Chapter 0718: Igniting the Heart of Light
Bright light washed over everything, as if to cleanse away all of the filth and uncleanliness in the world.
Everyone could feel light filling up their vision, and even worldly natural energy was being a.s.similated at that very moment.
The experience felt like a lifetime had pa.s.sed, despite only lasting a mere moment.
When everyone's vision finally recovered, they were greeted with the sight of a bright and cleansed world. All of the corruption that previously defiled the lands had been washed away, allowing everyone to feel a sudden sense of purity.
Immediately after, looks were turned towards Shen Jinxiao's position.
He was quietly standing there.
He seemed to be in a daze as he raised his head, silently staring at the void where his three remaining Duke Bergfrieds were. At this instant, all three of them were melting away swiftly, akin to mountains of snow being exposed to the hottest inferno.
Layer after layer of condensed energy collapsed, creating a wild, windy storm that buffeted everyone present.
As each layer of his Duke Bergfrieds melted away, Shen Jinxiao's expression turned paler, and the majestic aura of resonant power he possessed as a Duke weakened correspondingly.
In the short span of a few breaths, the remaining three Duke Bergfrieds shattered.
Shen Jinxiao spat out a mouth of fresh blood as he reached the peak of fury. His strong emotions eclipsed any remaining sense of rationality.
It was hard to fathom that a situation he was previously in control of had turned out this way!
He was a sixth-grade Duke, someone who could fend off the combined a.s.sault of three Dukes and soundly beat them. Yet his downfall came at the hands of two brats that had yet to mature, directly resulting in all six of his Duke Bergfrieds being destroyed.
Could anyone comprehend how crippling a blow this was?
Most importantly, the Heart of Light which he had long plotted for did not land in his hands either!
He simply could not understand how Jiang Qing'e had managed to explode with such terrifying power, even with the sacrificial ignition of her Heart of Light. Could a ninth-grade Heart of Light actually reach such levels of strength?
Shen Jinxiao gloomily glared at Jiang Qing'e. Her body was still radiating a terrifying amount of light resonant energy as the Heart of Light blazed atop her chest.
He smeared away the b.l.o.o.d.y trail on his lips, taking note of the quickly weakening resonant power in his body. He knew that it was his complete loss.
"Li Luo... Jiang Qing'e... I've truly underestimated you two. However, you shouldn't feel proud of yourselves. Jiang Qing'e... now that you've ignited your Heart of Light, you've paid a price far greater than you can ever imagine. Hehe. So be it. If I can't have it, then I’d rather it be ruined! Even without the Heart of Light, I have other methods at my disposal. The Xia Kingdom is now in chaos, which gives me the opportunity to rise to greatness in the future. I will become even stronger, and believe me, I will make the both of you repay this grievance a hundred fold in the future!" Shen Jinxiao's voice had turned slightly hoa.r.s.e at this point as he maliciously stared at them.
His heart was full of raging fury. The ninth-grade Heart of Light he had coveted for so many years had been s.n.a.t.c.hed from right beneath his nose! In the end, she had torched everything to the ground, completely thwarting his plan.
Unsurprisingly, Jiang Qing'e was completely indifferent to his old fas.h.i.+oned and villainous lines, only cooly responding, "You wish to escape?"
She hefted her heavy sword, a beam of sword light hacking at him.
Shen Jinxiao was acutely injured, whilst Ox Biaobiao, Chi Chan, and Duze Yan had escaped their cages. If they surrounded him, he would definitely be encircled and destroyed.
At the moment the sword light descended upon him, Shen Jinxiao's body began to melt and his face collapsed, looking like a melted wax figure. A moment later, his entire body had turned into a pile of fleshy mud.
"Jiang Qing'e, the sacrificial ignition of your Heart of Light is irreversible. Once it runs out of fuel, you will die! Li Luo, I'll let you watch on in despair as she dies before your very eyes!" The pile of fleshy mud which was Shen Jinxiao's body hatefully uttered these last words.
The expression on Li Luo's b.l.o.o.d.y face similarly changed upon hearing this.
On the other hand, Jiang Qing'e emotionlessly summoned her light resonant energy to completely eradicate any last traces of the fleshy mud that used to be Shen Jinxiao. Alas, she could not feel any trace of Shen Jinxiao's presence within it. Clearly, that villainous fellow had made his escape a moment ago.
