Chapter 418: Human Skin Evil Demon

After Yu Fish Changsheng joined the Ran Sect, he informed Lu Ran and the other of much information.

Lu Ran naturally also learned of the reputation of the Sea Realm expert, Senior Dongfang Ning.

He had even been planning to seek revenge in the future!

As a result, this woman had come knocking first.

Yu Fish Changsheng suddenly asked, "How did you know our whereabouts?"

Yu Fish Changsheng did not have a fixed residence; he had only recently settled at the Gaoshan Lake.

"I, I don't know," the tall woman said with a trembling voice. "I merely followed the team here; it was my master, Senior Dongfang Ning, who ordered us to be brought here."

Yu Fish Changsheng's expression was not very pleasant; he turned toward Lu Ran and apologized, "Sect Master, this matter should be blamed on me."

Lu Ran felt puzzled: "Why do you say that?"

Yu Fish Changsheng replied, "Previously, we stayed in the lake district for several days; inevitably, we left behind some traces of our activities."

Lu Ran said, "That was also due to carelessness on the part of Meng Yan and myself; it has nothing to do with Mr. Conglong."

Yu Fish Changsheng pondered, "Lakes in the mountains are rare and easily attract human demons to investigate, making them poor choices for a foothold."

"But I am a believer of the Dragon Carp and have grown accustomed to resting and recuperating in the water."

"I fear it was precisely because of me that the enemy deduced that those stationed in the lake district were the few of us."

Listening to Yu Fish Changsheng's detailed reasoning, Lu Ran neither affirmed nor denied it, casually waving his hand:

"Next topic."

Yu Fish Changsheng was slightly stunned; seeing Lu Ran insisted on not pursuing the matter, he could not say anything more.

Fortunately, nothing happened tonight!

Had there been even the slightest error, the three members of the Ran Sect would have fallen into a life-and-death crisis!

Yu Fish Changsheng lowered his eyelids.

Nowadays, he was no longer alone; he could not simply grease his heels and depart carefree.

He now had colleagues, and moreover, a leader to follow.

Yu Fish Changsheng felt increasingly guilty.

Some details needed to be considered in advance; he needed to be more cautious.

Deng Deng Yuxiang said coldly, "How many people did you bring?"

The tall woman responded with a trembling voice, "Nearly thirty. Led by Senior Dongfang Ning herself, with four Sea Realm Liangye Jian Yi disciples commanding the team; the rest are us slaves."

Lu Ran asked, "Four Sea Realm Liangye Jian Yi disciples?"

The tall woman's face showed a look of pleading: "My lord! I am just a slave; I was forced; I had no choice..."

"Shut up," Deng Deng Yuxiang said in a low voice.

The tall woman shivered; not daring to defy Deng Deng Yuxiang's order, she could only look at Lu Ran with a pleading gaze.

She had naturally realized that this young man was the leader.

She had also recognized long ago that this young man carrying four swords was precisely Senior Dongfang Ning's target.

Before departing, Senior Dongfang Ning had issued a strict order: if they truly encountered their prey, they were to ignore everyone else and must first kill this "Vicious Dog Youth"!

She really did not know how this young man had offended Senior Dongfang Ning.

Moreover, was he a believer of the Vicious Dog?

Was he not a believer of the Evil Demon Qiansi Ying?

Thinking of this, the woman felt even more despair!

Falling into the hands of such a person would absolutely mean a fate worse than death!

It was over.

Completely over!

The woman knew that sooner or later, this day would come.

In this Holy Lingshan, she was the most base existence; whether she lived or died depended entirely on the moods of the Liangye Jian Yi disciples.

But she truly had not expected that what awaited her at the end of her life would be an extremely cruel believer of Qiansi Ying!

Fear, powerlessness, despair.

The woman's tears could not be held back and flowed outward.

Her emotions gradually collapsing, she forgot Deng Deng Yuxiang's command and pleaded with a trembling voice, "I beg you, I am just a slave; I was coerced; I beg you to spare my life."

She kept shaking her head, as if trying to wake from a nightmare: "I didn't want to come to this place; I really didn't want to come! I still have children at home; I still have a mother..."

