Jiang Ran listened and couldn't help but freeze.
At the moment, there were only three kinds of beings in the Abyssal Void that he'd encountered who could speak.
People, Ancestral People, and Exotic Beasts.
He badly wanted to believe this old man was an Ancestral Person from some kingdom in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, or perhaps some kind of Exotic Beast.
But looking at the man's clothes and the faded Nuo Opera Mask on his face,
another thought rose uncontrollably in his mind.
Could that person... still be alive!?
The old man seemed to see the confusion in Jiang Ran's eyes.
He rose from the bluestone with a faint laugh.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not the First Sage."
Jiang Ran felt a slight tingling on his scalp. "Then you are...?"
The old man didn't answer right away.
As if caught up in his memories, he slowly raised a thin, withered hand and pointed to the faded Nuo Opera Mask on his face.
"When the First Sage was alive, shamanic traditions flourished in the Chu Region, but evil beings also ran rampant.
"There was the One-Eyed Peeper, who terrorized the mortal world and was skilled at capturing souls and thoughts; the Eavesdropping Follower, with ears as large as fans, who specialized in stealing people's words; and the Night Walker, who had a pair of wings on its back and often snatched infants... They were all Evil Entities."
"The First Sage took up the mantle of Great Shaman, wore a Nuo Opera Mask, and danced the Nine Songs to communicate with heaven and earth through his spirit.
"In those years, he purged countless tribes and suppressed many strange and evil beings.
"Once, the First Sage went alone to the border of the Netherworld and faced ten thousand ghosts, day and night, for three years. In the end, he drove back the evil spirits with a single Soul Summoning song and protected the peace of the people in that region."
The old man paused. His voice beneath the mask carried an unmistakable sorrow.
"Though the First Sage was powerful, he was still only mortal.
"Then heaven and earth underwent a great upheaval, and Deities descended from the void. The First Sage led three thousand Shamans from the Chu Region in forming the Nine Shao Array. They fought for seven days and nights. Every Shaman died, and the First Sage's spirit was gravely wounded."
"In that battle... the rivers of the Chu Region ran red, and corpses piled into mountains.
"Knowing he couldn't win, the First Sage refused to become a puppet of the Deities. He couldn't bear to see the people of Chu slaughtered any further, either...
"So he took the Nuo Opera Mask he'd spent his life refining and sank himself into the Miluo River."
The old man slowly turned his head. His eyes, hidden behind the mask, seemed to be fixed on Jiang Ran.
"His soul returned to heaven and earth, and the mask sank to the riverbed. The mask's divine power was lost forever."
When he finished, the old man sighed softly and asked, "Do you think it's a shame that the First Sage died?"
After hearing all this, Jiang Ran was silent for two seconds.
If the old man was telling the truth.
If Qu Yuan really had been a Transcendent who protected the mortal world and ultimately fought until his strength was spent and he died.
Then...
"It's a shame." Jiang Ran nodded gently.
The old man nodded in satisfaction.
He spoke again, his voice soft.
"The Nuo Opera Mask was forged from the First Sage's painstaking effort and could transform into countless incarnations.
"You little fellows have been talking outside for so long. I've been watching it all."
The old man continued, "It can also communicate with heaven and earth, draw on the essence of the sun and moon, and comprehend the will of ghosts and Deities. When danced, it can pray for rain or clear skies; when still, it can suppress evil and calm spirits.
"With such divine powers, do you think it would be a shame for them to be lost forever?"
Jiang Ran listened and nodded slightly.
"It would."
As he spoke, Jiang Ran had already walked into the space of his own accord.
His gaze swept over the blood pool.
Red veins covered the ceiling, and blood seeped slowly from them, dripping into the pool.
Seeing Jiang Ran approach the blood pool on his own, the old man smiled faintly.
"Then... would you be willing to contribute your share of strength to revive the First Sage and bring the Nuo Opera Mask back into the world?"
Just then,
"Bzzzt...!"
The radio at Jiang Ran's waist suddenly crackled. Captain Zhou's voice came through, a little hurried.
