Chapter 1048: A Great Surge in Strength

Sha Mo Cave, seventy-first floor.

Boom!

Vast, terrifying waves of energy swept outward through the mountain range like a flood, and one towering peak after another began to collapse, enormous fissures spreading out in every direction.

Dust and smoke blotted out the sky.

Within the dust, a colossal figure flickered in and out of view. As the haze gradually settled, a massive silhouette, several hundred zhang tall, stood tall between heaven and earth.

It was a Sha Mo chieftain with six arms. Across its enormous body were inscribed countless ancient, mysterious runes, and these runes flowed with an eerie light.

This Sha Mo chieftain was overwhelmingly powerful. With every breath, it exhaled storms of energy that ravaged and destroyed the surrounding mountains.

Like a beast of annihilation.

In the distance, the eight thousand banner members of the Qing Ming Banner watched the Sha Mo chieftain with solemn expressions. After this period of tempering, the strength of the Qing Ming Banner's eight thousand had improved tremendously, and their spirit and bearing had been refined to the extreme—a powerful conviction accumulated through victory after victory.

After all, under Li Luo's leadership, they had already pushed their progress in the Sha Mo Cave to the seventy-first floor, a very impressive feat.

At this moment, every one of them was proud to be a member of the Qing Ming Banner, so naturally they were giving their all to uphold that pride.

This was the third opening of the Sha Mo Cave since Li Luo had returned to the Dragon Fang Mountain Range.

During these roughly twenty days, the eight thousand banner members of the Qing Ming Banner had endured great hardship. They had fought battle after bitter battle, surging from their original progress at the sixty-third floor all the way to the seventy-first!

This pace shocked not only the banner members of the other nineteen banners, but even drew astonished gazes from many of the higher-ups of the five veins.

Originally, when Li Luo had thrown out his fierce words about creating a new Sha Mo Cave record for the Twenty Banners, probably not many people had been optimistic about him. After all, that record had been left behind by Li Taixuan.

Although Li Luo had, in less than a year, repeatedly performed astonishing feats, the fame Li Taixuan had left behind had been built up over years. Compared to him, Li Luo still inevitably seemed a touch green.

But as these roughly twenty days passed and the Qing Ming Banner fought its way step by step through the Sha Mo Cave, finally reaching the seventy-first floor, those doubts and scrutinizing gazes gradually faded away.

Likewise, it wasn't only the outsiders' doubts that vanished—even the eight thousand banner members of the Qing Ming Banner themselves now saw the hope and possibility of setting a record.

So, if at first they had been moved by the generous rewards Li Luo had promised, by now they were working together for the sake of that record itself.

Because they, too, wanted to leave a magnificent, legendary mark in the history of the Twenty Banners. They wanted every future generation of Twenty Banners members to remember their Qing Ming Banner!

This would also be of tremendous help and benefit to their future prospects.

In the future, when they left the Twenty Banners and went to take up posts in various places across the vast territory of the Li Li Tianwang vein, they would only need to mention that they had come from the record-setting Qing Ming Banner, and surely others would immediately rein in any hint of slackness.

And the Sha Mo chieftain before them was the guardian of the seventy-first floor.

Once they defeated it, they would qualify to challenge the final floor!

The record was no longer far off.

In midair, Li Luo stood with his feet on nothing. After these roughly twenty days, his gaze seemed to have grown even sharper, because the great battles he had experienced during this period were several times more intense than those in the Spiritual Phase Cave Heaven.

Although the "Combined Qi" was not his own true strength, under the immersion of this powerful force, Li Luo himself seemed to have acquired some of the bearing of a Marquis-level strongman.

At this moment, Li Luo's gaze locked with extreme sharpness onto the massive body of the Sha Mo chieftain guarding the seventy-first floor checkpoint, and he murmured softly, "Upper Third Rank Marquis Realm."

That's right—the strength of this Sha Mo chieftain before him had unmistakably reached the Upper Third Rank!

With such overwhelming power, without the boost of "Combined Qi," Li Luo would probably have been wiped out in a single breath.

Fortunately, though, Li Luo was not alone.

Hoo—

Li Luo exhaled deeply. In the next instant, powerful phaseforce surged up from within him, and behind him, four resplendent Tian Zhu condensed into view. Immediately, the world's energy was devoured into them.

Four-Star Tian Zhu Jing!

A week ago, Li Luo had formally completed a breakthrough—the fourth Tian Zhu had successfully condensed.

After all, in the bitter battles of this period, it wasn't only the eight thousand banner members who had improved; Li Luo himself had also gained immensely.

"Combined Qi," Li Luo softly commanded.

Behind him, the eight thousand banner members solemnly responded. The next moment, eight thousand streams of aura merged into one, surging mightily upward, and ultimately descended upon Li Luo's body.

Boom!

Li Luo stood in midair as vast, boundless waves of energy swept outward like towering billows slamming against the heavens, and the nearby void itself began to show signs of shattering.

"Lower Third Rank."

Li Luo felt that surging energy. With the improvement in the Qing Ming Banner members' strength over this period, combined with his own advancement to the Four-Star Tian Zhu Jing, the power of this "Combined Qi" had also begun to reach the level of the Lower Third Rank Marquis Realm.

This force was somewhat weaker than the "Sha Mo chieftain" before him, but it gave Li Luo tremendous confidence.

Li Luo stared at the distant Sha Mo chieftain. With a clench of his hand, a massive bow radiating a wild, primal aura appeared in his grasp—it was the Sky Dragon Sun-Chasing Bow.