That trembling, tearful voice was heartbreaking to hear.

The woman seemed to suddenly regain her senses, realizing that this was the Holy Lingshan.

Taking advantage of Deng Deng Yuxiang not silencing her, the woman hurriedly begged, "Grant me a quick death! Do not torture me; I beg you, my lord, grant me a quick death..."

Lu Ran said, "Hush."

The woman fell completely silent, her face ashen as death.

"Sect Master, Shanfeng has dispatched four Sea Realm experts; we had best avoid their sharp edge for now," Yu Fish Changsheng suggested.

Seemingly worried that Lu Ran was young and impetuous, Yu Fish Changsheng added, "Shanfeng stands right there; it isn't going anywhere. It is not too late to seek revenge once our strength has improved!"

Lu Ran silently nodded.

Seeing this, Yu Fish Changsheng felt slightly relieved in his heart and continued, "Let us seek another place to rest; as for this woman..."

"Take her along," Lu Ran said directly.

Hearing the woman's sobbing, Deng Deng Yuxiang turned to look at Lu Ran.

The Holy Lingshan Realm was a battlefield of slaughter deliberately arranged by the gods, and furthermore, a breeding ground for sin.

If everyone within this realm were dragged out and lined up in a row.

Executing them one by one might condemn the innocent.

Killing every other person will definitely let some slip through the net!

But Deng Deng Yuxiang also knew clearly that the middle-aged woman before her was speaking the truth.

Weakness is the original sin.

This woman could not control her own destiny.

You cannot demand that everyone possess the courage to shatter like jade rather than survive like tile, or to meet death with unyielding resolve.

The will to survive is human nature.

No matter how bitter life becomes, who does not fantasize about, who does not long for, even a sliver of hope for survival?

"Take her with us?" Deng Deng Yuxiang looked at Lu Ran, loosening her hand from the woman's throat as she did so.

Lu Ran withdrew the red silk thread.

With a "thump," the woman suspended in mid-air collapsed to the ground.

She hastily lifted her head, wiped her moist eyes, and looked at Lu Ran with both shock and fear.

Lu Ran asked, "What is your name?"

"Jing... Jing Hong," the woman stammered. "Jing as in thorns, Hong as in red."

"Cultivation level."

"Jiang Jing, fourth stage."

"How long have you been on Lingshan?"

"Seven or eight years, perhaps over ten," Jing Hong replied cautiously, uncertain.

Lu Ran stated, "In the mortal world, it is the year 2020."

Jing Hong felt slightly dazed; it took her a while to react: "I have been in this realm for seven years."

Lu Ran nodded: "Then you should be very familiar with the Lingshan realm?"

Jing Hong's expression turned sorrowful: "I... I had only been here a short time before I was captured by Sword Shanfeng."

So she had been a slave for seven years?

What a miserable fate.

These believers of Liangye Jian Yi were already aloof and coldly indifferent when they were in the mortal world.

After coming to Lingshan, they truly began to treat human lives as worthless grass, becoming slave owners who oppress and harm all living beings!

Lu Ran fell silent for a moment, then said, "From now on, you will follow us."

Jing Hong's face showed shock, then she hurriedly knelt properly: "Yes, my lord, I will serve you with all my heart and strength..."

Lu Ran frowned slightly and interrupted her: "Stand up. We do not use such customs here. You were merely a tool in Senior Dongfang Ning's hands; I have no intention of harming you.

However, since you have witnessed many of my secrets, I cannot allow you to return."

"Yes, yes!" Jing Hong hurriedly obeyed, trembling as she rose to her feet, a glimmer of hope for survival surging in her heart.

Even if this young man was an extremely cruel believer of the Silken Shadow, she would accept it!

If possible, even if there was only the slightest possibility, Jing Hong still wanted to live.

She wished that one day she could see her two children, and see her mother.

As for how to return home, she did not know.

Perhaps by flying into the sky.

Although, most likely, the outcome would be a shattered body and broken bones.

And believers of the Battle Horn did not possess the ability to fly.

The difficulty of ascending to heaven, that taste of despair, was something believers of the Strong God could hardly comprehend.

