Chapter 620: A Cup of Mist Tea

In the distance, the mountain peak finally swallowed the setting sun.

Lu Ran and Jiangjiang Ruyi discussed the matter, leaving three Shadow Guards to hold Thousand Flower Ridge, waiting for the rabbit to strike the post.

Afterwards, he activated the Transmission Mirror and led the team back to Cloud Sea Cliff.

Thus, the Ran Sect's journey south was temporarily put on pause.

Lu Ran practiced cultivation with diligence day and night, never slacking.

Regarding the matter of "charging up Blade Ridge Peak," it was not only to avenge the Evil Shadow Protector, but also Lu Ran's long-held wish.

As for the God North Wind, Lu Ran already detested him greatly!

One man and one god had already settled a grudge in North Wind City; Lu Ran begged and pleaded, finally summoning Lord Xiang Xiang Xianyang to rescue Great Dream Da Da Mengyan from North Wind's hands.

The weak must be beaten; this is an eternal truth.

Lu Ran could only endure humiliation and accumulate strength, waiting for a future day to bring his own Great Dream Da Da Mengyan to the door and chop up that dog!

Now, within Holy Lingshan, he is also a disciple of the North Wind Sect, treating his own Great Evil Shadow so cruelly!

He cut off Yan Yan Shuangzi's arm, gouged out her eyes, and that was not the end!

He also imprisoned her, torturing her with punishments day and night.

How could Lu Ran not be furious?

If not for considering Yan Yan Shuangzi's path to godhood, to let her ascend to the Sea Realm more smoothly, Lu Ran would have led the team to the door long ago.

After returning to the Ran Sect this time, Lu Ran often sat by the sea cliff.

Whether sunny or rainy, one meditation session lasted three to five days.

Now, it was Jiangjiang Ruyi's turn to "fall in love with someone who never comes home."

There was also a seductive shadow that always stayed in the forest behind him to cultivate, regardless of wind or rain, silently accompanying him.

The peaceful days lasted for more than a month and a half.

During this period, there was a small interlude.

Nearly one hundred and seventy ordinary disciples of the Ran Sect could mostly never advance again; their aptitude was not high enough to begin with, and they suffered severe injuries when the contract was torn up.

Their path of cultivation was blocked.

But with so many people, exceptions were inevitable.

Just one River Realm peak disciple, while worshipping the gods in the Flying Immortal Great Hall, broke through and returned to Jiang Jing, attracting two days of fog.

On the second day, the overlord of the sea and sky, Nu Hai Yan Jiao, came again, "smelling the scent."

Lu Ran considered it a chance to stretch his muscles and bones.

Poor Nu Hai Yan Jiao~

It indeed possessed the power to destroy heaven and earth; wherever it went, it could stir up a storm of blood and wind.

Yet it happened to run into Sect Master Lu stationed at Cloud Sea Cliff, becoming a little embellishment in the Lord Sect Master's cultivation days.

Time arrived at the end of March.

Two unexpected people came to visit Lu Ran.

At that time, it was early morning; Lu Ran had rarely returned home to rest the previous night. He had just gotten up and was in the small courtyard, enjoying the Mist Tea brewed by Young Lady Leng Xuan Shuang.

"Sect Master."

"Sect Master!" Two sharp, powerful voices came from outside the courtyard gate.

"Feng'er, General Yan Shen?" Lu Ran was quite surprised. Looking at the two outside the fence wall, he immediately waved, "Come in, come drink tea."

Xue Xue Fengchen: "."

Gao Gao Yunyan: "."

The two naturally knew the bitterness of Mist Tea.

From Lu Ran's distressed expression, it was also clear that he had been severely harmed by the Mist Tea.

"Come quickly!" Lu Ran called out again.

Leng Xuan Shuang at the table said nothing and had already poured two cups of tea.

Generals Feng and Yan walked in; among them, Gao Gao Yunyan inquired, "The Lady, she..."

"Sleeping. Girls are greedy for sleep. Do you have business with her?"

"No." Gao Gao Yunyan immediately shook her head; it was just a habitual greeting.

"Oh, taste it; it's especially refreshing!" Lu Ran handed the teacup over.

Gao Gao Yunyan finally understood why the Lord Sect Master would actively drink such a thing; she had also heard that recently, Lu Ran had been cultivating diligently within the cliff.

So, was the Lord Sect Master using Mist Tea to "hang his hair from a beam and stab his thigh with an awl"?

