Chapter 309: Glowing Clouds! Auspicious Colors!

"Woo~~~"

A low, drawn-out alarm siren sliced through the night sky, echoing within the small city swaying in the wind and rain.

Everyone's hearts were grim; gazing up at the night sky, they saw paper luan birds descending from the clouds one after another, revealing their forms.

"All units! All units!"

The urgent voice of the command center came through the invisible earpieces.

Lu Ran's heart felt heavy as he listened intently.

"All units with flight capability, hunt down the paper luan in the air; shift the battlefield to the high skies, away from the city!"

"Prisoner of Demons believers, Thousand Bone believers, Two Two Biwu believers, immediately construct anti-air defense shields to intercept the paper feathers!"

"All other ground units continue clearing the evil spirits and provide escort for the aerial units."

Order after order was issued swiftly and decisively, yet the Paper Luan clan was equally ruthless and decisive.

"Caw~~~"

"Caw!" A melodious bird cry tangled with the low alarm siren.

Endless paper feathers poured down, dense as rain.

Lu Ran's heart sank.

The sky-full of paper feathers seemed intent on tearing the human world apart until it was riddled with a thousand holes.

Lu Ran had confidence that he could dodge and survive amidst the paper feathers, but what about his teammates?

What about the buildings of Rain Alley City?

"Whoosh~ Whoosh~"

"Whoosh!!"

Accompanied by a series of hair-raising sounds of cutting through the air, the paper feathers landed on buildings, scattered onto streets, and stabbed toward one Moon-Watcher after another.

"Careful!" Wei Long shouted sharply, already invoking the Divine Art: Blood Fiend Robe.

The great red robe fluttered loudly, its hem waving as it spread over everyone's heads.

Next came a continuous, dense chorus of clinking sounds.

In an instant, the Blood Fiend Robe became covered in cracks.

"Rise!!"

Sun Sun Zhengfang roared, kneeling on one knee with one hand pressed against the wet asphalt road.

A phoenix tree shot up from the ground, its trunk thick, its branches spreading out in all directions.

The towering tree stood proudly, using its lush branches to provide protection for an area.

Beneath the tree, Lu Ran did not feel safe; instead, his eyes widened in anger!

Looking around, the asphalt road was stuck full of white paper feathers; the traffic lights had been severed and smashed onto the ground.

Though severed, the threads remained connected; the power lines were still intact.

The traffic lights lay on the ground, their yellow lamps stubbornly flashing on and off.

As a few more paper feathers drifted down, the power lines were completely cut, and the lights dimmed into darkness.

Looking further into the distance,

building after building bore countless scars, slashed by paper feathers into dense arrays of wounds.

It was horrifying to behold!

Lu Ran was willing to use the pronoun "she" to refer to Rain Alley City.

And at this moment, this city that had birthed and raised him was being brutally bullied and abused by the evil spirit clan.

On the fifteenth of every month, Rain Alley City would be ravaged by evil spirits once again.

Buildings would be damaged, the ground would collapse, and tree after tree would snap.

Yet never before had Rain Alley City suffered such misery.

After all, the evil spirits' targets were mostly the human race; damage to the city was merely a byproduct.

But the Xie Fa of the Paper Luan clan happened to affect an entire swath of heaven and earth.

This scene of devastation did not fill Lu Ran with fear, but rather with overwhelming humiliation!

"Protect yourself." Suddenly, the voice of his girlfriend, my lord, came from beside him.

Lu Ran whipped his head around to look.

He saw that around Jiangjiang Ruyi, the Master Yu Fu Great Formation and the Eight Jin Yu Talismans were floating.

His palm, instead, was gently squeezed by her.

Undoubtedly,

this was a farewell.

Sun Sun Zhengfang's commanding voice grew from soft to loud, dragging Lu Ran completely back to the real world:

"Da Long, Little Jiang, execute the command per the command center's requirements: shift the battlefield to the high skies!"

"The city's buildings cannot endure any more devastation; they will collapse!"

Lu Ran subconsciously tightened his grip on Jiangjiang Ruyi's hand.

Relying solely on eight Jin Yu stone tablets, she could not block the dense paper feathers.

The Water Flow Armor could indeed cover her body comprehensively, but under an assault like a storm of wind and rain, how long could she hold out?

