Watching the Mountain

For the past few days, Xu Ran had been filled with regret. He never should have agreed to let Zhao Wuyang and Liu Yunge use his Cave Mansion as their secret meeting spot.

After just a few days, this Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator felt like even his teeth were going soft.

The reason was simple: an overdose of sugar. It was nauseating.

This couple, composed of the current leaders of the Righteous and Demon Daos, were both over a hundred years old and were esteemed Golden Core Stage Powerhouses. Yet, when they were together whispering sweet nothings, they acted even more shy and awkward than middle schoolers from his previous life.

One could only imagine the sheer amount of sugary sweetness emanating from a couple in the throes of new love.

For the past half-month, aside from the days when Chen Chang’an had an arena match, the two of them would arrive one after another in front of Xu Ran’s Cave Mansion as soon as dawn broke.

As for why they arrived one after another and not at the same time?

This was a secret rendezvous. How could they possibly show up together?

Xu Ran glanced at the sky. The horizon was already showing the fish-belly white of dawn. Chen Chang’an had a match in the arena yesterday, which meant there wasn’t one today. The little lovebirds would probably be arriving soon.

At this thought, he sighed helplessly, ended his night’s Cultivation, and silently rose to walk outside.

But the moment he opened the main gate of his Cave Mansion, he sensed something was wrong. The flow of Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth was sluggish, almost as if it had solidified. A soul-shaking pressure faintly permeated the air.

Looking up, he saw three figures facing off against each other from two directions.

One in red, one in white, and one in black.

The pair in black and white were Zhao Wuyang and Liu Yunge. The one in the red dress was the Little Witch, Ye Qingxue.

The moment Xu Ran saw Ye Qingxue there, he instantly pieced together what had happened.

She must have stumbled upon the two of them during their intimate, secret meeting.

The crucial difference was that Ye Qingxue was an acquaintance of theirs, someone they had crossed paths with many times—not a stranger, like Xu Ran had been.

Having a secret affair discovered by a stranger was one thing, but being caught by an acquaintance? That was a complete disaster!

"Seniors, why don’t we come inside and talk this over?"

Xu Ran hesitated for a moment before shouting to them from a distance.

However, no one paid him any mind, not even sparing him a glance.

He watched for a moment and immediately realized something was amiss. Although the three of them hadn’t physically moved, they were already clashing with their Daos. It was an extremely perilous moment; the slightest lapse from any side could result in severe injury.

’No wonder no one is paying attention to me. It’s not that they don’t want to, but that they can’t.’

Upon realizing this, Xu Ran grew anxious. ’No, this can’t go on.’

Zhao Wuyang and Liu Yunge would be fine, but the Little Witch, Ye Qingxue, was facing two opponents. If this dragged on, she would inevitably suffer a Dao injury.

A Dao injury was not like a common wound; if handled poorly, it could affect her entire cultivation path.

’Ye Qingxue is the person Ye Shan cares about most in this world. I can’t just stand by and watch her suffer such a grievous blow.’

Xu Ran’s mind raced. ’To stop them now, a third force has to disrupt their clash. That way, all three will be injured, but not too severely. At least it will be within a controllable range.’

Having thought of this, he made his decision.

He was only at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage of Cultivation. There was no way he could interrupt a clash between several Golden Core Powerhouses with his own strength.

But that didn’t mean he was out of options.

This was his turf, after all. He might not have much else, but he had an abundance of various High Tier Arrays.

As it happened, he had the perfect Array to resolve the current situation: the Mirror Heart Array, a Tier Seven Array designed for the Golden Core Stage, created by Little Xiyue and set up by the Array Master, Master Xuan Zhen.

This Array had only one effect: it enhanced the user’s Mental Realm, acting like an amplifier to temporarily boost the Power of Realm of someone below the Golden Core Stage to a level approaching it.

Judging by its effect alone, one could tell that Little Xiyue had created this specifically for her master’s self-defense.

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Xu Ran possessed two Mental Realms: the Melancholy Realm, which represented the passage of time, and the Death Realm.

Compared to the Death Realm, the Melancholy Realm had far less offensive power. However, it had one advantage the Death Realm lacked: it was incredibly difficult to defend against. It could often ensnare people without them even noticing.

After Xu Ran activated the Mirror Heart Array, a feeling of Sadness began to rise stealthily within the hearts of Zhao Wuyang, Liu Yunge, and Ye Qingxue.

A sense of loneliness, born from the desolation of time and change, flowed through their hearts.

Just as they were lost in this loneliness, a taste of death suddenly descended upon them.

Originally, given the trio’s Cultivation Realms, it would have been questionable whether Xu Ran could have disrupted their clash, even with his own Mental Realm enhanced by the Mirror Heart Array.

But now, they were jolted awake in an instant, each coughing up a mouthful of blood as they broke free from the clash of their Daos.

Afterward, the three of them caught their breath and slowly turned their heads to look at Xu Ran, who was also pale-faced and had blood at the corner of his mouth, slumping to the ground unsteadily.

The expressions on their faces were complicated.

Just moments ago, they had experienced endless loneliness. Then, before they could even pull themselves together to move on, before they could even reminisce about the past, death had suddenly descended.

It was like being left to die alone.