Chapter 761: Sha Demon Leader

As Li Luo crossed paths with the Greater Sha Demon, his eyes narrowed slightly. At this moment, he was in a peculiar state. In his perception, this region seemed to have countless illusory threads spreading outward, interweaving as if forming a "net."

This "net" covered an area of roughly a hundred zhang.

And earlier he had discovered that if he stood within this "net," he could actually pluck those countless seemingly illusory threads. When these threads wrapped around the blade, they could amplify his own strength to some degree.

After observing further, he found that these so-called illusory threads were actually emanating from the bodies of the Fifth Banner's banner members.

So he understood that perhaps this was also a special power belonging to each banner.

The reason he could sense this special "net" should still be because of the Nine Transformations Sha Refining Art he cultivated. After all, all banner members shared the same origin, and as the highest grade among them, the Nine Transformations naturally made it easier to sense these.

"Banner Leader, this is Banner Momentum! While you stand within it, your own strength will receive a boost. Although it's not as massive as during 'Qi Merging,' it has the advantage of being enduring and long-lasting, suitable for prolonged combat!" Zhao Zhao Yanzhi's somewhat amazed voice rang out at this moment.

"Banner Momentum?"

Li Luo's gaze flickered, and he smiled. This Twentieth Banner truly brimmed with mysteries, constantly bringing him surprises.

So he could not help but sigh—truly, a Heavenly King-level force had extraordinary foundations.

Boom!

At this moment, the second Greater Sha Demon also charged in. Amid its roar, a stream of Earth Sha energy erupted from its mouth like a flood, sweeping directly toward Li Luo.

Seeing this, Li Luo brought his Profound Elephant Blade slashing straight down.

"Thousand Flowing Water Blade Wheel!"

A resplendent, high-speed-flowing blade wheel condensed into form. At the same time, Li Luo once again layered "Banner Momentum" upon it. Instantly, the blade wheel spun even faster, its piercing hum shattering even the void.

The water-light flowing blade wheel collided with the Earth Sha energy flood. A piercing tearing sound rang out. The next instant, the flood was sliced apart, and the remaining blade wheel swept past the Greater Sha Demon behind it, nearly cutting it clean in two at the waist.

Under the augmentation of Banner Momentum, the might of Li Luo's phase arts had risen a level.

"I should cultivate a few more Dragon General Arts later."

Li Luo gazed at the dissipating blade wheel, lost in thought. This "Thousand Flowing Water Blade Wheel" was something he had modified from the Thousand Flowing Water Blade Art, but the latter was after all only a Tiger General Art. Even with improvements and enhancements, it was only about on par with ordinary Dragon General Arts.

And as Li Luo's strength now increased, it seemed he needed to master more "Dragon General Arts."

While thinking these thoughts, the Greater Sha Demon whose fist he had previously shattered came charging again, wrapped in sha energy, the whistling of breaking wind echoing all around.

Li Luo gathered his thoughts and raised his blade to meet it.

"Second Layer Elephant God Power!"

On Li Luo's arms, veins bulged. However, with the previous enhancement of Thunder Roar Physique, his flesh had also been strengthened. Now, when activating the Second Layer Elephant God Power, the bearing capacity of the flesh on his arms increased accordingly.

Although his skin was still somewhat torn, with blood flowing, it was incomparably better than the riddled-with-holes state of before.

Feeling the power surging through his arms like a rampaging elephant, Li Luo fearlessly engaged both Greater Sha Demons in fierce combat.

】

This great battle lasted several minutes.

When Zhao Zhao Yanzhi, Li Shi, and Mu Bi had all slain the Greater Sha Demons before them, the battle on Li Luo's side was also nearing its end. Blade light slashed down, the brutal force tearing a blade mark over ten zhang long into the earth, and the last Greater Sha Demon was directly beheaded by him.

When the Greater Sha Demon collapsed, a dense surge of Earth Sha energy shot skyward.

Li Luo looked up and could already see a sphere of light roughly ten-plus zhang in size appearing in midair. Inside the sphere was entirely vast Earth Sha energy.

"Banner Leader, stop daydreaming, hurry up. The First Banner's progress is ahead of ours. If you want to clear the Twenty-Eighth Floor before Zhong Ling, you'll have to speed up!" At this moment, Zhao Zhao Yanzhi's reminder reached his ears.

Li Luo quickly gathered his focus. Without a word, he raised his blade and charged toward the sha demons elsewhere, helping the other banner members reduce the pressure.

And with the addition of Li Luo, this fresh force who mastered "Banner Momentum," the speed at which the Fifth Banner cleared the sha demons could truly be described as having divine aid.

In just one shichen, the sha demons in this region were completely cleared.

