Chapter 1553: ,561: Spring Rain Evil-Dissolving Array

"So you're saying we now have nine top Marquis on our side? A lineup like that should be enough to resolve this Abyssal Tide, right? Why has it dragged on so long?" Li Luo asked.

Li Fuluo said with a solemn expression: "Each eruption of the Abyssal Tide has been fiercer than the last. Not only are there more and more Ninth Grade True Demons, they're also growing stronger. We already launched one full-scale offensive before, with all nine top Marquis deployed, but we couldn't even get close to where the 'Black Rain Mass Grave' is. An elder top Marquis from our clan was even seriously wounded in the attempt."

Li Li Fengyi, Li Li Jingtao, and the others also looked somewhat heavy. Over the past two years, they had been tempered by battle and had witnessed the fall of many former companions, which had matured them considerably.

Li Luo's brow furrowed slightly. A major offensive led by nine top Marquis had failed to achieve results—had the Abyssal Tide really grown this ferocious?

"It's fine, we're back now. The situation should improve considerably." Jiang Qing'e's voice came from the side, offering reassurance.

Those words lifted everyone's spirits. Indeed, Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e's return would undoubtedly be a powerful reinforcement. They were now Peerless Sixth Grade, and in terms of combat power, even among top Marquis, they were absolutely at the pinnacle.

"Is my mother at the Divine River City now?" Li Luo asked.

They still needed to meet up with Dantai Lan, the overall commander, first, then formulate a new round of grand offensive to resolve this Abyssal Tide. Only then could Li Luo head to Daxia.

Time was tight!

"Third Aunt isn't at Divine River City. She's at 'North Qin City' with Li Li Tianji and Li Li Qingying, the two branch leaders. I heard from Father that the higher-ups are planning to form an alliance with the Qin Li Tianwang branch to join forces and resolve the Abyssal Tide." Li Li Fengyi suddenly spoke up from the side.

"This Abyssal Calamity was caused by the Qin Li Tianwang branch in the first place, and now we still have to ally with them?" Li Luo frowned. If not for that bastard Qin Jiujie colluding with the Return-to-One Society, the Boundary River Domain wouldn't have undergone such a calamity, and Li Li Jingzhe wouldn't have fallen. On top of that, after the Abyssal Calamity erupted, the higher-ups of the Qin Li Tianwang branch even redirected the flood toward their Li Li Tianwang branch, dragging them into this quagmire as well. So Li Luo felt nothing but deep disgust toward the Qin Li Tianwang branch.

Li Li Fengyi sighed: "Although the Qin Li Tianwang branch is indeed disgusting, in the face of the bigger picture, we can only endure for now. At the very least, we should resolve the Abyssal Calamity first before settling scores with them."

"But the alliance negotiations haven't been going smoothly. The conditions the Qin Li Tianwang branch put forward are quite harsh—they say that after resolving the Abyssal Tide, they want to claim seventy percent of the territories the tide has occupied." Li Li Jingtao spoke up.

"What? Seventy percent of the territory?! On what grounds?!" The news from Li Li Fengyi and Li Li Jingtao was clearly rather secretive, so when it came out, even Li Fuluo, Li Zhihuo, and the others cried out in shock before flying into a rage.

The Abyssal Tide's expansion had been vast, annihilating countless forces. These forces had originally occupied the neutral ground between the two great Li Tianwang branches, and when the Abyssal Tide swept through, it turned this area directly into unclaimed land. The Qin Li Tianwang branch had set their sights on this vast territory—after all, these lands held enormous resources, and if properly managed, they would bring unimaginable benefits in the future.

And such benefits were not something even a Li Tianwang branch could ignore.

"Does the Qin Li Tianwang branch still have the qualifications to put forward conditions like these?" Li Luo was also somewhat stunned. The Qin Li Tianwang branch should have suffered heavy losses by now—after all, even their former ruling Palace Master had defected. And yet they still dared to snatch food from the mouths of their Li Li Tianwang branch?

"Although the Qin Li Tianwang branch was initially overwhelmed by the Abyssal Tide, every subsequent eruption hasn't posed much of a threat to them. Precisely because of this, the higher-ups in the clan are pushing this alliance, hoping to use the Qin Li Tianwang branch's methods to resolve the Abyssal Tide's repeated eruptions." Li Li Fengyi sighed.

"After all, you Guardian Commanders should also know how much damage each eruption of the Abyssal Tide causes us. Even if we ultimately suppress it, those casualties cannot be recovered."

Li Fuluo, Li Zhihuo, and the others were all rendered speechless. Their expressions shifted, and finally they slumped in dejection. As Guardian Commanders of the Five Heavenly Dragon Guards, they actually knew best just how severe the losses of each Guard had been over these two years.

Given such losses, it was no wonder the higher-ups wanted to borrow the Qin Li Tianwang branch's strength.

