"Shen Jinxiao?!" Li Luo, Jiang Qing'e, and Chi Chan all showed varying degrees of shock when they saw the familiar face. After all, a deep grudge existed between them, and no one had ever thought that this person who was supposed to be hiding within the corrupted capital of the Xia Kingdom would be the pawn sent here by the Origin Reversion Institute.
"How could he have appeared here?" Li Luo asked.
Chi Chan shook her head as her clear eyes flowed with hatred. "When disaster overtook the Xia Kingdom, he was cultivating within the corrupted capital. It was said he was in House Luolan's headquarters. He has never been seen since. Looking at what has happened, he must have joined the Origin Reversion Institute."
"Shen Jinxiao actually dared to use House Luolan's headquarters as his cultivation area?!" When Jiang Qing'e first saw Shen Jinxiao's face, she was temporarily taken aback, but fury and killing intent flooded out of her golden eyes upon hearing Chi Chan's words. House Luolan was incredibly important to her. The Xia Kingdom's capital had fallen, and they were forced to abandon House Luolan's headquarters. However, just thinking about the fact that a filthy creature like Shen Jinxiao had dared to occupy the location and defile it with his presence had tarnished a place that she considered sacred, so anger filled her.
Li Luo's expression had also turned icy and his eyes were filled with murderous intent. "I thought that we would only be able to repay the enmity from all those years ago after we returned to the Xia Kingdom. It looks like we can bring the date of his retribution forward."
Bang!
When he finished speaking, a beam of luminous light resonant power arced across the sky in the distance.
Within it was a figure wrapped in resonant power that was flickering chaotically.
Jiang Qing'e glanced at the figure. "It's Diwu Mingxuan."
She identified him the moment she sensed the other party's resonant power undulations.
"He looks like he is fleeing from something," Li Hongyou pointed out in surprise.
A moment later, she saw that Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e's expressions had turned incredibly cold, glinting with the intent to murder. However, their gazes were directed behind Diwu Mingxuan, towards a grayish-black beam of light that was in hot pursuit.
The grayish-black beam of light radiated a terrifying aura.
After that, she heard both Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e shout coldly, "Shen Jinxiao!"
Bang!
They watched Shen Jinxiao materialize beside Diwu Mingxuan like a ghost. He then slapped out with his palm, and boundless amounts of resonant power blasted out. His resonant power was quite chaotic, containing many different elements. In a way, this was similar to Li Luo's combined resonant power, a result of having multiple resonances. However, the difference was that Li Luo's resonant powers all came from him and thus could fuse together as a complete whole. Meanwhile, Shen Jinxiao's had different constituent resonant powers that would dissipate completely from time to time.
A grayish black metal needle about an inch long suddenly shot out from Shen Jinxiao's palm. It moved extremely quickly and was wrapped with a demonic aura, piercing towards the back of Diwu Mingxuan's head. The light resonant power that protected him swiftly dissipated upon contact.
His expression warped.
He had previously been ambushed by Zhou Jun, and although he had stayed alert and managed to escape, it was not without injury. On top of that, this expert from the Origin Reversion Institute was a strange opponent. His resonant power was chaotic and impure, but it contained a certain sort of corruptive and corrosive power. It was so potent that not even his light resonant power was able to purify it in a short period of time. He had fallen into desperate straits.
Diwu Mingxuan took a deep breath before turning his head to spit out a beam of light. The ray of light sliced through the darkness, as dazzling as the shining sun as it collided against the grayish-black metal needle.
Ding!
A crisp ringing sound ran out, and the resultant sound waves shattered the void.
However, his last-ditch attempt to save himself was unable to obstruct the metal needle. The latter was filled with murderous intent as it ripped through the ray of light, fiercely shooting towards Diwu Mingxuan.
Bang!
Just as Diwu Mingxuan was in absolute despair, the void behind him shattered and two people stepped out. A blade and a sword, both imbued with majestic resonant power, hacked towards the needle.
Clang!
Violent energy undulations spiralled in every direction, causing the critically injured Diwu Mingxuan to be sent flying, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Just as he was about to collapse, he felt a delicate hand supporting his waist and his back. When he turned his head, he saw a cold expression.
He remembered that this was the lady who provided supportive buffs to Li Luo... If he remembered correctly, her name was Li Hongyou.
"Thank you," he croaked.
Li Hongyou shook her head and fused her resonant power and blood essence before drawing up a crimson-gold talisman, which she shot into Diwu Mingxuan's body. After which, he could feel the injuries to his flesh and bones begin to recover at a rapid pace. Even his depleted resonant power was being restored at a surprising pace. His pale expression finally regained a hint of color.
