Chapter 398: Hand It Over

"Hoo~"

Accompanied by a surge of churning energy, a ethereal figure emerged from the dagger.

Deng Deng Yuxiang halted her drinking motion, and Lu Ran immediately turned his gaze over.

The dagger's weapon spirit?

It was a female figure, appearing to be in her late twenties, her brows and eyes filled with cold indifference.

She wore a white cloak with a hood pulled up, a few strands of long hair drifting outward along the sides of her face, carrying a somewhat tragic beauty.

Presumably, this was the appearance of the divine weapon's original owner.

Yet when the weapon spirit saw the man kneeling on the ground awaiting execution, her expression finally underwent some change.

She smiled.

It was a smile of pure satisfaction, the joy of a great vengeance fulfilled!

She gazed for a full ten-plus seconds before turning around to face Lu and Deng.

Especially targeting Lu Ran!

Her smile vanished, her expression turning unfavorable; she had likely sensed that he possessed multiple divine weapons.

"Come." Deng Deng Yuxiang extended her hand, signaling for the dagger to fly over.

The weapon spirit swept a cold glance at Deng Deng Yuxiang, then looked at Lu Ran again, her expression one of extreme disgust.

"Hoo~"

Her figure quietly contracted, returning into the dagger.

Rosy Light: 【The weapon spirit has sealed herself off once more.】

Lu Ran clicked his tongue: "I carry quite a few divine weapons and artifacts; this dagger's spirit probably mistakes me for a murderer and robber too."

Deng Deng Yuxiang stepped forward, planting one foot on Gao Gao Shanjun's head.

She bent down, gripped the dagger protruding from the back of the corpse's skull, and yanked it out with force: "Once I establish a connection with the weapon spirit and clarify the situation, I'll have her apologize to you."

"That won't be necessary," Lu Ran said indifferently.

Deng Deng Yuxiang held the dagger, gazing at its curved spine, which resembled a crescent moon:

"We rescued her from a sea of bitterness and helped her kill her enemy.

If she offers no thanks, it matters not, but she must not cause you to suffer injustice."

Lu Ran: "."

Has the domineering Sheep Boss gone offline, only for Domineering Xiang-Xiang to successfully connect?

Truly both gentle and forceful.

Sister, kill me!

However, Deng Deng Yuxiang had no intention of killing Lu Ran.

She kicked the female bandit, who had fainted into unconsciousness, flipping her over, then lifted the dagger and slit her throat.

Clean and decisive!

It was evident that Deng Deng Yuxiang was striving to integrate into this entirely new world and adapt to its new rules.

Since they were deadly enemies, they ought to be treated exactly this way!

Lu Ran opened a pair of horizontal pupils.

Interestingly, while this female bandit was alive, she had been unconscious.

Now that she was dead, her soul was instead fully conscious.

She did not cry out or scream, merely glaring at Lu Ran and Deng Deng Yuxiang with eyes full of resentment and malice.

And when she realized her own predicament, that resentful, malicious gaze gradually transformed into regret.

Deng Deng Yuxiang proposed: "Let's dispose of the corpses, move away from this place, and find somewhere to rest."

After confirming the departed soul had been drawn into his pupils, Lu Ran spoke: "Agreed."

Half an hour later, the two descended and landed at the bottom of a small canyon; here the trees were dense, the cliffs on both sides steep, making it an excellent hiding spot.

"I'll carve out a cave," Deng Deng Yuxiang said, drawing the broken blade from her back, its surface trailing a long cut mark.

"Hiss!"

The cut mark pierced the stone wall as if slicing through tofu.

While Deng Deng Yuxiang excavated the mountain, Lu Ran took out a Fate-Binding Mirror and swiped it up and down.

"Ah?" Lu Ran halted his movement.

"What's wrong?" Deng Deng Yuxiang turned her head to look.

Lu Ran immediately rotated the bronze mirror, turning its surface toward the woman.

Deng Deng Yuxiang's face likewise showed surprise: "Night Phantom?"

Within the Holy Lingshan Realm, evil demons still existed?

Hmm... I was still somewhat too hasty; I shouldn't have slain those two Nuo-Sha disciples; I ought to have asked more questions first.

Lu Ran flipped the mirror surface over again, examining it closely for a moment, then hesitated: "Shall we go take a look?"

