Chapter 965: Li Li Lingjing's Predicament

The terrifying roar of energy continuously echoed within this vast golden hall, causing the ground to tremble faintly.

Li Luo frowned as he looked toward the direction from which the energy fluctuations came, then he glanced at Qin Yi. If one of those two energy fluctuations belonged to Li Li Lingjing, then who was the other one capable of matching her?

That Qin Ying or Zhu Zhu?

Li Luo thought to himself, then turned his gaze to the field. At this moment, that group of bizarre rogue cultivators was locked in a slaughter with the "Guardian Spirits," both sides lacking spiritual intelligence, so no one retreated.

The numbers on both sides were rapidly dwindling, and that tragic scene caused the eyelids of Li Luo and the other two to twitch slightly.

However, as both sides suffered casualties, the threat they posed to Li Luo's trio began to lessen.

"Prepare to move. The commotion here is quite loud, and if we delay too long, it might attract others," Li Luo said.

His gaze swept toward the center of the battle circle, where a stone cup lay quietly, the golden light flowing within it causing the three present to glance over repeatedly.

The "Spirit Phase Golden Dew" inside was their true objective.

The other two had no objections upon hearing this, so the three of them immediately struck with full force. First, they joined forces with those bizarre rogue cultivators to attack the numerous "Guardian Spirits." Once the Guardian Spirits were completely swept away, they shifted their firepower to cleanly eliminate those bizarre rogue cultivators as well.

After roughly ten-odd minutes, the area outside the Piandian, thick with the scent of blood, returned to silence.

Li Luo glanced at those dead bizarre rogue cultivators. The fresh blood flowing from their wounds carried a faint black tinge, giving off a cold, ominous feeling.

The condition of these rogue cultivators was somewhat similar to being corrupted by an aberrant kind, but the details seemed to differ slightly.

However, he had no time now to ponder the cause of these rogue cultivators' changes, because with the trouble resolved, the gazes of the three present all turned toward that stone cup.

"Ahem."

Li Luo gave a light cough, looked toward Qin Yi, and asked, "What does Fairy Qin think about how these 'Spirit Phase Golden Dew' should be divided?"

Qin Yi smiled faintly and said, "You and I arrived here first. Logically, it should be split evenly between us. As for Brother Zhu, he not only contributed nothing, but actually attracted a group of bizarre rogue cultivators. By any reasoning, he has no justification to lay a finger on the Spirit Phase Golden Dew?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhu Dayu's plump face immediately fell. He wanted to flare up, but knowing Qin Yi's prowess, he could only turn to Li Luo with a mournful expression and say, "Brother Li Luo, I was riddled with bloody holes just now holding off that group of rogue cultivators. Even if there's no merit, there's hard work!"

Li Luo thought for a moment, then said, "Fairy Qin, although Zhu Zhu Dayu attracted the bizarre rogue cultivators, if it weren't for them, dealing with the 'Guardian Spirits' would have cost us some extra effort. So I think the 'Spirit Phase Golden Dew' here should be split forty percent each for you and me, with twenty percent given to him. How about it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhu Dayu immediately rejoiced, "Brother Li Luo is righteous!"

Although he only got twenty percent, it was still better than nothing. The two people before him were each more formidable than the last, and being able to siphon off a share from their hands already left Zhu Zhu Dayu thoroughly content.

Moreover, although he appeared foolishly fat, his mind was actually as clear as a mirror. Currently, Li Luo and Qin Yi were cordial on the surface but at odds within; in truth, both harbored wariness toward each other. Li Luo helping him was mostly to leverage his strength to pressure Qin Yi, or rather, to break some of the balance between the two.

Qin Yi's gaze flickered slightly, and she said coolly, "Li Luo Dragon Head certainly wants me to play the villain."

She was clever and sharp, and had indeed detected some of Li Luo's hidden intentions. Perhaps he was eager for her to oppose this proposal, so that he would have reason to instigate Zhu Zhu Dayu to ally with him, and then together deal with her. When the time came, he might even snatch away her share.

After all, Zhu Zhu Dayu's strength was not weak. If he joined forces with Li Luo, Qin Yi felt that today she might truly have no choice but to temporarily yield.

Qin Yi deliberated for several breaths, then gave a slight nod and said calmly, "Then let's divide it as Li Luo Dragon Head proposed."

Making an enemy of Zhu Zhu Dayu over that extra ten percent share was truly unwise.

Upon hearing this, Li Luo wore a beaming smile on his face, but a flash of disappointment swept through his heart. This Qin Yi was truly cautious and patient, not giving him the slightest opening.

Then, with a beckoning motion of his palm, his phase power surged and directly swept the stone cup over. Under the watchful eyes of the other two, he took out all the "Spirit Phase Golden Dew" within, then divided it as previously agreed.

In the end, Li Luo obtained twenty-five drops of Spirit Phase Golden Dew.

This harvest made Li Luo sigh inwardly. If all this Spirit Phase Golden Dew could be enjoyed by him alone, then this haul would truly be overflowing.

After dividing the Spirit Phase Golden Dew, Li Luo looked at the two and asked, "Will the two of you continue exploring together?"

Zhu Zhu Dayu hurriedly said, "I'll go with you. Those rogue cultivators are quite bizarre; traveling together lets us look out for each other."

