After more than a hundred punches,
Xiao Ran stopped. While still straddled across the Eldest Princess, he asked. "What were you two talking about just now? Why were you arguing so heatedly with your niece?"
The Eldest Princess glared at him bitterly and growled, "Get off."
"All right," Xiao Ran stood up.
"Next time don't punch my face again."
"If you're not afraid of the demonic aura corroding your consciousness, I can fulfill your wish."
The Eldest Princess was dumbstruck.
"Luoran told me to cripple my own powers in order to remove the sequelae that resulted from practicing this forbidden technique."
Xiao Ran looked at her quietly and waited for her to continue.
The Eldest Princess said with a bitter smile. "She doesn't know that this Forbidden Technique isn't what she thinks. Even if I cripple my powers, it can still evolve on its own. If it wasn't for the Golden Phoenix suppressing it, it would have overcome my consciousness in no time."
"This matter will still be a problem at the end of the day. The matters of your Imperial family are none of my concern." Xiao Ran shook his head.
He locked the cell door and left.
After he completed the shift handover,
he turned down Old Zheng and the gang's suggestion to go for a drink at Chunfang Court and swiftly arrived at the matchmaking madam's courtyard house.
The Thousand-Year-Old Ageless Hag was coming over tonight.
Xiao Ran settled down to wait for her.
Around nine o' clock, the night wind started howling. In an instant, it became ten times stronger. With the small courtyard as the center, it spun out and enveloped the whole place in no time. The spectral aura rapidly spread out, and a loud wailing sound tore through the silence.
"Here she comes," Xiao Ran's eyes lit up.
Using his Spirit Clarity Eye, he spied a dark cloud rapidly converging towards him.
"Level 10 Grand Master evolution?"
Rubbing his palms together in glee, he couldn't hold back his thirst. This would be another big hearty meal.
After a dozen breaths,
a spectral aura descended from the sky and accumulated in the courtyard. The spectral aura converged into a dense shape. Billowing violently, an immense evil aura emanated from the presence that had taken shape.
A short midget with a fat head and big ears was revealed. This extremely ugly presence was the Thousand-year-old Ageless Hag.
"Hurry up and get your asses out here!"
It was so quiet that not even a ghostly shadow could be seen.
The Thousand-year-old Ageless Hag was dumbfounded. It had been a while since she last saw them. These three b*tches have grown so audacious!
"They can't come anymore." Xiao Ran strolled out from the darkness.
"Who are you?"
"Xiao Ran, I work in the Celestial Dungeon."
The Thousand-year-old Ageless Hag attempted to see through him. When she did not detect any iota of spirit energy within Xiao Ran's body, she relaxed completely.
"Just a little dungeon guard like you?"
"So what if I'm a dungeon guard? I am using my own ability to earn a living. It's nothing shameful," Xiao Ran said.
"Let me ask you, where are those three slaves?"
"Didn't I tell you? They can't come anymore. They're waiting for you down there."
"Is that so?" The Thousand-year-old Ageless Hag sneered sinisterly.
Immense spectral aura morphed into a giant hand that blanketed the sky, and aimed for Xiao Ran's neck in a merciless grasp.
Xiao Ran walked towards her. In the face of the approaching huge palm, he activated the Empyrean Conflagration Holy Fire. As it blazed around his body, it suddenly shot up thirty feet and decimated the giant spectral hand heading for him.
Whoosh!
Golden light flashed, illuminating the entire world, dispersing all the spectral aura in the surroundings. Xiao Ran then re-appeared abruptly before her.
The Thousand-year-old Ageless Hag was shocked. Her bulging eyes looked like they were about to pop out as she hurriedly counter-attacked. "Celestial Specter Dark Lord Technique!"
Tens of thousands of spectral auras erupted instantly. Numerous malevolent specters rushed out of her body, roaring ferociously as they tried to swallow Xiao Ran.
For a brief moment,
Xiao Ran was surrounded by malicious specters.
"Burn!" Xiao Ran ordered in a soft voice.
The Empyrean Conflagration Holy Fire suddenly flared outwards and morphed into a hundred feet tall inferno, engulfing the charging malicious specters and burning them into ashes in an instant.
As the terrified Thousand-year-old Ageless Hag looked on, the flames then converged into a huge fiery dragon. The dragon opened its jaws and prepared to swallow her.
"Stop right there!"
