Summit of the Old Gods

"Crack! Crack..."

The sound, crisp and piercing, came from the northern sky.

Lu Ran turned his head to see an incredibly perilous scene.

The Tufeng Master had already been teleported away, but the battle had yet to cease; the golden monk's palm he'd previously launched was still there, and the dense crowd of golden dragons remained!

At this moment, a giant golden hand was pushing the Nine Ring Mercy Shield, blasting it further away.

In the blink of an eye, two of the nine golden rings had shattered, and they continued to fracture.

Lu Ran immediately tossed the fiercely struggling Magic Artifact·Three Thousand Ripples Shoes to Elder Lu, then hurriedly flickered and directly plunged into the Nine Ring Mercy Shield.

"Crack! Crack!"

The sound of the golden rings breaking continued, like a death knell being incessantly struck.

He Qifeng was gritting his teeth, striving desperately to wield the Divine Weapon in his hand, trying to reconstruct the golden rings. But how could his and the Divine Weapon's spellcasting speed compare to the destructive speed of the monk's palm and the golden dragons?

"I!" Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

The desperate look in He Qifeng's eyes immediately changed expressions.

Lu Ran had arrived!

Immediately, He Qifeng felt an arm wrap around him.

"Crack!!" Under the impact of the monk's palm in front and the golden dragons below, the last two golden rings exploded simultaneously.

He Qifeng's heart was in his throat, and in his sight, the immense golden monk's palm approached, blotting out the sun!

It seemed as if in the next moment, it would crush the two tiny humans mercilessly.

"Whew~" Suddenly, He Qifeng felt their backward speed drastically increase.

An eerie scene unfolded!

The distance between the golden monk's palm and Lu Ran and He Qifeng froze, maintaining a ten to twenty-meter gap as they continued flying northwards.

Martial Artist Divine Skill·Yan Lingfan!

Before the golden monk's palm could strike Lu Ran, the terrifying Divine Power fluctuations would first push him away.

No matter how fast the enemy's skill's speed was, Lu Ran always led by a body length!

And Lu Ran wasn't flying backward in a straight line; he was taking He Qifeng, swaying left and right, flying backward and upward.

There was also the dense crowd of golden dragons under their feet, pushing the tiny humans.

"Bang! Bang!"

"Rumble..." The golden dragons couldn't catch the tiny ants but blasted the golden monk's palm into pieces.

Yan Shuangzi watched from afar, her eyes' worry gradually turning into amazement.

In such dense output, Lu Ran truly achieved the feat of "passing through a sea of flowers without a leaf touching his body"!

As the golden monk's palm exploded, He Qifeng finally escaped the golden dragons' impact range, standing high in the sky.

Seemingly alone, Yan Shuangzi knew very well that Lu Ran must be standing behind He Qifeng.

"Didn't I tell you to stay still there?"

A voice, slightly stern, came to He Qifeng's ears.

Undeniably, the appearance of the Wind Emperor indeed assisted Lu Ran.

She attracted the Tufeng Master's attention, allowing Lu Ran to act recklessly, cooperating with Elder Lu.

But this level of battlefield isn't one that He Qifeng and Yan Shuangzi ought to involve themselves in.

A slight misstep could truly lead to death!

"Hmm..." He Qifeng pursed his lips, reaching down to hold the hand around his front.

The high and mighty Forbidden City Master hadn't been scolded in a long time.

Another voice, this time from a youth, reached his ears, slightly softer, "Tufeng Master has been sent to the Heavenly Realm, your Forbidden City is safe."

The apprehension in He Qifeng's heart finally eased.

The Forbidden City is fine.

It's fine...

[Master, Wuji Peak has been destroyed for a while now.] Yan Shuangzi's voice suddenly reminded Lu Ran in his mind.

Right, Soul Binding!

"We'll settle this later when we return." Leaving behind these words, Lu Ran flickered away.

He Qifeng, supported by the Divine Weapon, stood in mid-air, looking at the horrific battlefield stretching beneath for kilometers, his expression growing more complex.

