Chapter 1721: The Crowd

"Li Luo, this is Zhang Lingsu, the pulse chief of our Golden Dragon Mountain's Zhang line."

As Yu Yu Hongxi felt conflicted due to Li Luo's current strength and reputation, Lü Sui smiled and pointed to his side, where a graceful, elegant palace-dressed beauty stood—her features exquisite, refined and dignified, her eyes like full moons, flowing with lunar radiance.

"This is Qian Yan, the pulse chief of our Golden Dragon Mountain's Qian line."

Lü Sui then pointed to a burly, gray-bearded middle-aged man whose wild, bristling hair and beard radiated ferocity, his pupils flickering with violent primal thunder.

"Greetings to both pulse chiefs," Li Luo bowed respectfully.

"We've long heard of your illustrious name, Alliance Chief Li Luo; to finally meet you in person, you truly are a prodigy of unmatched talent and youthful brilliance," said Zhang Lingsu and Qian Yan, the two Zhang and Qian lineage chiefs of Golden Dragon Mountain—they showed no arrogance toward Li Luo, but returned his courtesy as equals, not dismissing him for his youth or lack of seniority.

At the same time, gazing at the tall, composed youth before them, whose gentle smile carried an undeniable aura of pressure even they could not ignore, they couldn't help but sigh—when they first heard Li Luo's name, it was only through rumors that Lü Qing'er had some emotional entanglement with him.

Naturally, they ordered investigations, and at that time, Li Luo had just returned from Great Xia to Longya Pulse, his strength not even having reached the Marquis Realm.

Thus, after hearing this, they paid him no further attention.

Yet who could have foreseen that barely a decade later, that boy who hadn't even entered the Marquis Realm had ascended to such terrifying heights, causing even these two elder experts to feel wary.

Now that he has come to Golden Dragon Mountain, we must personally welcome him.

Moreover, Li Luo not only reached the pinnacle of his own cultivation, but his background is equally extraordinary; if it were the old Li Li Tianwang line, Golden Dragon Mountain might have treated him with courtesy, but not true reverence—but now it's different: Li Li Jingzhe has entered the Li Tianwang Realm, and Dan Tai Lan is the peerless ninth-rank, dazzling the world.

With such a background, even Golden Dragon Mountain must extend the utmost courtesy.

Li Luo bowed humbly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd behind, where he spotted several familiar figures.

Lü Ruyan, whom he had fought in the Mirror Tower, and Lü Shuanglu and Zhang Cuicheng, whom he had met in the Boundary River Region.

When Lü Ruyan met Li Luo's gaze, her lovely face darkened; she avoided his eyes, unwilling to meet them directly—back then in the Mirror Tower, Li Luo's Qi level had been inferior to hers, but now, upon meeting again, he stood at the peak of the Peerless Eighth Rank, even having achieved the astonishing feat of single-handedly suppressing two veteran powerhouses at the Triple Crown peak.

Yet she, though attempting to break into the King Realm, still lacked that final spark.

Now, the two of them were entirely on different levels.

"Hey, Li Luo, long time no see—you're really impressive now," Lü Shuanglu waved cheerfully, her face beaming with admiration, though it could not hide the shock in her beautiful eyes.

"I owe you much thanks for the Spirit Water Miracle Light you gave me back then," Li Luo smiled; he held genuine fondness for Lü Shuanglu, who had aided him in the Boundary River Region.

Seeing Li Luo so courteous, Lü Shuanglu's eyes sparkled with delight: "It was Qing'er's request—I merely found an excuse to give it to you."

Lü Qing'er's icy, lake-like gaze turned toward her: "Second sister, don't dwell on past matters."

Lü Shuanglu fell silent at once—Lü Qing'er was no longer the same as before; she had perfectly inherited the Frost Saint Seed and become the first in Golden Dragon Mountain's history to evolve it into a postnatal primordial seed. Such an achievement had earned her the high hopes of all three Li Tianwang of Golden Dragon Mountain, and with Lü Qing'er's emotions now frozen, every word and action radiated an inexplicable aura of intimidation, making others dare not act presumptuously before her.

Seeing this, Li Luo turned to Zhang Cuicheng and nodded to him.

The young prodigy of the Zhang line quickly returned the gesture, his gaze toward Li Luo filled with longing—he too aspired to one day reach such heights and become a supreme force in the world.

"Li Luo, I assume Granduncle Taiyi has already informed you of the reason for your invitation. To perfect Qing'er's 'postnatal primordial seed,' an extremely grand ceremony is required; Golden Dragon Mountain has prepared for over a thousand years. This ritual requires the power of two other Saint Seeds—Zhang line's 'Moon Saint Seed' and Qian line's 'Thunder Saint Seed'—the three Saint Seeds must converge, mutually refine each other, and with the ritual's power, Qing'er may take this step."

"But this ritual requires a master of ceremonies—one who can withstand the immense shock of the three Saint Seeds converging, and who can also guide the other two seeds, preventing them from destroying or eroding each other..."

"Originally, this master was to be one of Golden Dragon Mountain's own Li Tianwang."

"But in these ten years of Heavenly Fortune, the Li Tianwang cannot descend to Outer Shenzhou, so the original plan is void. We've been troubled by this for a long time—luckily, the Li Tianwang sent word that perhaps you could assist."

At this moment, Lü Sui revealed all the details of inviting Li Luo, then smiled: "If you lend your aid, whether or not it succeeds, Golden Dragon Mountain will gift you one Upper Ninth Rank..."

"Cough."

But before he finished, Lü Taiyi cleared his throat: "Three Upper Ninth Rank Spirit Water Miracle Lights."

Lü Sui was stunned, then glanced at Lü Taiyi with a hint of confusion—hadn't they agreed beforehand on one or two Upper Ninth Rank Spirit Water Miracle Lights as compensation? Why had it suddenly risen to three?

Such treasures as Upper Ninth Rank Spirit Water Miracle Lights were exceedingly rare, even in Golden Dragon Mountain.

Lü Taiyi stroked his beard and nodded toward Lü Qing'er, indicating: This is your daughter's price hike—don't blame me.

Lü Qing'er spoke calmly: "When the Dragon Clan's chieftain Zhen Linshuang refused to release you, she offered three Upper Ninth Rank Spirit Water Miracle Lights to hire Li Luo for another task. We had no time to wait, so we raised the price."

Li Luo was about to speak, but Lü Qing'er's emotionless voice came again: "Li Luo, if you don't wish to do it, you may leave now."

Li Luo could only shrug and remain silent.

Lü Sui looked at Yu Yu Hongxi with a complex expression—wasn't she supposed to have sealed off all emotion? Then why is she giving away our most precious resources?

Yu Yu Hongxi rolled her eyes—this is precisely how one behaves after sealing emotion; if it were before, your entire collection wouldn't have survived a single item...

Yet Lü Sui, as the head steward of Golden Dragon Mountain, possessed great resolve; he gritted his teeth and accepted the exorbitant price, smiling: "Li Luo, rest here for two days. Afterward, the ritual will be fully prepared—then we'll rely on your aid."

Li Luo nodded.

"I leave everything to Master Lü Sui's arrangements."