Summit of the Old Gods

North of the valley, in the deep mountains and forests.

A man and a woman silently walked.

Specks of plum blossoms swayed in the gentle wind and drizzle, sprinkling across the forest.

The red and white petals occasionally landed on Lu Ran's Black Gold Emperor Robe, relaying everything encountered along their falling path to the disciples of the Cold Plum.

Cold Plum Divine Technique: Plum Blossom Fall.

Suddenly, Leng Xushuang raised her head, looking toward the forest ahead on the right.

A few plum petals hovered in mid-air, suspended beneath the empty big tree.

The invisible person standing under the tree wore a solemn expression, gazing at the noble youth.

Who is this person?

Such a strong presence, Sea... Sea Realm?

Why is Lady Leng following behind this Sea Realm youth, where is her personal guard?

The invisible Greedy Wolf disciple forced himself to suppress wave after wave of anxiety, no longer looking at the youth in the Emperor Robe, retreating step by step.

Leng Xushuang: "Benefactor, there is..."

Before she could finish her words, the sound of Immortal Fog being sprayed arose once again.

"Sizzle——"

Leng Xushuang looked into the mountain forest, only to see a mysterious woman in a green rain cape and reed hat flash by as the Immortal Fog spread.

It wasn't long before a scream echoed through the forest.

For a Sea Realm Second Rank Fake God·Night Charm, the River Realm Greedy Wolf disciple had no chance of survival.

You better not make any noise.

Move, and you die.

The scream echoed through the serene mountain forest, as Deng Yuxiang frowned slightly, looking at the corpse at her feet.

She seemed to be dissatisfied with her performance.

The opponent shouldn't have made a sound.

Next time, should I just cover their mouth?

Deng Yuxiang closed her beautiful eyes, slightly raised her head, and listened intently.

The sound of weapon clashing faintly came through.

Deng Yuxiang confirmed that the Magic Artifact Fragment·Rebirth Money had collected the soul, and she once again moved swiftly.

As her Charm Shadow flitted through the forest, by the time she reached the battlefield, the three other figures in rain capes had just disappeared.

In the underbrush, there was a corpse severed at the waist.

About a meter from the ground, there was still a black line hanging in the air, lingering endlessly.

"Heh." Deng Yuxiang couldn't help but chuckle, as the face of her bosom friend flashed through her mind.

Just mere River Realm guards, was there a need to use the Divine Weapon Domain?

Are you competing with me for speed?

Well... perhaps.

I've done all the work for clearing the dark sentries for him, doesn't your Shadow Guard Team feel embarrassed?

Deng Yuxiang laughed, shook her wrist, and once again summoned Rebirth Money.

The location of Wolf Bone Village was quite well chosen, with treacherous terrain and only one road up the mountain.

And on this road, the four wolf cubs ambushing in the forest were all executed.

Divine Technique·Wolf Concealment should have been a Divine Skill, enough for the Greedy Wolf believers to come and go without a trace.

Yet the Greedy Wolf believers encountered Fake God·Night Charm.

And also encountered Fake God·Evil Dog!

Perception Skill·Plum Blossom Fall was no longer the only reliance; it instead became a means to detect leaks.

The falling plum blossoms forced the potential invisible people to move.

Lu Ran and Leng Xushuang walked one after the other.

He was also using the Evil Technique·Evil Recognition to search for the enemy, unwilling to miss any enemies.

Leng Xushuang carried a long sword, looking at the mysterious figure ahead.

Even now, she didn't know who he was, where he came from, or what his name was...

At the moment she was about to commit suicide, he suddenly appeared.

He took away her Plum Snow Sword and pulled down the hand she intended to pierce her heart with.

He said the fragrance of plum blossoms is rare, a pity to let it fade away.

So she didn't seek death again.

He asked if she hated the Wolf Bone Village, and invited her to follow him.

She followed him.

Everything was so incredible, yet logical.

Just like now, this road leading to the mountain village was quiet and smooth.

The greedy eyes hidden in the forest had all disappeared.

The falling plum blossoms scattered over their not-yet-cold corpses, soaking in the scarlet blood, like an unreal dream.

Yet because of the presence of the figure before her, it seemed to make perfect sense.

"Wh... who goes there?"

"Stop! Wait, Lady Leng?"

In front of the vast mountain village gate, four shabbily dressed men and women stood guard diligently.

Realizing the youth was a Great Power of the Sea Realm, all four guards seemed a bit timid.

"They are lowly servants," Leng Xushuang whispered.

She wasn't sure what kind of person the youth was.

If he wanted to slaughter this mountain village, she had neither the qualification nor the ability to stop him.

"Ah!" A guard could no longer endure the fear in his heart and turned to flee.

"Stop." The Emperor Robe youth suddenly spoke.

Leng Xushuang held her breath.

Even though the youth had his back to her, and the words weren't directed at her.

Yet his deep voice carried an undeniable authority, subduing all beings' spirits.

As if...

As if it were the laws of the universe, daring no defiance.

"Uh." The guard's steps halted abruptly, body rigid.

The other three guards were pale, not daring to make a move or cry out.

Was the power of the Sea Realm so terrifying?

Of course not!

On Lu Ran's neck, the Divine Power Bead Chain had a dark jade Tiger Talisman emanating a strange glow.

Second-rank Magical Artifact·Dark Jade Tiger Talisman!

