Chapter 0967: Stone Cup
The moment Li Luo stepped into the gilded hall, he could sense his surroundings begin to change. Clouds and mist appeared around him. When his vision cleared up, he found himself on another small path leading far into the distance. There were many courtyards and halls along the way.
Furthermore, there seemed to be a mysterious force controlling the space around the hall, making him unable to leap up high or fly.
Li Luo simply kept his composure and proceeded with caution. After a few moments, he paused in front of a hall. There was a special kind of energy coming from inside it that caught his attention.
He thought about it for a while before he gingerly pushed open the tightly shut door. The hall was wide and spacious, with very few things inside of it. In its center was a stone ladder leading up to a stone platform with a stone cup on it.
The cup caught Li Luo's attention immediately. It contained golden liquid that seemed to display a hint of sentience, as though there were spirits dancing in it.
As soon as he saw this, his eyes lit up with desire. That liquid was none other than the Spirit Resonance Golden Dew that he wished for!
When he looked closer, there appeared to be around ten droplets. This was considered a really great harvest. Li Luo and Li Lingjing had worked very hard for multiple days to obtain the same amount. Now a significant quantity had simply fallen into his hands.
Li Luo scanned the surroundings carefully before he took his first step forward. Proceeding with utmost caution, he slowly walked towards the stone platform.
With each step he took, the stone cup was becoming clearer and clearer in his eyes. He began to see rays of light extending out of it, continuously absorbing the worldly natural energy from the surroundings.
"It seems the cup’s purpose is to absorb worldly natural energy and then refine it into Spirit Resonance Golden Dew. Could this hall have been built by the Sacred Void Resonance Sect in order to collect the dew?"?Li Luo thought to himself as he stretched his hand out to grasp the stone cup.
However, it shook violently right before he was able to touch it. Five rays of light shot out of the cup and transformed into five silhouettes. Their resonant power surged up instantly, then they launched their attacks at Li Luo directly.
This sudden development caught Li Luo completely by surprise. Nonetheless, he did not panic as he had kept his guard up the entire time. He was prepared for this.
Without any hesitation, the Golden-Jade Onyx-Elephant Blade materialized in his hand. The Dragon Sigil between his eyebrows glowed brightly as well.
"Nine Scales Sanctified Dragon's Body!"
At this moment, Li Luo's body expanded and his physical strength, speed, and defenses increased substantially.
"Five Dragon's might!"
Li Luo slashed down with his blade, launching a blade light towards the attackers. A faint, draconic cry bounced around the room, and the air vibrated vigorously as the blade light traveled across.
Clang!
When the slash clashed with the five figures, a sharp noise exploded in the air and a wild storm of energy swept across the hall.
Fighting against five opponents at the same time, Li Luo could not help but feel the strain on his body despite coming in prepared. Fortunately, the Nine Scales Sanctified Dragon's Body had strengthened his body tremendously. He was not hurt badly, but he was sent flying back with his feet dragging across the ground, leaving a trail behind.
Li Luo quickly steadied himself before he looked at his foes with a solemn expression.
There were five people dressed in the robes of the Sacred Void Resonance Sect standing between him and the stone cup. They were utterly quiet and expressionless, just like the ones he had come across outside. However, these disciples were slightly weaker, probably around the one-pearl tier.
Li Luo was fully confident he could be each of them individually. However, things were a little more troublesome with five of them working together.
"Is this a protection mechanism for the Spirit Resonance Golden Dew?" Li Luo muttered to himself. This appeared to be some kind of defense or trial set up by the Sacred Void Resonance Sect, and it would activate as soon as anyone touched the stone cup.
When the five disciples appeared, their gazes locked onto Li Luo immediately. In the next moment, their resonant power surged up like a storm and they attacked him again.
"I can't let this drag on for too long. Otherwise, other people will come,"?Li Luo thought to himself. The starry veil had already been torn by Li Lingjing and Qin Ying earlier, so it wouldn’t be long until it was destroyed completely. At that time, a lot of rogue cultivators would rush in. Thus, he had to make full use of his time now to grab all the Spirit Resonance Golden Dew he could.
