Chapter 1031: The Golden Blade and the Blood Eye

The golden blade-light descended, and the blood-colored ice-covered plain directly split open with a chasm thousands of zhang wide; that terrifying destructive force could truly be called heaven-and-earth-shattering.

And facing this slash from Li Luo, even that "Spirit Eye Dark King" showed a trace of astonishment, for as a King-level powerhouse, he understood very well the weight of such a "King's Mark."

This was certainly not something any King-level powerhouse could casually leave behind.

It required a King-level powerhouse to truly invest their heart's blood and then use a vessel of attachment that was extremely compatible with oneself, only then could it bear this mark.

Very few King-level powerhouses would spend great effort and heart's blood to inscribe such a thing, so when Li Luo slashed out this blade, even this "Spirit Eye Dark King" felt surprised.

"Was it given to you by Li Li Jingzhe? But this power doesn't seem to match him."

The Spirit Eye Dark King murmured to himself, then seemed to let out a soft sigh and said: "I had thought it would be an easy matter, but in the end I still have to get serious. Being pushed to this state by a mere Tian Zhu Jing brat is truly a joke."

His gaze finally shifted away from Li Li Lingjing for the first time, landing on Li Luo.

The Spirit Eye Dark King's aged face turned indifferent. He gazed at the golden blade-light that had split both the earth and the heavens, and his eyes slowly closed at this moment.

And at the instant his eyes closed, Li Li Lingjing felt as if the heavens and earth had turned blood-red in that moment; even the energy flowing between heaven and earth was dyed red, and moreover, this energy seemed to no longer be absorbable.

Because within this heaven-and-earth energy, there seemed to be something else mixed in—a kind of will.

That will belonged to the Spirit Eye Dark King before them.

In other words, at this moment, this stretch of heaven and earth already belonged to the Spirit Eye Dark King; here, even a Marquis-level powerhouse could no longer mobilize heaven-and-earth energy.

This was the terror of a King-level powerhouse—using one's own will to control a region of heaven and earth. Within this domain, even a Marquis-level powerhouse could not draw upon or mobilize heaven-and-earth energy, and their own phase power would only continuously weaken.

Within the blood-red heaven and earth, only that single golden blade-light remained dazzlingly brilliant, un-rejected and un-melted by the heaven-and-earth energy.

Li Li Lingjing suddenly raised her head and saw, above the Spirit Eye Dark King, a colossal blood-red eye suddenly appear. That blood-red eye was like a true star, so enormous it inspired fear. The blood pupil slowly rotated, radiating an endless emotion of terror.

Under the assault of this terror, even with Li Li Lingjing's temperament, her body could not help but tremble; blood tears seeped from the corners of her eyes. She hurriedly lowered her head, not daring to look directly at that blood-red giant eye, for she knew that if she kept looking, her eyes would go blind on the spot, and the flood-like terror would also shatter her mind.

The blood-red eye, carrying endless gloom, fixed its gaze upon the golden blade-light that had torn through the heavens.

From within the blood eye, flames like fresh blood flowed down, finally sweeping across heaven and earth with the force of a prairie fire, then colliding with the golden blade-light.

At the instant the two made contact, the entire heaven and earth seemed to lose all sound. A collision of that level, with the strength of Li Luo and Li Li Lingjing, could no longer be directly perceived; they could only rely on their own senses to detect that some indescribable collision was taking place.

Great sound is silent.

This collision seemed to last an instant, yet also as if it had endured a very long time.

When Li Luo and Li Li Lingjing sensed their senses recovering once more, the collision had already ended.

Li Luo stared somewhat blankly at his surroundings. The ice layer originally formed from the blood sea had now completely melted, and upon the earth remained a kind of blood-red flame. These flames burned silently, feeding on heaven-and-earth energy, as if they would never be extinguished.

If these flames were allowed to keep burning like this, any region would gradually be scorched into eternal barren wasteland.

But the Lingxiang Dongtian clearly possessed a protective power, so the heaven-and-earth energy at this moment automatically condensed, forming a kind of drizzling rain that poured down from the heavens, curbing the spread of the blood-red flames.

However, Li Luo no longer had the mood to pay attention to these clashes, because he heard a faint cracking sound.

Li Luo lowered his head and looked at the Golden Jade Elephant Blade in his hand. On the blade body, fine cracks were spreading outward, and faintly, it seemed as if a sorrowful elephant's cry was emanating from within.

Crack!

In the end, the Golden Jade Elephant Blade finally shattered, breaking into numerous fragments that fell away one after another.

Li Luo's heart trembled. This treasured weapon that had accompanied him for a long time, after enduring many great battles, had finally been scrapped today.

Although in terms of grade, this Golden Jade Elephant Blade could no longer be considered high, Li Luo's fondness for it even surpassed that of the "Heaven Dragon Sun-Chasing Bow" of the Three Purple-Eye grade.

Yet now, after slashing toward a King-level powerhouse, it had finally broken.

Li Luo could also sense that the "King's Mark" Pang Pang Qianyuan had left within it had also, at this moment, dissipated along with it.

He slowly raised his head and looked toward the "Spirit Eye Dark King" ahead. At this time, the latter's face was indifferent; his eyes opened and closed, and upon the closed eye, a deep blade scar had appeared.

