With the large anima c.u.mulonimbus open right in front of him, no amount of self-restraint could stop Li Luo from running in eagerly.
In front of him was a lush garden, the scent of worldly natural energy thick in the air. His attention was immediately drawn to three trees in the center of the garden. They looked to be on fire, flickering with an eerie, red glow and a strange heat.
The tree had no leaves. Instead, there were buds of red light attached to the bare branches, gathering worldly natural energy at an incredible rate, swelling to plumpness right before his eyes.
A ring of moisture circled each bud.
These little buds were definitely able to form anima dew.
But the sheer number of buds... he could hardly believe it.
Even the medium anima c.u.mulonimbuses they had come across had yielded 23 drops of anima dew at most. These three red trees had more than 200 buds.
Over 10 times what a medium anima c.u.mulonimbus provided.
That was not the extent of their haul. There were also medium and small anima c.u.mulonimbuses, which would add up to a sizable number as well.
"I came for juice, but I found a tree full of fruit instead. This one's crazy juicy!" Li Luo thought happily to himself. With this haul, they might just be able to fill five anima gourds. Five Violet Vibrance squad leaders could go to Dragonbone Island.
That was truly ideal, as good a result as they could have hoped for at the Hall-level compet.i.tion.
After finis.h.i.+ng this, they could move on to the Dragon's Belly, and then past that to Dragonbone Island.
Qin Zhulu, Bai Doudou, and the others had followed him in, and they too inhaled sharply. They stood in the middle of the garden, just looking around them in wonder for the longest time. Finally, they cheered, a hushed cheer of disbelief that such fortune could have come to them, tinged with a fear that this was too good to be true, and that someone would come and take it all away.
Li Luo smiled at them. "Qing'er, you account for the number of anima dew drops. Mengmeng, you go around to the other schools. Total up the number from the medium and small anima c.u.mulonimbuses."
Lu Qing'er and Bai Mengmeng hurried off to carry out his orders.
Li Luo relaxed a little after they left. The first half of the Hall-level compet.i.tion was near its conclusion, and now all they had to do was wait.
Wait for the bountiful harvest to come in.
...
While Li Luo was happily daydreaming about their riches, there was another student not too far away with more bitter thoughts on his mind.
Jing Taixu sighed to himself incessantly as he paced the sh.o.r.e.
"What's up? Still sore you lost to Li Luo on the Stairway to Heaven, so you came here to clear your mind?"
Jing Taixu swung around to see Lu Ming standing nearby, watching him coolly.
Jing Taixu stopped his pacing. "Would I be so small-minded? But I am indeed worried that another strong compet.i.tor has emerged."
He made a face. "Since when did dual resonances become so common? Two in one compet.i.tion?"
"Dual resonances intimidate lesser cultivators," Lu Ming said indifferently. "But not a quasi ninth-grade like you, Jing Taixu."
Jing Taixu smiled. "Not so. I have the healthiest respect for your dual resonances, Lu Ming."
She looked at him neutrally. "So you sent someone to come find me and ask me out for a meeting. All to exchange such ba.n.a.lities?"
Jing Taixu's smile faded off his face. "I want to work with you," he said directly.
A flash of surprise crossed Lu Ming's eyes. "You? Seeking me out to work with me? This is not the proud Jing Taixu that I know.And who is the target of this cooperation? Li Luo?"
Jing Taixu nodded with a tight smile.
"Jing Taixu, the compet.i.tion on the Stairway to Heaven was meaningless. You lost to him by half a step—does that warrant such overcaution?" she pressed.
As a bystander, she could judge both of them clearly. There was honestly no reason for Jing Taixu to be afraid of Li Luo.
Jing Taixu was silent for a moment. "If I said that this is a dangerous person, you might well laugh at me for being paranoid. But I have always trusted my instincts. Li Luo is the biggest threat in this compet.i.tion. I want to neutralize it as soon as possible."
Lu Ming shook her head. She did not understand Jing Taixu's caution, nor was she sure that he wasn’t trying to pull something on her. "No matter your reasons, why should I help you? You are the biggest threat to me in this compet.i.tion."
"I don't need you to fight Li Luo directly with me," Jing Taixu a.s.sured her. "Of course, it will be the Enlightened Sage College who deals with Li Luo's bunch.
"All I need is an illusion formation set within the Dragon's Belly. I know that illusion formations are your forte."
Lu Ming's eyes narrowed. "You want to act in the Dragon's Belly? That's very risky. You might well sink your entire s.h.i.+p."
"It is indeed an entire s.h.i.+p that I plan on sinking," Jing Taixu said bluntly. "If I am to act, I will raze the Astral Sage College out of the compet.i.tion in its entirety.
"Lu Ming, the Enlightened Sage College and the Astral Sage College fighting is a good thing for you. You get to watch either side be taken out. What's not to like for you?"
Lu Ming blinked deliberately at him. "Jing Taixu, that sort of meaningless logic doesn't work on anyone over the age of three.
"Unless they're called Sun Dasheng. You could try him."
"You know Sun Dasheng's character as well as I do," Jing Taixu said impatiently. "He's not cut out for negotiations or plans. He just wants to fight head-on."
"Well, I'm not interested in your negotiations or plans either." Lu Ming shrugged.
Jing Taixu was silent for a moment. "I promise you that on Dragonbone Island, I will fight Sun Dasheng before I fight you. You know what this means. You could well take me down in my weakened state. If you have any confidence in your abilities at all, I think you'll appreciate the advantage that this gives you."
Lu Ming was stunned. Jing Taixu was promising to fight against her at a disadvantage?
Jing Taixu was indeed the top dog in this compet.i.tion, but she did believe that both herself and Sun Dasheng stood a chance against him. Either way, it would not be an easy win.
Unless... Jing Taixu was confident enough to beat them both consecutively?
Lu Ming's eyelids flickered.
"Lu Ming," Jing Taixu said sincerely, sensing her wavering, "all you need to do is set an illusion formation, an easy task for you. And then you gain a big advantage. It might well win you the compet.i.tion. Can I be any more sincere or convincing?"
Lu Ming remained silent, and Jing Taixu waited with her. A few minutes later, he saw a small nod.
"Well, if you want to give me a free chance, I'm not going to say no."
Jing Taixu smiled broadly.
"I knew you would agree," Jing Taixu said happily.
They exchanged a few more details, then Jing Taixu left with a new spring in his step.
Lu Ming watched him go, her expression unfathomable.