Chapter 908: A Single Ambition

Si Xianxian dropped a stage.

This shattered Lu Ran's illusions.

He had believed that with Yu Changsheng helping to regulate her body, as long as Si Xianxian stabilized her mind, she could maintain her River Realm · Stage One strength.

But reality was cruel.

Si Xianxian had ultimately dropped to River Realm · Stage Five.

As servants of the gods, when humans break their pact, the backlash is immense.

Lu Ran's heart rose again in suspense.

Know this: dropping a stage isn't the worst thing.

The truly terrifying thing is when humans are crushed, fall into despair, and can never rise again.

So for these past days, Lu Ran had stayed by Si Xianxian's side.

On one hand, to care for her body.

Lu Ran's healing techniques were River-grade; whether it was Cage Fire (Bath) or Soul-Returning Carp, the healing effects were excellent.

On the other hand, Lu Ran needed to clarify her path and strengthen her conviction!

Stabilizing her mind was the paramount concern!

Si Xianxian's demeanor reassured Lu Ran again and again.

She had not lost her will.

On the contrary, after tearing up the pact, Si Xianxian seemed to have shed a thousand-pound burden.

That sense of liberation, that genuine inner ease and joy, even made Lu Ran envious!

Lu Ran seamlessly transitioned, forging a succession pact with Si Xianxian and his followers—the False Gods' Lie Tian statues.

Thus, the Mad Immortal was born!

Bearing the mission to shatter Lie Tian and usurp his divine throne, she followed Lu Ran onto a path that would overturn the world.

Several days passed swiftly.

Before long, it was early June.

That morning, Deng Yu found Lu Ran.

At the time, Lu Ran sat on the sea cliff, his lower legs dangling over the edge, occasionally swaying slightly.

Si Xianxian squatted beside him.

The sea breeze brushed gently, tousling her shoulder-length hair and revealing her sweet face.

Yet this woman, both elegant and sweet, moved with childishness—she was, well, squatting and playing in the dirt?

She extended one finger, repeatedly poking the ground, crushing tiny pebbles.

Lu Ran's voice was gentle, murmuring softly.

Si Xianxian occasionally smiled faintly, murmuring a quiet reply.

The scene was beautiful.

To Deng Yu's eyes, it looked as if Lu Ran was tenderly nurturing a fragile flower.

Suddenly, Deng Yu's gaze grew complex.

She realized one thing: the Si Xianxian before her was once herself.

And she was still herself.

Lu Ran had once sat with her in her deepest abyss, patiently accompanying her, carefully tending to her—

Until the flower bloomed again.

"Good morning!" came Lu Ran's voice from afar.

He had sensed someone approaching.

Deng Yu snapped back to herself and hurried forward: "Lord."

Si Xianxian, squatting on the ground, lifted her pretty face to look at this first guardian of the Ruan Sect.

Si Xianxian was the fourth guardian—though the lowest rank, she had at least entered the guardian roster.

For other guardians and divine generals, Lu Ran always respected their personal wishes when choosing their titles; but when it came to Si Xianxian, he simply slapped on the title "Mad Immortal."

Si Xianxian privately doubted the title, but said nothing aloud.

Since leaving Lie Tian's faction, she could go mad and wild without anyone to take the blame.

As Lu Ran had said: "It's purely your own foul temper!"

Now everyone had heard it!

The Lord himself told me to go mad.

"I've hit a cultivation bottleneck," Deng Yu reported formally.

It was as if she were teaching by example, showing Si Xianxian how to interact with the Lord.

"Good news!" Lu Ran's face lit up at once.

After over four months of cultivation, was she finally about to break through? Her progress was already impressive!

River Realm · Stage Five—

Once she reached the peak stage, humans no longer needed any further cultivation.

She would only need one moment of insight to surge violently from River to Sea.

Along this journey, Deng Yu had endured countless trials; now her heart was unshakable, filled with lofty ambition!

