Chapter 922: Raiding the Bandit Lair?

River Realm Stage Four, River Realm Stage Five

"Don't stop, don't," Lu Ran silently prayed, naturally hoping the Jade Talisman Sculpture would continue vibrating.

But in the next second, Lu Ran sighed.

The Jade Talisman Sculpture halted at River Realm·Stage Five, then fell silent.

No further growth?

Damn!

Excluding the six guards below the mountain, the Fire Gate members slew twenty-five bandits within the stronghold.

Among them, eleven were Jade Talisman disciples—yet they still couldn't push the Sculpture to River Realm?

Keep in mind that advancing the River Realm Statue is relatively easy.

Just one hundred River Realm spirits are enough to elevate a River Realm Sculpture by one minor stage.

That's equivalent to ten River Realm spirits, or ten strands of pure Sacred Spirit energy.

These eleven Jade Talisman devotees have been terrorizing this place for years—did they not even collect a few strands of Sacred Spirit energy?

Lu Ran was deeply puzzled.

Could it be that all the Sacred Spirit energy was absorbed by Luo Tian Tu and Lady Kong?

How much Sacred Spirit energy must be contained within the souls of that pair of scoundrels?

Lu Ran's heart leapt with excitement!

If I could slay them and seize their souls—wait!

"Slap!" Lu Ran smacked his own forehead.

I knew something felt off—the number didn't add up! I missed three souls!

My head really was addled from the shock.

Three souls are still imprisoned inside the Ancient Bronze Coin on the Great Nightmare's wrist!

【Great Nightmare, where are you?】

【Searching the mountain.】 Deng Yu replied, 【No fugitives found. The guards below provided accurate intel.】

【Give me your location—I'm coming to you.】

【One hundred meters west of the main peak, the largest house—that should be Luo Tiantu's residence.】 Deng Yu spoke as she kicked open the door.

She stepped inside, glancing around and noticing plenty of furniture, exquisitely crafted.

Eight Immortals table, wooden stools and chairs, dressing table, canopy bed

Are there skilled artisans among the Tiantu Mountain bandits?

"Hmph." Deng Yu sneered, her gaze sweeping over the finely polished stone teapot and teacups on the table.

They know how to enjoy life.

She searched briefly, her eyes locking onto a large wardrobe.

She yanked open the door—and her sharp eyes flickered with surprise.

The wardrobe, of course, was meant for clothes.

But there were far too many—and they were all pure white!

Though some were long, some short, some robes, some skirts, every single one was white.

"Huh?" A voice of mild astonishment came from behind.

Deng Yu turned to see Lu Ran entering, curiously eyeing the wardrobe.

She gestured toward it: "Now you've got clothes to wear."

In this primitive world, delicate garments from the mortal realm were precious resources.

But Lu Ran gestured to his own attire: "This smoke cloak and rain hat? It's the Sacred Spirit Mountain Scripture·Fire God Limited Skin. How could I possibly change it?"

Deng Yu was speechless, turned away, and continued searching the house.

"Really!" Lu Ran removed his hat, pointing to the braid at the back of his head. "You braided this yourself this morning—you forgot? It's part of the limited skin too."

Deng Yu gave him a look of exasperated amusement, then walked to the dressing table and pulled open a drawer.

"Rustle-rustle~"

A crisp, pleasant sound of clinking filled the air.

The drawer beneath the dressing table was filled with all manner of gold and silver jewelry.

Glittering gold, shimmering silver, radiant with treasure-light!

In the mortal world, this alone would ensure a lifetime of wealth.

Lu Ran glanced from afar and muttered: "Damn, these really are bandits!"

Not everyone who came up the mountain wore gold and jewels, nor did everyone wear white robes or skirts.

Yet Luo Tian Tu and his wife had collected so much?

How many people had they robbed?

And in the Sacred Spirit Mountain Realm, do bandits only rob?

Murder and plunder! Murder comes before plunder.

"Rustle-rustle~"

Deng Yu idly riffled through the drawer, picked up a gemstone earring, glanced at it, then tossed it back in.

She bent down, pulled open the lower drawer.

Unlike the upper drawer, crammed with jewelry, the lower one held only a single short blade.

An extravagantly ornate short blade!

Its hilt was pure gold, inlaid with several gemstones of different colors; the blade itself was as long as a forearm, gleaming with cold light.

Deng Yu toyed with it briefly, then tossed it to Lu Ran.

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

Is this the Seven-Star Blade Cao Cao used to assassinate Dong Zhuo?

Of course it was a joke—he had no idea what the Seven-Star Blade actually looked like.

The blade before him had seven gemstones, each the size of a fingertip, embedded in its golden hilt: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet—truly luxurious, undeniably valuable!

"No wonder so many people throughout history loved raiding bandit dens—this is pure gold," Lu Ran muttered.

This was just a casual search of the house.

Remember, Luo Tian Tu and his squad carried at least four divine weapons and artifacts!

Lu Ran remembered clearly!

