When the sweltering Worldspace Domain was sliced open by the holy sword energy, Song Jing's expression turned solemn. He also noticed Jiang Qing'e's gaze, which was imbued with killing intent, giving him the feeling that he was dealing with a dangerous enemy. The fourth-grade Transcendent Jiang Qing'e was an opponent that Song Jing could not take lightly.
"Mentor Song Jing, it must have been tough."
However, at this point in time, Diwu Mingxuan's calm voice broke the silence. Song Jing turned his head and saw that Diwu Mingxuan had stopped in his attempt to cause the Star of Light to descend.
Song Jing replied, "My apologies. My efforts haven't amounted to much."
The previous attacks were all endured by Li Luo with sheer bodily resilience. Although he had suffered, Jiang Qing'e was unaffected.
Diwu Mingxuan continued, "It doesn't matter. Both of us have left an imprint of our auras on the Star of Light. The two of us will engage in battle over this opportunity and we will see who emerges victorious."
The Star of Light had been forced to descend by both him and Jiang Qing'e, and this had occurred smoothly. Now the battle would truly begin.
"Mentor Song Jing, Jiang Qing'e may bring Li Luo atop the Star of Light and contest me. Thus, I'll have to beseech you to join me as well, to protect me and to deal with Li Luo, preventing them from teaming up. The opportunities that can be found on this star will not be small, and if I emerge victorious, all of the other opportunities other than the Light Transcendent Art will belong to you," Diwu Mingxuan said.
Song Jing's eyes narrowed He started fanning himself much more vigorously and nodded. "Then I'll have to thank you, Mingxuan."
With this promise made, why would he be scared of sowing enmity with Li Luo any longer? The Divine Sun Ancient College was no weaker than the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li.
"There's no need to thank me. Let's go!" Diwu Mingxuan said resolutely. He then glanced at Jiang Qing'e briefly before rising into the sky, flying towards the Star of Light.
Song Jing quickly followed.
Jiang Qing'e didn't move immediately. "Li Luo, are you alright? Are you heavily injured?" she asked with concern.
His Heavenly Dragon form had shrunk by a good half and his scales were basically burned to shreds, giving him a miserable appearance. However, his eyes remained bright. "It's just a flesh wound. Song Jing's flames are not enough to burn through the Heavenly Dragon's body." Li Luo's laugh rumbled and he revealed rows of sharp fangs.
Jiang Qing'e nodded. "The Star of Light has descended and the true confrontation starts there. I'll need you to hold back Song Jing. Once I deal with Diwu Mingxuan, I'll come and aid you." She and Li Luo had already reached the point in their relationship where there was no need to be polite with each other.
"No worries. I want to teach that upper eighth-grade Duke a lesson," he responded with a grin. For the sake of protecting Jiang Qing'e, he had used his body to resist the flames and now he was left in an embarrassing state.
"Senior Hongyou, I'll have to trouble you to bolster Li Luo," Jiang Qing'e politely requested.
"What about you?" Li Hongyou asked.
"There's no need. So long as I go all-out, it will be fine. The pressure Li Luo will face will be even greater."
Li Luo would have to hold off an upper eighth-grade Duke despite the gap of five grades. Normally speaking, this difference was big enough to leave the weaker party in absolute despair. Even Jiang Qing'e had chosen to avoid challenging eighth-grade Dukes like Zhou Jun in the previous trials. There was nothing cowardly about it—it was perfectly rational!
Li Luo didn't try to put on a strong front. He had to admit that there was a tremendous chasm between the two parties in terms of strength. "Alright."
Li Hongyou assented, and her usually cold features revealed a hint of solemnity. She lightly bit the tip of her tongue, spitting out a glob of fragrant blood essence before forming a seal with her hands. The resonant power within her body poured out of her. A jade-colored dragon appeared behind her, spewing out roiling green mist, fusing with Li Hongyou's resonant power.
In a short span of time, two objects appeared.
The first was a round jade pill. The Three Transformations Jade Dragon Pill.
The second was the Vermilion Fruit Godly Transformation Seal. She flicked her fingers, and both objects shot towards Li Luo. "Li Luo, the Three Transformations Jade Dragon Pill is capable of recovering your physical injuries. In the following two hours, your recovery rate will be bolstered and thus you should be able to resist Song Jing's flames for a longer amount of time. The Vermilion Fruit Godly Transformation Seal, on the other hand, should elevate your cultivation level to the upper third-grade."
Li Hongyou's expression was a little pale. She had clearly expended all of her strength to put out the strongest buffs she was able to.
Li Luo opened his abyss-like maw and swallowed both objects. A moment later, crimson light burst out of his body and his originally shrunken form began to expand at breakneck speed. Soon, he had reached his original size of thirty thousand feet. At the same time, his dessicated and wrecked scales began to form anew, glinting with vitality.