Qin Yi, however, smiled faintly and said, "I appreciate the kind offer, but I'll go look for my clansman first."

She couldn't gauge what collusion existed between Li Luo and Zhu Zhu Dayu, so she didn't want to risk traveling with the two of them, lest she be ambushed and put herself in danger.

Having said that, she drifted away gracefully.

Li Luo gazed at her departing figure and sighed, "What a pity."

Zhu Zhu Dayu nodded in deep agreement and said, "Fairy Qin's beauty is renowned throughout Tianyuan. Not being able to travel with her is indeed a bit of a pity."

Li Luo shook his head and said, "I'm lamenting the Spirit Phase Golden Dew she took with her. If she had traveled with us, we could have found a chance to rob her."

Zhu Zhu Dayu faltered, then said, "How crude. Such a beauty—cherishing her wouldn't be enough, how could you harbor such sinister thoughts!"

Li Luo said, "She has at least seventy or eighty drops of Spirit Phase Golden Dew on her."

Zhu Zhu Dayu was silent for a second, then asked, "Is it still in time to catch up with her?"

Li Luo cast him a half-smiling glance, but couldn't be bothered to respond. Instead, he turned and sped toward the direction from which that terrifying energy fluctuation had earlier come.

Zhu Zhu Dayu quickly followed.

The two rapidly advanced through the complex environment of the golden hall. By now, these areas had begun to turn chaotic—not only were people from all sides fighting fiercely over the Spirit Phase Golden Dew, but "Guardian Spirits" were also hunting everywhere. Of course, those bizarre rogue cultivators, seemingly corrupted by an aberrant kind, also kept emerging.

Battles raged everywhere, a complete mess.

There were even some foolish enough to set their sights on Li Luo and Zhu Zhu Dayu, but after the two displayed overwhelmingly devastating methods, it did deter some ill-intentioned individuals.

Meanwhile, some powerful experts at the four-star or even five-star Tian Zhu Jing level, wary of the two's backgrounds, kept their rationality and did not act rashly.

Right now, "Spirit Phase Golden Dew" was everywhere here; there was no need to provoke these two clearly difficult thorns over it. After all, as prodigies of the Li Tianwang Vein, no one could be sure whether they might have some terrifying life-preserving treasures on them.

Under these circumstances, Li Luo and Zhu Zhu Dayu managed to traverse the golden hall fairly smoothly.

Just as Li Luo was gradually approaching the location where that energy fluctuation had erupted earlier, his expression suddenly changed and he abruptly halted, because at this moment, an extremely terrifying energy storm erupted once again at the position ahead.

Boom!

That surge of energy was even more terrifying than the previous wave. Li Luo and Zhu Zhu Dayu were directly sent stumbling back in a sorry state, their qi and blood churning violently within them, while the surrounding buildings continuously developed cracks.

"What in the world is colliding?!" Zhu Zhu Dayu exclaimed in horror.

Li Luo looked up toward that area not far away, only to see the courtyards and houses there collapsing continuously, terrifying shockwaves of energy running rampant. Of those two surges of energy, one belonged to Li Li Lingjing.

Right now, she was locked in a clash with an extremely terrifying powerful enemy.

A look of worry surfaced in Li Luo's eyes.

He unleashed all of his phase power to resist the impact of that energy storm. After quite a while, the storm finally gradually weakened.

Then Li Luo saw what seemed to be a column of unsettling, ominous black mist shooting up from that direction, vanishing into thin air after several breaths.

Li Luo frowned, then gritted his teeth and sped forward.

"Brother Li Luo, it's too dangerous over there—better not go any closer!" Zhu Zhu Dayu saw the situation and hurriedly tried to persuade him.

But Li Luo paid no heed; instead, his speed increased.

Zhu Zhu Dayu hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and likewise pushed his speed to catch up.

At their full pace, several minutes later, they finally arrived at the spot where the energy had erupted, and saw the devastation everywhere—the surrounding buildings utterly destroyed, and the lingering energy ripples enough to make the heart tremble.

Li Luo looked ahead at a broken corridor, shrouded in gloom.

But within the dark shadows, Li Luo saw a familiar, graceful figure standing there, motionless.

It was Li Li Lingjing.

Li Luo walked slowly forward.

"Brother Li Luo, don't go over! Something's off about her—the aura on her is a bit like the scattered cultivators we ran into before!" Sweat dripped down Zhu Zhu Dayu's plump face as he called out urgently.

Li Luo waved a hand and said, "Brother Zhu, wait for me here a moment."

He had to confirm Li Li Lingjing's condition; he couldn't really leave her here without a care.

He stepped, one pace at a time, into the cold darkness, then stopped and said softly, "Cousin Li Lingjing? Are you all right?"

That graceful figure gave no answer; her fair cheeks too were hidden within the darkness.

Li Li Lingjing's condition seemed somewhat off.

Li Luo drew a deep breath, then walked up decisively, reached his hand into the darkness, and seized Li Li Lingjing's wrist in one grip; the cold, sinister aura that met his palm made Li Luo's heart jolt.

Then he saw Li Li Lingjing in the darkness suddenly fling her eyes open.

In those lovely apricot eyes that had always held a smiling, radiant look, there now poured forth a tide of countless negative emotions—savagery, darkness, chaos, bloodlust—enough to make one's blood run cold.