Chapter 568: Am I Also a Great Expert Now?

Nine days later, in a pitch-black seclusion chamber.

Lu Ran sat cross-legged with his eyes tightly shut, a Cloud-Sea Dust-Clearing Blade resting across his knees, sharing the blessings of heaven and earth alongside its master.

Terrifying energy churned violently, causing his wide robes to flutter and snap in the wind.

The condition within his body was far more astonishing than his external appearance suggested!

Thick mist continuously poured into his body, where Lu Ran condensed it into slender streams.

Trickle by trickle, the streams gathered into rivers.

Surging rivers swelled into mighty currents.

The vast Zhijiang raged and flowed wildly within Lu Ran, constantly widening his meridians.

Round after round, cycling endlessly.

Without rest or end.

It was only after Lu Ran truly broke through his cultivation bottleneck and entered the promotion process that he experienced a familiar sensation again.

That had been at Lady Luo Sister Xian's Mountain.

He and Jiangjiang Ruyi had once received the blessing of the deity, my lord Xiang Xiang Xianyang.

Jiangjiang Ruyi already possessed the bearing of a celestial being; she could be described as having immortal grace and jade bones, her growth speed astonishingly fast.

Lu Ran, naturally, was not to be outdone!

Although this promotion lacked the ferocity of a deity's blessing, it made up for it with the endurance of a long-flowing river.

Lu Ran's flesh and blood were continuously nourished by divine power, while his human bones were tempered time and again.

The process of promoting to the Sea Realm was simply a crude version of a deity's blessing!

This vessel, the body, was further expanded to hold more divine power; Lu Ran's speed of absorbing divine power and his cultivation aptitude were both gradually improved.

"Boom!!"

Suddenly, a violent sound accompanied by terrifying energy fluctuations rippled through the seclusion chamber.

The mighty rivers surging within Lu Ran attempted to merge together, but it was not as simple as he had imagined.

When clusters of divine power met, instead of blending seamlessly like water and milk, they triggered violent collisions.

"Ugh." Lu Ran's face turned green then purple.

He realized this was the most critical moment!

From Long, Da Da Mengyan, and several other Divine Generals, all had shared their experiences with Lu Ran.

Without exception, every one of them had taken great strides into the Sea Realm precisely when their great rivers converged into a sea.

Therefore, this was the final sprint!

"Boom..."

Lu Ran gritted his teeth as his blood and qi churned violently.

The divine power within his body was already circulating; it did not require much guidance from him. All along, Lu Ran had merely been drawing in the mist between heaven and earth, compressing it into streams for the various great rivers to fight over and devour.

It felt quite like raising gu worms, didn't it?

At this moment, Lu Ran decisively intervened, deliberately slowing the circulation speed of the divine power to allow the separate currents to slowly approach one another.

Touching carefully, merging gently...

Boom—

Lu Ran's mind went blank.

A terrifying shockwave expanded outward from within his body.

The Cloud-Sea Dust-Clearing Blade, which had been resting flat on his knees, was instantly blown away, embedding itself deep into the hard stone wall.

As for Lu Ran...

He tilted his head back, his mouth slightly open, his half-lidded eyes somewhat dazed.

Lu Ran finally understood just how terrifying the gap between a River and a Sea truly was.

During the Jiang Jing, he had taken the first step toward becoming a god.

Naive and inexperienced, he had considered his energy to be vast and majestic.

Now, with a hundred rivers forming a sea within him, Lu Ran truly felt his own insignificance.

Within his meridians, divine power of a terrifying magnitude still circulated along its original paths, yet it was now completely overshadowed.

Inside and outside Lu Ran's body, every inch of flesh and skin, every single bone, was filled to the brim with divine power.

A vast ocean; the realm lived up to its name!

"Heh..." Lu Ran sighed with a trembling voice.

His entire being was immersed in an ocean of divine power; that surging vitality and terrifying sense of strength were beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

This illusion that a mere wave of the hand or stomp of the foot could destroy all things would inevitably cause one's state of mind to become extremely unbalanced!

No wonder most Sea Realm experts comfortably assumed a lofty position, considering themselves kings who ruled over everything.

No wonder, when facing all living beings, they were either scornful or dismissive.

Power was, naturally, the foundation of everything.

And the psychological impact brought about by this terrifying sensation was indeed difficult to withstand.

Gradually, the vast divine power within Lu Ran calmed down.

Lu Ran rallied his spirits, guiding a strand of divine power to continue circulating through his meridians, cycle after cycle, endlessly repeating.

