Chapter 1021: Sound of Grinding Medicine

"Ahhhhh!"

Zhao Yan's shrill cries echoed through the air as he was sent flying from the sheer force of the arrow, fresh blood spewing out of his chest.

Countless gazes stared in shock. Not even Zhao Yan could withstand Li Luo's arrow?

Was Li Luo going to finish off two experts at the Lesser Heavenly Resonance Tier in one fight?

Their eyes followed Zhao Yan, who was flopping in the air like a kite with its string cut. They had assumed that this would be the end for him. However, Zhao Yan suddenly writhed and then shot off with maniacal speed.

There was a gaping hole in the front of his chest, but he had managed to perserve his life.

"Save me!" Zhao Yan screamed, now completely disheveled.

Not too far from him, the other elites from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao hurried over. They were horrified to see the state he was in and decided to prioritize saving him over defending themselves from the bombardment of gold light.

"What a hardy person." Li Luo sighed when he saw this. At this moment, he had completely exhausted all of the resonant power in his body and was only staying in the air with the help of his energy wings from the Nine Scales Sanctified Dragon's Body.

The crimson bracelet was now dim, and the flow of crimson energy gradually halted.

Trying to finish off Tian Miao and Zhao Yan consecutively had evidently taken a huge toll on Li Luo.

As such, he did not have any more strength left to finish off Zhao Yan even though he knew that his opponent was at the end of the line as well.

The stronger individuals from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao had arrived to render assistance. At the same time, the Divine Golden Clawed Bronze Condors from the ancient tree were attacking indiscriminately...

As Li Luo watched with regret in his eyes, the numerous members of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao caught Zhao Yan. They were shocked to see the grievous wound on his chest, so they hurriedly took out pills to help with his injuries whilst they retreated rapidly.

Zhao Yan swallowed the pills quickly, but his face remained pale and his resonant power seemed to be in complete disorder. Clearly, he had been severely injured by Li Luo's arrow.

"Damn it! Damn it! That bastard Li Luo! I'll definitely find a chance to finish him off after this! I'll let him know that he's going to die at a young age no matter how talented he is!" Zhao Yan screamed with eyes full of rage and resentment. He was extremely angry and frustrated after being defeated by Li Luo in public.

Zhao Yan gritted his teeth and said, "Let's retreat..."

However, he immediately sensed that something was amiss at the next moment and cried out, "Watch out!"

As soon as he finished his words, a figure dashed in from their right like a phantom. There were nine radiant Heavenly Pearls dazzling behind her, continuously sucking in worldly natural energy.

"Li Lingjing!" Zhao Yan shouted in horror.

Li Lingjing was firmly gripping her Aquamarine Bamboo Python Staff. She locked onto Zhao Yan with her dark and clear eyes. No emotion could be seen on her fair and pretty cheeks. Her beautiful figure had slid amongst them like a stealthy python, ready to strike.

As she struck downwards towards Zhao Yan's cranium, it left behind an afterimage of her staff wrapped in poisonous rays..

Her sneak attack had caught everyone by surprise. It was almost as if she had expected Zhao Yan to be severely injured and predicted that he would run past her. She ignored everyone else who attempted to protect him—she only had one target.

The faces of the elites changed completely in that instant. Zhao Yan was too badly injured to dodge this strike. Clenching their teeth, they summoned up every bit of resonant power they had, imbuing the weapons in their hands with energy and launching vicious attacks towards Li Lingjing's vitals.

It was a smart move. They wanted to force Li Lingjing into giving up on killing Zhao Yan and make her defend herself.

However... they had underestimated Li Lingjing's ruthlessness and determination.

Instead, she did not even think about dodging their attacks. Facing them head-on, the vicious attacks struck her petite body, spilling her blood.

In return, Zhao Yan could only watch helplessly as her staff descended upon him.

Splat!

It was like the sound of a watermelon falling onto the ground and breaking apart.

Zhao Yan's head exploded, sending blood and brain matter flying in every direction, landing on the faces of the elites from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao.

This left them in a daze for a few moments.

They stared blankly at Li Lingjing's cute and emotionless face. They had not expected such ruthlessness from such a beautiful lady. She was willing to sacrifice a figurative arm to take a life.

After killing Zhao Yan, Li Lingjing ignored the vicious attacks that had struck her and retreated without hesitation.

As for the several experts from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao, they stared blankly at the headless corpse next to them, trembling with their feet stuck to the ground.

