Chapter 0571: Heavenly Disaster Cla.s.s Descends
Not long after Li Luo and friends activated the cleansing orb, a similar scene could be seen on the other end of Russet Rock City. As a result, the cleansing barrier started to expand. The bustling, illusory scenes on the streets dissipated wherever the radiance pa.s.sed through.
Clearly, Lan Lan's team had also managed to achieve their goal.
At this point, Li Luo turned around to be greeted with the sight of a few beams of light descending gloriously from the skies. It was the squads who were holding the Others back.
Leading the pack was none other than the First Princess and Gong Shenjun.
The remainder were the other members of the group who had finally gathered.
It seemed as though the strong Others had either been vanquished or chased away.
From the looks of it, everyone had been through arduous combat, Gong Shenjun and the First Princess included. Their bodies held traces of resonant power being pushed to the peak and one could feel a sense of suppression coming from them. The other members from the Three Star Hall were no different, their bodies laced with traces of injuries.
"You've contributed greatly this time, friends." The First Princess smiled and did not hold back on her effusive praise. With Resonant Master Stage cultivation, they had traversed the dangerous streets and had managed to set up the first cleansing dew, easing the pressure on everyone else.
However, the situation was still critical, and so she did not continue for too long, only decisively stating, "We do not have much time to tarry and rest any longer. We have to strike while the iron is hot and move quickly as the a.s.similative effects of the illusion seem to be strengthening. Only by constantly setting up more cleansing barriers can we borrow their might to weaken the illusory formation. Otherwise, the Greater Heavenly Disaster Cla.s.s will take advantage of it, which would put us at a disadvantage. That would spell an undesirable result for all of us."
No one disagreed, nodding to demonstrate their agreement.
Russet Rock City was an incredibly perilous area—how could their opponents give them a chance to rest and regroup?
Seeing the unanimous a.s.sent, the First Princess then looked directly at Li Luo. "Since your squad was the one that managed to set up the first cleansing dew, the subsequent anchor point will be handled by another squad." Li Luo demonstrated his agreement as well.
This was no simple task, and there was more than meets the eye. Why? The squad that set up the cleansing dew would receive the appropriate rewards from the act. In order to ensure a well-rounded division of points, other squads would also have that privilege.
Each squad would receive an equal share of points from cleansing Russet Rock City. This was only fair. Otherwise, it would incite internal discord and strife, and their cooperation could very well fall apart during a critical moment, such as during the fight with the Greater Heavenly Disaster Cla.s.s Other.
"Move out. I'm afraid things will only become more arduous moving forward."
After reminding the rest, the First Princess proceeded to lead the group, boundless resonant power exuding from her beautiful figure.
The target: the depths of Russet Rock City.
The rest followed suit with waves of resonant power emanating from the entire group. This was the might of a true gathering of elites!
After which, they spent the rest of the day advancing deeper into the city.
The journey was perilous as the group constantly engaged in heaven-shaking battles with formidable and fearsome Others appearing one after another.
No one was excluded from this melee, whether it was the top experts like the First Princess and Gong Shenjun or Li Luo and his Resonant Master Stage friends. Everyone received injuries of varying seriousness.
Of course, no one knew if Zhu Xuan was just weak-willed or dumb. After being corrupted once by the Bewitching Other, he had actually managed to fall under corruption two more times! The transformations got progressively grosser. In the end, after a brief discussion between the other three, they decided to simply tightly wrap this heavy burden up with chains. This way, even if he were to be corrupted yet again, they could quickly restrain him, preventing him from causing a disaster!
As the arduous advance continued, the silver lining within was that their efforts were not in vain.
They set up an adequate amount of cleansing orbs in just half a day, each one projecting a beam of purifying light s.h.i.+ning high into the sky. Together, they formed a purifying curtain of glorious light, dividing the illusory formation into sectors and weakening it.
If someone were to enter the formation now, they would be left utterly bewildered at the sight before them. Some areas were bustling streets filled with people going about their everyday lives, while in purified areas, the only thing that would greet their sight would be ruined structures and dessicated skeletons. In Li Luo's own words, the unnaturally lively and swarming streets only brought about a chill. On the other hand, the cold, silent ruins actually brought him solace.
Even the most perfect of illusions was just that. Ephemeral.
Weng!
When yet another pillar of cleansing light shot into the air, it created another curtain of purification that was like an umbrella, enveloping the area. Li Luo and the rest finally halted in their steps.
There was no choice. Exhaustion was inevitable.
Even the First Princess, a Heavenly Pearl Stage expert, had a forehead drenched with sweat.
