After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

The first tentacle struck Zhou's back.

The three pieces of the Primordial Scale Armor shattered on the spot, and blood spurted out from the cracks.

The moment it touched the light membrane, it was completely swallowed up by the gray laws.

The second tentacle wrapped around his left leg.

Zhou Ran pressed down with his knee, and was almost dragged back to the altar.

He swung his sword backhand, severing the tentacle in two. Gray mist spewed from the broken ends, from which countless eyeballs emerged and crawled along the ground onto him.

A purple-gold light pressed down in Zhou Ran's eyes.

"broken."

Those eyeballs were crushed into powder by the laws.

More tentacles emerged from the crack.

The space inside the light membrane began to stretch, turning a ten-zhang path into a hundred-zhang one. The Heavenly Corpse's left eye wanted to trap him inside, exhausting him until the projection collapsed.

Zhou Ran sneered.

"Playing space games with me?"

He raised the Grand Commander's Order.

"Location of Yin Law: Jiangcheng East District, Cultural Center Outdoor Plaza."

The token vibrated, and golden light shot out from its surface, carving out a straight path in front of it.

The space that had been stretched open allowed the Yin Law to return to its original position, and the distance of a hundred feet shrank back to ten feet.

Zhou Ran carried Xu Youwei and rushed towards the exit.

The third tentacle lashed out from the side, heading straight for Xu Youwei's back.

He didn't hide.

Zhou Ran turned around and used his shoulder to brace himself.

The shoulder armor shattered, a crack appeared in the shoulder bone, and blood flowed down the arm.

He protected Xu Youwei in his arms, and not a speck of dust or mist touched her.

Silver Eyes looked up at him.

"You will die."

Zhou Ran gritted his teeth and charged forward.

"The people who want me dead are lined up all the way to the underworld. You take your number first."

Silver Eyes remained silent.

Another tentacle fell from above.

Zhou Ran ducked to avoid it, then slashed diagonally with his blade, severing the tentacle by the roots.

He finally reached the crack in the light film.

Outside, Fatty Wang and Qin San had already arrived at the edge of the eastern district.

The remaining turbulent currents of the void blocked their path, preventing the two from entering for the time being.

When Fatty Wang saw Zhou Ran covered in blood, his eyes immediately welled up with tears.

"Ran-ge!"

Zhou Ran did not respond.

At the same moment he burst out of the light membrane, he threw the Primordial Black Blade with his backhand.

The black knife left his hand, leaving a straight line of black and gold.

The half-blue, half-gray patterns on the blade lit up, new marks left after slashing through the ancient laws of Penglai, the thunder shadows of the Heavenly Dao, and the fragments of the Void Realm.

All the knife marks ignited simultaneously.

The target was the center of the left eye of the Heavenly Corpse.

Sensing danger, the left eye constricted sharply, and the gray beam of light refocused.

The Taihuang Black Blade is even faster.

puff.

The blade pierced the heart of his pupil.

No blood flowed out; instead, large, regular gray particles sprayed out from the eyeball.

His entire left eye trembled violently, and a sharp, mournful cry echoed across the eastern sky.

Those ordinary people entangled in the gray thread simultaneously awoke from their nightmares, clutching their chests and gasping for breath.

Zhou Ran raised his hand and grabbed.

"return."

The Taihuang Black Blade was pulled from the center of his pupil and flew back into his palm.

The Heavenly Corpse's left eye slowly closed.

The optical film shattered.

The Dongcheng Cultural Center has stopped its downward expansion.

The bulging walls, gray tentacles, and underground blood vessels all lost their activity, turning into ash and covering the ruins.

Zhou Ran landed on the square.

He knelt on one knee, using the knife to support his body, his chest heaving rapidly.

The original body in the Void Realm Holy Mountain also vomited blood.

The combined effects of both sides nearly drained his nascent soul.

Fatty Wang rushed to his side.

"Ran-ge, are you alright?"

Zhou Ran took a few breaths.

"Do I look like I'm fine?"

Fatty Wang choked for a moment, then raised his hand and scratched his hair.

"Like someone who just crawled out of a meat grinder and even grabbed the meat grinder knife while doing so."

Qin San strode forward and looked around.

