234 Temporary Teammates, Common Goal
It had been a long time since the two of them last met in Lotus Town. Instead of exchanging pleasantries, Lin Ran gave an order as soon as he spoke, which caught Shen Rulin off guard.
In the blink of an eye, the ten white-armored soldiers arrived.
Lin Ran was put on the spot. His eyes lit up, and in an instant, an extremely surging sword intent surged out!
“Lin Ran! What are you doing?!”
Sensing Lin Ran’s sword intent, Shen Rulin’s expression changed drastically. He subconsciously placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and was about to attack when he realized that Lin Ran’s target was not him, but the ten white-armored soldiers behind him!
Clang—
Ten condensed sword energy tore through the sky like an arrow leaving the bow, instantly knocking the ten people down.
Shen Rulin’s expression darkened and he was about to question when he saw that Lin Ran had already put away his sword. He couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “Why did you attack my subordinates for no reason?!”
“Don’t worry, I just knocked them out for the time being.”
Lin Ran heaved a sigh of relief and pointed at the dark cloud above. “These dark clouds are condensed from countless killing intent and evil aura. Their cultivation is too low. If they barge in rashly, their minds will probably be corrupted. At that time, we will have to kill them.”
Shen Rulin looked up at the dark clouds above. He was not as meticulous as Lin Ran, but he could tell that these dark clouds were thick and unnatural.
In addition, Lin Ran did not unsheathe his sword, so Shen Rulin was not on guard. After a pause, he continued to ask, “Since you’ve already escaped back to the Great Yong Dynasty, why did you come back? Does the emperor of Great Yong have something planned?”
“Escaped back to The Great Yong Dynasty?”
Lin Ran was stunned for a moment before he understood what Shen Rulin meant. He forced a smile and said helplessly, “Are you talking about me being under arrest?”
Shen Rulin nodded. Lin Ran said, “That was a misunderstanding. His Majesty has already returned to the palace and removed the arrest warrant on me. You’ll probably receive the news soon.”
“Are you serious?”
Shen Rulin looked suspicious. “Why should I believe you?”
Lin Ran was speechless for a moment before he suddenly smiled. “Does it matter if you believe me or not?”
Shen Rulin was stunned for a moment before he smiled. Lin Ran was much stronger than him. Even if his father, the commander of the Golden Guards, was here, he probably wouldn’t be able to do anything to Lin Ran.
The two of them smiled for a moment before Shen Rulin suddenly thought of something. He looked up at the thick dark clouds and asked, “You just said that if someone with too low a cultivation barged in there, they would be corrupted by the killing intent and evil aura?”
Lin Ran nodded. Shen Rulin asked again, “What will happen if one is corrupted?”
“I don’t know.”
Lin Ran shook his head honestly. “However, since this dark cloud is condensed from killing intent and evil aura, I’m certain that it will drive people insane.”
Hearing this, Shen Rulin’s expression immediately turned solemn. “Seventy-two of my people went in.”
Hearing this, Lin Ran’s expression began to turn solemn. Although he didn’t want to think that way, the 72 people were probably dead.
The two of them looked at each other in silence for a moment. Lin Ran changed the topic and said, “Why don’t you go back first?”
As he spoke, Lin Ran glanced at the hill where the ten white-armored soldiers he had knocked out were lying. “It’s not safe for them to stay here. Someone needs to bring them back.”
Shen Rulin also looked at the ten people, but after hesitating for a moment, he shook his head firmly. “Someone will take care of them. I’ll go in with you. I want to take my people back.”
Lin Ran looked troubled. If the 72 people had already been infected by the evil aura, they would probably be dead by now.
Seeing Shen Rulin’s determined expression, Lin Ran couldn’t bring himself to tell him the cruel truth. He only nodded and forced a smile. “Then let’s go together. It’s easy to get lost. You have to follow me closely.”
Shen Rulin didn’t say anything. He just took out a small bamboo tube from his waist. It was about the size of an index finger. One end was sealed with yellow mud, and the other end was tied with a thin rope.
He grabbed the rope and pulled hard. The mud seal on the other end exploded softly and began to emit a thick yellow smoke.
Then, Shen Rulin threw the smoking bamboo tube beside the ten white-armored soldiers and looked at Lin Ran as he explained, “When the people at the foot of the mountain see the signal, they’ll come up and bring them back. This distance shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
Lin Ran looked at the dark clouds above his head and then at the ten people. After thinking for a moment, he said seriously, “It’s still dangerous. Why don’t we wait here?”
“No need.”
Shen Rulin shook his head and took out another bamboo tube. However, when he pulled it open this time, red smoke came out.
“Red means danger. Yellow means reinforcement.”
Shen Rulin threw out the bamboo tube and explained, “In addition, there are three more colors: white, green, and black. White means that the situation is unknown and requires time to investigate. Green means that the coast is clear.”
“The Golden Guards really have a lot of gadgets!”
Lin Ran asked, “By the way, isn’t there also black color? What does black mean?”
“Dangerous. Do not enter.”
Shen Rulin replied in a low voice, his eyes subconsciously drifting to the thick black cloud above his head.
Lin Ran followed his gaze and looked up. His expression changed slightly.
The two of them were silent for a moment before Lin Ran persuaded, “Actually, you don’t have to come.”
“I know.”
Shen Rulin nodded and unsheathed the sword at his waist. “So can we set off now?”
Lin Ran forced a smile. Then, he turned around and walked into the dark clouds without hesitation.
As soon as he entered the dark clouds, Lin Ran felt cold.
Unlike the dampness of the clouds high in the sky or the coldness in the winter, the “coldness” in the dark clouds was not strong, but even if Lin Ran activated his internal energy to ward off it, he could still feel his body temperature slowly decreasing.
“This place is indeed a little strange.” Shen Rulin’s voice sounded from behind. Lin Ran subconsciously turned around and realized that Shen Rulin’s face was gloomy and dark.
“Stay focused!”
Lin Ran reminded him before walking up the hill to the top. “No matter what you find, don’t be rash. This place is strange. We have to advance and retreat together.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not a child,” Shen Rulin replied softly.
Lin Ran’s expression suddenly changed because this voice came from in front of him!
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