Chapter 118: The Wind Blows Cold, the Autumn Rain Chills

Si Si Xianxian was still dragged away by her mother.

As she left, she glared at Lu Ran.

The glare made Lu Ran scratch his head in confusion.

Had this been their first meeting, Lu Ran would certainly have been on edge, fearing this Divine Lie Tian girl might fly into a rage and attack.

But now, Lu Ran felt somewhat emboldened and fearless.

At the same time, he silently grumbled in his heart: "That's a patrol mission on the fifteenth night; how could I possibly take you along?"

"Don't you know just how notorious Divine Lie Tian believers are?"

"Looking across the entire Great Xia, within the Divine Citizen Bureaus of every region, how many Divine Lie Tian believers can you even find?"

"I'm afraid you could count them on one hand!"

"After all, the Divine Citizen Bureau is meant to guard the city, not massacre it."

"The duty of the Moon-Gazing People is to protect the lives and property of the people, not to slaughter or abuse them."

Lu Ran's inner grumbling ultimately transformed into a "pressed-lip smile" on his face as he watched the mother and daughter walk out of the apartment building entrance.

With the irritable Sister Sister Xian'er gone, Lu Ran's life returned to normal.

He spent his days sitting in meditation before the shrine, devoting himself to cultivation.

Everyone says that after reaching Stream Realm, Stage Three, one leaves the newbie protection period.

Wanting to further refine one's cultivation is said to be like facing an obstacle with every single step.

However, Lu Ran did not think so.

In the face of supreme talent, so-called obstacles merely mean cultivating for a few more days.

Late at night on the fourteenth day of the lunar month, or more precisely, at three o'clock in the morning on the fifteenth, a satisfied nasal hum came from Lu Ran's small bedroom:

"Mmm."

Lu Ran sat on the floor, his body trembling slightly.

Thick mist filled the room, continuously converging into his body, where he strenuously compressed and condensed it into streams.

"Meow." On the computer desk behind and to the side of Lu Ran, Little Li Hua looked at him curiously.

In the pitch-black room, the cat's pupils shimmered with a strange luster, appearing somewhat eerie.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a wave of energy surged outward, and instantly, the room became filled with noisy sounds.

Little Li Hua was startled, leaping away in a flash and slipping out through the crack under the door.

Lu Ran, however, was immersed in his own world, his head spinning dizzily, filled with a sense of bliss!

This feeling of abundant divine power and overflowing strength fascinated him deeply.

Stream Realm, Stage Four!

After a long while, Lu Ran let out a deep sigh, leaned his upper body backward, and lay down on the cold floor.

He glanced upward and backward, viewing the clock hanging on the wall within this inverted world.

Three oh three; had he really been cultivating for so long?

"In the night I wake at three in the morning, I think of you again, lost to me~"

Humming a little tune, Lu Ran slowly climbed to his feet.

However, having just advanced, his body, thoroughly nourished, felt nothing but endless joy, making it impossible for him to sing with any emo sentiment.

"Once we said we'd be together forever, but now we no longer contact each other."

Lu Ran hummed softly as he walked to the bedside, picked up his phone, and unlocked it with a casual swipe.

As expected, there were no messages.

Not to mention that certain person; throughout the entire day, apart from a text notification sent by the Divine Citizen Bureau, Lu Ran had received no news whatsoever.

Even the small group chat, which should have been lively, had gone cold for several days.

Clearly, everyone was working hard at cultivation.

The closer it got to the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the heavier everyone's sense of crisis became.

In fact, back when Lu Ran and Si Si Xianxian were duo-queuing in Evil Dog Village, the other members of the squad had already successively advanced to Stream Realm, Stage Three.

Nowadays, for those teammates to improve their cultivation, not only was effort required, but fate also played a part.

To be honest, Lu Ran truly didn't feel he encountered any obstacle during this advancement to Stream Realm, Stage Four.

But the fact that it took more time was undeniable.

He had reached Stream Realm, Stage Three on the eleventh day of the ninth lunar month; by the time of this advancement, more than a month had passed.

