Chapter 1386: The Contract of Rebirth

The golden bamboo shoot was only palm-sized, appearing short and chubby, strangely cute in an inexplicable way.

The bamboo shoot emitted a mysterious aura, etched with numerous ancient patterns; faintly, there seemed to be a blurred trace of a golden dragon upon it.

At the same time, tiny flashes of lightning danced upon the bamboo shoot.

Li Luo had originally been in a state of overwhelming grief, but this suddenly appearing golden bamboo shoot caused his emotions to pause for several breaths, his eyes filled with grief and confusion alternating back and forth.

For upon that golden bamboo shoot, he clearly sensed a trace of familiar aura.

Although that aura was extremely faint, even carrying a flavor akin to extinction, that single trace of aura could not be faked in the slightest.

It was the aura of Li Li Jingzhe.

And not only was Li Luo looking blank and at a loss; Li Li Qingpeng, Li Li Jinpan, and others nearby were equally baffled, staring straight at that golden bamboo shoot.

They too had sensed that extremely familiar trace of aura.

Yet, they did not understand what was going on.

Previously, Li Li Jingzhe had clearly perished and vanished right before their eyes, so what was the situation with this trace of aura and the golden bamboo shoot?

While they stared at each other in confusion, Tai Tai Lan spoke up: "This is the juvenile form of the Sky Thunder Bamboo. If my guess is correct, this should be derived from your grandfather's affinity with the Sky Thunder Bamboo."

"Then, that..." Li Luo opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but dared not speak it out, his cautious demeanor as if fearing the last shred of hope in his heart might be shattered abruptly.

Seeing him like this, Tai Tai Lan felt a pang of sorrow; she reached out and ruffled Li Luo's hair, speaking softly: "I know what you want to ask..."

She gazed at the golden bamboo shoot, pondered slightly, and said: "Indeed, there is a trace of your grandfather's lingering aura within this Sky Thunder Bamboo. I think this should be a special ability triggered by something within your body when your emotions were at their most sorrowful, combined with your grandfather's own Sky Thunder Bamboo affinity."

"Among all plant affinities, the Bamboo affinity possesses the most tenacious vitality, and the Sky Thunder Bamboo is the foremost among them; born amidst heavenly thunder, it can constantly be reborn amidst destruction."

"The combination of these two forces created the miracle before us; a trace of your grandfather's aura was preserved and simultaneously transformed into the form of the Sky Thunder Bamboo."

Upon reaching this point, Tai Tai Lan paused her voice, speaking seriously: "Perhaps, there truly is an incredible turning point within this."

Li Luo's heart thundered violently like a war drum at this moment; intense light of hope surged into his originally dark eyes, and he spoke excitedly: "Grandfather can still be resurrected?!!"

Tai Tai Lan weighed her words and said: "This possibility should not be ruled out, but the premise is that this Sky Thunder Bamboo shoot must be fully cultivated; only when it truly matures can your grandfather's lingering aura and spiritual nature, aided by the Sky Thunder Bamboo's power to bathe in thunder, be reborn amidst the thunder tribulation."

Li Li Qingpeng and Li Li Jinpan also became excited, saying: "Our Dragon Tooth Pulse will definitely spare no effort to invite the most skilled experts in cultivating spiritual objects to cultivate this 'Sky Thunder Bamboo' to maturity!"

Tai Tai Lan shook her head gently, saying: "It is not that simple; this is not an ordinary Sky Thunder Bamboo. Ordinary methods will likely have no effect on it at all; if a mistake is made, I fear even this last shred of hope will be severed."

Li Li Qingpeng and the other two were stunned, saying: "Then, then what do we do?"

At this moment, they dared not touch that golden bamboo shoot, fearing they might accidentally damage it; if that happened, they would truly have to commit suicide on the spot.

"I will study it later."

Tai Tai Lan had no idea at the moment; she thought for a moment, flicked her finger, directly cut through space, and a ball of colorful light fell out.

Everyone looked and saw that the colorful light was actually a clump of multicolored, mottled soil; the soil was constantly wriggling, as if possessing vitality, with an extremely vast and astonishing life force faintly emanating from it.

"This is Five-Colored Divine Mud, capable of cultivating all things, extremely mysterious; I obtained it on the Wang Hou battlefield, and it is just right to carry this Sky Thunder Bamboo shoot." Tai Tai Lan infused her own affinity power into it, and the Five-Colored Divine Mud began to wriggle rapidly, gradually forming a five-colored mud basin with brilliant light flowing upon it.