Gao Gao Yunyan could not refuse; she took the stone cup, closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and poured the tea into her mouth.

"Er." General Yan temporarily abandoned expression management, grimacing.

Mist Tea had not a trace of aftertaste sweetness; instead, it became more and more bitter.

It was so bitter she stomped her feet.

But it was so refreshing~

Lu Ran chuckled: "What do you want with me?"

"Sect Master, this subordinate has come to report on cultivation progress." Gao Gao Yunyan placed the teacup on the stone table, casually picked up another cup, and handed it to Xue Xue Fengchen beside her.

Xue Xue Fengchen:?

Are we really one family or not?

Gao Gao Yunyan's mouth was still bitter, but seeing Xue Xue Fengchen's silent expression, her heart became much sweeter:

"Take it; the Sect Master gave it."

Xue Xue Fengchen silently took the teacup and drank it down in one gulp.

Have to say, the Western Wastes' Great Phoenix really does have the air of a Divine General!

His expression unchanged, he set the empty cup back on the table: "Thanks to the Sect Master for the reward."

"Oh?" Lu Ran refused to believe it, "Quick, Xuan Shuang! My family's Great Phoenix likes tea, pour a few more cups!"

Xue Xue Fengchen:???

"Pfft hahaha~" Gao Gao Yunyan really couldn't hold it in and burst into a hearty laugh.

She suddenly remembered the Lady was still resting and hurriedly covered her mouth.

"You rascal, don't make things hard for people."

From afar, through an exquisitely carved wooden window of the bedchamber, came a slightly chiding voice.

"Oh." Lu Ran pouted, then looked back at Gao Gao Yunyan, "What was it you came for?"

Gao Gao Yunyan: "This subordinate is about to touch her cultivation bottleneck."

"Oh?" Lu Ran's eyes lit up.

This was great news!

He immediately asked, "When was the last time you advanced to Sea Realm?"

"This subordinate broke through the bottleneck at the end of August last year, and completed the advancement on September 7th."

"Mm." Lu Ran nodded.

It was now the end of March, so by careful count, it had been seven months.

Under ideal circumstances, if Gao Gao Yunyan could successfully advance half a month from now,

Seven and a half months!

Advancing from Sea Realm First Stage to Sea Realm Second Stage was quite fast.

Of course, there was no comparing it to the Great Da Da Mengyan.

Lu Ran clearly remembered that Deng Deng Yuxiang had advanced to Sea Realm First Stage at the end of June last year, and then to Sea Realm Second Stage in early December.

At full count, that was only five and a half months.

The gap between whether or not Ran Sect's warriors were bound to stone statues had already shown itself.

Lu Ran also believed that as Deng Deng Yuxiang's fusion with the stone statue deepened, the time she needed for cultivation and advancement should grow shorter, right?

"Good!" Lu Ran gave a casual beckoning gesture.

"Whoosh~" an exquisite treasure gourd flew out from inside the house.

Gao Gao Yunyan felt a warmth in her heart, immediately dropped to one knee, and said gratefully, "Thank you, Sect Master."

The purpose of this trip was to borrow a magical artifact.

Everything went exactly as she had hoped!

She didn't need to ask at all—Lu Ran would take the initiative to help her, and there wouldn't be any hesitation.

Advancing in the Vast Sea Realm certainly couldn't afford the slightest carelessness!

With the full assistance of the Second-Stage magical artifact—Little Chifeng Pattern Gourd, her success rate in breaking through the bottleneck would be greatly improved!

"What's there to be polite about." Lu Ran handed over Little Little Chifeng, "You break through your shackles, and Little Little Chifeng gets to eat too—she'd be thrilled."

Gao Gao Yunyan thanked him again before carefully cradling the treasure gourd.

Lu Ran looked at the tall, silent figure: "Phoenix, when are you going to advance?"

Xue Xue Fengchen: "."

Lu Ran's face showed an encouraging look.

Xue Xue Fengchen was silent for a moment, then still said, "Soon, soon."

"Mm!" Lu Ran nodded in satisfaction.

Ah~

Comfortable!

Brother Deng, I found a substitute at Sacred Lingshan.

Without my supervision, you can't slack off in the mortal world.

"Sect Master, this subordinate will go into closed-door cultivation now." Gao Gao Yunyan said.

"Go on, then!" Lu Ran nodded immediately, feeling quite expectant.