Although he had escaped, he had similarly paid a colossal price. Six Duke Bergfrieds ruined—this was a crippling injury to any Duke. Even if he could escape, it didn't mean he could continue to live as he had.
Of course... the price she had paid was similarly grave.
The gap that had to be surmounted for a Heavenly Pearl Stage cultivator to destroy a sixth-grade Duke was akin to a ma.s.sive chasm. No ordinary means could have bridged this gap.
"Sister Qing'e... are you alright?" Li Luo's current condition wasn't exactly positive either, but he endured the wracking pain coursing through his body, anxiously clutching Qing'e's arm as he remained fixated upon the burning Heart of Light atop her chest.
He could feel the majestic stream of light resonant energy coming from her body as he forced a smile. "Sister Qing'e, can you hurry and put this out now? That beastly fellow has already run away, there's no need to push yourself anymore."
This was met with silence as her golden eyes watched him meaningfully with a hint of a smile.
"Did you not hear me?!" Li Luo suddenly bellowed.
Jiang Qing'e stretched out her jade-like hand and grasped Li Luo's trembling palm.
Feeling her tender and cool grasp, Li Luo calmed down a little as he whispered almost sadly, "Can this not be stopped?"
His heart was in a mess. Faced with Jiang Qing'e's current situation, his pitiful Fiend Palace Tier strength was unable to do anything to help.
"Compose yourself, Li Luo," Jiang Qing'e lightly replied.
He was completely taken aback. How could he remain calm and composed in such a situation? If he had known that this sacrificial technique would have taken her life, he would have rather activated his black plaque a second time.
At the same time, Yan Lingqing, Cai Wei, and the rest hurried over and anxiously looked at Jiang Qing'e. They had all heard Shen Jinxiao's words.
Jiang Qing'e had used a sacrificial ignition on her Heart of Light. It was an unstoppable process, and did it mean her time was up?
At the same time, resonant power surged within the skies above.
Ox Biaobiao, Chi Chan, and Duze Yan had extricated themselves and rushed over as well.
"Uncle Biao, hurry! Hurry and rescue Sister Qing'e! She ignited her Heart of Light for the sake of chasing away Shen Jinxiao!" Li Luo summarized the situation succinctly as he grasped at any remaining life saving straws.
"She sacrificially ignited her Heart of Light?!" These words caused the expressions of the three Dukes to change.
Ox Biaobiao and Chi Chan hastened their steps forward and started to observe the area around Jiang Qing'e's heart. The Heart of Light was still radiating frightening amounts of light resonant energy.
The light resonant energy also held significant traces of life force, and Jiang Qing'e's complexion seemed to be even more rosy, as though she was in peak condition.
Alas, they all understood that this was the result brought about by the sacrificial ignition of the Heart of Light. Once it finished burning, her life would similarly end.
"The Heart of Light is also known as an energy heart. All those who possess high-grade resonances have their hearts tempered by the body's resonant power day and night, eventually transforming their physical hearts into these so-called energy hearts. Frankly speaking, even those of us at the Duke Stage have rarely seen anyone refine such energy hearts... much less seen someone sacrificially ignite it. Thus, I don't know how we can stop this." Chi Chan frowned as she felt that this problem was extremely th.o.r.n.y.
Ox Biaobiao had a solemn expression as well, his brows similarly furrowed.
These words caused Li Luo's heart to sink. Even Ox Biaobiao and the rest had no solution to resolve the sacrificial ignition of Qing'e's Heart of Light?
Endless frustration swamped his heart, and his body trembled.
The atmosphere had turned bleak and expressions had turned ugly.
Although they had repelled Shen Jinxiao, things had become even more depressing than before.
Jiang Qing'e lightly sighed as she tightly gripped Li Luo's palm. Just as she was about to speak, her expression changed and she glared at the void before them with cold eyes.
"Who’s there?!" Her sharp voice echoed out as she slapped out with a palm. Blinding light resonant energy arced forth and blasted a spot in the void.
Following her palm strike, everyone present was shocked to see that the void before them rippled, as though a layer of foam was dissipating.
An unfamiliar figure appeared, similarly looking down at everyone with condescending eyes.
"Heh. How interesting... someone who sacrificially ignited their Heart of Light? And your perception has grown sharp enough to discover me after I've spent almost half a day watching..."