Unknown amounts of time passed...

Lu Ran opened his eyes, which now shone with brilliant radiance.

Inside the seclusion chamber, the thick mist still lingered.

"Hmm?" Lu Ran raised his eyebrows slightly.

Inside the Cloud Sea Cliff, someone else is breaking through?

Good news!

Lu Ran secretly rejoiced in his heart, slowly rising to his feet, afraid that a single careless step might crush the ground.

He had already grown accustomed to the Jiang Jing and knew how to restrain his strength.

Now transformed into a vast ocean, for Lu Ran, all things in the world once again bore the label of "handle with care."

He would need to familiarize himself with this state for quite some time again.

"Crack~"

Lu Ran stepped forward slowly, located the Cloud Sea Dust-Clearing Blade embedded in the stone wall, and carefully drew it out.

He paused for a moment, sensing the gentle breeze and tracing the direction from which the thick mist surged, then walked step by step toward the tunnel entrance.

Lu Ran did not flash away.

With every step he took, he was adapting to this brand-new, immensely powerful flesh-and-blood body.

When Lu Ran emerged from the cave mouth, he discovered two people waiting there.

One of them approached and gently leaned into his embrace.

The joy in her heart influenced the surrounding atmosphere and infected Lu Ran's mood as well.

"You've finally entered the Sea Realm," Jiangjiang Ruyi said softly, her pretty face resting against Lu Ran's shoulder.

"Mm." Lu Ran moved very carefully as he wrapped his arms around Jiangjiang Xianzi's slender waist.

He lowered his head slightly, burying his face in the curve of her neck, imagining and inhaling the intoxicating fragrance of jasmine.

"Lu Ran, promise me one thing?" Jiangjiang Ruyi suddenly said.

"What?"

"Promise me first." Rarely, Jiangjiang Ruyi also had moments of acting spoiled.

"Alright, what is it?" Lu Ran asked, very curious.

"Continue in your original style, advancing steadily and surely; do not be too unrestrained," Jiangjiang Ruyi advised softly.

Lu Ran: "."

Jiangjiang Ruyi clearly understood just how terrifying Lu Ran's strength had become.

Once he unleashed the Divine Art·Divine Lie Tian, which Sea Realm expert could withstand the devastation he would wreak?

A single "authentic" Sea Realm disciple of Divine Lie Tian was enough to make anyone wary.

Lu Ran was far more fearsome than a Divine Lie Tian disciple!

He possessed many identities, supported by numerous Divine Arts and Xie Fa.

"Hehe~" Jiangjiang Ruyi smiled gracefully, bringing her thin lips close to Lu Ran's ear and whispering, "You've already promised me."

"I take it back," Lu Ran said with a laugh.

"You are a great Sea Realm expert now; your word is gold and jade—how can you act like a rogue?" Jiangjiang Ruyi tilted her head slightly and gently bumped the side of Lu Ran's head.

Lu Ran pursed his lips.

So what if I'm in the Sea Realm?

Even in the Sea Realm, I'm still Ran the Dog!

The more of a dog I am, the better it matches my nickname~

"I'm not restricting you, Lu Ran, nor do I wish to dampen your spirits." Jiangjiang Ruyi cupped Lu Ran's cheeks with both hands.

Her words of admonition were soft and gentle: "I only hope you maintain a steady mindset and remain as cautious and careful as before.

You are destined to achieve great things; your goal lies with the Gods and Demons.

Along the way, there cannot be even the slightest mistake."

"Mm, I promise you." Lu Ran smiled again. "Besides, don't I have you here?"

Jiangjiang Ruyi smiled charmingly, leaned forward, and gave him a light kiss as a reward.

Behind a large tree not far away, a tall figure leaned against the trunk, arms crossed before her chest, standing silently.

Ever since Yan Yan Shuangzi's other arm had been restored, she had grown particularly fond of this posture.

【Who is breaking through?】 Suddenly, a voice transmission imprinted itself upon her mind.

【Deng Deng Yuxiang,】 Yan Yan Shuangzi replied immediately.

【Oh? When did this happen?】 It was not difficult to detect the surprise in Lu Ran's voice.

Under normal circumstances, Lu Ran would have been extremely sensitive to the concentration of divine power, but this time he had been fully focused on his breakthrough and had no energy to spare for anything else.

【Last night,】 Yan Yan Shuangzi replied once more.

