Chapter 1022: Thatched Cottage, White Ape
Dong! Dong!
The sound of the stone pestle pounding away echoed repeatedly throughout the plains. It was an oddly strange scene that left everyone watching from the distance suspiciously.
The chaotic battle had stopped by now. With the deaths of Tian Miao and Zhao Yan, the situation had come to a conclusion, albeit one that was unexpected.
The faces of those from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao were really ugly, as if they were mourning for their deceased parents. This was especially true when they saw the headless corpse that was brought back. They were simply shaking in their boots.
However, it was due to a combination of both fear and anger.
They had never imagined that the strongest amongst them, Zhao Yan, would die here.
"Impossible... impossible..." Zhao Jingyu muttered repeatedly. His face was ghastly white and his eyes were full of terror.
He could not understand how the Lesser Heavenly Resonance Tier Zhao Yan had been so gravely injured by Li Luo. Making full use of that opportunity, Li Lingjing had finished him off.
Zhao Shenjiang's face was extremely gloomy as well. Such a conclusion was beyond anyone's imagination. After all, the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao had been triumphing over the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li for decades. When was the last time they had been dealt such a humiliating defeat?
Additionally, all of this was due to a country bumpkin from the outer divine continent?
"Li Luo only managed to hurt Brother Zhao Yan so badly because of external aid! If he had relied on his own strength, our brother would have finished him off with one slap!"
Zhao Shenjiang's eyes were almost despondent as he continued, "This is just an unorthodox and underhanded way of doing things. Today, he used an immoral method to kill a genius from our lineage. In the future, the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao can also use such a method to kill him!"
Although he had spoken boldly, Zhao Shenjiang knew very well in his heart. With the death of Zhao Yan, the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao's strength had diminished significantly. This would gravely affect their chances of competing for the Origin Enlightenment Fruits.
"If the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li continues to come after us now that Brother Zhao Yan is dead..." one of the others commented worriedly.
"We'll join hands with the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qing. If Li Luo and his group continue to force us, we'll fight him to the death! If we can't get anything good, they can forget about it too!" Zhao Shenjiang replied with a vicious look on his face. However, if they were to act together with the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qing, their relative positions would be changed.
Qin Ying and Qin Yi had long stopped their attacks and had watched the situation unfold with complex emotions.
Just like the others, they had not expected the battle to end in such a way.
Li Luo was ruthless and decisive. In just a short moment, he had reaped the lives of two of the strongest experts from their side.
Qin Ying was the most surprised. It was fortunate that Li Luo had not come after him. Otherwise, he might have ended up with the same fate as the other two.
Instead, he felt almost glad that Zhao Yan had been front and center, absorbing all of the hatred and vengeance all this while. If not, he would have fallen as well.
"Li Luo is truly vicious." Qin Ying sighed.
"My dear brothers, don't be afraid. Li Luo only managed to pull that off due to tapping upon the external aid of a spirit beast. Since he's revealed all of his trump cards now, it'll not be so easy for him to catch us off guard anymore," Qin Yi reassured the others softly from the side.
"However, we definitely cannot underestimate Li Luo. His talent is comparable to that of his father, Li Taixuan. Given more time, he'll definitely attain the position of Hidden Dragon in the Heavenly Dragon Five Guardian Armies."
Hearing this, Qin Ying responded with a bitter laugh. "Please don't say these words to the Hall Master. She absolutely loathes such words the most."
Qin Yi looked back at him helplessly. Her mother's hatred towards Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan was deep rooted. As a result, she disliked Li Luo a lot too. If she heard such comments coming from her own daughter, she might very well explode with anger.
"Looking at the situation now, Li Luo has the upper hand. Should we continue fighting against him?" Qin Ying asked.
Qin Yi pondered over it for a moment. "There's no hurry. The situation's changed now. We'll see how things develop and decide."
When she finished speaking, she looked at the mysterious thatched cottage in the distance. Her charming eyes flickered slightly.
The other squads from the various powers also retreated and regrouped. At the same time, those from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li also swiftly gathered back together.
However, the others were much quieter this time, especially those from the Dragon's Blood, Dragon's Horn, and Dragon's Bone Lineages.
