Chapter 1000: Glamor of Corrosion

The draconic roars of the enormous, black dragon reverberated through the air. Terrifying energy surged up within its body as its claws sliced the void apart.

Everyone could tell that Li Luo's Underworld River's Black Dragon Banner was much stronger than ever before.

This was not solely due to his breaking through into a new stage. It was also because the black dragon had undergone a metamorphosis. Looking at the energy flowing through it, it was as if it had a newfound special ability.

The smell of corrosion permeated the air.

At this moment, the crowd heard the surprised gasp from Jiang Wanyu and shifted their attention over.

Grand Perfection!

This had to be why the black dragon seemed so lifelike right now. It held a special charm that was only achievable with a Grand Perfection Duke Art.

Everyone knew that there were three different grades to a Duke Art: Lesser Completion, Greater Completion, Grand Perfection.

Grand Perfection was the pinnacle of all Duke Arts. Every Duke Art that managed to reach this grade would gain a unique glamor. For the black dragon, it seemed like it was some sort of corrosive ability. Without a doubt, this glamor of corrosion had greatly strengthened the destructive capabilities of this Duke Art.

It was not at all surprising to see Grand Perfection Duke Arts in the hands of a Duke, who had years of experience and expertise with various Duke Arts. However, what made it shocking was that Li Luo, someone who had just broken into the Heavenly Pearl Tier, was the one who had unleashed it.

Just how talented was he at comprehending resonance arts?

Everyone present was undeniably gifted amongst their peers; even the rogue cultivators were a cut above the rest. Yet only a handful of their Duke Arts had managed to reach Greater Completion, let alone Grand Perfection.

As everyone looked at Li Luo in the middle of the sky, they could not help but recall a stunning figure of the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent—Li Taixuan. He was someone who had left behind a series of spectacular achievements back in his younger days. It was said that he had cultivated more than one Duke Art into the Grand Perfection realm.

And Li Luo seemed to be as talented as his father.

Under their complicated gazes, the enormous, black dragon completely overshadowed Zhao Shenjiang, whose expression had changed completely. It raised its claws that were wrapped with stygian liquid, slashing directly at him. Emitting a keen, ebony light, the claws were enhanced with the glamor of corrosion.

"Myriad Beasts Devil God Body!"

Zhao Shenjiang did not dare to hesitate here. The four Heavenly Pearls radiated brightly behind his back as they sucked in all the worldly natural energy from the surroundings. He had chosen to activate his strongest skill right off the bat.

Roar!

Numerous cries from vicious beasts could be heard immediately as Zhao Shenjiang's body expanded. After a few moments, he transformed into a giant man that was over a hundred feet tall, with each part of his body taking the form of the body parts of different beasts.

This transformation was much more vicious than before. From afar, it seemed like he was garbed in a hundred different beasts as his armor.

At this moment, he tightly gripped his Heavy Mountain Spear and his ninth-grade strength resonance appeared behind him like a mirage. It turned into a ninth-grade spirit avatar and boosted the power of his resonance art tremendously.

"Myriad Beasts Spirit Armor!"

As Zhao Shenjiang shouted, the beastly parts of his body quickly took on the color of steel, radiating a sense of invincibility.

"Bring it on! I'm not afraid of a Grand Perfection art. It's ultimately just a pathetic Communion-grade Duke Art!"

Zing!

The sharp dragon claws that were overflowing with the glamor of corrosion sliced apart the void and slashed down viciously onto Zhao Shenjiang. A stunning energy shockwave erupted coupled with an ear-piercing explosion.

However, Zhao Shenjiang's face was extremely gloomy during this clash. He could see with his very own eyes that the dragon's claws were slowly leaving marks on his Myriad Beasts Armor.

Even though it was just a Communion-grade Duke Art, its destructive strength in the Grand Perfection realm was stunning. With the help of the glamor of corrosion, it was ripping through his Myriad Beasts Spirit Armor's defense!

He could also sense a strange energy coming from the dragon's claws during the clash. This energy was able to burn up his resonant power every time they came into contact. In fact, the burning spread like wildfire.

He could not help but feel worried about this strange development.

During the short instant where he was distracted, the keen claws of the dragon slashed down with dazzling light. It viciously smashed against the Myriad Beasts Spirit Armor, trying to break through his defenses and go for the kill.

Zhao Shenjiang's expression began to change as he sensed the repeatedly frigid air emanating from it. In the end, a series of sharp sonic booms could be heard as multiple afterimages were left in his wake in his hurried retreat.

Clearly, he had given up on a head-on confrontation.

The black dragon raised its claws once again and slashed down repeatedly as it chased after him for the kill.

Zhao Shenjiang raised the Heavy Mountain Spear and waved it fiercely in the air. In the next moment, a stream of domineering light came out of the spear and collided with the strikes of the dragon. A deep echo sounded off as the two opposing energies clashed violently. This confrontation lasted for quite some time, but just as Zhao Shenjiang swung his spear to defend against the final blow, he heard a painful scream come from behind him.

He quickly turned around to see what had happened. Zhao Jingyu, despite hiding in the back, had been hit by two of the claw attacks. Coincidentally, both of his arms had been sliced off. Zhao Jingyu screamed out in agony.

He had never expected to get caught up in this fight after sequestering himself far away.

Li Luo must have done it on purpose. That bastard just wanted to go after his arms! "Li Luo!" Zhao Shenjiang's gaze turned vicious as he tightened his grip on the Heavy Mountain Spear. He glared at Li Luo with eyes full of murderous intent.

However, he did not appear as intimidating as before. His Myriad Beasts Spirit Armor was sullied with countless parts ripped out of it by the dragon's feverish attacks. In a way, it seemed as though the entire thing was about to fall apart.

