Chapter 74 Qishan Family

The banter between Yu Yuwu and Qing Ye eased the tense atmosphere. Qing Ye also learned about the battle the entire First Unit had encountered and couldn't help but worry for Yu Yuwu; thankfully, they had all returned safely.

As for the third force led by Ranluo at this moment

The atmosphere at the Qishan residence was completely different from the previous two places. The area where the Qishan family sat was filled with an ancient and heavy sense of "confinement." The air was thick, as if every step was treading on the sediment of history, and an invisible pressure was pressing in from all directions. The moment Ranluo arrived here, she sensed that something was wrong.

Her orange eyes silently transformed into the vertical pupils of a beast, revealing everything beneath her gaze. Ran Luo frowned slightly, her tone tinged with apprehension: "The rules have been changed; this is not a power that humans can possess."

"Here... I feel like I'm having trouble breathing," Taiko no Kanemoto couldn't help but touch his throat, his face turning pale.

Tsurumaru Kuninaga looked around warily: "Everyone be careful, something's not right here. The ability to change the rules of an entire area—that's the work of an evil god."

Ranlu's expression was grave, as if she were pondering a way to break the deadlock. However, none of the methods she knew so far could completely eliminate the negative impact of the distorted rules of this region on them. Even if the evil god was a lowly, unrecognized "god," the only one capable of opposing him was Hanzhou, a deity himself.

Suddenly, Imagin, who was at the front of the group, felt his body sink.

"Ima no Tsurugi!" Mikazuki exclaimed, wanting to take a step forward but his movements became incredibly slow.

Not only them, but all the swords could feel some kind of invisible "weight" being applied to them, which not only affected their movements, but even made the flow of spiritual energy within their bodies obscured.

"The laws of gravity have been altered!" Ranluo immediately realized. A dazzling golden array unfolded beneath her feet as she mobilized her spiritual power to attempt to create a region that would neutralize the abnormal laws. A soft golden halo spread out from her center, temporarily easing the burden on the swords. Ranluo breathed a sigh of relief, having temporarily stabilized the situation.

"We must find the evil god statue as soon as possible and destroy it to break these twisted rules," Ranluo said, leading her team forward as they followed the flow of the hidden underground power.

However, the Qishan family's protection mechanism for the evil god statue goes far beyond that. The deeper one goes into the mansion, the more distorted and bizarre the rules become.

After passing through a corridor, they found their sense of direction completely disrupted. Although they were moving in one direction, they inexplicably returned to the starting point, as if they had encountered a maze.

"Tsk, is it space that's distorted this time?" Ranlu clicked her tongue, but still calmed down to sense the correct path. Golden spiritual power spread out layer by layer like waves, sensing all the subtle anomalies.

"If our lord knew that Lady Ranro has grown to such a level, he would surely be very pleased," Tsurumaru Kuninaga said with a smile to Mikazuki beside him.

Mikazuki watched Ranlu leading the way. Ever since breaking the seal and regaining full power, Ranlu had preferred to show her demonic features, finding it more comfortable and natural. And now, the little girl, despite having only recently mastered her original power, was already wielding it skillfully.

"Haha, you'll see when our lord returns."

Ranluo overheard their conversation. Her snow-white fox ears turned slightly red, and the swordsmen, knowing better than to speak, exchanged knowing smiles. They didn't tease the young girl at that moment.

After walking a distance, Ranluo didn't notice anything amiss, but instinctively she stopped. Her orange, vertical pupils scanned the unchanging surroundings, her brows furrowing slightly: "Something feels off, yet something's strange."

When intuition and reason clashed, Hanzhou once told her, "Trust your intuition. After all, an animal's instinct is to seek advantage and avoid harm. If you sense something is wrong, stop."

Whoosh—!

Ranlu, with her keen senses, immediately detected the sound of something cutting through the air and activated her spiritual power to raise a protective shield, blocking the attack. Looking at the ripples spreading across the shield, she crossed her arms, her expression triumphant: "Aren't you coming out? Do you really enjoy being a rat in the gutter? That's very much in line with the style of your three great families."

"Heh, a sharp-tongued, impure-blooded little demon, daring to spout such nonsense?" Qi Shanyue glanced at Ran Luo, completely unfazed by her mockery. "I didn't expect you to be so capable, causing us quite a bit of trouble."

Ranluo's eyes narrowed slightly. From the other person's words, she could deduce that Yuyuwu and Qingye's side had probably already succeeded. Only they were left to go; this was truly good news.

"Thank you for the compliment, but... you don't think a mere clone can stop me, do you?" Ranlu couldn't discern the core of this thing at all; it was like an empty shell. Normally, a person's core is in their dantian, but this person had none; all she could see was a mass of dark, viscous liquid.

It made the fox dizzy.

"You're welcome to try," said Qi Shanyue. A grayish-black mist surged around her, instantly condensing into countless sharp spikes. The surrounding temperature plummeted in an instant; Ranlu could even see frost flowers that had formed on her protective shield.

The swords drew their bodies and stood ready.

Under normal circumstances, the puppets summoned by Qi Shanyue are not difficult to deal with. However, under the chaotic rules, the swords find it difficult to control their bodies. Some feel that their movements are too fast to be controlled, and others find it difficult to lift their own bodies.