Li Hongyou wasn't interested in hearing Diwu Mingxuan speak further, so she released the hand supporting him. Meanwhile, Diwu Mingxuan respectfully cupped his hands towards her. He then turned towards the front and saw two figures blocking the path of the Origin Reversion Institute expert. They were none other than Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e.
Diwu Mingxuan's expression was complicated. He had never expected that he would be saved by the duo.
"Mentors Li Luo and Qing'e, watch out. The Mythical Spirit Ancient College's Zhou Jun is his accomplice," Diwu Mingxuan said.
When Li Luo heard this, his gaze narrowed. So Zhou Jun was actually a pawn of the Origin Reversion Institute? The Origin Reversion Institute was truly frightening. Even one of the ancient colleges' Four Knights had been compromised.
However, he had no time to think about all this. His gaze filled with killing intent was directed at the man before him.
"Shen Jinxiao, it has been many years. How have you not died?" Li Luo hefted the Dragon Elephant Thunder Blade, speaking in a mocking tone.
Shen Jinxiao couldn't help but sigh when he saw the newcomers. "I never would have expected that the two young students from back then would end up embarking on the Path of Ascension. It's truly amazing. If I had known then, I wouldn't have coveted the Heart of Light and would have directly put you two to death."
Jiang Qing'e glared at Shen Jinxiao. "You took the form of the Enlightened Sage College's Guo Jiufeng, didn't you?"
She had sensed something strange about Guo Jiufeng before, and thinking back, it was precisely why her Heart of Light had given her a warning. The only thing that still confused her was how he had managed to evade the scrutiny of her Heart of Light.
Li Luo frowned. Had Shen Jinxiao taken the form of Guo Jiufeng? However, even though he had managed to elude their senses, how could this have been hidden from Wang Xuanjin and the other Kings? Unless, of course, a Heavenly Emperor had chosen to take action personally.
"A Heavenly Emperor took Vice Principal Guo Jiufeng's body and grinded all of his flesh and blood into a corpse shell that covered my body," Shen Jinxiao casually explained with a grin.
Li Luo's gaze turned gloomy. These vile rats of the Origin Reversion Institute were willing to employ any means necessary to attain their goals. The pitiful Guo Jiufeng was once the most powerful and famous vice principal within the East Divine Continent. However, he had inexplicably lost his life when leading his squad here. Li Luo deeply sighed and his eyes turned cold.
Three majestic Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfrieds arose into the air.
Jiang Qing'e's body blazed with light as four towering Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfrieds similarly materialized, devouring light energy. The two then pointed their weapons towards Shen Jinxiao with endless killing intent.
Chapter 1522: Thirty Fourth Layer
"Two transcendent geniuses. What a dazzling sight for sore eyes," Shen Jinxiao remarked with a sigh as he looked at the Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfrieds in the air.
He had never expected that this pair of youths would end up reaching such a stage. If he had not left the Xia Kingdom with the Origin Reversion Institute, the day the two returned would be the day he was destined to die. The enmity and retribution of a third-grade and fourth-grade Transcendent was clear. Shen Jinxiao knew how he would end up had he not relied on the Origin Reversion Institute. It was truly fortunate that he had chosen this alternate path, a path that was not inferior to the one the Transcendents walked.
"I truly wish to reminisce with you, my old friends, but now is not the time." Shen Jinxiao grinned and raised his head, looking at the dark skies. The void above him suddenly distorted, causing a gigantic spatial rift to appear.
In the depths of the spatial crack were some ancient buildings.
That was the Celestial Mirror Pagoda's thirty-fourth layer!
Shen Jinxiao originally wanted to kill Diwu Mingxuan for his Heart of Light, then devour it and further bolster his own strength. However, Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e had popped out of nowhere with their swords drawn and thus, he couldn't follow through with his plan.
In that case, he would complete the Honored One's assignment.
This was the most important thing.
After which, a low rumble of thunder was heard and someone appeared beside Shen Jinxiao.
It was Zhou Jun, with his thunder trident in hand.
He glanced at Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e before turning to look at Diwu Mingxuan, who was gradually recovering, and frowned.
"You didn't manage to deal with Diwu Mingxuan?"
Diwu Mingxuan had been critically injured, left in a state that he was only capable of escaping miserably. However, the fact that he would recover from his injuries meant that they would have to deal with yet another mighty enemy.
Shen Jinxiao smiled. "It doesn't matter. We can ignore them and head to the thirty-fourth layer. The Honored One's mission is the most important."
