Summit of the Old Gods-Chapter 1126 - 1050: Night Rain Memorial

The night rain pattered down.

As Qin Li and the other left, the old house regained its silence.

Lu Ran remained kneeling before the shrine, unmoving, his consciousness already entered the spiritual world, arriving at the Sculpture Garden.

He hovered in front of a humming stone sculpture.

This was the Evil Green Lamp Sculpture, one of the two facets of the Third-class God Chenghua.

Once, Hua Tianjiang inherited the Chenghua stone sculpture within the garden, and then directly devoured the god Chenghua, who possessed the Double Divine Position.

Therefore, this Green Lamp Sculpture has always remained in the garden.

Now it’s come in handy, as it can be used for borrowing a body to return a soul.

"Sect Leader? Sect Leader, you’re here!" A surprised voice came, merging with the hum of the stone sculpture.

"Mm." Lu Ran placed a hand on the Green Lamp, sensing carefully, "Is everything alright?"

"I’m well! Working hard to consume all its consciousness, to replace it with this Evil Sculpture’s body." Hua Qingying continuously spoke, expressing gratitude, "Thank you, Sect Leader, thank you, Sect Leader..."

"Borrowing a body to return a soul is a long process, haste makes waste." Black fire ignited on Lu Ran’s body, and the Evil Sculpture trembled violently once more.

"Ah..." Even with a strong divine soul, Hua Tianjiang moaned in pain.

The countless remaining souls within the Evil Sculpture were also extinguished under the black fire.

Remaining souls?

Countless remaining souls?

Yes.

After becoming the "tomb," Lu Ran finally understood how the stone sculptures in the garden came to be:

They were piled up with dead souls, one by one.

Followers of different sects from the Human Clan, Evil Demon minions, after death, their souls more or less contained a trace of Origin Energy, naturally tainted with the atmosphere of various God Demon sects.

Overbearing Sheep General collected them, bringing them into the garden, weaving and piecing them together, strand by strand, trace by trace.

It was an enormous project, also a tedious job.

Requiring immense patience, immense patience...

Through each stone sculpture, Lu Ran seemed to see what had happened here over the past forty long years.

There it was, a Black Fire Sheep Head.

Lonely wandering through this dark Sculpture Garden.

Today, it brought a Night Charm dead soul, unraveling the threads, carefully crafting the Night Charm base with only a wisp of Origin Energy.

Tomorrow, it brought a Rou Paperman dead soul, using the pathetic wisp of Origin Energy in its soul to weave the hem of the Rou Paperman stone sculpture’s clothing.

Night after night, year after year.

This dark and desolate land, from a vast emptiness, gradually became filled with Divine and Evil Sculptures.

How long did it take?

From the day the Gods and Demons descended to June 1st, 2018, the day Lu Ran honored the god.

A full thirty-eight years.

Perhaps longer, maybe even in the homeland of the Gods and Demons, the tomb had already begun its preparations.

It could be shorter too, but regardless, the workload was evident here, impossible to fake.

In this unknown place, the tomb lonely traversed through the long dark years, painstakingly crafting little by little, building up the God Demon Sculpture Garden.

Like a bird building a nest for the next generation.

Twigs, cotton, mud... all to nurture new life.

Just for the young tomb.

Presumably, on the day the Sculpture Garden was completed, the Sheep General must have felt particularly accomplished?

Actually, it didn’t have to work so hard.

Many divine and evil sculptures within the garden, like Fog Shadow Man and Bamboo Wood Demon types, would the next generation of the tomb truly need them?

But Lord Immortal Sheep still did it this way.

All these years, it always told Lu Ran: "Follow your own path."

That wasn’t just talk.

In the Five Major Battle Zones, the tomb chose the strongest zone, creating all the divine and evil sculptures in this realm.

No matter how Lu Ran wanted to develop, whether specializing or being all-rounded, excelling in melee or ranged, healing or control, or particularly favoring a special skill.

No matter which path he wanted to tread...

From the mighty Sword One and Blood Skull to the unnoticed Immortal Zither and Ice Rose, or the weak Blood Disaster Dog and Straw Demon.

The tomb provided everything to its utmost ability.

Thinking of this, a layer of mist rose in Lu Ran’s eyes.

In the small bedroom, he looked up at the small sculpture within the shrine, his tear-filled eyes gradually blurring his vision.

Lu Ran covered his eyes with one hand, bowing his head deeply.

In the small shrine, the Immortal Sheep sculpture continued to smile warmly.

It seemed to still be watching Lu Ran.

But its whole body, white and lustrous, would never be stained black again.

No more would the deep, hoarse voice sound in Lu Ran’s mind.

No more cold laughs and scoldings, nor occasional warmth hidden behind the raspy voice.

Lord Immortal Sheep was dead.

Dissipated.

Using death to elucidate its existence’s significance, fulfilling its final self-adherence.

"Heh..." Even Lu Ran’s sighing had a slight tremor.

Scalding tears soaked his palms, trickling through his fingers, dripping onto the Emperor Robe.

At the door, Yan Shuangzi, hidden from sight, watched with full eyes of worry.

For three days, Lu Ran’s emotions have been stable; sadness was unavoidable, but there wasn’t such an emotional breakdown.

She had thought everything would gradually pass, yet after Lord Immortal Sheep’s death, on the third day, in the deep night, Lu Ran unexpectedly broke into sobs.

Outside the window, the night rain continued, not very heavy.

The pattering rain sound couldn’t cover up the young man’s hopeless sobbing.

This old residential building, this small bedroom, witnessed once again its owner’s darkest moment of life.

The last time, he was still that thirteen-year-old boy, curled up alone on the small bed, crying, unable to accept the cruel reality of his father’s passing.

