Chapter 261: The Incident Within the Forbidden Zone

Outside the Dark Spirit Pool, Wang Wang Yufeng, Song Song Qiuyu, and Di Fa Jingming stared unblinkingly at the damaged Dark Spirit Leaf in Li Luo's hand, their gazes shifting.

None of the three were fools. The moment Li Luo produced this Dark Spirit Leaf that could only admit two people into the Dark Spirit Pool, they knew exactly what scheme he was plotting.

Nothing more than sowing discord—killing three men with two peaches.

If they accepted this Dark Spirit Leaf, no matter how they used it, one person would be left out, and whoever that was would inevitably harbor a grudge.

Even if for now they might generously choose to step back willingly, once certain grudges existed, they would eventually cause some shift in the relationship between them in the future.

Therefore, this Dark Spirit Leaf truly contained a "lethal poison."

But Li Luo clearly had no intention of concealing his purpose. They could choose to refuse, as long as they could resist the temptation of entering the Dark Spirit Pool early to cultivate.

As long as the three of them could firmly cast aside this temptation, Li Luo's scheme would fall through.

Only, Li Luo did not believe that Wang Wang Yufeng, Song Song Qiuyu, and the others had the mental fortitude to be that steadfast.

"So, do you want it or not? If not, I'll take it back." Li Luo said flatly.

As he spoke, he prepared to retract the Dark Spirit Leaf.

However, Song Song Qiuyu moved first, reaching out to snatch the Dark Spirit Leaf from Li Luo's hand. Her face shifting between shades, she tossed a small bottle over—it was half a bottle of Imperial Flow Pulp.

Li Luo took the wooden bottle, said not a single extra word, turned and left, completely unconcerned with how they intended to use this Dark Spirit Leaf.

Song Song Qiuyu stared at Li Luo's retreating back, then said to Wang Wang Yufeng and Di Fa Jingming: "You two use this Dark Spirit Leaf. I can wait for the next one."

Wang Wang Yufeng's gaze flickered, and he said: "Song Qiuyu, you don't need to make such a big sacrifice."

"If we're really going to distribute this Dark Spirit Leaf, we should do it in the fairest way—and that is by the weight of our contributions."

Hearing his words, Song Song Qiuyu inwardly cried that things had taken a bad turn. She looked up and, sure enough, saw that Di Fa Jingming, who had remained silent all this while, had a faint stiffness in his expression—though he recovered in an instant.

Di Fa Jingming smiled and nodded, saying: "That is indeed the fairest method. Song Qiuyu, you and the captain enter the Dark Spirit Pool first. I'll wait for the next one."

Upon hearing this, Wang Wang Yufeng said with some apology: "Don't worry, Jingming, we won't let you suffer a loss. We'll still be staying in the Dark Cave for a while. When the time comes, we'll find a chance to make it up to you."

Di Fa Jingming smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

Song Song Qiuyu hesitated, on the verge of speaking. Di Fa Jingming had been her close friend for many years, and their families were old acquaintances. He was an excellent companion to her within the Holy Profound Star Academy. Her reason told her that now she should speak up for Di Fa Jingming and stand firmly on his side.

But doing so would make Wang Wang Yufeng lose face.

That clearly did not suit her character either.

Thus, ultimately caught between two difficulties, she could only choose silence.

Yet she also knew in her heart that her silence would inevitably disappoint Di Fa Jingming, and this would cause some cracks to appear in their relationship.

But what could she do?

Neither she nor Wang Wang Yufeng could truly give up the temptation this Dark Spirit Leaf brought. They could indeed wait for the next wave of Dark Spirit Leaves, but by then they would have lost their head start, and the cultivation effects from entering would be greatly diminished.

Neither of them was willing to bear such a loss.

Now Li Luo had delivered a Dark Spirit Leaf right to them. Though it contained poison, the two of them still could not bear to part with it.

She could only say that she had underestimated Li Luo's methods. He hadn't resorted to force, nor had he used Jiang Jiang Qinge to apply pressure. If he had, she wouldn't have had much to fear.

But she had never expected that Li Luo's counterattack would be simply producing a damaged Dark Spirit Leaf.

This single Dark Spirit Leaf had caused cracks to appear in relationships she had painstakingly cultivated for years.

The price, in truth, was a heavy one.

So at this moment, Song Song Qiuyu could not help but feel some regret. Why had she failed to restrain her temperament earlier and provoked this Li Luo?

Although this fellow's strength could not match Jiang Jiang Qinge's, these tactics of his were, in fact, even more devastating than what Jiang Jiang Qinge brought.

But as for Song Song Qiuyu's regret, Li Luo no longer cared. For this trip to the Dark Spirit Pool, his strength had risen two levels, a large haul of academy points had landed in his hands—it could truly be called a massive windfall.

He walked toward Jiang Jiang Qinge's group, then said to Tian Tian and Senior Qiu Bai with some apology: "Sorry for taking up so much time here at the Dark Spirit Pool."

They had been here for the better part of a day, and during this time, Du Ze Duze Honglian, Ye Ye Qiuding, and the others must have been steadily pushing forward, perhaps even having already opened up a second-tier Purification Pagoda. In terms of progress, they were most likely behind.

