Chapter 858: The Council

When Li Luo arrived at the rendezvous point, he saw tens of thousands of figures lounging on the ruined plaza in the wasteland; though they appeared lax, they were in fact sharply divided, with over twenty thousand figures moving as one breath, forming three powerful auras that covered the area and even drove away the raging evil intent.

Li Luo and the arriving Qingming Banner members were also spotted by countless gazes.

Immediately, three light figures broke through the air and appeared before Li Luo a few breaths later.

They were Li Li Fengyi, Li Jingtang, and Deng Deng Fengxian.

"Little brother, you're too slow! We've been waiting here for ages! If you hadn't come, we would have scattered to find you." Upon seeing Li Luo, Li Li Fengyi first sighed in relief, then complained.

Li Luo smiled bitterly and asked, "Was your journey smooth?"

Li Jingtang nodded and said, "Unobstructed. Although there were some anomalies, they were all dealt with easily."

Deng Deng Fengxian scrutinized Li Luo twice and asked, "Did something go wrong on your end?"

Li Luo sighed and said, "I met Zhao Zhao Jingyu."

Hearing this, Li Li Fengyi's pretty face instantly changed, and she hurriedly asked, "Are you okay? Did the Qingming Banner suffer heavy losses?"

Zhao Zhao Jingyu controlled the "Tiger Division," ranking second in strength among the twenty divisions of the Li Li Tianwang lineage; his combat power could not be underestimated. Even Deng Deng Fengxian among them might not be Zhao Zhao Jingyu's match. If Li Luo had clashed with Zhao Zhao Jingyu, the Qingming Banner would likely have suffered losses.

After all, although Li Luo had taken the lead in the Dragon Pool contest, everyone knew that Li Luo's escape from Qin Yi was largely because Qin Yi had dispersed her strength to maintain the Shuidian. Although Li Luo's performance had already revealed his formidable strength, enough to place him among the top of the twenty banners, whether he could truly clash with a powerful enemy like Zhao Zhao Jingyu remained uncertain.

Li Luo waved his hand and said, "I didn't fight him."

Li Li Fengyi finally breathed a sigh of relief, but Li Luo's next sentence immediately made her heart, which had just settled, leap high again.

"Because I then encountered two True Demon anomalies blocking the way."

The three were dumbfounded; in such a short span of half a day, Li Luo's experiences seemed to have become too incredible to imagine.

"How did you escape? It seems the Qingming Banner had no casualties." Deng Deng Fengxian glanced at the Qingming Banner members and asked with some suspicion.

It was no wonder he didn't believe it; Li Luo's story was too astonishing. If Li Luo had truly encountered both Zhao Zhao Jingyu and two True Demon anomalies simultaneously, it would have been a dead end. Even if Li Luo managed to escape, he felt the eight thousand Qingming Banner members would likely have lost half their number.

Li Luo shrugged and said, "Fortunately, Zhao Zhao Jingyu was there at that time and helped me deal with one of the True Demon anomalies."

At the same time, he recounted how Zhao Zhao Jingyu had tried to set him up at the last moment, only for Li Luo to escape the darkness a step ahead.

Li Li Fengyi and the other two exchanged glances, both looking strange.

"Sounds like you really have to thank Zhao Zhao Jingyu this time." Li Li Fengyi suppressed a smile and said.

"Next time I come here, I'll burn incense for him." Li Luo nodded seriously.

Deng Deng Fengxian calmly said, "Zhao Zhao Jingyu might not have fallen to those two True Demon anomalies. Becoming the second person of his generation under Li Li Tianwang isn't as simple as you think."

"If he's still alive, that's good too." Li Luo was indifferent to this, even somewhat expecting it, since he had stored five Dragon Teeth with Zhao Zhao Jingyu.

"But Third Brother, you seem a bit too unlucky." Li Jingtang scratched his head and said.

Li Li Fengyi deeply agreed with this; on their way to the rendezvous point, the anomalies they encountered were merely a handful of cats, they had hardly seen any Great Calamity-level anomalies, let alone True Demon anomalies.

Yet on Li Luo's end, he immediately ran into two True Demon anomalies; this was truly terrible luck.

Li Luo helplessly smiled bitterly and said, "I feel this might not be a coincidence."