The Heaven-Trace Sword, Earth-Trace Sword, Weeping Blood Waist Knife, and the jade flower hairpin stuck in Lady Kong's hair.

If the Fire Gate could successfully wipe out this den, those treasures—

How wealthy would the Fire Gate become then?

"Tsk~" Lu Ran clicked his tongue, tracing his finger along the steel blade—never thinking this short sword was merely a decoration.

This was meant to be a weapon for battle!

You can't treat something valuable and ornate like a piece of jewelry.

"Heh." Deng Yu smiled, watching Lu Ran's eyes gleam, then turned and left to continue looting the bandit chief's home.

Moments later, Lu Ran tucked away the "Seven-Star Blade," walked to the dressing table, opened the top drawer, and found the gemstone earring.

Lu Ran had seen everything Deng Yu did.

Her taste hadn't changed.

Since their first meeting at the high school gate, she'd always worn a sparkling red ruby stud in her ear.

Among all this gold and jewelry, the only thing that caught her eye, the only thing she picked up and examined, was this one red ruby earring.

Lu Ran rummaged through the drawer again, found another red ruby earring, and pulled it out: "Sis."

"Hmm?" A woman's voice came from outside.

"Give me the souls from the Soul-Returning Coin. By the way, what sects were they from?"

"One Prisoned Demon disciple, one Jade Talisman disciple, and one I don't know."

"Don't know?" Lu Ran turned toward the door.

"He had no courage to resist, kept begging—I executed him." Deng Yu walked in, speaking casually.

Well then~

Lu Ran grinned.

Thinking about it, he could understand.

After all, even he himself wasn't any braver when facing Deng Yu.

Even though he knew she'd never harm him, her terrifying aura still made his heart race.

"Not planning to keep the souls to extract more intel?" Deng Yu shook her wrist.

Lu Ran: "Keep the Prisoned Demon disciple. I'll take the other two souls."

Deng Yu: "."

The Soul-Returning Coin was only a fragment of a device, lacking a complete spirit.

It could roughly understand Deng Yu's intent, but precise, intricate operations were nearly impossible.

Fortunately, Lu Ran had the Eyes of the Underworld!

After learning the Prisoned Demon disciple's appearance, he had Deng Yu activate the Soul-Returning Coin and release all three souls.

He then swiftly reabsorbed the Prisoned Demon disciple.

"Hum!!"

As the two wraiths entered his body, Lu Ran's face lit up with joy.

Inside his Divine-Monster Sculpture Garden, Yu Fu's divine statue stirred again.

This statue had already reached River Realm · Fifth Stage; now, expanding further would push it toward River Realm's peak!

Deng Yu saw Lu Ran's beaming expression and guessed what had happened.

"Here." A few seconds later, Lu Ran, his mind buzzing, casually tossed a pair of ruby earrings toward her.

Deng Yu caught them effortlessly, staring at the exquisite earrings in her palm, surprised.

Lu Ran smiled: "If you like them, keep them. Swap them with your ear studs."

Life at Sacred Spirit Mountain had already been brutal.

Everyone lived day to day, with no guarantee of tomorrow.

If a small trinket could bring her even a little joy, then let her have it.

Deng Yu's gaze flickered slightly; she softly murmured "Mm," and slowly closed her fingers around the ruby earrings.

Lu Ran added: "By the way, you said you found a slave?"

"Mm. An old man. A follower of the Spellmaster."

"Let's go see him." Lu Ran immediately said. "Raiding his home? We'll wait until we capture Luo Tiantu's soul—then make him lead us to raid his own house."

Deng Yu's lips curled slightly: "Alright."

The two quickly left the mansion. Under Deng Yu's guidance, Lu Ran arrived at a relatively hidden cave entrance.

Inside, the cave was dark and damp; his dog-like nose caught the distinct scent of an elderly man.

After advancing dozens of steps, Lu Ran spotted a wooden prison cell in the distance.

Inside knelt an old man, ragged clothes, disheveled hair.

The old man sensed their arrival and slowly lifted his head, his deeply sunken eye sockets "gazing" at them.

Lu Ran frowned slightly: "Old man, what's your surname?"

The old man fell silent for a moment, then spoke slowly: "Bai."

Lu Ran stepped forward and tapped the wooden bars of the cell: "Your cultivation has reached River Realm. This wooden prison shouldn't be able to hold you, right?"

The old man named Bai said nothing more.

If the prison couldn't contain a slave, then its purpose—

Lu Ran pondered silently.

This wooden cell was likely meant to humiliate and remind the old man: you are now a prisoner.

If so, this old man's former status must have been high.

If he had always been a slave, such measures would be unnecessary.

The cave fell silent. Deng Yu leaned against the stone wall, turning her head toward the entrance, silently keeping watch.

Her hand rested inside her pocket, fingertips gently rubbing the ruby earrings.

Lu Ran suddenly broke the silence: "I heard you're a follower of the Spellmaster, Old Master Bai? If so, you should have been treated as an honored guest."

The old man finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "This old man once belonged to the Sinless Valley."

(End of Chapter)