Chapter 1128: Illusionary Realm Atop the Bridge
An enormous city lay in front of Li Luo and the group.
It was painted in white and stood quietly in the depths of the black swamp. No matter how much black water splashed onto the city walls, it never left a trace behind.
It exuded an extremely cold and eerie aura, as though it was a giant grim reaper in white skin, ready to harvest their lives upon entry.
They stared into the depths of the city, where they could just barely make out a strange pillar that extended high into the heavens above.
Right in front of them was a bridge that led all the way into a dark but lofty city.
The groups stepped out of the swamp and onto the paved ground and began checking on their respective team members.
At this point, Li Luo finally had the time to turn towards Lu Ming and the rest. He said with a bitter smile, "Quick, give me a mouthful please."
His previous move had exhausted more than half of his resonant power, so his resonant palaces were beginning to feel empty.
He had not expected the mysterious Auric Halo to be so powerful. It had the ability to transform the other types of resonant power in his body into light resonant energy. Under normal circumstances, this was something that only Dukes were able to do.
Moreover, the purity and cleansing power of the energy that appeared were comparable to a lower ninth-grade light resonance.
This was what truly surprised Li Luo. In that case, would he be able to transform all his resonant power into a particular resonant power type whenever he wanted to in the future?
And it would even be at the quality and power of a ninth-grade resonance?
Although his dual resonance power was not any weaker than a ninth-grade resonance during a fight, this would be surprisingly useful under special circumstances.
After this incident, Li Luo started viewing the mysterious Auric Halo in a different light. After all, it was still incomplete. If he was able to bring it to completion in the future, its capabilities could very well be beyond his imagination.
Lu Ming, Jing Taixu, and Sun Dasheng stretched out their palms. They placed them on Li Luo's shoulders and channeled their resonant power to him through the Ancient Spirit Leaves, quickly replenishing his energy.
"Thanks a lot," Li Luo said with a grin.
"Well, this is the only way we can be useful," Lu Ming replied jokingly.
In a mission of such difficulty, Fiend Finishers like them had to depend on the team for protection. Otherwise, they would barely be able to make any progress before being finished off.
"Don't be disheartened. All these people from the Heavenly Star Hall were once energy batteries too," Li Luo said to comfort her.
After saying that, he noticed that the three of them were looking at him with complex emotions. On second thought... it was probably fine for anyone else to comfort them except for him.
The other teams also took this opportunity to rest up and reorganize themselves. Feng Lingyuan had a quick chat with the teams from the Hallowed Coruscation Ancient College. Everyone then made their way up to the start of the bridge, planning to enter the city directly through it.
Their number one priority was to complete the mission as quickly as possible.
Everyone remained vigilant as their resonant power flowed out and shielded their bodies. They had already encountered numerous dangers simply on the journey here, and it was likely that things would become much more challenging soon.
Just like this, the squads set off cautiously onto the bridge.
Their surroundings were deathly silent. There were no signs of any Others. However, no one let their guard down. This was part of the All-Being Ghostly Skin Dominion, and the All-Beings Devil King must have planned something here as well.
As he walked amidst the squad, Li Luo remained on high alert.
The silence continued to grow in an incredibly unsettling manner as they proceeded.
Li Luo's face turned ugly as he continued forward. He suddenly noticed that the walkway under his feet had turned dark and mottled. The footsteps in his surroundings were also getting fainter and fainter.
He hurriedly turned around to find Lu Ming, Jing Taixu, and Sun Dasheng following closely behind him with blank looks on their faces.
Feng Lingyuan, Jiang Wanyu, and the rest had vanished from sight.
Li Luo was horrified. Had they fallen into a trap?
Resonant power surged up and he cried out. For a moment, Lu Ming and the group felt as though a thunderclap had resounded beside their eardrums. The trio were immediately shocked awake. They scanned their surroundings and soon, they had faces of utter fear.
"Li Luo, where are the others?" Lu Ming asked with a pale face.
Fright could be seen in Jing Taixu and Sun Dasheng's eyes as well. It was clear that they had been trapped in some way.
Li Luo looked at the three of them seriously as the Dragon Elephant Blade appeared in his hand. He slashed down towards the heads of the trio directly.
Their faces changed drastically when they saw Li Luo's sudden attack. They hurriedly stepped back but could not avoid it in time. They could only stare at the falling blade in horror.
The blade paused half an inch in front of the trio. Li Luo carefully observed them and their reactions before he put the sword down and apologized. "I'm sorry. I was merely testing you. Please don't blame me."
His previous attack was purely to discover if there was anything wrong with Lu Ming and the group. If they were mere copies, there would surely have been some flaws when they reacted instinctively in the face of death.
Lu Ming patted her chest with lingering fear. However, she did not feel angry at him. In their current situation, it was indeed best to stay cautious.
"We clearly started together as a big group. What happened?" Jing Taixu asked with a worried face.
"It should be some sort of ward. Perhaps we fell into the trap as soon as we stepped onto the bridge," Li Luo replied after thinking for a moment.
He turned around, summoned up his resonant power, and threw out a few ferocious strikes filled to the brim with blade energy. The strikes flew into the distance, but soon after, they appeared to have been blocked by the world space and vanished.
"The world space has been sealed. I'm afraid we're too weak to break out with brute force," Li Luo said with a frown.
"So we're trapped here?" Lu Ming asked reluctantly.
"As expected. There's no way the All-Beings Devil King would let us destroy the Ten Thousand Skin Devil Heart Pillar without any complications," Sun Dasheng added on with a bitter smile.
"Li Luo, do you have any ideas?" Jing Taixu turned towards Li Luo. Now that they had been forcefully separated from the main group, Li Luo was the main pillar they had to rely upon.
Li Luo frowned as he pondered over his options. He then looked towards the front. "Let's move forward and see."
After saying that, he took the first step forward. The Dragon Elephant Blade remained in his hand as he followed along the mottled black bridge and slowly walked towards its end.
Lu Ming and the group quickly followed him.
The bridge was completely silent except for their footsteps.
This continued for several minutes before Li Luo's eyes turned serious. Blade energy circulated around the Dragon Elephant Blade. This caught Lu Ming and the group by surprise, and they followed Li Luo's gaze and looked towards the front. Their eyes narrowed.
An old lady had appeared in front of them. They did not know when it had happened, but the old lady was smiling at them. It was a dark and unsettling smile.
"Do you want to get out, children?" she asked in an aged and gentle voice.
Li Luo looked back at her and, without giving a reply, slashed down with the Dragon Elephant Blade. The void in front of him split open immediately. In the next moment, a black dragon accompanied by a stygian river let out a roar.
Li Luo had given his reply with his actions. The Underworld River's Black Dragon Banner. After all, it made no sense that a friendly old lady would suddenly show up, considering their circumstances.
The Underworld River's Black Dragon charged directly towards the old lady. However, Li Luo's face darkened when he saw what happened next. The energy shockwaves had dissipated, but the old lady remained standing! She looked back at them with her friendly smile.
"Do you want to get out, children?" she asked with a grin.
The gentle voice that came out of her black lips echoed continuously on the unnervingly silent bridge. At the same time, it sent chills up everyone's spines.