Then she carefully moved the short Sky Thunder Bamboo shoot into the five-colored mud basin; immediately, the Five-Colored Divine Mud surged, gradually burying the bamboo shoot's roots and stems completely.

And as the Sky Thunder Bamboo shoot was planted in the five-colored mud basin, the lightning surging upon it gradually subsided; the bamboo shoot quietly took root in the Five-Colored Divine Mud, and even that trace of familiar aura gradually faded.

But this was not disappearance; rather, it was more like entering a state of complete slumber.

A group of people surrounded the five-colored mud basin; gazing at the chubby Sky Thunder Bamboo shoot planted within, their expressions were all exceptionally complex.

Especially Li Li Qingpeng and Li Li Jinpan; in the past, Li Li Jingzhe had been too serious before them, causing them to feel great fear; now, he had suddenly turned into a bamboo shoot, a contrast so great it was hard to accept.

"Grandfather, you ate too many bamboo shoots before, and now you have become a bamboo shoot yourself," Li Luo sighed.

The others immediately found themselves unable to laugh or cry.

"You're not crying anymore?" Tai Tai Lan glanced at Li Luo and asked.

Li Luo's face flushed red, and he said somewhat awkwardly: "I suppose I won't cry for now."

Tai Tai Lan then handed that basin of Sky Thunder Bamboo shoot to Li Luo, saying: "This matter is closely related to you; it probably needs to be kept with you."

"Ah?"

Li Luo was caught off guard; holding the five-colored mud basin, he felt the object in his hands was as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Mother, what kind of joke is this? Such an important thing, you're giving it to me, who has just entered the Marquis realm? If something unexpected happens, how can I handle it!"

Tai Tai Lan spoke seriously: "Your grandfather paid such a huge price to protect you; this responsibility, although heavy, cannot be shirked."

"If you want your grandfather to be successfully resurrected, then do your utmost to protect and cultivate it."

Li Luo muttered: "I'm not shirking..."

In the end, he said nothing more, but slowly nodded, saying: "I understand."

The pain of parting that Li Luo had previously experienced, he had felt deeply once; he did not want to experience it a second time. Now that a miracle had finally been hoped for, naturally, he would grasp it firmly.

Li Luo gazed at the Sky Thunder Bamboo shoot in the five-colored mud basin and said softly: "Grandfather, rest assured; your grandson will definitely make you return through resurrection!"

Afterwards, he carefully placed this basin of Sky Thunder Bamboo shoot into his Space Sphere.

Seeing this, Tai Tai Lan warned the others: "This matter cannot be exposed; otherwise, Xiao Luo will attract much covetousness. Externally... we still need to maintain the appearance that Father has completely perished, including the other four pulses."

Li Li Jingzhe was a Virtual Three-Crown King; his resurrection was no small matter. If someone coveted it, it would only plunge Li Luo into numerous crises.

Jiang Jiang Qinge, Li Li Qingpeng, and Li Li Jinpan all nodded and agreed.

Afterwards, the group reined in their emotions, still displaying full faces of sorrow.

Tai Tai Lan flicked her finger; the sealed space around them dissipated, and the shattered River of Worlds Domain returned to view.

At this moment, the atmosphere between heaven and earth was somewhat heavy; people from various factions expressed regret and sorrow over Li Li Jingzhe's demise. As for the sudden commotion of their group, although it made people somewhat strange, no one would think that Li Li Jingzhe had appeared with a chance of resurrection.

Li Luo had just wanted to ask Tai Tai Lan how to wrap things up, but saw the latter suddenly lift her head sharply, her eyes releasing a terrifyingly sharp intent.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Li Luo asked hurriedly.

Tai Tai Lan gazed coldly and bone-chillingly at a distant direction, and a faint voice rang out.

"The Faceless Nether King has stopped; the insider cooperating with him has also revealed himself. Just as I expected..."

"Who is it?!" Li Luo was startled, then asked through gritted teeth; after all, Li Li Jingzhe ending up in such a state was entirely caused by the Faceless Nether King, and the person cooperating with him was equally the chief culprit.

Tai Tai Lan's voice was not concealed; even others present heard it, and immediately all looked up in horror. Was there actually someone in this River of Worlds Domain cooperating with the Faceless Nether King?!

Subsequently, the various factions were extremely angry; they had lost so many geniuses; this debt absolutely could not be settled like this!

And just as they were filled with rage, the cold voice of Tantai Lan rang out.

"Qin Li Tianwang's lineage, Qin Jiujie."

At this moment, in the eyes of the powerful from all factions, a deep sense of disbelief rose up.