This time, the boy had become a youth, standing alone on the peak of gods and demons with powerful comrades by his side.

But it seemed that nothing had gotten better.

Partings between life and death,

still inevitable.

"Sigh!!"

A violent fluctuation of divine power echoed from the living room.

A landing mirror tore through space, forcibly piecing itself together.

Yan Shuangzi turned her head and saw a woman dressed in a green rain cape and blue bamboo hat stepping forward.

Step by step, she approached the small bedroom.

Yan Shuangzi opened her mouth but, in the end, said nothing, quietly moved aside, and gave way at the doorway.

"Leave." A hoarse voice came from the emperor-robed youth inside.

However, his authority and indifference did not stop the steps of the woman in the rain cape.

Deng Yuxiang came to Lu Ran’s side, facing the shrine, she removed the wide bamboo hat and knelt respectfully in homage.

After bowing three times to the deceased, she straightened her body and turned to look at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran turned his head the other way, facing to the side.

Deng Yuxiang said nothing, only held his head with one hand and forcibly turned his face back, her other hand was gentle as it landed on his cheek.

Cold fingers wiped over his tear-soaked eyes, wiping away the tear streaks on his face.

"Heh." Lu Ran smiled helplessly, "You could learn from your good friend, leave me some dignity, pretend you don’t know, didn’t see."

"Mm." Deng Yuxiang responded softly, pressing slightly on his head and bowed her forehead to lightly touch his hair.

Lu Ran’s body stiffened.

Her embrace was very cold, carrying the chilling aura of late autumn from the northeast.

And... a faint scent of camellia.

After a long while, Lu Ran spoke in a low voice, "I am enveloped in such heavy death energy, it must be hard for you."

Deng Yuxiang pressed her lips tightly.

Indeed, it was difficult.

After becoming a god, he still appeared human, with blood and flesh, maintaining a human’s basic tone.

But in essence, it was not the case.

Unsurprisingly, he had become a special type of pure energy body.

And this bizarre energy body, from afar was terrifying.

Close contact made her soul quiver.

"The battle is not over, Little Lu Ran, our journey hasn’t reached the end yet."

Lu Ran seemed somewhat dissatisfied, his voice hoarse, "I’ve only been commemorating for three days."

"Mm." Deng Yuxiang gently combed Lu Ran’s hair, her voice unusually soft, "The life of Jade Venerable is the best offering you can give to Lord Immortal Sheep."

Lu Ran was silent for a long time before finally closing his eyes.

She was... right.

Deng Yuxiang was very unsentimental, yet her voice was very gentle, "Can the Dragon God General, Hua Heavenly General, and Wu Heavenly General be resurrected?"

"Yes, but it will take a long time." Lu Ran muttered, "I gave the Cloud Mace to the Dragon God General, took Hua Heavenly General into the Green Lamp, and sent Wuya’s divine soul into the Fang-faced Man Evil Sculpture."

Deng Yuxiang frowned slightly, "Dragon God General’s Cloud Mace? Wuya Fang-faced Man?"

Lu Ran nodded lightly, "Using a body for reincarnation, it takes as little as half a year, as long as a year, far simpler than creating a new stone sculpture.

The key is it’s more stable, more reliable."

Deng Yuxiang understood, and then asked, "The Jade Venerable Divine Soul you previously imprisoned, can it be used to create a stone sculpture?"

"Yes."

"Can?"

"But it’s not jade." Lu Ran said in a low voice, "The things I craft can only fit within the framework of gods and demons, fundamentally different from Jade Venerable."

"Mm..." Deng Yuxiang mused for a moment, letting out a light sigh, "Progress is slow, isn’t it."

After all, Lu Ran had said that using a body for reincarnation was far simpler than creating another divine sculpture.

Given that, even if they could truly create a "Faceless Stone Venerable," it would still take a very long time.

However, the struggle for survival between Ran Sect and the Faceless Jade Venerable likely wouldn’t last that long.

Never mind the more difficult task of creating a new divine sculpture, even waiting for the resurrection of the Dragon God General, Wu Heavenly General, etc., might not catch up with the war’s conclusion.

From this perspective, if the soldiers of Ran Sect died, then they were truly gone.

They could not appear in this war.

"The progress is indeed slow, but it can be faster." Lu Ran suddenly said.

"Oh?" Deng Yuxiang held Lu Ran’s shoulders, looked down at his face.

On arrival, he was still so sorrowful.

Now, his face was sullen, exuding a cold aura all around him, seemingly stirring a chill wind within the room.

Honestly, if they hadn’t fought and grown up together, Deng Yuxiang might have taken Lu Ran for the biggest villain BOSS in the world!

Lu Ran slowly lifted his head, his pitch-black eyes gazing into hers:

"A stone sculpture, using the divine soul of Faceless Jade Venerable as a base, crafted from the origin energy tainted with her aura, I’ve already laid the foundation."

Deng Yuxiang suppressed her soul tremor, nodded gently.

Lu Ran smiled, supposed to be as bright as ever, but those eyes were too dark, too cold, "The minions of Jade Venerable are endless, each with a dead soul, all of them from the Heavenly Realm.

More importantly, all gods and demons in the sky are unique, only one exists.

But there are many Jade Venerable herself, which means..."

Deng Yuxiang’s eyes sparkled, "Her divine soul level souls are numerous!"

Lu Ran’s voice was hoarse, "With each more Jade Venerable we kill, the faceless ’Stone’ Venerable in the garden can be built a step sooner."

Deng Yuxiang pondered for a moment, confirming, "She is yours."

"Mm, in the process of crafting, her soul will be torn into countless fragments by me, like other divine and evil sculptures with little independent consciousness, fully belonging to me."

Deng Yuxiang tightened her grip on Lu Ran’s shoulders, "Good!"

...