Chapter 1723: Contending Against Two Holy Seeds

"Begin."

As Li Luo's voice fell, Zhang Lingsu and Qian Yan also nodded. Their gazes fixed on Li Luo as they reminded him, "Alliance Leader Li Luo, the power of our two Holy Seeds has long been deeply bound to the fortune and prosperity qi of Golden Dragon Mountain. So in this ceremony saturated with fortune and prosperity qi, our Holy Seeds will receive tremendous empowerment. If you cannot bear it, shield Qing'er and withdraw from the ceremony quickly, to avoid damage to the Primordial Seed."

The three Holy Seeds of Golden Dragon Mountain — all three branches were giving their all to aid their evolution. Yet until now, only the Ice Holy Seed of the Lü branch, paired with Lü Qing'er, an unprecedented match, had evolved into an Acquired Primordial Seed, aided by this special Ten-Year Heaven's Fortune.

Everyone understood that whether Golden Dragon Mountain could continue to flourish in the future depended entirely on this single Acquired Primordial Seed.

Therefore, in this ceremony, even though the Zhang and Qian branches knew it would weaken the power of their two Holy Seeds, neither the two Heavenly Kings above nor the many high-ranking members of the two branches showed any reluctance or resistance — they cooperated with all their strength.

First, this was something the three branches had agreed upon since their founding: whichever branch's Holy Seed evolved into a Primordial Seed first, the other two branches must give their full cooperation.

Second, Golden Dragon Mountain had stood for far more than a thousand years. Over that long span, the three branches had certainly had many disputes and frictions, but when it came to major matters, they had always maintained absolute unity, presenting a united front to the outside. This was one of the important reasons Golden Dragon Mountain had remained prosperous.

Therefore, Zhang Lingsu and Qian Yan's reminder was also telling Li Luo not to worry that they might harbor resentment and secretly tamper with the ceremony.

Li Luo nodded slightly upon hearing this, and at the same time his body subtly relaxed. After all, he had just witnessed Ao Yan betray Zhen Linshuang in the Dragon race, dealing her a vicious blow, so he couldn't help worrying that there might be Guihui's meddling within Golden Dragon Mountain as well. But from the looks of it, Golden Dragon Mountain's ability to become a transcendent Heavenly King-level force second only to the Academy Alliance among the ten great Outer Shenzhou truly set it apart.

Boom!

Within the ceremony formed by the golden torrent, the two Holy Seeds above Zhang Lingsu and Qian Yan began to grow ever more dazzling, vast Origin power surging out in endless waves.

Within the golden torrent, countless golden threads began to interweave, simultaneously linking the four copper-coin altars beneath them, forming an immensely vast and grand ceremonial wonder-array.

This wonder-array even connected to the golden giant dragon that bore Golden Dragon Mountain.

The ceremony began to operate!

At this moment, an invisible yet formidable power surged forth from the ceremony, then began to strip away the power of the "Moon Holy Seed" and "Thunder Holy Seed," channeling it toward the copper-coin altar where Lü Qing'er sat.

At Lü Qing'er's smooth brow, the mysterious, faint-glowing seed rapidly absorbed the power of the two Holy Seeds. As it absorbed, faint ice-light patterns gradually emerged around the glowing seed.

The ceremony began smoothly, but as more and more power was stripped away, it finally touched the spirituality contained within the two Holy Seeds.

Boom!

In the next instant, the originally gentle two Holy Seeds instantly turned violent. Holy Seeds possess sentience; they were unwilling to sacrifice their own power to nourish another object, even if it was a Primordial Seed.

Above Zhang Lingsu's head, that luminous full moon now became extraordinarily dazzling. The originally gentle moonlight instantly turned chilling and razor-sharp, transforming into billions upon billions of Origin moon-blades that slashed toward Lü Qing'er's position.

The same happened on Qian Yan's side. That silver "Thunder Pill" now turned pitch-black, and within the black thunder-light flowed an aura of destruction.

The black thunder was like the Thunder God's halberd, shattering the void as it cleaved toward Lü Qing'er.

Killing intent rose suddenly, filling the starry sky.

Outside the grand ceremonial array, Lü Sui saw this scene and couldn't help but hold his breath. At this point, the two Holy Seeds were almost fully fused with Zhang Lingsu and Qian Yan, so their strikes also carried the full power of both.

Although Lü Qing'er was at the peak of Unparalleled Seventh-Rank, it would be very difficult for her to withstand the combined might of two Holy Seeds and two peak Triple Crown Kings at this moment.

Beside Lü Sui, Lü Taiyi's figure appeared. This old-generation powerhouse, currently the strongest in Golden Dragon Mountain, also wore a solemn expression as he asked, "Can Li Luo really hold on?"