He and the Shadow might be able to ride this east wind of Yan Divine General's and break through their own cultivation shackles together!

As the two departed, an immortal silhouette appeared at the doorway of the house.

It was clear that Jiangjiang Ruyi really treated Leng Xuan Shuang as her personal guard.

She wasn't wearing her usual elegant white dress, but had thrown on Lu Ran's loose white robe, lazily tousling her hair as she came to sit at the stone table.

"Awake?" Lu Ran immediately handed over the teacup, "Here, wake yourself up."

Jiangjiang Ruyi scrunched her nose and gave Lu Ran a displeased look.

That slightly charming look—where was even a trace of her cold, stunning bearing?

She took the teacup and asked casually, "How's Xuan Shuang's cultivation progress?"

Leng Xuan Shuang replied, "With Yan Divine General's breakthrough and advancement this time, I should be able to borrow some momentum and Chong Fan Jiang Jing · Fourth Stage."

"Mm." Jiangjiang Ruyi took a small sip of tea.

Just like the Phoenix Divine General, her expression didn't change.

In fact, Jiangjiang Xianzi was even better at it, because she wasn't drinking—she was savoring.

It made Lu Ran grin crookedly.

Jiangjiang Ruyi smiled at Lu Ran: "Should we bring Mr. Conglong back? To receive Heaven's blessing together?"

"Oh right!" Lu Ran slapped his forehead, "Right! Conglong's still at Drizzle Lake!"

Jiangjiang Ruyi said with a coy reproach: "That guy! Once he really starts cultivating, he forgets everything.

Don't say things like that in front of Mr. Cong Long — it hurts people's feelings."

"Mm, mm." Lu Ran nodded repeatedly, though doubt stirred in his heart.

I don't even go home,

so where would I find the heart to think of other men?

Actually, you can't say I forgot — I was creating a world for two for Mr. Cong Long and Senior Sister He!

Yes, that's exactly how it is~

Lu Ran quietly consoled himself, looked up at the sky, and said: "In a bit, I'll bring Cai Shen Jiang back together, and ask Qi Feng while I'm at it.

Such a good cultivation environment can't be wasted."

Jiangjiang Ruyi suddenly said: "Three days ago, Liu Huo came to pay a visit."

"Oh?"

"She wants to transfer under your tutelage."

"Master Yu Fu? Or Divine Lie Tian?" Lu Ran frowned slightly.

Liu Huo is a person with very distinctive traits — she really is quite suited for the Burning Blood faction.

Jiangjiang Ruyi said softly: "She wants to become stronger, wants to improve her cultivation aptitude."

Improving cultivation aptitude means binding with a stone statue.

Lu Ran's brow furrowed even deeper: "Who told her? Wu Xiao?"

Although the matter of the generals binding with stone statues isn't much of a secret, it's known only to the upper echelons of the Burning Gate.

Even though statues of the various Dharma Protectors and Divine Generals stand within the Flying Immortal Grand Hall, the Burning Gate disciples don't explicitly know that these figures are the false gods themselves.

The disciples only have a vague notion: Lu Ran is a newly rising god.

All-powerful.

Lu Ran had, however, explicitly told Wu Xiao that he would let him replace Wu Sheng's stone statue.

In Liu Huo's daily life, the only person she could come into contact with was Wu Xiao.

But there was something fishy about this matter.

As for Wu Xiao, the issue isn't whether he's loose-lipped or not — he's simply indifferent to everything.

Jiangjiang Ruyi set down her teacup, her slender hand gently resting on the back of Lu Ran's hand, and said softly: "I've already scolded Sister Sister Xian'er — she won't say it again in the future."

Lu Ran: "."

So it was Crazy Sister Xian'er, was it?

Jiangjiang Ruyi said softly: "Wu Xiao's residence isn't far from Crazy Sister Xian's place, and after Xuan Shuang moved over, Sister Sister Xian'er and Liu Huo became friends.

Liu Huo finally had someone to confide in.

Her life has been too bitter. After Sister Sister Xian'er heard many of her stories, she just…"

Jiangjiang Ruyi paused, then said: "Actually, Sister Sister Xian'er didn't say it outright either — she only told Liu Huo that she could come and seek you out, worship you."

Lu Ran nodded silently.

Sister Sister Xian'er's little mouth is indeed foul, but her heart is kind.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip of the bitter tea, and imitating Jiangjiang Ruyi, savored the bitter flavor within:

"What do you think?"

(End of chapter)