Chapter 976: Dislikes Light

The King of Ten Thousand Forms, Chapter 984: Dislikes Light — Within the ruined golden hall, chaos reigned.

Teams from various factions and lone cultivators, still trembling with terror, scattered in all directions, desperate to flee this hellish place; though the aberration had been purged, the shadow of death still kept them from lingering.

Of course, a few greedy souls still sought to scavenge for treasures. Amidst the fleeing crowd, the contaminated ones were also mixed in — now like mindless corpses stripped of control, they ran aimlessly, their bodies gradually disintegrating as they fled, flesh peeling away to reveal gleaming white bones.

In this state, having lost the control of the Corrupting True Demon, these contaminated ones would inevitably vanish from the world.

Thus, no one wished to touch these filthy things, lest they be inadvertently corrupted themselves — that would be a regret beyond remedy.

Li Li Lingjing's figure leapt nimbly across numerous courtyards and atop stone pavilions, her pale, clear face expressionless, her almond eyes glinting with cold indifference.

A clear aura of "keep away."

Some teams originally evacuating the area had intended to greet her, but upon seeing her chilling demeanor, they shivered and hurried away.

Li Li Lingjing paid them no mind; following that faint sensation, she moved without expression through the vast expanse of the golden halls. After some time, a dark bamboo grove appeared before her.

Li Li Lingjing gripped her Green Bamboo Green Snake Staff tightly and walked slowly inside. The grove was dim, radiating a chilling, icy aura. Her gaze fixed on the grove, where sat a contaminated one — now utterly lifeless, its body exuding a foul, stinking odor.

But Li Li Lingjing merely regarded it coldly, then spoke softly: "Playing dead won't help. You wanted to eat me, didn't you? Come then — I've come to you."

Yet when her voice faded, the contaminated one remained motionless.

Li Li Lingjing stepped forward, and suddenly her Green Bamboo Green Snake Staff slashed violently to the right — a wave of poison light surged forth, a faint, subtle fragrance spreading through the bamboo grove.

The staff's shadow, wreathed in poison, struck a severed limb hurtling toward her.

On that severed limb, flesh seemed to writhe.

Li Li Lingjing unleashed her Xiangli, instantly shattering the limb — pale flesh and bones scattered everywhere.

Amid the spray of flesh and blood, a black light, invisible to the naked eye, shot abruptly toward Li Li Lingjing's third eye.

The black light moved with terrifying speed — even a Tian Zhu Jing cultivator would fail to detect it.

But when it was still an inch from her forehead, a pale, slender jade hand appeared out of thin air, five fingers clenching tightly to seize the black light.

Li Li Lingjing's icy gaze fixed on her palm — there, a strange black worm lay trapped, no more than an inch long, its face a twisted human visage, its limbs transformed into bare white bone hands devoid of flesh.

Sssss!

The strange black worm writhed violently, unleashing overwhelming negative energy — under this aura, even a Tian Zhu Jing cultivator would be corrupted and turned into a contaminated one.

Yet Li Li Lingjing allowed the corruption to surge toward her; her red lips curled into a sneer as she murmured: "I've endured so much despair, madness — and still retained my clarity. Do you think you can corrupt me?"

But Li Li Lingjing let the polluting aura wash over her. Her crimson lips curved into a contemptuous arc as she said softly, "After all the despair and madness I've endured, I was still able to keep my clarity. You think you can corrode me?"

Li Li Lingjing stared at the "strange black worm," as if speaking to herself: "You're the No. 2 variant — then, has the No. 1 variant also entered the Spirit Form Cave Heaven?"

The strange black worm wriggled, and its twisted human face suddenly emitted a bizarre laugh: "No. 3, you will be eaten by it! You cannot escape! Only the final variant can become the perfect form! That is the supreme masterpiece!"

Li Li Lingjing pondered, murmuring: "Perfect form?"

"So if variants devour each other, they grow stronger?"

Her dark, bright almond eyes fixed on the strange black worm, her red lips curling into a slightly sinister smile: "Then… could I also eat you?"

The strange black worm stiffened, then thrashed violently, trying to escape.

Li Li Lingjing's gaze turned dark; standing in the dim bamboo grove with her Green Bamboo Green Snake Staff, she radiated a chilling, heart-stopping darkness — like a Rakshasa from the abyss. Finally, she pulled out a black jade vial engraved with runes, tossed the worm inside, then used her staff to spew a hyper-condensed beam of poison into the vial, continuously dissolving the worm's body to prevent its recovery.

Li Li Lingjing's eyes were dark and fathomless. Standing in this dim bamboo grove with her Jade Bamboo Green Snake Staff in hand, she gave off a chilling, sinister aura—the kind of feeling one might get from a rakshasa in the abyss. In the end, Li Li Lingjing took out a black jade vial inscribed with runes, tossed the bizarre black worm inside, and at the same time, using her Jade Bamboo Green Snake Staff, sprayed a highly condensed beam of poisonous light into the vial. With the aid of the poisonous light, she continuously wore it down—

Having done this, she stepped out of the dim bamboo grove — and as she entered the bright light, she visibly recoiled, stepping back instinctively into the shadows.

This automatic reaction made Li Li Lingjing pause, then she chuckled bitterly, murmuring: "I suppose I still prefer the dark. Light doesn't suit me."

At that moment, a sharp whistling sound came from ahead — Li Li Lingjing looked up and saw Li Luo speeding toward her from afar, his face etched with concern.

Gazing at Li Luo, Li Li Lingjing fell silent for a moment, then her lovely face broke into a bright smile. She stepped out from the shadows and waved to him from afar.

Seeing Li Li Lingjing, Li Luo immediately relaxed, landing swiftly.

"Sister Li Lingjing, your injuries are still severe — why are you wandering around now? I've already gathered enough Spirit Form Golden Dew — no need to search further," Li Luo complained.

Behind Li Luo, Zhu Zhu Dayu and Zhu Zhu followed closely.

In response to Li Luo's complaint, Li Li Lingjing smiled warmly and nodded in agreement; then her gaze lingered on him, surprised: "Your strength seems to have improved."

Li Luo smiled humbly: "Minor gains — my Demon Gale has extended by fifteen zhang."

Though the "Golden Sacred Flame Seal" had inflicted immense pain on Li Luo, it had also granted him profound benefits — his original Demon Gale, barely seventy zhang, had surged to nearly eighty-five zhang.

Li Luo's current plan was to reach the Golden Dew Platform, use its power to refine the "Nine Orifices Demon Gale Pill," and complete this final leap.

First, reach the absolute limit of the Extreme Demon Gale realm — then, breaking into Tian Zhu Jing would be natural.

Li Luo's current plan was to reach the Golden Dew Platform, use its power to refine that "Nine Orifices Refining Gang Pill," and then he might be able to complete this final push.

First, step into the limit of the Extreme Sha Realm. At that time, breaking through to Tian Zhu Jing would be a matter of course!