Chapter 948: A Rain

Strong bows and sharp blades, blood and yellow sand.

When the battle ended, dunes piled high within Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, and corpses littered the ground.

Lu Ran stood atop black clouds, his cold, horizontal pupils watching dozens of slender souls drift up from the earth.

More than forty of them!

This demonic tribe’s strength seems to have exceeded expectations.

Is this the true face of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain?

“Hum~”

Lu Ran lifted his trembling Bahuang Dao, noticing it was again slipping into stillness, and couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Bahuang, Bahuang.

I almost regret giving you this name.

If I’d chosen a different cultivation path, wouldn’t my weapon have long since reached peak mastery, given all I’ve endured since entering the mountain?

Even Bahuang Juemie Dao is this way—let alone Yunhai Chenqing Dao.

Yunhai Chenqing occasionally trembles, but it’s still far, far from becoming a divine weapon.

“Yaa!!” The shriek grew closer, piercing Lu Ran’s eardrums.

A few meters away, a thin, withered wraith shrieked in frantic rage.

The sand-doll corpse was already repulsive; now its face twisted into a grotesque snarl!

As the wraith drew nearer, its tiny hands flailed wildly, long, needle-like nails aiming to gouge out Lu Ran’s eyes.

These ugly little things are truly vicious!

“Puff~ Puff~”

Dozens of corpses in the yellow sand shattered into mist and vanished.

Lu Ran descended on his cloud, activating the Divine Power Pearl to absorb energy while using the Eyes of the Dead Realm to draw in souls: “Jing Hong.”

“Lord?”

“Blow the horn. Scout the situation.”

“Yes!” Jing Hong gripped the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in one hand and a phantom horn in the other.

“Ooo~~~”

The low horn call drifted far, far away.

In Jing Hong’s mind, a blurred map of the terrain rapidly formed.

War Horn Divine Art: Echo Horn!

“Lord!” Jing Hong sheathed the Echo Horn and looked at Lu Ran, who was absorbing the mist, “There’s a large concentration of lifeforms to the northwest.”

“Oh?” Lu Ran squeezed Bahuang Dao.

Looks like our fight can continue!

He immediately asked: “What kind of lifeforms?”

Jing Hong’s face darkened with apology: “I’m sorry, Lord, I—”

“Enough.” Lu Ran cut him off.

The Echo Horn does have an extremely long detection range, but its flaw is severe—the sonic feedback it sends Jing Hong is extremely vague.

In fact, if the enemy is few, Jing Hong might not even sense them.

Precisely because of this, when Jing Hong says there’s a large concentration of lifeforms, the enemy force must be massive!

“Go!” Lu Ran tightened his grip on the hilt, “Head northwest. Keep advancing into Ten Thousand Swords Mountain!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!” The members of the Burning Sect immediately responded.

Lu Ran imagined that the large force Jing Hong sensed was the Evil Dog Clan.

But reality slapped him hard.

It wasn’t the Evil Dog Clan!

It was the far more terrifying, devastatingly lethal Manhuang Nüba Clan!

This time, the Burning Sect had stirred up a massive disaster.

Even with three vast seas within the team, Lu Ran dared not lead them into direct confrontation—he could only fight and retreat.

During the battle, Lu Ran’s mind began buzzing again.

Inside the Divine Demon Sculpture Garden, the Manhuang Nüba demonic statue trembled, expanding rapidly in size.

Lu Ran felt both joy and pain as he led his group in advance-and-retreat maneuvers, weaving through the terrain.

In the end, he absorbed countless souls and finally escaped the region dominated by the Manhuang Nüba Clan.

“Huh”

Over twenty kilometers outside Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, behind a dune, Lu Ran, having escaped death, exhaled deeply.

Those around him were equally shaken.

“Only we could’ve made it.” Lu Ran sat on the ground, leaning his back against the sloping dune.

“What?” Deng Yuxiang poked half her head over the dune, watching the distant Ten Thousand Swords Mountain.

Behind them lay an open desert.

Farther west and north, the terrain of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain was still faintly visible.

“Anyone else would’ve been buried here.” Lu Ran lifted his head, gazing at the woman’s profile beside him, “If we’d landed on this land when we first entered the mountain—”

“We’d have survived.” Deng Yuxiang whispered.

She didn’t deny the environment here was horrific—towering Ten Thousand Swords Mountains bristled with danger, densely clustered, crushing hope.

But she believed she and he would surely walk out.

And they would surely find kindred spirits!

There are people in this world whose spirit and resolve cannot be crushed by any environment.

As long as his will holds, his body will never fall.

Rise is merely a matter of time.

“Boom!!”

Clouds churned in the sky, rumbling with thunder.

Lu Ran froze, looking up.

Not the earth-shattering clash of divine and demonic combat—this was real thunder?

Is the desert going to rain?

“Pitter-patter~”

Rain fell without warning.

In the forest of stone pillars within Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, a fairy in a white robe raised her slender jade hand, letting raindrops fall into her palm.

Is it raining?

Jiang Ruyi gazed up at the heavens.

This was the first time since entering the mountain that she felt thunder and rain.

Behind and to the side of Jiang Ruyi, An Xian’s face lit up with delight; she opened her mouth wide, drinking the rain.

Her state mirrored the cracked earth beneath her feet—long parched, finally blessed with sweet dew.

“Lord!” A bald man hurried over, his ugly face tense with urgency.