A roar rang out as three figures rushed in.
Demonic energy blanketed the sky like a thick and dense fog.
As soon as these three demons appeared, the entire small courtyard transformed into a Demonic Forbidden Ground, overflowing with a turbulent demonic aura.
"Oh, three more?" Xiao Ran was elated.
But the dragon didn't stop in its tracks. It proceeded to swallow the Thousand-year-old Ageless Hag in one gulp.
It then spiraled back into its original form and rolled back to his body.
He turned around and looked at the three windigo demons.
The three brothers were exactly the same. They were all Level 10 Grand Masters.
"It's my lucky day." Xiao Ran smiled.
The Eldest Windigo took a step forward and said with a dark expression, "Didn't you hear us telling you to stop?"
"I heard you. I just didn't want to stop."
"Since you killed the Thousand-year-old Ageless Hag, you must compensate us for what she had promised us," the Eldest Windigo said.
"Big Brother is right. Dead ghosts cannot be revived. You have to compensate us."
"Not only that, it must be double the compensation."
Xiao Ran finally understood. Although these three demons had advanced evolution levels, they didn't seem very smart.
"What did she promise you?"
"She asked us to come to the capital city and accompany her to the Celestial Dungeon to retrieve a wisp of the Eldest Princess' dragon aura. After the matter is done, she will give us the Sky Demon Skeleton," said the Eldest Windigo.
"You've all been deceived by her," Xiao Ran said.
"Just tell us if you want to compensate or not!" All three brothers stepped forward menacingly.
With the fusion of their combined auras, their powers increased dramatically, surpassing the Grand Master Realm and shooting into Level 1 of the Profound Realm.
An enormous demonic pressure inundated the entire area.
Violent gales swept across like flashing lightning.
"These three pigs…" Xiao Ran muttered scornfully.
"We brothers hate people calling us pigs the most!" The Eldest Windigo roared.
"Why is Big Brother talking so much nonsense with him? Just kill him."
"Since we can't have the Sky Demon Skeleton, we can just kill him and barge into the Celestial Dungeon to retrieve the wisp of dragon aura for ourselves."
The other two suggested.
Violent demonic energy then engulfed the surroundings as the three of them launched their attack.
Three demonic windigo projections hundreds of feet tall shot out from the top of their heads and converged, forming a massive demonic windigo that was 300 feet tall.
Trampling across the heavens, its four hooves galloped through the air. The almighty demonic force streaked across a hundred miles as it rushed towards Xiao Ran, sweeping away everything else in its path.
"No wonder she wanted to drag all of you into the Celestial Dungeon together. She had scammed you guys into becoming her fighting goons for free." Xiao Ran muttered as realization dawned upon him.
With the three of them working together, they had already unleashed the power of Profound Realm Level 1.
"Phoenix Essence Sword Technique!"
With the augmentation of Sword Intent, he executed this Heaven-rank Superior-grade sword technique.
Using his hand as a sword, a golden light emanated from his palm. The moment the terrifying Sword Intent materialized, it instantly sliced through the barricade formed by their auras and soared into the clouds.
All life and matter in the world came to a standstill before this Sword Intent.
Screech!
Golden light burst forth. A golden phoenix thousands of feet tall materialized in the air, morphing into a streak of sword light that could cut through time, plunging down from the heavens.
As all life and matter stood frozen in time,
the three demons remained rooted to the same spot. Behind them, a terrifying sword beam thousands of feet wide appeared.
The sword energy then went berserk and launched a vicious onslaught on the small courtyard.
Xiao Ran sauntered over and looked at the three corpses, nodding in satisfaction.
He collected their corpses and in one big stride, left swiftly.
Not long after he left, several Lords Amethyst Sword of the Divine Sword Guards appeared.
Pooh!
They were all Grand Masters, but they were still unable to withstand the lingering sword energy. They tried hard to fend it off but in the end, they each spat out a mouthful of blood.
One of them yelled in terror. "Hurry up and get out! Go get Deputy Sword Master Qin!"
When Qin Fangzhen arrived, despite utilizing his powers to the maximum to invoke his spirit energy to form a protective force shield around his own body, it was still difficult for him to take a step forward. He struggled valiantly until he reached the inner courtyard.
The remaining sword energy in there then struck him with full force and deflected him outwards violently. "Quickly get Deputy Sword Master Fang!"