Chapter 820: Opening the Dragon Pool

Dragon Blood Mountain, side peak.

Here, several towering peaks rose sharply from the earth, their momentum grand and overwhelming, and these mountain bodies connected with one another, encircling together to form a gigantic mountain pit.

The mountain pit was shrouded in mist, its color faintly reddish; the energies of heaven and earth poured into it in a steady stream, and from deep within the pit, a low, indistinct dragon's chant seemed to rise, echoing through the world, causing even space itself to tremble faintly.

A mysterious aura spread out.

This place was precisely where the "Mysterious Yellow Long Qi Pool" of Li Li Tianwang's lineage was located.

And at this moment, on a mountaintop platform, the five-branch branch leaders, accompanied by numerous guests, were seated on stone chairs, the atmosphere lively.

Li Luo, Li Li Qingfeng, and the other twenty-banner great banner leaders were already standing at the Mysterious Yellow Long Qi Pool; behind each of them, the banner members of their respective banners were also in high spirits, their eyes brimming with fighting will.

Although the greatest benefit of this contest for the Mysterious Yellow Long Qi Pool would be taken by the great banner leaders, if the great banner leaders could achieve good results, their banner members would also receive generous rewards as encouragement.

However, this Mysterious Yellow Long Qi Pool was slightly different from those in the past.

The gazes of the banner members drifted with peculiar meaning toward the right side, where on that platform stood several thousand figures clad in crimson armor, upon which flame-lotus patterns were inscribed.

Those were the "Flame Lotus Battalion" from the Fire Lotus Palace of Qin Li Tianwang's lineage.

And at the very front of the Flame Lotus Battalion, an exquisitely beautiful figure stood gracefully; the mountain wind, carrying mist, blew past, stirring her dark hair, her long gown clinging to her delicate form, faintly revealing a perfect, slender curve—the indescribable charm of it caused many men among the twenty banners' members to—

feel their hearts beat faster.

That figure was precisely the commander of the Flame Lotus Battalion, Qin Yi.

This contest for the "Mysterious Yellow Long Qi Pool" was not only a contest among the twenty banners, but had also welcomed an "outsider."

Although this "outsider" appeared beautiful and moving, everyone understood that she was a fierce tigress.

It was said that in this generation of Qin Li Tianwang's lineage, Qin Yi ranked first; the "Flame Lotus Battalion" under her command had never suffered a single defeat, and the camp guards of the other twenty-two palaces of Qin Li Tianwang's lineage had all been defeated at her hands.

All the great banner leaders of the twenty banners—even Li Li Qingfeng—felt a sense of crisis rising in their hearts as they gazed at Qin Yi's exquisitely beautiful figure.

Qin Yi's talent was beyond doubt: a ninth-grade Water Phase, unrivaled in the entire venue; coupled with the vast resources granted to her by the Fire Lotus Palace, this undoubtedly made her even more formidable, her cultivation advancing by leaps and bounds.

Facing Qin Yi, even the confident Li Li Qingfeng did not have much assurance.

Therefore, Qin Yi's participation undoubtedly added more variables to this "Mysterious Yellow Long Qi Pool" contest.

Li Luo's gaze also lingered on Qin Yi; his expression was very calm, showing no ripples whatsoever. In fact, for him, one more Qin Yi was not necessarily a bad thing—this way the situation would become more chaotic, which would give him more opportunities.

After all, his baseline goal was merely a single bronze dragon pillar.

As for the sole golden dragon pillar, he did not dare to hope for it, because that position was too much of a lightning rod; with his current strength, if he truly went to fight for it, he would likely become the target of everyone, and might end up unable to keep even a single bronze dragon pillar.

And while Li Luo was thinking these thoughts, on the high platform—

a steward had already stepped out, then raised the golden dragon banner in his hand high and swung it down sharply.

The instant that steward swung the golden dragon banner, the twenty-one contestants present almost simultaneously activated "United Qi."

In an instant, majestic energy surged upward, as if transforming into vast oceans, rampaging and flowing wantonly through the air.

The next moment, this majestic energy whistled downward, directly empowering the bodies of the contestants present; immediately, the latter's bodies slowly rose into the air, wave after wave of extremely violent energy undulations continuously spreading outward.

At the same time, a terrifying energy pressure emanated, triggering rolling thunder across heaven and earth.

At this very moment, the pressure emanating from each of the contestants present had all reached the Feng Hou Zhi Jing.

This was almost equivalent to twenty-one Feng Hou-level powerhouses.

Many guests sighed in admiration—this was the foundation of a Li Tianwang-level force, aggregating power through a special method, allowing these juniors, whose original strength was only at the Earth Sha General Stage, to possess power comparable to Feng Hou-level powerhouses.

Of course, this kind of Feng Hou-level power was overly false; it merely possessed strength comparable to a Feng Hou-level powerhouse, but did not truly possess the many mysterious methods of a genuine Feng Hou-level powerhouse.

