Chapter 797: You

Though Lu Ran's expression was grim, his heart was pounding with fear.

Just moments ago, he nearly got pierced through the back by a flying sword.

The flying sword thrown by a Sea Realm cultivator—its force, speed, and utterly terrifying destructive power—left Lu Ran trembling.

Before such output, how different was his Jiang-grade Water Armor from a sheet of paper?

Even if Lu Ran draped himself in all his "paper" gear—Night Shade Robe, Evil Cloud Cloak, and more—it was useless.

Level suppression and technique-grade domination simply left no room to live.

Lu Ran recalled the scene he'd just endured, and his heart turned cold.

What chilled him further: he had almost no chance of inflicting meaningful damage on this Sea Realm elder.

Sigh.

I need to find more Sacred Spirit Qi and quickly cultivate the Flame Sky Divine Form.

Without the Flame Sky Divine Method · Flame Sky Sovereign, I can't break through anyone's defense!

"Gulping."

"This—" Two Ice Butterfly disciples hovered midair, dumbfounded, staring at the young man standing proudly atop the peak.

No matter how panicked Lu Ran felt inside, he carried himself with absolute composure.

His face was grim, his words resounding with authority!

"You!" Dongfang Ning clenched her teeth, fingers trembling with rage.

Right before her eyes, Lu Ran had slain one of Jian Yi's disciples!

Truly audacious beyond belief!

Worse still, despite her repeated attempts to save him, she hadn't been able to pull him back.

Earlier, the tall woman's scoff and her commanding "Slay!" hadn't shattered the peak—instead, it had sealed her own death!

How ironic.

"You are a follower of the Evil Dog." Leng Jin spoke coldly.

Whether her companions noticed or not, she had to get this message out.

"Heh." This time, it was Lu Ran's turn to sneer.

He shrugged: "Evil demon disciple, divine believer—what's the difference? Oh, there is one."

Lu Ran glanced left and right, spotting the Ice Butterfly disciples shivering in the snowstorm.

"Ah!"

The two Ice Butterfly disciples froze in terror, scrambling backward, then paled as they remembered something.

He's a follower of the Evil Dog!

What good is flying faster or retreating farther?

Lu Ran looked up at the sky: "There is a difference. I don't slaughter the innocent. I don't enslave my own."

"Hah." Dongfang Ning laughed bitterly.

Her icy gaze pierced like two frost-coated blades straight into Lu Ran's eyes.

"Gulping." Lu Ran's Adam's apple moved.

He didn't want to show fear, but level suppression weighed like a mountain, crushing his breath.

It constantly reminded all beings: never dare to defy your superiors.

Lu Ran forced down his heart's pounding and shouted: "Let's make a deal, Elder."

If you're willing to let this go and leave now, your two companions here will live unharmed."

What do you say?"

Dongfang Ning's eyes flew wide open!

She had just been threatened?

And by a Jiang-grade brat?

Bastard!

How dare you humiliate me like this?

Dongfang Ning's chest heaved violently, her Sea Realm aura flooding the sky and earth!

Her two companions beside her turned pale, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Indeed, Lu Ran's words reminded Dongfang Ning: just now, I killed your companion right before your eyes!

Now I'm telling you plainly: if you don't retreat, I'll kill again!

Today, your precious hand—

You'll raise it, whether you want to or not!

"Good! Good! Good!" Dongfang Ning spat through gritted teeth, her face glazed with frost. "I'll see just how good your skills really are!"

"Swoosh~ Swoosh~"

The next instant, dozens of flying swords shot from Dongfang Ning's palm.

Careful count—over thirty!

The swords whirled at blinding speed around the three, forming a terrifying blade storm.

Dongfang Ning's voice was glacial as she gave the order: "Jiao E, Leng Jin—Frost Dominion of the Nine Realms!"

The short woman called "Jiao E" didn't want to unleash her ultimate technique.

In fact, after witnessing Lu Ran's ruthless demeanor and terrifying methods, Huang Jiao'e had already decided to retreat.

And just now, Lu Ran's threat had struck straight into her heart.

She didn't want to die!

She didn't want to provoke such a demon from the Evil Camp!

But Huang Jiao'e had no choice but to obey.

Dongfang Ning's authority was absolute—no one dared defy it!

Jian Yi disciples were comrades who helped each other, but their sect enforced an ironclad hierarchy.

To put it bluntly, given Dongfang Ning's own strength and her status on the Sacred Spirit Mountain·Sword Peak, even if she ordered Huang Jiao'e to commit suicide, Huang Jiao'e would have to comply.

Otherwise, Huang Jiao'e's fate would be worse than death.

"Yes!" Reluctantly, Huang Jiao'e raised her hand shakily.

But as she lifted her right hand, she flicked countless sword shadows backward into the forest below.

When the illusory sword shadows struck the ground, they instantly transformed into human figures.

Jian Yi Divine Art·Sword Dance of Clear Shadows!

After advancing to Jiang-grade, the user could freely teleport between these shadow figures.

In a sense, it was a form of instant movement.

A lifesaver in critical moments!

Beside her, Leng Jin performed the same motion without hesitation, decisively raising her right hand.

She understood clearly: the feud between them was now irreconcilable.

Lu Ran was so young and already this powerful—what if the one ascending in the mountains was even more terrifying?

If that person succeeded, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Lu Ran's heart sank as he stared at the endless flying swords circling the three above.

If he flashed into that storm, death was almost certain.

High above, two colossal blades of frost and snow slowly assembled.

Their aura was immense, ready to cleave mountains and rivers apart!

Lu Ran's face grew even darker, his gaze icy: "Fine. Then let me show you, Elder, what I'm truly capable of!"

