My father is the main character, but the female leads want to kill me.

"Really?" Shangguan Mengqing was skeptical.

"Of course you can. You go back and keep an eye on them. I'm off, otherwise there will be more and more monsters!" Lin Ran instructed before transforming into a streak of light and disappearing into the forest.

Shangguan Mengqing watched Lin Ran's figure disappear. She didn't insist on following him; she understood Lin Ran.

Although she always said that she was no good and was terrible, there was always a proud and defiant spirit hidden in her heart. The better she performed, the more often Lin Ran would throw a childish tantrum to protest.

"Hope this guy does well!"

……

He swiftly darted through the forest. By this time, many demonic beasts had already awakened and rushed over upon smelling human scent. Lin Ran brandished his Autumn Rain Sword, cutting his way through them.

After traveling at full speed, they finally arrived at the halfway point of a small hill. Lin Ran stood in front of a small cave and whispered, "It's me, Lin Ran!"

Before long, the vines that were covering the cave entrance were pulled away.

Lin Ran glanced around to make sure there were no problems, then crawled inside.

In this small cave, which is only about ten square meters in size, a luminous pearl is placed in the middle, illuminating the cave. Chang Wei and the others sit around the luminous pearl.

When Chang Wei and the others saw Lin Ran, they couldn't help but reveal a few wicked smiles, and said excitedly, "Thank you, Mr. Lin! We were just discussing whether or not to wash our hands tonight!"

"You bunch of brats!"

Lin Ran laughed and scolded him, then sat down as well.

Chang Wei, who was standing nearby, was very sensible and handed over a wine jug. Lin Ran took it, tilted her head back and took a few sips. The spicy wine stung her throat, and she couldn't help but spit to the side and ask, "During the retreat, were you followed by anyone else?"

"We were very careful during our retreat. We even checked ourselves several times to make sure we weren't marked by anyone from the Spirit Pure Holy Land. We also changed our clothes in a secluded place very quickly..." Chang Wei and the others reported to Lin Ran.

Lin Ran nodded and said, "You must keep this a secret this time. Don't be silly and use it as gossip. If people find out, you'll be in big trouble!"

"Hey, Mr. Lin, we won't," Chang Wei and the others replied with a laugh.

Lin Ran shook her head and stopped talking about it. Anyway, these people were from the Sword Sect. If they were exposed later, Shangguan Mengqing would have a headache.

"Pack your things, I'll take you back in a bit!" Lin Ran said.

This stunned Chang Wei and his group. Chang Wei took the lead and asked, "Mr. Lin, shouldn't we continue to lie low here and wait for you to find us in front of the Spirit Pure Holy Land in a few days?"

“The plan has changed. Gao Tianwen is quite alert. Although I don’t know the specific reason, she ultimately didn’t agree to team up with us, so I plan to take you all back directly,” Lin Ran said.

Originally, Chang Wei and the others were Lin Ran's backup plan. Now that Gao Tianwen isn't coming, this backup plan is useless. If these guys run into trouble, they'll have to come back to save them.

Chang Wei and the others didn't say anything. They had long regarded Lin Ran as their backbone. With this captain around, they just needed to focus on their work.

After tidying up the area and making sure there were no obvious or distinctive traces, Lin Ran led Chang Wei and the others away, taking a longer route with them.

Although it was unlikely that the people from the Spirit Pure Holy Land would come to monitor their encampment, and those people would probably want to be wiped out by the horde of ferocious monsters at night, Lin Ran still took a detour for safety's sake, and also to see if there were any other forces in other areas.

Lin Ran took the lead, bearing a great deal of the pressure for Chang Wei and the others, while the smaller monsters that were missed were left to be dealt with by Chang Wei and the others.

Lin Ran rushed forward, and just as she was about to turn, those golden eyes pierced through the darkness and noticed the strangeness ahead.

About a hundred meters ahead, there was an ancient city wall. Under the red moonlight, the dilapidated and moss-covered wall had a somewhat eerie and sinister look, and the central city gate entrance was even darker, exuding a scarlet, brutal, and savage aura.

"There's an ancient city wall here; there must be a great secret hidden inside..."

Lin Ran had a thought, but she didn't rush over. After making a mark nearby, she led her team to turn around and leave.

What Lin Ran didn't expect was that the road he turned onto was so complex. It was as if they were trapped in a natural maze, winding and endless.

Everywhere they looked, there were strange, thick, towering trees with bark covered in sharp thorns, smooth rock walls, and the muddy ground was very wet and soft. There was even a light drizzle falling from the sky, making it even harder for them to see the road ahead.

This strange place is home to many bizarre monsters, even more than in other places. In the misty, dark forest, monsters with eyes glowing crimson light keep charging forward, a scene that sends chills down your spine.

