Chapter 274: The Arrival of the Great Disaster

Jiang Qing'e's remark about bringing shame upon herself immediately caused Duze Honglian's willow-leaf brows to stand on end; clearly, this sentence had no small amount of lethality for her.

However, in the end, she only gave a cold snort and did not say more on this topic, because this was originally just a pretext she had found to provoke Jiang Qing'e and recover from some of the embarrassment she had suffered earlier.

The so-called seducing of Li Luo, to the point of making him lose his head, was also fundamentally impossible.

She disdained to do such things, and besides, as for a Li Luo, even if he possessed dual resonance, so what? Jiang Qing'e might treat him like a treasure, but she, Duze Honglian, did not think much of him.

Compared to someone as outstanding and excellent as Gong Shenjun, Li Luo was still a grade behind.

Duze Honglian stood up and took a garment to drape over her body, covering those proud curves. Her complexion was still somewhat pale, but it was clearly much better than the weak state she had been in earlier, where she could not even walk.

"You should hurry and recover; perhaps it won't be long before that Great Disaster-class Other arrives at our stronghold."

"I hope you can be of some use when the time comes, otherwise it would truly be a waste of the effort Li Luo and I spent."

Jiang Qing'e had no interest in further conversation with Duze Honglian; after saying this, she walked toward the door.

Duze Honglian looked displeased. Talking to this Jiang Qing'e was always like needles against wheat awns. She watched Jiang Qing'e's figure, hesitated slightly, and finally said: "Jiang Qing'e, this time I will count it as owing you a favor."

"But don't think that from now on I will change my attitude toward you. You and I stand on different sides; the Duze Manor and the Luolan Manor are enemies. As a member of the Duze Manor, I will still find ways to deal with your Luolan Manor, and I will not show any mercy."

Jiang Qing'e paused her steps, turned her head to glance at Duze Honglian, and said indifferently: "Don't overthink it. Saving you wasn't because of your status, but simply because I didn't want you to be controlled by the Smiling Face Demon and cause more trouble. As for how you deal with my Luolan Manor, I don't care. After all, I haven't taken those schemes of yours over the years to heart."

"So, don't overestimate yourself, and don't underestimate my Luolan Manor."

Once the words fell, she pushed the door open and walked out.

Duze Honglian watched her departing figure and gave a cold snort. What did this Jiang Qing'e mean? Was she saying that those schemes of hers were just child's play?

Truly stubborn. Did she really think everyone couldn't see the distress Luolan Manor was in over the past few years?

If it weren't for that Li Luo getting Xiyang House up and running over the past half-year, the current Luolan Manor might not have been able to catch its breath.

However, thinking of that Li Luo, Duze Honglian's expression shifted uncertainly, her eyes showing a hint of annoyance. Although she had been lying on the bed earlier, she had been almost completely seen by that brat.

This Jiang Qing'e was truly hateful; she was absolutely doing it on purpose!

"Damn it, I lost out big this time."

Duze Honglian's expression shifted for a moment before gradually recovering. With a low, irritable curse, she sat cross-legged on the stone bed and began to cultivate to recover her losses.

When Jiang Qing'e walked down the stone tower, she saw Li Luo waiting below.

"She should be fine now, right?" Li Luo asked.

Jiang Qing'e nodded slightly.

"I didn't expect that we would end up helping her..." Li Luo sighed. This Duze Honglian hadn't caused little trouble for the Luolan Manor in the past; the two sides were like fire and water, yet this time, they had actually stepped in to save her life.

"Even without Duze Honglian, the Duze Manor would still have others stepping forward to deal with the Luolan Manor. This is a matter of stance."

Jiang Qing'e shook her head and said: "Besides, the situation is special right now; saving her is also saving ourselves."

Li Luo nodded. That Great Disaster-class Other was about to strike; if they didn't deal with the trouble that was Duze Honglian, it would only bring them greater crisis later.

"Then did she show any gratitude or self-reflection?" Li Luo asked with a smile.

