Chapter 251: Ill-Fated Bond

In Ghost Moon Mountain, there is no cycle of day and night.

At eight in the morning, the five-person group traveled under the stars and moon to the southeastern area of the village.

Before a wooden building hung with large red lanterns, Lu Ran and the others encountered a small squad of soldiers.

The leader was a middle-aged female soldier, with a serious expression, sharp eyes, and a capable demeanor.

This was exactly the type Lu Ran feared!

Every time he saw this kind of middle-aged woman, Lu Ran was reminded of his homeroom teacher.

"Pleased to meet you." The female soldier extended her hand and introduced herself, "Fang Lin, Stream Realm Stage Two, believer of Lord Lord Bei Feng."

"Greetings, Lady Fang." Lu Ran was secretly shocked; he had encountered a great expert.

By rights, Fang Lin should possess outstanding aptitude, after all, she had been taken under the wing of the Second-Rank God, Lord Lord Bei Feng.

But judging by her age, she must be around forty years old, right?

She was about twenty years older than Great Da Mengyan, yet only one minor stage higher than him?

Sigh...

The path of cultivation is truly arduous.

The further one advances, the more it feels like walking on thin ice.

Even if your talent and aptitude are evident, any other influencing factor can firmly lock your rank in place.

Insufficient luck, missing the opportunity, insufficient sincerity, unstable state of mind, and so on and so forth.

Thousands of words converge into a single character—Difficult!

"I am the person in charge of this hunt against the Ghost Moon Fox clan; allow me to explain the situation to you now."

Fang Lin looked at the group of students and continued, "This clan totals thirty-three Ghost Moon Foxes."

Among them, eight are in the Stream Realm, mostly at Stream Realm Stage Five.

There are twenty-five Ghost Moon Foxes in the Jiang Jing in total, with eighteen of them being Jiang Jing Stage Three or above."

Chang Ying could not help but murmur softly, "Such a huge clan."

Fang Lin nodded: "The Ghost Moon Fox clan possesses considerable intelligence and is extremely cunning."

Furthermore, this clan possesses a technique called Bright Moon Fox Heart."

Deng Yutang nodded in strong agreement: "Foreseeing danger."

Among those who came to Ghost Moon Mountain this time, the most excited person in the class should be the Curse Master believer, Bai Bai Manni.

This was because the Curse Master faction and the Ghost Moon faction were mortal enemies!

For some reason, the techniques of the two factions shared many similarities.

For instance, the Curse Master Divine Art, Xin Gan Zhou, and the Ghost Moon Xie Fa, Bright Moon Fox Heart.

Both of these techniques enable the caster to sense impending danger in advance.

The God, Curse Master, especially detests the Ghost Moon Fox clan!

During this trial, if Bai Bai Manni kills a sufficient number of enemies, upon her return, she will be able to claim a reward from her own God, my lord.

Fang Lin said in a deep voice: "Especially their leader; that is a Jiang Jing Stage Five Ghost Moon Fox, whose body size is clearly two circles larger than the clansmen, appearing as if it is about to breakthrough to the Jiang Jing."

Under its leadership, this clan has been roaming within our sphere of influence, continuously growing and strengthening."

Fortunately, we discovered them in time and promptly curbed the development momentum of this clan."

Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable."

"Jiang Jing?" Tian Tian opened her small mouth slightly in surprise.

Fang Lin nodded: "After many days of pursuit, currently, this clan has been surrounded by our army within a mountain forest."

On this mission, we must capture this entire clan in one net, leaving not a single one alive."

"No problem!" Lu Ran said with full confidence.

Fang Lin was quite satisfied and casually asked, "You haven't fallen victim to the Ghost Moon Fox's eye technique, have you?"

In an instant, the four members of the squad all looked at Lu Ran.

Fang Lin was also a bit bewildered, looking at the summer prodigy: "You fell for it?"

Lu Ran felt a bit awkward: "That was seven days ago."

Jiangjiang Ruyi spoke up at the right moment to explain, "Lu Ran fell for it voluntarily."

Fang Lin: "..."

Lu Ran smiled: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and in a hundred battles you will never be in peril."

Behind the female leader, the three soldiers looked at each other in dismay.

This young man!

He is truly brave?!

The soldiers guarding Ghost Moon Mountain have been transferred away batch after batch, all because they were bewitched by the Ghost Moon Foxes.

Others avoid them as if avoiding a plague, yet here you are.

Walking straight into a trap?