Li Luo, however, found it even more inconceivable. He said: "Even our Li Li Tianwang branch has been left battered and exhausted by these Abyssal Tide eruptions. On what basis has the Qin Li Tianwang branch had it so easy these two years? To the point where we have to sacrifice our interests just to approach them about an alliance?"

Li Li Fengyi gave a bitter smile and said: "Because they've found a way to deal with the Black Rain."

"What method? Can't it be replicated? The foundation of our Li Li Tianwang branch is no weaker than the Qin Li Tianwang branch's. What have those four branch leaders been doing?" Li Luo said discontentedly.

Li Zhihuo's mouth twitched. Those four branch leaders—you're excluding your own mother before you start cursing, aren't you? That exclusivity is a bit too pointed.

Li Fuluo, however, shook his head and said: "The Qin Li Tianwang branch's method of dealing with the Black Rain probably really can't be replicated."

"Why?" Li Luo pressed.

"Because their method of dealing with the Black Rain is a single person." A voice came from behind. Li Luo looked over and saw it was Li Li Qingfeng—the man who had once competed with him in the Twenty Banners but had now been left far behind.

"You should be able to guess." Li Li Qingfeng looked at Li Luo with a complicated expression and said.

Li Luo was briefly stunned, then his eyes narrowed slightly.

"You mean... Qin Yi?"

Li Li Qingfeng nodded. A trace of his former admiration for that breathtakingly beautiful woman still lingered in his eyes as he said: "That's right, the Water Fairy Qin Yi... But now she's already stepped into the Hou De Jing Zhong Jie, and has inherited her mother Qin Qin Lian's position as Hall Master of the Fire Lotus Hall—though the hall's name has been changed to Water Lotus Hall."

"Additionally, she perfectly inherited the Qin Li Tianwang branch's 'Water Sacred Seed,' reportedly by decree personally passed down from their Qin Li Tianwang."

"After Qin Yi advanced to the Marquis Realm, she gave birth to a phase: the mid-Ninth Grade 'Rain Phase.'"

Surprise welled up in Li Luo's eyes. In his mind surfaced the ravishing face of the Water Fairy Qin Yi, once known as the foremost beauty of Outer Shenzhou. He hadn't expected that after more than two years apart, she too would have undergone such tremendous changes—not only had her strength leapt to the Hou De Jing Zhong Jie, but she had also received the inheritance of the Qin Li Tianwang branch's 'Water Sacred Seed.'

And she'd even given birth to the mid-Ninth Grade 'Rain Phase'... tch, it's water this and rain that.

"The Qin Li Tianwang branch takes Qin Yi as the core, assisted by seven Ninth Grade Marquis Realm experts, and has constructed a miraculous array called the 'Spring Rain Evil-Dissolving Array.' Whenever the Abyssal Tide erupts, she activates the array to summon spring rain, using the spring rain to dissolve the black rain. Naturally, the Abyssal Tide is greatly weakened this way, and the Qin Li Tianwang branch's experts not only avoid the risk of erosion, but the spring rain brings continuous vitality. With this ebb and flow, their losses are naturally minimal." Li Li Qingfeng continued.

Li Li Fengyi also nodded and said: "This Water Fairy Qin Yi is now the Qin Li Tianwang branch's trump card against the Abyssal Tide, and the source of their confidence in demanding greater bargaining chips from us."

Li Luo was slightly dumbfounded. A single Hou De Jing Zhong Jie practitioner had actually played such a crucial role in negotiations between two Li Tianwang branches—this was truly exceedingly rare.

Speaking of which, all of this was caused by that "Kings May Not Enter" Li Tianwang Decree.

"Qin Yi..."

Li Luo muttered to himself. Regarding this breathtakingly beautiful woman, he felt somewhat complicated—not because of any romantic feelings, but because her mother Qin Qin Lian had after all been killed by him and Jiang Qing'e working together. Although Qin Qin Lian had brought it upon herself, killing someone's mother in front of her daughter was ultimately a cruel thing.

However, that was not a reason for him to back down.

This calamity was caused by Qin Jiujie. The Li Li Tianwang branch had been dragged into it, resulting in countless casualties. If the Qin Li Tianwang branch still wanted to use this to extort benefits, that was something Li Luo could not stomach.

It seemed he had to make a trip to North Qin City first to stop this unequal alliance.

Li Luo's expression was calm as he looked at Li Fuluo and the others and said: "Don't worry. It doesn't matter if the alliance talks fail. Even without Qin Yi's 'Spring Rain Evil-Dissolving Array,' I will put an end to this Abyssal Tide."

Looking at the calm expression on the young man's face, none of those present could muster even the slightest doubt.

Li Li Qingfeng and Li Li Hongli, meanwhile, recalled that youth from years ago who had just returned from Outer Shenzhou and seemed out of place among the Twenty Banners... Yet in just a few short years, he had grown capable of shouldering the great banner of the Li Li Tianwang branch.

As their hearts churned, Li Luo's figure had already transformed into a streak of light shooting skyward. Jiang Qing'e accompanied him, like two dazzling meteors streaking across the horizon, heading straight for North Qin City.