Chapter 652: The Heavenly Hibernation Saint Transformation Art

When a resplendent Tian Zhu behind Jiang Jiang Qinge shattered, the phase force erupting from her body continued its frenzied climb under countless shocked gazes.

At this moment, sacred light phase force surged and pulsed around her. Bathed in that holy radiance, she looked incomparably pure and saintly, like a goddess of light. As the energies of heaven and earth flowed toward her, they were all purified by that sacred light phase force and ultimately became a part of it.

"Your secret art is quite extraordinary. If I'm not mistaken, it should be a Marquis-level secret art, right? Truly worthy of a peerless prodigy. Marquis-level secret arts are harder to cultivate than ordinary Marquis techniques, yet for you, it seems to pose no difficulty at all." Manager Pei Hao's deep, cold gaze locked onto Jiang Jiang Qinge as he spoke slowly.

Jiang Jiang Qinge's phase force had surged far too terrifyingly. After all, one had to know that her true strength right now was only at the level of a five-star Tian Zhu. That rank was unattainable for her peers, but for Manager Pei Hao at this moment, there was still a considerable gap between them.

The so-called "Virtual Marquis Realm" was no mere empty talk.

But now, Jiang Jiang Qinge had forcibly relied on this Mi Fa to elevate her strength to the point where even he felt a sliver of threat.

Clearly, an ordinary Mi Fa could never possess such power, even though Jiang Jiang Qinge had been preparing for this day over the course of several years.

"However, although your secret art is formidable, to raise it to the point of posing some threat to me, it should also require paying no small price. That shattered Tian Zhu is proof enough. I imagine the cost of this power is that you must lower your own rank, yes? That price is quite considerable."

"You're only five-star now—no, you've already dropped to four-star Tian Zhu Jing... so how long can you actually sustain this power?" Manager Pei Hao continued with a smile.

Yet faced with his words meant to disturb her state of mind, Jiang Jiang Qinge had no intention of paying him any heed. Not a single ripple stirred in her golden eyes. She raised her slender jade finger, and a halo of light slowly rose behind her head.

Boom!

The next instant, from within that halo of light, a resplendent flood of radiance erupted like a massive cannon, piercing straight across the sky. That dazzling brilliance instantly turned the somewhat dim heavens into broad daylight.

That might was enough to dissolve any Da Tian Xiang Jing expert in an instant, leaving not even a corpse behind.

But Manager Pei Hao's expression did not change. He raised a finger, and golden light gathered at its tip, condensing into a golden sword shadow. The sword shadow swelled with the wind, instantly growing into a hundred-zhang sword shadow, its sharp, piercing sword Qi filling the world.

Hum!

The sword shadow charged straight upward to meet the massive light cannon. A terrifying shockwave of phase force ravaged outward, tearing the plaza into a thousand holes in an instant, and both sides' forces scrambled to retreat in disarray.

When a single strike yielded no result, Jiang Jiang Qinge did not give up. Her golden heavy sword slowly rose at this moment, drawing in the energies of heaven and earth. On the sword's body, a trace of a golden eye flickered in and out of view, and at the sword's tip, sacred sword light pulsed unsteadily.

The next instant, mysterious light patterns emerged across the golden heavy sword. The heavy sword instantly pierced through the void, and as it trembled, it split into ten thousand sword shadows that hacked toward Manager Pei Hao.

The small golden sword at Manager Pei Hao's earring also detached at this moment, forming a skyful of golden sword shadows as well, though his sword shadows appeared far sharper and more menacing.

Two vast waves of sword shadows swept across the sky and collided head-on. The sight was truly spectacular.

The clash between the two sides instantly turned white-hot.

At this moment, the area around the Lu Lan Mansion headquarters was in complete chaos. The highest point belonged to the battlefield of the two Marquis-level experts, where both sides' "Feng Hou Zhong Jie" isolated the fight; outsiders could not participate and had no right to.

Next came the fierce battle between Jiang Jiang Qinge and Manager Pei Hao, where both sides struck ruthlessly without the slightest mercy.

And finally came the slaughter between the two factions' forces.

Li Luo stood at one corner of the shattered plaza. He glanced at the situation in the field, then his gaze turned toward Jiang Jiang Qinge's side, his brow slightly furrowed.

Although he did not know where Manager Pei Hao's terrifying power had come from, he had to admit that the current Manager Pei Hao was extremely strong—he had already exceeded the limits of Da Tian Xiang Jing. Although Jiang Jiang Qinge had also achieved a leap-like surge in strength through her Marquis-level secret art, judging from their exchange so far, none of Jiang Jiang Qinge's attacks had broken through Manager Pei Hao's defense.

Moreover, Manager Pei Hao was deliberately stalling for time.

His purpose was self-evident: Jiang Jiang Qinge's surging phase force came from sacrificing her Tian Zhu through her own secret art, yet Jiang Jiang Qinge's Tian Zhu were now down to only three. That's right—in that brief span of time just now, another one of her original four Tian Zhu had been sacrificed.

Although Li Luo was unclear whether sacrificing Tian Zhu like this would leave any aftereffects for Jiang Jiang Qinge, a drop in realm would eventually need to be cultivated back up, and that would clearly delay some of Jiang Jiang Qinge's cultivation.

Clearly, for today's Mansion Sacrifice, Jiang Jiang Qinge's preparations were no fewer than his own.

But this still seemed rather difficult.

Once Jiang Jiang Qinge's remaining three Tian Zhu were all sacrificed, how would she resist Manager Pei Hao then?

From Manager Pei Hao's continuous stalling, it was clear he was waiting for that very moment.

Hoo.

Li Luo exhaled deeply. He had cultivated through untold hardships for the sake of being able to share some of the pressure with Jiang Jiang Qinge during the Mansion Sacrifice, but he hadn't expected that in the end, all that pressure would still fall on her shoulders.

Li Luo's gaze grew somewhat dark. But the power within him had already been completely drained when he defeated Manager Pei Hao earlier, and his physical body had also suffered some damage. At this moment, the current Li Luo did not have enough strength to help Jiang Jiang Qinge.

"My Healing Game"

Moreover, the current Manager Pei Hao was at the so-called "Virtual Marquis Realm," so ordinary power likely would not have much effect on him.

Just as Li Luo was deep in thought, a faint tremor suddenly came from his wrist. His gaze sharpened as he looked, and it turned out to be the crimson bracelet on his wrist. He then sensed a faint low growl that reached his ears.

Was that... the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf?

Sensing the intent contained within that low growl, Li Luo's eyes shifted, and he whispered with some surprise, "What did you say? You can help me?"

He was somewhat doubtful. After all, the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf's strength was only at the peak of Da Tian Xiang Jing. Although it was said to have the qualifications to charge into the Marquis Realm, it hadn't actually succeeded yet, had it?

As if sensing Li Luo's doubt, a hint of anger entered the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf's growl.

Li Luo's gaze flickered. Regardless of whether the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf's words were true or false, if there was truly a chance to try, he naturally wouldn't give it up. However, the relationship between him and the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf shouldn't be that deep, right? Although they had reached some agreement before, Li Luo wouldn't naively assume that such a verbal agreement would make them trustworthy partners.

"What is your purpose?" Li Luo asked directly without hesitation.

The Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf's growl came again.

Li Luo clearly made out the meaning contained within the growl, and then his expression turned somewhat uncertain.

"Your... ten drops... of essence blood."