Or, are you using the pretext of 'knowing yourself and knowing your enemy' to come here seeking true love?

Fang Lin hesitated for a moment before asking, "Then, are you still capable?"

If the other party were not a Jiang Jing great expert, Lu Ran would really have wanted to roll his eyes.

Where am I incapable?

I am super capable, okay!

"It's fine, Squad Leader Fang," Jiangjiang Ruyi said, "These past few days, Lu Ran has slain quite a few Ghost Moon Foxes; he has not hesitated in his actions."

"Rest assured, Captain Fang!" Lu Ran's voice was serious, his tone solemn.

As a proud prodigy of Great Xia, his reputation is naturally guaranteed.

"Mm." Fang Lin nodded, not thinking too much about it.

Perhaps Lu Ran's will was firm, or perhaps he was simply cold and ruthless.

Whatever he was, it didn't matter.

As long as Lu Ran could slay the demons, that was enough.

Fang Lin continued to remind him, "Among these thirty-three Ghost Moon Foxes, more than half can turn invisible."

Lu Ran stated directly, "In front of me, invisibility is useless."

"The foxes cannot remain motionless forever; as soon as they cast a spell, there will be movement."

"Good!" Fang Lin's eyes brightened, her tone rising slightly in pitch, seemingly appreciating Lu Ran's confidence.

A true prodigy should indeed be this way!

Lu Ran grinned.

Even saying this, I'm holding back!

So what if the Ghost Moon Foxes don't move?

That seductive fox scent on their bodies—could it possibly escape my dog nose? Cough, I mean, my nose?

Besides, if I just make a noise, won't they reveal themselves?

"No time to lose; let's depart now." Fang Lin turned her head to look behind her.

A male soldier immediately stepped forward, flipped his palm, and a black Spider Lily quietly bloomed.

Deng Deng Tianchang and the other two instantly lit up with excitement; this was the first time in their lives they had experienced a teleportation technique.

As for Lu Ran and Jiangjiang Ruyi, they were used to it; during their training in Rouge Village previously, they had teleported quite often.

"Whoosh~"

The flower's illusory image expanded and then contracted.

In the blink of an eye, the group moved from the quiet village settlement to the edge of a mountain forest.

Lu Ran quickly scanned his surroundings and noticed quite a few soldiers nearby.

"What's the situation?" Fang Lin asked in a low voice.

A male soldier swept his gaze across Lu Ran's face, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart, and reported in a hushed tone:

"This forest is surrounded by mountains on three sides with only this single opening; the fox pack cannot escape."

Fang Lin looked at Lu Ran and the others: "Our squad will follow you into the forest."

"The completion rate of this mission will determine your scores; now, you may execute the mission."

"Let's go." Lu Ran took the lead, rushing into the forest first.

"Decisive and swift." A trace of appreciation appeared on Fang Lin's face as she led her team to follow.

"Tian Tian, Precious Lotus Flower." Lu Ran issued the command.

"Yes!" Tian Tian immediately cast Shi Zhan Shen Fa, cupping a delicate lotus flower in her palms.

"Chang Ying, Eight Treasures Lots!" Lu Ran continued.

"Rattle-rattle-rattle~"

Chang Ying immediately took out the lot cylinder, shaking it continuously while muttering incantations under her breath:

"Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, since Rare Treasure Lu has commanded me, you must perform well! Output Lot, come out for me!!"

Five golden lots and three rotten lots tumbled continuously inside the cylinder.

With a sudden "Whoosh," a golden lot flew out.

Chang Ying's face instantly lit up with joy.

She looked up, and as the golden lot underwent a transformation, Chang Ying's mouth dropped open into an O-shape!

It wasn't the Output Lot she had wanted.

But it was the Summoning Lot, the rarest of all to draw!

"Whoosh~"

A massive golden figure landed heavily on the ground.

His body was exceptionally tall, a full three meters in height, exuding immense pressure.

Clad in golden helmet and armor, wielding a golden long spear, his entire form shimmered with Jin Guang, brilliant and dazzling!

Eight Treasures Lots · Summoning Lot · Golden Armored Guard!

"Oh my god," Chang Ying clutched her chest with one hand, so excited she was nearly in tears.

People might not believe it if she said it aloud.

This was the first time since she advanced to Jiang Jing · Stage One and learned the Eight Treasures Lots that she had ever drawn a Summoning Lot!

Indeed!

Where is the child who cries every day? Where is the gambler who loses every day?

Change of plans!

