Chapter 708: The Final Measure

Niu Niu Biaobiao suddenly fell into a kind of inner-demon-like maze, clearly the work of Shen Shen Jinxiao.

This sudden change caused everyone present to change color.

Without Niu Niu Biaobiao, a Wei Si Pin Marquis, as the main force, it was obviously impossible for just Xixi Chan and Du Ze Yan, two Third Rank Marquises, to hold back Shen Shen Jinxiao.

Cai Wei and Yan Yan Lingqing's pretty faces turned somewhat pale, at a loss.

The convoy of the Luo Lan Mansion also appeared somewhat chaotic.

"Swear to protect the two Mansion Masters!"

Yuan Qing raised the banner of the Luo Lan Mansion and shouted loudly with a resolute face.

Although his Tian Xiang Jing strength was like an ant before a Sixth Rank Marquis, he did not flee in fear; instead, he was the first to try to rally morale.

Pavilion Masters like Lei Zhang also showed resolve on their faces. If a Sixth Rank Marquis powerhouse truly intended to kill them all, they had no chance of escape. Since that was the case, they might as well die with backbone.

The entire convoy was shrouded in sorrow for a time.

Yet Li Luo's expression still appeared somewhat calm at this moment. Perhaps he had not been entirely unprepared for the situation before him.

Reinforcements from the Academy and Yu Yu Hongxi had not yet arrived, which meant they too should have been held up. Shen Shen Jinxiao had come prepared this time.

He turned his head to look at Jiang Jiang Qinge beside him. The latter was riding a horned horse beast, her jade-like face like a goddess, equally unruffled. Her golden eyes were clear and deep, reflecting everything between heaven and earth.

"Qing'e-Zhong Jie..." Li Luo said softly.

Jiang Jiang Qinge's gaze turned toward Li Luo.

"Are you afraid?" Li Luo asked.

Jiang Jiang Qinge smiled lightly and shook her head, saying: "We won't die here."

"I don't think so either," Li Luo smiled. "But Qing'e-Zhong Jie, later, let me make the first move. In the past it was always you who helped me deal with trouble. This time, you have to let me step forward. After all, protecting my fiancée is also the duty of this fiancé of yours."

Jiang Jiang Qinge gazed at Li Luo's handsome, good-looking face. The latter's eyes were filled with unshakable resolve.

So she simply broke into a light smile and said gently: "Alright, I'll listen to you."

She did not ask Li Luo, a mere Sha Palace realm cultivator, just what he would rely on to block Shen Shen Jinxiao, a Sixth Rank Marquis. But she understood this was Li Luo's resolve. He only wanted to show that, no matter what kind of powerful enemy he faced, he would not allow them to harm her right under his nose.

In Jiang Jiang Qinge's golden eyes flowed warm mirth. Reflected in her gaze was the handsome face of the youth before her—the one who had accompanied her the longest in her life, and who was gradually shedding his former greenness and becoming reliable.

He was no longer that little boy who would cry whenever she hit him.

High in the sky, Shen Shen Jinxiao stared at the frozen Niu Niu Biaobiao. The latter had now fallen into the inner-demon tribulation he had triggered, so for a short time he would be unable to break free. And without Niu Niu Biaobiao's containment, things would be much simpler from here on.

His indifferent gaze turned toward Xixi Chan and Du Ze Yan.

Then he extended a finger. Boundless flames roared from its tip, finally transforming into two massive fire pythons with no visible end. The fire pythons coiled in the void, gradually becoming two fire-python furnaces that completely sealed off the void where the two stood.

Xixi Chan and Du Ze Yan resisted desperately, each urging three Marquis Platforms to slam into the fire-python furnaces, making them shake violently.

But facing the absolute suppression of Shen Shen Jinxiao's Sixth Rank Marquis strength, they could not break free for the moment.

With no more need to fear Niu Niu Biaobiao, Shen Shen Jinxiao very easily took control of the situation.

Having restrained Xixi Chan and the others, Shen Shen Jinxiao did not proceed to kill them. Marquis-level powerhouses possessed extremely tenacious life forces; erasing them would take considerable time. What he needed now was to obtain what he wanted as quickly as possible; otherwise, once the Academy and Yu Yu Hongxi arrived, further complications would surely arise.

So his figure moved, stepping down through the air, heading straight for where Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge were.

Seeing him approach, the higher-ups of the Luo Lan Mansion like Yuan Qing and Lei Zhang all showed expressions of terror. The terrifying might of a Marquis-level powerhouse swept over them like a flood, making their bodies tremble with fear.

But they still mustered their courage, desperately circulating the phase force within them to block the way ahead.

"Step back." At this moment, Li Luo's voice came.

Yuan Qing, Lei Zhang, and the others were startled. They turned to look at Li Luo, only to see the latter's calm face.

They hesitated for a moment, then slowly stepped back.

"What? Chosen to give up?" Shen Shen Jinxiao appeared ten zhang away from Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge, asking somewhat strangely.

"But even if you choose to give up, I will still choose to wipe you all out. After all, a genius bearing three phases—I wouldn't dare let you grow." He said with a smile, and in his gaze toward Li Luo, killing intent flowed.

Li Luo said: "You'll have to be able to do that first."