"What do you mean?" The three didn't quite understand. Not a coincidence? Then why did the two True Demons intercept Li Luo? Was there some other hidden matter behind this?

"Do you remember Li Li Lingjing from the Xiling Li family?" Li Luo asked.

"Of course we do. That cousin Li Li Lingjing is a few years older than us. Her fame was exceptionally loud among the younger generation of the Five Dragon Veins back then. It is said that originally, due to her relationship with Aunt Li Li Rouyun, she was supposed to join the Qingming Banner. With her talent, if she had truly entered the Qingming Banner, I think the Qingming Banner might have risen in the previous session, or even, I heard from some who entered the Dragon Tooth Guard that she had the qualification to compete for the Dragon Head of the previous session."

"It's just a pity that the original genius met with an accident, was contaminated by a True Demon anomaly, and simultaneously had her foundation and roots destroyed, thus losing many opportunities. Now she can only recover in the old mansion, with no news coming out." Speaking the last words, Li Li Fengyi also felt deeply regretful.

Li Luo nodded slightly: "I met this cousin Li Li Lingjing before. I learned from her that within this Xiling Dark Domain, there exists a mysterious True Demon anomaly named the 'Soul-Eroding True Demon'. This True Demon favors those with outstanding talent, devouring their talent and divine intellect. She was harmed by this True Demon back then."

Hearing this, Li Li Fengyi and the other two were visibly shaken: "There's such a thing? We haven't heard of it."

Li Jingtang's honest face also became Solemn at this moment, and he said, "Does Third Brother mean that you have also been targeted by that Soul-Eroding True Demon?"

Li Luo was a Three Phases practitioner; in terms of the rarity of his phase nature, it was almost comparable to Zhen Jiu Pin. Since that Soul-Eroding True Demon had targeted Li Li Lingjing back then, it was not impossible for it to target Li Luo now.

"Those two True Demon anomalies might have been sent by it." Li Luo said.

"If it can command two First Grade True Demons, how powerful would this Soul-Eroding True Demon be?" Deng Deng Fengxian frowned and asked.

"No need to imagine it too highly. Within this Dark Domain, at regular intervals, our Li Li Tianwang lineage and the Zhao Li Tianwang lineage send hunting teams to specifically clear out high-grade True Demons at fixed points. After all, due to the seal, explorers entering here are restricted to no higher than Second Grade Marquis. So if there exist True Demons of excessively high grade, they would be a huge hidden danger."

Li Li Fengyi pondered for a while and said, "So I actually think that although this Soul-Eroding True Demon is strong, it is most likely just a Second Grade True Demon."

"However, Second Grade True Demons are also closely monitored during clearance operations. The fact that this Soul-Eroding True Demon has been able to exist for so long shows it has some tricks up its sleeve."

"Second Grade True Demons are very strong too." Li Jingtang said with a worried expression, after all, that was equivalent to a genuine Second Grade Marquis powerhouse. Even with the power of the four banners, the four of them were merely four "Fake First Grade" practitioners with only Marquis-level energy intensity; their methods still had many limitations compared to true Marquis powerhouses.

Li Luo did not show any fear; he still had the power of the Three-Tailed Sky Wolf, so even if he truly encountered a Second Grade True Demon, he would have the strength to contend.

"There is another question. If the Big Flag Leader Li Luo's guess is correct, then can this Soul-Eroding True Demon command other True Demons?" Deng Deng Fengxian fell silent for a moment and said.

Now everyone else frowned. According to intelligence estimates, the number of True Demons within this Xiling Dark Domain should be nearly ten. If that Soul-Eroding True Demon could truly command all of them, this would indeed be a major trouble.

Li Luo pondered for a moment, then took out the Dark Domain map, his gaze fixed on their destination this time, which was the growth place of the Flame Infant Holy Fruit. Such places existed in several spots within the Dark Domain, distributed in different areas deep inside.

However, due to the ripening time, only this one place they were heading to happened to be in the fruiting period.

And in this area, four True Demons were stationed.

Li Luo stared at the four scarlet, glaring areas, his eyes flickering slightly, then looked up at the three of them.

"I have a bold idea."

The three stared at him.

"Cut off its wings; strike first to seize the initiative."

Li Li Fengyi, Li Jingtang, and Deng Deng Fengxian's cheeks twitched slightly; this idea was indeed very bold.

(End of this chapter)