"Your Highness, I would like to recommend we take a short break," Jiang Qing'e suggested.
Their blitzkrieg had resulted in both frequent and intense battles, so everyone was slightly injured. Further advancement without some respite might be detrimental to their overall plan.
"Qing'e, could I trouble you with a light restoration art?" the First Princess asked.
Light resonant energy possessed recuperative abilities, and with Jiang Qing'e's Ninth-grade light resonance, its efficacy was sublime. One of the key reasons why they had been able to progress so efficiently was precisely due to this.
Jiang Qing'e did not decline, as this was for the sake of accomplis.h.i.+ng the mission. Her slender, jade hands executed a few hand signs and a resonance art was quickly activated.
"Tiger-general resonance art, Spiritual Light Rain."
Light resonant energy pervaded the air, gradually coalescing into tiny droplets of rain that fell from the sky. Upon contact with one's body, one would feel indescribably warm and comfortable, and their fatigue would be washed away. Even their injuries would quickly mend themselves.
"A Ninth-grade light resonance is truly unmatched."
Zhao Beili sighed in envy. It was not as though he had never experienced the effects of a Spiritual Light Rain, it was just that he had never experienced one that was so effective! Clearly, this was the benefit brought about by a superior resonance.
"It is our greatest fortune to have Junior Jiang accompany us on this trip," Gong Shenjun said gently with a warm smile.
On the other hand, Jiang Qing'e's was quite curt. "Senior Gong, you are too polite."
Li Luo had stretched out his hand to better have a feel for the droplets of light resonant energy that were raining down. He could feel their incomparably pure and majestic nature, and he sighed. Comparing the light resonant energy he could produce with this was like comparing the sky to dirt! One was pristine and unblemished, the other impure and muddy.
The First Princess smiled as she grasped Qing'e's slim arm. "Qing'e is truly the hero of this story!"
Faced with Her Highness' action, her gaze flitted for a moment, but she did not reject her "advances." Instead, she turned to face the deeper areas of Russet Rock City. "Now that we're near the core of Russet Rock City, isn't it strange that the Greater Heavenly Disaster Cla.s.s Other has not appeared?"
The question elicited agreement from the group as they found it similarly baffling. They had been pondering this very question the entire way as well.
The illusory formation should have been the hard work of that powerful Other, yet it was happily sitting by and watching this group of upstarts dismantle it piece by piece? Something wasn't adding up.
Perhaps it wanted them to enter the core of the city?
This was an ambush they had to willingly walk into. After all, the group here had to slay the Other. It seemed as though the illusory formation was redundant and a move made in vain.
"Forget it. Regardless of what it wants to do, we'll engage in a final, decisive battle once we find it," the First Princess explained. Since they could not understand their opponent's intentions, then they'd just find their own answer. With violence.
Breaking the illusory formation would be the first step, and the Greater Heavenly Disaster Cla.s.s Other would appear after that.
Jiang Qing'e lightly nodded her head, but just as she was going to speak, her expression rapidly changed and her gaze fell towards the inner core of Russet Rock City.
She could distinctly feel that terrifying amounts of corruption were coursing out from that direction.
This all-encompa.s.sing corruption brought with it immense suppression.
At the very same time, the First Princess and Gong Shenjun also turned their heads, expressions solemn.
Boom!
From the depths of Russet Rock City, a crimson-red pillar of light shot into the sky, bringing with it endless corruption that flooded the heavens and the earth. From afar, it seemed to have transformed into a fog riddled with countless ferocious and vengeful faces!
And right in the middle of the light pillar was a giant, blood-red tail lightly swaying in the sky, almost invitingly waving h.e.l.lo to the invaders.
Frightening pressure blanketed the entire city.
Even Li Luo felt a hint of terror under this crus.h.i.+ng duress.
Meanwhile, atop a tower in the middle of the city sat an individual enveloped in crimson armor who started guffawing at the sight before him. "Ah, what a pity! I wasn’t able to suppress it any longer. What a pity indeed. These brats are truly very vicious! Tearing the illusory formation to shreds truly enraged it. So be it, it's almost time. The true show begins now."
With an insane fervor, he started to clap in excitement.
Meanwhile, deep within the light pillar was a demonic individual, its eyes glued shut as it lay within. What was unique about it was that there was a ma.s.sive tail dripping with fresh blood attached to it, along with a blood-red rune inscribed upon its body. The rune was now quickly burning up, quickly disintegrating into nothingness.
At that very moment, a demonic expression appeared upon its face and its eyes opened.
Eyes crimson-red like pools of fresh blood. It was a frightening sight that chilled one to the bone.