Was the Sea Realm really so far?

Lu Ran immediately ordered: "Go to Yunhai Residence, bring Xiao Chifeng, then prepare for your advancement in the meditation chamber."

Deng Yu bowed her head: "Yes."

Lu Ran turned to Si Xianxian, still squatting and playing in the dirt: "Don't just sit idle—when Great Nightmare advances, it's also a prime time for others to cultivate!"

"Go to the meditation chamber too. See if you can climb back up and return to River Realm."

"Yes." Si Xianxian mimicked Deng Yu's posture and nodded.

The Mad Immortal, who had begun a new life, craved power desperately.

After all, to settle scores with Lie Tian and smash that old bastard, she needed absolute strength!

Another point: Si Xianxian didn't much like fish.

As a River Realm cultivator, she needed to eat to sustain her life.

In just a few days, she had grown tired of grilled fish and smoked fish jerky.

Due to scarce ingredients, Sacred Spirit Mountain struggled to produce anything delicious.

Two days ago, Lu Ran had specially created a Mist Realm · Evil Hound, slaughtered it, and improved Si Xianxian's diet with some dog meat.

But Si Xianxian always felt the Evil Hound meat tasted strange.

If she could return to River Realm soon, she wouldn't have to worry about food anymore.

Lu Ran waved his hand: "Alright, go."

The two guardians departed on orders; Lu Ran stood up and sent a mental message: 【Evil Shadow.】

【Here.】

【Besides those two just now, gather everyone on the cliff. Meeting in the council chamber in five minutes.】

【Understood.】

Lu Ran stretched out lazily, gazing at the sky and clouds, grinning fiercely: "Uhhhh~~~"

My Ruan Sect is about to have its fourth Sea Realm adept!

Tian Tu Mountain, your good days are nearly over!

Yes, Lu Ran never believed Deng Yu would remain at River Realm · Stage Five.

What the hell is "Death Five"?

My Nightmare is just passing through—she's the woman who will overthrow Ye Mei and chop apart North Wind!

She's the Great Nightmare who will stand beside me and slaughter the celestial gods and demons!

How could she possibly linger?

With the ambition to overturn the world, we charge straight for the Sea Realm!

The thought of personally cultivating a "Vast Sea" made Lu Ran tremble with excitement.

"Waiting for flowers to bloom—spring comes, spring goes, merciless years laugh at my madness."

Lu Ran, rare in mood to sing, hummed a fitting little tune, leaned back, and his figure flickered and vanished.

When he reappeared, he stood inside the council chamber.

His backward-leaning body settled firmly onto the main seat at the long table.

June 3rd—the heavens manifested an omen!

The mist surging toward Yunhai Cliff signaled to all that the Ruan Sect's first guardian had broken through her bottleneck and entered advancement mode.

Lu Ran knew full well that his little Chifeng had done the heavy lifting, relentlessly pouring power into Deng Yu.

No wonder it was a divine artifact—truly incredible!

Deng Yu had prepared many Spirit Power Pearls, barely absorbed a few—Xiao Chifeng single-handedly propelled her straight to the summit!

With experience from previous events, the Ruan Sect members handled their guard duties far more smoothly this time.

Weapons circled the mountain, scanning for any possible enemies.

The demonic forces each performed their roles; a squad of demonic · Mirror Fiends spread around Yunhai Cliff, frantically refreshing the demonic · Soul-Linking Mirror.

The Mirror Fiends could not remain within the cliff.

After all, any person or object with divine energy fluctuations can appear on the Bonding Mirror.

Not to mention anything else, just the divine power beads of the Ran Sect members alone number in the hundreds!

Then go ahead and scrub against the mirror!

When you scrub and get a string of divine power beads, keep scrubbing for another half day—the scene in the mirror won't change at all.

Additionally, the River Mirror Demon can only wield River-grade divine arts, and the Probe Mirror's detection range is limited to three hundred meters.

