Jiang Ruyi truly lived up to expectations!

That night, when the squad was staying in Stone City, she had a moment of "enlightenment" and successfully advanced.

Unfortunately, only Tian Tian witnessed it, and neither Lu Ran nor Deng Yutang knew about it.

After all, everyone had their own rooms to sleep in.

At that time, Lu Ran was in the bathroom of his room, meticulously washing his blood-stained clothes.

"Right, Lord Immortal Goat," Lu Ran paused in his actions.

He furrowed his brows, pondering, "If I venture deep into the Demon Cave, far enough, I should reach the front line at Stone City's wall.

If I could catch up with the invasion of the Evil Demon army...

Then beneath those walls, there would surely be mountains of corpses!"

The more he spoke, the brighter Lu Ran's eyes became, "What's the maximum range of our Soul Binding?

Can I stand atop the city walls, with the military's help, and extensively reap the souls of Evil Demons?"

This would be far more efficient than if Lu Ran himself were to slaughter the Evil Demons.

A sudden transmission came, "Being too arrogant will expose your presence prematurely."

"Exposed?"

Lord Immortal Goat suddenly asked, "You think we use the souls of Evil Demon minions to nourish the Evil Sculptures in our garden."

Lu Ran was slightly puzzled, "Isn't that the case?"

"No, it's the 'qi.'"

"Qi?"

Lord Immortal Goat explained, "While the Evil Demon minions are independent entities, their life is bestowed by the Evil Demon Stone Statues.

Each minion carries a thread of 'qi' from the Evil Demon's original statue.

This thread of qi, you may understand as the energy source of the Evil Demon's original form.

This thread of qi is hidden deep within the soul of the Evil Demon minions."

Lord Immortal Goat's voice was hoarse and somewhat gloomy as he continued, "Our Evil Demon Sculptures are able to grow continuously and robustly.

This is because we are constantly snatching the energy source from the enemy's statues."

Damn!

Lu Ran was startled.

Isn't this like pulling a tooth from a tiger's mouth?

Lord Immortal Goat warned, "If you bind a large number of souls in a short period of time, it will surely catch the attention of the Evil Demon's original statue.

Then, it would be hard to predict what might happen next."

Lu Ran's head buzzed!

He remained silent for a long while, then said, "But if we keep going like this, constantly snatching the 'qi' from the Evil Demon's original to cultivate our Evil Sculptures...

Sooner or later, they are bound to discover, right?"

Lord Immortal Goat affirmed, "Yes, they definitely will discover.

The sculpture garden in your mind is powerful enough to shake the foundation of the Evil Demon's original.

You must have enough power to withstand the wrath of the Evil Demon's original before they become aware."

Lu Ran stood agape, unable to utter a word.

He thought that every month, the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, was a sword dangling over his head.

But now,

Another sharper, more dangerous sword had appeared!

Lord Immortal Goat gave Lu Ran another harsh reality, "Enduring the wrath is not sufficient to describe what you will face.

You need to realize that you are gradually devouring the Evil Demon's original, robbing them of their energy source!

So, when the Evil Demon's original comes after you one day...

It will be either your death or the demon's demise!"

Lu Ran: "..."

Lord Immortal Goat advised firmly, "Avoid greed and recklessness, do not absorb a large number of souls in a short span."

"I understand," Lu Ran nodded heavily.

Seeing Lu Ran's unease, Lord Immortal Goat instead said, "Don't worry too much.

Every day, a large number of Evil Demon minions die, and during their soul's return journey, some of the 'qi' inevitably gets lost.

Moreover, the Evil Demon's original statue is also constantly strengthening itself.

With the current total volume of souls you have absorbed, it is not enough to catch the attention of the Evil Demon's original."

Lu Ran asked gravely, "Then, to what extent can our Evil Sculptures grow before possibly being detected by the other side?"

Lord Immortal Goat pondered for a moment, then transmitted, "There's no definitive answer.

It might be the River Realm, the Sea Realm, or even a higher realm."

Lu Ran couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, Lord Immortal Goat mentioned the River Realm right off the bat.

That meant, for quite a long time to come, all he needed to do was not deliberately court death.

If he was cautious enough, perhaps he could secretly cultivate his own Evil Sculpture up to the Sea Realm?

Or even a higher realm?

"Lord Immortal Goat!" Lu Ran's mind raced as he asked, "Regarding Soul Binding, can I control it myself?"

While it was called Soul Binding, Lu Ran had never actually made a "binding" gesture.

Every time Lu Ran killed an Evil Demon, the soul would automatically enter the garden.

If he could operate it himself, Lu Ran could go to the frontline and slowly absorb what he needed.

Lord Immortal Goat replied, "You should know that in your spiritual world, there really exists an Evil Demon Sculpture.

Within a fifty-meter radius around you, once an Evil Demon minion dies, the sculpture will automatically absorb their soul.

As the realm of the Evil Demon Sculpture rises, and it grows larger, its absorption range also expands.

Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"I can help you shut down this Evil Demon Sculpture Garden."

"There's really no need to go to such extremes!" Lu Ran immediately rejected the idea, "Please rest assured.

I will definitely proceed slowly, cautiously plotting out a future... ah, I mean, act cautiously!"

"Good." It could be heard that Lord Immortal Goat was quite satisfied with Lu Ran's reaction.

Indeed, the matter of "a fight to the death with the Evil Demon Clan" made Lu Ran feel like there was a thorn in his back, but he also accepted it with resignation.

