Chapter 1415: The Seventy-Two Great Yu

Li Luo happily played with the "Dragon Elephant Thunder Blade" for a moment, then with a thought, the latter transformed into a flash of thunder, rapidly shrinking, finally turning into a miniature, exquisite thunder blade mark on the back of his hand.

The current Dragon Elephant Thunder Blade was a genuine top-grade Marquis-grade treasure, naturally able to be hidden within Li Luo's body, constantly tempered and nurtured by the phase force within him, deepening the compatibility between the two.

This time, he had truly swapped a bird gun for a cannon, with a major upgrade to all his treasures.

Not only did he obtain the Little Dragon Sacred Seed, but the single saber and single bow he usually wielded had also directly advanced into top-grade Marquis-grade treasures. Such an improvement—let alone ordinary Marquis-level strongmen, even top-grade Marquis-level strongmen would see it and, red-eyed with envy, curse him as a dog-rich household.

At the same time, sourly comforting themselves that relying on background didn't count as real ability, because they could never experience the fulfilling thrill of fighting and striving through their own efforts.

As for whether it was thrilling or not, Li Luo didn't really mind. After all, he couldn't help it—who made him born as the Young Master of House Luolan Mansion and the Third Young Master of the Dragon Fang Vein?

Beside him, Dantai Lan watched Li Luo's great equipment swap and nodded slightly. With these foundations, Li Luo's power to protect himself should be sufficient.

"I see you should be heading to that Celestial Mirror Tower soon as well, right?"

Dantai Lan said resentfully, "You two little rascals, I barely got back, and you don't even think to keep me company more."

Jiang Jiang Qinge, in order to pave the way for Li Luo and familiarize herself with the situation inside the Celestial Mirror Tower, had left the Dragon Fang Vein a few months earlier and headed for the Holy Light Ancient Academy. Now that Li Luo's closed-door cultivation had ended, he likely wouldn't linger at the Dragon Fang Vein for long either. This undoubtedly gave Dantai Lan, as his mother, a sense of melancholy that her children had grown up.

Li Luo quickly walked behind Dantai Lan, reached out to massage her shoulders, and said with a smile, "Mother, aren't we doing this precisely so we can raise our strength as quickly as possible, and then go back to the Wang Hou battlefield with you to rescue Father?"

"Speaking of which, regarding Father's matter—can't we find a way to notify our ancestor, Li Li Tianwang? If he could lend a hand, shouldn't it be easy for Father to break free?" Li Luo asked.

Dantai Lan sighed softly and said, "You have no idea that the world's general stability and peace is precisely because these Heavenly King-level powerhouses of the world bear such tremendous pressure for you all."

"You've walked out from Great Xia and roamed this Outer Shenzhou for several years now. Have you ever seen or heard of any Heavenly King existence revealing their true form?"

Li Luo hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. Even regarding his own ancestor Li Li Tianwang, he had only ever seen a wisp of intent left behind by him.

"All races under heaven once forged the Ancient Alliance Pact. Heavenly King existences must all fulfill the pact, garrisoning at the deepest part of the Wang Hou battlefield—the place where our world and the Other World intersect. And Heavenly King powerhouses are this world's most solid barrier, its most majestic mountains. If not for their garrison, you would see more incidents from the Boundary River Treasure Domains occurring in every corner of the world."

"Li Li Tianwang has been garrisoning the Abyss for several hundred years. The place he resides is constantly coveted by Great Demon Kings, so how could he dare move lightly?"

Dantai Lan sighed with a complicated expression and said, "Regarding this incident in the Boundary River Domain, do you think the four Heavenly Kings of Outer Shenzhou didn't sense it? But what good is sensing it? Even when Qin Li Tianwang witnessed Qin Jiujie's betrayal, he couldn't strike to punish them, because they are watched by one or even several Great Demon Kings. The moment they show a flaw, it will invite a devastating attack."

"If a flaw appears in that Heavenly King defensive line, perhaps it will be another 'War of Unification' sweeping across the world."