Li Luo's expression was very calm. He knew that at this moment, many gazes throughout the entire Sky Dragon Five Veins were likely fixed on him.

Because once they cleared the checkpoint before them, the Qing Ming Banner would truly come into contact with the final floor.

That was the end of the Sha Mo Cave.

Li Luo raised the great bow. The dragon-shaped mark on his brow erupted with brilliant light, and the sound of a dragon's cry rang out.

"Nine-Scale Sky Dragon Battle Body!"

Every fiber of Li Luo's flesh and blood seemed to grow scalding hot at this moment, like magma roaring within. His five fingers slowly drew back the bowstring.

Under the boost of "Combined Qi," this unruly Sky Dragon Sun-Chasing Bow became unusually obedient, tugged lightly at Li Luo's fingertips. The old difficulty of drawing it never reappeared.

As the bowstring was pulled back, a surge of vast energy immediately gathered, forming an arrow that caused the void to tremble violently.

Hum—

Li Luo's five fingers released, and the energy arrow shot forth. The void thundered, and wherever the arrow passed, the void itself was torn apart.

And from within that torn void, a massive black dragon suddenly roared out. Pitch-black, bone-chilling Dark Waters churned and flowed, and in the end the black dragon swallowed them down in a single gulp.

Great Perfection stage, Black Dragon Dark Water Banner!

The black dragon's claws gripped the arrow. Its massive body appeared before the "Sha Mo chieftain" almost in an instant, and with its claws clutching the energy arrow like a sharp sword, it viciously stabbed toward the latter.

Boom, boom!

The void kept splitting apart.

However, facing the black dragon's sudden assault, the massive-bodied Sha Mo chieftain did not retreat. Instead, it let out a violent, ferocious roar, and all six arms struck out at once like six heaven-spanning giant pythons, carrying a force of annihilation, and collided head-on with the black dragon's claws.

Boom!

In that instant, the void collapsed, and countless fragments of space rained down.

Moreover, the black dragon's claw was blasted into nothingness by that terrifying power; the Evil Demon Leader's strength at the Upper Third Rank of the Marquis Realm possessed a crushing effect.

Seeing this scene, the eight thousand banner soldiers felt a chill in their hearts; the strength of this Evil Demon Leader was far too terrifying!

However, Li Luo's expression did not change much; instead, the hand seal at his fingertip suddenly shifted.

Roar!

The black dragon roared, its mouth filled with fangs suddenly gaping wide, and a vast black dragon breath, carrying a corrosive intent, sprayed toward the Evil Demon Leader.

The Evil Demon Leader shrieked, and from its giant eyes, two beams of ten-thousand-zhang dark light shot out; the dark light was scorching hot, causing even the void to distort.

Hiss!

When the two terrifying forces collided, the void there continuously shattered.

But ultimately, the Evil Demon Leader still gained the upper hand; where the dark light passed, the black dragon breath continuously melted away.

In the void, some sighing sounds seemed to rise; those were the high-ranking members of the Li Li Tianwang lineage, who were also watching Li Luo's battle.

Yet, looking at the situation now, the Evil Demon Leader, whose strength reached the Upper Third Rank of the Marquis Realm, was an extremely difficult obstacle.

If Li Luo could not break through its blockage, then that final layer would likely be difficult to reach.

Hum!

However, just as they sighed over this, suddenly, a faint sword hum seemed to sound.

That sword hum swelled with the wind, quickly becoming loud and clear.

Countless suspicious gazes suddenly cast toward it, and then they discovered that the sword hum was actually emanating from within the black dragon breath.

Whoosh!

The black dragon breath dissipated completely at this moment; only a sword light was seen sweeping through the depths of the dragon breath.

When that sword light appeared, the entire heaven and earth seemed to be filled by that sword qi, sharp to the extreme; even the energy of heaven and earth was eroded and sliced by that sword qi.

Many Marquis Realm experts watching this suddenly changed color.

Because they felt that sword light was especially terrifying!

"Dual Phase Dragon Tooth, Great Void Returning Annihilation Sword Light."

Li Luo lowered his eyes slightly, and a soft whisper sounded in his heart.

This sword light was the true trump card he had hidden within the Black Dragon Nether Water Banner.

The dazzling sword light swept across heaven and earth.

That powerful Evil Demon Leader sensed the danger; its six arms blasted out a sky-filling array of terrifying fist shadows, attempting to block it.

But where the sword light swept, heaven and earth seemed to fall into an instant stagnation.

After a few breaths, Li Luo deeply exhaled a cloud of white vapor; reflected in his pupils, the Evil Demon Leader radiating overwhelming pressure in the distance, at this moment...

All six arms were severed.

The continuous mountain range behind its body also displayed a sword scar resembling a deep abyss.

Below, the eight thousand banner soldiers were silent.

The Marquis Realm experts peering from the void were also rendered speechless.

The Evil Demon Leader, hundreds of zhang tall, fell backward toward the sky; finally, at the instant it touched the ground, it exploded into a sky-filling array of energy light points. The light points swept through the void, forming yet another energy rainstorm that poured down.

Li Luo stood in the void; as the energy rainstorm poured onto him, he closed his eyes and quietly absorbed and refined it.

This was a gift from clearing the stage.

Under such energy infusion, beneath the four Heavenly Pearls behind Li Luo, a tiny light point also gradually formed.

After a long while, Li Luo opened his eyes; feeling the surging phase power fluctuation within his body, a smile surfaced on his lips.

Then he raised his head, gazing at the void, as if facing those peering gazes, and spoke.

"Seven days from now, the Azure Nether Banner will challenge the seventy-second layer."