Their gazes vaguely swept past Li Luo with fear and shock within them.
Li Luo's rapid and swift strikes had not only led their foes to be taken aback, but also his own teammates. Li Wuyuan, Li Qingfeng, and Li Hongli were no exception.
None of them had expected Li Luo to have so many aces hidden up his sleeve.
Li Qingfeng's expression was the most perplexing of all. He had originally thought that the gap in strength between him and Li Luo was not too huge. Alas, the previous battle had changed his understanding completely. Even though Li Luo had borrowed external power, it was still a strength he possessed.
If one was forced into a life and death situation, they would have no choice but to acccept their fate if they did not have enough strength.
The ones who died had no right to criticize the other party's methods.
At the same time, Li Wuyuan was no different. He was polite to Li Luo originally because of Li Lingjing's presence. However, he had no choice but to treat Li Luo as someone on the same level now.
Li Wuyuan broke the silence with dry laughter. "Brother Li Luo, you have surely made the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li feel a sense of pride today."
"It's merely some external power, nothing worth mentioning," Li Luo replied humbly.
He did not waste any more time chatting with Li Wuyuan. He turned over to Lu Qing'er and said with a smile, "You're really impressive yourself. You managed to obstruct Qin Yi without much difficulty."
He had noticed earlier that Lu Qing'er had stopped Qin Yi in her tracks, forcing her into a situation where she was unable to make any moves against the others from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li.
Lu Qing'er chuckled and replied, "You can't be the only one who has grown stronger... right?"
"That's true," Li Luo said with a smile. The foundation of the Golden Dragon Bank was unfathomable. It was only natural for her to have soared ahead.
After which, his eyes turned towards the ancient tree in the center of the plains. The huge crowd of condors had restrained their hostility ever since the sound of the pounding pestle started echoing from the thatched cottage in the distance. They simply watched as they remained sitting amongst the thick leaves of a tree.
This was a scene that left many confused.
How could the sound of grinding herbs from within the thatched cottage control the condors?
Just what exactly was the thatched cottage? Was the White Ape a living creature or a corpse beast?
Faced with so many questions, the squads from the various powers did not dare to make any hasty moves.
Nonetheless, some of them started feeling traces of impatience as time ticked by, especially those who stared covetously at the Origin Enlightenment Fruits. They began to fidget restlessly.
Now that the condors were lying dormant, it seemed like the perfect chance to snatch the Origin Enlightenment Fruits before the situation changed.
This was something that Li Luo and the rest had realized as well.
"Cousin Lingjing, Brother Wuyuan, you guys can give it a shot at picking the Origin Enlightenment Fruits. We have the upper hand currently, as the other teams would not dare to compete with us recklessly. As long as we're not monopolizing all of the Origin Enlightenment Fruits, it shouldn't be hard to get a few," Li Luo said after giving it some thought.
Li Lingjing naturally accepted his request. Li Wuyuan hesitated for a moment, but upon recalling how ferocious Li Luo was earlier, he did not object to it.
The previous battle had undoubtedly cemented Li Luo as the leader of the squad now.
Just as Li Lingjing and Li Wuyuan were about to take action, the other powers also sent out their elites in a bid to obtain the precious fruits.
However, just as they approached the vicinity of the treasures, a sudden noise came from the thatched cottage. Everyone looked over. The White Ape had struck the stone pestle against the wall on its side.
Weng!
A clear and crisp sound rang out.
A brief moment later, everyone watched in disbelief as several Divine Golden Clawed Bronze Condors flew out of the ancient tree and used their sharp beaks to pick the Origin Enlightenment Fruits. They flapped their wings before flying over and dropping the fruits into the thatched cottage.
The crowd stared at the now empty tree, their hopes dashed.
The Origin Enlightenment Fruits that they had painstakingly worked so hard for had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
With one look at the thatched cottage, they could tell that it was a mysterious place. Now that all of the Origin Enlightenment Fruits had fallen inside, who would dare to take action?
This scene elicited some angry rebukes from the group, and even Li Luo felt a little surprised.
Li Lingjing paused and asked him, "Shall we go?"
Li Luo sighed.
What else could he do now?