As Lin Ran charged through the horde of monsters, even with her strength, she began to feel the strain. At the same time, she wondered why there were so many monsters in this place.

The swords in Chang Wei's and the others' hands were chipped from their swings, and they were covered in wounds. Seeing this, Lin Ran stopped advancing and knew something was definitely amiss.

"Turn around, let's get out of here!" Lin Ran transmitted her voice using her spiritual power.

Just as the group was about to turn around and leave, they discovered that they were suddenly enveloped by a thick, almost tangible layer of fog. Chang Wei rushed over, but was bounced back by the fog.

"what!"

Lin Ran was stunned by the scene before him. He and his team had gotten into big trouble, having stumbled into such a horrible place.

"Mr. Lin, what should we do next?"

Chang Wei and the others looked at Lin Ran with panicked expressions. They had never experienced such a scene before. Now they were caught in the middle and were completely flustered. They could only place their hopes on Lin Ran.

Lin Ran forced himself to calm down, his mind racing to think of a solution. He looked at the charging monster ahead, while also noticing the strange rock walls around him. It seemed they were trapped in a canyon, with only one path leading forward.

"This rock face..."

Lin Ran looked at the rock wall and felt very strange, so he unleashed a Dragon Fist and struck the rock wall. The rock wall trembled, and mysterious dark blue runes lit up on the rock wall, absorbing all of Lin Ran's attack.

"what?"

Chang Wei and the others were stunned. Mr. Lin's attack, which was enough to kill a Spirit Core Realm cultivator, was actually absorbed by this seemingly ordinary rock wall.

Lin Ran wasn't shocked that the rock wall could absorb his attack, but rather by the runes that were flashing on it. This made him think that this might be a secret realm used for inheritance and testing the inheritors, and that this place might not be a deadly trap, but rather a solution.

"keep going!"

Lin Ran took out a bottle of pills to restore spiritual power and poured them into her mouth like she was eating candy.

"What... Mr. Lin, are you really going to continue?" Chang Wei and the others asked, their voices trembling.

“Perhaps…perhaps if we hold out here until tomorrow morning, everything in front of us will disappear?” one of them said.

They were truly terrified. One after another, large and small, strangely shaped and terrifying monsters charged forward. Their ears were filled with the roars of these monsters. Moreover, the dim and hazy road seemed to have no end in sight. This double torment of mind and body was truly unbearable for everyone.

“If we don’t move forward, we might never be able to leave here…” Lin Ran looked at the charging monster, her right hand slowly gathering golden spiritual power, and continued, “It’s my fault for putting you in danger with me. I will definitely lead you out. Follow me, let’s go!”

"Dragon Fist, First Form!"

Lin Ran roared in a low voice, and his right fist, which was brimming with surging energy, slammed out. Golden light pierced through the darkness, and the golden dragon head, with a deafening roar, bared its fangs and crushed everything in its path.

Chang Wei and the others behind him were also captivated by the golden light. Seeing Lin Ran standing alone at the forefront, using his power to clear a path for them, they were suddenly filled with the courage to face despair and couldn't help but shout:

"Damn it, what's there to be afraid of these monsters, Mr. Lin? We'll charge with you!" Chang Wei and the others also got excited, picked up their longswords, and followed Lin Ran's steps.

Lin Ran smiled, then strode forward, charging ahead with unwavering determination. Whatever lay ahead, her fists would tell her the answer…

.....

In the Sword Sect's encampment, Shangguan Mengqing, sitting in front of a cave, felt increasingly uneasy, her heart pounding with anxiety.

Chang Wei and the others' place isn't too far from here. She and Lin Ran chose that place together. Why haven't they come back yet? It's been so long.

"Something must have happened to that guy..."

Shangguan Mengqing frowned slightly and gently rubbed her temples. Sometimes she really admired Lin Ran's ability to cause trouble; as soon as she wasn't around, something happened.

"You said you hoped everything would go smoothly, but you had to make it go wrong, didn't you!"

……

Chapter 139 Things Have Changed!

If Shangguan Mengqing had the ability to foresee the future, she would definitely go with Lin Ran.

Unfortunately, there's no going back now. She can only try to contact Lin Ran. Currently, she can sense from the Phoenix Bracelet that Lin Ran's soul is still very strong, which means that there are no problems for the time being.

"Lin Ran, can you hear me?"

Shangguan Mengqing poured her spiritual power into the Phoenix Bracelet and transmitted her soul to Lin Ran.

In the forest, one place was shrouded in a thick, dark red mist. Inside the mist, Lin Ran, soaked to the bone, led Chang Wei and the others in charging against the monster horde.

Lin Ran was taken aback by Shangguan Mengqing's intermittent voice that seemed to reach her very soul. She was secretly amazed: "Shangguan Mengqing can still make a sound in such a strange place. Is this bracelet that powerful?"