Such a duration had never occurred before.

"Eight in the morning, Yanhe Street, gather at the head of Wu Lie Bridge," Lu Ran read the message aloud to himself, adding, "I can still sleep for four or five hours."

While speaking, Lu Ran collapsed directly onto his small bed.

However, he had only lain there for a short while before climbing up again and heading straight for the bathroom.

Standing before the mirror in the bathroom, a surge of energy churned in Lu Ran's eyes.

His round pupils, belonging to the human race, gradually transformed into a pair of horizontal pupils.

Eerie and terrifying.

Lifeless!

Divine Art: Immortal Pupils!

Looking at his own pupils through the mirror, another surge of energy flowed in Lu Ran's eyes.

Xie Fa: Fire in the Cage (Illusion)!

A Xie Fa originating from the Black Lamp Clan's Zu Zhi Xie Fa.

"Hoo~"

On Lu Ran's pair of dead-sheep eyes, black flames suddenly ignited.

This made his pupils even more bizarre, and also even cooler!

The problem is, being cool cannot put food on the table.

Lu Ran murmured: "Go in, hide inside, smaller still, hide deeper..."

The Zu Zhi Xie Fa of the Black Lamp Clan mostly involves summoning flames, so naturally, these black flame sprouts could be hidden within the eyes.

The only thing to note is that the black fire cannot be hidden too deep; it must be able to shine upon the target's eyes to take effect.

Fortunately, this pair of dead-sheep eyes was equally pitch-black, giving Lu Ran room to operate.

In order to survive by lying low even better, Lu Ran had to hide so carefully.

After all, if he wished, he could completely ignite the Caged Fire (Illusion) in his palm, or smear it onto a blade's edge.

Killing on one hand, while harming people on the other.

It's just that doing so would be too reckless...

You Xianyangyi Sect, where would you get black flames from?

Isn't that a joke!

Then when would Lu Ran dare to toss the Caged Fire (Illusion) high into the sky, using the black fire to recklessly illuminate all living beings under heaven and earth?

The answer is...

When he shows his hand to this world!

"Ha~" Lu Ran rubbed his chin, emitting a sound similar to a Minecraft villager.

He suddenly thought of something.

Could he perhaps project the black fire onto the moon?

Good heavens!

Moon... Moon Reader?

Alright, this is a dreamer's fantasy.

It is hard to imagine just how massive a volume of black fire would be needed to burn up the entire moon.

However, Lu Ran could indeed create his own "moon," raising a cluster of Caged Fire on a battlefield.

As long as he possessed sufficient ability and confidence, along with sufficient killing intent, that would be enough.

There was no need to reach the stage of "showing his hand to the whole world."

As long as Lu Ran could ensure that on this battlefield, every living being who had seen the black fire was slaughtered by him to the last!

In this manner,

the dim fire within the cage might yet ascend to the sky!

The dead, naturally, cannot leak secrets.

As for the souls of the dead... they are even less capable of leaking secrets.

Yet no soul of the dead could escape from Lu Ran's pair of Death Realm pupils.

"Baa~" After pondering for a long time, Lu Ran let out a soft sheep bleat.

In no time, a Little Li Hua cat poked its head in at the bathroom door: "Meow?"

Lu Ran turned his head to look, and little Li Hua immediately froze in place.

One of its tiny paws remained raised, not yet touching the ground, while its pair of eyes, which should have been lively, became utterly dull.

"Hehe."

Lu Ran smiled with satisfaction.

It ought to have been a happy smile, yet due to those pupils, it appeared eerie and sinister.

Lu Ran turned to face the mirror, confirming once more that the tiny black flame sprout was concealed within his dark, thick horizontal pupils.

Speaking of which,

if I cast a spell on my own reflection in the mirror, will I be affected myself?

Thinking of this, Lu Ran's expression became strangely odd.

"Meow~"

Little Li Hua let out a soft whimper, rubbing its little paw against its head, seeming not quite clear on the situation.