Hearing him mention the Honored One caused Zhou Jun's expression to turn respectful, and he nodded in agreement. The two no longer bothered with the group and turned to leave, dashing towards the spatial rift in the sky.
Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e didn't immediately give chase; they cautiously observed the spatial rift. They didn't know where it would lead to and thus didn't dare to barge in without a second thought.
At this point, several figures pierced through the air, arriving before them. These were the surviving experts who were still on the thirty-third layer and had not been eliminated.
Li Luo saw Sheng Qiao'er and Ning Meng amongst them.
The group had similarly discovered Li Luo and the rest, so they had rushed over to group up.
"Qing'e, are you alright? Was that the person who had infiltrated the Celestial Mirror Pagoda from the Origin Reversion Institute? Why was Zhou Jun with him?" Sheng Qiao'er asked.
"The individual is named Shen Jinxiao. He was once a mentor at the Astral Sage College, and the Xia Kingdom's Other Disaster happened due to his machinations. It resulted in the Astral Sage College's foundation being harmed and the entire college almost being destroyed. I never expected him to come here. As for Zhou Jun... he should also be one of the pawns of the Origin Reversion Institute," Li Luo explained.
"The despicable Origin Reversion Institute actually dares to covet the Celestial Mirror Pagoda?!" Sheng Qiao'er's expression turned ugly, but her eyes revealed a hint of worry. Everyone could see that the situation wasn't optimistic and that Principal Wang Xuanjin and the other Kings had temporarily lost control. Otherwise, they would not have been trapped here.
Diwu Mingxuan suddenly piped up as he inspected the rift. "If I'm not wrong, that spatial rift should lead to the Celestial Mirror Pagoda's thirty-fourth layer. This looks like the Origin Reversion Institute's goal."
Li Luo's gaze flickered. The Celestial Mirror Pagoda's thirty-fourth layer also contained the Greater Acquired Resonance Godly Forging Art.
His goal was located there as well.
"Everyone, we can't let the Origin Reversion Institute's plan succeed. For the sake of protecting the Celestial Mirror Pagoda, we have to do our best to obstruct Shen Jinxiao and Zhou Jun," Diwu Mingxuan said with a somber voice.
This statement immediately elicited the agreement of everyone present. They were all from the Academic Federation and they had a strong sense of attachment and belief to it. Although they had clashed over opportunities, for the sake of the greater good, they would naturally put aside any grudges to work together.
Li Luo was excited to see this. He would not rest till Shen Jinxiao died, and even though he and Jiang Qing'e were not the same as before, he had sensed some dangerous fluctuations from him. Thus, working together with everyone to defeat him was a good idea.
"Let's do it," he said.
Diwu Mingxuan's gaze turned towards Li Hongyou, and he politely asked, "Mentor Hongyou, could you give me another one of those gold talismans, please?"
Li Hongyou shook her head. "The Vermilion Fruit Godly Transformation Seal is reserved for Li Luo, so I can't give it to you."
From Li Luo's previous confrontation with Shen Jinxiao, it was clear that the grudge between them ran so deep, it could only be resolved with one party's death. The opponent was strange and unpredictable, so she had to conserve as much strength as possible to support Li Luo.
Diwu Mingxuan paused. He had never expected to be rejected. No female in the Divine Sun Ancient College had ever rejected his requests, and for a period of time, the smile on his face felt awkward.
Seeing Diwu Mingxuan's awkward smile, Li Hongyou could only sigh. "I'll give you a Crimson Heart Golden Seal instead. It can assist you in recovering more quickly and slightly bolster your resonant power." She then casually drew a scarlet talisman and threw it towards Diwu Mingxuan.
He hurriedly received it and wrapped his resonant power around it, temporarily holding it in his palm and feeling the warm waves coming from the talisman. "Thank you, Mentor Hongyou," he said sincerely.
"It's just a small matter." Li Hongyou waved her hand before walking over to Li Luo's side.
Diwu Mingxuan glanced at her slender figure, thinking that if someone like her were to enter the Academic Federation, she would be able to help countless people. Even though she was only a second-grade Duke, when it came to supporting others, even a fifth-grade or sixth-grade Duke was not comparable to her. Alas, it seemed she would only follow Li Luo.
This caused Diwu Mingxuan to feel mixed emotions. Li Luo truly was too lucky! He then set his thoughts aside, giving the order for everyone to rush into the spatial rift. "Let's go."
Li Luo, Jiang Qing'e, and the rest followed suit.
Passing through the spatial rift, Li Luo could sense that his vision had dimmed greatly. The world around him spun and space shifted. A few moments later, this feeling disappeared.
After which, Li Luo saw a continent appear in the dark of the void before him.
