Lu Ran was spent.
Since the end of the Winter Moon, the grueling stream of missions and work had left him exhausted in body and mind.
What had drained him most, without question, had been the battle against the martial monk and the battle against Blood Skull.
In those two crucial battles, Lu Ran had wielded the Silent Night Blade to alter the rules of an entire stretch of heaven and earth, and the battles had dragged on for a very long time. Even with all sorts of healing and endurance-restoring methods, they could not ease his severely overdrawn body and mind.
After conquering three mountains in half a day, Lu Ran had remained dazed and unfocused, frequently feeling lightheaded and unsteady.
As though he might pitch headfirst onto the ground at any moment.
He forced himself to hold on and dealt with as many matters as possible, but in the end, he fell asleep.
But within the Sculpture Garden, the Blood Skull Evil Sculpture had been buzzing incessantly, creating a tremendous racket! So Lu Ran had not fallen asleep—he had passed out.
With the Ran Sect Master down, the Ran Sect Madam naturally took over the sect.
Jiang Xianzi's capabilities and methods were exceedingly solid. Stationed within the Dark Cloud Vortex directly above Bloody Dust God Mountain, she commanded the overall situation.
The days passed one by one, and in the blink of an eye, it was the ninth day of the Twelfth Moon.
Inside the Chifengwen Gourd, Lu Ran lay limply atop a huge Firefly Cage when his body suddenly stirred faintly.
"Mm..." Lu Ran frowned deeply, raising a hand to hold his forehead as he looked around in confusion.
"Big Bro, you're awake~" A sweet, lively voice came from nearby, followed by the lantern being lifted.
Just