For example, true dual-phase power.

"Hmm, the young generation of Li Li Tianwang's lineage has quite good talent; judging from the power level, these great banner leaders, with the aid of 'United Qi,' basically all possess the strength of a Virtual Marquis."

"Those like Lu Lu Qingmei, Li Li Hongli, Deng Deng Fengxian—judging from their energy undulations, they are at the level of a Lower First-grade Marquis."

"That Li Li Qingfeng is even stronger; I feel he has already reached the Upper First-grade level. It seems he is a strong contender for the golden dragon pillar."

"If Qin Yi were not present, the golden dragon pillar would most likely go to Li Li Qingfeng."

"Yes, Lord Fire Lotus's beloved daughter is truly extraordinary; looking at her current energy undulations, she is almost the strongest in the entire venue, and only Li Li Qingfeng can slightly contend with her."

"Surely the golden dragon pillar of this Mysterious Yellow Long Qi Pool contest cannot fall to an outsider, can it?"

"We can't have the Golden Dragon Pillar fall into an outsider's hands in this contest for the Mysterious Yellow Long Qi Pool, can we?"

"......"

Numerous whispers rose among the guests; the guests able to come here were considered figures of some standing in Outer Shenzhou, their own strength naturally considerable, basically all at the Feng Hou Jing Zhong Jie, so they could see through the details of these twenty-one young people at a glance.

Li Luo stood in the air; his gaze was also, at this moment, sizing up the other great banner leaders. At present, each person's body emanated overwhelming undulations, appearing quite spectacular.

"With the aid of the Qingming Banner's 'United Qi,' I should now barely count as the power level of a Lower First-grade Marquis, but compared to Lu Lu Qingmei, Li Li Hongli, and the others, I am still slightly a notch weaker."

Li Luo murmured to himself; judging from the surface energy undulations, he was now at an upper-middle level, but compared to top great banner leaders like Lu Lu Qingmei and the others, there was still a slight gap.

However, this was within expectations; after all, the Qingming Banner had been weak previously, its Sha Demon Cave progress lagging behind other banners, which naturally led to the Qingming Banner members' cultivation progress also falling behind somewhat.

Of course, most importantly, he, this great banner leader, was only at the Great Sha Palace Stage.

While people like Lu Lu Qingmei and Li Li Hongli had long since stepped into the Extreme Sha Stage.

If it were not for the aid of "United Qi," narrowing the gap in their strength, Li Luo felt that—

if he were to fight them now, his chances of winning would be quite low.

Li Luo's gaze swept again toward where Qin Yi was; immediately his eyes narrowed slightly—the energy undulations emanating from the latter gave him a sense of intense pressure.

This pressure was even stronger than that from Li Li Qingfeng's side.

And while Li Luo was sizing up Qin Yi, the latter seemed to sense it as well; her gaze, clear and cold like a mountain spring, shot over, and the two's eyes met.

A gentle smile appeared on Li Luo's face as he spoke: "Miss Qin Yi's strength is extraordinary; surely you are aiming for the golden dragon pillar, and Great Banner Leader Li Li Qingfeng, in his hospitality, may well step back and yield the golden dragon pillar to you."

Upon hearing this, Li Li Qingfeng, not far away, twitched his face; although he was indeed somewhat attentive toward Qin Yi, in this kind of occasion, how could he dare to hand over the golden dragon pillar? Wouldn't that utterly disgrace the Dragon Blood lineage? Afterward, his elders would surely punish him.

So he gritted his teeth and said: "Great Banner Leader Li Luo, stop talking nonsense. What sort of person is Miss Qin Yi? If she wants it, she will naturally take it by her own ability—how could she need someone to yield it to her?"

Li Luo chuckled and said: "If that's the case, then as for this golden dragon pillar, it will depend on which of the two of you has the greater ability."

A flash of anger passed through Li Li Qingfeng's eyes—this Li Luo was truly cunning; earlier he had deliberately dug a pit, trying to make him stand in opposition to Qin Yi.

Still, he couldn't deny it, after all, the Golden Dragon Pillar was not something he could yield.

As for Qin Yi, she gave no opinion on Li Luo's words, as if unaware of his scheming thoughts, and merely said leisurely, "Li Luo, the Great Banner Leader, certainly has a way with words, but I'm actually looking forward more to

your performance in the Dragon Pool. I hope you won't disappoint me too much."

Li Luo's face was all smiles, but inwardly he cursed—this woman was indeed going to target him.

And just at that moment, the steward holding the banner on the platform waved the golden dragon banner once more, and a great shout rang out.

"All Great Banner Leaders, enter the pool!"

The instant his shout fell, the twenty-one "Marquis-tier powerhouses," long prepared, immediately surged their tremendous energy, their figures darting forth, and under the gaze of countless eyes, plunged straight down into the mysterious giant crater shrouded in mist below.