His boundless resonant power also started to rise, finally reaching the upper third-grade. Feeling the growing strength within his body, he couldn't help but let out a deafening roar that sent a wave of pressure in all directions, causing the void to tremble.
"Thank you, Senior Hongyou."
Li Luo's eyes blazed with fighting spirit as he could feel himself in peak condition. He was itching to see if he could truly keep up with an upper eighth-grade Duke.
Jiang Qing'e's dainty body soared into the air, landing atop Li Luo's massive head. Mighty gusts of wind blew around her as her, pushing her battle robes against her body and revealing her exquisite curves. Her jade-like hand gripped onto one of his horns and the corners of her lips curled up.
"Let's go, Li Luo." Her voice was tender and her eyes were filled with warmth. She was genuinely enjoying the feeling of going to battle with Li Luo, hand-in-hand.
The Heavenly Dragon roared as he ascended into the skies, shooting towards the descending Star of Light. At the same time, his voice roared like thunder. "Alright! The two of us will rampage together today. Who dares block us?"
His humongous body arced across the firmament and a moment later, the gigantic and brilliant star filled their eyes. The star was exceptionally large and mountains criss-crossed over its surface. There was even an innumerable number of sacred temples that dotted it, giving off vast ancient fluctuations.
A halo of light resonant power surrounded its exterior, emanating a repulsive force. As Li Luo approached, he could feel the burning sensation of the light resonant power.
This light was even more tyrannical than Song Jing's flames.
However, Jiang Qing'e suddenly released a burst of her own light resonant power. It wrapped around Li Luo's body, causing the burning sensation to vanish.
He no longer hesitated, bashing through the halo of light headfirst, rushing into the depths of the primordial star.
Chapter 1509: Twelve Winged Seraphim Statue
Bang!
The titanic thirty-thousand-feet-long Heavenly Dragon pierced through the boundless light energy that covered the skies, eventually descending onto the surface of the Star of Light and kicking up a cloud of dust upon landing.
Li Luo's eyes were directed towards the most conspicuous place on this vast land. There was a sacred mountain that protruded from the ground, containing an endless flight of stairs and culminating with a humongous and majestic hall at the top.
One could see a radiant statue of an angel within it. This statue had twelve wings and holy chants could be heard coming from it, echoing throughout the entire Star of Light. Countless ancient runes of light flowed around it, as though they were sentient spirits. When Li Luo looked at the Twelve Winged Seraphim Statue, he could sense a mysterious charm emanating from it. In fact, it was a familiar feeling... something that he had felt upon witnessing the Myriad Resonances Dragon Fang Sword Formation for the first time. The Glamor of Transcendence!
Additionally, it could be said that the Twelve Winged Seraphim Statue had an even denser Glamor than the Myriad Resonances Dragon Fang Sword Formation.
The answer was clear. The Light Transcendent Art could be found on the Twelve Winged Seraphim Statue.
Jiang Qing'e's golden eyes were glowing as they were fixated on the Twelve Winged Seraphim Statue. She could innately sense that this was the object calling out to her. The prospect of encountering a Light Transcendent Art that perfectly suited her caused her heartbeat to quicken.
She then turned her gaze towards the two people on the other side of the sacred mountain. Diwu Mingxuan and Song Jing.
"Sister Qing'e, let's go!" Li Luo's voice rumbled.
Jiang Qing'e's slender hands lightly caressed his sharp horn as she said tenderly, "Watch out for Song Jing. If you're not his equal, then just hold on for a bit. Once I've dealt with Diwu Mingxuan, I'll come over and help you."
"There's no need to worry about me. He's merely an upper eighth-grade Duke. Once I've beaten him, my achievements will have surpassed yours in the Celestial Mirror Pagoda!" Li Luo said as he revealed his sharp fangs.
"A third-grade Transcendent overcoming an upper eighth-grade Duke is indeed something that has not happened throughout the Celestial Mirror Pagoda's trials over the last few hundred years. If you can do so, then you'll leave your mark eternally, receiving the worship of those that come in the future," Jiang Qing'e said encouragingly.
Li Luo retorted with disgust, "Why would I want their attention and respect?"
"Oh? Then whose worship do you want? Mine?" Jiang Qing'e smiled lightly and a dangerous glint could be seen in her eyes.
"Uh... Ahem.." The heroic and humongous Heavenly Dragon let out a few coughs that boomed across the area.
Jiang Qing'e smirked. "I'll wait for you to beat Song Jing before we talk further."
Li Luo's expression changed immediately. "What happens after I beat him?"
She didn't say anything else. She used her sword to knock against his horn, letting out a pristine ring, as though smacking his head. No longer bothering with him, her slender figure shot forward in a stream of light towards the sacred mountain.
