Chapter 1290: Void Ninth Grade

The massive purple-gold dragon shadow coiled above the palace dome lingered for a moment before slowly descending as purple-gold light, fully merging into Li Luo's head within the cauldron.

His body, which had swollen by several zhang, rapidly shrank, returning to its normal form after a few breaths.

Yet Li Luo's body had clearly undergone a change; a faint purple-gold radiance subtly flowed across his skin, and with a slight flex of his five fingers, an explosive force surged through his flesh and blood, roaring.

A faint, barely perceptible pressure emanated from within him.

At this moment, Li Luo opened his eyes; instantly, purple-gold light shot forth from his pupils, only gradually receding into the deepest part of his irises after a few breaths.

He immediately sensed his Dragon Thunder Image—no, it should now be called the "Heavenly Dragon Thunder Image"!

"Void Ninth Grade, Heavenly Dragon Image!"

This result was within Li Luo's expectations, yet he could not help but feel a surge of joy; after enduring two months of tempering, he had suffered greatly, but this final harvest made the bitterness turn to sweetness.

However, Li Luo also understood that the Heavenly Dragon Image's evolution to Void Ninth Grade was due entirely to the boost provided by the mysterious golden wheel within his body; otherwise, he likely would have found it impossible to break through the barrier between the Eighth and Ninth Grades.

How much Spirit Water and Strange Light could this save?

He had never before discovered such a miraculous function of the mysterious golden wheel; did this not mean he could rely on its power whenever he broke through a grade in his Image nature in the future?

Li Luo quickly sensed the mysterious golden wheel within his body and found it seemed to have become far more dormant; presumably, the previous outburst of miraculous power had taken a significant toll on the wheel.

"That power was extremely pure, somewhat similar to the fluctuation of Spirit Water and Strange Light. Could it be that some of the undigested power from the Spirit Water and Strange Light I absorbed in the past has been stored by the golden wheel?"

Li Luo guessed, and this storage clearly carried a significant amplification and grade-breaking effect.

If this were truly the case, then this mysterious golden wheel was indeed possessing a miracle beyond imagination.

Li Luo planned to test it later; if the mysterious golden wheel truly had this function, then the speed of his Image nature's evolution in the future might receive a massive enhancement.

His heart pounded with excitement, yet he understood this was not the right time to test it, so his figure moved, and he leaped out of the "Burning Mountain Cauldron."

As soon as Li Luo emerged, he saw Li Li Jingzhe and Li Li Qingpeng waiting outside, and immediately clasped his hands, saying, "Thank you, Grandfather, Uncle, for guarding my cultivation."

Li Li Qingpeng sized up Li Luo; the latter still emitted uncontained energy fluctuations around his body. While such fluctuations meant nothing to him, they represented a tremendous improvement compared to two months ago.

"It seems your Tian Xiang Jing Image has also improved greatly," Li Li Qingpeng said with a smile.

Li Luo nodded and said, "It is now nine thousand six hundred zhang."

During these two months, although the vast majority of his focus was on tempering himself and evolving the Heavenly Dragon Image, because the "Spirit Liquid" forged for him by Li Li Jingzhe contained numerous rare materials, Li Luo's Image power had also gained some improvement.

Two months ago, his Tian Xiang Jing Image was nine thousand zhang; two months later, it was already nine thousand six hundred zhang.

"Tsk tsk, a Tian Xiang Jing Image of nine thousand six hundred zhang; this foundation is quite solid. It seems Little Luo is aiming for the limit of the ten-thousand-zhang Tian Xiang Jing Image," Li Li Qingpeng exclaimed with some awe; when he was in the Da Tian Xiang Jing realm, he had only reached nine thousand five hundred zhang before beginning to break through.

"You think it's because of your lazy nature; you could have naturally refined your foundation to be even more substantial, but you couldn't bear the patience to break through to the Marquis Realm, or else you might have already stepped into the Ninth Grade Marquis," Li Li Jingzhe scolded.

Li Li Qingpeng felt somewhat embarrassed; this old man really used this matter to scold him whenever he had nothing else to do, but once the Tian Xiang Jing Image reached nine thousand zhang, every zhang of improvement became exceptionally difficult, and reaching the ten-thousand-zhang limit was something no ordinary genius could achieve.