He gripped the Radiant Light Blade, point upward, vertical before him.

"Hummm!!"

The next instant, the Radiant Light Blade trembled, flooding heaven and earth with golden-red light.

Huang Jiao'e's face paled: "God-weapon domain?"

Leng Jin's pupils contracted slightly.

This kid, younger than her, not only possessed a god-weapon—he'd activated a domain?

That dazzling black-ice blade was radiant indeed, but the man standing atop the peak, wielding it, was even more brilliant!

For a moment, Leng Jin felt as if she saw divinity radiating from the youth.

Could he really be an evil demon disciple?

Those eyes, glowing golden-red—how could they be so majestic, so radiant?

"Huu~"

Streams of radiant light burst from the blade.

Like soft silk, like brilliant brocade.

Frost and snow still drifted in the air, wind howling.

But as each brilliant ribbon of light rose upward, every flake of frost and snow along its path was instantly incinerated.

"Cut!!" Dongfang Ning glared at the youth atop the peak, her temples throbbing.

Huang Jiao'e and Leng Jin slammed their palms downward.

Winds raged, frost and snow surged violently.

Two enormous ice-and-frost greatswords slashed toward Gaoshan.

Strands of brilliant brocade flew at astonishing speed toward the horizon.

"Sssss."

When the ice-and-frost greatswords met the brilliant brocade, there was no earth-shattering explosion as expected.

Instead, it sounded like vaporization?

If the ice-and-frost greatswords were "hundred-fold forged steel," then the radiant aurora was "pliable as silk."

The brilliant brocade wrapped around the ice-and-frost greatswords, coating their frost-laced blades.

Each strand of aurora burned as it traveled, consuming all in its path.

The ice-and-frost greatswords were slowly incinerated to ash, turning into white steam, then scattered by the wind.

Jian Yi's technique: Frost Chill the Nine Provinces?

Destroy heaven and earth? Shatter mountains and rivers?

No!

Wherever the aurora passed, frost and snow vanished, leaving clear skies and fresh air!

In days past, the Divine Weapon Domain: Auspicious Clouds could repel the Ghostly Night March of the Paper Phoenix clan; now, it could burn Jian Yi's technique: Frost Chill the Nine Provinces to cinders.

Dongfang Ning's face turned ashen, fists clenched tight.

Had it not been for the Waterflow Armor, her nails would have sunk into her palms.

"Hm?" Lu Ran frowned slightly, his ears twitching.

Someone else is coming?

The two Ice Butterfly disciples had already fled far away—after all, with Immortals dueling here, mortals naturally feared collateral damage.

But this newcomer, despite witnessing the celestial phenomenon, still approached slowly—clearly, they had some skill.

Lu Ran's heart grew heavy: multiple strands of aurora were already racing toward the three Jian Yi disciples!

"Retreat!" Huang Jiaoe cried out in alarm.

"Master Dongfang?" Leng Jin called out, also retreating on her sword.

Sword cultivators move fast—truly fast!

Even though the aurora flew at incredible speed, it still couldn't catch the retreating sword riders.

"Swoosh~ Swoosh~"

Countless flying swords pierced through the aurora.

A few flying swords were outright incinerated, dissolving into mist.

The strands of aurora looked like golden-red brocade, but had no physical form.

"Aaaah!!"

Suddenly, a piercing scream tore through the sky.

Huang Jiaoe?

More than ten strands of aurora shattered the trio's formation—just as the Jian Yi disciples were each gripped by terror, Lu Ran moved!

Leng Jin's heart froze in horror!

If Huang Jiaoe was under attack, why didn't she teleport away?

Didn't she leave behind spirit shadows in the mountains earlier?

Was she mentally shattered, unable to flee?

What dark art had this dog-faced youth used?

All their meticulous preparations had been a joke!

Cold sweat broke across Leng Jin's forehead—she realized she'd only been lucky, merely not chosen by the dog-faced youth.

His threats still echoed in her ears: since they wouldn't show mercy, he'd keep killing!

Now,

the dog-faced youth's revenge had come!

"Aaaah!!"

Far in the sky, Huang Jiaoe had just escaped the deep crimson illusion world—her body and mind felt pierced by ten thousand needles.

Her eyes bulged; she clawed desperately at her hair.

Her sword beneath her wobbled erratically; her Waterflow Armor no longer held steady.

The spirit shadows she'd carefully maintained across the mountains, tied to her mind, shattered one after another!

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"

An endless rain of swords rained down, the terrifying whistling making hearts tremble.

This time, Dongfang Ning's flying swords made no effort to avoid her allies.

In an instant, Huang Jiaoe was pierced to death by a storm of blades.

As the sword rain descended, Lu Ran's heart rose to his throat—his Evil Awareness and Evil Sensitivity maxed out.

The instant he activated Evil Shadow Flash, he twisted and tilted his body with all his strength, barely dodging two speeding flying swords.

"Shhh!"

Lu Ran appeared atop the snow-capped peak.

The mountain beneath his feet, like himself, stood firm and unshaken!

But Lu Ran's right waist had been torn—his clothing and Waterflow Armor both ripped—and a shallow but clear sword cut marred his left cheek.

Blood slowly dripped from the wound.

In the sky, the strands of aurora had already faded.

The Divine Weapon Domain required Lu Ran and the Aurora Blade to cast jointly—since he'd launched his attack, the aurora strands couldn't last long.

"Thud!"

The dead Huang Jiaoe plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily onto the snowfield, kicking up clouds of snow.

Lu Ran wiped the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, staring at Dongfang Ning—shocked and furious.

He spoke in a low voice, repeating his words as if begging, each syllable deliberate, yet threatening:

"I beg you, Elder, show mercy!"

(End of Chapter)