Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

Chapter 251 Crimson Fire God's Decree

At 10 p.m., Chen Anran's room light was still on.

The curtains were drawn tightly, shutting out the night and coolness of the mountains. The television screen flickered with light and shadow, reflecting two figures sitting cross-legged on the soft carpet.

"Left, left! Oh dear, junior brother, you're so clumsy!"

Feng Xiaolu's eyes were glued to the screen, her hand gripping the controller, her body swaying from side to side with the game character. On the screen, two wooden figures were running across a swaying suspension bridge, with lava chasing relentlessly behind them. Chen Anran's figure made a mistake during a jump and fell into the lava with a "plop," turning into a wisp of smoke.

The words "Game Over" popped up in large letters.

Feng Xiaolu let out a wail and leaned back into the pile of cushions: "Failed again! This is the seventh time! Junior brother, were you deliberately letting me win?"

Chen Anran put down the controller, rubbed his slightly sore eyes, and said, "No, it's not that. This game requires too much skill; my hands are still a bit stiff."

"Excuse me!" Feng Xiaolu sat up abruptly, grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest, tilting her head to look at him. "But you do look much better than this afternoon. It seems playing games is more effective than meditation!"

"Nonsense." Chen Anran chuckled, got up, walked to the table, poured herself a glass of warm water, and took a sip. "It's already ten o'clock, Third Senior Sister, you should go back."

"What's the rush? It's only ten o'clock!" Feng Xiaolu glanced at her phone and suggested enthusiastically, "Let's play another round! This time, let's play the kitchen game, it's easy!"

Just as Chen Anran was about to speak, she suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, I haven't seen Xiaoling'er all day. Where did she go?"

"Little Ling'er," Feng Xiaolu put down the controller and poured herself a glass of water, "is in seclusion again. Ever since she entered the Qi Refining stage, she has been cultivating with exceptional diligence."

Chen Anran nodded slightly, "He is indeed more hardworking than you."

"Bullshit! I work just as hard!"

As she was speaking, Chen Anran's phone, which was on the coffee table, suddenly vibrated. The screen lit up, showing the caller ID: Qi Lan.

Chen Anran was somewhat surprised.

He picked up his phone and swiped to answer: "Fellow Daoist Qi?"

"Aren't you asleep yet?"

"Not yet. Is there something you need?"

"I'm at the entrance of your sect," Qi Lan said succinctly. "If it's convenient, come out for a moment; I have something for you."

At the sect gate? So late? Chen Anran was even more surprised: "Now? Okay, I'll be right out."

After hanging up the phone, Feng Xiaolu curiously leaned over: "Qi Lan? Why is she looking for you so late?"

"They said there's something for me at the sect gate." Chen Anran stood up, picked up his coat from the back of the chair and put it on. "I'll go take a look."

"I'm going too!" Feng Xiaolu jumped up immediately. "It's so late at night, it's not safe to be alone! What if there's an ambush?" she said, deliberately making a gesture of alertness to her surroundings.

Chen Anran knew she was just curious and wanted to go see what was going on, so she didn't point it out. She simply said, "Then put on a coat; it's chilly outside."

The two put on their coats and gently pushed open the door. The mountain night was quiet. Chen Anran and Feng Xiaolong walked along the familiar path toward the mountain gate and saw Qi Lan standing in front of it from afar.

"Fellow Daoist Qi," Chen Anran greeted as he approached.

Qi Lan looked up, her gaze sweeping over Chen Anran and Feng Xiaolu following behind, and nodded as a greeting. Without exchanging pleasantries, she directly handed the black storage bag in her hand to Chen Anran.

"The bell asked me to give it to you before I left."

"A bell?" Chen Anran took the bag; it felt slightly heavy in her hand. "She's gone? When?"

"This afternoon," Qi Lan said calmly, "she said there was an emergency at home and she had to go back. She left in a hurry and didn't have time to find you in person, so she asked me to give this to you so that you could keep it for her for a while."

"Store it?" Chen Anran squeezed the black storage bag; inside was a hard object, like metal. "Did she say what it was? And how long will it take?"

Qi Lan shook her head: "She didn't say. She only told you to keep it safe and pick it up when you come back." She paused, then added, "Judging from how hurriedly she left, and the fact that she was carrying stones, it's probably not something trivial."

Chen Anran nodded thoughtfully. Although Lingdang was lively and often bickered with Qi Lan, she wasn't someone who didn't know her place. Although Qi Lan called the Crimson Spirit Sect an "evil cult," they had kept a low profile in recent years and hadn't committed any evil deeds. It was actually the actions of some so-called righteous cultivators that disgusted Chen Anran.

"Thank you for bringing this, Fellow Daoist Qi." Chen Anran put away the storage bag and said solemnly.

"Just doing it on the spur of the moment." Qi Lan waved her hand, her gaze lingering on Chen Anran's face for a moment. "Are you injured?"

"It was just a minor injury, I'm fine now." Chen Anran smiled and put the storage bag into his pocket. "Thank you for your concern, Fellow Daoist Qi."

Qi Lan nodded, then glanced at Feng Xiaolu behind Chen Anran, and said calmly, "Many strangers have come down from the mountain. Your Yunyin Sect is currently very powerful, so be careful."

"We will be careful," Chen Anran replied earnestly. "Please also be careful at the cat cafe, Fellow Daoist Qi. If you need any help, please contact us anytime."

Mind your own business.

After saying that, Qi Lan turned around and disappeared into the mountain road in a few breaths.

Feng Xiaolu sidled up to Chen Anran, staring curiously into his pocket: "Junior Brother, come and see what's in there!"

Chen Anran said, "Let's go back and check."

The two returned to Chen Anran's room and closed the door. Chen Anran walked to the table, placed the storage bag on it, and removed the simple restriction on it.

The bag was slightly ajar, revealing a dark bronze plaque inside. It was entirely black, about the size of a palm, with dark red flame-like patterns swirling around its edges. There were no words on the plaque, but in the center, a highly complex and twisted pattern was engraved, resembling some kind of ancient rune, or perhaps a combination of insects and flames forcibly kneaded together.

"What is this? It's all dark and ugly." Feng Xiaolu moved even closer.

Chen Anran stretched out her finger and gently touched the surface of the bronze plaque.

Item: Crimson Fire God's Token (Broken)

Status: Evolvable

"Evolution Path: Heavenly Demon Token (Estimated Time: 10000 hours)"

"Note: Can summon and command demon soldiers and generals to assist in battle. The number of summons is related to the summoner's spiritual power, with a maximum of 500,000."

Chen Anran was stunned, then shocked. This thing... is a divine artifact!

Chen Anran stared intently at the token on the table.

Now he could empathize with what Master Liu Wu of Shi Haisheng did. Faced with a treasure, who wouldn't want to possess it?

custody?

Chen Anran had only one thought in his mind: to possess it.

The evolutionary process, which takes only a little over 800 days, can be completed in two and a half years. With countless demonic soldiers and generals filling the sky, who could possibly dare to offend the Cloud Hidden Sect?

After a moment, Chen Anran exhaled, and his eyes regained their clarity. He put the token back into his storage ring and then stored it in his spatial ring.