"More than a dozen of the remaining soldiers from Penglai escaped. Should we pursue them?"

Zhou Ran shook his head.

"Don't chase."

He looked down at Xu Youwei in his arms.

"Save lives first."

"In Penglai, not a single living person can escape."

The silver hue in Xu Youwei's eyes began to fade, and the scattered light gradually returned to the depths of her pupils.

A few breaths later, she woke up.

She saw Zhou Ran, and then she saw the partially collapsed Dongcheng Cultural Center in the distance. Her lips moved slightly.

"I'm alive?"

Zhou Ran handed her over to Fatty Wang, his voice a little hoarse.

"There's half left."

Xu Youwei's eyes were red, but she didn't cry out.

She already knew that Old Master Xu was dead, and she also knew that she had almost become the sacrifice for opening Penglai's left eye.

She gripped the hem of her dress, her fingers digging into the fabric.

"My grandfather..."

Zhou Ran looked at her.

"He chose this path himself, and I saw him off to the end."

Xu Youwei lowered her head, and her shoulder twitched slightly.

Fatty Wang opened his mouth, but didn't dare to offer any advice.

Qin San held his knife horizontally to his side, blocking the lingering gray mist in the distance.

Zhou Ran looked up at the closed left eye of the Heavenly Corpse.

This eye was merely severed. The scheme left behind by the Moon Emperor is not yet over.

The silver eye within Xu Youwei's body wouldn't appear just for a single glance.

In the mortal realm, there is Lin Qingxue.

There is a bright moon in the virtual world.

Now Xu Youwei has joined the fray.

All three lines point to the final step in the resurrection of the Moon Emperor.

Zhou Ran gripped the Taihuang Black Blade tightly; the half-blue, half-gray patterns on the blade were still warm.

"Back to the manor."

He turned and walked out.

"First, stabilize the people, then go and clear out Penglai."

Xu Youwei blinked.

She first saw Zhou Ran covered in blood, then realized she was still being held in his arms, and tears immediately welled up in her eyes.

She reached out and grabbed Zhou Ran's collar.

"My grandfather..."

Zhou Ran paused for a moment.

"He's dead."

Xu Youwei's body stiffened.

Fatty Wang opened his mouth, as if to say something, but Qin San pressed him down.

Xu Youwei did not cry out loud.

She just gripped Zhou Ran's clothes, her fingers tightening more and more.

"He really... wants to kill me?"

Zhou Ran looked at her.

This is a cruel question.

But she had already heard it.

Lying to her won't work.

"Um."

Xu Youwei buried her face in Zhou Ran's chest, blood staining half of her face.

"Why...?"

Zhou Ran did not answer immediately.

He's not good at comforting people.

Especially those who have just been sent to the altar by their own grandfather.

After a moment, he said:

"Because in his eyes, the greater good is more important than you."

Xu Youwei's voice trembled.

"Then what am I?"

Zhou Ran looked at the closed left eye of the Heavenly Corpse.

"From today onwards, you're in charge."

Xu Youwei looked up at him.

Zhou Ran handed her over to Qin San.

"Take her back to the manor."

Qin San took the person.

Xu Youwei, however, held onto Zhou Ran tightly and wouldn't let go.

Zhou Ran lowered his head.

"What are you doing?"

Xu Youwei choked up as she said:

"Will you also use me as a pawn?"

Zhou Ran thought for a moment.

"We will use your identity and your testimony."

Xu Youwei stood there, stunned.

Fatty Wang almost jumped up.

"Brother, can't you speak like a normal person at a time like this?"

Zhou Ran continued:

"But I won't trade your life for this situation."

Xu Youwei's tears welled up again.

She hugged Zhou Ran.

"Thanks."

Just then, Zhou Ran's phone rang.

He is currently a projection, and his mobile phone is a communication device based on the laws reflected from the manor's array core.

The fact that they were able to break in means something happened at the manor.

The screen displays: Chen Ya.

Zhou Ran answered the call.

"explain."

There was a burst of static on the other end of the phone.

Then came Chen Ya's barely suppressed sobs.

"Come back soon."

"Lin Qingxue..."

She seemed to choke on blood, paused for a few seconds, and then managed to squeeze out the last few words.

"Lin Qingxue has disappeared!"