NOVEL NEXT Chapter 274: On the Verge of Mental Breakdown
"Tower Lord! What's the matter with you?" He Tian's eyes widened, catching sight of Lu An's peculiar behavior, and his face contorted with concern. His voice shook as he inquired, "Is there a senior present?"
With a restrained aura and a countenance bearing both solemnity and a touch of regret, Lu An offered a fist and palm salute to his surroundings. "I spoke out of turn earlier, driven by my own thoughtlessness. Please, let's not dwell on it! All of this is nothing but a misunderstanding..."
"A misunderstanding? It seems like you left something out before saying that." Jiang Chen observed Lu An, who appeared both anxious and uneasy in his divine sense view, yet his voice remained cool and detached.
At Jiang Chen's words, realization dawned on the faces of both Lu An and He Tian. In their haste, they had indeed forgotten that their own followers were still in pursuit of the genius cultivator.
"Senior, forgive us!" He Tian inhaled deeply, his voice taking on a somewhat ingratiating quality. "We will command our disciples to retreat immediately!"
With these words, he pulled out a transmission jade token and swiftly sent instructions to those below.
On the other side, merely moments later, Gu Ran was fleeing with all his might when he found himself encircled by individuals from every direction.
Panic welled within him at first.
But it wasn't long before he recognized that the surrounding cultivators were merely at the Inquiring Journey realm.
A surge of joy replaced his fear, and Gu Ran's face lit up.
"You little brat, stop right there!" An arrogant shout rang out.
"Scum, daring to run away with the inheritance that belongs to our Nine Heavens Tower? It seems you no longer wish to live."
"Hand over the inheritance immediately, or we will show you what cruelty really means!" One after another, the Nine Heavens Tower's Inquiring Journey realm cultivators taunted and sneered as they encircled Gu Ran.
'Hmph! Good, come at me!' Gu Ran thought, a gleeful expression hidden in his eyes.
'Now that those two old pests are not here, I can finally embark on my killing spree freely.'
'Hahaha, Middle-stage Inquiring Journey realm, I'm coming for you. Late-stage Inquiring Journey realm, I'm on my way!'
'Hey, there's even an Early-stage Dao Comprehension realm, perfect!' Gu Ran's gaze swept over the surrounding Nine Heavens Tower's cultivators, his heart brimming with delight.
Unable to contain his excitement, he burst into laughter, his face alight with joy.
"Scum! You dare to laugh!" The Dao Comprehension realm cultivator from the Nine Heavens Tower spat, his eyes filled with contempt as he directed the cultivators to move forward and encircle Gu Ran. "Senior and Junior brothers, let's set aside talk for now. First, we must catch him and unleash all our ninety-nine methods of torture on him before we relent!"
"Great! I can't wait any longer!" Gu Ran's laughter rang out, bold and exuberant, a joyous thrill evident in his voice.
However! Just as the tension was reaching its peak and a great battle seemed imminent, a voice thundered, "Stop! Everybody, damn it, stop! Don't you dare lay a finger on him!"
The face of the Dao Comprehension realm cultivator twisted in sudden terror, his fear akin to that of a commoner witnessing a ghost. "Back off, everyone back off! Disperse, flee! I must escape as well!"
"What? Why should we stop? Why do we need to get out?" One of the cultivators couldn't help but blurt out, confusion etched across his face.
"Didn't this guy steal the Dao Palace realm opportunity belonging to our Nine Heavens Tower? Shouldn't we torture him, reclaim the opportunity, and then put him to death?"
"Could it be that this guy is not as simple as he appears?" Each cultivator was consumed by doubt, their faces reflecting their uncertainty.
Despite their questions, they halted, then quickly turned to flee into the distance, their movements swift and urgent.
Meanwhile, 'What, what? Weren't they about to attack me?' Gu Ran stared as the Nine Heavens Tower cultivators fled in haste, his smile frozen in place, confusion etched across his face. 'Why would they suddenly halt and all flee?'
Then, as if struck by realization, his eyes gradually widened, and a tidal wave of anger surged within them.
A feeling of intense frustration and fury welled up in his heart, choking him, consuming him!