Lin Ran didn't stop what she was doing, continuing her forward momentum, while in her mind she responded to Shangguan Mengqing's words: "I heard you, I heard you. When Chang Wei and the others went back, I took a detour and ended up in a strange place. It's shrouded in dark red mist, there's only one path, impenetrable stone walls, and an endless tide of demonic beasts..."

Not long after, Shangguan Mengqing also received Lin Ran's intermittent voice.

Although the sound was intermittent and somewhat unclear, at least the complete meaning was still audible.

"This guy…"

Shangguan Mengqing didn't know whether to say that Lin Ran meant well but did something wrong, or that she was just unlucky. She roughly understood why Lin Ran had taken the long way around.

First, they wanted to check the surroundings to see if there were any other forces near their encampment. Second, they were afraid that the Spirit Pure Holy Land might have sent people to keep an eye on the area, and that they might be discovered and suspected of being from the Upper Sword Sect.

Actually, at first, she and Lin Ran both planned to wipe out the people from the Lingjing Holy Land. However, Shangguan Mengqing realized the strangeness of the Lingjing Holy Land's clearing behavior and felt that the Lingjing Holy Land must have some kind of means to predict the future. Otherwise, why would they have targeted the things in this lake so clearly so soon after entering?

Since they have such methods, if they are wiped out in one fell swoop, and the Lingjing Holy Land goes to great lengths to find out who did it, then it would really be a pointless opportunity for the Sword Sect to gain a formidable opponent.

So in the end, Shangguan Mengqing decided not to kill the people from Lingjing Holy Land, at least not from her Sword Sect. But if she didn't kill the people from Lingjing Holy Land, were there any other ways to avenge the disciples in her sect and, incidentally, get the crystal ball from Gao Tianwen and the others?

Lin Ran came up with this plan: first, they would steal the treasure, and have some disciples disguise themselves as people from the Northern Underworld Holy Land to deal with the people from the Spirit Pure Holy Land. Meanwhile, the other side would lead a team to fight their way out and help, thus "helping those in need."

But what I really didn't expect was that after the Lingjing Holy Land dealt with the underwater monsters, their fighting power was completely depleted, and even their few disciples in the Spirit Transformation Realm could be bullied at will. Moreover, Gao Tianwen was quite bold, directly holding such an important treasure in her hand, allowing Lin Ran to obtain it easily.

So they turned a blind eye and let those disciples bully the defenseless Lingjing Holy Land group, giving them a chance to get revenge.

Chang Wei and his group were indeed quite wild. Seeing that they were about to push Gao Tianwen to her limit, Shangguan Mengqing and Lin Ran brought people out to smooth things over.

Although this method is somewhat despicable, and one might say it's an unfair and immoral victory, the Lingjing Holy Land was originally hunting down disciples of the Sword Sect, so they should have considered the consequences of failing to kill them.

However, since it was Lin Ran who came up with this idea, poor Lin Ran has to bear some consequences first.

If they hadn't plotted against Lingjing Holy Land, they might not have fallen into such a strange and dangerous place. Even Shangguan Mengqing couldn't come up with a good solution for the time being.

There's only one way...

Shangguan Mengqing murmured to herself, feeling that this might be a point worth exploring further. As for the unbreakable stone wall, if she could get more information from Lin Ran, she might be able to find out whether this place was a place where people were bound to die, or a place where opportunities and challenges coexisted.

Afterwards, Shangguan Mengqing continued to patiently ask questions. After a while, Lin Ran would reply with detailed information. After a while, Shangguan Mengqing replied with her knowledge of various experiences: "This may be a test similar to the one we faced when facing the rock behemoth. The place you are trapped in may only appear at night."

Because I had previously investigated the area, you may have stumbled upon a dark red, misty place that I had seen from afar the previous night.

Since there are so many demonic beasts along the way, they're probably just there to stop you. There might be an even more powerful beast at the end; defeating it might allow you to escape!

As Lin Ran charged through the horde of monsters, he suddenly broke through a thin, dark red barrier. Instantly, all the monsters in front of him vanished, and his vision cleared up.

He arrived at a vast flat area, which seemed to have been used for sacrifices. At the end of Lin Ran's line of sight, there were several huge rock statues on the mountain wall, and below the statues were steps of blue stone covered with dark red moss. On the high platform that the steps led to, a huge altar could be vaguely seen.

The misty drizzle continued incessantly. This messy flat land was filled with ruins, broken and rusty swords and spears. Adorned by the drizzle, the place became extremely slippery, and the bluestone or the swords and spears faintly emitted an eerie luster.

"Senior... where is this... have we already come out?" Chang Wei came to Lin Ran's side and stared blankly at the strange scene in front of him.