Zhao Yan had died in such a gruesome way right before their very own eyes. Even the ones who had been watching from the sidelines stared at the aftermath in shock. Zhao Yan... the most outstanding talent from the previous generation of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao, had died just like that?

Zhu Zhu from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhu, Zong Sha from the Heavenly Origin Ancient College, as well as the others all sucked in deep breaths as they observed Li Lingjing's retreating figure with some fear in their eyes.

The duo comprising of Li Lingjing and Li Luo had been the two most unexpected dark horses in the expedition into the Spiritual Resonance Cave.

"Tsk!"

Li Luo also inhaled a deep breath of cold air as he watched in surprise. He had not expected the sneak attack from Li Lingjing either. Additionally, she had allowed herself to be injured for the sake of taking Zhao Yan's life. It was a merciless decision that demonstrated how cold-blooded she truly was.

However, Li Luo could not help but laugh out loud after the moment of shock passed.

It was because Li Lingjing's finishing blow was too perfect.

With Zhao Yan dead, the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao had lost their leader. They would no longer be a threat in the Spiritual Resonance Cave, and naturally, they would not have a share of any of the Origin Enlightenment Fruits.

As for whether killing Zhao Yan would incur the wrath of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao, Li Luo was not bothered about it at this moment. After all, there had been simmering tension between the two lineages for years. Many talents from both sides had died under various means over the years. As such, adding Zhao Yan to the pile might not be a big deal.

Bang!

Just as Li Luo heaved a sigh of relief from Zhao Yan's death, he felt immense amounts of energy coming from behind him. He quickly turned around to see countless rays of golden light raining down towards him yet again. Fortunately, they were all obstructed by Li Jingtao's energy shield.

However, cracks were constantly appearing on the mottled shield when pitted against such a dense and continuous chain of attacks. Even though Li Jingtao had demonstrated his adeptness with defensive arts, there were still faint signs that it would cave eventually.

Li Jingtao bitterly gritted his teeth and continued to persist. Unfortunately, streaks of blood could be seen on his palms already. However, he did not dare to retreat, as he knew that Li Luo, who had exhausted all his strength, was right behind him, relying on him!

"Third Brother, hurry up. I can't hold on any longer!" As the golden light poured down torrentially, Li Jingtao was finally unable to hold on. With a loud explosion, the Six Carapaces Diamond Shield broke apart.

Streams of golden light shot directly towards Li Luo.

Li Luo was slightly startled by the turn of events, but he activated his energy wings immediately, preparing to evade.

However, right at this moment, a beautiful figure rushed over. Waving the Aquamarine Bamboo Python Staff in her hands, poisonous rays of light condensed before him, clashing directly with the endless streams of golden light. The collision of energy was like a catastrophic disaster, destroying everything around it.

Li Luo looked at Li Lingjing, who had just appeared in front of him. She was still bleeding, with wounds strewn all over her body.

He took out the Blackwood Feather Fan right away. With a swipe, a beam of white light quietly fell upon her body, treating all of her injuries.

Li Lingjing turned her head slightly and glanced back at him. She said jokingly, "Congratulations on being the most important individual in today's battle."

Li Luo had killed Tian Miao, who was half a step into the Lesser Heavenly Resonance Tier, with one blow. He then gravely injured Zhao Yan with another strike. In a way, Li Luo had indeed contributed the most with his spectacular performance.

Hearing this, Li Luo smiled helplessly. If Zhao Yan had not forced his hand, he would not have revealed all his cards to finish him off. Thinking back, that bastard was just courting death.

However, the most troublesome thing right now was not the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao—it was the huge number of Divine Golden Clawed Bronze Condors. There was no way for them to approach the ancient tree with the condors' protection, let alone obtain any of the Origin Enlightenment Fruits.

Li Luo scratched his head as he looked into the distance. They were completely outnumbered.

However, just as he was brooding over what to do, he heard a faint sound that grabbed his attention.

Dong! Dong!

It seemed to be some sort of rhythmic pounding.

Along with the strange sound, Li Luo also noticed that the condors circling around the ancient tree seemed to have quietened down a little.

Li Luo squinted as he looked at the area behind the ancient tree. Then his gaze flickered all of a sudden.

A thatched hut had appeared on the originally empty plains. In the small courtyard of the thatched cottage was a White Ape holding onto a stone pestle and grinding medicine.

The sound that he had heard earlier was coming from the stone pestle in its hands.

The others had also noticed this sudden change, so their attention turned towards it.

In that instant, the whole world seemed to have fallen gravely silent with the exception of the stone pestle's continuous pounding.