【Such speed is truly impressive,】 Lu Ran remarked with a sigh.

He remembered that Deng Deng Yuxiang had broken through to the Sea Realm in June, and now it was early December.

In less than half a year, she had already made progress within the initial stages of the Sea Realm; that had to be considered very fast, right?

Her ability to achieve this—

merging with Ye Mei Yemo Xiesu, continuously raising her talent ceiling and cultivation aptitude—was one aspect.

Repeatedly experiencing the breakthroughs of powerful experts—Xun Xun Yifei, Gao Gao Yunyan, Xue Xue Fengchen, and others, especially Yun Yun Qianzhou's ascension to the Heaven Realm—must have bestowed immense blessings upon the Great Da Da Mengyan, from which she undoubtedly benefited greatly!

【How about you?】 Lu Ran asked again.

Deng Deng Yuxiang had enjoyed the blessings many times, and Yan Yan Shuangzi had likewise benefited from them.

【Master, your subordinate is at the third stage of the Jiang Jing, not the third stage of the Jiang Jing,】 Yan Yan Shuangzi said in a languid tone. 【Your subordinate broke through in late September; it has only been a little over two months.】

Lu Ran's expression turned slightly odd.

Did he feel that Yan Yan Shuangzi... had become a tiny bit more lively?

It seemed that her physical recovery had helped dispel much of her gloom.

Excellent.

【Congratulations, Master, on advancing to the Sea Realm.】 Yan Yan Shuangzi seemed to realize she had been somewhat presumptuous; after hesitating for a moment, she transmitted her congratulations respectfully.

Lu Ran paid it no mind at all and replied: 【I can now unleash the Sea Realm technique, Vicious Dog Xie Fa. Let's go test it out in a while.】

【Yes.】 Yan Yan Shuangzi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you thinking about?" Jiangjiang Ruyi's voice came from within his embrace.

"Ah, Evil Shadow was congratulating me." Lu Ran came back to his senses, gently smoothing Jiangjiang Xianzi's long hair. "I'm going to Ink Sea Bay to test the technique."

You go into secluded cultivation; focus on your training and see if you can catch a ride on the Great Da Da Mengyan's coattails.

Leave the affairs of Cloud Sea Cliff to me."

Jiangjiang Ruyi smiled; she had spoken the exact same words to Deng Deng Yuxiang.

Lu Ran casually summoned the ancient bronze mirror, transforming it into a full-length mirror: "Go."

"Mm." Jiangjiang Ruyi stepped forward into the realm.

【Cliff-bottom cave.】 Lu Ran sent a voice transmission and flashed away.

Yan Yan Shuangzi followed shortly after.

Inside the cave, the mist was thin; Lu Ran regained some visibility and looked at Yan Yan Shuangzi: "By the way, has Cloud Sea Cliff come under attack in the last ten days?"

Yan Yan Shuangzi's heart trembled; her words actually became somewhat stuttered: "Y-yes..."

"Hmm?" Lu Ran reacted after a moment, only then realizing he was now a One Sea Realm expert!

The oppression that a Sea Realm powerhouse exerts upon those of the Jiang Realm is ever-present.

More critically, he had just completed his breakthrough, and his momentum was at its peak!

How could Yan Yan Shuangzi withstand it?

"Once the momentum from my breakthrough dissipates, it will be much better." Lu Ran quickly averted his gaze, making his voice as gentle as possible.

"Yes." Yan Yan Shuangzi likewise averted her gaze, lowering her eyelids, no longer daring to look into Lu Ran's brilliantly radiant eyes.

"When Cloud Sea Cliff was attacked, did our side suffer any losses?" Lu Ran asked slowly.

"No. The enemy was a Nu Hai Yan Jiao; it was shot dead by Luo Shen General."

"Oh." Lu Ran nodded, extended one hand forward, and a human figure rapidly took shape before his palm.

Sea Realm Technique, Vicious Dog Xie Fa—Evil Shadow!

The guardian name Lu Ran had given Yan Yan Shuangzi was derived from the name of this very Xie Fa.

When this method was at the Jiang Pin level, it could already create clones, but their state of existence was highly unstable.

They were not trustworthy.

The Sea Realm Xie Fa, Evil Shadow, however, allowed Lu Ran to summon a flesh-and-blood body pieced together from energy, one that was extremely stable!

"Tsk tsk~"

Lu Ran looked the clone up and down; the clone stood motionless, its gaze utterly dull.

Does it feel rather silly?

(End of Chapter)