But regardless, first she must survive!

First, she must survive...

"You take care of her," Lu Ran said, looking at Deng Deng Yuxiang. "Ask her thoroughly for intelligence on Sword Shanfeng."

"Understood," Deng Deng Yuxiang nodded in agreement.

Regarding Lu Ran's decision, she had no objections and offered unconditional obedience.

Yu Fish Changsheng, standing nearby, did not offer any suggestions this time.

"We head east. Go far, then find a place to rest," Lu Ran said, walking out of the cave first.

"Wait a moment," Yu Fish Changsheng said, nodding slightly to Deng Deng Yuxiang, before quickly following him out.

Deng Deng Yuxiang remained silent, leaving the two of them sufficient space.

"Hoo—"

Outside the cave, Lu Ran let out a long sigh of relief.

Yu Fish Changsheng stood behind and to the side of Lu Ran, saying in a low voice, "Lingshan is ugly. For the Sect Master to be in this world yet still willing to retain a sliver of kindness toward his own kind is truly rare."

Lu Ran asked, "Mr. supports my decision? Do you not think this is a hidden danger?"

Yu Fish Changsheng smiled: "She is merely at the fourth stage of Jiang Jing; what waves could she possibly stir up?"

Lu Ran: "..."

Just saying things that hurt people!

I am only at the second stage of Jiang Jing myself.

Yu Fish Changsheng said softly, "As long as this person understands a shred of gratitude, once she realizes the essential difference between you and Senior Dongfang Ning, she will eventually be grateful to you.

Grateful that you saved her from days of suffering and hardship."

While speaking these words, Yu Fish Changsheng added silently in his heart: If this person does not understand reason and dares to harbor even the slightest disloyal thought, then I will personally step in to clean up the mess!

Yu Fish Changsheng's support for Lu Ran was far more than mere words.

He was confident he could protect Lu Ran.

However, Yu Fish Changsheng felt that if anything truly happened, Deng Deng Yuxiang would have already acted before he even made a move.

"Perhaps." Lu Ran's mood was somewhat complicated.

Since entering the Holy Lingshan Realm, he had been taught lesson after lesson.

In the mortal world, strength was likewise supreme.

But at least there, it was wrapped in the shell of law and bound by moral constraints.

Yet within this realm...

Humans could no longer be called "humans."

Everyone was a fiend clad in human skin.

Purely evil.

A belief took root in Lu Ran's heart: he would adapt to this place, but he refused to integrate into it.

His mother's earnest teachings still echoed in his ears:

"Do not lose yourself."

Thinking on it now, his mother's warning might not have been directed solely at the matter of gods and demons.

Perhaps she was also alerting him not to let the Holy Lingshan extinguish his humanity...

As Lu Ran pictured his mother's gentle face, it was as if he had returned to that study, seeing her drinking tea across the desk.

In his trance, he seemed to catch the faint scent of jasmine.

"Mm." Lu Ran shook his head vigorously, snapping back to clarity.

His gaze pierced the pitch-black night, gazing toward the distant mountains, as he casually summoned an ancient bronze mirror.

Behind them, within the cave where golden rain drifted down.

By the faint light, Jing Hong caught sight of the Zu De Xie Fa, exclusive to the tribe of the Sinful Mirror Demon.

The Sinful Mirror Xie Fa?!

"Gulp." Jing Hong was terrified in her heart and couldn't help but swallow.

Even now, she still hadn't fully figured out what kind of existence she was following...

Deng Deng Yuxiang glanced faintly at Jing Hong.

Jing Hong instinctively knelt, her body trembling slightly as she hastily lowered her head.

Having been a slave for seven years, she had long learned how to serve her master amidst endless oppression and torment.

Deng Deng Yuxiang: "..."

"He just said we don't use those here," Deng Deng Yuxiang said, looking at the woman with disheveled short hair. "From now on, kneel on one knee."

Although it was only a small change in posture, the implication could be vastly different.

"Yes." Jing Hong was very proper and obedient.

"Let's go." Yu Fish Changsheng's voice came from outside.

"Go."

(End of Chapter)