Shen Shen Jinxiao said with a surprised laugh: "Sounds like you still have other tricks? Your reinforcements don't seem like they'll arrive in time."

He looked at Li Luo, whose expression was unusually calm, and for some reason a trace of unease welled up in his heart. Then he said: "Enough. You brat are truly too bizarre. I won't waste words with you. Kill first, talk later."

However, just as his voice fell, Li Luo extended his palm. In the center of it lay quietly a black token.

On the token, the ancient character "Li" radiated a mysterious charm.

When Shen Shen Jinxiao saw this black token, his expression changed as expected. Because that day at the Academy, he had personally seen Pang Pang Qianyuan borrow this item from Li Luo, and afterward it was this very token that had severely wounded Lord Zhu Xuan Chen, a Wei Qi Pin Marquis.

"Trying to scare me with this thing? The power Pang Pang Qianyuan left behind last time has been completely exhausted. Even if this item is extraordinary, how could you possibly activate it?" Shen Shen Jinxiao said with a cold, dark gaze.

As he spoke, he had already struck decisively. Flames roared from his fingertip like a flood, and the ground melted on the spot. With such power, one strike would be enough to dissolve Li Luo into nothingness.

Li Luo's eyes lowered slightly. Even though a sky-blazing sea of fire swept toward him, his state of mind became unusually calm. He merely gripped the black token tightly with all five fingers.

That day, after Pang Pang Qianyuan borrowed and returned the token, it was as if a valve had been opened on it, and Li Luo had taken the opportunity to learn one method of using this black token.

This method of use was somewhat extreme. If it weren't absolutely necessary, Li Luo would not be willing to use it.

But now, clearly, there was no need to hold back.

The blood within his body seemed to come alive at this moment. It roared, boiled, then surged forth, all of it pouring into the black token in his hand.

On the black token, blood-red patterns seemed to spread, quickly meeting the ancient character "Li."

In that instant, Li Luo heard a vast, desolate dragon's roar, as if piercing through time and space.

His pupils began to fill with blood, veins bulged across his face, appearing extremely ferocious and terrifying.

But such pain was not without effect, because at this moment, the ancient character "Li" on the black token actually slowly detached from the token.

And at this moment, the flood of flames Shen Shen Jinxiao had urged forth roared over, then collided with that small ancient character "Li." In that instant, the flames instantly melted away, and the boiling high temperatures filling the sky vanished in a breath.

The character "Li" drifted lightly. It did not radiate ten-thousand-zhang light, nor did it stir the energies of heaven and earth. But when it appeared, the terrifying pressure from Shen Shen Jinxiao seemed to turn into a gentle breeze brushing the face, completely vanishing.

And Shen Shen Jinxiao, at this moment, suddenly felt his hair stand on end.

He sensed an indescribable aura of danger.

So he retreated without the slightest hesitation, his figure flickering and indistinct, as if splitting into countless afterimages, hiding within the void.

But Li Luo paid it no heed. At this moment he was like a man drenched in blood, his hand trembling as he reached out and pointed far ahead.

Activating the "Li" character on that black token did not consume his own phase force, but... his bloodline! In his perception, the drain on his bloodline this time was more than ten times greater than the ten drops of essence blood he had previously given to the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf!

The ancient "Li" character transformed into a hazy black light and leapt forth.

The hazy black light swept past, and in the span of a single instant, the countless afterimages of Shen Shen Jinxiao ahead shattered along with it.

In the end, the countless afterimages converged into one place, revealing Shen Shen Jinxiao's true body. At this moment, his expression was dark to the extreme.

Because in his perception, that mysterious "Li" character seemed to have locked onto his true body. No matter how he dodged, it would find him. It was as if it were a kind of fate—this thing would surely strike him; if it missed, it would follow him forever like a bone-rotting ulcer.

Shen Shen Jinxiao could not comprehend such a method. This... probably couldn't even be done by an ordinary king-level expert, could it?

How could this Li Luo wield such a thing?

His thoughts flickered, and finally a vicious glint flashed through Shen Shen Jinxiao's eyes. With a shift of his mind, six Marquis Platforms tore through the air. They seemed to form some kind of special formation, and majestic, vast pillars of phase force roared forth, linking to one another, while also shielding Shen Shen Jinxiao within them.

No matter how powerful that "mysterious token" was, Li Luo himself was ultimately only at the Fiend Palace realm!

Moreover, in this world there is no power that appears out of thin air without reason. For Li Luo to drive a force of this level at the Fiend Palace realm, the price he paid must be unimaginable.

This was Li Luo's final move.

Thinking this in his heart, Shen Shen Jinxiao let out a long howl toward the sky. The energies of heaven and earth came rolling in, and the six Marquis Platforms blazed with dazzling light as wave after wave of energy storms swept through the world.

The "Li" character transformed into a thin black light that swept past, colliding head-on with the light formation formed by the six Marquis Platforms.

Hum!

At the moment of impact, there was no thunderous sound; it seemed only a faint ripple spread out across the void.

Then the black light vanished into thin air.

And on the token in Li Luo's hand, the "Li" character appeared once more.

Heaven and earth seemed to freeze for an instant.

Then, everyone saw with pupils trembling like an earthquake... of the six Marquis Platforms suspended around Shen Shen Jinxiao, three of them, at this moment...

Collapsed.