Today, I, Chang, will not feed the ghosts.

I! Will! Go! Godlike!

Several teammates turned to look, infected by Chang Ying's joy.

"Beautiful!" Deng Yutang immediately exclaimed in praise.

"Ying Ying is awesome!" Tian Tian immediately encouraged.

Having such a group of teammates was truly Chang Ying's good fortune.

When she fed the ghosts, no one blamed her.

Whenever they performed well, the team was full of praise and applause.

"Captain Fang!" From the soldier squad behind, a young woman quickly approached Fang Lin's side.

"Hmm?" Fang Lin's face turned grim as she looked at the teammate beside her.

This female soldier was a believer of the Mountain Lord.

In the Great Xia pantheon, there were six Second-Rank Gods in total.

The Four Directional Warlords occupied four of those spots, with two beast deities remaining: one was the Heavenly Phoenix, and the other was the Mountain Lord.

The image of the deity Mountain Lord was that of a golden fierce tiger.

Leaving aside just how fierce the output of a Mountain Lord believer was, speaking only of their five senses, they were quite terrifying!

"Over there." The female soldier pointed with one finger toward a spot not far away, indicating the presence of the Ghost Moon Fox clan within the forest.

As a believer of the Lord Bei Feng, Fang Lin needed to locate targets by sound and had not yet detected the existence of the evil spirits.

But Mountain Lord believers were different; the young female soldier used her sense of smell to point out the location of the evil spirits a step ahead.

"Mm." Fang Lin remained outwardly calm, pressing down the female soldier's hand with her own to signal her not to make a sound.

This mission involved the assessment of the trainees.

At this moment, the trainee squad ahead was jubilant, as if unaware of the mission's seriousness.

It was the perfect opportunity to teach this group of arrogant young people a lesson!

Of course, the main goal was to teach a lesson to Great Xia's Prodigy, Lu Ran.

Fang Lin had a strong sense of responsibility; since she was fortunate enough to encounter a prodigy, she was willing to help this young person.

Suffering some small losses and gaining vigilance was better than losing one's life in the future.

"Hmm?" Fang Lin suddenly froze.

Consequently, the Mountain Lord believer beside her also froze.

The young female soldier's hand had just been pressed down by Captain Fang Lin, yet twenty meters ahead, Lu Ran's hand rose up.

And the direction his finger pointed was exactly the direction the Mountain Lord believer had indicated!

"Whoosh~"

Behind Lu Ran, a divine weapon left its sheath.

The Black Ice Blade shot through at extreme speed, tearing a streak of beautiful rosy light through the moonlit forest.

"Hiss!"

The blade edge entered flesh.

The Ghost Moon Fox let out a mournful cry; beneath the originally empty tree, a white fox was stabbed out!

It was clear that its speed in fleeing was fast, but alas, the speed of the Rosy Light Blade was faster; it forcibly pierced through its tail, pinning it to a tree.

"Oh!" The young female soldier's eyes sparkled brightly.

Truly worthy of being a prodigy!

This wasn't fake; he really had the goods?

Previously, when the army organized a viewing of "Prodigy," the soldiers found it hard to understand the scene of Lu Ran strolling leisurely amidst the Night Charm Blade Formation and thousands of red threads.

Now, with Lu Ran stabbing out an invisible white fox in a single strike, it made the female soldier click her tongue in wonder even more.

Fang Lin, however, wore a bitter expression on her face.

It could not be denied that the Ghost Moon Fox had indeed moved.

After seeing the few of them, it observed for a moment before choosing to flee the scene, logically intending to go report the news.

But Lu Ran... had he noticed it all?

Did he appear careless on the surface while actually keeping his spirit tightly wound?

Was this a method of lulling the enemy into a false sense of security?

Thinking of this, Fang Lin felt a bit uncomfortable in her heart.

She had originally intended to teach Lu Ran a lesson within the scope of her abilities.

As a result, hadn't Lu Ran ended up teaching her a lesson instead?

"Form up, engage the enemy!" Lu Ran shouted sternly, "Golden Armored Guards, move to the front!

A large force is coming from behind; they must be preparing to fight to the death and charge our formation!"

Lu Ran issued commands rapidly, drawing the Silent Night Blade from his back.

Thirty-three Jiang Ru... er, Ghost Moon Foxes.

Twenty-five were at the Jiang Jing, with eighteen of those being Jiang Jing Stage Three or above!

Come on,

Fight!

It is time to sever this karmic tie!

(End of Chapter)