Chapter 628: Sister?

The man stared dumbly at Yan Yan Shuangzi, his heart reeling with unimaginable shock.

He had never imagined he would see her again in this lifetime.

The woman's beautiful, enchanting face had once smiled warmly, politely addressing him as Senior Brother.

Now her face was icy, and her pitch-black eyes brimmed with terrifying killing intent!

Eyes?

Her… her eyes were repaired?

"Ugh." Pain jolted the man out of his stunned daze.

Yan Yan Shuangzi lightly pressed her foot down, crushing the man's skull.

The man could not move, not even worthy of resistance.

For in his shock, five thin red threads had already settled upon his body.

Terrifying energy surged through the red threads into his body, wreaking havoc within his divine power!

The water armor quietly shattered, leaving his skull utterly unprotected.

Pain no longer mattered.

If she wished, she could easily crush his skull.

"S-Sister…" the man gasped in utter terror.

Under the control of Xie Fa: Thread Puller, he could not even close his lips; his words came out muffled.

"Sister?" Yan Yan Shuangzi's gaze turned glacial, her foot slowly pressing harder.

"Aaaah!!" The man screamed as his skull was crushed into misshapen ruin, "M-My lord… please… don't…"

Screams and pleas could not soothe Yan Yan Shuangzi's burning hatred.

Everything she endured on Blade Ridge had never left her.

When Yan Yan Shuangzi realized the people on Blade Ridge were beyond redemption, willingly closing their eyes and plugging their ears to continue worshipping Lord Northwind, she felt utter despair.

And fury.

She could only flee—but failed.

The man groveling beneath her foot was one of the squad members who had captured her then.

It was this very squad that dragged her back into the ridge and subjected her to public punishment.

Yan Yan Shuangzi would never forget that day.

Nor the scenes of her escape.

She fled in disgrace, hunted until her body was battered and bleeding; she pleaded with reason, even begged desperately.

All she saw were the cold faces of her fellow sect brothers and sisters.

Coldness was not the most heart-rending.

What truly pierced Yan Yan Shuangzi to the core were the mocking smiles on the faces of a few.

"Crack!"

A crisp sound of bone breaking echoed.

Yan Yan Shuangzi pressed down, grinding the man's skull; her inner fury surged uncontrollably.

"Aaaah! Aaaaaah…" The man shrieked in agony.

"Why did you laugh at me back then?" Yan Yan Shuangzi gazed at the groaning man beneath her foot.

Yet her voice was soft, not like a question.

She already knew the answer.

These words came only from rage, from hatred.

"Crack! Crack!"

The crisp sound of bones shattering made one's teeth ache and flesh tremble.

Yan Yan Shuangzi lost control of her inner malice—and of her foot's force.

The shrieking ceased abruptly.

Blood stained the pristine snow.

Even Zhijiang, with a body far stronger than an ordinary human's, could only die helplessly beneath her feet without the water armor's protection.

Yan Yan Shuangzi's chest heaved violently as she looked down at the corpse.

Suddenly, she realized something—her gaze cleared slightly.

Yan Yan Shuangzi turned her head behind her, and a gentle face met her eyes.

Not a trace of blame.

In his hand, he held a clump of black mist.

Within it floated a face twisted in utter terror.

Yan Yan Shuangzi's face flushed with regret; she opened her mouth: "I—"

"It's fine. Don't hold back," Lu Ran jiggled the black mist in his hand, making the soul within bob up and down. "I'm here."

Yan Yan Shuangzi's expression was complex as she stared into Lu Ran's eyes.

After a long while, she bent down, plucked the divine power bead necklace from the man's body, and softly murmured, "Mm."

Lu Ran activated the teleportation mirror and stepped inside.

Yan Yan Shuangzi, clutching the divine power bead necklace, dragged the corpse by its ankle into the mirror.

Beyond the mirror lay a natural cave.

Inside, darkness reigned.

Yan Yan Shuangzi, with her night vision, saw a young man sitting on the ground, back pressed against the stone wall.

