Chapter 1020: Blood Mist Filling the Sky

Blood-red spread across the heavens and earth; wherever the eye could reach, everything looked as if soaked in fresh blood—utterly terrifying.

Li Luo's shock lasted for several breaths before he came back to himself. Although the sky above the thatched hut was already shrouded in blood-light, making it nearly impossible to see what was happening outside, he could still sense that an extremely violent clash of energies was erupting out there.

Outside the thatched hut at this moment, a heaven-shaking great battle was surely underway.

"Dragon Head Li Luo, what is going on?"

At that moment a solemn voice came over—it was Qin Yi, who had also stepped out of the house. Facing the violent change outside the thatched hut, her breathtakingly beautiful face had also changed color, and she walked quickly toward Li Luo.

Li Luo frowned and shook his head. "I don't know either, but from the look of it, there seems to be a fight going on outside."

Qin Yi's pretty face shifted. "It can't be our people fighting among themselves!"

She and Li Luo were still inside the thatched hut retrieving the treasure; even if there were any disputes, those would only erupt after they came out. So a fight at this moment could not possibly involve their own people.

"Could it be the flock of eagles on that ancient tree that erupted?" Qin Yi guessed.

Li Luo shook his head with a grim expression. The energy emanating from this blood-light was cold and eerie, filled with an ominous aura—completely different from the "Bronze Golden-Claw Divine Eagle." Moreover, that energy was certainly not something possessed by the strong experts of the various factions; instead... it felt somewhat like an Other.

Thinking of this, Li Luo suddenly recalled the "Erosion Spirit True Demon" he had encountered earlier in the Golden Hall.

The two were, in fact, extremely similar.

"Could it be... that the Erosion Spirit True Demon that infiltrated the Spirit Phase Cave Heaven isn't just one?" Li Luo's pupils abruptly contracted. If that were the case, then it must have come for Li Li Lingjing.

The moment he thought of this, Li Luo could not help but feel anxious.

"Has Dragon Head Li Luo guessed something?" The moment his expression changed, Qin Yi keenly caught it and immediately asked quickly.

Li Luo glanced at her, paused briefly, and said, "Do you still remember what we went through in the Golden Hall?"

Qin Yi's pretty face changed dramatically at his words, and she said, somewhat shocked, "Could it be that the Other that infiltrated the Spirit Phase Cave Heaven isn't just one?"

"Judging from the situation before us, it seems possible. And this Other is probably even more terrifying than the one in the Golden Hall," Li Luo nodded and said.

"Outside, a very powerful unfamiliar energy fluctuation has appeared. That energy fluctuation is no weaker than Da Tian Xiang Jing, and there are signs it is still growing stronger." At that moment, the White Ape beside them suddenly spoke.

"Da Tian Xiang Jing? How is that possible!" Qin Yi's delicate frame trembled. Wasn't the Spirit Phase Cave Heaven subject to rule-suppression? All power entering it was suppressed to around Xiao Tian Xiang Jing—so where did this Da Tian Xiang Jing come from?

"Senior White Ape, that unfamiliar energy fluctuation is an enemy that has invaded our Spirit Phase Cave Heaven. Please lend us your hand and cut it down!" Li Luo's heart, however, stirred, and he hurriedly said.

Qin Yi also lit up. Right—she had forgotten about this White Ape. It itself seemed to be quite powerful; if it could act, that mysterious enemy should be nothing to worry about.

The White Ape, however, did not answer. Instead, with a somewhat forlorn look, it sat down at the stone platform for pounding medicine. It sighed and said, "You both know what state I'm in, don't you."

Li Luo and Qin Yi faltered, exchanged a glance, and said, "What do you mean, Senior?"

The White Ape took out a bronze smoking pipe, stuffed some medicinal herbs inside, and with a flick of its fingertip lit it. Smoke carrying the scent of herbs rose up, half-hiding that wind-and-frost-worn monkey face. Its somewhat world-weary voice came through the smoke: "I should be a dead thing, shouldn't I? I imagine the current Phase-less Saint Sect is already gone. I should be lingering on because of an obsession, and combined with the reason of this Spirit Phase Cave Heaven, I've been preserved in this special form."

"So some of the things you say, I don't understand... This Spirit Phase Cave Heaven shouldn't be the Spirit Phase Cave Heaven of the past either. Outside, I don't sense those once-familiar auras—only a deathly stillness, the air of long sealing."

"This world must have changed greatly."

Li Luo was silent, then he cupped his fist and bowed to the White Ape: "Forgive us, Senior."

The White Ape shook its head and smiled. "That obsession of mine, you've already helped me resolve. My task can be considered completely finished."

"I do want to help you one last time, but unfortunately... the moment I step out of this thatched hut, I'll turn into a wisp of green smoke and disperse."

Hearing these words, both Li Luo and Qin Yi were a little disappointed, though their expressions did not show it in the slightest.

"Although I can't help you deal with the enemy outside, I can keep you safe. As long as you stay inside this thatched hut, the things outside can't hurt you either," the White Ape said.

Li Luo smiled bitterly and shook his head. His eldest brother, second sister, as well as Lü Qing'er, Li Li Lingjing, and the others were all outside—how could he possibly hide inside the thatched hut and watch them go through life and death out there?

