Summit of the Old Gods

At the edge of Jinmie Ridge, within the underground cavern.

"Ugh!" Qiao Yuansi covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes widening slightly.

In the pitch-black environment, Lu Ran's eyes were so bright, brilliant with splendor.

"Buzz!!"

The Eight Desolate Blade trembled violently, while in a place unseen by others, in the gray sky of Jinmie Ridge, endless fog surged forth madly.

Whenever a Divine Weapon upgrades, the scale of the celestial phenomenon is always grand.

Dense fog automatically transformed into Fog Dragon Rolls, piercing through the ash-filled sky, reaching deep into the rift.

"Roar!"

"Roar..." All of a sudden, roars echoed endlessly within Jinmie Ridge, and the Ash Destruction Demons rushed over, only to be immediately engulfed by the mist, losing sight entirely.

Beasts lost in the dense fog would inevitably collide with each other.

Being of the same tribe, they shouldn't have fought much, but the mist clouded their eyes, making the Ash Destruction Demons unable to recognize each other. Coupled with their naturally ferocious nature and low intelligence, minor frictions soon escalated into a chaotic skirmish.

The commotion outside did not disturb Lu Ran.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, his forehead against the cold blade, focusing entirely on guiding the Divine Weapon's upgrade.

Ten minutes... a quarter of an hour... half an hour...

The Eight Desolate Blade continued to hum, its momentum unabated.

Typically, the upgrade time for a Divine Weapon isn't long, lasting either a few minutes or up to half an hour.

The cavern remained silent, and every second was an ordeal for everyone.

If it takes too long, it's not a good sign and might mean there are problems with the upgrade.

If this threshold isn't crossed this time, future opportunities would be even harder to come by!

Qiao Yuansi became increasingly worried, hearing the muffled thuds and explosions from the distant surface above.

"Boom! Boom!"

"Rumble!!"

Jiang Ruyi pondered for a moment and then cast the Divine Technique·Golden Jade Eight Talismans, planning to stabilize the cave's ceiling using the Golden Jade Stone Plate.

At this moment, Jin Que'er suddenly turned its head, used its beak to lift the girl's raincoat, and burrowed into Little Yuanxi's embrace.

"Ugh!" Qiao Yuansi was about to ask when she felt a violent gust of wind.

She hurriedly shielded her face with one hand, her delicate body pushed hard against the stone wall by the wind.

"Whoosh!!"

The gale hadn't dispersed when she heard hearty laughter:

"Haha!"

"Brother?" Qiao Yuansi naturally understood what this whirlwind meant.

She was equally thrilled, crawling over at once.

"Silly girl." Lu Ran's tone carried a hint of spoil, "So close, and you still crawled off track?"

As he spoke, he reached for Qiao Yuansi's bamboo hat, helping her adjust its direction.

"Hmph!" Qiao Yuansi scrunched her little nose, crawled over to Lu Ran, shaking his arm excitedly, "Did you succeed?"

"I did!" Lu Ran nodded emphatically, his heart filled with emotion.

He still held the Eight Desolate Blade, feeling the terrifying energy fluctuations emanating from it.

Third-rank Divine Weapon·Eight Desolates Annihilation Blade!

Its attributes alone would utterly crush the Second-rank Divine Weapon·Dawn Blade.

As he pondered, Lu Ran decisively tested it.

"Eight Desolates, try to break free from me." Lu Ran gripped the hilt tightly, commanding in a deep voice.

The Eight Desolate Blade immediately obeyed, attempting to break free of Lu Ran's grasp.

Lu Ran's eyes widened as he gripped the hilt tightly, exerting more force.

The strength of the Eight Desolate Blade was astonishing, unexpectedly dragging Lu Ran forward.

Lu Ran was shocked!

Is it that strong?

Suddenly, the voice of the Eight Desolate Blade Spirit rang in his mind: [Master, you need to activate a power amplification technique! Otherwise, you won't be able to hold me.]

