Chapter 538: A Grand Banquet

"Why, Lu Xuedi Brother?" He Yingcai looked at Lu Ran, puzzled, "Why suddenly bring this up?"

"Just asking~" Lu Ran chuckled.

He Yingcai didn't respond, just silently controlling the lotus leaf beneath her feet.

Lu Ran continued: "Life in the Holy Lingshan is so bitter; if you could find someone to warm each other and support each other as you walk on, how nice that would be~"

As he spoke, Lu Ran wrapped his arm around Jiang Xianzi's slender waist again.

Jiang Ruyi gave Lu Ran a light glare, but in the end, she couldn't resist him and could only go along with him.

He Yingcai found it funny in her heart, looking at the Lu Xuedi Brother who was feeding her dog food.

No wonder everyone calls you "Lu Dog"!

Who are you stimulating here... hmm?

He Yingcai suddenly realized that her little thoughts had been seen through by her Lu Xuedi Brother!

Otherwise, Lu Ran wouldn't have suddenly brought up matters between men and women.

Immediately, a shy blush quietly spread across He Yingcai's charming face.

【Bad guy, what do you want to do?】 Jiang Ruyi's beautiful eyes were lively, looking at Lu Ran.

【I feel like Senior Sister He has a good impression of Mr. Conglong,】 Lu Ran said with a smile, transmitting his voice, 【I'm just probing and encouraging her!】

Jiang Ruyi raised an eyebrow slightly.

The usually cold Jiang Xianzi now seemed to have turned into a playful little girl, secretly glancing at the two of them.

Do they really feel like a good match?

Jiang Ruyi's eyes contained a smile, and she looked at Lu Ran again: 【Are you planning to arrange a marriage with the Thousand Boat Alliance?】

【What kind of talk is that!】 Lu Ran transmitted his voice with dissatisfaction, 【Can't I just be trying to lure the Green Lotus Island Master to our Lu Ran Sect!】

"Hehe~" Jiang Ruyi couldn't help but laugh.

On the quiet green lotus leaf, Jiang Xianzi's laughter was very pleasant, but also somewhat abrupt.

Yu Changsheng's eyes were deep as he looked at Lu Ran.

He Yingcai didn't know anything and would only think that the Lu Xuedi Brother and Lu Xuedi Sister had great tacit understanding, able to communicate with just their eyes.

Yu Changsheng, however, knew that the Lu Zongzhu and the Lu Zongzhu's wife were probably saying something through voice transmission!

Joining Lu Ran's sect really had many benefits.

Able to bind with God-Demon statues and obtain the qualifications to become a god.

Also able to transmit voices and communicate secretly.

Thinking from another angle, this was simply a divine skill!

Sigh...

Yu Changsheng sighed in his heart.

Hopefully, the Lu Ran Sect could find a way to return to the human world soon, so the Lu Zongzhu could ask Lord Xianyang to sever the master-servant contracts between the Lu Ran Sect members and their respective gods.

Yu Changsheng had also thought about tearing up the contract, so that he would have no worries for the rest of his life and follow Lu Ran wholeheartedly.

But his level was too high!

High to the level of the Fourth Stage of the Sea Realm.

Once the contract was forcibly torn up, the backlash he would suffer couldn't be as "slight" as that of a River Estuary Realm person.

And Yu Changsheng himself was striving toward the Fifth Stage of the Sea Realm.

He knew that his talent potential hadn't been exhausted and he could continue to climb upward.

Once he fell off the mountain peak, it would be truly difficult to climb back up.

His gaze still had to be placed further ahead.

Since he chose to follow Lu Ran, he had to play the "late game," and there couldn't be any mistakes during the climb...

The few of them sailed on Misty Rain Lake, each harboring their own thoughts.

The two women remained silent, Lu Ran secretly thought about luring people, and Yu Changsheng thought about the late game.

Soon, the group arrived at the central island of Misty Rain Lake.

Until they landed on the island, Lu Ran realized that it wasn't the seven islands of Bi Lotus hosting everyone.

The Thousand Boat Alliance gave Wu Jifeng and the Lu Ran Sect enough respect!

In addition to the seven Bi Lotus island masters who escorted them, the two Heaven Phoenix island masters, the seven Support Flower island masters, and the seven Sword Lotus island masters had been waiting on the island for a long time.

Lu Ran was completely dazzled!

He had just recognized all seven Bi Lotus island masters, and now so many more island masters had come...

And these people were all Sea Realm!

Lu Ran had never seen so many Sea Realm experts gathered together in his life!

It made Lu Ran have little ideas!

If he had such a group of subordinates, could he still be bullied by the people of Jingting Mountain?