"A large number of masked corpses have suddenly flooded the outer part of the tomb. We can't break through anymore. We can only push ahead through the passage on the right and meet up with everyone inside... Bzz... Be careful..."
Before the message was finished, Jiang Ran raised a hand and switched off the radio.
He looked up at the old man, his face apologetic.
"Sorry, what were you saying?"
The old man stared at him in surprise. Before he could repeat himself—
"Oh." Jiang Ran seemed to remember something. Then he calmly shook his head.
"I'm not willing."
The old man didn't seem to have processed that yet. He was just about to say something when—
"By the way..."
Jiang Ran asked casually, as if he'd suddenly thought of an interesting question. "Those Evil Entities you mentioned—did you mean people like those from the One-Eyed Kingdom and the Feathered People Kingdom? And who were those Deities you spoke of? Are they still alive?"
The old man seemed to pause at the two questions.
Then his voice grew low, tinged with displeasure.
"Young man, you..."
"Don't rush. There's more." Jiang Ran interrupted him again and pressed on. "What exactly happened in your time? How did all the Transcendents end up extinct?
"If you answer my questions, I might be willing to contribute."
The old man fell silent for a moment.
The atmosphere beside the blood pool gradually grew tense.
At last, the old man shook his head and sighed. His voice was full of disappointment.
"Forget it... How could you possibly understand the First Sage's achievements?"
As soon as he finished,
Crack, crack, crack...
The ten masked figures who had been kneeling motionless nearby suddenly began to stir.
They raised their heads, the empty spaces beneath their masks fixed on Jiang Ran.
Their movements gradually shifted from stiff to fluid.
Jiang Ran watched them, his expression calm.
He'd dared to enter alone and remained composed even when faced with these strange beings for one simple reason.
Before they'd gone in, Captain Zhou had said plainly:
There were absolutely no beings above the First Realm in this ancient tomb.
Jiang Ran didn't know how Captain Zhou had determined that. But when he saw the masked figures—and even when he first faced the mysterious old man—
his Combat Intuition hadn't given him that oppressive feeling that came with facing an opponent he couldn't resist.
That confirmed Captain Zhou's judgment.
Since everything in here was at the First Realm...
There was nothing to fear.
It was a little disappointing, though.
The old man wasn't as easy to talk to as he'd hoped and hadn't answered more of his questions.
And now that the old man had stopped hiding his intentions, Jiang Ran wasn't about to stand around and let himself be surrounded.
The next instant,
Whoosh!
A plume of surging blood energy burst from his body!
Jiang Ran drove Eight-Step Cicada Chase to its limit, vanishing from the spot. When he appeared again, he was right in front of the nearest masked figure.
The figure had only just stood up and hadn't had time to do anything—
"Roar!"
A dragon's roar and a tiger's growl exploded through the enclosed space.
Black flames coiled around Jiang Ran's right fist, a dragon-shaped phantom circling his arm as he smashed his punch into the center of the figure's head.
"Bang!"
The head broke free from the body, spinning toward the distant rock wall. It crashed into the stone, leaving a web of cracks, then slowly slid down.
Just as Jiang Ran had expected,
The Nuo Opera Mask on its head began to dissolve as soon as it died. In just two or three seconds, it vanished into nothing, revealing the long-decayed corpse beneath.
The old man showed no surprise at the sight.
He merely pressed his hands together. His withered fingertips formed a mudra at his chest as he softly uttered a single word:
"Gather."
The next instant...
The other nine masked figures sprang up at once.
Their movements were perfectly synchronized. They landed in front of the old man and formed a semicircle.
Then one of them, wearing a vicious crimson mask, stepped forward and charged at Jiang Ran!
A dark red glow like molten lava spread across its arms.
The air warped and heated wherever it passed.
The other eight masked figures remained where they were.
One held both hands out as ghostly blue ice crystals gathered in its palms.
Another was wreathed in green wind blades.
Vine-like shadows spread across the ground beneath one figure.
A blinding flash of lightning flared in another's eyes...
Ranged divine powers.
Far from panicking, Jiang Ran's lips curled slightly.
