Fiend Halls. In the Central Continent alone, the Soul Palace has a total of twenty-four Earthly Fiend Halls. Each Earthly Fiend Hall is guarded by at least two Dou Zun level experts. And in the entire Dou Qi Continent, the number of Earthly Fiend Halls of the Soul Palace is far more than twenty-four.

However, they all hid in extremely mysterious places, secretly and continuously supplying souls to the Soul Palace, like steel needles, firmly nailed to every corner of the Dou Qi Continent.

According to the intelligence gathered at this stage, there is a Di Sha Palace in the Tianya Mountains outside Tianya City!

"The lesser hermit hides in the mountains, the greater hermit hides in the city. Knowing full well that Tianya City has a spatial wormhole and an extremely large flow of people, they still took the initiative to set up a branch in the Tianqing Mountains... What audacity!"

Lin Ran squinted.

According to the intelligence gathered by Green Robe, this branch of the Soul Hall in the Sky Dome Mountain Range has two Dou Zun powerhouses and more than a dozen Soul Hall protectors. This branch of the Soul Hall is undoubtedly the Earthly Fiend Hall.

However, Lin Ran didn't know the specific combat strength. But he guessed that the two Dou Zun were ordinary Dou Zun, not Tian Zun. Even so, Lin Ran was very satisfied.

After all, a branch hall that can be guarded by two Dou Zun must contain a considerable amount of soul essence!

Indeed, this so-called origin of the soul is Lin Ran's true purpose in searching for this branch of the Soul Palace.

Although Lin Ran has conflicts with the Soul Hall, the Soul Hall is now very powerful, so Lin Ran would never provoke the Soul Hall for the sake of seeking revenge or settling scores. That would be an unwise move.

The most important reason why Lin Ran has set his sights on the Earthly Fiend Hall of the Soul Palace is because he has his eye on the Soul Origin in the hands of the Soul Palace!

The soul is the foundation of all living beings. All things in heaven and earth possess a soul, and deep within the soul lies a trace of its original essence. This is the fundamental reason for the birth of the soul, and it can also be said to be the purest and most unique energy in the world.

This kind of thing can greatly enhance the power of the soul. For example, in the original work, Xiao Yan and the Soul Emperor both relied on the origin of their souls to raise their soul realm to the Emperor Realm!

Although Lin Ran was reborn with the help of Zi Yan's Dragon Emperor's blood essence, and his Pure Yang Body was upgraded to Pure Yang Dragon Body, the 'Three Realms' that need to be broken through for the Pure Yang Body to be upgraded still exist.

Blood Realm, Soul Realm, Return to Origin Realm

Lin Ran has only broken through to the Blood Realm. As for the Soul Realm, Lin Ran estimates that with his soul strength, he would need to reach at least the peak of the Spirit Realm, or even the Heaven Realm Soul, to break through to the Soul Realm.

Unfortunately, the methods for condensing the soul are extremely rare, the Soul Infant Demon Tree is still being cultivated, and the Soul Palace and the Scorpion Demon Three Ghosts are like the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head. This forces Lin Ran to improve himself in the shortest possible time!

And this very essence of the soul is what Lin Ran has set his sights on!

"You did a great job."

Lin Ran put the information provided by the green-robed man into his storage ring and said with a smile, "This information is very important. If that branch of the Soul Palace is indeed the Earthly Fiend Palace, then you will be credited with a great service. I will reward you handsomely when I return."

"Sect Master is too kind; it is merely my duty."

Upon hearing about the reward, the pretty face in green suddenly flushed red.

Although she and Lin Ran had already been intimate, Green Robe preferred her original identity to that of Lin Ran's female companion.

Her strength is not great. Even after so many years and with the help of various resources, Green Robe is only a Dou Zong, and a low-level Dou Zong at that.

She didn't want to be just a pretty face, so Green Dress was very clear about her own position and never overstepped it.

It was this self-awareness that led Lin Ran to entrust the entire Holy Rain Sect to her management, and Green Robe never disappointed him.

Whether it was the construction of the Holy Rain Sect after its initial establishment, the management during Lin Ran's coma, or even now, the excavation of an Earthly Fiend Hall for Lin Ran...

With Green Robe around, Lin Ran felt really at ease.

(End of this chapter)