Confusion, anger, fear, relief...

Various emotions welled up in his heart, rendering him momentarily frozen in place.

Meanwhile, back at Wuji Peak, Lu Ran opened his Pupil of the Dead World.

The collapsing mountains, the torn earth.

A thousand palaces turned to dust.

Lu Ran looked up, once more seeing many floating dead souls, and further above in the sky, those slowly ascending to the Heavenly Realm.

"Damn it! You got lucky!"

Lu Ran cursed hatefully in his heart, his figure flickering again, hovering above Wuji Peak, intercepting one dead soul after another.

One after another, the deceased martial monk disciples, angry, grief-stricken, desperately wailing...

This portrait of all living beings further dampened Lu Ran's mood.

What exactly did the Divine·Martial Monk say to the Tufeng Master?

Could it be that the Divine threatened the Tufeng Master's life or broke the contract, leaving the Tufeng Master without the Divine Technique?

It shouldn't be like this.

People always said that the Tufeng Master was upright, embodying righteousness.

Would he, just because of such a threat, willingly sacrifice the disciples of the entire sect and destroy the Forbidden City?

Or, did the Divine·Martial Monk use the Tufeng Master's family in Da Xia as leverage?

Would that be possible?

Lu Ran still didn't think so, yet felt he shouldn't overestimate human nature.

His mind was a tumult, continuously binding souls.

There must be other reasons...

"Alas..." A long sigh drew Lu Ran's attention.

He turned to see a somewhat familiar figure—Elder Zhang.

Recollecting those days, when Lu Ran invited He Qifeng to Mist Rain Lake, there were two elders surnamed Zhang who accompanied them.

As sect elders, they held a distinguished status and possessed great strength, both having reached the Fourth Rank of the Sea Realm.

Later, the two First Rank Divine Weapon Halberds that Lu Ran acquired from Madam Lü and Third Lady Lü of Thunder Mountain were given to them by the Wind Emperor.

This allowed the two Zhang elders to lock onto enemies on the fog-filled battlefield.

After the battle at Thunder Mountain, He Qifeng wanted to return the divine weapons, but Lu Ran refused.

The Divine Weapon Halberds, of course, could be used to win people's loyalty.

Rather than reclaiming the two Sky-piercing Halberds, it was better to use the opportunity to draw the two Zhang elders into the Big Wind Hall.

Since then, the two elders surnamed Zhang indeed became closer with He Qifeng.

This time, if Tufeng Master successfully ascended to the Heavenly Realm, both Zhang elders would stand by He Qifeng's side, endorsing her as the new Peak Master of Wuji Peak.

Regrettably, Tufeng Master entered into deviation.

All the efforts He Qifeng made before, all the plans, crumbled to dust.

"Hmm?" Elder Zhang sensed an absorbing force beside him, but Lu Ran concealed his presence, making it impossible for the other party to see clearly.

Lu Ran also sighed in his heart.

The Great Martial Monk at the Fourth Rank of the Sea Realm died just like that at the hands of Tufeng Master.

So humble was it.

The Divine Monk indeed chose the right time! Who is not tempted by the dense fog brought by Tufeng Master's promotion to the Heavenly Realm?

Many disciples of Wuji Peak, even those out on assignments, would go back specifically to enjoy the blessings of heaven, wouldn't they?

...

At night, within the Forbidden City·City Lord's mansion.

In the vast hall, Lu Ran sat silently on the Taishi Chair, enduring the buzzing vibrations in his mind from the Martial Monk stone sculpture.

Yan Shuangzi guarded in the shadows, silently.

Elder Lu had already left early, requesting the Magic Artifact staff from Yan Shuangzi on the noon battlefield, gave some instructions, and then headed to Qianhua Ridge.

Lu Yuan did not return to Cloud Sea Cliff because the owners of the Xuanhuang Stick and Three Thousand Ripples Shoes were still Tufeng Master.

Tufeng Master was merely transported to the Heavenly Realm, unable to communicate with the two treasures.

And not completely severed from them.

