Chapter 1015: Corpse Beast
When Li Luo and the group entered the cloud wall, the air in their surroundings began to shake violently. At the next moment, they found themselves in a completely new environment.
It was an extremely vast wilderness with rows of mountains rising up from the ground, standing between the heavens and earth like titanic giants.
This place did not seem like a medicinal garden. Rather, it felt like an isolated world that had existed since ancient times. Perhaps, this was what the Sacred Void Resonance Sect had intended, all in order to nurture the various treasures.
At the same time, more and more people arrived in this wilderness, gathering in groups of considerable size.
The people that had made it this far were no ordinary folk. Whether it was the talents from the various powers or the rogue cultivators, they were all elites. They knew that competition would be immense, so they had formed teams in order to get an edge when it came to eliminating other competitors and fighting for treasures.
Of course, Li Luo's team was spectacular as well. Li Wuyuan and Elder Sister Jin were already half a step into the Lesser Heavenly Resonance Tier. Li Lingjing was a nine-pearl that was not any weaker than a Lesser Heavenly Resonance Tier expert.
At the same time, Li Luo's strength had increased tremendously recently too. Although he was still a three-pearl, he was confident he could beat a five-pearl opponent with the various treasures and skills he possessed, even if he did not use the power of the Three-tailed Heavenly Wolf.
In comparison, he was only a Fiend Finisher when he first entered the Spiritual Resonance Cave. Although his battle strength allowed him to punch well above his cultivation level, he ultimately lacked in terms of the foundation of his resonant power. If not for the resonant power from his three resonant palaces, he would have fallen short against the others here.
Moreover, the team had geniuses from the previous generation like Li Fuling around. Yet things had taken a drastic change since then. After the baptism at the Golden Dew Platform, Li Luo had gotten a huge boost to his power. He could confidently stand as the top few in terms of battle strength even amongst elites like Li Fuling.
Li Luo and the group did not hesitate to fly directly towards the treasured garden.
The garden was massive. Although it was filled with countless treasures, the thing they were truly aiming for was the Origin Enlightenment Fruit. As such, their priority now was to be the first group to reach the ancient, towering tree.
Bang!
As they hurried over at top speed, energy explosions erupted around them. When they looked around, they noticed huge beasts emerging from the forests filled with treasures. The beasts had joined battles between various teams fighting over the treasures.
They appeared to be spirit beasts tasked with guarding the area. They emitted intimidating, berserk energy.
"There are spirit beasts living in the garden?!" the group exclaimed in surprise when they saw the beasts.
The Spiritual Resonance Treasured Garden had been around since ancient times. How were the spirit beasts that were guarding it still alive after thousands of years?
"These spirit beasts seem kind of strange..."
After looking at them for a few moments, Li Luo and the group noticed immediately. Although the spirit beasts appeared alive, their eyes lacked any signs of life. There was no vitality in their bodies either. Instead, a stench reminiscent of rotting corpses emanated from them.
"There's no signs of vigor within these spirit beasts. However, their bodies have not decomposed after all these years either, as if there's a special energy protecting them. They are just like corpse puppets. They're likely acting in order to protect the treasures at this location," Li Lingjing explained after scanning the battlefield.
"Although their energy has not strengthened over the course of thousands of years, their physical bodies seem to have been tempered in some way," Li Luo said as he observed a battle in the distance. A team of roughly ten people was fighting against a black tiger spirit beast. The tiger spirit beast emanated fluctuations of energy matching the Heavenly Pearl Tier. However, its dried-up body was as hard as iron, fending off all the strikes from the team's attacks. As it continued to attack in a mad frenzy, two unlucky fellows had their lives reaped under its claws.
Li Luo and the rest instantly increased their vigilance after the sudden appearance of the beasts. Nonetheless, they did not slow down at all. They ignored the treasures in the forest and hurried into the depths at full speed.
People like Zhao Yan and Qin Ying surely had taken a similar plan of action. If they were too slow to contest for the fruits, it would become a lot more troublesome to get them once they had fallen into the hands of others.
Unfortunately, their journey was not completely smooth. The corpse beasts in the vast forest sensed their presence from time to time and attacked them abruptly. They possessed such thick skin that it was a huge headache to deal with them. They were just as tough as Li Jingtao, so it took a considerable amount of time to get rid of them.