'Heavenly Gu Society!'
'This familiar sensation, it's the Heavenly Gu Society!'
'It's the Heavenly Gu Society playing games once more!'
'Why, why does the Heavenly Gu Society always haunt me like a relentless ghost?'
'Why, why, when I've clearly rid myself of Liu Xiong and Wu Qian, can the Heavenly Gu Society still exert influence over me, still thwart my attempts to slay my foes and ascend in strength!?'
'No, no! Heavenly Gu Society, get the hell out of my life!' Gu Ran's inner scream resonated, his thoughts a whirlwind of madness, his mental state teetering on the edge of breakdown.
Immediately afterwards, "Stop, all of you stop!" Gu Ran's scream, wild and frenzied, ripped through the air as he bolted after the fleeing cultivators. "Don't run! I want to kill you, I want to break through!"
"The young master is furious!" The Dao Comprehension realm cultivator's voice cracked with terror. "Run, run, scatter and flee! If caught by him, even if we can defeat him, we are sure to perish!"
"If you are captured and dare to resist, your own family will be ensnared, and your entire clan will face annihilation!"
"Give it everything you have and run!" He marshaled the group of Nine Heavens Tower cultivators, urging them to disperse and escape with every ounce of their strength.
Suddenly, everyone exerted themselves to the fullest, fleeing like they were possessed by sheer madness!
Watching the scattering cultivators, Gu Ran felt as if his heart was being torn apart.
"Stop!" he howled, desperation in his voice.
With no other options, he was forced to pursue the slowest fleeing cultivator.
But even the slowest among them was at the Inquiring Journey realm.
After a frenzied chase, Gu Ran managed to catch up and slay him, only to find that the rest of the cultivators had vanished without a trace.
'Damn it! Curse it all!'
'How overwhelmingly powerful is the Heavenly Gu Society that they can thwart my plans at every turn?'
'Could the puppeteer behind the Heavenly Gu Society be a great powerhouse of the Transcendence realm?' Gu Ran's fury bubbled within him, his eyes scanning the surroundings as a profound sense of powerlessness and bewilderment welled up in his heart.
The Heavenly Gu Society was overpowering.
How could he ever break free from its grasp and obliterate it!
Then, a surge of determination and wild resolve welled up in Gu Ran's heart.
'No! I will not be defeated! I have the Endless Dark Blood Moon; I cannot and will not lose!' Gu Ran's teeth ground together, his eyes aflame with fury, fists clenched, veins throbbing, his entire being trembling as if on the verge of detonation.
Without hesitation, he darted off into the distance.
This was the sole course of action left to him - to strain every sinew to flee from the region where Wu Qian and Liu Xiong might be lurking!
Simultaneously, system notifications echoed in Jiang Chen's sea of consciousness.
[Ding! You successfully altered the plot; protagonist Gu Ran's Heavenly Fate Value has decreased by 1000 points!]
[Ding! You have gained 2000 Villain Value points!]
'Another triumph, delightful!' A faint smile played at the corner of Jiang Chen's mouth.
Without a moment's pause, he concealed his aura and vanished from Lu An and He Tian's awareness.
'Phew! The senior has departed!' Lu An and He Tian exhaled in unison, a shared sense of relief washing over them. 'We've narrowly skirted death's door; that was too horrifying!'
Suddenly, their bodies were slick with sweat, a tangible manifestation of their intense fear.
Even though Lu An and He Tian suspected that Jiang Chen might have already departed, they didn't dare to make any hasty moves. Instead, they posed a question in an utterly respectful tone, "Thank you, senior, for sparing us! We won't transgress again! May we ask if we are permitted to leave now?"
"Hmph!" Liu Xiong suddenly let out a disdainful snort.
He gazed at Lu An and He Tian with a sneer, taunting them, "Thinking you can just walk away like that, aren't you dreaming?"
Upon hearing Liu Xiong's words, Lu An's response was not one of anger but rather one of jubilation. "We understand, we understand!"
"We will undoubtedly demonstrate our utmost sincerity!" The implication that the other party might demand compensation gave them hope that they were indeed planning to release them.
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