He charged at the crimson-masked figure, and the two collided with a crash beside the blood pool.
Clang!!
Their fists met with a deafening clang, like metal striking metal.
The crimson-masked figure was strong, roughly on the level of the late Blood Sensing Realm.
Its fists radiated scorching heat.
An ordinary Transcendent would likely have been torn open by a single punch.
But after exchanging just three blows with Jiang Ran, it showed the same flaw as the Hairy Person...
Their fighting styles were far too rigid.
Their techniques clearly came from life-or-death battles, but they lacked the most important thing: fluidity.
By comparison, Jiang Ran's Dragon-Tiger Fist was used in the style of Freestyle Fighting.
It focused more on adapting to changing circumstances.
Just like now, the crimson-masked figure punched straight toward Jiang Ran's heart.
Jiang Ran slipped aside, caught its wrist with his left hand, and grabbed the edge of its mask with his right...
Rip!
He wrenched its head a full 180 degrees. The mask and neck bones shattered together.
The second masked figure hit the ground.
Just then...
The ranged divine powers had finished gathering in midair and surged toward Jiang Ran all at once.
He was about to activate Eight-Step Cicada Chase and retreat to dodge them—
"Gurgle... gurgle..."
The blood pool behind him suddenly began to boil.
Blood rolled and bubbles burst, filling the air with a dense, nauseating stench.
Then...
Boom!!!
A Giant Muntjac head, as large as a millstone, suddenly thrust up from the blood pool.
Its eyes were red as blood, and its teeth were sharp and menacing. It opened its great jaws and bit fiercely at Jiang Ran's back.
Attacked from both sides.
Jiang Ran's eyes sharpened, but he didn't panic.
Almost at the same moment...
Whoosh!!!
Brilliant golden light burst from his body.
A five-meter-tall Furious Vajra Phantom rose behind him, its arms wrapped in blood-red Buddhist light, its face twisted in a wrathful glare as it subdued demons.
Facing the Blood Pool Muntjac Head lunging to bite him,
The Vajra Phantom clenched its right fist. Buddhist light and blood energy merged as it smashed its fist down.
"Back you go!"
Boom!!
The Vajra Phantom's right fist, wrapped in blood-red Buddha light, crashed violently into the deer head emerging from the blood pool.
The impact sent bloody waves surging across the pool.
The deer head let out a pained shriek as the punch drove it downward.
Along with the body still only partly emerged beneath it, it was blasted back into the churning depths of the blood pool, sending a rain of blood scattering into the air.
At the same time that Jiang Ran hammered the deer back into the blood pool,
the ranged divine arts behind him came roaring in.
They all struck the towering Vajra Phantom.
But...
When those divine arts hit the Vajra Phantom, they were like a tickle, raising only a few ripples across its surface.
Jiang Ran didn't even react.
He slowly turned his head, his gaze settling on the old man behind the masked figures.
The old man still stood hunched before the bluestone.
He seemed unsurprised by the ineffectiveness of the ranged divine arts or the blood-pool giant deer's defeat.
From the moment Jiang Ran summoned the Vajra Phantom, his gaze had been fixed on that wrathful, imposing manifestation.
In the hollow eye sockets behind the mask,
he seemed to be remembering.
He slowly rose to his feet. His gaunt frame looked even more skeletal beneath the wide witch's robe.
Looking at the Vajra Phantom, he murmured softly, his voice tinged with regret.
"Bearing many divine arts, and having inherited the true teachings of the Buddhist Sect... growing stronger through battle, advancing all arts together.
"In this nascent age, could such a Heavenly Prodigy truly arise...?"
"Yet it's a pity he lacks the reverence due the First Sage's might."
"In the end... something is still missing."
As his words fell, the ancient witch's robe on the old man stirred without a breeze.
On the faded Nuo Opera Mask covering his face... colors began to emerge, slowly redrawing its pattern.
Then the old man took a step forward.
Just one step.
The aura surrounding him underwent a world-shaking transformation. He fixed his gaze calmly on Jiang Ran.
"Young man."
"Let me show you what a true shaman is..."
Before you continue