"All personnel rest on the spot. Report casualty status!" Mu Bi commanded in a deep voice.

A moment later, Mu Bi walked toward Li Luo and said, "Banner Leader, the Fifth Banner has thirty-three casualties. The rest are in good condition and still possess combat capability."

"Thirty-three casualties?" Li Luo frowned slightly.

"Banner Leader, this casualty count is already very good. From what I know, when the First Banner advanced last time, they lost nearly a hundred people in the very first contact." Zhao Zhao Yanzhi offered in consolation.

Li Luo nodded helplessly. Although the sha demons possessed no intelligence, they had overwhelming numbers, and the existence of Greater Sha Demons was an immense threat to ordinary banner members—one careless moment and they'd be severely injured and eliminated.

"Continue advancing."

He waved his hand and gave the order.

Since the contest for Great Banner Leader with Zhong Ling had already begun, there was no need to hold back. From here on, he had to seize the first clear for the Qingming Banner, and through this, consolidate the hearts of the Qingming Banner's eight thousand members.

Thus, after completing their rest, the Fifth Banner once again advanced toward the depths of the island.

And because of the smooth advance earlier, the Fifth Banner's morale was greatly boosted. When everyone's gaze fell on Li Luo's back ahead, it carried a thick sense of awe.

Because they all already knew Li Luo had mastered "Banner Momentum." Such talent truly lived up to being the bloodline of that legendary Grand Courtyard Master of their Qingming Yard. Having such a Banner Leader was indeed a stroke of fortune for them.

In the future, once Li Luo ascends to Great Banner Leader of the Qingming Banner, their Fifth Banner will become the direct lineage banner!

From then on, the Fifth Banner continued to advance. And with the addition of Li Luo, this Banner Leader who mastered "Banner Momentum," the Fifth Banner's strength received an immense boost. Thus, the Greater Sha Demons of the Twenty-Eighth Floor were slain one after another, and the advance was extraordinarily swift.

Two shichen later.

The Fifth Banner reached the depths of the island.

At this point, the Fifth Banner had lost one hundred and ten people. But regarding such losses, aside from Li Luo being slightly dissatisfied, Zhao Zhao Yanzhi and the others all felt it was acceptable, because before this, when they wanted to push to this point, the casualty count was at least double the current figure.

"Banner Leader, our battle losses should be considerably lower than the First Banner's, and this is all thanks to the assistance you've brought. Everyone is very grateful to you." Li Shi was usually a man of few words, but at this moment he spoke up voluntarily, because from the faces of those Fifth Banner members behind, he could see the awe and respect for Li Luo that had begun to accumulate.

Although this Sha Demon Cave had only just begun, the ability Li Luo had displayed had already won the recognition of everyone.

Zhao Zhao Yanzhi also nodded gently, a charming smile blooming on her face. "Banner Leader, we've now pushed to the depths of the Twenty-Eighth Floor. Ahead should be where the Sha Demon Leader is."

"I think Zhong Ling and the others shouldn't have passed yet either, otherwise we would have already been teleported to the next floor."

Hearing this, Li Luo looked ahead. At the edge of the layered dense forest, a lake as clear as a mirror appeared. However, at this moment, an unusually icy cold qi emanated from the lake, freezing even its surface solid.

The cold qi formed mist, drifting above the lake's surface.

Boom!

Within the cold mist, a burly figure vaguely emerged. At the same time, astonishing energy pressure swept out from there like a storm, covering an area of ten thousand zhang in all directions.

Under that pressure, everyone's expression in the field changed slightly.

Even Li Luo's expression grew much more solemn.

"Banner Head, that is the twenty-eighth floor's Evil Spirit Leader. By our estimate, its strength is probably around the Tian Xiang Jing."

Zhao Zhao Yanzhi's soft voice came at this moment.

"To resist it, we can only rely on the power of 'Qi Fusion'."

"How did you deal with Evil Spirit Leaders before?" Li Luo asked in a low voice.

Zhao Zhao Yanzhi and the other two exchanged a glance, all of them revealing a bitter smile.

"After the twentieth floor, our Fifth Battalion has never defeated a single Evil Spirit Leader, so... we all just lay down and got carried through."

Li Luo was speechless, then quickly spoke up to comfort them.

"Don't worry, from now on our Fifth Battalion won't be so pathetic."

He stretched out his palm and gently waved it down.

"Fifth Battalion banner troops, hear my order. Prepare for 'Qi Fusion'. This time, it's our Fifth Battalion's turn to show our face in the Qing Ming Banner."

Hearing this command of his, the more than a thousand people present all flushed, the blood in their bodies seeming to boil at this moment.

The lying dogs who had been mocked for the better part of a year—was it finally their Fifth Battalion's turn to perform?!