That slash earlier, unleashed by the "King's Mark," seemed to have also cost this King-level powerhouse no small price.

Li Luo Heavily exhaled, and an irrepressible exhaustion surged up from within his heart. He had already given his all, yet facing a King-level powerhouse—even though this was not his true body—that kind of strength was still enough to make one feel despair.

Even though he possessed the trump card of the "King's Mark," in the end, he still failed to slay the "Spirit Eye Dark King" before him.

This was actually within expectations. After all, no matter how strong a King's Mark was, it was still merely a measure left behind by a King-level powerhouse. The grade of the Golden Jade Elephant Blade limited Pang Pang Qianyuan from infusing more power into this mark, and the "Spirit Eye Dark King" before them was an existence whose strength was in no way inferior to Pang Pang Qianyuan.

A thick sense of powerlessness made Li Luo understand his own insignificance.

In the distant midair, Qin Yi was staring blankly in this direction. She had sensed the disturbance earlier and immediately rushed over, and then witnessed Li Luo's slash that had cleaved the earth and the heavens.

Such a terrifying slash—probably even her mother Qin Qin Lian could not perform it—but what was even more terrifying was that this slash had actually been blocked by that mysterious old man.

"A King-level powerhouse..." A nearly despairing moan escaped from Qin Yi's mouth. She could not understand why this Lingxiang Dongtian trial had encountered so many unexpected turns.

Even a King-level powerhouse had been drawn here.

Qin Yi revealed a bitter smile. Facing an existence like a King-level powerhouse, she could not even muster the thought of fleeing, because she knew it would be utterly meaningless.

Right now, the only hope was that the powerhouses from the various major factions stationed outside the Lingxiang Dongtian could detect the disturbance within and come to the rescue.

"What a fierce little child..."

The Spirit Eye Dark King touched the blade scar on his left eye. The faintly emanating overwhelming blade intent made his eye sting slightly. Li Luo and the others could not see the situation within, but he knew what kind of terrifying collision that blade intent was currently having with his blood pupil. This collision meant that this eye of his would probably be difficult to open for quite some time.

The Spirit Eye Dark King stared at Li Luo and seemed to smile, but that smile was like a giant beast at the bottom of an unfathomable abyss, inspiring fear: "The Li Li Tianwang lineage has produced a fine seedling."

He did not directly strike out to obliterate Li Luo at this moment, but instead cast his gaze once more toward the pale-faced Li Li Lingjing and said gently: "Number Three."

"I'm not called Number Three! I have a name! My name is Li Li Lingjing!" Li Li Lingjing's voice was filled with hatred and venom.

Yet the Spirit Eye Dark King did not get angry; instead, with some delight, he said: "Yes, yes, to be able to maintain your self amid endless sinking—only a you like this is the flawless perfection I have always pursued."

"Compared to you, all my previous masterpieces are nothing but trash!"

"You will be the perfect Dao I have pursued my entire life!"

A fanaticism surfaced on his aged face; his gaze upon Li Li Lingjing was like that upon a flawless work of art.

"Li Li Lingjing, come with me, old man. I will lead you down a path of perfect fulfillment unlike that of all living beings." The Spirit Eye Dark King said gently.

"No...!"

Li Luo hurriedly spoke out, yet the moment his first word left his lips, he saw the Spirit Eye Dark King cast an indifferent glance his way. In that instant, Li Luo felt as if his senses had been stripped away; the world fell utterly silent, and even his body could not move in the slightest.

Falling into this same stripped state was Qin Yi in the distance. She seemed to be in even worse condition—even blood flowed from her eyes, and she herself seemed to have fallen into endless darkness.

Throughout all of heaven and earth, only the Spirit Eye Dark King and Li Li Lingjing could speak.

The Spirit Eye Dark King revealed a smile and said, "Li Li Lingjing, you understand your own heart better than anyone, so you should know which path suits you better."

"Something like this happened in the Spirit Aspect Grotto-Heaven. After you return to the Dragon Fang Lineage, you will surely face endless suspicion and disgust. Do you truly think that place suits you?"

"In truth, you hate the Dragon Fang Lineage deeply. There, your life and death are controlled by others at any moment. Li Li Lingjing, deep within your heart lies a tremendous ambition — an ambition the Dragon Fang Lineage can never satisfy."

His aged voice rose slowly, like a demon's temptation.

"Do you take me for a naive child? When it comes to evil and cruelty, who could compare to you, you monster? The aberrant lifeforms you created — how many people have they destroyed?" Li Li Lingjing said with chilling coldness.

The Spirit Eye Dark King paid it no heed and laughed, "For the Dao I pursue, even if it means destroying all living beings, this old man would not hesitate."

"Li Li Lingjing, come with me. In the future, you will become the most perfect being in the world — even surpassing me."

"This old man knows you hate me, and precisely because of that, you should come with me all the more. Otherwise, in the Dragon Fang Lineage, you will never have this chance or possibility."

"Of course, more importantly..."

The Spirit Eye Dark King's smile grew ever gentler.

"If you won't come with me, then this old man will... erode your mind, and then, with your own hand —"

"Kill him."

He extended a withered finger and pointed at Li Luo.