Gu Yunkai’s eyes twitched, but he didn’t answer Lu Ran’s question. It seemed he felt that his answer was no longer important at this moment.
He fell silent for a while before finally speaking, “The ancient demons are different from other demon races. The bloodline within you has destined you to be in this situation. It was my overconfidence, my stubbornness…”
Lu Ran’s expression changed slightly when he heard these words, and a reddish hue flickered in his eyes. He knew that the demonic energy within him was starting to backlash, but he couldn’t afford to let it happen now. There were still many things he needed to understand, and now was not the time. He maintained his smile on his face and only clenched his hand by his side as he asked, “So, does that mean Master regrets it now? Just because of my identity, my bloodline, do I deserve all of this? Should I be rejected by the one I love and respect?”
Finally, he chuckled with self-mockery, “Indeed, Master may have regretted once before, perhaps in the great battle in the Demon Realm a hundred years ago. You must have been thoroughly disappointed in me back then, right?”
Gu Yunkai looked at the visible surge of dark energy all over Lu Ran’s body. His eyebrows furrowed, and the inner spiritual energy that had been stabilized inside him was showing signs of going out of control again. He struggled to take a couple of painful breaths and said, “Lu Ran, if you could turn back now and confess to Sect Master…”
Lu Ran’s gaze fell on the bloodstains at the corner of Gu Yunkai’s lips, noticing the impact of his own backlash of dark energy on Gu Yunkai. He couldn’t help reaching out his hand, saying, “Master.”
However, Gu Yunkai’s gaze remained fixed on his slender fingertips, and his entire body stiffened. He didn’t continue speaking and turned his face away instead.
Lu Ran’s eyes showed a wounded expression, and for a moment, his outstretched hand hung in mid-air. Finally, he slowly withdrew it, saying, “That’s impossible, Master.”
The despair and pain he had endured over these years had allowed the hatred within him to grow stronger. He wanted to ensure that this person would never look at him with cold eyes again and that he would never experience the despair of being rejected by the most beloved person. So he believed that only by standing in the strongest position could he keep this person by his side. He didn’t want to feel that sense of powerlessness again.
“I only know that if I don’t have the strength I have now, I’m afraid I’ll fall back into the same situation as before, where I was at the mercy of others. So, Master, this time, I can’t follow your guidance.”
Gu Yunkai didn’t seem surprised by his response, but he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he looked somewhat weary. He said, “It seems like you’re determined to oppose the entire Floating Light Sect and the entire Immortal Sect?”
Lu Ran quietly watched him, his gaze filled with indescribable emotions.
“Then today…” Gu Yunkai raised his hand, and a snow-white longsword flew through the air, landing steadily in his palm. “You indeed want to settle things with me. It’s better this way.”
Lu Ran looked at him with a hint of disbelief but ultimately only said in a hoarse voice, “Master, I won’t fight you.”
He said it calmly, even taking a step toward Gu Yunkai’s direction.
But at that moment, Gu Yunkai felt a powerful force uncontrollably overflowing. The released pressure was so intense that it shook the entire mountain peak. Lu Ran’s brow furrowed, and an uneasy expression crossed his face.
A thick black aura also erupted above the main hall. Soon, the area outside the hall became noisy as many disciples, noticing the disturbance, rushed over with torches.
Gu Yunkai knew that this was due to Lu Ran’s severe backlash, and he could hardly sustain the illusion he had created.
As expected, in the next moment, the scene in front of them shattered and disappeared within moments, and the entire main hall returned to its original state.
The overwhelming pressure that had shaken the entire mountain peak had also vanished without a trace.
The disciples outside exchanged puzzled glances, uncertain whether they should enter. The lead disciple asked, “Peak Master, what happened?”
Gu Yunkai retrieved the Mystic Frost sword in his hand and said in a deep voice, “Nothing has happened. Everyone, please withdraw.”
After another half a month of idling on Cloud Crane Peak, Lu Ran had not appeared again during this time. Gu Yunkai’s backlash symptoms grew stronger.
During this period, Sect Master Qinghua came several times to treat his injuries, and Gu Yunkai took the opportunity to prepare his ultimate weapon.