And ever since he saw the group of Sea Realm island masters, Lu Ran and Jiang Ruyi's bitter days had also arrived.

Everyone had no hostility; on the contrary, the island masters were mostly very enthusiastic.

But in this world, the hierarchical system was extremely strict!

Even if the strong did nothing, just standing there quietly would cause huge pressure on the weak!

Before the River Estuary Realm, everything was easy to talk about.

The little birds in the Mist Realm and Stream Realm felt nothing when seeing River Estuary Realm powerhouses.

Once the first step of becoming a god was taken, turning into a vast river, everything changed!

Lu Ran was extremely uncomfortable!

Hmm... endure a little longer!

Next month!

Next month, he would promote to the Fifth Stage of the River Estuary Realm, and then go straight to the Sea Realm!

Lu Ran thought indignantly, and under the greeting of a group of island masters, walked toward the center of the island.

This small island located in the central area of the lake was not occupied by the four major factions; the dozens of believers who lived on the island permanently came from various weak god sects.

In the lush mountain forest on the island stood a large building.

Inside the large hall, straw mats were spread on the floor, and there were rows of low tables arranged neatly; it seemed everyone was going to sit on the floor like the ancients and have a banquet.

For this banquet, Lu Ran could be considered to have opened his eyes.

The food not only included smoked bacon but also brewed fruit wine?

It could be seen that although the conditions in the Holy Lingshan were difficult, the Thousand Boat Alliance was truly very attentive.

And the Wine and Meat Immortal from Wu Jifeng surprised everyone.

This fat monk only took one bite of the bacon and tasted that it was the meat of the demonic Mud Mountain Pig.

Lu Ran was greatly shocked!

Hmm... truly capable, truly worthy of his title.

Every piece of flesh on his body hadn't grown in vain.

During the banquet, Lu Ran also saw the members of the Immortal Music Band; in addition to the Jade Flute believers who played the flute, there were also Zither believers who played the ancient zither...

There were even women dancing!

In Lu Ran's mind, that sentence repeated again:

Where the hell did this bring me?

I'm still in the Holy Lingshan, right?

"Ding~ Ding~"

After three rounds of drinks, the miscellaneous people all retreated, and a white-robed man sitting on the north side of the banquet hall gently tapped his cup.

The room quickly quieted down.

The white-robed man scanned everyone: "The Jingting Mountain faction has wolfish ambitions and has coveted our Thousand Boat Alliance for a long time."

As the words fell, the peaceful atmosphere in the room quickly cooled down.

This white-robed man had a significant background; he was the Island Master of the Heaven Phoenix faction's Heaven's End Island.

In the Thousand Boat Alliance, the Heaven Phoenix faction only had fifty-odd disciples and only occupied three islands in the central area of Misty Rain Lake.

The names of the three islands were Yun Qianzhou, Heaven's End, and Bright Moon, respectively.

The Heaven's End Island Master was a gentle and elegant middle-aged man, and the Bright Moon Island Master was a holy and soft middle-aged woman.

In the days when the Alliance Master was in seclusion, these two presided over the overall situation.

Both were draped in white robes, gentle and polite, with dignified appearances.

Lu Ran took one look and knew these were two good doctors...

The Heaven's End Island Master continued: "During the time when the Alliance Master is in seclusion, Jingting Mountain cannot hold back and frequently harasses our Thousand Boat Alliance.

Some time ago, they even launched a great battle with our side, causing us heavy losses."

The atmosphere in the banquet hall became increasingly heavy.

In that battle, the Thousand Boat Alliance lost a full two Sea Realm experts!

The River Estuary Realm disciples suffered even heavier casualties, causing the Thousand Boat Alliance to suffer a great loss of vitality.

Just in terms of the combat loss ratio, Jingting Mountain had enough confidence to continue invading the Thousand Boat Alliance.

The other side had indeed done so; in the last ten days or so, Dongting disciples had appeared near Misty Rain Lake again.

The major island masters no longer dared to travel and collect Holy Spirit Qi.

The Heaven's End Island Master said in a deep voice: "If this continues, Jingting Mountain will step by step erode the Thousand Boat Alliance, and will eventually disturb Alliance Master Yun's quiet cultivation, causing the Alliance Master to fall short of success."

The Heaven's End Island Master picked up his wine cup and gestured to the Great Wind Hall and Lu Ran Sect members from afar:

"At this critical juncture, the Thousand Boat Alliance has received the full support of all fellow Daoists, and we are extremely grateful!"

A group of island masters echoed one after another, all picking up their wine cups.

Lu Ran felt bitter in his heart.

The wine in the cup should have been brewed from some kind of fruit, both bitter and sour.