Lu Ran was from the Human Clan; from the moment he was born, he was in irreconcilable conflict with the Evil Demon Clan.

Your weakness won't earn their pity.

Your pleading and crying will only excite the Evil Demon Clan more, making them even more ruthless.

For the Human Clan, there was only one way to survive—resistance!

"Brother Lu?" Outside the wooden door, Deng Yutang's voice called out.

"Ah?"

"Are you done yet? I need to use the bathroom."

"Oh," Lu Ran quickly washed his clothes.

Deng Yutang waited nearly two minutes before knocking again, "Brother Lu, I really don't want to become like Qian Hao..."

"Just hold on! Think of your lifetime glory!"

...

The next morning, Lu Deng hurried to the first floor dining hall of Stone Inn.

When they arrived, Jiang and Tian were already sitting at a small square table, eating.

"Yutang," Jiang Ruyi gestured lightly with her hand, raising it slightly.

Lu Ran appeared puzzled; he was clearly walking in front of Deng Yutang.

Seeing Lu Ran's expression, Jiang Ruyi just rolled her eyes at him and began peeling a boiled egg.

"Ha ha!" Deng Yutang laughed as he looked at Lu Ran, "Sergeant Jiang is still mad at you."

"Just sweet-talk her, and watch closely because I will only teach you once!" Lu Ran casually picked up a serving tray.

Yesterday, his words "No need to chase hard, I promise you" were indeed powerful!

It made the beautiful Jiang both shy and annoyed, and she ignored Lu Ran for a long time.

"Alright," Deng Yutang was a bit eager.

The breakfast offered by the Stone Inn was simple—congee, steamed buns, spicy pickled cabbage, and boiled eggs.

Lu Ran and Deng quickly prepared their breakfast and approached the small table.

"Yutang told me to sweet-talk you," Lu Ran said as he set down the serving tray and casually peeled an egg.

Deng Yutang was stunned, "Ah?"

Wasn't that what you said?

Jiang Ruyi didn't even lift her head, continuing to nibble on her egg.

Lu Ran said, "I know I was wrong, don't be mad at me."

Tian Tian was caught off guard, feeling a sudden pang of sympathy.

Deng Yutang also paused, feeling something was off.

"You rascal!" Jiang Ruyi was both annoyed and amused.

Hiding the word "mē" well, huh?

"Wow?" This time, it was Lu Ran's turn to be stunned.

Deng Yutang and Tian Tian had already fallen for it, if Lu Ran continued, the pair might start calling him "Precious Ran."

But Jiang Ruyi...

Lu Ran's eyes lit up, "You advanced?"

"Hmm," Jiang Ruyi extended her hand, waving it in front of Tian Tian's eyes, "Wake up."

"Oh... oh." Tian Tian snapped back to reality and hurriedly lowered her head to eat.

"Is that all you're teaching me?" Deng Yutang also realized, "I can't learn that!"

Lu Ran shrugged, well, I did teach.

He looked at Jiang Ruyi and asked, "Have you also learned the Frost Talisman?"

Jiang Ruyi raised her hand, and with a flick of her fingertip, frost freely flowed.

Her gaze slid from her fingertip to Lu Ran, sitting across the table, her beautiful eyes carrying a hint of a threat,

"If you dare to sneakily hide words again..."

Unfortunately, the beautiful Jiang was too gentle; her threatening words carried little deterrence.

"Congratulations!" Lu Ran's face lit up, completely ignoring her words.

Truly worthy of being a top scholar like Jiang, what an undeniable talent!

Be it so-called luck or a flash of enlightenment, it all depended on one's natural aptitude.

Despite Jiang Ruyi being a disciple beneath Third-class God·Jade Talisman Sect, remember, she initially rejected Second-class God·Tianluan on the Worship God Platform!

Meaning, Jiang Ruyi's natural talent and aptitude were at least on the same level as Yuxiang.

"No need to worry about Evil Demons like the Fog Shadow Man anymore," Deng Yutang remarked.

The types of Evil Demons varied wildly, and so did their bodily structures.

Not only were there demons made of mist, but all sorts of stone demons, wood demons, and others.

Using Electric Shackles Talisman on such demons naturally had little effect, but once Jiang Ruyi cast a Frost Talisman...

You just freeze for me, will ya!

At the very least, they would be slowed down.

"Eat quickly!" Lu Ran urged, "Let's go hunt some dogs and test the Frost Talisman's effect!"

Jiang Ruyi snorted, showing no objections.

Poor fine dogs...

Previously, Jiang Ruyi had electrified them until they were paralyzed and scorched from the inside out.

Now, they were about to be turned into ice sculptures.

In fact, these fine dogs might have suffered less, if only Jiang Ruyi had intended to go to Wuling Mountain initially.

However, the Evil Technique of the Evil Dog Clan was too tempting for Lu Ran to resist.

At this moment, Lu Ran's goal was extremely clear:

From now until the squad left the Demon Cave, he needed to kill at least 300 Stream Realm Evil Dogs.

Once the Evil Dog Evil Sculpture reached Stream Realm Third Rank, he could add Evil Technique·Evil Shadow to his skill set!

This Evil Technique would allow the caster to summon a shadow to lure and distract enemies.

As Lu Ran continually enhanced the quality of Evil Technique·Evil Shadow...

The shadow he summoned could even become a separate entity!

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