The Demon Sealing Array
Yes, it was precisely what it sounded like, specifically designed to deal with Lu Ran.
[Thinking about the expression on our little Lu Ran’s face when the time comes, it’s a bit hard to part with it.]
[Host, you seem quite excited.]
[No, can’t you see how sad my expression is? It’s just that this array is really dangerous, and I need more practice.]
In reality, this body was primarily skilled in the way of the sword and wasn’t particularly adept with formations. However, this formation had a unique feature: it didn’t annihilate demons but purified demonic energy. What was more important was that it required someone with an extremely high level of spiritual power to maintain the operation of the formation.
Beings like Lu Ran, whose demonic energy was strong to the point of explosion, naturally required someone with a tremendous amount of spiritual power to set up the formation.
As the head of Cloud Crane Peak, even during his time of injury, he had resources such as spirit stones and immortal herbs delivered to him by others. So, even if his backlash was severe, he believed that this formation should work flawlessly when the time came.
Everything was ready; all that was left was for Duan Chongque, the auxiliary, to jump in and stir up trouble.
According to the system’s information, the situation between the demon race and the immortal sects has escalated to the brink of confrontation, with tensions running high. Apart from Lu Ran, who has accumulated a significant amount of animosity himself, Duan Chongque also played a significant role.
However, the immortal sects are hesitant to take direct military action, mainly because of their unsatisfactory track record from a hundred years ago. They also haven’t fully assessed Lu Ran’s true strength, which makes them rather wary.
Some sects, which were almost driven to extinction by the demon race, have become desperate. They’ve joined forces to denounce the Floating Light Sect, arguing that since the sect raised this demon, they should be held accountable.
Yet, the Floating Light Sect responded by distancing themselves from Lu Ran, stating that he was expelled from the sect eight hundred years ago and they bear no responsibility for his actions. They made it clear that if others want to deal with Lu Ran, they have to do it on their own. If they try to hide behind and reap the benefits without contributing, they should prepare for others to dance on their ancestors’ graves.
During this period of over half a month, various immortal sects quickly organized an alliance and discussed how to eliminate this demonic threat. Some unidentified sects, behaving shamelessly and unscrupulously, brought up the past deeds of Lu Ran and his master, Gu Yunkai.
Various absurd and disgraceful rumors spread like wildfire, making people wonder if their ears were about to go deaf.
What infuriated everyone was that, as the demon race advanced relentlessly during this time, the immortal sects acted nervously and cautiously, displaying signs of insecurity. This situation led to discussions and debates within the Floating Light Sect.
Certainly, Chongque’s support played a significant role in fanning the flames. This assist was indeed very proficient.
“I’ve been saying all along that the time when Peak Master Gu was in seclusion was very suspicious. My intuition is never wrong. It turns out Peak Master was indeed abducted to the demon realm by that traitor. Otherwise, how can we explain all these coincidences? When Peak Master returned, he immediately confessed to Master Meng, and I’m sure this is part of the reason.”
“Oh, that traitor is not even human! He’s worse than a beast! I’ve been wondering all along who could have injured Peak Master.” The disciple was indignant, and his eyes were almost turning red. However, human nature is inherently gossipy, and he soon seemed to think of a crucial point, and his expression became somewhat ambiguous.
Originally just passing by after a meal, Chu Yan also nodded when he heard it. Indeed, it seemed that his strength had gained general recognition.
But who knew that the disciple would look very indignant and have a hard time controlling his emotions as he said, “During the days when Peak Master was missing, he was in the demon realm. That traitor is so powerful and had ill intentions toward Peak Master for a long time. It must be this or that…”
Chu Yan was about to step in and guide the conversation in a more controlled direction when a stern voice beat him to it.
“Who told you these things?!”
The voice was full of authority and even carried a hint of pressure. The two disciples who had been sweeping immediately dropped their brooms and kneeled down to admit their mistake.
“Disciples acknowledge their mistake.”
Master Meng Xueting was furious, his face turned ashen, but he noticed Gu Yunkai’s indifferent expression and restrained himself with a sigh. He waved his hand towards the two trembling disciples.
“You two, go down to Linghua Peak and accept your punishment.”
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