Chapter 926: A Warning

"Black Dragon Netherwater Banner!"

The Black Dragon, radiating earth-shattering might, rode the chilling Netherwater and roared toward the sky; the dragon was lifelike, its scales shimmering with a ghostly luster, then, carrying surging energy fluctuations, it crashed headlong into the Demon Lord, whose strength neared that of a Third Rank Marquis.

Boom!

A violent shockwave of energy instantly raged outward; within ten thousand zhang, the ground shattered in an instant, cracks spreading in all directions like earth dragons.

That destructive power could be described as world-destroying.

The massive body of the Demon Lord was blasted backward, tearing a long trail across the ground; one of its arms was shattered by the blow, and thick black qi continuously billowed from the broken stump.

It must be said that this Demon Lord possessed truly tenacious vitality; even after taking a direct hit from Li Luo's Da Cheng Jing "Black Dragon Netherwater Banner," it remained far from critically injured.

Roar!

The Demon Lord roared, and terrifying, malevolent qi surged skyward, churning the clouds.

"Nine Turns Technique, Heavenly Dragon Dharma Image!"

Yet Li Luo's assault did not cease for a moment; accompanied by a sharp shout, vast energy gathered and directly transformed into a colossal Heavenly Dragon phantom; the phantom coiled across the sky, and the rolling might of the Heavenly Dragon descended, directly suppressing the Demon Lord's sky-piercing malevolent qi.

Under this Heavenly Dragon Dharma Image, the Demon Lord's body seemed burdened by mountains; its feet instantly sank into the earth.

Speed, strength, and even the malevolent qi were all suppressed.

"Nine Turns Technique, Heavenly Dragon Thunder Breath!"

As Li Luo activated the Heavenly Dragon Thunder Breath, the Heavenly Dragon phantom formed by the Dharma Image opened its jaws; in the next instant, a mighty torrent of thunderous dragon breath, like a silver meteor, pierced the sky and struck directly at the Demon Lord.

This Heavenly Dragon Thunder Breath, bolstered by the Heavenly Dragon Dharma Image, was far more fierce and domineering in power than when cast alone.

During this period of frantic drilling, Li Luo's application of the Nine Turns Technique had become increasingly masterful; at the same time, he had uncovered another Ling Wai Yi Zhong utility of the "Heavenly Dragon Dharma Image," namely, its ability to amplify the power of certain other Nine Turns Techniques.

From this point of view, the Heavenly Dragon Dharma Image was indeed worthy of being one of the most difficult to obtain among the eighteen Nine Turns Techniques.

As the thunder breath washed down, the Demon Lord did not sit idly by; it opened its mouth and spat, condensing vast malevolent qi into a massive black blade, then slashed downward, transforming into a thousand-zhang blade of malevolent qi light.

Whoosh!

The blade of malevolent qi clashed with the dragon breath; the terrifying energy explosion that erupted in that instant nearly shredded all the clouds in the sky, and this grassland was now riddled with countless bottomless abysses and gullies.

The raging energy storm persisted for a while before gradually subsiding.

Li Luo stood in midair, his face solemn; at this moment, the power gathered from "Heqi" had already been consumed by nearly half, yet the Demon Lord still had reserves; this thing was far more difficult to deal with than he had imagined.

Truly a bitter battle.

"Everyone, do you still have reserves?" Li Luo called out in a deep voice.

The eight thousand members of the Azure Mist Banner looked slightly pale; they answered Li Luo with their actions: all of them showed determined expressions, pouring every ounce of their strength into activating the Dragon Breath Demon-Refining Art, constantly stripping away their very last thread of power, transforming it, and converting it into Heqi power to supply Li Luo.

Feeling the power strengthen once more, Li Luo understood that this was the Azure Mist Banner's final energy.

Now, it would come down to whether they or this "Demon Lord" could outlast the other.

A ruthless glint appeared in Li Luo's eyes; vast energy roared forth and finally transformed before him into a plantain fan wreathed in wind and thunder.

Li Luo grabbed it, then, pouring out all his strength, fanned it outward.

Instantly, wind and thunder raged across heaven and earth, and the assault resumed.

On the plaza before the Demon Cave, the members of the other three banners of the Dragon Tooth Vein waited tensely, their gazes fixed motionless on the light curtain on the mountain wall.

Inside the stone pavilion beside the plaza, Li Li Fengyi had arrived with Li Li Fuling and the others.

Their arrival drew some attention; the members of the three banners spoke in low tones, their eyes curious, for they had already identified their identities from the standard battle armor of the Dragon Tooth Guard worn by Li Li Fuling and the others.

The Five Heavenly Dragon Guards represented the higher echelon among the younger generation of the Five Heavenly Dragon Veins; there, the elite prodigies of the twenty banners from several generations were gathered; every member of the twenty banners strove with the ultimate goal of entering the Five Heavenly Dragon Guards.

However, the selection criteria for the Five Heavenly Dragon Guards were even more stringent; only those at the Great Star General rank possessed the qualification, so among the hundred thousand or so members of the twenty banners in each generation, perhaps only around a thousand could meet the standard.