By comparison, the purely bitter Misty Rain Tea was better to drink...

However, with Sea Realm experts thanking and toasting, Lu Ran couldn't reject their face, so he had to take a sip.

After finishing the wine in the cup, the Heaven's End Island Master looked at the two Great Xia Heaven's Prides again: "He Tangzhu He, Lu Zongzhu Lu, for our Thousand Boat Alliance, Alliance Master Yun's promotion is the top priority!

After all, it is a promotion to the Heaven Realm, and I'm afraid there is only one chance in a lifetime; if there is any mistake, it will be difficult to make progress again for the rest of one's life.

On behalf of the Thousand Boat Alliance, I earnestly request the two of you to stay on the island for a period of time, and the Thousand Boat Alliance will definitely have a heavy reward!"

"Hehe." He Qi Feng smiled, "Just enough wine and meat will do."

Hearing this, the Wine and Meat Immortal's smiling eyes narrowed into a slit, nodding repeatedly: "Right, right, right!"

The Heaven's End Island Master also smiled and nodded: "Definitely!"

Immediately, he looked at Lu Ran, and also saw Yu Changsheng sitting on the side.

The Heaven's End Island Master nodded apologetically: "Lu Zongzhu Lu, a few days ago, Mr. Conglong discussed with us for a long time, and in the end, our side still chose to defend the Thousand Boat Islands.

This is our home field, and the Dongting faction has great inconvenience fighting on the lake."

The Heaven's End Island Master paused and said shamefully: "And Jingting faction has many experts, and our side doesn't know much about Jingting Mountain's information..."

Lu Ran suddenly spoke: "19 Sea Realm experts, about 9~11 in the low and middle stages, and the rest are high stage.

There are three who are clearly peak Sea Realm.

They are Lu Zongzhu Lu, the Lu Zongzhu's third wife, and an elder surnamed Wang."

Immediately, the room fell into silence.

A group of island masters looked at the young Lu Zongzhu Lu with stunned expressions.

Lu Ran, however, was looking at the deep purple wine in his cup, his mouth twitching with bitterness: "There are 184 River Estuary Realm people in total, half and half in the low-middle and high-peak stages.

There are nearly 400 slaves, among whom the Red Scarf faction is doing well and are not considered pure slaves, totaling more than 50 people..."

The banquet hall was silent.

Everyone listened as Lu Ran detailed the extremely precious information.

It was hard for people to imagine how Lu Ran had obtained this information!

You have to know, the one who was truly fighting Jingting Mountain and encountering a survival crisis was the Thousand Boat Alliance!

The Thousand Boat Alliance had experienced battles large and small with the Jingting faction, and after such a long time, they still didn't know the inside story of Jingting Mountain!

Lu Ran had just arrived here, and everything was already investigated clearly?

He Qi Feng's eyes were bright as she looked at Lu Ran.

However, Lu Ran was looking at his wine cup, looking bitter.

He Qi Feng was both angry and amused.

Damn it!

You're showing off again!

"Lu Zongzhu Lu..." Bright Moon Island Master had a complex expression, looking at Lu Ran, "Don't mind me, how did you obtain this information?

Are you sure it's accurate?"

"Oh, right!" Lu Ran seemed to remember something, "Not very accurate."

"Oh?"

"How so?" Everyone looked at Lu Ran curiously.

Lu Ran put down his wine cup: "It should be 18 Sea Realm, 174 River Estuary Realm.

A few days ago, when I was out on a mission, I happened to encounter people from Jingting Mountain's Lingfeng Hall, who were hunting the Sword Lotus faction."

On the southeast side of the banquet hall, Island Master Pei raised his wine cup and gestured to Lu Ran from afar.

As early as when Island Master Pei led his team back to the island, the fact that he had been rescued by the Lu Ran Sect had already spread throughout the Thousand Boat Alliance.

Just now, Island Master Pei had crossed the banquet hall to personally pour wine and toast Lu Ran.

Lu Ran's gaze swept over everyone, nodding and confirming: "That Sea Realm He Tangzhu, Fang Lingfeng, and the ten River Estuary Realm hall members under her command...

I killed them for you."

Once again, the banquet hall fell into dead silence.

The Sea Realm experts were all very reserved.

There was no sound of gasping or buzzing discussion.

However...

Silence at this moment was better than sound!

Jiang Ruyi knelt beside Lu Ran, her slender jade hands picking up the wine pot to pour wine for Lu Ran.

Lu Ran looked at the deep purple fruit wine, his face immediately turning bitter.

Ber!

Little Ruyi, whose side are you on!

I was just taking out a plastic bag, you're making people toast me!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 539 =====