Chapter 1001: Performance

Inside the ice cavern.

When Lv Qing'er broke free from her frozen state, Mu Yao and the others also recovered, and the first thing they noticed was the sudden appearance of Li Luo and his group.

"That's... someone from Li Li Tianwang's lineage?" Mu Yao stared at Li Luo, recognizing his identity at a glance, but then he also noticed that the ones who had come seemed to be only the youngest generation of Li Li Tianwang's lineage, and the Li Li Wuyuan he was concerned about was not among them.

This discovery made Mu Yao breathe a slight sigh of relief.

As long as Li Li Wuyuan wasn't here, no one among the younger generation of Li Li Tianwang's lineage could pose a threat to him.

"This Li Luo Dragon Head truly has known the Young Lady for a long time," Mu Yao said slowly.

"But Young Lady spent so much effort freezing us to delay things—was it to invite him here? Or was it to use his connections to call for reinforcements from Li Li Tianwang's lineage? Though it seems that Li Li Wuyuan is quite shrewd and doesn't want to get involved in our Golden Dragon Treasure House's internal affairs." A strange smile curled at Mu Yao's lips.

"Young Lady, it seems you've miscalculated a bit."

Lv Qing'er did not answer. Sister Jin spoke instead, her voice icy: "Mu Yao, are you truly determined to make things difficult for our Lu lineage today? Or has your grandfather already made his choice? Weigh the consequences of this yourself."

Mu Yao was briefly silent, then smiled faintly: "Since we've already made our move, surely you don't think you can talk me into retreating?"

Then he looked at Lv Qing'er, his face sincere: "Young Lady, I don't wish to hurt you, but this 'Ice God Lotus' absolutely cannot fall into your hands. If you leave now, we will not harm you in the slightest."

Lv Qing'er's frost-pure features were like a cold pool. Her red lips parted slightly, her voice chilling: "Mu Yao, do you truly think I have no means to counter you?"

Mu Yao laughed, his gaze sliding toward Li Luo: "Could it be that you're counting on this Li Luo Dragon Head?"

Li Luo heard this and also laughed, saying seriously: "Actually, that possibility isn't ruled out."

Mu Yao said flatly: "Li Luo, this is an internal matter of our Golden Dragon Treasure House. If you still have a shred of reason, I advise you to leave now, and not affect the relationship between Li Li Tianwang's lineage and the Golden Dragon Treasure House because of this."

Li Luo smiled: "Qing'er is my friend. Her business is my business. And... the Golden Dragon Treasure House isn't something you alone can represent, is it?"

Hearing Li Luo's words, Sister Jin couldn't help but cast him an appreciative glance. Although Li Luo's strength didn't seem able to change the situation, his bond with the Young Lady was indeed extremely deep. He had rushed to her aid the moment he heard she was in trouble, and now he hadn't wavered in the slightest despite Mu Yao's threats.

A faint smile also curled at the corner of Lv Qing'er's lips, while deep within her eyes, a touch of complicated emotion stirred at Li Luo's single word—friend.

Mu Yao's face was expressionless. He nodded lightly: "In that case..."

"Then there's no need to save face for you anymore!"

The instant his voice fell, Mu Yao's gaze turned abruptly sinister. A tremendously powerful energy pressure swept out from within his body. In the void behind him, deep yellow phase force seemed to evolve into a massive mountain of brown earth, and an immensely heavy aura rose with it.

Mu Yao's phase attribute was Earth Phase!

Moreover, he had now advanced into Xiao Tian Xiang Jing, and his Earth Phase had evolved into a brown earth mountain peak that seemed truly real.

Mu Yao extended his palm and clenched it viciously toward Li Luo's position.

Boom!

The earth immediately trembled, and dozens of sharp earth spikes suffused with mysterious light patterns erupted from the ground, shooting toward Li Luo's position as fast as lightning to impale him.

"Don't even think about touching my third brother!"

But before Li Luo could act, Li Li Jingtao let out a deep, furious roar. He stepped forward, formed hand seals, and the phase force within his body erupted with all his might.

"Eight Armor Art, Six Armor Mystic Skin!"

As Li Li Jingtao's roar fell, his body seemed to swell at that moment. Especially the skin on his body's surface rapidly became mottled, as if layers of mysterious armor-skin were covering his body, faintly emanating an astonishing defensive power.

Boom! Boom!

The earth spikes shot forth and all struck Li Li Jingtao's body. The layers of mottled armor-skin continuously shattered, and Li Li Jingtao was blasted stumbling backward. After several breaths, his flesh was torn open and fresh blood flowed down.

However, to everyone's shock, Mu Yao's attack had actually been blocked by him.

A trace of shock surfaced in Mu Yao's eyes. Although his previous attack hadn't been full force, he was after all at Xiao Tian Xiang Jing, while the Li Li Jingtao before him was only at two-star Tian Zhu Jing. The gap between them was so vast—under normal circumstances, shouldn't this Li Li Jingtao have been instantly killed?

How could he still have blocked it?

This guy's defense... was truly a bit monstrous.

"You've got some skill, but your own phase force level is too low. If you were at seven-star or eight-star Tian Zhu Jing now, with that defense of yours, you really might be able to hold me off," Mu Yao said with slightly narrowed eyes, his tone flat.

