Chapter 439: The Human World at Sea Cliff

The Xiao Mo Li clan are beast-type fiends, unlike humanoid fiends who possess higher intelligence.

Fortunately, the tasks Lu Ran assigned them were not complicated.

First, control this sea area; second, collect the energy of the Holy Spirit.

Even so, Lu Ran expended considerable effort, personally leading the Xiao Mo Li on sea patrols before the nine Xiao Mo Li finally understood what their mission was.

The two River Realm experts accompanied them throughout the entire process.

Lu Ran resembled a kindergarten teacher instructing small children, while the fiends, who ought to have been fierce, were unnaturally docile.

This undoubtedly threw open the doors to a new world for Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng and Xun Xun Yifei.

It was simply miraculous~

By the time Lu Ran and the others returned from the sea, it was already noon.

"Finally!" Lu Ran stood atop a reef, turning to gaze at the vast ocean behind him.

Nine Xiao Mo Li at River Realm stage five naturally possessed formidable strength.

They should be capable of controlling this sea area.

As long as no River Realm fiend suddenly barges in here, everything will be manageable.

Lu Ran turned to look at the coast: "Since the Xiao Mo Li clan is stationed here, from now on, this place shall be called Xiao Mo Li Bay."

Since the Ran Sect intended to take root here, naming the various locations was quite necessary.

This beach below the seaside cliff covered a considerable area and leaned against the cliff face; in the future, it could also serve as a garrison for the fiend army.

Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng and Xun Xun Yifei naturally had no objections.

Lu Ran lifted his head to gaze at the cliff top, suddenly thinking of something, his expression turning somewhat troubled: "We are building a base, which means we must construct houses; do either of you know how?"

Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng shook his head: "Let's figure it out."

Xun Xun Yifei spoke up: "Over these years, this subordinate has built residences in several places and has gleaned some construction experience."

"Good!" Lu Ran's eyes lit up. "In a moment, I will summon a fiend unit for you to lead in constructing our base."

Xun Xun Yifei: "."

Lu Ran casually summoned the ancient bronze mirror, led the two of them, and stepped directly onto the cliff top.

The question arose: which fiends are suitable for hard labor and building houses?

The Barbarian Female Droughts?

These huge fellows, standing nearly three meters tall, were naturally excellent at manual labor.

However, this clan was too arrogant and too restless.

They were difficult to command.

Then should he summon the Lie Hun Mo clan?

These great black bulls were all broad-shouldered and immensely strong, yet their intelligence was somewhat lacking.

Qian Si Ying? Nie Jing Yao? Yan Zhi Ren?

A group of women, each either enchantingly seductive or beautifully dignified, working here as carpenters?

What if they bewitched Xun Xun Yifei until he couldn't find north?

Wouldn't that delay the progress of building the base!

Lu Ran's expression turned strange as he thought silently: Mainly, if Xiang Xiang Luoying found out about this matter, she might casually loose an arrow at me, and I wouldn't be able to withstand it!

Hmm, strong and obedient...

"Ha, I've got it!" Lu Ran immediately reached forward with his hand.

The Ghost General clan!

This clan was not only robust and strong but also came equipped with Green Dragon Crescent Blades!

These majestic and powerful ghost generals were naturally suited to be lumberjacks.

Master Ghost's great blade does not strike the old or the young!

It only chops trees!

And just as Lu Ran created the fiend Ghost Generals, Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng suddenly smiled.

"Heh." Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng shook his head.

Facts proved that when people were helpless or speechless, they would inexplicably chuckle.

Having known each other for so long, did the Sect Master still have tricks up his sleeve?

Lu Ran was actually still holding back?!

"Three... five... ten." Lu Ran murmured to himself.

Before him stood a full ten imposing and majestic ghost generals!

The ghost generals radiated a mighty aura, their scarlet eyes particularly daunting.

As Lu Ran gently pressed his hand down, all the ghost generals promptly dropped to one knee, bowing their heads in submission.

Such a scene truly compelled silent admiration.

However, these ghost generals were all at River Realm stage five.

After all, the Ghost General Yemo Yemo Xiesu within Lu Ran's sculpture garden was at River Realm stage one.