Since Lu Ran had stopped casting the spell, its sweet dream naturally shattered.

Little Li Hua was still considering how to tease the "Upturned-Mouth Immortal" who had suddenly appeared before it.

As a result, the girl gave no chance and vanished on her own?

"Meow." Little Li Hua only felt as though a shadow had enveloped it.

The next moment, it was already scooped into its master's arms and carried out of the bathroom.

Since he was to carry out a patrol mission tomorrow, Lu Ran dared not overuse the Xie Fa · Caged Fire, lest his spirit become exhausted.

He took the restless little creature and dove straight under the covers...

The rest of the night passed without further word,

dawn broke on a gloomy, rainy day.

Having slept only a little over four hours, Lu Ran was still fairly energetic.

He set down the soundly sleeping Little Li Hua in his arms, struggled to crawl out of the warm bed, and went to the wardrobe.

The cabinet door opened, revealing a large, expensive yellow raincoat that met his eyes.

Pity that this garment had been stored at home for too long; the scent of camellia flowers was already gone.

But it didn't matter,

In a little while, he should be able to smell it himself.

Ten-plus minutes later, Lu Ran, draped in a yellow raincoat and holding a pair of slender blades, walked out of his home.

Row upon row of old residential buildings stood amidst the cold curtain of rain.

Behind the windows of household after household, the silhouettes of citizens could still occasionally be seen.

By now, no one opened their windows to shout or scold Lu Ran, telling him to hurry home.

Only gazes filled with worry or blessing watched him disappear around the building's corner, walking out of this rain-soaked alleyway home.

"Kid, where are you off to play?" A voice suddenly came from the guard booth at the community's main gate.

"Hmm?" Lu Ran turned his head to look, only to see a familiar figure.

Red Scarf Believer · Chen Jing?

"What, you don't recognize me?" Chen Jing grinned broadly.

"Uncle, you're guarding our community again?" Lu Ran smiled as well. "Why aren't you shirtless today?"

Chen Jing looked at Lu Ran as if he were an idiot: "It's cold and windy with rain this early morning; why would I be shirtless?"

"Oh, so you're not an idiot after all," Lu Ran muttered softly as he continued forward. "I'm off."

"Where exactly are you going to play?" Chen Jing clearly had no intention of letting Lu Ran leave, blocking his path. "In weather like this, wandering around is not advisable."

On the fifteenth of last month, Rain Alley City had just experienced a special incident—the Descent of the Demon Lord—and the massive shadow of the Yin Hua Dan remained vivid in everyone's memory.

On the fifteenth of this month, the school would definitely not allow students to participate in city-defense missions.

Lu Ran lifted his head and gazed at the burly man: "I'm going to hang out with the people from the Wangyue Squadron."

"Oh?" Chen Jing, though seemingly rough, reacted quickly. "You've been recruited into the Patrol Team?"

Lu Ran shrugged his shoulders: "Not recruited; I applied voluntarily."

"Good kid, haha!" Chen Jing slapped Lu Ran on the shoulder. "You've got guts!"

Lu Ran bared his teeth in a grin: "Just to avoid the Patrol Team knocking on my window in the middle of the night again."

Chen Jing's smile froze:???

Lu Ran was holding blades in both hands and couldn't easily raise them, so he simply stepped forward and bumped his forehead against the burly man's chin.

"Hey?" Chen Jing immediately retreated sideways and backward.

Does this kid really think I'm a sheep?

Lu Ran brushed past Chen Jing, saying as he walked, "Uncle, if there's trouble, call for help."

"No matter how far away, I will rush over to save you."

"Damn it!" Chen Jing couldn't help but laugh and curse.

He watched the back of the youth in yellow, which was not particularly broad, seeing him off step by step as he departed, gradually disappearing into the cold, fine rain.

Thanks to Happy Little Deer Bambi, Book Friend 20180305061710828, Xin Dong, and Clown in a Madman's Eyes, several bosses for their tips!

Thanks for the support; you bosses are generous!

(`) Heart fingers

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(End of Chapter)