Chapter 0933: Layer Sixty-three
In layer sixty-three of the Fiendish Devil Cave.
It was a boundless, grassy plain. At this moment, the plain was being devastated by a tempest as frightening amounts of energy blasted in every direction, destroying the ground beneath.
The collision of energy caused large booms to reverberate throughout the skies.
When one looked more closely, they could see over a thousand individuals channeling and fusing all of the resonant power within their bodies together, directing it towards a youth in the air.
Li Luo was radiating terrifying amounts of energy.
His gaze was focused on a large, fiendish aura that swept past the area before him. There were countless Fiendish Devils all around, and they were rushing towards him.
"They're coming again?" Li Luo mumbled to himself. He had already experienced almost ten waves of their relentless onslaught. Layer sixty-three was extremely difficult, and every inch of progress required him to fight bitterly.
"The third and fourth divisions will rest. The other three divisions, activate your Draconic Breath Fiend Arts and maintain Harmony. We will resist the next wave." Li Luo's voice was transmitted to the ears of all the Green Nether Banner members. Immediately after, the third and fourth divisions sat down cross-legged and closed their eyes to rest, quickly restoring their stamina and energy.
The rest continued to maintain the state of Harmony.
However, the fact remained that without two divisions supporting it, the amount of energy Li Luo obtained from Harmony had reduced. The bright side was that the Fiendish Devils were only threatening due to their numbers and would not pose a significant threat.
Their key purpose was to attrite the Green Nether Banner members' resonant power and to delay their approach towards the Fiendish Devil Leader.
Li Luo remained calm as he formed a hand seal with a single hand. Worldly natural energy was roused and condensed into sky-blanketing thunderclouds before a rainstorm poured down. It was like a curtain of water that blurred the skies and the ground.
Every drop of rain seemed to contain electricity, and it was a fantastical sight from afar.
Pseudo Duke Art: Thunderstorm.
There was no need to utilize exceptionally strong moves like Duke Arts or the Nine Revolutions Art to deal with the fodder. The consumption of resonant power was significant, and with the assistance of Harmony, he possessed the power of a true Duke. Thus, a Pseudo Duke Art was sufficient as it could already demonstrate considerable might.
The thunderstorm continued to boom, and the hordes of Fiendish Devils began to scramble chaotically in their attempt to close the distance. The thunderstorm did not possess exceptional killing strength, but once struck, their bodies would turn numb. Due to their simple minds, they would then lose control of their bodies and tumble.
Immediately after, Li Luo raised a finger, and a beam of energy shot forth and landed on the ground. The earth rumbled and then a titanic tree arose, its lush branches and leaves covering the skies.
The branches began to transform at breakneck speed, taking the form of an emerald dragon-ent.
As Li Luo glanced at his ferocious construct, a hint of admiration could be seen within his gaze. This was merely a Pseudo Duke Art, but with the assistance of Harmony, its strength far surpassed the Water Dragon Fang Sword he could utilize countless times.
This was the advantage brought about by increased strength.
Dukes merely had to wave their hands to display strength that would dwarf Duke Arts used by those at the Resonant General Stage.
"I wonder... just when will I finally be able to obtain such strength?" This thought flashed through Li Luo's heart with a hint of anticipation.
After which, he observed the dragon ent savagely rushing forth, directly smashing into the hordes of Fiendish Devils and causing the plains to crack with every step.
Countless Fiendish Devils were extinguished, but even more continued to pour outwards without pause, directly clashing with the dragon ent. As time passed by, it looked as though they were even becoming one from afar, branches intertwined with fiends.
Li Luo then waved his hand, and the thunderstorm that covered the sky was suddenly sucked into the dragon ent. Immediately after, it paused momentarily before its bright, emerald exterior transformed into one which was inky green.
The heavy droplets of water had combined with the lightning to form a coat of liquid that changed the appearance of the dragon ent.
Bang!
The inky, jade dragon-ent exploded forth with even more terrifying strength, each swipe capable of harvesting the lives of the Fiendish Devils like wheat.
The speed of the slaughter caused the banner members like Zhao Yanzhi and such to sigh in amazement. Li Luo's application of the Pseudo Duke Art was too exquisite. Even if it were used to mow the grass, no one would feel that their leader was being wasteful! More importantly, it also conserved their limited pool of energy.
By the looks of things, the Fiendish Devils would not be able to hold on for much longer.
They had already struggled through over ten waves of enemies. Perhaps it was almost time to face off against the Fiendish Devil Leader?
Bang!
The dragon ent was in the middle of clearing the last patch of Fiendish Devils, and there was a sudden change at this point. A seemingly ordinary Fiendish Devil opened its jaws and spat something.
Ptui!
A faint light pierced through the air with unimaginable speed, and in a breath's worth of time, it appeared right before Li Luo, rushing straight towards his head.
Within the light was a sharp, black spike that let out a shrill scream, causing one to fall into a daze.
"A Heavenly Fiend Soulthorn? Boss! Be careful! That's the Fiendish Devil leader!" The sudden development caused the banner members to have a change in expression, and they hurriedly shouted out to their boss in warning. However, before their voices could reach him, the black ray of light struck Li Luo's head.
But right at this moment, a mark that resembled a dragon surfaced. Nine shining scales that were radiating immense light could be seen within it, and the roar of a dragon could be heard.
When the dragon mark was activated, Li Luo's body suddenly swelled up and dragon scales grew on his skin. His hand seemed to have transformed into the sharp claws of a dragon, and it gave off a sharp, keen light.
Li Luo seemed to have transformed into a half dragon, half human creature!
Ding!
A crisp sound rang out when the black thorn collided with the dragon mark and failed to penetrate it, directly clattering off and shattering into motes of dull light.
That said, Li Luo's mind was still ringing. He was forced back several dozen steps before he could finally stabilize himself.
His expression turned icy as he stared into the distance. The ordinary-looking Fiendish Devil that had originally launched the attack suddenly expanded massively, turning into something hundreds of feet tall.
It had countless heads and arms, each and every one with a vicious expression. When it exhaled, black air spewed out through its fangs. A frightening pressure descended upon the earth with its appearance.
This was layer sixty-three's Fiendish Devil Leader.
It was a cunning creature, having hid amongst the hordes of ordinary Fiendish Devils. In the end, it had planned to take advantage of Li Luo's defenselessness to end him with a singular strike.
With the aid of the Heavenly Fiend Soulthorn, piercing Li Luo's head would definitely have left him grievously injured, forcing him to retreat.
It was fortunate that Li Luo had cultivated the Nine Scales Sanctified Dragon's Body. During the moment of crisis, his body was able to react instinctively and protect him, allowing the attack to harmlessly bounce off him.
"Boss!" The banner members cried out in happiness.
"No worries." Li Luo waved his hand and then commanded solemnly, "Rest time is over, everyone. We will bring out our full strength and achieve the complete state of Harmony. The Fiendish Devil Leader lies before us! This is the final obstacle we have to clear to achieve the top rank on the leaderboards!"
"Yes, Boss!" The eight thousand members exhorted with heightened morale and blazing gazes. Achieving the top rank was the goal all these youths had. It had been many years since Li Taixuan had led the Green Nether Banner to the top of the leaderboard. Li Luo, holding the same role, was now about to regain the same honor and glory. Feeling the majestic amounts of energy that were surging up endlessly, he closely watched the flying Fiendish Devil Leader as he mumbled to himself, "Whether I can successfully cultivate the Wood Dragon Fang Sword depends on you, my little fiend..."