Qin Yi beside him asked, "Senior, then could you let everyone outside enter the thatched hut for shelter?"

The White Ape shook its smoking pipe and sighed somewhat helplessly: "I'm just a lingering remnant—how could I change the rules of the thatched hut? They don't have a token, they can't get in."

Hearing this, Li Luo said no more. He cupped his fist and said, "I appreciate your kindness, Senior, but I still have family and friends outside. I cannot abandon them."

Qin Yi was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I also have clansmen outside. If I were to abandon them and leave, I truly could not feel at ease."

The White Ape nodded silently. "All people of feeling, then. I can only wish you well from here."

Li Luo and Qin Yi bowed once more to the White Ape, then the two of them turned and walked toward the main door of the thatched hut.

Just as he was about to push open that time-eaten wooden door, Li Luo's ear twitched slightly, because he heard a faint voice coming from behind into his ear.

It was a message transmitted by the White Ape.

Li Luo's hand paused for a moment, taking the entire transmission into his heart. Then, without further hesitation, he decisively exerted force and abruptly pushed the wooden door before him open.

Outside the wooden door, blood-mist spread, blocking the view. From within the blood-mist, eerie whispers seemed to come, stirring fear in the heart.

But Li Luo's expression did not change. He clenched his hand, and the Jin Yu Profound Elephant Blade flashed into being. At the same time, the Sky Dragon Sun-Chasing Bow was slung across his back. The phase power within him surged and circulated, and three resplendent Heavenly Pearls abruptly materialized behind him.

Qin Yi's pretty face was also calm. She extended a jade hand, and a pale-blue Jade Pure Bottle flashed into view. Powerful energy fluctuations coursed across the Jade Pure Bottle, drawing even Li Luo's sidelong glance.

"Fairy Qin has quite a few hidden tricks," Li Luo said with a smile.

Qin Yi's Jade Pure Bottle was clearly also a Three-Purple-Eye treasure, its might extremely impressive.

"Still, I can't compare to Dragon Head Li Luo. I imagine what you've shown before isn't your full hand of cards either, right?" Qin Yi said with a charming smile.

Li Luo neither confirmed nor denied, and said no more. Gripping the ancient, plain straight blade, his gaze was piercing as he stared at the unsettling, thick blood-mist, and then he stepped straight into it.

Qin Yi followed closely. The Other before them was far more powerful than the one in the Golden Hall. Although she too had some tricks, against absolute strength there was still some risk—so it was best to walk together with Li Luo for a greater chance of success.

And when Li Luo and the other stepped into the blood-mist, they immediately heard countless eerie whispers coming from all directions. These whispers went straight to the deepest part of the heart, stirring the dark emotions within. Those whose will was not firm would likely be gradually lured and sink in, their minds swallowed up.

Li Luo and the other, however, were clearly not the sort to be easily lured, so they both tightly guarded their hearts and pressed forward.

The most important thing right now was still to first find the various squads, rendezvous with them, and deal with this Other together.

After the two had walked through the blood-mist for a while, footsteps suddenly came from ahead. Both of them instantly focused, phase power surging as they stayed on guard.

The footsteps drew gradually closer. The blood-mist ahead rippled, and a figure stepped out, falling into Li Luo and Qin Yi's line of sight.

"Cousin Li Lingjing?!"

When Li Luo saw that familiar figure, he immediately cried out in pleasant surprise.

The one who had come was indeed Li Li Lingjing. At this moment, energy churned violently around her, as if she had just been through a great battle. She gripped the Green Bamboo Green Snake Staff, and fresh blood kept dripping down the shaft of the staff, making it look somewhat filthy.

"Li Luo? You've come out of the thatched hut?" When Li Li Lingjing saw Li Luo, surprise also rose on her pretty face.

"Cousin Li Lingjing, what's happened out here?" Li Luo asked, alarmed and doubtful.

"Not long after you entered the thatched hut, an aberration appeared. Its strength was far greater than the one we had encountered before. The various forces joined hands to fight it, but the casualties were devastating. Then it summoned a blood mist that blotted out the sky and earth, trying to split us apart and pick us off one by one." Li Li Lingjing said in a low voice.

"But it's a good thing you've come out. Follow me, I'll take you to rejoin the others." As she spoke, she turned and led the way ahead.

Li Luo smiled and nodded, then asked, "Cousin Li Lingjing, your Green Snake Staff is filthy. Let me clean it for you."

Li Li Lingjing, with her back to Li Luo, waved a hand dismissively: "How could I care about such things now."

Li Luo's footsteps paused, the smile on his face gradually fading. The gaze fixed on Li Li Lingjing's back flickered, now dark, now uncertain.

"What's wrong?" Qin Yi asked perceptively from the side.

Up ahead, Li Li Lingjing's footsteps also stopped at that moment.

Li Luo's hand closed around the Jin Yu Profound Elephant Blade at his waist, and he said flatly, "Cousin Li Lingjing has a thing about cleanliness. Every time she kills someone, she cleans her weapon right away. This Jade Bamboo Green Snake Staff was a gift from me to her, and every time the staff's body sees blood, she cleans it even more carefully."

"She would never let this Green Snake Staff stay in a filthy state."

Li Luo stared coldly at the familiar back ahead.

"So... you're not Cousin Li Lingjing."

"You are... that aberration."