Chapter 957: Cooperation

As the light and shadow faded, everyone fell into a silence. Looking at their contemplative expressions, perhaps they, like Li Luo, had guessed the identities of these figures.

After all, those present were young elites from various factions, so they were all aware of the origins of the "Spirit Resonance Cave Heaven."

"Have these 'people' appeared when the Spirit Resonance Cave Heaven opened in the past?" Li Luo asked curiously.

Qin Yi pondered slightly, then shook her head and said, "The Spirit Resonance Cave Heaven has only appeared for a little over a decade in total... it has only opened a few times so far, but it seems there has never been any mention of the appearance of disciples from the 'Formless Sacred Sect' before."

"Moreover, they are likely not real people. I feel they should be a type of existence similar to energy projections. It is just that this 'Spirit Resonance Cave Heaven' is too miraculous, or perhaps the methods of the Formless Sacred Sect were too astonishing, to be able to keep these projections possessing such formidable power even after thousands of years."

At this moment, Chen Ping suddenly said, "Actually, the time when the Spirit Resonance Cave Heaven appeared can be considered somewhat curious for you, Dragon Head Li Luo."

"Curious?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow.

Chen Ping smiled and said, "The year after your parents entered that legendary ruin of the 'Formless Sacred Sect,' the Spirit Resonance Cave Heaven appeared."

Once these words were spoken, the atmosphere suddenly became somewhat subtle. Everyone's gazes drifted between Li Luo and Qin Yi; after all, after that incident back then, Li Taixuan and Tantai Lan had forged an irreconcilable blood feud with Qin Lian.

Li Luo’s mouth twitched. These bastards really wished he and Qin Yi would just start fighting on the spot, fanning the flames in every way. The geniuses from these various factions in the Inner Shenzhou were full of bad intentions. Thinking back to the Great Xia, that headstrong, iron-headed kid from the Duze Mansion was truly much cuter than them.

Qin Yi’s eyes also flickered, but she did not reveal any emotion. Instead, she shifted the topic and said, "Dragon Head Li Luo, what you saw earlier were just ordinary guards of that 'Golden Palace,' and the real trouble lies in the layer further inside."

"There are eight disciples there suspected to be elites. Their strength is around the Seven-Star Heavenly Pearl stage, but perhaps due to some strange formation amplification, their combat power is comparable to the Eight-Star Heavenly Pearl stage. This is why, until now, no faction has truly managed to break into the Golden Palace."

"Oh? Eight elite disciples with combat power comparable to the Eight-Star Heavenly Pearl stage?" Li Luo was also startled upon hearing this. With this kind of strength, if it were him, it would likely be impossible to break in.

However, looking at it this way, the reason Qin Yi sought him out might not really be because of him, but because of Li Lingjing.

Just as Li Luo was thinking this, Qin Yi’s beautiful eyes turned toward Li Lingjing, who had remained silent the whole time, and said, "This should be Miss Li Lingjing, right? A noble lady of the Xiling Li Clan from back then. It is said that you once had the potential to vie for the position of Dragon Head, but unfortunately, you encountered a mishap and disappeared without a trace. Yet, looking at it now, this strength is no weaker than Li Wuyuan’s."

Li Luo was somewhat surprised. This Qin Yi really had some capability to be able to know Li Lingjing’s background; after all, even that blockhead Li Wuyuan hadn't recognized her at the time.

Li Lingjing was also somewhat surprised, then she smiled at Li Luo and said, "It seems that many young talents within our Dragon Tooth Line cannot resist the charm of this Fairy Qin."

If the other party could obtain information about her, it must have been acquired from within the Dragon Tooth Line. However, this was not strange; with the other party’s charm, she only needed to crook a finger, and some young people within the Dragon Tooth Line would likely reveal some information very enthusiastically.

Li Luo helplessly pursed his lips.

Qin Yi did not deny this, only smiling slightly: "Miss Li Lingjing’s strength is comparable to the Eight-Star Heavenly Pearl stage. Joining forces with my brother Qin Ying, we might be able to block some of the elite disciples. Coupled with the assistance of the various factions present, it is not impossible to entangle or break the blockade of those eight elite disciples."