The entire land was ruined, as though it had been shattered by some terrifying force. When they approached, they saw numerous ancient buildings constructed upon it. One could only imagine just how prosperous it once was.
As he swept his gaze across the area, he focused on one particular sight.
He looked at the central area of the continent, where the mountains and rivers converged. There was a towering ancient altar, stretching into the clouds, standing there quietly.
When he saw it, his Absolute Resonance Halo immediately began to tremble, letting out a low cry of desire. Li Luo's gaze turned feverish and his heart thumped.
He already knew... that the Greater Acquired Resonance Godly Forging Art was there!
Chapter 1523: Ninth-grade Duke
The ancient altar stood in the center of the continent, reaching so high that it touched the clouds, giving off an inexplicable sense of grandeur. Diwu Mingxuan, Sheng Qiao'er, and the rest also noticed the eye-catching altar instantly.
At the same time, they saw that Shen Jinxiao and Zhou Jun were also rushing towards it.
Diwu Mingxuan's gaze lit up and he bellowed, "That altar must be their objective! We must stop them!"
Although they didn't know what those two ruffians were up to, they had to stop them from achieving whatever their goals were. It was what was expected of them.
Bang!
Diwu Mingxuan was the first to take action. Six majestic Duke Bergfrieds, three of which were Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfrieds, soared into the air, releasing boundless amounts of light. Immense amounts of light resonant power illuminated the sky, as though the sun had risen.
Even the upper eighth-grade Sheng Qiao'er turned solemn upon witnessing the overbearing light resonant power. This was the first time since the Celestial Mirror Martial Exchange had started that Diwu Mingxuan had revealed his true power as the Duke of Light.
He then beckoned with his hand stretched out, causing a holy ruler with countless primordial light runes engraved upon it to appear. The runes then lit up one after another, forming sacred flames that enshrouded it. This was the Holy Seal Ruler, a high-grade Mythic Armament that was gifted to Diwu Mingxuan by his teacher. He swung it down, causing a hundred-thousand-foot flame that resembled the moon to descend from the skies, striking towards Shen Jinxiao and Zhou Jun.
When faced with the immense purification power of the sacred flames, Zhou Jun's trident spat out boundless amounts of thunder energy, transforming into a gigantic thunder python that clashed against the flames.
The void shook and a thunderous
boom
was heard.
Zhou Jun trembled and violent thunder energy surged out of his body, smashing apart the encroaching flames. His expression immediately turned into a frown as he realized that the injured Diwu Mingxuan was already a threat to him.
Before he could take a breather, a barrage of frightening resonant power attacks was launched towards him.
Sheng Qiao'er, Li Luo, and Jiang Qing'e had taken action as well.
"Shen Jinxiao!" Zhou Jun roared. With his strength, he simply couldn't handle the combined attacks of the group.
"I'm here, no need to rush." Seemingly warm laughter that sent chills down one's spine sounded out. Soon, verdant green resonant power swept out like a tide, taking the form of a humongous tree a hundred thousand feet wide. The top of the tree stretched over hundreds of miles, its bark like the scales of a dragon and its leaves like gold and steel.
Bang!
When Sheng Qiao'er and the rest's attacks landed, the tree was constantly blasted into pieces, but any damage dealt was regrown, causing the attacks to be stalled.
The gigantic tree was eventually annihilated by the constant attacks, but the group was also exhausted.
Everyone's expressions changed.
"Such boundless wood resonant power... and that was a Destiny-grade Duke Art... The Golden Dragonscale Tree? Isn't that the Duke Art Lin Ju was best at?" Sheng Qiao'er asked curiously.
Li Luo's gaze turned gloomy. "Lin Ju might have died by his hand. This person has a unique resonance, and by devouring other's hearts, he can temporarily utilize their resonances and Duke Arts."
When everyone heard this, their faces sank. Lin Ju was an upper eighth-grade Duke and yet he had fallen to Shen Jinxiao? Furthermore, this sort of resonance was rarely seen.
"He devoured Lin Ju's resonance and obtained his resonant power temporarily. Thus, he is in his strongest state, but it will fade eventually. So long as we trap him, we can subdue him," Jiang Qing'e calmly explained. Immediately after, the four Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfrieds above her began to spew out Divine Mist and light resonant power which fused together, transforming into a gigantic glazed sword of light studded with seven exquisite jewels that sparkled brilliantly.
Li Luo didn't hesitate to transform, his body extending with the aid of the Dragon Blood Atavism Art.
Roar!
A heaven shaking draconic cry resounded through the world as a thirty thousand foot violet-gold Heavenly Dragon appeared, it's draconic aura surging out like the sea, causing the void to shake in his presence.