Li Luo fell silent. The information Dantai Lan spoke of was too secretive, too heavy.

"Is the power of the Dark World that terrifying? Compared to our 'Ten Great Shenzhous'?" Li Luo couldn't help but ask. Such questions were too high-level and mysterious; ordinary forces had no way of knowing at all.

Dantai Lan glanced at Li Luo and said calmly, "In the ancient era, before the Other Race was born, this world had a total of thirty-six Shenzhous. Now only ten Shenzhous remain. Tell me, where did the other Shenzhous go?"

A chill suddenly shot from the soles of Li Luo's feet straight to the crown of his head. The information Dantai Lan spoke of was likely known only to the top echelons of Heavenly King-level forces. At the very least, Li Luo had never heard before that this world once had thirty-six Shenzhous in the ancient era.

And those Shenzhous... had undoubtedly been eroded by the Dark World.

So, his earlier question had its answer.

If the Ten Great Shenzhous truly were stronger than the Dark World, how could they have lost so many Shenzhous?

"Since ancient times, the only time the Ten Great Shenzhous gained the upper hand and even invaded the Dark World was achieved by one person alone," Dantai Lan said slowly.

Li Luo's gaze sharpened—he already knew the answer: "The last Sect Master of the Faceless Holy Sect."

Dantai Lan nodded and said, "But even that Sect Master, the most powerful in the history of the Faceless Holy Sect, did not end this chaos. In fact, shortly after he returned from the Dark World, he himself declined and perished, and the entire Faceless Holy Sect was consequently destroyed, ultimately buried by the dust of history."

"Are the Other Race really that terrifying...?" Li Luo felt somewhat heavy-hearted. Although with his current strength, considering these things was still too far off, regardless, they were the mortal enemies incompatible with all living beings under heaven and earth.

The destructive and exclusive nature of the Other Race was too extreme.

The Other Race grew stronger by feeding on the negative emotions of living beings, and negative emotions are the most terrible suffering for all living beings.

"Earlier I heard the Dark World has many Ghost Yu? Are these their power distributions?" Li Luo asked again.

Dantai Lan said, "Other Race existences at the King level already possess intellect equal to living beings. Naturally, this gives rise to powers, and these powers are called Ghost Yu."

"Within the Dark World, there are countless Ghost Yu, but the truly most feared ones are the seventy-two Great Yu, and these so-called Great Yu are equivalent to Heavenly King-level forces within the Ten Great Shenzhous."

Horror surged into Li Luo's eyes. Seventy-two Heavenly King-level forces? What did this imply? It implied that just among the Great Demon Kings, the Dark World possessed seventy-two?!

That was equivalent to seventy-two Heavenly King-level existences!

And one must know that on the surface, their Outer Shenzhou currently only had four Heavenly King-level powerhouses!

Looking across all Ten Great Shenzhous, could there even be that many Heavenly Kings?

Li Luo felt it was unlikely.

And yet, powerhouses like ancestor Li Li Tianwang were, in those unknown places, resisting the malicious coveting of existences of equal standing whose numbers exceeded their own several times over. Such pressure was unimaginable.

For a moment, Li Luo couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and reverence toward those unreachable Heavenly King-level existences.

If not for the defensive line formed by their towering, mountain-like figures, this world might have long since become an endless purgatory.

Dantai Lan looked at the silent Li Luo and knew that such information was truly too shocking for someone who was merely a Unparalleled Second-grade Marquis. She took his hand and said with a smile, "The number of Heavenly Kings actually doesn't represent anything. The final victory or defeat doesn't lie in that either."

Li Luo said with a bitter smile, "If Heavenly Kings don't represent anything, then what does the final victory or defeat depend on?"

Dantai Lan tightened her grip on Li Luo's hand and spoke earnestly.

"The final victory or defeat does not lie with the Heavenly Kings, but with..."

"Above the Heavenly Kings."

Dantai Lan paused, then continued, "That is..."

"Tenth Grade!"