Summit of the Old Gods

The perception techniques of Shanwei Sect are indeed remarkable.

With the help of Xiong Xiong and others, the Ran Sect members found more than a hundred skeletons in the collapsed mountain!

Judging by the clothing, the majority clearly belong to North Wind disciples!

The servants in mixed, tattered clothes, in contrast, make up a smaller portion.

Such a scene sends chills down one's spine.

Even more terrifying is that most of the corpses retain expressions of terror from their final moments.

"What on earth happened at Knife Spine Peak..." Yu Changsheng mumbled.

"Sect Leader."

"Sect Leader." Several voices echoed in greeting.

Yu Changsheng turned his head to see Lu Ran and Yan Shuangzi walking over, one in front of the other.

The young man in the Emperor Robe had a face as stormy as water.

The woman behind him hung her head low, her face deeply hidden under the wide brim of her bamboo hat.

"Is this all of it?" Lu Ran asked in a deep voice.

Xiong Xiong, with his big shaved head, jogged over to seize the chance to perform: "Reporting to the Sect Leader, there are a total of 148 corpses.

There might be more around Knife Spine Peak, should I go search?"

Lu Ran thought for a moment and called out, "Nightmare."

Deng Yuxiang looked slightly worried at Yan Shuangzi, then stepped forward.

"Organize a team to protect Xiong Xiong and two others as they search in different directions," Lu Ran commanded.

"Yes." Deng Yuxiang immediately obeyed and swiftly assigned people.

Lu Ran turned and gestured for Yan Shuangzi: "Go take a look."

"Okay." Yan Shuangzi walked forward with her head low.

A deathly silence enveloped the world, broken only by the howling cold wind.

Blowing over this ghastly scene, it sent chills down one's spine.

Yan Shuangzi was very silent; Lu Ran even more so.

Undoubtedly, Knife Spine Peak had offended someone it shouldn't have.

Maybe it was just because of a dispute or a matter of the Divine Weapon or the servants' belonging.

Or perhaps... given the filthiness of Holy Spirit Mountain, both sides may not even have had intense conflict, only a simple encounter?

Such a colossal entity collapsed so tremendously.

Lu Ran couldn't help but think of his own situation.

The Ran Sect he took pride in, the seemingly impregnable Cloud Sea Cliff, could it also be obliterated in an instant?

"Sigh..." Lu Ran heavily sighed in his heart.

Jiang Ruyi walked over, her naturally lowered palm lightly brushed against the back of Lu Ran's hand through the sleeve.

Lu Ran turned his hand and grasped hers.

Jiang Ruyi softly said, "These dead believers seem to all be from Knife Spine Peak."

Lu Ran's heart sank.

This was a significant issue!

Knife Spine Peak had been annihilated, yet on a battlefield of this level, there was no trace of the opposing side?

Even the Sword One One Sect couldn't achieve this!

Lu Ran looked over the corpses, but indeed couldn't find any "Female Sword Immortal"-type believers.

As Jiang Ruyi mentioned, this place was filled with people in white or black tight attire, or dressed in mixed, tattered clothes of servants...

Suddenly, the sense of crisis in Lu Ran's heart surged!

This implies that the enemy had easily overwhelmed the North Wind Sect with absolute dominance.

Could this be?

Is this right?

Lu Ran suddenly realized his previous thinking was wrong.

The other side wasn't a powerful organization, possibly just a small team, or even a single person!

A word emerged in Lu Ran's mind—Heavenly Realm!

"Master." Yan Shuangzi flashed over, half-kneeling before Lu Jiang.

But Lu Ran was still immersed in the thought of "Heavenly Realm" and did not respond.

Seeing this, Jiang Ruyi asked, "What is it?"

"I saw 8 people from the Sea Realm." Yan Shuangzi's voice trembled slightly, "There's no sign of Elder Xing."

Jiang Ruyi asked, "Among these people, is there anyone not belonging to Knife Spine Peak?"

Yan Shuangzi strived to steady her emotions and replied in a deep voice, "I can't recognize everyone, but most people seem familiar, and they all belong to Knife Spine Peak."

"Return." Lu Ran blurted out, then hurriedly switched to voice transmission, [Big Nightmare! Call everyone back, quickly! In the other two search teams, who can I contact via voice transmission?]

[Cong Long, Mad Immortal.] Deng Yuxiang rarely heard Lu Ran so anxious and asked, [What's going on?]

[Come back, immediately!] Lu Ran didn't say much, immediately contacting the other two teams.

If the one who annihilated Knife Spine Peak was a Great Power of the Heavenly Realm...

What if the opponent was still nearby?

Lu Ran had directly interacted with a Great Power of the Heavenly Realm—Yun Qianzhou.

Alliance Leader Yun's seclusion is measured in "months," and from last November to this April, Yun Qianzhou was still in seclusion.

Almost half a year, and he hasn't shown himself!

[Lu Ran, we've found someone in the underground!] Just as Lu Ran was recalling Si Xianxian, he heard this kind of response.

Someone?!

Lu Ran's heart leapt into his throat, hurriedly sending a voice transmission: [Don't touch him, where are you?!]

[Huh?] Si Xianxian was a bit puzzled, [Yan God General has already pulled him out, he was trying to fly!]

Lu Ran paused for a moment, then immediately transmitted: [Bring him back, stop searching!]

