304: Chapter 304 Mountain Lord, Demonic Cult

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire cabin instantly quieted down.

They saw the young man in ink-wash robes curl the corners of his mouth as a terrifying aura gradually drifted out from his body.

That aura was like the raging fires of the Nine Netherworlds, swaying and flickering in the air—this was precisely the characteristic manifestation of Devilish Qi.

Everyone looked at each other, the expressions on their faces changing from gratitude to astonishment, and then immediately turning into fear.

"What?"

"Ro… Rob the ship?"

"No way, isn't he here to save us?"

Someone in the crowd cried out in a low voice, their face turning pale in an instant.

She blankly looked at Chen Ran, at a loss for what to say for a moment.

Liu Qing's expression sank, and she said in a deep voice:

"Senior, what does this mean?"

This was certainly not good news; having thought they had sent away one great deity, they didn't expect the one left behind to be equally extraordinary.

Chen Ran did not answer, casually finding a chair to sit down on.

Crossing his legs, his gaze swept over everyone as he indifferently said:

"I just happened to be on this ship, the people of the Demonic Cult happened to want to hijack the ship, and Qin Jianshen happened to want to take someone away."

"As for you all..."

He paused, a faint smile hanging at the corners of his mouth:

"You just happened to be on this ship."

As his voice fell, the atmosphere inside the ship's hall instantly froze.

Only then did everyone realize,

the young man before their eyes was by no means a righteous hero.

His action just now was not to save them, but for his own purposes.

As for what purpose...

Everyone dared not think further.

...

At this moment, the party from the Red Lotus Demonic Cult, who had already turned to leave, suddenly stopped in their tracks.

Zhao Chi stood in place, his eyes narrowing slightly behind his mask.

That aura from just now, the moment Chen Ran announced he was hijacking the ship, drifted out even more clearly.

Red Lotus Karmic Fire.

Zhao Chi's heart skipped a beat.

He would recognize this aura even with his eyes closed; that was the ultimate technique of the Red Lotus Demonic Cult, and since its founding, there had never been any record of it being passed to outsiders.

A subordinate in black beside him quietly drew closer, lowering his voice yet unable to hide his shock:

"Hall Master, that person's aura... is our cult's Red Lotus Karmic Fire!"

Another subordinate spoke in a low voice: "This person's strength is unfathomable, and he also practices our cult's Cultivation Technique... Could it be that he is also one of our cult members?"

"Since when did our cult gain another Innate Realm powerhouse?!"

Zhao Chi shook his head slowly.

"He is not our person."

Those in the cult who truly cultivated the Red Lotus Karmic Fire could be counted on one's fingers, and all of them were under his control.

This person before him, he had never seen before.

But this unfamiliarity instead made him think of another name.

Mountain Lord.

The person who had made the Red Lotus Demonic Cult take the blame for a full half-year.

Back then during that major case in the capital, the court investigated it heaven and earth turning upside down, but the ultimate spearhead ended up pointing towards the Red Lotus Demonic Cult.

The Saintess later quietly investigated the ins and outs,

and only then learned that an expert named Mountain Lord had casually borrowed the cult's aura as a cover, leaving cleanly and leaving them to clean up the mess for others.

Remembering this matter, Zhao Chi clenched his teeth slightly.

Had it been anyone else, he would have already given the order to hunt and kill them.

But the Saintess had left instructions behind.

"If one day you encounter a man wielding the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, cooperate with him and do not conflict."

He had asked for the reason back then.

The Saintess only smiled without answering.

"Lady Saintess must have her own arrangements..."

Zhao Chi was silent for a moment, his gaze falling once more upon the young man lazily leaning back in his chair.

Unfathomably strong, practicing the sect-guarding ultimate technique, and acting unrestrained and unconventional.

In this world, the person capable of achieving these three points was probably only that one.

He raised his hand.

"Stop."

The men in black uniformly stopped in their tracks, not a single person speaking.

This scene, falling into the eyes of everyone in the ship's hall, was truly baffling.

Why had Zhao Chi, who previously looked like he was about to bid farewell and leave, abruptly stopped?

Just as everyone was perplexed, an even more jaw-dropping scene appeared.

Zhao Chi slowly turned around, leading the group of men in black behind him, and together they bowed towards Chen Ran's direction.

"Greetings, Senior Mountain Lord."

Inside the ship's hall, it was completely dead silent.

Bai Nianci was stunned in place, as if pondering what kind of figure Mountain Lord actually was.

Liu Qing's expression changed abruptly, her hand gripping her sword tightening slightly.

"Moun... Mountain Lord?"

In the corner, someone repeated these two words with a trembling voice.

Immediately after, almost everyone on the entire ship cast their gazes toward the young man sitting in the chair with his legs crossed.

Panic and disbelief were written across every single face.

Mountain Lord.

That was a wanted criminal openly issued with an arrest warrant by the current Great Wei Court, the top of the Earth Rankings.

It was said that this person's martial arts were unfathomable, having repeatedly provoked the Demon Suppression Division and the Six Doors in the capital, with mysterious methods and hard-to-find traces.

And now, he was sitting right here so brazenly, too lazy to even put up any disguise.

Chen Ran's eyebrows raised slightly.

His gaze swept over Zhao Chi, feeling a slight surprise,

but thinking that Jiang Mengli was the Saintess of the cult, she probably transmitted the information as well.

"It seems you all know my identity."

He slowly stood up, straightened his sleeves, and leisurely paced to the center of the ship's hall.

"Since that's the case, it saves some breath."

He lightly lifted his chin, gesturing towards the surroundings:

"Have your subordinates control the people on the ship."

Zhao Chi lowered his head and cupped his fists, saying: "As you command."

The men in black silently dispersed, flowing like water across the entire ship's hall, quietly enveloping all the passengers within their field of vision.

The guests all fell silent, shrinking into their respective corners without daring to breathe a loud breath.

Liu Qing was silent, putting up a strong front while secretly circulating her Qi to be on guard, yet she knew deeply that there was simply no way to resist at this moment.

Opposite her were two Innate Realm Martial Artists, whereas she was merely a Return to Truth Realm Martial Artist.

Grade Two and Grade Three might seem to only differ by one grade, but the gap was by no means small; the Innate Realm completely unblocked the bridge between heaven and earth, allowing the internal breath within the body to flow endlessly.

Burst power and endurance almost multiplied several times over.

The only one capable of contending against these two would probably be if their Ciyin Medical Valley Master personally took action, only then would they have the strength for a battle.

Chen Ran sat back down in his chair, casually picking up the wine cup on the table and blowing gently on it.

His pitch-black eyes lowered, and through the window, he saw the surging, roaring river waters rolling endlessly under the night.

"There is one more matter."

He raised his eyes and slowly said:

"Notify your Saintess."

"Tell her that I have come."

Zhao Chi was silent for a moment, bowed in salute, and his figure vanished on the spot.

"Yes."

The river breeze squeezed through the ship's window, gently fluttering Chen Ran's sleeves.

The night was deep, and on the river surface, there remained only the sound of waves gently slapping against the ship's hull, echoing continuously.