"Sit." Lu Ran held a black mist sphere in one hand and patted the ground beside him with the other.

Yan Yan Shuangzi casually tossed the corpse aside, strode over with her long legs, leaned her back against the stone wall, and slid down to sit.

"Here." Lu Ran held the Soul Prison in one hand and brought it before Yan Yan Shuangzi's face.

The soul fire quietly ignited.

"Ah! Ahh! Aaaaah..." Screams echoed within the cave, far more wretched than before.

Yan Yan Shuangzi raised both hands, holding Lu Ran's arm and the back of his hand, silently watching the man undergoing cruel torture inside the Soul Prison.

The faint soul fire burned for a full 60 seconds.

Every second, for Yan Yan Shuangzi, was an erasure of hatred, while the lost soul within had been tortured beyond recognition.

Burning and destruction on the soul level were a hundred or a thousand times more terrifying than the bone-piercing, heart-eating agony on the flesh level.

The soul fire finally extinguished; in the darkness, the command voice of the youth in the imperial robe came: "Shut up."

"Wuuuu..."

The lost soul in the prison wanted to be quiet, yet could not stop weeping; that face, extremely distorted, had its features seemingly displaced.

"Can you interrogate?" Lu Ran asked softly.

"Yes!" Yan Yan Shuangzi's palm tightened slightly, gripping the back of his hand.

"Mm." Lu Ran tilted his head back, pressing against the stone wall, and transmitted his voice to the Great Da Da Mengyan.

The Da Da Mengyan Protector leading the other squad was still searching in the ice and snow; they could stop now.

"How many of you escaped?"

"Wu, wu..." The lost soul was still trembling, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Do you want to be burned again?" Yan Yan Shuangzi's tone was icy cold.

In a daze, Lu Ran thought it was the Great Da Da Mengyan interrogating.

These two girls, even their tones were so similar.

"Twenty! Twenty-two! Later we gathered more than ten others, a total... a total of thirty-seven!" The captive hurriedly replied.

"Be specific."

"Thirty-five Lord Bei Feng believers, two slaves; they were Ice Butterfly disciples. We caught them on the run by the way... caught them..." The captive replied in a rush.

"How many Ming Hai Jing?" Yan Yan Shuangzi furrowed her brows slightly.

"Six Ming Hai Jing! Six..."

"Is he here?" Yan Yan Shuangzi said in a low voice.

"He?" The captive paused for a moment, then realized, "Elder Xing? Yes, yes! We escaped following him."

Yan Yan Shuangzi involuntarily clenched both hands.

Lu Ran said nothing; the vast sea naturally would not mind a bit of force from Jiang Jing.

Yan Yan Shuangzi reacted quickly.

She immediately loosened her grip, gently rubbing the bones of his hand: "On Blade Ridge Peak, I only saw the corpses of eight Ming Hai Jing believers.

I remember, there were seventeen Ming Hai Jing on Blade Ridge Peak in total; you only have six here. Where are the others?"

"I don't know!" The man replied in a trembling voice, "That night was too chaotic; the Peak Master, my lord, went mad from internal energy deviation. Junior sister... Er-ah! Aaaaah!"

The soul fire ignited again.

Lu Ran turned his head slightly, looking at the soul being tortured in his palm: "Who is your junior sister?"

"Y-yes, s-sorry, s-sir, m-my lord, d-don't, I beg you, don't burn again, aaaaah..."

Lu Ran was nearly laughed into anger!

It was really hard to understand how this person had the face to use that title again.

Yan Yan Shuangzi silently listened to the screams until Lu Ran withdrew his technique, then she asked: "Your hiding place is right here?

You were lying on the mountain peak, acting as a lookout?"

Fearing torture again, the captive poured out intelligence information in one go: "Yes! That night, we kept fleeing north, daring not to stop, flying the whole time!

Until we flew here; this place has the Black Lotus Clan, and they hardly move at all.

Elder Xing ordered us to clear out an area and use the surrounding Black Lotuses as guards."

"Hmph." Lu Ran curled his lip.

They did have a bit of cleverness.