The young man in black standing behind Qin Yi locked his sharp gaze onto Li Lingjing at this moment and said slowly, "This Miss Li Lingjing can make even me feel a trace of danger. I imagine her methods are not weak."

The complexions of the geniuses from the various factions nearby changed slightly, and their gazes toward Li Lingjing held a bit more wariness. After all, they were all in pairs, but the guards beside them were not as strong as Li Lingjing.

After all, those who could reach the Eight-Star Heavenly Pearl stage at this age were basically the top of this generation.

Seeing this, Li Lingjing gave those young geniuses a shallow smile and said, "Keep provoking Li Luo, and be careful that I don't find an opportunity to kill you."

The others’ mouths twitched, and they silently took a step back. At the same time, the high-star Heavenly Pearl stage experts from the same factions paired with them stared at Li Lingjing with caution, because they didn't know if it was an illusion, but they faintly felt a trace of subtle killing intent from Li Lingjing’s words.

However, such a beautiful woman must be joking, right?

Only Li Luo knew that Li Lingjing was not joking, because since entering the Spirit Resonance Cave Heaven, there were likely already several lives on her slender, jade-like hands.

This cousin of his, who appeared to be smiling so charmingly, was in reality quite murderous.

Li Luo could do nothing about this, because Li Lingjing had experienced too many mishaps over the years. The once fine noble lady of Xiling had spent many years in a daze, and the glory that had once been hers had become a burden and a weight. This kind of earth-shattering change was inherently easy to twist a person’s personality. Coupled with the fact that half of Li Lingjing’s consciousness had been devoured by the "Spirit-Eroding True Demon," and her will had been continuously eroded over several years—that kind of torture made even Li Luo feel a chill in his heart just thinking about it.

But fortunately, perhaps because Li Luo was the one who awakened her from that darkest abyss, she was actually quite good to him.

"When do we act?" Li Luo suppressed the thoughts in his heart and asked Qin Yi directly. After all, according to the defensive strength she described, relying solely on him and Li Lingjing, they would likely be unable to break in at all.

"No time like the present. More and more loose cultivators are arriving now; delay leads to trouble," Qin Yi said decisively.

Li Luo naturally had no objections.

Afterwards, the group gathered together, and their momentum was not weak, drawing many nearby gazes. When they saw the most prominent figures among them, Qin Yi and Li Luo, they recognized their identities, and immediately, many sounds of surprise arose. After all, in many people’s eyes, Qin Yi and Li Luo should be mortal enemies; they hadn't expected them to be able to cooperate now.

Regarding those gazes, neither Li Luo nor Qin Yi paid any attention. Although the two appeared to be cooperating, in reality, they kept a distance of over ten steps from each other, and both Li Luo and Qin Yi stayed closer to Li Lingjing and Qin Ying respectively.

Clearly, neither of them trusted the other in their hearts.

Under the gaze of the many, the group surged directly into the mountain forest and then disappeared into the clouds and mist.

Countless loose cultivators were also stirred, following at a distance, trying to see if there was a chance to sneak into the Golden Palace during the chaos to search for treasures.

In the crowd, a man with an expressionless face walked slowly. His pupils were eerily pitch-black and slowly squirming. His gaze remained locked on the direction in which Li Lingjing had left.

"Hey, are you waiting to die here by moving so slowly? If you're not going to move, get lost!" At this moment, an angry curse came from the side; it was a loose cultivator with a face full of ferocity.

The eerie man did not move a muscle and ignored him.

The loose cultivator was suddenly furious and threw a punch directly. As violent resonance power surged, it caused the air to emit sonic booms.

His fist slammed directly into the eerie man’s back, but the latter seemed not to notice and continued to walk slowly forward.

The loose cultivator’s body stiffened at this moment. He looked at his fist with eyes full of fear, only to see a black insect burrowing into his skin there. The insect’s claws were extremely strange, appearing like tiny human hands. It quickly merged into the loose cultivator’s fist and disappeared.

The loose cultivator’s pupils rapidly turned pitch-black, and deep within them, a strange insect appeared, slowly squirming.

Afterwards, that loose cultivator followed the eerie man with a stiff gait and slowly disappeared into the clouds and mist.