Chapter 699: An Answer

In the following ten-plus days, the entire Great Xia City and the surrounding regions could only be described as being in utter chaos.

Countless people abandoned their original homes and began setting out on journeys south or north. No matter how much reluctance they felt, they could only flee in panic, because during this period, the malevolent Qi around Great Xia City had begun to grow dense, and even traces of Aberrations had started to appear.

Fortunately, however, they were only low-level Aberrations, and with Great Xia City now brimming with powerful experts, any Aberration that appeared was immediately eliminated.

But while the Aberrations were easy to deal with, the atmosphere of panic began to accumulate rapidly.

Every day, the fleeing crowds streamed on in vast numbers, filled with terror. Some of them hadn't even recovered from the atmosphere of fleeing disaster, after all, just a few short days ago, they had still been looking forward to the approaching New Year festival.

Yet the tide of events was irresistible, and no one could avoid it.

Not even the top powers within Great Xia City.

All factions worked tirelessly to gather and stockpile all their resources, but time was simply too short, causing many resources to be impossible to collect in order, and they could only be abandoned with great pain.

And within Great Xia City, it was not peaceful either.

This lack of peace mainly came from the split of the Wang Ting. The news that the Eldest Princess and the Regent King would part ways, one heading south and one north, had already spread throughout the city, which undoubtedly caused enormous shock. Everyone understood what this represented.

It meant that the Wang Ting of Great Xia would henceforth be divided into two. It could be said that Great Xia would now be split apart.

The south would be controlled by the Eldest Princess's faction, while the north would fall into the hands of the Regent King.

If this had happened a month ago, the Regent King's splitting off would surely have drawn endless condemnation, after all, this was outright treason. But because of the current critical juncture, the spread of malevolent Qi and the imminent rampage of Aberrations, no one could spare any attention for the Regent King.

Only the Eldest Princess's faction had, in recent days, still been denouncing the Regent King on various grounds. The two factions clashed repeatedly, which only made the conflict between them increasingly intense. In fact, if not for the external threat pressing in, these two factions might have already erupted into direct conflict.

And this split and standoff within the Wang Ting also made the situation in Great Xia City even more chaotic.

House Luolan Mansion, underground palace.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing stood together, their expressions somewhat tense as they looked ahead. There was the figure of Niu Niu Biaobiao, whose hands were continuously forming seals, and as his seal arts shifted, Li Luo and the other could see the obscure light patterns spread throughout the underground palace gradually weakening.

These light patterns formed the protective grand array of House Luolan Mansion.

Li Luo's gaze was somewhat complex. This protective grand array had protected House Luolan Mansion for so many years, and he had never imagined that the day would come when the ones to break this grand array were not external enemies, but themselves.

But there was no choice, now that even Great Xia City was going to be destroyed, House Luolan Mansion naturally needed to relocate as well.

So he had to take away the "Spiritual Essence Substance," as well as the Lifebound Candle Flames left behind by Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan.

As if sensing Li Luo's conflicted, wavering state of mind, Jiang Qing beside him cast her cool, clear gaze over, then extended her slender jade hand and gently held his palm.

A cool, delicate sensation transmitted from her palm, and Li Luo turned his head to glance at Jiang Qing.

"This grand array's mission has already been completed. It protected us through the Mansion Sacrifice. The road ahead should rely on ourselves." Jiang Qing smiled faintly. On her breathtakingly beautiful, goddess-like face, there seemed to flow a dazzling, heart-stirring radiance, and for a moment even this somewhat dimly lit underground palace seemed to brighten.

Faced with this peerless beauty right before his eyes, even Li Luo, who had long been accustomed to Jiang Qing's appearance and bearing, found himself staring somewhat dazedly for a moment.

Then he grasped Jiang Qing's slender, long jade fingers, gave a light cough, and said: "Sister Qing... before I knew it, a whole year has already passed. Do you still remember a year ago, in front of the South Wind Academy, when you came to pick me up? My proposal back then... I've now passed it through trial after trial, haven't I?"

"So, shouldn't there be an answer by now?"

Jiang Qing was startled, her thick eyelashes blinking lightly, then she said somewhat blankly: "What answer?"

Li Luo said angrily: "Don't play dumb!"

"The matter of breaking off the engagement! When will that marriage contract be amended? I've passed the trials you gave me one after another, haven't I? I'm already the Mansion Master of House Luolan Mansion now!"

Jiang Qing said somewhat helplessly: "You really do love making unnecessary moves."

"This isn't an unnecessary move. The significance here is extremely important." Li Luo corrected her seriously.