"Execute the order," Jiangjiang Ruyi said softly, gentle yet firm.

It was as if she were not heading to a battlefield where nine out of ten would die.

The young girl's image was also displayed on screens in thousands of households via the camera beside Lu Ran's temple.

"Big Sister, don't go! Don't leave from under the big tree!"

"Paper kites, myriad ghosts marching at night! Damn it! Where are the Gun Rot believers? Where are the Divine Lie Tian believers? Get up there! Blast them into the sky!"

"Brother, Rain Alley City where Lu Ran is located is tiny; the Gun Saint is a First-Rank God, so there probably aren't any Gun Rot disciples there, right?"

"Liangye Jian Yi, does Gun Rot not have a single First-Rank God disciple?"

"First-Rank God, my foot; Lu Ran has participated in two seasons of 'Heavenly Pride,' and after patrolling for so long, have you ever seen a Second-Rank God disciple?"

"I can't bear to watch; the walls of the residential buildings are covered in scratch marks—won't they collapse? What will happen to the people inside?"

"Inside the channel, the bullet comments surged like a sea, a scene of total chaos."

"On the battlefield, Jiangjiang Ruyi used eight Jin Yu talismans to separate herself from Lu Ran, swiftly breaking away from the shelter of the Two Two Biwu trees, and flew high into the sky against the endless paper feathers."

"Striking gold and hitting jade—truly lives up to its name."

"Shower after shower of paper feathers rained down on Jiangjiang Ruyi, intercepted by slab after slab of Jin Yu stone tablets; upon contact, the two emitted a unique and pleasant sound."

"Alas, the paper feathers fell like rain, far beyond what a mere eight Jin Yu stone tablets could block."

"Inevitably, layers of paper feathers sprinkled onto her body, piercing into her Water Flow Armor."

"Whoosh!!"

"Suddenly, two divine weapons flew over, positioning themselves above Jiangjiang Ruyi's head, ascending rapidly along with her."

"Rosy clouds and Silent Night spun rapidly, like helicopter blades, shredding the endless paper scraps and shielding Jiangjiang Ruyi from wind and rain."

"On the ground, Lu Ran's gaze followed Jiangjiang Ruyi as she shot upward, one hand raised high as he manipulated the divine weapons to protect her."

"Clatter, clatter..."

"White bones appeared repeatedly, piling up into mountains."

"One by one, the Thousand Bone believers stacked layer upon layer of grim white bones, covering the buildings."

"Rustle, rustle..."

"Tree branches grew wildly, weaving together densely."

"One by one, the Two Two Biwu believers summoned towering trees, using flexible branches to weave mats that blocked the pouring rain of paper feathers."

"Believers of various kinds displayed their unique abilities."

"Ice Butterfly believers with butterfly wings sprouting from their backs flew rapidly through the night sky, radiating ice butterflies and scattering frost at the evil spirits."

"Prison Demon believers clad in great red robes also soared high, summoning chains to bind the paper kites one by one."

"Lotus petals took flight everywhere in the city, while Lotus Flying Swords darted back and forth."

"Flocks of crows flapped their wings, emitting piercing cries directed at the Paper Kite clan."

"Such a scene of united hearts should have been inspiring."

"Alas, the output of the Paper Kite clan was astonishing."

"Masses of paper kites scattered endless paper feathers, destroying everything between heaven and earth."

"Meanwhile, terrifying tornadoes bloomed everywhere in the air and on the ground."

"Mixed within the storms, the paper feathers were sharp as knives, churning the humans trapped inside until they were a bloody mess."

"At this moment, Lu Ran felt the entire world fall silent."

"The paper feathers tearing at branches, the paper feathers severing white bones, the paper feathers deeply piercing into the buildings..."

"He also felt that the entire world had slowed down."

"The paper feathers shredding crow wings, the paper feathers grazing the necks of Ice Butterfly believers, the paper feathers embedding themselves in the foreheads of Moon Gazers..."

"On this incredibly chaotic battlefield, scene after scene unfolding at every moment seemed to fall entirely into Lu Ran's eyes."

"He seemed to be placing himself in an extremely unreal world."

"A world playing in slow motion, a nightmare-like world."

"Get up there, Lu Ran! Don't just stand there staring!"

"Easier said than done; how do you expect God Ran to get up there? He can't even fly; are you telling him to go throw his life away?"