However, he was of an honest disposition, and facing Li Li Jingzhe's scolding, he simply nodded and smiled in agreement.

Li Li Jingzhe had no way to deal with him, so he turned his gaze to Li Luo, his expression softening as he said, "Not bad. A Void Ninth Grade Heavenly Dragon Image; this result is somewhat beyond my expectations."

Originally, in his estimation, even though Li Luo possessed an extremely pure and thick Heavenly Dragon bloodline, he should not have been able to reach Void Ninth Grade during this tempering, yet Li Luo had managed to do so.

With Li Li Jingzhe's experience, he naturally understood that there must be some secret involved, as the barrier between the Eighth and Ninth Grades was by no means easy to cross, but since Li Luo was his grandson, there was no need for him to probe these secrets clear.

As long as this was a good thing for Li Luo, that was enough.

"It was thanks to Grandfather's Mi Fa and the Spirit Liquids you prepared," Li Luo said sincerely.

This was indeed the truth; although his own Heavenly Dragon bloodline was the most important factor in successfully evolving the Heavenly Dragon Image, without this tempering Mi Fa, even a skilled housewife could not cook without rice.

Moreover, those Mi Fa and Spirit Liquids were even more complex; the rare spiritual materials consumed within them were likely beyond his imagination, and if he had tried to gather them himself, he did not know how much effort and wealth it would have consumed.

Li Li Jingzhe merely waved his hand casually and said, "The rebirth of the Heavenly Dragon Image will likely cause quite a stir within the Li Li Tianwang lineage; perhaps even the heads of the other four lineages will inquire, but I will block them for you."

The Heavenly Dragon Image is the "Noble of Dragon Images," carrying a unique symbolic meaning within the Li Li Tianwang lineage; once it appears, all five lineages will compete for talent. History within the Li Li Tianwang lineage records that a Heavenly Dragon Image once emerged in an outer lineage, prompting all five lineages to immediately send people to recruit it into their own ranks, which caused quite some unpleasant incidents.

From this, one can see how special the Heavenly Dragon Image is within the Li Li Tianwang lineage.

Li Luo's Heavenly Dragon Image was not born naturally but evolved later; generally, the other lineages would become curious and conduct some investigation into him, which was unavoidable.

However, with Li Li Jingzhe stepping forward, Li Luo could avoid these troubles.

Such is the benefit of having a powerful backer.

Li Luo quickly expressed his gratitude.

"During the two months you cultivated, many things have happened; the 'Ghost Mist' has appeared in the Boundary River Domain, indicating that the 'Black Rain Ghost Calamity' is not far off, and the Boundary River Treasure Domain is also nearing its opening."

"This is the greatest event in the Boundary River Domain; numerous Marquis Realm experts from the Outer Shenzhou will flock here, and even some high-grade Marquis who have been in seclusion for years will be unable to resist getting involved."

"After all, the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Treasure is an temptation no Marquis Realm expert can resist," Li Li Jingzhe said.

Hearing this, a glimmer of anticipation rose in Li Luo's eyes; after all, he too coveted that supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Spiritual Treasure, which was the indispensable item needed to forge the Ten Pillars of the Golden Platform.

But supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Spiritual Treasures are far too precious; they are treasures that would make even many high-grade Marquis turn red-eyed. This was evident from the previous struggle for the King Pearl; the King Pearl was merely the main material for forging a supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Spiritual Treasure, yet it already attracted covetous glances. One can imagine what bloody storm would be unleashed if a naturally formed supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Spiritual Treasure were to appear.

"By the way."

Li Li Qingpeng, standing nearby, suddenly spoke up and smiled, "There is another piece of news."

"Li Hongyou has already begun preparations to break through to the Marquis Realm."

Hearing this, Li Luo felt some joy but was not surprised; Li Hongyou had long been at the peak of the Da Tian Xiang Jing realm, and for the past half-year, she had been accumulating for this, so her current attempt to break through was a natural progression.

Furthermore, Li Hongyou possesses a special Image nature; once she steps into the Marquis Realm, she will be able to add several points of strength to the upcoming struggle for the "Boundary River Treasure Domain."