Tian Tian laughed prettily and said: "Sharpening the knife doesn't delay the woodcutting work. Your squad's strength has risen by a huge margin, which will help us push forward the second-tier Purification Pagoda later."

Having already done so many favors, of course they didn't mind seeing it through to the end. As for Du Ze Duze Honglian, letting them have their moment of triumph was no big deal.

Going forward, under the captain's leadership, there would be plenty of chances to push them back down.

Jiang Jiang Qinge took out the map, glanced at it, and indeed saw that two second-tier Purification Pagoda markers had been lit up. Looking closely, the squad name beside one of them was precisely Du Ze Duze Honglian's group.

"No rush. It's not as if there's no chance to catch up at all." Jiang Jiang Qinge said calmly.

Li Luo nodded, just about to speak, when suddenly a heaven-shaking roar came from the distant mountain range. The roar seemed to carry sound waves, rolling in from afar, transforming into a gale that howled through the forest.

At the same time, the energy between heaven and earth in this area suddenly became violent.

Everyone present paled at this sudden turn of events.

Gazes of absolute horror shot toward the depths of the forest—the direction from which the roar had come. That was the Forbidden Zone, said to contain no Aberrant creatures at all. The only thing that existed there...

Was that Spirit Beast of the Heavenly General rank, whose strength was even more terrifying than the Aberrants!

But why would this Spirit Beast, which had never stirred before, suddenly grow agitated today?!

The crowd panicked. Senior Qiu Bai and Tian Tian's expressions also turned solemn. Even from such a great distance, they could still see a column of black smoke shooting skyward, with violent energy rampaging out from within it.

Within the black smoke, an indistinct colossal figure was charging through.

But gradually, their expressions suddenly shifted, because they realized that the direction the colossal figure was charging was precisely toward them?!

The others also noticed this and immediately showed looks of terror.

"No need to panic."

Jiang Jiang Qinge spoke up at this moment. Her cool, clear voice gradually calmed the crowd's panic: "Outside the Forbidden Zone, there are supposedly character runes personally inscribed by the Dean. This Spirit Beast can't break out."

The crowd exchanged uncertain glances upon hearing this. They had not known this information before, but given Jiang Jiang Qinge's status, she would presumably receive more attention within the academy, so it wasn't strange for her to know some secrets.

Thus, the crowd's terror receded slightly, and they gazed into the distance, ready to turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble.

Li Luo was also gazing into the depths of the mountain range at the earth-shaking commotion. His brow furrowed slightly, because he faintly sensed that the violent Spirit Beast gave him a feeling of familiarity.

He thought for a few seconds, then his pupils suddenly contracted.

Wasn't the vicious perception he had felt earlier in the Dark Spirit Pool exactly the same as this?

So that vicious perception came from this Heaven General-grade spirit beast within the Forbidden Zone!

Could it be that the beast's current agitation is due to him?

Li Luo's expression shifted; was it because he had plucked the Dark Spirit Leaves? Unlikely; those Dark Spirit Leaves were not such great treasures that they would cause a Heaven General-grade spirit beast to become this ferocious.

Moreover, from that prior perception, Li Luo had distinctly felt a sense of greed and hunger.

As if it wanted to swallow him whole.

Then, if it wasn't because of the Dark Spirit Leaves, was it due to some aspect of his own nature?

Deep within the Dark Spirit Pool, the only power Li Luo had displayed that differed from ordinary people...

Li Luo's eyes flashed; it was the Dual-Phase Power.

Dual-Phase Power is the signature strength of a Marquis-sealing expert. It is said that this Heaven General-grade spirit beast is also in the stage of rushing toward the Marquis-sealing realm; perhaps it sensed his Dual-Phase, which is why it was so greedy, attempting to devour him to aid its own advancement?

Truly a beast, so cruel and brutal.

Li Luo swallowed hard, for he felt his guess was likely close to the truth... This made him uneasy; he never expected his Dual-Phase would one day be targeted.

This world is truly dangerous.

I wonder if what Sister Jiang Jiang Qinge said about those so-called Headmaster's character-runes is true? If those character-runes have vanished due to the passage of time, wouldn't he today be targeted by a peak Heaven General-grade spirit beast?

Thinking of that scene, Li Luo's legs felt slightly weak.

Boom! Boom!

The mountain range trembled as towering black smoke rolled past, speeding toward the outside of the mountains. As that surging, world-filling ferocious aura drew ever closer, some of the students present could no longer hold back and began fleeing backward.

Just as Li Luo was considering whether to run first, suddenly a mysterious stream of light erupted from a Shanfeng on the outer rim of the mountain range.

The stream of light appeared in the sky, as if forming an ancient, luminous character.

Seal!

The ancient character rotated in the sky, swallowing and spitting out mysterious power. With the appearance of this ancient character, the towering black smoke that had been surging fiercely toward the outside of the mountains suddenly halted.

Within the black smoke, a colossal entity let out a furious roar at the ancient character, sending gales sweeping through and shaking the mountains and forests.