Ranluo frowned slightly as she looked at the swords and blades around her. A powerful surge of spiritual energy instantly spread out, forming a vast protective shield that neutralized the distorted rules within its domain.

As the number of puppets around her decreased, Ranluo's vigilance deepened, because things had gone too smoothly. She didn't believe the head of the Qishan family was such an incompetent fool who could be defeated so easily.

Suddenly, a bone-chilling cold shot straight from her tailbone to the top of her head! Visibly, the fur on Ranluo's tail and ears stood on end! She pushed off with her feet and quickly moved away from where she was.

After she left, black spikes suddenly rose from that spot, threatening to riddle her with holes if she had been even a step slower!

How on earth did it evade her senses?!

Before Ranlu could figure it out, a cold wind came from the back of her neck, making her instinctively reach back to swing her hand, only to be grabbed by a cold, lifeless hand.

"Is this the keen perception of the demon race?" Qi Shan Yue's eerie eyes sent chills down Ran Luo's spine.

With her wrist gripped, Ranlu twisted her waist and swiftly kicked Qi Shanyue in the stomach. The chilling sensation dissipated as Qi Shanyue moved away. Ranlu rotated her wrist, which had been grabbed, her face showing disgust.

It doesn't hurt, but it's a bit unpleasant.

What is this crazy woman trying to do? How come I can't sense the presence of her clone?

It's not my problem, but... has space been distorted?!

Spiritual perception conducted in the wrong space will naturally produce errors.

Qi Shanyue noticed the look of sudden realization on Ran Luo's face, and a cryptic smile appeared on her lips. Black energy surged around her, and she instantly appeared before Ran Luo, her five fingers forming claws, carrying an ominous black aura, as she fiercely attacked Ran Luo's face!

At the critical moment, Ranluo quickly raised her left hand to block with her forearm while shifting her weight slightly forward, taking a small half step forward with her right foot, turning around, and raising her elbow to strike Qishan Yue's chest!

The movements were fluid and seamless, without the slightest hesitation. There was not a trace of panic in her orange eyes; she was clearly not surprised by Qi Shanyue's sudden attack.

After being forced back several steps by Ranluo's martial arts attack, Qishan Yue re-examined this young Saniwa with half-demon blood. Her reaction speed was beyond human comprehension. When she saw Ranluo's eyes, which had now turned into vertical pupils, she chuckled softly.

Just kidding, right after Ranluo was sealed, Hanzhou immediately picked her up and put her through some training. The physical abilities and reaction speed of demons are far superior to those of humans. During her sparring sessions with Hanzhou (actually, Ranluo was getting beaten up), she developed a kind of muscle memory.

Having dealt with the puppets, the swordsmen approached Qi Shanyue, subtly forming an encirclement. They warily eyed the woman who exuded an ominous aura.

Qi Shan Yue glanced around, a mocking smile playing on her lips. Her arms crossed, clearly indicating she didn't take these sword spirits seriously.

"You think you can trap me with just these swords and blades?"

"Then let's give it a try!" A hint of arrogance appeared between Ranluo's brows, and the surrounding swords attacked Qishan Yue the instant her words fell.

Ranlu frowned slightly as she looked at Qi Shanyue, who stood firmly in the middle, neither dodging nor avoiding attacks. Her beast-like vertical pupils allowed her to observe the situation more clearly. All the sword and blade attacks, seemingly striking Qi Shanyue, failed to inflict any damage.

"Space folding...?" Ranlu murmured subconsciously, recalling the words Hanzhou had once taught her.

[Spatial folding is like looking at a koi carp in a pond; what you see with your naked eye after the reflection on the water's surface is not the koi's true location. Using spiritual power to perceive it allows you to find its true location.]

She quickly closed her eyes and mobilized the spiritual energy within her body. Her spiritual energy perception was no longer limited to three-dimensional space, but spread out into multi-dimensional space.

"Give up the fight?" Qi Shanyue sneered when she saw Ranluo close her eyes and attacked her. Her figure, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, made it impossible for the swords to find a way to strike.

"Oh no!"

"Lady Ranluo, be careful!!!"

The urgent calls of the swordsmen rose and fell, and the fastest short swordsmen rushed towards Ranluo's direction. Ai Qiguo Jun's position was not far from Ranluo's. When Qi Shan Yue discovered this little fellow blocking her way, black energy emanated from her hand, and she was about to pierce his chest when...

"Aishiki!!!" *2

The screams of Hotarumaru and Akashi Kuniyuki reached Aishi Kunitoshi's ears.

When he subconsciously closed his eyes and waited for death, the expected pain did not come for a long time.

Spiritual energy bound Qi Shanyue tightly like threads, preventing her from moving an inch. Ran Luo's clear and melodious voice pulled Ai Qiguojun back from his dazed thoughts.

"Please, Ai Qi, if something happens to you, I won't know how to explain it to Han Zhou."

A gentle touch came from above his head, and someone ruffled his hair. His body, which had been cold from facing the shattered blade, gradually warmed up, and his voice was very soft.

"……thank you"