With the Black Lotus Clan surrounding the perimeter, anyone approaching would have their attention drawn by the giant lotuses.

On the other hand, if the Black Lotuses detected a target, they would attack proactively, which could also alert the remnants of Blade Ridge Peak that enemies had entered this area.

Facts proved this method worked!

Lu Ran and Yan Yan Shuangzi were the best examples; the lookout did indeed spot the two of them first.

However, Lu Ran killed enemies too quickly, and his gaze was too sharp.

The man, situated on a mountain peak far away, could not clearly see the specific appearances of Lu Ran and the other person, yet the two saw the man perfectly clearly.

Yan Yan Shuangzi said in a cold voice: "How many lookouts like you are there?"

"Sixteen! Elder Pang personally selected sixteen Black Lotuses and had us hide near the lotuses, keeping watch day and night. If we saw the Peak Master attacking, we would immediately return to report."

Hearing the three words "Elder Pang," the ferocious and violent qi in Yan Yan Shuangzi's heart surged once again.

When she first became the Evil Shadow, she was just as fierce and violent, making it so Lu Ran couldn't even sleep.

It took a long time of adjustment before she truly became a silent, invisible shadow.

Now, hearing news of the people of Blade Ridge Peak again, Yan Yan Shuangzi had returned to her former self.

Yan Yan Shuangzi: "From where you are to your hiding place, exactly how far is it? In which direction?"

"The hiding place is to the northwest, about twenty or thirty kilometers! The hiding place is inside the mountain body, very concealed. I will take you there, I will take you there..."

"That far?"

"Yes, yes, Elder Xing ordered us to unleash the storm or summon the Lord Bei Feng God Blade if we detected anything."

Lu Ran sneered inwardly.

What a clever Elder Xing—truly clinging to his life!

He deliberately kept a distance of twenty to thirty kilometers, just so he could run away, right?

These Lord Bei Feng disciples are beyond saving—completely subservient, thoroughly broken by Elder Xing, willing to die for him.

"Huu~"

Lu Ran suddenly raised his other hand and performed Xie Fa: Mirror Flower, Moon Reflection.

At this moment, Deng Deng Yuxiang's other squad had returned to the designated cave; seeing the floor mirror activated, she immediately ordered everyone to step inside.

In a pitch-black environment, Lu Ran's voice echoed: "Da Da Mengyan, take Bai Lao and the others back to Yunhai Cliff first—assemble the battle sequence and gather in the Council Hall!"

"I and Wuying will circle around the enemy's hiding place first."

"Circle around?" Deng Deng Yuxiang frowned in confusion.

"Yes, Wuying and I will clear out the outer sentries first—not one left alive." Lu Ran opened another teleportation mirror, directly linking to Yunhai Cliff. "Have everyone ready!"

"Inside the enemy's hideout, there are six Ming Hai Jing—none of them can escape!"

"Yes." Deng Deng Yuxiang suppressed her urge to ask more and immediately obeyed, leading her team away.

Lu Ran weighed the black mist cluster in his hand. "Where's the nearest sentry post to you?"

"West, my lord—west!"

Lu Ran looked at Yan Yan Shuangzi: "I eat it?"

"Mm." Yan Yan Shuangzi gave a slight nod, her cold gaze falling upon the Soul Prison Cluster, watching the increasingly terrified face within.

Goodbye,

Never again.

Providing nourishment for your master's growth is your final value.

"Eat? What? Wait! My lord, please wait—"

The black mist shattered; the desperate cries of the soul vanished.

Lu Ran didn't bother opening his eyes; once he felt the soul drawn into his pupils, he stood up and activated a teleportation mirror.

Yan Yan Shuangzi rose instantly and followed.

The two, one after the other, returned to the snow-capped mountain peak.

Though the man's corpse had been dragged away, the crimson bloodstains remained on the snow.

Lu Ran glanced at the blood-slicked ground, then turned his gaze westward, gazing far into the distance.

Blade Ridge Peak Master

You exterminated your family, but not thoroughly enough.

I'll do it!

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(End of Chapter)