"Is the manpower sufficient?" Lu Ran looked at Xun Xun Yifei. "Should I summon some Night Phantoms as well? Their intelligence is not low, and they are very obedient."

The Night Phantom clan was covered tightly from head to toe, never revealing their faces, nor did they possess a beguiling or seductive nature.

Even if Xiang Xiang Luoying discovered them, she surely wouldn't come knocking to demand an explanation, right?

Xun Xun Yifei bowed his head slightly: "This subordinate will follow the Sect Master's arrangements."

"Very well." Lu Ran reached forward with his hand once more.

Herding one sheep is the same as herding two!

Sooner or later, the Night Charm clan must be summoned to establish guard posts within the base; while we are at it, we might as well train them all together now.

What Lu Ran did not expect was that he had created eighteen Night Charms!

The upper limit was not ten, but eighteen?

The Night Charm Yemo Yemo Xiesu within the Sculpture Garden stood at Jiang Jing, Fifth Stage.

Therefore.

Unintentionally, Lu Ran had figured out another matter.

The major realm of a Yemo Yemo Xiesu serves as the foundation, guaranteeing the creation of ten demonic fiends.

On this basis, for every minor stage a Yemo Yemo Xiesu advances, two additional demonic minion summons become possible.

"Gulp, gulp."

Lu Ran grabbed the Little Chifeng Patterned Gourd and tilted his head back to drain it.

Perhaps he should craft another Demonic Spear Emperor to lead these two demonic forces?

As the arch-rival of the First-Rank God·Spear Rot, the Demonic Spear Emperor possessed extraordinarily high intelligence!

In the future, when the members of the Ran Sect set sail overseas, the Demonic Spear Emperor could remain here to lead the generals in guarding this mountain.

Hmm... better wait a little longer.

First, the base must be properly constructed; inviting His Lordship the Emperor out of seclusion now would leave him with no troops to command.

Lu Ran set down the wine gourd, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and said, "Mr. Cong Long."

"Sect Master?"

"You remember how I just instructed the Xiao Mo Li clan, don't you?"

Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng: "..."

Lu Ran gestured toward the ten ghost generals and eighteen Night Charms: "They are all humanoid demonic fiends with higher intelligence, so they learn faster."

Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng's eyes grew deep and distant; he clasped his fists and bowed: "It is my honor to share burdens for His Lordship the Sect Master."

"Eh? Why do I feel like Mr. Cong Long is slightly resentful?"

"No, I am very happy."

"Oh, then I shall trouble you, Mr." Lu Ran winked at Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng.

Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng shook his head with a smile and went forward to lecture the demonic fiends.

Ever since meeting Lu Ran, Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng had discovered that he himself was becoming increasingly "vivid."

Lu Ran turned to Xun Xun Yifei beside him: "By the way, during missions these past two days, your wife was in a poor mood, so I did not urge her."

"You two spouses should hurry up and choose a codename."

Xun Xun Yifei immediately replied: "How about using our surnames as codenames?"

Luo? Xun?

"Fine!" Lu Ran agreed casually, scanning his surroundings.

The mountain was dense with forests, featuring strange rocks and precipitous terrain; the complex geography was more than sufficient to conceal a base.

In the future, this place would be the headquarters of the Ran Sect!

Recalling the journey thus far, Lu Ran reflected on how he and the Great Nightmare had campaigned north and south, recruiting talents, and now finally possessed a lair.

A sense of accomplishment rose within his heart.

He could not afford to slack off!

He must quickly cultivate and promote the various Yemo Yemo Xiesu to upgrade the demonic guard forces.

This was not only to secure a foothold but also to expand the sphere of influence of the Ran Sect.

In the future, all Saint Spirit Qi falling in the nearby sea and mountain regions would be collected by the demonic forces under the Ran Sect's command.

Naturally, Lu Ran would be able to develop even faster.

Even more, once Lu Ran's Yemo Yemo Xiesu gained sufficient strength, he could produce vast numbers of powerful demonic fiends to form multiple "roaming" squads for venturing out to gather Saint Spirit Qi.

