At the bottom of the Cloud Sea Cliff, inside a small cave.

Piercing screams echoed, lingering for a long time.

"Enough, stop screaming!" Lu Ran withdrew the black fire burning the soul.

"Mmm... Unnn." The man was terrified, no longer daring to scream, but the lingering pain caused him to make strange sounds.

Lu Ran leaned against the entrance of the cave, asking, "Which faction do you belong to?"

In Lu Ran's view, these four Disciple of Yan Qing from the River Realm had to be part of some organization, planning to sneak in from the ocean.

"The Sea Min Gang! Sir! We are from the Sea Min Gang!" the man quickly shouted.

His appearance was as if he was afraid of being slow to answer and suffering more torture.

"The Sea Min Gang?" Lu Ran was quite surprised.

He actually knew about this organization!

The Xun Luo couple had once said that there were once two forces here that vied for power, merged, and went to sea in search of the Immortal Island.

After the merger of the two forces, they were called the Sea Min Gang!

"Yes, the Sea Min Gang! The Sea Min Gang..." the man said hurriedly.

"Did you find the Immortal Island?" Lu Ran frowned slightly.

The man was clearly taken aback: "Master, you... you know of us?"

Lu Ran's face turned grim: "Am I chatting with you?"

The man jumped in fright, hurriedly saying, "We found it! There are many islands at sea, some of which are rich in Holy Spirit Energy!"

Lu Ran nodded gently, "Did your Sea Min Gang plan to return after scouring all the Holy Spirit Energy?"

He thought these four might be a vanguard unit.

If so, the Cloud Sea Cliff must be on high alert; a tough battle might be coming!

Unexpectedly, the man wailed, "We escaped from there. Ever since we found the Immortal Island, we've been surrounded."

"Oh?"

"The ocean is too dangerous: Mo Li, Old Fisherman, the Wrath Flame Flood Dragon... especially the Sea Merfolk Clan, who take pleasure in tormenting us every day!"

Lu Ran snorted coldly.

Merfolk, essentially the mermen.

The Evil Demon Sea Merfolk Clan all appeared male, human-like with fish tails, each possessing a noble, elegant charm.

Like the Tangled Silk Shadow and the Rouge Paper Man among the Evil Demon races, the more attractive individuals are, the more cruel their means of torment.

And the Sea Merfolk Clan are mortal enemies of the Yan Qing sect!

If not kill you, who would they kill?

Actually, the evil demons of the Holy Spirit Mountain Realm should prioritize collecting Holy Spirit Energy.

So being "mortal enemies" might not genuinely be the root cause of conflict.

Probably, these Disciples of Yan Qing ventured into the Sea Merfolk Clan's territory, infringing on their fundamental interests.

The man continued his lament, "We were trapped on an island, surrounded by Sea Merfolk, enduring their sonic attacks daily.

We hid, fearing that the Wrath Flame Flood Dragon flying above might discover us."

Lu Ran interrupted, "And then you escaped?"

The man hurriedly replied, "We had a division among us internally..."

As the captive recounted, Lu Ran quickly understood the gist.

Confronted with their encirclement, the Sea Min Gang divided into two factions.

One faction wanted to wait for a stormy night to escape the Immortal Island from the air, continue searching for the next Immortal Island, and keep collecting Holy Spirit Energy for the Divine Lord.

Only thus could they possibly earn the Divine Lord's favor!

Only thus could the Divine Lord, in his great mercy, permit the Believers to return to the Human World!

This faction formed the majority.

The other small faction wanted to return to the original base.

Though returning meant abandoning hope, compared to the perilous ocean, a few still preferred not to perish here and were unwilling to search for another Immortal Island.

Ultimately, severe conflict erupted within the Sea Min Gang.

The fervent Believers would not tolerate the unfaithful Disciple of Yan Qing!

The Divine's will is supreme; how could Believers betray their faith for self-preservation?

Many, tired of the Holy Spirit Mountain Realm and wanting to return home, wouldn't allow discontent to sway the morale!

Thus, fellow disciples turned against each other.

Fortunately, the Divine Technique of the Yan Qing faction appears in a water form.

Moreover, the Yan Qing faction is unaffected by Water Attribute Skills...

It was a case of "taught by the same master, unable to counter each other.".

This is how a small group managed to escape the Immortal Island.

They first fought their compatriots, then some were slain by Evil Demons, got separated from others during the escape, and finally, a four-person team made it to the Cloud Sea Cliff.

"Heh." Lu Ran scoffed.

Feel sorry for them?

Feel sorry, my foot!

Lu Ran harshly said, "You've suffered so much! Instead of thinking about recuperating, seeing someone ascending, your first thought was to harm them?"

"I'm sorry, Master, I'm sorry, it was our foolishness, it was us..." The man was panic-stricken, begging for mercy repeatedly.

Lu Ran impatiently interrupted: "Enough nonsense! I just want to know what you were thinking?"

The man stammered, suddenly changing course, "We...we didn't intend to harm anyone, we...ahhhh!"

Before he finished, Lu Ran's palm ignited with a faint Soul Fire.

Screams filled the air, mixed with sobbing pleas.

Lu Ran burned for a full ten seconds before extinguishing the flame.

"We have been away too long!" The man cried loudly, no longer daring to lie, "After returning, we found a new power emerging here, someone advancing!"