From the look of things, Lü Taiyi had already prepared to terminate the ceremony at any moment and shield Lü Qing'er.

"I don't know. We can only do our best," Lü Sui said in a low voice.

While the two were speaking, Li Luo had already taken a single step forward, transforming in an instant from human form into a Celestial Dragon form. The Dragon Ancestor Body activated, mysterious colored light flowing over his purple-gold dragon scales. Especially the straight, ancient dragon horns between his brows radiated a boundless sharpness capable of piercing through heaven and earth.

The Celestial Dragon Li Luo had become appeared directly outside Lü Qing'er's altar, its dragon body coiling and winding to shield her within.

At this moment, the vast, chilling moonlight and black thunder crashed down from all directions, striking Li Luo's Celestial Dragon body. Harsh metallic clashes erupted instantly, each collision tearing visible scars across the void.

Yet Li Luo's Celestial Dragon flesh now revealed terrifying defensive power. Even facing the frenzied assault of two Holy Seeds channeling Zhang Lingsu and Qian Yan's power, they still failed to breach his physical defense.

Such astonishing durability made even Lü Taiyi and Lü Sui involuntarily gasp.

"What a powerful Celestial Dragon body — it can actually withstand the assault of two Holy Seeds?" Lü Sui exclaimed in surprise.

"That is no ordinary Celestial Dragon body, but the legendary Dragon Ancestor Body — the strongest Celestial Dragon form. It's the opportunity Li Luo obtained this time in the Dragon race. With this Dragon Ancestor Body, even I would have a hard time seriously injuring him in a short while," Lü Taiyi sighed and said.

"He's already begun to be able to contend with extreme peak Triple Crown Kings like you?" Lü Sui said, his expression somewhat complicated.

"This boy Li Luo truly possesses peerless talent. His future achievements are beyond imagination," Lü Taiyi stroked his grizzled beard and said. "This girl Qing'er has quite the eye, I hear. Back when Li Luo was still an Empty Phase, she already took a liking to him. What a pity..."

If Lü Qing'er could form a good match with Li Luo, Golden Dragon Mountain's relationship with the currently flourishing Li Li Tianwang's branch would deepen further.

Lü Sui said helplessly, "Li Luo already has someone he fancies, and is bound by a marriage contract. Qing'er chose to seal away her emotions by relying on the Ice Holy Seed because she didn't want to interfere. So let us respect her choice."

Lü Taiyi nodded. Matters had reached this point — they could only let it go. At the same time, his tone shifted as he said, "Li Luo's Dragon Ancestor Body can indeed withstand the attacks of the two Holy Seeds, buying enough time for Qing'er. But although the Dragon Ancestor Body's defense is strong, once the two Holy Seeds begin to use the fortune and prosperity qi within the ceremony to erode it, even the Dragon Ancestor Body may not be able to hold."

The fortune and prosperity qi of Golden Dragon Mountain was a form of Heaven and Earth's destiny qi. Golden Dragon Mountain had gathered worldly wealth for thousands of years, and only now, in this ceremony, was it being unleashed — this was the most terrifying aspect.

Lü Sui sighed. It was indeed very difficult, because the original protector designated for this ceremony was supposed to be a Heavenly King...

Now it was almost as if Li Luo alone, at the peak of Unparalleled Eighth-Rank, had to do a Heavenly King's work. How could that be easy?

Boom!

While the two were speaking, the two Holy Seeds also detected that their attacks had been fully blocked, yet the ceremony continued to strip away their power. Immediately they grew even more violent. Affected by the Holy Seeds, Zhang Lingsu and Qian Yan's expressions also twisted in pain.

The two sides had been fused for hundreds of years, long past distinguishing self from other. So even though they tried their utmost to suppress the Holy Seeds' rampage, the Holy Seeds' instinct to seek fortune and avoid calamity still drove them to desperately resist the ceremony.

In the end, the two Holy Seeds drew upon the fortune and prosperity qi flooding this ceremony. The power of the two Holy Seeds roared forth, and golden light began to dye over them. Within the golden light, scenes of mortal life appeared — wisps of fortune and prosperity qi, accompanied by countless transfers of goods, ultimately flowing toward Golden Dragon Mountain.

The dragon scales on the Celestial Dragon Li Luo had become were pierced by the golden light, and began to gradually erode into ash.

In an instant, his flesh split open, and purple-gold dragon blood flowed down like a rain of blood.

Below where the Celestial Dragon coiled, on the copper-coin altar, Lü Qing'er raised her pretty face. The scalding dragon blood fell upon her snow-white skin, and the searing heat caused her red lips to press together slightly.