"Let's go."

"Get ready!" Lu Ran said in a deep voice, and the oval Fate-Binding Mirror in his hand transformed into a full-length standing mirror.

Deng Deng Yuxiang did not yield, gripping her blade and striding boldly inside.

Lu Ran followed closely behind, just in time to see the Night Phantom not far ahead stop in its tracks and turn its head to look back.

Deng Deng Yuxiang's body tensed; battle seemed imminent.

Yet the scene that unfolded next left both Lu and Deng utterly dumbfounded.

This Night Phantom actually turned around and fled.

Run?

Lu Ran and Deng Deng Yuxiang exchanged a glance, seeing the astonishment in each other's eyes.

The Demonic faction and the Human/Divine faction cannot coexist under the same sky; whenever they meet, it is inevitable that they will clash with weapons drawn!

Moreover, the Demonic race's craving for human blood and tender flesh is carved into their bones.

How could this Night Phantom ahead possibly run?

Could it be that this Night Phantom possesses exceptionally high intelligence, having not only realized the strength of the two but also forcibly suppressed its cruel nature to decisively choose flight?

"Whoosh~"

Lu Ran teleported in an instant, blocking the Night Phantom's direct path.

"Hiss—"

Deng Deng Yuxiang treads upon immortal mist, shuttling at extreme speed, coming to a halt behind the Night Phantom.

The Night Phantom's steps halted, its body tensing as it gripped a Night Phantom Blade in each hand, facing the situation as if confronting a great enemy.

"Can you speak?" Lu Ran curiously examined the Night Phantom, attempting to communicate.

Since this Night Phantom was so special, would it perhaps speak the human language?

The response to Lu Ran was endless silence.

Lu Ran continued, "Since you discovered us, why run?"

The Night Phantom suddenly flung up its hand, and a wild wind erupted!

"Crack! Crack!"

The trees surrounding Lu Ran snapped one after another, with some even uprooted by the wind waves, creating a scene of total chaos.

Yet, Lu Ran stood firmly in place.

Barbarian Nv Ba Xie Fa·Barbarian Strength!

Power originating from the earth allowed Lu Ran to fear neither wind nor waves.

"Heh." Deng Deng Yuxiang couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips, a trace of brilliance flashing in her eyes.

Lu Ran's heroic and extraordinary figure, standing tall and unyielding amidst the wild wind, was enough to make anyone marvel.

The next moment, Deng Deng Yuxiang gripped her blade and charged forward, slashing straight at the Night Phantom's back.

"Hum~"

The Night Phantom instantly split into three!

When an expert makes a move, one knows immediately whether there is substance or not.

The Night Phantom had clearly anticipated the enemy's movement; the moment Deng Deng Yuxiang closed in, the three Night Phantoms would surround her completely.

But this time, the highly experienced Night Phantom had miscalculated utterly!

Because Deng Deng Yuxiang's figure halted abruptly!

Without any buffer whatsoever, she simply stood at the edge of the encirclement.

Such an abrupt scene left the Night Phantom unable to react in time.

"Die!" Deng Deng Yuxiang swung her blade horizontally, a long blade mark sweeping across.

Unable to distinguish which one was the true body?

Then kill them all!

"Baa~~~"

The sudden sound of a sheep's bleat caused the Night Phantom's spirit to tremble.

Meanwhile, the sharp blade mark had already severed two Night Phantom clones and swept toward the side of the true body.

Just how sinister was that little lamb?

It was precisely to strike you secretly at your most critical moment~

"Hiss!" At the critical juncture, the Night Phantom leaped up with all its might.

It tried hard to curl its lower legs, but that bleating sound just now had truly ruined everything!

The Night Phantom failed to dodge Deng Deng Yuxiang's strike, and the blade mark slashed fiercely onto its lower leg.

"Crack!"

A piercing sound rang out; that was the sound of the Night Phantom's garments shattering.

"Crunch!!"

That was the sound of two rows of canine teeth snapping together fiercely.

Deng Deng Yuxiang's attack was continuous; the blade edge she swept upward did not cut a living creature, but rather a headless corpse.

High in the air, two rows of sharp canine teeth had not yet dispersed.

Vicious Dog Xie Fa·Vicious Teeth!

