Chapter 0867: Clean Up
The sky was overcast and dark.
On a huge mountain filled with the thick air of corruption, strange whispers echoed throughout the forests.
BOOM!
A shockingly huge wave of energy rippled from the depths of the mountain. Like a hurricane sweeping by, the whole mountain started shuddering under the undulations of the immense energy waves.
Upon closer look, there was a True Devil Other howling on a peak of the mountain. Viscous and eerily cold corruption gushed out of it continuously, blanketing the whole sky.
The Other was preparing for battle at this point. Its flesh started to rip apart and pieces of its white bones punctured its skin from inside. In the next moment, the white bones separated from its body and transformed into white-bone swords. The swords were dripping a black substance that was dark as ink and contained the fearful power of corruption.
This was none other than the Bone Sword True Devil.
Its body was fully covered in white-bone swords. In the blink of an eye, it charged towards a nearby figure that was surging with energy.
It was none other than Li Jingtao.
With the assistance of Harmony, he took his time and formed hand seals with both his hands. In the next moment, countless dragon fangs brimming with energy materialized in the sky above and rapidly intertwined together.
Clack, clack!
A dragon fang shield possessing impenetrable defenses formed in an instant, engraved with glowing, runic patterns.
BANG! BANG!
The white bone swords struck the shield with a continuous wave of attacks, causing it to vibrate violently. However, Li Jingtao’s shield was indestructible. The pouring attacks that were filled with corruption were deflected.
Nonetheless, the Bone Sword True Devil continued to grow even more bone swords out of its flesh. Its attacks were unrelenting.
Both sides were stuck in a stalemate.
"Eldest Brother's defense is truly the best. The Bone Sword True Devil's attacks are much more ferocious than those of the other True Devils that I met earlier. Furthermore, its swords contain the power of corruption. If it so much as grazed our bodies, the damage would be unimaginable." Li Luo could not help but laugh as he watched the two of them fight.
"It's just a turtle shell," Li Fengyi said with a pout.
On the other hand, Deng Fengxian shook his head and elaborated in a serious tone, "It's considered a victory if you are undefeated. This defense from Banner Leader Li Jingtao is probably the strongest amongst the Twenty Banners. At the very least, I wouldn't be able to break through it."
Hearing this, Li Luo nodded in agreement. With Li Jingtao's laidback and friendly temperament, it was clear that he did not enjoy attacking at all. However, he had found another way of success for himself. He had cultivated the Annihilation Fang Art, famed for its offense, into a defensive art. It highlighted how he had mitigated his weaknesses and made use of his strengths to transform himself by developing an absolute defense that was incredibly sturdy.
With this unique defensive art, he had established his own standing amongst the current young generation in the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent. No one would dare to underestimate him any longer.
"It's about time for us to act. We can't let the Bone Sword True Devil escape," Li Luo said with a grin.
Hearing this, Li Fengyi and Deng Fengxian nodded. Huge amounts of energy swelled within the three of them, and they each activated their strongest Duke Arts.
Three waves of energy split the sky apart and forcefully blasted away the thick air of corruption.
Faced with this surprise attack, a dense, black light flashed across the eyes of the Bone Sword True Devil. Without a doubt, it had sensed the fatal danger approaching it.
It let out a sharp cry, and the flesh around its body began to shrink whilst even more bones protruded out of its body. The bones intertwined with each other, and a short moment later, it had transformed into a giant, white-bone sword that was thousands of meters tall.
Its twisted face could be seen on the hilt of the sword.
Wrapped in viscous air of corruption, the gigantic sword let out a low, odd scream and clashed directly with the three incoming attacks.
Boom!
A shocking energy wave rippled through the air. The wooded area around the collision was completely razed to the ground. Many of the hidden Others in the forest were also wiped out as collateral damage.
When the energy waves weakened, cracks could be seen appearing on the gigantic sword. Noxious, black air gushed out of each fault, paired with a neverending shriek.
BANG!
The sword exploded the next moment, and countless shards flew through the air.
"Destroy all the shards!" Li Luo shouted out as soon as he witnessed this.