Li Jingtang and Deng Deng Fengxian rose and clasped their fists to Li Li Fuling and the others in greeting; after all, according to the rules of the twenty banners, they were required to address Li Li Fuling and the others as senior brothers and senior sisters.

Li Li Fuling offered them a smile, then her gaze turned toward the light curtain on the mountain wall; looking at the Azure Mist Banner and the Golden Blood Banner, which stood tied for first, her eyes shifted slightly.

As the leader of the four banners of the Dragon Tooth Vein in the previous generation, she was naturally extremely familiar with the Demon Cave, so she equally understood how difficult it was to reach the position of first in the Demon Cave.

At the very least, she had not led the Crimson Cloud Banner to such heights.

"This Great Banner Leader Li Luo does indeed possess some ability," Li Li Fuling said.

She then continued: "But compared to Senior Li Taixuan, there is an obvious gap; at the very least, when Senior Li Taixuan commanded the Azure Mist Banner in years past, no other banner could stand alongside him."

Li Li Fengyi spoke up for Li Luo: "Sister Li Fuling, your comparison is unreasonable; Li Luo has been with the Azure Mist Banner for less than a year, yet he has already transformed the banner completely."

"He was previously in Outer Shenzhou, which delayed him somewhat; if he had grown up in the Dragon Tooth Vein like Third Uncle, he would now be in a position of overwhelming dominance."

"That is indeed possible, but alas... your assumptions ultimately cannot hold; there are too many regrets in the world, and this is not the only one," Li Li Fuling said with a smile.

Li Li Fengyi snorted: "Once Li Luo breaks through the sixty-third layer, the Azure Mist Banner will stand alone in first."

"Then let us see," Li Li Fuling said, sitting down beside them, noncommittal.

Regarding the debate between the two women, Li Jingtang beside them merely smiled, did not interject, and lazily watched the light curtain on the mountain wall, waiting for the final result.

Deng Deng Fengxian stood at the edge of the stone pavilion when he suddenly noticed a figure approaching him and standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

"Senior Brother Lu Ze," Deng Deng Fengxian glanced at the figure, recognized him, and nodded slightly.

This Senior Brother Lu Ze was the Great Banner Leader of the Golden Light Banner in the previous generation.

"Senior Brother Deng Fengxian, the Golden Light Banner you led previously held the position of first among the four banners of the Dragon Tooth Vein without challenge; how is it that it has now been surpassed by a latecomer who entered halfway through?" Lu Ze said with a smile.

"In the past, the Great Courtyard Master praised you greatly, saying that your generation was far superior to my generation's Golden Light Banner; yet the performance of the Golden Light Banner now is likely unworthy of the Great Courtyard Master's praise."

Facing the subtle sarcasm in Lu Ze's words, Deng Deng Fengxian's expression did not change; he merely said calmly: "Senior Brother Lu Ze overestimates me; even Li Li Qingfeng could not hold back Li Luo; do you think I could?"

Lu Ze smiled and said: "But when you were previously dominant, you did not take the opportunity to suppress Li Luo and the Azure Mist Banner; originally, you could have done so; although this might not have ultimately changed anything, at the very least, it could have delayed the time of his rise."

"And you... did nothing... Li Luo's rise also gave him the momentum and the reason to take over the Azure Mist Courtyard; for example, the newly established Azure Mist Courtyard Master; the fact that the new master could enter as an exception was precisely because Li Luo's recent achievements pleased the Vein Head, that venerable elder, was it not?"

"The structure of the Azure Mist Courtyard has been altered, which will naturally have some impact on our Golden Light Courtyard; after all, you must understand that some of the authority of our Golden Light Courtyard was taken from the declining Azure Mist Courtyard," Lu Ze said with deep meaning.

Deng Deng Fengxian fell silent, staring at him, and asked: "Who said these words?"

Given Lu Ze's status, he seemingly lacked the qualification to speak on such major matters concerning the position of the Golden Light Courtyard; yet now he had spoken them, which forced Deng Deng Fengxian to consider whether this was Lu Ze's own intention or... from the high echelons of the Golden Light Courtyard?

Or perhaps, it was Zhao Zhao Xuanming, the Great Courtyard Master of their Golden Light Courtyard?

Is this an expression of dissatisfaction? Are they beginning to discipline him?

Lu Ze smiled faintly and said, "Brother Deng Fengxian, we have always been outsiders; therefore, we ought to do something about it. The strengthening of the Golden Light Academy benefits us both."

"So, in this Spirit Phase Cave Realm, do not foolishly follow Li Luo, obey his orders, and serve him… On the contrary, if an opportunity arises, plant a few subtle obstacles—just enough to hinder his progress."

"You don't need to make it obvious, after all, the Pulse Chief still dotes on this grandson of his."

Deng Deng Fengxian fell silent.

Lu Ze patted his shoulder and whispered, "Remember, your current position is due to the Golden Light Academy's cultivation of you."

With those words, he turned and walked into Shi Ting.

Deng Deng Fengxian stood where he was, silent for a long while, then looked up at the top of the mountain wall's light screen, his expression uncertain.