Lu Ran's longing to set sail grew harder to suppress.

A few days ago, Lu Ran individually interrogated the souls within the Afterlife Coins, gathering much intelligence and confirming that the Njie Mirror Demons indeed frequented the island.

Lu Ran desperately needs to cultivate Njie Mirror Demon statues!

Similarly, he also needs to collect Sacred Spirit Energy to nurture the divine statues in the Sculpture Garden.

Setting sail must be put on the agenda.

By the way, Deng Yuxiang's promotion within the River Realm requires only two to three days.

Everyone has experienced the prolonged promotion process of the Sea Realm powerhouse Xun Yifei, so looking back at this mere two or three days, it feels almost trivial.

Day and night alternated, clouds and seas shifted.

On the fifth day of the sixth month, the mist in the heavens gradually thinned.

That means Deng Yuxiang succeeded!

Since the Ran Sect took residence at Cloud Sea Cliff, this is the first time a member's promotion occurred without any enemies interrupting!

Even until the mist fully dispersed, Lu Ran found it hard to believe.

He had long been battered by the Sacred Spirit Mountain; now, having peacefully passed through this trial, Lu Ran truly felt unaccustomed.

Unfortunately, no higher-level celestial phenomena appeared in the sky.

The mist tornado never came.

In other words, Si Xianxian failed to return to the River Realm through this blessing.

It seems the backlash from humanity's breach of the pact is even more severe than imagined.

Poor Sister Xian.

Don't worry—I will definitely lift you back up.

【Little Lu Ran.】 A voice echoed into his mind.

At the sea cliff, Lu Ran smiled—he had maintained a spiritual connection with the Night Phantom statue precisely for this moment.

From the voice, it was clear the woman was brimming with confidence.

Lu Ran said directly: 【Congratulations, Great Nightmare! You've reached the peak of the River Realm!】

Deng Yuxiang: 【Did any fools come to disturb us this time?】

【None at all.】 Lu Ran gazed at the sky and smiled, 【The heavens finally opened their eyes for once.】

【Alright, go fetch Little Chi Feng—I'm at the tunnel exit.】

【Coming.】 Lu Ran's figure flickered away.

When he arrived at the forest behind the Nightmare Dwelling, he saw all Ran Sect members gathered there, congratulating the Guardian on his success.

【Master.】

【Master!】 As voices rang out, Lu Ran nodded in acknowledgment and stepped forward to take the Chi Feng Pattern Gourd.

He smiled at Deng Yuxiang and said, "Get ready—you should continue your breakthrough and ascend to the Sea Realm."

Deng Yuxiang's smile froze, as if question marks had appeared above her head.

Are you even listening to yourself?

【Hehe~】 Yu Changsheng couldn't help but laugh.

Xun Luo and his wife also wore amused smiles.

Deng Yuxiang held back her anger, choosing to preserve the Master's dignity in front of everyone.

【What, is it difficult?】 Lu Ran thought for a moment, looking at Deng Yuxiang, 【Aren't you especially obedient?】

Deng Yuxiang raised an eyebrow slightly.

Lu Ran spoke in a conciliatory tone: 【How about this—I command you to break through right now and ascend to the Sea Realm!】

Deng Yuxiang:???

She glared at Lu Ran, unable to hold back any longer.

【Hahaha!】 Seeing this, Yu Changsheng laughed even louder.

【Alright, alright, no more joking.】 Lu Ran, seeing Deng Yuxiang on the verge of exploding, quickly said, 【Return to your meditation chamber and consolidate your realm.】

【I'll take this chance to return the Chan Staff to the Great Wind Hall. When I come back, we'll thoroughly discuss the Sea Realm together.】

【Yes.】 Deng Yuxiang finally nodded and turned toward the hidden cave entrance in the forest.

Lu Ran, full of ambition, gazed at her increasingly distant, graceful figure.

Vast, boundless sea.

I must charge straight into you!

(End of Chapter)