The vitality of a True Devil Other was beyond one's imagination. If even a single shard managed to escape, it would take just a day of rest and absorption of corruption for the Bone Sword True Devil to recover. Hence, it was essential that they eliminated all the shards to kill off this Other completely.
Fortunately, Li Fengyi, Deng Fengxian, and Li Jingtao were already prepared for this. They shot out multiple energy beams repeatedly, forming a giant spider-web that covered up the mountain.
Many of the white bone shards were annihilated before they could escape.
A few minutes later, the four of them gathered after they had cleaned up the region completely.
"Not bad, we've finished off the second True Devil in the area," Li Fengyi said with a laugh.
When Li Luo gave the bold suggestion initially, they had all thought that his idea was simply crazy. However, after having a discussion, they saw the merits of it and gradually accepted it.
After all, True Devils were a hidden danger. If the Soul Eater True Devil could really order the other True Devils to gather and gang up on them, they would be the ones running for their lives then.
As such, this plan to clean up the powerful Others kicked into action.
It had actually proceeded better than they had originally expected. Since these True Devils were as strong as first-grade Dukes, it might have been hard to secure a victory in a one-on-one situation. However, they could increase their chances of victory significantly with the four of them working together in the state of Harmony.
Thus, they had slain two True Devils in the past few days.
"Let's continue," Li Luo said with a hint of determination. He did not intend to rest and was fully focused on the task of cleaning up the True Devils in this district before he searched for the Sacred Infant Fruit.
Although his plan had been a success so far, the presence of the Soul Eater True Devil had left him feeling uneasy.
Similarly, the other three had no objections. After Li Luo had shared the information of the Soul Eater True Devil with them, they also wanted to finish up the mission as soon as possible to avoid any unexpected surprises.
Once again, the four banners started to move out.
They arrived in the district belonging to the third True Devil a day later.
According to their intel, the True Devil here was known as the Red Eye True Devil, another first-grade True Devil. However, they noticed that things were different upon their arrival.
They could not find any traces of the Red Eye True Devil regardless of how much they searched the district.
"How did it disappear?" Li Fengyi was extremely puzzled.
Li Luo frowned with a serious face and said, "Did the Soul Eater True Devil realize our intentions and order the Red Eye True Devil to flee from here?"
Hearing this, Li Jingtao's face changed a little as well. "Is the Soul Eater True Devil that sly? The intelligence it possesses is as good as a human’s."
With a deep voice, Li Luo told them, "Let's head over to the fourth True Devil!"
The other three understood his meaning. If the fourth True Devil had disappeared as well, this might not be a simple coincidence.
As such, the four of them set off again.
After half a day, they arrived at the fourth True Devil’s region. Their faces turned dark after a search of the area.
It had disappeared as well.
The four of them looked at each other blankly. Was the disappearance of these two True Devils really linked to the Soul Eater True Devil?
"Damn it, it's the first time I have seen such a strange Other," Li Jingtao said with shock. Under normal circumstances, True Devil Others would stay in their own districts, being the undisputed kings of their respective regions. However, they had chosen to leave their own territories mysteriously, possibly under the instruction of the Soul Eater True Devil.
"What now? Do we give up? Two of the True Devils have escaped," Li Fengyi asked.
With a frown, Li Luo replied, "There's no need to worry too much. We still managed to clean up two of the True Devil Others after all. We've eliminated some of the uncertainties already.
"This district is close to where the Sacred Infant Fruit is. We'll have to head over there eventually. However, we need to be prepared to abandon the mission if things turn sour when we arrive."
The other three nodded helplessly. Although they did not want to abandon the mission, there was nothing they could do if things got too dangerous and out of hand.
This time, they did not set off immediately. Instead, they chose to take a day of rest. When the second day arrived, the four banners started moving out again. Li Luo saw a crimson mountain range appear at the end of his vision after traveling for close to a day.
The temperature of the surrounding area started to rise gradually.
As Li Luo looked over to the crimson mountain range, he knew that they had finally arrived at the place where a Sacred Infant Fruit could be found.