During the exchange, he accidentally spotted Spellcaster Believer Bai Yanhui not far away.

Lu Ran finally remembered that the Ran Sect members had the "protection" of Mr. Bai during this mission.

He felt slightly relieved.

Indeed, a spellcaster believer at the peak of the River Realm couldn't possibly make a wrong prediction.

However, Lu Ran still did not intend to dance on the knife's edge; he planned to return to Cloud Sea Cliff after the soldiers returned by using the Transmission Mirror.

Soon, Yan God General returned to Lu Ran, dragging a small-statured youth with him.

"Thud"!

Gao Yunyan threw the frail youth in front of Lu Ran, his voice stern: "Be honest."

The Witch Crow Believers could not only fly, but also turn invisible and conceal their presence.

To capture him, Gao Yunyan even used the perception technique, Floating Sand, assisted by the flying Divine Weapon, Yellow Sand Axe, to intercept this little crow.

It was truly a lot of effort!

Honestly, if the youth wasn't tightly crushed by rubble and buried in soil, the Shanwei disciples might not have even sensed his physical outline.

"Alright, alright, I'm honest, I'm... Ran... Ran Shen?" The young man hurriedly spoke, but when he got up, he was met with the young man in the Emperor Robe.

The frail youth's expression shifted from terror, to confusion, to disbelief, and finally to intense joy.

This rapid expression change in just a few seconds reflected his intense psychological transformation.

"Ran... Ran Shen, it's you, it's really you..." the youth muttered, looking up at the young man in the Emperor Robe.

Since entering the mountain, Lu Ran had changed a lot.

His clothing style was ancient, his hairstyle altered too.

Most importantly, Lu Ran's strength had made a qualitative leap, the terrifying might of Yangyang Sea made him a different person from the youth in the River Realm in "Heavenly Pride."

Thankfully, Lu Ran's face wouldn't change.

Nor would Jiang Ruyi's face change.

When the frail youth saw the aloof fairy beside Lu Ran, he completely confirmed their identities.

To everyone's surprise, the young man sniffled and burst into tears:

"Ran Shen, wah... I... wah..."

The young man was very young, probably just in his early twenties, but he was at the River Realm, a formidable force in the human world.

Yet here in the Holy Spirit Mountain, he cried like a fragile child.

One could only wonder how much hardship he had suffered.

Gao Yunyan glanced momentarily at Lu Ran.

Judging by the expressions of the Sect Leader and his lady, they likely did not know this Witch Crow Believer.

But this person seemed like a wronged child who finally found his "home."

The influence of Da Xia's genius was truly astounding.

Despite being strangers with no prior interaction, the Witch Crow disciple's behavior showed his absolute trust in Lu Ran.

"Let's talk after we return." Lu Ran activated a Transmission Mirror.

The youth was sobbing uncontrollably, wiping his eyes with his arm, unable to suppress his emotions.

Lu Ran's gaze swept over the group, finally nodding towards Xue Fengchen.

Xue Fengchen got the message, striding forward to assist the frail youth into the mirror.

The group returned to Cloud Sea Cliff, directly stepping into the Council Hall.

"Give him a seat," Lu Ran said casually.

"Feng... Feng'er?" The youth just realized that the Sea Realm great power supporting him was also a familiar figure.

Previously, when the Ran Sect was searching, Feng Yan and Xue Tianjiao were assigned to different teams.

This led to the young man and Xue Tianjiao not crossing paths.

"Yes." Xue Fengchen patted the youth's shoulder with one large hand, seating him in a chair, "Stop crying, and answer Ran Shen."

Inside the room, the young man felt it difficult to breathe!

He looked around, seeing the impressive Council Hall.

One great power after another, each with different auras and styles, but sharing in common their terrifying might that could crush all beings.

The grand building seemed like a vast nether hall.

The young man could no longer cry, overwhelmed by both fear and awe, his body lightly trembling.

Among this group of earth-shattering great powers, the Pride of Da Xia remained the most remarkable.

The Black Gold Emperor Robe alone indicated that he was the leader of this group.

"What's your name?"

"Wu, Wu Huan."

"The Wu Huan from the nomadic tribes?" Lu Ran slightly raised an eyebrow.

Wu Huan nodded repeatedly: "I... my last name is Wu, my parents met under Wuhuan Mountain..."

"Quite romantic." Lu Ran smiled softly, "How long have you been in Holy Spirit Mountain?"

"Three months... or four months, I can't quite remember."

"Always at Sword Ridge Peak?"

Mentioning this, Wu Huan's face turned pained: "I was... caught by the North Wind believers, following their orders to work for them."

"Never thought of escaping?"

"They showed me the plight of the Weak God Disciples, living as slaves within Sword Ridge Peak, saying that this was what life on Holy Spirit Mountain was truly like."

Wu Huan's voice trembled, stammering: "They told me, I couldn't escape their ears, that there was no way out.

Even if I escaped, I'd be captured by other Strong God believers, facing an even worse fate.

Staying at Sword Ridge Peak, serving the master loyally, doing good work, would spare me some suffering, allowing me to barely... barely live..."

By the end, Wu Huan couldn't continue.

Lu Ran nodded silently, shifting the topic: "What happened at Sword Ridge Peak?"

Wu Huan's eyes gradually widened, filled with terror as if recalling something that had frightened him immensely:

"The Peak Master advanced, went mad, killing, continuously killing..."

...