Chapter 925: The Sixty-Third Layer

Sha Demon Cave, Sixty-Third Layer.

This was a vast, endless grassland, yet now it seemed torn apart by a storm—terrible energy shockwaves raged uncontrollably, rending the land into a thousand holes.

The thunderous crashes of colliding energy boomed like rolling thunder.

Zooming in, thousands of figures stood in perfect formation amid the grassland; mighty Xiang power roared from their bodies, fused together, and poured entirely into a young figure hovering midair.

Terrifying energy pressure surged forth in waves from Li Luo's body.

Li Luo gazed ahead, where torrents of Sha energy rolled toward them—countless Sha Demons howled within the maelstrom, charging straight at this position.

"Again?"

Li Luo muttered; they had already endured no fewer than ten such assaults. Advancing through the Sixty-Third Layer was extremely difficult—every step forward demanded brutal combat.

"Third and Fourth Units, rest."

"The other three units, fully activate Dragon Breath Purifying Sha Art, maintain 'He Qi,' and withstand the assault."

Li Luo's voice reached the Qingming Flag troops below; immediately, the Third and Fourth Units sat cross-legged, closed their eyes, and rapidly restored their depleted Xiang power.

The rest maintained the supply of He Qi.

Yet with two units withdrawn, the power of Li Luo's He Qi weakened slightly—but fortunately, these Sha Demons were merely numerous, not truly threatening.

Their sole purpose was to drain the Qingming Flag troops' Xiang power, thereby slowing their advance toward the Sha Demon Leader.

Li Luo's expression remained calm; he formed a single hand seal, and torrents of energy roared into motion—suddenly, thunderclouds gathered overhead, and a torrential downpour cascaded down, forming an endless curtain of rain that blurred all vision.

Each raindrop pulsed with electric lightning, appearing strangely unnatural.

Xiao Fenghou Technique, Thunder Rain Technique.

Li Luo did not unleash any powerful Fenghou Techniques or Nine-Turn Arts, for those consumed immense Xiang power; yet now, under the boost of He Qi, even his simplest gestures carried the might of a Fenghou—so even these minor Fenghou Techniques, when cast now, retained astonishing power.

The thunder rain roared forward, throwing the incoming Sha Demon flood into chaos. Though its direct damage was modest, any Sha Demon struck grew sluggish; lacking intelligence, they could not adapt, and soon fell over each other in disarray.

Seeing this, Li Luo flicked a finger—a beam of energy descended, shaking the earth as a towering tree erupted from the ground, its lush branches spreading across the sky.

Branches twisted rapidly, and in the next instant, became a verdant tree dragon nearly a thousand zhang long.

Li Luo gazed at the ferocious thousand-zhang tree dragon, a flicker of envy appearing in his eyes—this was merely a minor Fenghou Technique, yet under He Qi's boost, its power surpassed his Water Dragon Fang Sword by countless times.

This was the sheer amplification of raw power.

A Fenghou's casual strike was more terrifying than a Baijiang cultivator's full-force Fenghou Technique.

"When will I myself possess such power?"

Li Luo's mind flashed this longing, then watched as the thousand-zhang tree dragon swept forward, colliding with the Sha Demon flood—earth cracked open, deep fissures spreading across the grassland.

Countless Sha Demons were instantly obliterated, yet more surged endlessly, crashing into the tree dragon as both forces continuously merged.

Seeing this, Li Luo swept his sleeve—the sky's thunder rain surged toward the tree dragon, slowing its speed slightly but turning its color to ink-green.

Heavy rain bestowed weight; lightning flowed along its surface through the water coating.

Boom!

The ink-jade tree dragon's aura surged violently, unleashing even more terrifying attacks, relentlessly sweeping away the Sha Demon flood.

This rate of cleansing made Zhao Zhao Yanzhi and others in the Qingming Flag unable to suppress their exclamations—Li Luo's mastery of combining minor Fenghou Techniques was perfect for mowing down enemies, and crucially, it conserved energy.

At this efficiency, this wave of Sha Demons would not last long.

They had already endured over ten assaults; timing-wise, they should soon encounter the Sixty-Third Layer's Sha Demon Leader.

Boom!

At this moment, the ink-jade tree dragon was clearing the last remnants of the Sha Demon flood—when suddenly, an anomaly erupted: a seemingly ordinary Sha Demon opened its fanged maw and spat.

Shiiii!

A wisp of ethereal light pierced the void at an unimaginable speed, appearing before Li Luo in a single breath, then stabbing straight for his third eye.

Within the ethereal light was a sharp black spike, emitting a piercing shriek that made minds grow dizzy.

"Heavenly Sha Soul Spike?! Boss, beware—that's the Sha Demon Leader!" The sudden change shocked Li Shi and others in the Qingming Flag; they shouted urgently.

But before their cries ended, the ethereal black spike had already pierced Li Luo's third eye.

In that instant, a dragon-shaped mark appeared on Li Luo's third eye—nine dragon scales within it blazed with brilliant light, as if a dragon's roar erupted.

As the dragon mark exploded, Li Luo's body swelled suddenly, dragon scales sprouting across his skin—even his fingertips transformed into sharp dragon claws, glowing with cold, razor-sharp light.

At this moment, Li Luo resembled a half-dragon, clad in dragon scales!

Ding!

A crisp sound rang from Li Luo's third eye—the ethereal black spike struck the dragon mark, unable to pierce it; instead, it was blocked, then shattered, dissolving into ethereal light.

Yet Li Luo's head rang violently—he staggered backward dozens of steps before regaining his footing, still shaken.

Then he coldly stared ahead—the ordinary Sha Demon, after unleashing this attack, swelled rapidly, growing to hundreds of zhang in size.

It bore multiple heads and arms, its face monstrous, black mist spewing from its fangs—a terrifying aura rose like a storm across heaven and earth.

It was unmistakably the Sixty-Third Layer's Sha Demon Leader.

This fiend was so cunning—hiding within an ordinary Sha Demon, waiting to strike Li Luo off-guard and crush him in one blow.

Had the "Heavenly Sha Soul Spike" truly pierced his brain, Li Luo would have been grievously wounded—this advance would have ended in total failure.

Fortunately, Li Luo had cultivated the "Nine-Scale Heavenly Dragon Battle Body"; at the critical moment, his flesh sensed the danger and instinctively activated its protective form, blocking the soul spike outside his body.

"Boss!"

From below, cries erupted from the Qingming Flag troops.

"I'm fine."

Li Luo waved his hand, his voice low: "All units, end rest. Maximize 'He Qi.'"

"The Sha Demon Leader has appeared. This is our chance—can Qingming Flag ascend to the top of the Sha Demon Cave?"

"Yes!"

Eight thousand flag troops roared in unison, morale soaring, eyes blazing—ascending to the top of the Sha Demon Cave was an achievement Qingming Flag had not reached in how many years? Counting the time, it had been since Li Tai Zhu Xuan…

And back then, under Li Taixuan's leadership, the Azure Mist Banner had reached a peak level; decades later, Li Luo would lead the Azure Mist Banner once more to restore its former glory.

Feeling the vast energy surging ceaselessly from below, Li Luo fixed his gaze on the awe-inspiring leader of the Fiery Demons and murmured to himself.

"Whether I can cultivate my 'Wood Dragon Fang Sword' depends on you."