Lu Ran looked at the man coldly, "And then?"

"We wanted to secretly investigate to see if this power was established by Believers of Yan Qing, and if so, we'd try to join. If not..."

"What then?"

"Then... we'd sabotage their advancement, act first... Master! Master, I know I was wrong, I told you, please spare me..."

Lu Ran's face turned grim, "This place is far from your old base."

The Cloud Sea Cliff is truly at the sea's edge.

The Sea Min Gang's base is hidden deep within the mountains and forests.

The man's face was bitter, trembling as he said, "It's only a matter of time before we meet, be it three to five months, or ten to eight years, eventually... eventually, we'll meet."

Lu Ran closed his eyes, sighing deeply.

The customs and rules of the Holy Spirit Mountain weren't formed overnight.

Thinking about it now, the Martial Monk girl's endeavors are likely to be fraught with obstacles.

The man dared not make a sound, filled with regret.

Who could have anticipated encountering such a formidable foe?

If he had known, he would have followed the main force to find the Immortal Island!

Perhaps, if enough Holy Spirit Energy was gathered, the Divine Lord would truly show mercy...

Lu Ran suddenly asked, "Only the four of you?"

"There were over ten of us who escaped; the rest got separated, potentially slain by Evil Demons. Only the four of us landed together."

"Hmm, you mentioned many Immortal Islands at sea?"

"Yes, the first two islands we landed on lacked Holy Spirit Energy, possibly collected by the Old Fisherman or Evil Mirror Demons..."

Lu Ran's spirit lifted, his voice raised slightly, "What did you say? Evil Mirror Demons?"

"Ah... uh!" The man replied, trembling, unsure why the young man reacted so strongly, rushing to respond, "There's an Evil Mirror Demon clan on the island!"

Lu Ran was surprised and delighted, "Did you see them?"

"Master, I personally saw a mirror open in the sky, an Evil Mirror Demon showed its upper body, catching the Holy Spirit Energy falling from the sky!" the man said confidently.

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

No wonder people couldn't locate the base of the Evil Mirror Demons.

It turns out they were on an island?

Indeed, though this race is land-dwelling, they possess Teleportation Skills, enabling free passage between islands.

The only question is whether the Evil Mirror Demon seen by this captive was an individual or part of a group.

Lu Ran immediately asked, but the response was vague.

According to the captive, he did see the Evil Mirror Demon, supposedly on a distant island.

As for whether it was a single being or a community, or if there's an Evil Nest on the island, he didn't know.

At that time, he, along with the members of the Sea Min Gang, were trapped on the Immortal Island.

No way to escape by land or sky, they awaited a stormy night, hoping to fly out given heavy rain.

"In a couple of days, I'll interrogate you again." Lu Ran stated, "Then you must recount everything you saw and heard on your sea voyage."

"Master! Master, I can speak now, please don't..."

"Silence." Lu Ran directly summoned the Ancient Bronze Mirror.

Further interrogations would wait for Xun Yifei's successful ascension.

As he entered the formed ground mirror, Lu Ran arrived at the western area of the Cloud Sea Cliff, where Deng Yuxiang was stationed.

"Sect Leader?"

"It's me." Lu Ran responded immediately, sighing internally at her powerful abilities.

In such gales and storms, she sensed the Divine Power fluctuation.

"Here, first hold this captive, and we'll interrogate him together once the Cloud Sea Cliff stabilizes." Lu Ran walked swiftly to Deng Yuxiang's side.

"Yes." Deng Yuxiang reached for him, frowning slightly, "Hmm?"

Lu Ran also sensed it; the energy on the cliff seemed denser?

"Continue to stand guard." Lu Ran handed over the captive and summoned another ground mirror.

Stepping through, Lu Ran stood in the air between the sea and sky, kilometers from the Cloud Sea Cliff.

It's said that the onlooker sees more clearly!

Having left the Cloud Sea Cliff area, Lu Ran witnessed a magnificent sight!

Thick, dense fog churned between heaven and earth, rushing towards the Cloud Sea Cliff.

This was clearly the white fog granted from above during Xun Yifei's ascension.

Lu Ran examined it closely, noting the higher-grade celestial phenomenon!

Within the fog, considerable mist swirled orderly, forming mighty Fog Dragon Rolls linking sky and cliff.

Is this... a phenomenon triggered by the advancement of a Divine Weapon?

Lu Ran slightly opened his mouth, increasingly excited.

He wanted to ask Yan Shuangzi, but feared disturbing her.

The Ink-Dyed Blade, Cold Nether Blade, Cold Moon Blade, Evil Moon Scimitar...

The Divine Weapon changed names multiple times, passed hands several times, wandering the Mountain Realm for decades.

Until two months ago, it finally met the person it deemed worthy, willingly entrusted for life.

And Yan Shuangzi, with her Evil Moon Scimitar, was about to open the Divine Weapon Domain!

"Rumble!!"

Sudden sounds erupted, deafeningly!

"Hiss..." Lu Ran's face turned pale, gasping.

That wasn't thunder.

It was the ominous sound unique to the Holy Spirit Mountain Realm, coming from above the clouds!

Clenching his teeth, Lu Ran tightly covered his ears, glaring angrily at the sky.

Bunch of bastards!

Someday, my Evil Shadow's Evil Moon Scimitar will cut into you!

...

Requesting some monthly tickets.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.