"Lu Ran is a believer of Sister Xian Yang, not a believer of the North Wind! Do you really think he's a Ran Demon? Do you honestly believe he can soar to the heavens and dive into the earth?"

"But he can't just stand there dumbstruck; what divine methods does the Xianyangyi Sect have anyway? Hurry up and use one!"

"F*** it! If only I were f***ing in Rain Alley right now! I'd smash these f***ers to death with my great hammer; I'm dying of anxiety!"

"Wh-what is that? Where did that color come from?"

"Ah?? What is this??"

"At the same time, on the battlefield."

"Sun Sun Zhengfang suddenly whipped his head around to look toward the front right."

"At this moment, Sun Sun Zhengfang had merged into a tree, with only his face floating on the bark, an expression of sheer shock written all over it."

"Because, not far away, Lu Ran's body was actually faintly glowing with golden-red rosy light?!"

"At almost the exact same time, Jiangjiang Ruyi, fighting in the night sky, was suddenly blinded by a flash of light."

"A full three divine weapons circled her entire body, spinning continuously to shred the incoming paper feathers."

"And among them, that Rosy Xia Guang Dao suddenly flared bright!"

"In the instant the blade rotated, it traced out a golden-red disc."

"Just like a red sun rising for the first time!"

"Whoosh!!"

"The energy of the Rosy Xia Guang Dao surged, blowing Jiangjiang Ruyi away along with Silent Night and Cool Night."

"Jiangjiang Ruyi, clutching a Blazing Flame talisman in one hand, was flipped backward by the blast, while her other hand shielded her face."

"Peering through the slender gaps between her fingers, she squinted, and her pupils involuntarily contracted slightly!"

"This, this is?"

"Whoosh!"

The Rosy Xia Guang Dao departed just like that, flying toward the city below.

The rosy light was brilliant and colorful, sketching a soft, flowing veil across the night sky.

On the ground, Lu Ran likewise shone with brilliance, the luster on his body becoming increasingly dazzling.

"Snap!"

The Rosy Xia Guang Dao descended from the heavens, shattering the barrier constructed of lush tree branches, thrusting straight at Lu Ran, only to be seized firmly in his hand.

"It is it, Rosy Light, it is it."

Lu Ran gripped the hilt tightly with both hands, holding it upright before him, his forehead pressed against the blade.

"Buzz!!"

The Rosy Xia Guang Dao trembled continuously.

In the master's mind, a familiar scene emerged.

Auspicious rosy light, tranquil and peaceful.

Suddenly, the scene changed abruptly.

Night fell, the wind rustled, and the rain poured.

Countless paper kites circled above the city, cries of birds ringing out, myriad feathers falling.

Paper feathers stained with blood, people plummeting through the night sky, rain-soaked alleys riddled with holes.

The two scenes alternated frantically.

Until that cloud dyed with golden-red rosy light imprinted itself upon those paper kites flying chaotically and causing havoc across the sky.

"Buzz!!!"

The Rosy Xia Guang Dao trembled violently.

One person, one blade, radiance reaching ten thousand feet!

A beam of golden-red light broke through the branch barrier, shooting straight into the clouds!

Dark clouds filled the sky; layers of rain mist rotated on their own, transforming into a massive whirlpool.

The thick, gloomy clouds, under the tinting of the golden-red light, transformed into auspicious, colorful clouds.

The auspicious clouds drifted slowly, gradually spreading across the sky, dyeing the firmament.

"Flap, flap, flap!"

"Screech~~~" Countless paper kites flapped their wings wildly, flying in chaos, crying out in panic.

Even the endless paper feathers being continuously released halted at this moment.

Between heaven and earth,

all living beings in the rain-soaked alleys were utterly stunned, their eyes wide open!

Following the brilliance connecting heaven and earth, people saw the figure beneath the tree through the shattered branches of the phoenix tree.

He held the blade with both hands, his forehead pressed tightly against the blade.

He radiated dazzling light, his divine power nearly boiling.

Suddenly, Lu Ran opened his eyes.

Divine light shimmered in his pupils, his yellow raincoat fluttering vigorously.

Before I shaped myself,

the night was long and dark, shrouded in gloomy rain.

After me,

rosy light reaches ten thousand feet, a thousand strands of auspicious color!

(End of Chapter)