Lu Ran: ?

The Eight Desolate Blade wasn't bluffing; it directly dragged Lu Ran forward by more than a meter.

Bear in mind, Lu Ran was at the Sea Realm Fourth Rank!

This... this is?

"Whew~" Lu Ran's blood surged as he activated the Blood Skull Evil Technique·Burning Blood Body, dramatically increasing all his attributes.

"Buzz!" The Eight Desolate Blade, held in Lu Ran's hand, trembled continuously.

The contest of strength between them reached their limits.

Were they evenly matched?

After all, Lu Ran still held the hilt, so he was barely winning by a margin.

"Gulp." Lu Ran swallowed.

Is this the explosive properties of a Third-rank Divine Weapon?

The strength of someone at the River Realm can wield a First-tier Divine Weapon; those at the Sea Realm can wield a Second-rank Divine Weapon.

So only those at the Heavenly Realm can control a Third-rank Divine Weapon?

The real-life example was right here; Lu Ran, being high-level in the Sea Realm, could barely hold the Eight Desolate Blade even after activating the Evil Technique·Burning Blood Body with all his might.

"Stop." Lu Ran quickly spoke.

The Eight Desolate Blade, highly intelligent, slowly eased its strength, fearing that Lu Ran might topple backward and crash deeper into the ground...

"Goodness~" Lu Ran placed the Eight Desolate Blade across his knees, his fingers constantly caressing the blade.

He couldn't get enough of it.

This was just a rough test of the power of a Third-rank Divine Weapon; how fast could it be?

What level of sharpness would it have?

Could an ordinary Sea Realm person truly withstand a single strike from the Eight Desolates?

The more Lu Ran thought about it, the more delighted he became.

Take Jin Que'er at the Initial Stage of the Sea Realm as an example: could it be that even without making a move, the Eight Desolate Blade will fight on its own and pin Jin Que'er down on the spot?

No wonder it's a Third-rank Divine Weapon!

No wonder it's on par with the grade of the Heavenly Realm!

In his thoughts, Lu Ran thought of the Dawn Blade again, inwardly lamenting: Clearly, the Dawn Blade arrived first, yet the Eight Desolate Blade took the lead.

How wonderful would it be if the Dawn Blade were also a Third-rank Divine Weapon?

"Buzz~" The Dawn Blade trembled slightly, with minimal amplitude.

Does it feel a bit aggrieved?

"Uh?" Lu Ran came to his senses and quickly consoled it, "Such opportunities are rare and hard to come by, Dawn, I know you've worked hard too..."

Nearby, Jiang Ruyi's voice came, "No need for that, Dawn, the Holy Spirit Mountain is clearly more suited for the growth of the Eight Desolate Blade."

"Yes, yes, yes, this place is more fitting for the Eight Desolates." Lu Ran subconsciously echoed her, and then he realized that Jiang Fairy wasn't giving empty comfort.

What is the existence philosophy of the Eight Desolate Annihilation Blade?

The answer lies within the premise.

Through Lu Ran's journey, in this dirty and brutal Holy Spirit Mountain, battling with blood and fire every minute and second, it aligns perfectly with the existence philosophy of the Eight Desolate Blade.

If it didn't grow, it would be a miracle!

Lu Ran nodded secretly and sighed, "If I were still in the human world, still guarding Rain Alley City, the Dawn Blade might have advanced to Third-rank too."

A youthful Lu Ran once made a wish:

To pierce through the night of the fifteenth and welcome boundless rosy clouds and a sky full of auspicious clouds.

Now, he's no longer in Rain Alley City, no longer battling to dawn every fifteenth of the month.

But from a higher perspective, what Lu Ran does, his ultimate goal, is also to shatter the darkest of the human world.

On the day when gods and demons lay slain, is when dawn breaks upon the human world!

At that moment,

will come the true spectacle of boundless rosy clouds and a thousand radiant beams!