Li Li Jingtao clenched his teeth hard. Taking a hit head-on from a Xiao Tian Xiang Jing expert wasn't easy to bear. Even with his defense, savage wounds had appeared on his body, blood flowing nonstop.

Seeing this, Li Luo took out the "Mystic Wood Feather Fan" and waved out several streaks of Bai Guang that landed on Li Li Jingtao, immediately staunching his bleeding while the wounds also rapidly healed.

Li Li Jingtao said in amazement: "Third Brother, this treasure of yours is amazing. With its help, I can take a few more hits."

Li Luo quickly stopped Li Li Jingtao, who was eager to try again. Although his defense was formidable, Mu Yao hadn't attacked with full force earlier. If it came again, Li Li Jingtao might not be able to block it.

"Mu Yao, what's so impressive about bullying the weak with your strength? I'll fight you!"

At this moment Sister Jin shouted coldly. The phase force within her body erupted, and from her sleeve a streak of Jin Guang flew out. Within the Jin Guang was a sword shadow radiating biting cold energy. The sword shadow whistled, transforming into streaks of sword light that slashed directly toward Mu Yao.

With Sister Jin's attack, the guard experts following Lv Qing'er also erupted with phase force one after another, charging to meet the opposing forces.

"You're no match for me. Why keep fighting?" Mu Yao laughed coldly. He struck out with a palm, and the brown earth mountain peak that had evolved in the void behind him trembled. Hundred-zhang massive boulders rolled down from it, their momentum growing ever fiercer, like falling meteors, smashing all the whistling sword light into pieces.

Then Mu Yao clenched his five fingers into a fist and blasted it out violently.

Boom!

A hundred-zhang brown earth giant fist descended from the sky. The sound of sonic booms rang out, shattering countless sharp icicles that pattered down like a rain of ice.

Sister Jin's gaze sharpened. She pressed her palms together, and golden sword light soared upward, vaguely transforming into a golden celestial crane. The crane's Elder Ling Yu trembled, seemingly flowing with sharp, piercing brilliance.

Rumble!

The two attacks collided mid-air, and an earth-shattering boom immediately erupted. Energy storms ravaged outward, causing the ice permeating the cavern to crack continuously.

Both sides' forces were also affected, men and horses tumbling.

However, in their clash, Mu Yao clearly held the absolute upper hand. As the brown earth giant fist smashed down, the golden sword light grew ever dimmer, and finally, accompanied by a wail, it shot back violently.

Hum!

The Jin Guang transformed into a longsword and shot back in front of Sister Jin, trembling ceaselessly, causing a purple-eyed mark on the sword body to fade considerably.

Sister Jin let out a muffled grunt, and a trace of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.

She was currently only at half-step Xiao Tian Xiang Jing, and her strength was indeed a notch behind Mu Yao's.

A look of unwillingness surfaced in Sister Jin's eyes, then she said in a deep voice to Li Luo beside her: "You take the Young Lady and go. I'll hold them off!"

Li Luo shook his head and said calmly: "Don't rush, Sister Jin. Generally, when it reaches this point, it's time for me to take over."

Sister Jin said urgently: "At a time like this, what nonsense are you still spouting?!"

She was furious—what use could Li Luo, a mere three-star Tian Zhu Jing, be in a situation like this, and he was even falling into your rhythm! If the occasion weren't wrong, Jin-Zhong Jie would have been unable to resist cracking open this guy's skull to see what on earth he was thinking.

After being scolded, Li Luo also felt a bit sheepish, but fortunately at this moment Lü Qing'er beside him couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter, and on her aloof, ice-pure cheeks bloomed a bright, beautiful smile.

"Jin-Zhong Jie, don't underestimate him. Since he dared to come here, he must have some tricks up his sleeve," Lü Qing'er said to Jin-Zhong Jie with a smiling face.

"Only Qing'er understands me."

Li Luo gave her a thumbs-up, then clenched his palm, and the Sky Dragon Sun-Chasing Bow flashed into appearance. A wave of wild, vast energy ripples immediately spread outward.

"A Three-Purple-Eye treasure?" Seeing Li Luo's dragon bow, Jin-Zhong Jie was slightly shocked, but her brow was still tightly furrowed. Although a Three-Purple-Eye treasure was indeed powerful, it could not possibly bridge the gap between Li Luo and Mu Yao.

Moreover, Mu Yao was the direct-line grandson of the Grand Elder of the Golden Dragon Bank's Tianyuan Outer Shenzhou headquarters—how could he possibly not have high-grade treasures in hand?

"Jin-Zhong Jie, don't panic. A mere Xiao Tian Xiang Jing—one arrow is enough," Li Luo said with a smile.

Jin-Zhong Jie's eyes were full of doubt, but out of regard for Lü Qing'er's face, she ultimately said nothing more. She simply grabbed hold of Lü Qing'er's wrist with one hand, ready to take her away at any moment.

Li Luo, meanwhile, drew back the bowstring. His gaze calmly fixed on Mu Yao not far away, then with a thought, he connected with the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf within the Crimson Bracelet.

"Little Three, stop sleeping. It's your turn to perform."

Within the Crimson Bracelet, the slumbering Five-Tailed Giant Wolf slowly opened its crimson beast-pupils at this moment.