Chapter 1277: Sovereign Pearl
A giant clam that looked like it was made of gold emerged from the crack on the wall. It had a golden horn protruding from its inside, stirring up huge waves filled with terrifying power.
The surrounding water had become turbulent with the appearance of the giant clam.
At the same time, the people that had been watching from the sides had noticed the giant clam too. They were completely taken aback for a moment, their eyes full of disbelief.
"Is that... is that a Golden Stone Spirit Clam King?!" someone cried out from a corner, and his words echoed.
Bang!
Everyone was shocked, but the atmosphere in the region suddenly became much more lively. Was this truly the legendary Golden Stone Spirit Clam King, the one that was only ever mentioned in stories?! The tide would rise in Golden Stone Valley every year, but the number of times that the Golden Stone Spirit Clam King had been seen could be only counted with one's fingers. None of them had imagined that they would see it with their own eyes!
That said, their surprise was soon replaced with greed.
The Golden Stone Spirit Clam King contained a Sovereign Pearl. That was one of the core ingredients for refining a top-grade Foundational Spirit Treasure. It was extremely valuable, something that one wouldn't be able to trade for even with high-grade Foundational Spirit Treasures.
In the World's End River Region Golden Dragon Bank branch, the Sovereign Pearl was commonly one of the top five most desired rare spirit materials. There were many bidders but hardly any sellers for it. One would appear occasionally, and many mighty upper-grade Dukes with immense foundations would fight over it.
In fact, the object had caused wars to break out amongst Dukes quite a number of times.
"Golden Stone Spirit Clam King!"
The water moved apart, and a large group of people made their entrance. Zhao Jiyun from the Divine Tiger Guardians was leading them. He had been watching Li Luo's harvesting since earlier, and the efficiency was really out of this world. That idea of pilfering the area from these juniors was very tempting. Who would have expected that the even more precious Golden Stone Spirit Clam King would make its appearance?
"It's because of that girl! Her resonance seems to be some kind of heavenly treasure!"
Zhao Jiyun noticed Li Hongyou straight away. He knew that she was the source of the unusual fragrance and that it was the bait that had lured out so many Golden Stone Spirit Clams.
The girl was simply a treasure. He didn't know how Li Luo had gotten his hands on her. However, that wasn't important right now. The Sovereign Pearl had appeared before them and he had to get his hands on it. Such an achievement would earn him the recognition to stand far above all the others in the Ten Thousand Beast Guardians.
Zhao Jiyun summoned up his resonant power with that thought in mind. With three thousand Guardians supporting him, his strength had reached that of a lower fifth-grade Duke.
Waves of energy swept up, and a gigantic hand materialized out of energy. It reached across the water and directly sought to capture the Golden Stone Spirit Clam King.
However, the gigantic energy hand was unable to so much as touch the Golden Stone Spirit Clam King, as. Jiang Qing'e had interfered. She slashed downwards with her heavy sword, shooting radiant sword energy. For a moment, the surrounding golden water was purified of all corruption.
The sword energy struck the gigantic energy hand, causing it to explode.
She had shattered Zhao Jiyun's move with a single strike. However, that was not the end of things. She formed hand seals with a single hand, and her resonant power surged up. A terrifying hum rang in the surroundings as a sigil of light flew towards Zhao Jiyun.
"Pure Light World Sigil!"
Zhao Jiyun's eyes froze when he saw Jiang Qing'e's attack. He did not dare to slack off in the least. He clenched his fists, and a ferocious rune that resembled a tiger appeared on the back of his fist. Then he punched outwards with indomitable fury.
"Tiger's Mighty Divine Fist!"
The sheer force of the attack ripping through the water created a sound akin to the fierce roar of an ancient tiger, and it reverberated in the region. An extremely daunting wave of energy swept across everyone. It felt like a ferocious tiger was emerging out of the woods, pouncing onto Jiang Qing'e's attack.
Bang!
The two intense energies clashed together head-on. Waves from the aftershock traveled thousands of feet.
One could see Zhao Jiyun's expression turn more and more grave. He had noticed that Jiang Qing'e's light resonant power was more formidable than he had expected. His fist contained the fearsome power of the tiger's might. This was enough to strike fear in anyone at the same stage. However, Jiang Qing'e's light resonant power was purifying and assimilating his attack.