“Speak.” Jiang Ruyi pinched a raindrop between her fingers, speaking calmly.

“We’ve detected signs of life to the south. Let’s move north!” Xiong Xiong suggested.

Jiang Ruyi nodded slightly and continued eastward, veering slightly north.

Around her, a hundred-meter radius, the Mountain Woe disciples all shifted northward in unison.

The two Western Desert disciples leading the way, the three Yu Fu followers flying in the middle ring—all reacted.

Only An Xian remained tightly behind and beside the Lord of the Falling Immortal Pavilion.

To An Xian, the tall, slender back of the Lord was majestic and awe-inspiring, filling her with absolute safety.

Since subduing the Crack Mountain Gang, Jiang Ruyi had led her troops for several days.

Under her command, disciples from all sects performed their duties, and the group advanced steadily eastward.

They encountered obstacles along the way—sometimes fighting, sometimes retreating—but always narrowly avoided disaster.

Especially the twelve Mountain Woe disciples within the pavilion—each journey filled them with dread and exhilaration.

If this pace continued, Jiang Ruyi might truly lead them out of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, where they’d been imprisoned for years—even decades!

Not just the Mountain Woe disciples, long weary of the mountain—even the two Western Desert disciples and four Yu Fu disciples secretly thrilled.

Their hearts burned with longing.

What would the world beyond Ten Thousand Swords Mountain be like?

Would there be birdsong, blooming flowers, forests, and streams?

There would surely be powerful sects, cruel and vicious disciples…

But those are matters for later!

First, escape this endless Ten Thousand Swords Mountain!

The day before yesterday, the Lord of the Falling Immortal Pavilion said she had reached a cultivation bottleneck.

The day before yesterday, the Master of the Falling Immortal Pavilion said she had reached a bottleneck in her cultivation.

You can advance from Jiang Realm Stage Four to Jiang Realm Peak.

Unfortunately, the environment does not permit her to break through here.

Get out!

Find a concealed resting spot where the Pavilion Master can ascend in peace.

Such a celestial being, once reaching Jiang Realm Stage Five, will surely ascend to Sea Realm at any moment!

At that time, our Fallen Immortal Pavilion will no longer be a minor sect to be trampled upon.

With Jiang Pavilion Master holding our ground, there must be some corner of this vast Sacred Spirit Mountain where we can survive.

“Lady! Lady Pavilion Master!” A excited voice rang out from afar.

Jiang Ruyi furrowed her brows and looked straight ahead.

Wang Xuyang, a disciple of Shanwei, ran up with a beaming smile and reported, "We're about to leave this Mountain of a Thousand Blades!"

As the team continued forward, the Shanwei disciples scattered across the area sensed the terrain change.

Excited voices faintly echoed in the distance.

“Silence!” Jiang Ruyi’s icy voice pierced through the heavy rain, reaching everyone’s ears.

Wang Xuyang’s face froze; he sheepishly lowered his head.

“Contract the formation,” Jiang Ruyi ordered. Jade Talisman Array materialized around her, slowly rising.

The nineteen-member team swiftly contracted, accelerating their pace until they reached the edge of the Stone Pillar Forest.

Ahead lay another vast, barren desert—identical in monotony.

Yet it was enough to stir their spirits!

After several checks and preparations, the Fallen Immortal Pavilion members streamed out, rushing forward through the steady drizzle.

Until they reached a tall, desolate dune, when Jiang Ruyi couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

The terrain ahead had changed!

From cracked, dry earth, it had become a desert?

For a moment, Jiang Ruyi’s mind grew hazy.

Had they taken the wrong direction?

In her expectation, the farther east they went, the more life they should find.

Yet far to the east, even solid ground and stubborn withered grass had vanished—only endless yellow sand remained. Hmm?

Jiang Ruyi’s eyes sharpened.

“Lady, look over there!” An Xian spoke at once, urgently pointing toward the northeast.

Through the rain, thick dust was swirling?

“Pavilion Master, that is not a natural sandstorm!” Xue Fengchen observed closely and reported, “That is the Western Wasteland Divine Art—Drifting Sands!”

Gao Yunyan’s face darkened: “Given the scale of this sandstorm, it’s likely a Sea-grade Divine Art!”

“Someone from the Sea Realm among the Western Wasteland believers is fighting… huh?”

A chorus of sharp intakes of breath echoed from all sides.

“Th-That’s…?”

“Such a massive scale? This… this…?” Murmurs erupted.

The group had every reason to be terrified!

For from within the thick dust, a colossal sand hand rose violently.

They could see this hand not only because it was enormous, but because it lifted so high—as if about to hurl its enemy into the sky.

Song Yu said gravely: “A Desert Sea believer! Such a massive sand hand—this opponent is surely a Sea Realm powerhouse!”

Jiang Ruyi’s expression turned grim.

Two Sea Realm masters are battling here?

One is a Second-Rank Divine—Western Wasteland believer; the other, a Third-Rank Divine—Desert Sea believer.

Of course, it’s also possible these two factions are clashing here.

“Pavilion Master, shouldn’t we retreat back into Ten Thousand Blades Mountain? We mustn’t let them notice us!”

“Yes, Lady! A Sea Realm expert could crush me with one hand!”

These past two days, Yu has regained some strength; tomorrow I should be able to sit through a full day.

Three chapters tomorrow!

(End of Chapter)