Jiang Qing said with a half-smile: "But your current strength still hasn't surpassed mine. Don't you always feel that you have to wait until your strength surpasses mine before you can conquer me?"

Li Luo said sheepishly: "The word 'conquer' sounds too unpleasant. Isn't this just mutual affection between two people?"

Then he gripped Jiang Qing's small hand tightly, stared at her seriously, and said: "I don't care, Sister Qing, I just want to know—do you like me? The kind of liking between a man and a woman. Don't brush me off with some brother-sister affection."

His sudden, direct approach caused even the usually calm Jiang Qing to fall into a momentary daze. On her fair, porcelain-like cheeks, a faint blush seemed to surface, and within her golden eyes, a rare hint of shyness also rose.

Perhaps because the grand array had been dismantled and they were about to abandon this House Luolan Mansion headquarters, Jiang Qing felt that today's Li Luo seemed much more reckless and direct than usual.

And Jiang Qing, for a moment, actually didn't know how to answer, only feeling that her heartbeat was a little fast.

Seeing that she hadn't answered, Li Luo widened his eyes and said: "Although your answer isn't important, because you're already bound to our House Luolan Mansion. This Young Mistress of House Luolan Mansion—you'll do it whether you want to or not."

Seeing him acting like a rogue, Jiang Qing was both annoyed and amused.

"Ahem."

And just at this moment, a dry cough sounded within the underground palace, interrupting the atmosphere between the two.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing hurriedly looked over, only to see that Niu Niu Biaobiao had already completed the final seal art, and as the last obscure, complex light pattern within the underground palace gradually dimmed, it seemed as if an invisible ripple was rapidly spreading outward.

The underground palace trembled at this moment, with dust drifting down.

Crack.

At the center of the underground palace, stone bricks shattered open, and a mysterious rhombus-shaped crystal slowly rose up, emitting waves of halos. With the appearance of this object, a peculiar, divine aura immediately permeated the underground palace. Under the shroud of this special aura, Li Luo felt that his own phase force seemed to become extraordinarily turbulent.

Spiritual Essence Substance!

Li Luo's gaze sharpened. This object was the treasure left behind by his parents, something that Marquis-level powerhouses dreamed of obtaining.

He stepped forward slowly, first arriving before the two Lifebound Candle Flames, and said: "Father, Mother, Great Xia has encountered a drastic change, and we can't hold onto this headquarters either, so I can only take away the 'Spiritual Essence Substance' first. If you two can sense this, please be extra careful in your actions on the Wang Hou Battlefield in the future."

This "Spiritual Essence Substance," left in the underground palace, besides maintaining the grand array, also had another function: at critical moments, it could transmit some power to Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan, who were on the Wang Hou Battlefield. This power could help them survive some fatal crises.

So if it weren't absolutely necessary, Li Luo truly didn't want to take away this Spiritual Essence Substance.

After saying this, Li Luo reached out and carefully stored the two Lifebound Candle Flames into his spatial sphere.

Then he turned his head to look at Niu Niu Biaobiao and said: "Uncle Biao, hurry and put it away!"

Niu Niu Biaobiao glanced at Li Luo, then smiled and extended his palm, grasping in his hand that "Spiritual Essence Substance" capable of making countless Marquis-level powerhouses fight to the death over it.

"Young Mansion Master, this item will be temporarily stored with Old Niu for some time. Once we get through this crisis, I'll hand it back to you for safekeeping." Niu Niu Biaobiao said with a smile.

Li Luo waved his hand dismissively.

"The various resources of House Luolan Mansion have mostly been organized. We should probably set out within the next two days. Traces of Aberrations have already begun appearing outside the city, we can't keep delaying."

Niu Niu Biaobiao nodded and said: "I'll be ready on my end."

Then the three of them gazed once more at this underground palace, which showed faint signs of collapse. After quite a while, they finally turned and left.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing walked a little behind Niu Niu Biaobiao.

Li Luo tugged at Jiang Jiang Qinge's small hand and asked quietly, "Sister Jiang Qinge, you still haven't answered me."

At Jiang Jiang Qinge's crystal-clear little earlobes, a faint blush seemed to bloom; she stole a glance at Niu Niu Biaobiao up ahead, then said softly, "I'll answer you once we reach South Wind City!"

Then she quickened her pace, no longer paying any attention to Li Luo's pestering.

Li Luo looked at the girl who had momentarily lost her usual composure and brisk poise, grinned smugly, then followed along at a leisurely pace.