"You're clearly a first-grade Duke, yet you can reach the strength of a fifth-grade Duke with just three thousand Guardians. Is this the domineering power of a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried?" Zhao Jiyun asked with a frown. He was only a third-grade Duke, and even with the help of his three thousand Guardians, he was pretty much on the same level as her.
"Everyone, the Sovereign Pearl of your dreams has appeared before you. It's too valuable of an opportunity for us to give up. If the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li wants to have it all for themselves, dream on!" Zhao Jiyun shouted out as his eyes flickered.
"Let's work together. We'll grab the Sovereign Pearl first and then discuss how we can allocate it later!"
When they heard Zhao Jiyun's provocative words, they watched the battle greedily. They knew that Zhao Jiyun was trying to make use of them to attack the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li together. That said, the temptation before their eyes was too much to resist. If they somehow got lucky and managed to get their hands on it, it would definitely be a huge leap forward for their own cultivation. They simply couldn't say no.
As such, huge pools of resonant power surged upwards. Duke Bergfrieds began to appear one after another. The tides in the surroundings had turned turbulent and choppy from the sheer amount of violent energy undulations.
Li Luo's face changed a little when he saw this. If so many people attacked together, not even Jiang Qing'e would be able to resist them so easily.
"Tsk!"
A cold snort as loud as thunder suddenly resounded in the area. It was then that a terrifying pressure descended onto the battlefield.
Everyone looked up and saw three people entering the water. It was Li Jinpan, Ox Biaobiao, and Li Rouyun!
"Who dares to steal from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li?!" Li Jinpan shouted angrily.
Ox Biaobiao took out his butchering knife, and his murderous intent swept across the field.
Both of them were upper-grade Dukes and their strength was indisputable. Many of the Dukes felt the pressure and did not dare to move a single muscle.
"Haha, Li Jinpan. I thought you said earlier that the Golden Stone Valley is a hunting ground with no owner. When did the Spirit Clam King become a belonging of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li?" The pressure from Li Jinpan and Ox Biaobiao only lasted a short while before another voice sounded out in response. Following this, another wave of pressure descended to push back against them.
Zhao Jiao from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao had also shown up. He took a glance at the giant Spirit Clam below, and greed surged up in his eyes. He had been stuck at the Seventh Duke Stage for many years. It seemed like his potential was at its limit. If he wanted to break through, he would need to rely on a Foundational Spirit Treasure. However, ordinary Foundational Spirit Treasures would not suffice—he would need a top-grade Foundational Spirit Treasure to stand a chance. The Sovereign Pearl in front of him was the opportunity he had so desired!
Soon after, the Golden Stone Alliance led by Guanhu also arrived. They all had their eyes set on the Spirit Clam King.
As rogue cultivators, the Sovereign Pearl was even more valuable to them.
"Hey, the Spirit Clam King was lured out by our people. Of course it belongs to us!" Li Jinpan replied coldly. His face turned dark.
"What a joke. Since when was there such a rule in the Golden Stone Valley? Whoever lures it out will have the right to get it?" Zhao Jiao replied mockingly.
Ox Biaobiao took a glance at Zhao Jiao with murderous intent. In the next instant, he suddenly charged towards the Golden Stone Spirit Clam King. With such a chaotic situation, it would be best for him to get ahold of the Sovereign Pearl first.
"Don't you dare!"
Ox Biaobiao's action had caught the attention of other upper-grade Dukes like Zhao Jiao and Guanhu. Their resonant power exploded out with so much force that even the heavy, golden water was blown apart.
Without any further hesitation, they launched their own attacks to interfere with Ox Biaobiao.
At the same time, they flew forward in a flash. Everyone had the same thought in their mind. No matter what, they had to get their hands on the Sovereign Pearl first!
Seeing this, Li Jinpan and Li Rouyun did not sit back idly—they went to Ox Biaobiao's aid immediately.
Suddenly, it seemed like a major battle between Dukes was about to break out. It was all thanks to the appearance of the Spirit Clam King.