Chapter 1376: Nine-tiered Golden Rampart Karmic Flame Pagoda

Qin Lian's words were laced with endless amounts of killing intent and hatred. Even those who were far away could feel the heart palpitating aura of her words. Qin Beiming, Li Zhihuo, and the rest felt their scalps turning numb and their gazes were full of shock.

She stepped forward, and her hands flowed with pitch-black light while she executed hand seals at lightning speed, leaving behind countless afterimages. As each hand seal was executed, the eight Duke Bergfrieds above her began to boom thunderously and an ocean of resonant power rushed into the air, ripping apart the firmament. The pressure exuded by the sheer amount of energy congregating around her caused a hurricane to sweep across the area.

The eight Duke Bergfrieds began to spew out resonant power, which immediately transformed into a black flame. It gave off a cold and gloomy aura, congealing above her.

This transformed into a humongous pagoda that was hundreds of thousands of feet tall. It had nine floors and an intense, jet-black flame surrounded it. The walls of the pagoda were engraved with magical runes and talismans. Golden light began to spread across the walls layer after layer. Its appearance elicited shocked cries.

The weaker Dukes immediately started to shake. Their entire being seemed to have been paralyzed by the imposing pressure radiating from the pagoda, and their faces had turned pale.

An eighth-grade Duke utilizing a Destiny-grade Duke Art with all their strength was so destructive that the mere aftershock could annihilate first and second-grade Dukes.

"Brother Qin, is that a Destiny-grade Duke Art from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin?" Li Zhihuo tentatively asked.

Qin Beiming answered hesitantly, "Hall Master Qin Lian is quite talented. This should be the Nine-tiered Golden Rampart Karmic Flame Pagoda, a lower Destiny-grade Duke Art. She's cultivated it for many years, so she should have reached Greater Completion. It can be considered to be at the peak of lower Destiny-grade and close to middle Destiny-grade. She once used it as a lower sixth-grade Duke to slaughter an upper sixth-grade opponent."

Li Zhihuo's expression paled. Qin Lian was an exceptional genius in the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin, and if not for the emergence of Tan Tailan and Li Taixuan, she might have been the central figure in her generation of elites. Thus, she easily had the ability to battle above her grade. That combined with the fact that she was utilizing a Destiny-grade Duke Art meant that she was more than a force to be reckoned with.

Just how could Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e overcome this trial? A second-grade Transcendent Duke was indeed almighty, but it was as Qin Lian had said—it was simply not enough. Not even if they were third-grade. However, Li Zhihuo knew that it was a delusion to believe that they could survive. Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e had reached a whole new realm of strength, and that was already a miracle, but it would be unrealistic to expect more from them. How could they possibly resist Qin Lian's all-out assault?

"An eighth-grade Duke demonstrating a Destiny-grade Duke Art is indeed quite terrifying."

Li Luo raised his head and solemnly observed the flaming pagoda. Qin Lian had not finished condensing the pagoda, but the energy fluctuations were already more than enough to threaten his life. The previous blow was meant to test the waters. She would no longer hold back and would soon end the battle with a killing move.

"Sister Qing'e, this madwoman is a little too strong." Li Luo sighed. Despite their advancement, it seemed as though Qin Lian would still beat them in the end.

"That is an eighth-grade Duke who has also cultivated a Destiny-grade Duke Art. She isn't your common rogue cultivator. Even when Qin Beiming and the rest of the fifth-grade Dukes joined hands, they were easily crushed. It's already an achievement to resist until now."

Jiang Qing'e's gaze swept over towards Li Luo and her mouth curled up into a smile. "What, are you scared? Weren't you bragging just now?"

Li Luo pouted. "Well, it's just a matter of putting my life on the line after all."

Now that they had reached this step, it was definitely a situation where only one side would walk out alive. There was no other solution. Jiang Qing'e nodded slightly and no longer spoke. Her right hand formed a hand seal and she lightly pressed against her chest. The moment she did so, a divine radiance started shining from where her heart was. Boundless amounts of light resonant power surged out of her.

When Li Luo saw this, he was frightened out of his mind. He had seen this happen before!

Jiang Qing'e was planning to sacrifice her Heart of Light!

"Sister Qing'e, don't make rash decisions!" Li Luo hurriedly shouted to stop her. Her actions were too frightening. She hadn't even said a thing and had decided to go with the harshest method.

Jiang Qing'e looked back at him, and a smile appeared on her cherry lips. She softly explained, "You can relax, I'm not igniting my Heart of Light. I don't know why, but after we did... that thing, my Heart of Light, became even more lustrous. When my three ninth-grade light resonances synchronize with it, I'm able to attain great amounts of power. Of course, there will definitely be some side-effects, but nothing as severe as before. You can see it as a type of secret art that allows me to temporarily raise my strength. There's nothing strange about it."

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Li Luo was taken aback before he finally relaxed a little. However, he still asked with worry, "Are you sure?"

The fact that Jiang Qing'e was forced to ignite her Heart of Light in the past had cast a great shadow on his heart. He never wanted to see her sacrifice herself in the same way ever again.

She nodded, but deep down, her thoughts were a little different. If they truly had no way out of this, leaving the Heart of Light intact would be worthless as well. It was better to sacrifice it to save Li Luo and create a path out for him. As she thought about this, a wisp of sacred light arose from her head and floated above her Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfrieds. After which, incomparably pure light resonant power surged out and caused this wisp of light to expand, eventually transforming into a halo thousands of feet long.

The halo blazed with sacred flames.

This was her lower Destiny-grade Duke Art, the Radiant Divineflame Heavenly Ring! However, the Duke Art had transformed slightly. As the gigantic ring of light increased in brilliance over time, a slender and exquisite figure walked out of the ring itself.

This figure was a copy of Jiang Qing'e in every way, with the exception of its size. It was thousands of feet tall, resembling an apparition of the heavens and earth, instilling shock in everyone's hearts. At the same time as the figure had manifested, a gigantic sword made of light that was studded with seven jewels began to condense. Quasi-Destiny-grade Duke Art, Seven Treasures Glazed Sword of Light! Ancient runes appeared on Jiang Qing'e's forehead, condensing into a circle of light between her eyebrows. Those were her Archaic Runes! After which, she borrowed the aid of the Heart of Light and the Archaic Runes to bolster the resonant power coming from her, reaching an astonishing level.

When she lifted her head, her gaze was focused on the figure that resembled her. The figure had gracefully stretched its jade-like hand out to grab the regal sword of light. Two Destiny-grade Duke Arts had been perfectly fused into one.

Light illuminated the entire dominion, dispelling corruption where it stood.

Her eyes flickered as she felt a little emotional. She had tried many times to fuse these two Duke Arts, and she had finally done so perfectly. In the past, she had never been able to integrate them fully into one. However, now that she was an upper second-grade Duke, she had succeeded. Based on what the Third School Master had said, when two Duke Arts were successfully fused, the result would be considered a brand new Destiny-grade Duke Art.

It was known as... the World Cleansing Goddess' Sword! This was a peak middle Destiny-grade Duke Art!