Jiang Qing'e's red lips curled slightly: "She said she plans to seduce you, make you lose your head, and then make you break off our engagement."

Li Luo's smile immediately froze, and he retorted angrily: "What a scorpion-hearted woman! We saved her, and she dares to be so vicious!"

"Why such a big reaction?"

Jiang Qing'e glanced at him and said: "Duze Honglian's figure should be quite good, right?"

Li Luo hurriedly shook his head: "I didn't notice that; I was completely distracted by that ghost face earlier."

"Really?" Jiang Qing'e smiled.

Li Luo felt wronged: "You're being too unreasonable. You were the one who told me to go in, and now you're the one settling scores?"

Jiang Qing'e was thoughtful: "If Duze Honglian really wants to do that, you could actually use a counter-beauty trap. When the time comes, develop her into our secret agent in the Duze Manor to provide us with intelligence."

Li Luo was speechless. A beauty trap? How much charm would it take to make someone directly betray their own father? However, he also knew that Jiang Qing'e was just teasing him to relieve the pressure that had been constantly increasing these past few days.

"Duze Honglian's pollution won't recur, will it?" Li Luo pulled the topic back and asked seriously.

"Duze Honglian shouldn't have any more problems. Actually, I wasn't very worried about her, because although her pollution was relatively deep, it was exposed. Once this thing is exposed, its threat is greatly reduced."

Jiang Qing'e pondered slightly and said: "On the contrary, I'm not so sure about people like Ye Qiuding."

Li Luo also frowned and nodded. The most troublesome thing about these Seeds of Evil was that they were impossible to guard against. For someone like Duze Honglian who was exposed, they could find ways to purge the pollution, but others looked perfectly normal and showed no signs of being polluted at all; it was truly a case of not even knowing where to start.

After all, it was impossible to just ignore them and throw them outside the stronghold; that would be equivalent to aiding the enemy, so they could only spend more effort monitoring them.

Jiang Qing'e took out a map and looked at it carefully for a while. Her pretty face became much more solemn: "The purification tower closest to the stronghold in this direction has also been polluted."

Li Luo's eyes sharpened. The nearest purification tower was only half a day's journey from the stronghold, which meant that the Great Disaster-class Other would likely arrive outside the stronghold in half a day.

The two sides were about to meet.

"Great Disaster-class... can we hold them off?" Li Luo sighed and asked.

That was the strength of a Heavenly Dipper General stage, and a top-tier one at that. Presumably, even if it were Gong Shenjun or the Grand Princess here, they would be under immense pressure if they had to face it alone.

"Who knows."

Jiang Qing'e was silent for a moment, then said with some regret: "If only we had met it half a year later. By then, I should have been able to test just how powerful a Great Disaster-class Other really is."

Li Luo's brows twitched. Jiang Qing'e's implication was clearly that she would have a massive improvement in half a year, enough to even have the qualifications to clash with a Great Disaster-class Other?

Was a Ninth-grade Light Resonance really that overbearing?

"Alright, send the news out. The entire stronghold will enter the strictest state of combat readiness. Everyone, prepare for a great battle." As Li Luo's thoughts raced, Jiang Qing'e's voice came.

Li Luo let out a heavy breath and nodded in agreement.

In the following half-day, as the news of the impending arrival of the Great Disaster-class Other spread, the atmosphere of the entire stronghold seemed to solidify, becoming so oppressive that it was frightening.

Everyone's expression carried an unconcealable panic and fear.

Pairs of eyes looked toward the northwest, where the world, which had become much clearer following their purification, was once again filled with billowing black mist roaring in.

Unexplained whispers came, now and then, making one feel restless and agitated.

Half a day passed quietly.

At a certain moment, piercing shrieks seemed to come from the distant horizon. Many eyes in the stronghold looked over, and then they saw rolling black mist, like a black tide, roaring in from the northwest.

Many students in the stronghold looked at this apocalyptic scene, their scalps tingling for a moment.

That Great Disaster-class Other had finally arrived.