Zhao Shenjiang was boiling with anger, but he did not retaliate. He formed hand seals with a single hand, then a jade tablet appeared from the flesh of his palm.

Li Luo's Grand Perfection Underworld River's Black Dragon Banner was devastating even though it was only a Communion-grade Duke Art. It was comparable to a Soul Ascension-grade Duke Art.

However, it was not possible to kill Zhao Shenjiang with just this art alone. The main thing that Zhao Shenjiang had to defend against was Li Luo's other Duke Art, the Dragon Fang Sword.

Ultimately, that was Li Luo's mightiest killer move.

He had initially planned to draw out the Dragon Fang Sword before using the jade tablet and its recovery power. Once he had successfully blocked it, he could then counterattack without a second thought. However, he had not expected Li Luo to force him into such a pathetic state already!

He could not help but admit that Li Luo had caught up in terms of resonant power after his breakthrough.

At present, the so-called bumpkin did not seem to be lagging behind at all.

As Zhao Shenjiang raged furiously in his mind, Li Luo simply grinned and glanced at Zhao Jingyu. He said empathetically, "What an unlucky child. Perhaps we should just leave your arms like this? You know, just in case they get severed again. It'll save you the trouble of reattaching them."

As Li Luo mocked him, Li Fuling, Li Guan, and the others from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li swiftly caught up and surrounded them. Their resonant power surged up as they fixed their eyes fiercely on those from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao.

It was clear that they were prepared for a decisive fight between the two sides.

The teams from the other major powers retreated immediately as they did not want to be caught up.

The people from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao similarly made their own preparations as they observed the situation. Resonant power surged up on their side as well.

Bang!

Amidst the tense atmosphere while everyone was primed to fight, a sudden explosion of noise erupted from the back of the Golden Dew Platform. Everyone’s attention was turned towards it, and they were shocked to see that the cloud wall that originally blanketed the skies and the land had begun to slowly open up.

In the small opening, they could faintly see a magical pavilion that stood amongst the clouds.

The crowd on the Golden Dew Platform exclaimed excitedly as they looked desirously into the depths. They all knew that the deepest parts of the Spiritual Resonance Cave lay behind the Golden Dew Platform.

"Let's go!" someone shouted immediately. Figures flew into the sky one after another, shooting towards the opening in the cloud wall like meteors in the sky.

At the same moment, Li Lingjing and Zhao Yan, who had been fighting in the sky above, returned to their respective camps.

"Let's go! Into the cloud wall!"

Zhao Yan's face was exceptionally dark at this point. He had noticed the grave situation at Zhao Shenjiang's side earlier. Despite breaking into the four-pearl tier, he was clearly at a disadvantage in the fight against Li Luo.

However, he did not talk about it at this moment. There were more important things to do.

It was clear that Li Lingjing and Li Luo were able to hold their ground now. His only option was to meet up with the others from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao and decide how to end this later.

Hearing this, Zhao Shenjiang also kept his anger in check as he supported Zhao Jingyu, who was screaming in pain. They followed the rest of their bloodline and flew into the sky, towards the opening of the cloud wall.

On the other side, Li Luo looked into the cloud wall in the distance and made his decision. "Let's follow them."

Naturally, he felt curious and had high hopes towards the deepest part of the Spiritual Resonance Cave.

The others, even Li Fuling, had no objections to his orders now. His performance all this while had clearly shown that he was worthy of being their leader.

As such, they also flew into the sky.

...

As Li Luo and the rest were making their way towards the cloud wall from their Golden Dew Platform, the second Golden Dew Platform that was a distance away was also bustling with activity. Many figures flew into the air.

On that Golden Dew Platform, a girl with a delicate body and a silk cloth covering her face was staring at a group of people, looking into the depths of the cloud wall. The robes of her group all had the emblem of the Golden Dragon Bank on them. Although her face was hidden by the silk, the faint outline still looked extremely beautiful. At the same time, there was an extremely pure, icy aura around her, causing the air to continuously turn into frost.

Her eyes scanned the surroundings before landing on the people from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li. She did not find the person she was looking for amongst them.

As such, she turned back towards the cloud wall, looking at the pavilion deep within. That place was the main reason for her visit to the Spiritual Resonance Cave.

......

On the third Golden Dew Platform.

This place was deathly silent compared to the other two Golden Dew Platforms.

It was a scene filled with fresh blood flowing on the ground. There were thousands of twisted corpses lying around. Their faces were all filled with extreme fear and fright.

It seemed like a terrifying and bloody battle had taken place, and there was not a single survivor. The smell of blood filled the air.

Kacha!

All of a sudden, a strange noise broke the silence.

If one's eyes followed the sound, they would discover that there was a figure sitting on the highest point on the now sanguine Golden Dew Platform.

It was a bald young man wearing a white monk's robe. The young man looked extremely handsome with bright, red lips and pure-white teeth. At this time, he was holding onto a severed arm which he then stuffed into his mouth, slowly chewing it. On his smooth head were lines of blood squirming like slow-moving worms, resembling a blood-red lotus.

Fresh blood spurted out of the corner of his mouth. There was an indescribable eerie and chilling atmosphere around him.

In the end, the young man patted his stomach and said satisfactorily, "I'm finally full."

Then he lazily stood up from his spot while he rubbed his tummy. He looked over to the cloud wall at the back of the Golden Dew Platform. A creepy smile appeared on his face as he softly murmured, "Number Two has been finished off?

"Hehe, what a useless thing. Oh well, at least this gives me a good reason to eat all of you."