With this thought in mind, Li Luo formed hand seals with a single hand. The power of dual resonances filled with Vestiges of Spirituality flowed out of him like raging torrents.
"Pseudo Duke Art, Emerald Dragon Ent!"
The ground in front of Li Luo cracked open instantly, and a giant tree grew out of it. Its branches extended out and transformed into countless dragon ents that proceeded to charge towards the five disciples.
At the same time, Li Luo rushed towards two of the disciples.
"Thunderpeal Avatar, Three Sonic Pulse!
"Divine Elephant Power, Level Three!"
Despite the calm expression on his face, there was a thunderous howl coming from Li Luo's body. His right arm shook violently, the green veins beneath his skin twitching as he charged ahead with full force like a stubborn elephant.
Resonant power flowed out of his body relentlessly like a broken dam. There was no end to the power of his dual resonances as he swung his blade down on the two disciples.
Before his attack could land, the void in front of him tore open. The sound of a flowing river could be heard, and in the next moment, an impressive and lively black dragon floating along a black river flew out of the crack, its dazzling scales glinting with cold light.
Although Li Luo was still a Fiend Finisher, his Fiend Dipper Energy had already reached seven hundred feet. And this was before taking the Nine Orifices Dipper Smelting Pill. He could stretch his Fiend Dipper energy to nine hundred feet whenever he wanted, which would put him at the very end of the Fiend Finisher Tier.
Those with weaker foundations might have decided to give up cultivating their Fiend Dipper Energy long before reaching the same length and attempted to break into the Heavenly Pearl Tier already. Of course, this would result in a lower chance of success. Moreover, the quality of their Heavenly Pearl would not be too high even if they succeeded out of luck.
Li Luo did not want to sacrifice his foundation in order to rush things. Therefore, he would only attempt to break into Heavenly Pearl Tier when his Fiend Dipper Energy reached its limit.
As a result, he had been holding onto his Nine Orifices Dipper Smelting Pill while he waited patiently for the moment to arrive.
Besides, Li Luo was comparable to a one-pearl with the advantage of his three resonant palaces.
Taking all these factors into account, how could an average one-pearl be able to handle his Greater Completion Underworld River's Black Dragon Banner?
The two closest disciples of the Sacred Void Resonance Sect melted instantly after the howl of the black dragon, not given any chance to struggle at all.
He had eliminated two foes in a blink, and it had only taken one strike. On the other side, though, the three remaining foes had smashed the Emerald Dragon Ent into bits.
They pointed their fingers towards Li Luo and shot three flames towards him.
Li Luo froze immediately when he saw this. These flames looked similar to the flaming feathers from before—they surely had the special ability to burn up one's resonant power.
If he got hit by them, his resonant power would be greatly depleted.
Like a flash of lightning, Li Luo's mind spun as a new thought came to mind. "I wonder if I can use the Acquired Resonance Flame to counter these?"
He no longer hesitated. The ability to burn up one's resonant power was the most troublesome obstacle when fighting against the disciples of the Sacred Void Resonance Sect. If he could find a way to handle it, his path forward would be much smoother.
Li Luo stretched out his palm, and the Acquired Resonance Flame materialized at the next moment.
It was a transparent flame that gradually rose up.
Just as Li Luo was about to counterattack with this transparent flame, a shocking scene unfolded in front of him.
All of a sudden, the three flames that were still a distance away disappeared.
"Eh?"
Li Luo couldn’t help but react in surprise. When he lifted his head and looked at the three disciples of the Sacred Void Resonance Sect, he could sense that the resonant power within them was no longer surging. It had been suppressed completely.
The looks in their eyes had changed as well. Afterwards, they each formed a sign with one hand and placed it in front of their chests. To Li Luo’s surprise, they slowly bowed before him.
This was a display of formality.
A sign of respect towards him.
The offensive attitude towards him from before had completely disappeared.
Li Luo was dumbfounded for a while before he looked down at the Acquired Resonance Flame in his palm again. It was only at this moment that he finally understood.
The Acquired Resonance Flame that he had cultivated was special even among those in the Sacred Void Resonance Sect. It seemed like... this was something that represented one's status?