A Night Phantom head had already been bitten off by vicious dog fangs, falling toward the ground.

Deng Deng Yuxiang: "."

She slowly turned her head to look at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran wore an expression of complete obedience, blinking his eyes: "I have quite a few Xie Fa, don't I?"

Deng Deng Yuxiang amusedly glared at Lu Ran: "Hurry up and capture the soul."

To think she had just found him heroic and divine, yet now looking at this smug appearance of his...

One simply must not praise him!

Hmm, one must not even praise him in one's heart.

"Poof~"

The Night Phantom, torn into eight pieces, saw its various parts shatter into mist.

Lu Ran casually tossed the gourd over and, in the same motion, opened a pair of Death Realm eyes.

The Little Chifeng Patterned Gourd hovered in mid-air, automatically drawing in the thick white mist.

Lu Ran, meanwhile, carefully examined this special Night Phantom.

But no matter how he looked left or right, he could not find anything different about it.

"Hiss—" The Night Phantom's dead soul stirred uneasily; unable to escape its ultimate fate, it was captured into the Death Realm eyes.

"Buzz!!"

Mere seconds later, Lu Ran's brain shook violently!

The Yemo Yemo Xiesu within the Sculpture Garden, originally Ben Shi Jiang Jing · Stage One, now began to tremble wildly.

Was it about to advance?

To Jiang Jing · Stage Two?

"Damn!" Lu Ran was completely stunned.

Once the Yemo Xiesu within the garden had been cultivated to Jiang Jing, advancing further became exceptionally difficult.

After all, Lu Ran needed one hundred Jiang Jing demonic dead souls to advance the Yemo Xiesu by a single small stage.

One hundred!

What kind of concept was that?

On every fifteenth night, the appearance of even a single Jiang Jing Demon Lord was termed a "special event."

Lu Ran had once seriously considered that to cultivate a Jiang Jing Yemo Xiesu, he would have to venture deep into the Demon Lair or to the front lines of the battlefield.

Otherwise, relying purely on battlefields like those of the fifteenth night, it would be nearly impossible in a lifetime to cultivate the Yemo Xiesu to advance.

He never expected!

Here, absorbing just one Night Phantom dead soul could cause a Ben Shi Jiang Jing · Stage One Yemo Xiesu to advance!

"What... what is this?"

Deng Deng Yuxiang frowned tightly, a strange sensation rising from within her body.

That tall, graceful figure began to tremble slightly as well.

"You're advancing," Lu Ran said, and after sorting out his thoughts, he could not help but beam with joy!

Of course!

Back in the mortal world, when Lu Ran cultivated Yemo Xiesu, he could roughly calculate how many demonic dead souls were needed.

This was because each demonic dead soul carried a wisp of Holy Spirit Qi (Origin Qi).

But within the territory of Holy Lingshan, the situation was entirely different!

Whether human or demon, the amount of Holy Spirit Qi carried within the soul was uncertain.

It was just like f*cking opening a blind box!

The longer a human or demon remained in this realm, the more Holy Spirit Qi they should have collected and hidden within their souls.

For Lu Ran, it was just like harvesting leeks!

Not to mention the human believers working for the gods; just speaking of the demonic minions collecting Holy Spirit Qi within this realm...

Once Lu Ran encountered them, he would definitely strike ruthlessly, without any sense of guilt!

You are working for the true form of the demons?

Working day and night, painstakingly collecting Holy Spirit Qi?

Hand it over~

Lu Ran beamed with joy; previously, he had always assumed this realm was filled entirely with humans!

In a moment, he would have to drag out Lady Luo's soul and interrogate her thoroughly to see the distribution of demons within this realm.

"Let's go, head back home!"

Eager and impatient, Lu Ran supported his buzzing brain and summoned a full-length mirror.

The Little Chifeng Patterned Gourd, eating happily, danced up and down cheerfully as it chased after him.

Deng Deng Yuxiang, meanwhile, used her broken blade as a cane, trembling as she followed behind...

Thanks to Happy Little Deer Bambi, Jiang Zhu Yu Jiang Qiao, Reader 20241102204119865, and Reader 20210524163116135 for their donations! Bosses, you're generous, thanks for the support!

(⁎˃ ꇴ ˂⁎) Heart fingers

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(End of Chapter)