At present, Lu Ran could not operate in such a manner.

Because if a demonic minion died too far from Lu Ran, its departed soul could not automatically return to its position.

This puzzled Lu Ran greatly!

Logically speaking, demonic minions jointly created by Lu Ran and the statues should have their souls automatically return upon death.

Yet for some reason, after Lu Ran's demonic minions died, their souls were neither taken away by the Original God nor the Original Demonic Fiend, nor did they return to Lu Ran's own embrace.

Currently, Lu Ran's method of soul confinement remained singular.

He still had to be within a certain range to draw souls into his Death Realm Pupil.

On the surface, it appeared that the Yemo Yemo Xiesu within Lu Ran's garden were not yet high enough in level, and their absorption range was insufficiently broad.

He did not know whether there were deeper reasons behind this.

"Whoosh~"

Lu Ran's figure flashed, and he stood at the edge of the seaside cliff.

He gazed at the horizon where sea met sky, listening to the faint sound of waves crashing against reefs hundreds of meters below.

Gradually, the sense of accomplishment in Lu Ran's heart transformed into a plan.

To dominate a region!

This mountain would eventually host various demonic fiend races and multiple powerful forces stationed upon it!

He also hoped that in the future, he could recruit powerful helpers one by one to continuously strengthen the Ran Sect's power.

Everything was for the day of returning to the human world.

He just did not know to what extent the Ran Sect must develop before qualifying to delve into various demonic lairs and take action against the Evil Gods.

To raise the butcher's knife against the myriad gods.

Lu Ran sat on the cliff's edge, his lower legs dangling outside, swinging back and forth.

Returning to the human world.

Jiang Ruyi.

I wonder how she is doing now.

Is she still diligently cultivating and practicing her sword arts every day?

Is she... also waiting for me to come home?

Little Jiang Ruyi...

Lu Ran lowered his eyelids, gazing at the spray of waves crashing against the rocks in the shallows.

I seem... to miss you a little.

Time flowed away with each blooming wave.

The sky gradually darkened.

A tall, slender figure arrived behind Lu Ran.

Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng looked at Lu Ran's somewhat desolate back; he stood silently for a long while before softly calling out, "Sect Master?"

"Hmm?" Lu Ran woke from his reverie.

Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng reported, "The Demonic troops have finished their training; General Xun Shen has taken them to begin work. I came to ask the Sect Master if you have any specific plans for the layout of the main camp?"

Lu Ran casually said, "You all handle it as you see fit."

"Understood." Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng hesitated for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Is the Sect Master missing someone?"

Lu Ran: "..."

He propped his hands on the cliff's edge, head bowed with an unnatural expression, shaking his lower legs that hung beyond the precipice.

Sometimes, having a cultivation realm that is too high is not necessarily a good thing.

His mood could affect the surrounding environment, allowing others to perceive his thoughts.

Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng remained silent; this was the first time he had seen Lu Ran in such a state.

After all this time, Lu Ran's various displays of dominance sometimes made Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng forget that he was merely a nineteen-year-old youth.

"From Mr. Cong Long."

Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng said nothing, quietly awaiting what followed.

Lu Ran lifted his head, gazing into the distance at the azure sea: "Tell me, can we truly return to the human world?"

Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng said softly, "Regarding the matter of whether we can go home, the Sect Master has always been more convinced than any of us.

Most of the people of the Ran Sect have been trapped in this realm for a very, very long time; they have long lost hope and spirit.

Perhaps people no longer believe they can return home.

But everyone believes in you."

Lu Ran's eyes appeared slightly dazed as he quietly gazed out at the sea for a long time.

Gusts of sea breeze blew in, ruffling his hair, as if waking him up.

Suddenly, Lu Ran pulled the Little Chifeng Pattern Gourd from behind his waist and tilted his head back to gulp down large draughts.

"Gulp, gulp—burp~"

Lu Ran turned his head to look at Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng, grinning broadly: "Apologies, Mr., I just drank too much."

Yu Seeing Yu Changsheng smiled as well, nodding gently.

"Let's go, Mr., let's go plan the architectural layout!"

"Yes."

(End of Chapter)