Just like this, half a day passed by.
When Li Luo and the group made their way out of the forest, it was like their view had broadened almost instantly. What stood before them was a plain with no end in sight, and right in the middle stood an ancient heavenly tree.
The tree was like the nexus of this world. Its canopy stretched out for dozens of miles and its branches and leaves were so dense that they seemed like a world of their own. They swayed and glowed lightly as light circulated around them.
A rich and distinct fragrance could be smelled even miles away.
The hearts of Li Luo and the others skipped a beat at this sight. Their eyes all turned towards the center of the tree, where a few mythical fruits hung quietly among the branches and leaves.
The fruits seemed to possess an indescribable charm that caused the elements to flow around them.
Their breaths seemed to have turned heavy at this moment as they heaved in anticipation.
Those fruits were the ultimate goal of their expedition.
The Origin Enlightenment Fruits!
However, as soon as Li Luo and the rest discovered the ancient tree, sonic booms were heard and numerous figures landed in their surroundings.
The ones leading the incoming group were none other than Zhao Yan and Qin Ying.
"Li Luo, Li Wuyuan, you guys seem to run quite quickly," Zhao Yan mocked as he looked over with a cold gaze.
"You too," Li Luo replied with a sarcastic smile as he glanced over at Qin Ying and Qin Yi. His eyes narrowed a little as he said to Zhao Yan, "It seems like you've found some helpers after receiving a beating at the Golden Dew Platform."
Zhao Yan revealed a solemn smile and replied, "Do you think it's just them? I have to thank you for creating enemies everywhere, Li Luo. I've found quite a lot of reinforcements."
Just as Zhao Yan finished speaking, numerous figures dashed through the sky and appeared behind Li Luo and his group.
Li Wuyuan and the others turned around and noticed two more groups. The first group was no stranger to them. They were the people from the Devil Fire Hall who had worked with Zhao Yan and the rest when they first entered the Spiritual Resonance Cave. They had set up an ambush for the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li back then.
Leading this group was Tian Miao, the leader of the Devil Fire Hall. He was considerably strong.
The other group of people were wearing robes with the emblem of the Golden Dragon Bank. Their leader was familiar as well.
"Mu Yao?" Li Wuyuan's expression changed instantly.
"Are you people from the Golden Dragon Bank interfering as well?"
Mu Yao's eyes were gloomy as he watched them from the sky in the distance. He replied snidely after hearing Li Wuyuan's question, "You should ask Li Luo that question first. He's the one who interfered with the internal affairs of the Golden Dragon Bank! He even attacked me first. If not for my life-saving technique, I would be dead right now. Do you think I can just let go of this grudge?!"
Many of the people present were shocked to hear Mu Yao's words, especially Li Wuyuan, Li Hongli, and the rest of their lineage. They looked over at the innocent-looking Li Luo in astonishment.
“This fellow almost killed Mu Yao, who is at the Lesser Heavenly Resonance Tier? How is that possible?!”
However, there was no reason for Mu Yao to lie about such an embarrassing thing. In that case, Li Luo actually possessed an ace that could gravely injure a Lesser Heavenly Resonance Tier foe?
Li Wuyuan's expression changed a little—he looked over to Li Luo with a hint of fear. The fellow was truly unfathomable.
"Haha, it sure is lively over here. However, we need to share good things. Don't try to hoard it all for yourself!" Just as they were talking, thunderous laughter boomed from the distance, and another group of people appeared.
Everyone looked over and saw a group of people that possessed balloon-like figures floating in the sky. Such distinct bodies indicated that it could be no one but the people from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhu.
Leading the group was Zhu Zhu, with Zhu Dayu following closely beside her.
"Greetings, friends. We from the Heavenly Origin Ancient College are also simply passing by. However, if there are any treasures to be found, please share a few with us."
Warm laughter echoed from another direction right after the team from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhu arrived. Beams of light shot through the sky into the vicinity as well. Amongst them were Zong Sha, Jiang Wanyu, and the others from the Heavenly Origin Ancient College.
In just a few moments, all the elites from the various powers had gathered in one place. The situation could not have been any more complicated.
However, none of the teams noticed that a pair of gray eyes was watching from the dense branches and leaves of the ancient tree in the distance.