When she took action, so did Diwu Mingxuan. Song Jing then swung the crimson fan in his hand, causing a majestic pillar of flame to erupt and blast towards Jiang Qing'e wildly.
Bang!
However, a stream of violet-gold dragonbreath rushed through the sky, colliding with and causing the flames to dissipate harmlessly. The titanic dragon then descended from the skies, barrelling towards Song Jing as it roared, "Song Jing! Our battle has just started!"
The latter's eyes narrowed as he looked at his incoming opponent. He could sense that the resonant power undulations coming from Li Luo were stronger than before. Furthermore, a red light filled with vitality was wrapped around his entire frame.
"Upper third-grade? Is that the buff given by the red-haired lady?"
Song Jing thought to himself as his expression remained calm. So long as Li Luo hadn't reached the fourth-grade, he would have no clear advantage. After all, an upper eighth-grade Duke could not be disregarded so simply. Even an exceptional prodigy would find it hard to bridge this massive chasm. Eight crimson Duke Bergfrieds that resembled volcanoes manifested above him, devouring copious amounts of worldly natural energy. At the same time, they let out terrifying undulations of pressure, causing the void around them to crumple and shatter.
"Duke's Worldspace Domain, Infernal Purgatory!" Song Jing roared. His Worldspace Domain immediately expanded, enveloping the skies and the earth.
However, when he noticed the sheer size of the Worldspace Domain, he frowned. He had discovered that his Worldspace Domain was being suppressed on the star! Perhaps it was simply because the light energy present here was so vast and dense that it naturally weakened all other attributes. It was fortunate that he was not facing Jiang Qing'e; otherwise, he might have felt particularly aggrieved.
At the same time, he flapped the fan vigorously and a gigantic tornado of sweltering flames, tens of thousands of feet tall, formed in the skies. It looked as though it was connecting the earth and the sky, emitting an aura of absolute destruction. Wherever the tornado passed, it left behind a trail of charred, blackened devastation through the mountain range. Meanwhile, the eight Duke Bergfrieds were continuing to release a deluge of Divine Mist that flowed into the infernal tornado, bolstering its might.
Song Jing was acting much more decisively than the last fight.
Clearly, he wanted to conclude this battle quickly so he could assist Diwu Mingxuan. That way, the latter would help him obtain opportunities for himself in turn.
As the crimson Worldspace Domain spread across the area, Li Luo could feel the domineering heat scorching him. If he had not taken Heavenly Dragon form, he might have found it unbearable.
An upper-grade Duke's Worldspace Domain was truly a thorny problem to deal with.
Li Luo snorted, violet-gold light coursing around him as his sharp talons raked at the void before him.
The void was ripped apart and the roars of three dragons could be heard as they emerged from the rift, each one possessing its own different element. They then fused together, taking the form of a mottled and ancient dragon banner. Three Dragons' Heavenly Banner Canon! He then gripped the banner with his giant claws and waved it with his colossal might. Boundless amounts of majestic and colorful light filled the air like a rainbow, rushing towards the flame tornado.
Triple Dragon Demon Crushing Divine Light! As the mysterious beam of light struck the flaming tornado, it continuously extinguished the flames, though the fire energy within the Worldspace Domain resisted by replenishing the flames.
The resulting firestorm still swept towards Li Luo.
When he saw this, he let out a heaven-shaking roar, activating the Lesser Dragon Sacred Seed without hesitation.
With that, his Heavenly Dragon resonance swiftly evolved, reaching the middle ninth-grade!
With that, his Heavenly Dragon form began to expand at a rapid pace, eventually reaching over fifty thousand feet long! As his giant body remained coiled in the air, his draconic aura flooded out of him in waves.
The terrifying temperature was constantly clashing against the draconic might of the Heavenly Dragon, leading to crackles and explosions all around them.
He then let out a long roar as the flame tornado was reflected within his eyes. He then threw the mottled ancient banner into the tornado, leaving behind a rainbow trail.
Bang!
The ancient dragon banner ripped through the flames, reaching the eye of the tornado before sending innumerable rays of light outwards.
The flaming tornado that Song Jing had summoned with all of his might and buffed with the power of his Worldspace Domain was then forcefully dissipated.
When Song Jing saw the tornado subside, his eyes were filled with shock and he said, "A middle ninth-grade Heavenly Dragon is truly overbearing. It's sheer might cannot be underestimated."
Even so, his attacks wouldn't end here.
He sucked in a deep breath and formed seals with both hands.
The cry of a golden crow rang out from the center of the flaming tornado just before it dissipated. Then a beam of crimson-gold light shot up, rising with the wind and expanding, taking the shape of something that was ten thousand feet tall.
A figure was reflected within Li Luo's eyes...
It was a humongous scarlet-gold seal.
It seemed capable of crushing everything, even the world itself, as it hurtled down mercilessly.