The Dragon Elephant Thunder Blade grew to be a thousand feet long, gripped in his claws. A dragon brandishing a sword was a ferocious sight to behold.
Meanwhile, Sheng Qiao'er, Diwu Mingxuan, Lu Qing'er, Ning Meng, and the rest also summoned up their full power, causing countless dazzling Duke Bergfrieds to appear, devouring worldly natural energy.
All of them no longer held back, unleashing a torrent of awe-inspiring attacks that could shake the heavens and the earth towards Shen Jinxiao and Zhou Jun.
The duo's expressions turned solemn upon seeing this. They didn't hold back either and displayed their full power, resolving and blocking the attacks.
"Shen Jinxiao, there are too many of them. We can't keep this up. Does the Honored One have anything up his sleeve?" Zhou Jun gradually felt the pressure increasing. There was nothing surprising about this, considering the fact that the Celestial Mirror Pagoda trials were a congregation of peak experts.
Sheng Qiao'er had strength comparable to his and there were still Diwu Mingxuan, Jiang Qing'e, and Li Luo, the three transcendent geniuses. Additionally, their opponents were well aware of Shen Jinxiao's abilities. Their group was continuously launching an endless stream of attacks to bog them down and prevent them from reaching the ancient altar.
Shen Jinxiao grinned. "There's no need to worry. The Honored One has naturally made ample preparations for this."
"Then why haven't you used it?" Zhou Jun urged.
"Now?" Shen Jinxiao asked.
"What are you waiting for?!" Zhou Jun screamed.
Shen Jinxiao nodded with some regret. "Since you can't wait, Brother Zhou Jun, then I'll have to use the card given to me."
When he finished speaking, Shen Jinxiao's hand noiselessly penetrated into the void, strangely appearing behind Zhou Jun and grabbing at his heart.
Before his hand could come into contact with Zhou Jun's body, the latter had sensed it, quickly moving his feet and flashing a thousand feet away like a bolt of lightning. "What are you planning, Shen Jinxiao?!" Zhou Jun gloomily glared at Shen Jinxiao with eyes full of killing intent.
Shen Jinxiao was a little surprised. He never would've guessed that Zhou Jun would be on the lookout against him, but this didn't leave him flustered.
"Zhou Jun, why are you running?"
"You want to kill me—why wouldn't I run?" Zhou Jun furiously smiled.
Shen Jinxiao's expression turned merciless. "Don't you understand? You're a pawn arranged for by the Honored One. You are the chess piece that will allow me to complete the mission. What you need to do now is complete your part of the mission. Give me everything you have, including your life."
Zhou Jun's expression flickered before he shouted, "Give you everything, my ass!"
While he was indded a pawn, he didn't have the lack of awareness of one. Furthermore, who knew if Shen Jinxiao was merely using the Honored One as an excuse to devour his heart?
When Shen Jinxiao saw this, he sighed helplessly. "Do you honestly think you have the right to choose?"
He opened his palm, and a black pearl appeared within. The pearl contained a drop of blood essence and a face could be seen floating inside it. It was Zhou Jun's face! Furthermore, there were numerous tiny black runes engraved on the surface of the pearl, and they quickly rushed into the drop of blood essence.
Zhou Jun's expression sank and he attempted to flee frantically.
However, his body was forcibly halted and his expression distorted, as if he had lost control of his body.
A voice came from his chest. He struggled to lower his head, only seeing a pale hand tunnelling out of his chest with his beating heart in its grasp. His heart was still warm and blood dripped off it.
Shen Jinxiao's friendly voice came from behind him. "Zhou Jun, you can rest in peace. Your job has been done."
He then retracted his hand, smiling in glee as the heart was brought to his mouth. Zhou Jun could hear horrifying chewing sounds coming from behind him as his vision turned gray and a look of despair filled his eyes. In the end, his life came to an abrupt end.
This development was unexpected.
When Zhou Jun died before them, the group finally snapped out of their daze with looks full of shock. The one who had just been brutally murdered could be considered their acquaintance, and although he had betrayed the Academic Federation, dying in such a cruel way in front of them was unacceptable. However, they swiftly recomposed their turbulent hearts and sent yet another barrage of all-out attacks towards Shen Jinxiao.
Shen Jinxiao, however, simply wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth and his pupils turned completely gray. He then materialized all of his Duke Bergfrieds, which gave off berserk and strange fluctuations. One... Five... Eight... Nine!
Shen Jinxiao had reached the Ninth Duke Stage after consuming Zhou Jun's heart!