Yun Qianzhou, the Alliance Hierarch, once said: "Even on the battlefield, if you command your enemies, if their will is not firm or their temperament is weak, they will be subdued by you and follow your orders."

Today, Lu Ran truly experienced it.

Is this the value of a second-rank magical artifact?

"What the hell are you standing there for?"

"You guys, all..." Two men in black appeared. One stopped speaking when he saw the unfamiliar man outside the village gate.

Lu Ran's eyes shone, glowing with a deep red light.

"Ah!" A scream escaped from the man in black, who collapsed directly to the ground.

The terrifying spiritual output poured into his brain through his eyes.

The man instantly fell into a deep red world, with thousands of red threads weaving through, piercing his flesh and shattering his bones.

Such a horrific level of mental attack almost made him collapse in an instant.

Even the screams remained just a single solitary sound...

"Ah!" The other man in black paled abruptly, seeing his fallen companion's fearful eyes and twisted face, as if he had experienced excruciating agony in a split second.

Lu Ran slightly turned his head, glancing behind him: "Don't you hate them?"

Leng Xushuang's hand trembled as she gripped the Plum Snow Sword, slashing forward with a swing.

Flecked with frost and bits of plum blossom, the sword energy, shaped like a semi-circular arc, flew forward.

Cold Plum Divine Technique: Plum Blossom Three Moves!

One plum frosts the enemy, slowing their movements.

One plum freezes the enemy, ice permeating their marrow.

One plum detonates the frost, shuddering the thoroughly frozen enemy with frost inside and out.

Leng Xushuang slashed three swords in succession.

The fragrance wafted, and clean frost scattered.

Three frosty sword auras mixed with falling plums continuously landed on the man in black.

The man in black tried to escape, but his legs twisted, and he fell to the ground headfirst.

Run?

From within the wide sleeve of the Black Gold Emperor Robe, Lu Ran naturally held a paper figure in his palm.

Terrifying and eerie.

"Snap!!"

As the third sword energy struck the man in black, the Divine Technique: Plum Blossom Three Moves was completed.

The man in black exploded.

Snow wrapped around the shattered corpses, rolling all over, and it was quite clean.

Leng Xushuang's heart trembled violently, but her hands no longer shook.

Her indifferent eyes were filled with astonishing hatred!

She shouldn't have survived until now.

A few days ago, the fellow disciple who died was her sword master.

Her master protected her at the cost of his life, forcing the Village Chief Langwu to restrain his coercive tactics slightly.

Yet she couldn't even collect her master's corpse.

She could only watch as the Second Lady of Wolf Bone Village stripped her master's skeleton, crafting it into a white bony frame, taken back to her garden.

Leng Xushuang followed her master's dying wish, trying to survive, trying to find a chance to escape.

Trying... to live?

Master,

someone has given me a better path.

Leng Xushuang stepped forward, walking towards another man in black who had fallen to the ground, shivering in pain.

"Slash!"

The sword pierced flesh, directly stabbing into the forehead.

"From now on, follow me." A low voice sounded.

The four servant guards dared not defy even a bit.

Leng Xushuang turned her head to see the Emperor Robe youth holding a Treasure Gourd, absorbing the four guards into it.

She didn't know the effect of this magic artifact.

Does it refine people?

Or does it extract souls, transforming people into loyal puppets?

Who could guess the effect of a magic artifact?

She only knew the four guards were collected by the Emperor Robe youth.

From his words, it seemed he wanted these four to follow him loyally.

"Let me personally dismember the Second Lady." Leng Xushuang stepped back, afraid of being sucked into the gourd.

She looked at Lu Ran, speaking chillingly: "Let me cut her into thousands of pieces, stripping her down to white bones!

Afterwards,

my body is yours to ruin."

Lu Ran: "..."

That's not necessary to go to such an extreme.

I'm also afraid of being dissected by Fairy Jiang into thousands of pieces...

On another note, Leng Xushuang speaking like this showed she clearly knew she had nothing to catch the fancy of the Emperor Robe youth.

She only had this body as her asset.

Hmm... about her looks, she indeed had the right to be confident.

Leng Xushuang was breathtakingly beautiful, even comparable to Jiang Ruyi.

Fairy Jiang truly possessed frosty skin and jade bones, a divine elegance.

The bright and vibrant Deng Yuxiang, though unlike Fairy Jiang, would still avoid her sharpness.

And before her was Leng Xushuang, equally a peerless beauty.

"Benefactor?" Leng Xushuang addressed him as benefactor, while her heart surged with hatred.

It was clear she had witnessed Lu Ran's terrifying methods, and under his protection, personally killed two from Wolf Bone Village, releasing the fire of revenge within her.

And the Second Lady was a great power of the Sea Realm.

Seeking an eye for an eye, like the way the Second Lady dismembered her master, to strip her down to stark white bones...

Leng Xushuang could only beg Lu Ran.

"Don't sell yourself short." Lu Ran spoke.

Leng Xushuang's eyes focused.

Those cold star-like eyes gazed into the pupils of the Emperor Robe youth.

Lu Ran slightly raised his head, gesturing towards the dense forest ahead: "Lead the way."

Leng Xushuang tightly gripped the Plum Snow Sword, suddenly turning and charging into the forest.

"Whoosh~"

A black cloud rose under Lu Ran's feet, the Black Gold Emperor Robe fluttering wildly.

It flew amidst the falling plum blossoms.

...