"Buzz!" The Dawn Blade clearly agreed with Lu Ran's thoughts.

What it seeks isn't the narrow light of dawn each sixteenth morning of the month.

Instead, it should be a world covered in auspicious clouds!

Within the pitch-black cavern, a solemn air pervaded, anyone could sense the boiling heart of Lu Ran and his Divine Weapon.

Such people, such blades.

Such extreme purity of a child's heart, coupled with an audacious ambition that knows no bounds...

Jiang Ruyi suddenly became aware of an issue: it wasn't because Lu Ran owned a Sculpture Garden that he came to where he is today.

But because Lu Ran inherently possessed such qualities, which is why Lord Immortal Sheep found him among the masses, carrying a Sculpture Garden.

Jiang Ruyi also admits having a strong filter for Lu Ran, which might bias her judgment.

But humbly speaking, Jiang Ruyi believes that, at least between Lu Ran and the Sculpture Garden, there's a complementary relationship that pushes them further on this path.

Never veered even a bit,

Nor did he ever retreat an inch.

Jiang Ruyi collected her emotions and gently reminded, "Lu Ran, it's been chaotic outside for a while now."

"Oh." Lu Ran nodded, knowing there should be a considerable number of Dead Souls in the ridge, he casually picked up the bamboo hat that had fallen on the ground, "I'll be right back."

With that, he left a blood-red afterimage in place.

Lu Ran appeared on the cliff outside Jinmie Ridge, looking afar, he saw that much of the fog in the world had already dissipated.

He opened his horizontal pupils and immediately saw many Dead Souls of Ash Destruction Demon disappearing into the grey sky.

It seems that in the past half an hour, many Dead Souls of Ash Destruction Demon had ascended.

But many Dead Souls of Ash Destruction Demons were still lingering on the surface or mid-air.

Of course, Lu Ran would capitalize on such resources, his figure becoming formless, switching to Instant Teleportation Technique·Evil Shadow Flash to avoid leaving any traces when flickering.

Silently, he engaged in Soul Binding, feasting sumptuously.

Where his gaze reached, there were numerous battle groups, but as the fog dissipated, most fires of war had ceased.

Only one battle group remained excessively fierce.

Even though the Ash Destruction Demons recognized the enemy as their kin, they couldn't suppress their savage hearts; they were already in a blood frenzy.

[Master.] A familiar voice echoed in his mind.

It was Lu Ran's own voice, with its distinct clangor, uniquely charismatic.

[What, can't hold back any longer?] Lu Ran absorbed another Dead Soul of Ash Destruction Demon into his pupils, while adjusting his lower half-face mask.

[Master, let's try it... let's give it a try!] A mighty Third-rank Divine Weapon, yet its stance was so low, even somewhat pleading.

Its surging desire for destruction was evidently hard to suppress.

Lu Ran couldn't help but smile a bit.

The Eight Desolate Blade, strong as a bear, yet loyally seeking permission from him, the Master of Divine Weapon.

To know, last time when it realized the Divine Weapon Domain, it was quite assertive with Lu Ran in a tight spot.

The Eight Desolate Blade had grown.

It deserved a reward!

"Alright." Lu Ran's eyes concentrated, settling on the largest, most chaotic battle group, "You and I shall test out your Second Divine Weapon Domain!"

"Crack!"

Lu Ran gripped the hilt with both hands as a storm of energy soared around him.

The broad bamboo hat flew away with the wind, revealing his semi-long black hair swirling upwards, exposing his radiant, illustrious eyes.

Where divinity should have reigned supreme.

Yet due to his tempestuous divine energy fluctuations, along with that blood-red eerie half-face mask, he seemed rather sinister.

"Eight Desolates, what do you intend to name this Divine Weapon Domain?"

"I earnestly ask for the master to name it!"

"Hmm." Lu Ran pursed his lips slightly, directly making one flash, standing at the center of the chaotic battle group...

First follow me to destroy heaven and earth!

Then establish illustrious renown!

...