The Human World, Mountain Realm, and Heavenly Realm are each independent worlds.

Just like when Lu Ran was in Da Xia, wanting to contact disciples of the Ran Sect through a master-servant contract, there was simply no connection.

But if Tufeng Master were to return to Holy Spirit Mountain, the staff and battle shoes would naturally communicate smoothly with their master, divulging all the information they knew.

This was the fundamental reason Lu Yuan didn't return to Cloud Sea Cliff.

Before the Xuanhuang Stick and Ripple Shoes recognize a new master, they should not be aware of the location of Cloud Sea Cliff, much less Lu Ran's true identity.

Lu Yuan personally stated: After the Sect Master selects the new master of the divine weapons and artifacts, bring them to Qianhua Ridge.

Of course, Elder Lu behaved this way purely out of caution.

The Tufeng Master who ascended to the Heavenly Realm should not be able to return.

"Creak~"

The door was pushed open, and a woman clad in a luxurious golden robe walked in.

The room was pitch black, but it didn't impede He Qifeng from perceiving Lu Ran's presence. She turned to close the door and walked up to the Taishi Chair: "Sect Master."

Lu Ran possessed night vision, naturally seeing He Qifeng's expression clearly.

Her eyes were dim, no longer carrying the glorious air from before.

Throughout the daytime, those from Big Wind Hall returned to Wuji Peak but found no survivors.

Lu Ran already knew this outcome; during the Soul Binding, he had also tried searching.

However, the Heavenly Grade Dragon Soaring Strike's range was immensely wide, its damage output surpassed what should have been possible for Holy Spirit Mountain, and the dragons were densely packed, virtually destroying everything.

The Wuji Peak sect,

This powerful faction standing at the center of Holy Spirit Mountain's territory was thus erased.

And the Heavenly Realm Power who caused this disaster did so with just one move.

Just one move...

Truth be told, if the peak were full of Martial Artist disciples, there might have been some survivors.

But alas, the sect was filled with Martial Monk disciples, their fighting style predetermined by the Divine Technique list, and what the disciples were most proud of was the Martial Monk Divine Skill·Dharma Protector Golden Body!

However, this unparalleled defense technique was as fragile as thin paper when facing the Heavenly Grade attack output.

"How many Martial Monk disciples are left?"

"Only 28 disciples of Big Wind Hall stationed in the city are left," He Qifeng said softly, "Among the Sea Realm Martial Monk disciples, only the Wine-and-Meat Realman remains."

In Lu Ran's mind, an image of a plump monk immediately emerged.

"The Wine-and-Meat Realman is at the peak of the Sea Realm and doesn't need cultivation." He Qifeng managed a bitter smile, "He is very gluttonous and always stayed in the city, never returning to Wuji Peak."

Lu Ran remained silent for a long time, then gently acknowledged with a "hmm."

Suddenly, He Qifeng knelt before the Taishi Chair, expressing heartfelt gratitude: "On behalf of all the city's people, thank the Sect Master for saving our lives."

He Qifeng, the second genius of Da Xia, possessed an almost pathological competitiveness.

Her ability supported this heart. Crawling and struggling within Holy Spirit Mountain, she finally became a city lord with great power, transforming into a dignified and imposing empress.

This was probably the first time Lu Ran had seen He Qifeng bow her head in front of him since knowing her...

"Isn't the Forbidden City also mine?" Lu Ran replied softly.

He Qifeng pursed her lips, ultimately replying with a "hmm."

"Aren't you and I both the geniuses of Da Xia?"

"Hmm."

"There's no need for thanks."

He Qifeng remained silent for a long time, her voice low: "Thank the Sect Master for saving my life and safeguarding my Dao Heart."

A simple sentence carried with it Lu Ran's reckless and nearly suicidal act.

In the darkness, the young man's soft whisper was heard: "You are my Wind Emperor, my like-minded companion."

He Qifeng's nose suddenly tingled, lowering her head to hide her expression, though the tightly clutched fist betrayed her emotions:

"Yes."

...