Chapter 1648: Heavenly Emperor Zhang Takes Action

The light of the bright moon formed a stairway. The man whose robes displayed the sun, moon, and stars treaded lightly on the solidified moonlight, playing his jade flute as he walked. It was a clear but cold and lonely melody.

The music contained incredible amounts of Authority. It transformed into a killing formation made of sound that trapped the two Grand Devil Kings, Asura Arm and Blood Butcher.

"This is Heavenly Emperor Zhang from Golden Dragon Mountain?" Li Luo curiously took in the elegant and free-spirited individual.

It was rumored that the three families that controlled Golden Dragon Mountain had the surnames Zhang, Lu, and Qian.[1] Each family was led by a Heavenly Emperor. Since this was Heavenly Emperor Zhang, it naturally meant that this individual was from the Zhang family. Li Luo had met Zhang Cuicheng in the World's End River Treasure Domain. It seemed he was this fellow's descendant.

"I'll have to trouble you to come out for a walk, Heavenly Emperor Zhang," Heavenly Emperor Jiang said gratefully.

He let out a sigh of relief and resumed the battle against Heavenly Emperor Yin.

The other four Heavenly Emperors of the Academic Federation were unable to spare any effort to come here, considering they were watching over the Heavenly Emperors of the Origin Reversion Institute and keeping an eye on the Other Disasters plaguing the divine continents.

The bright side was that even though the Origin Reversion Institute was capable of getting the Grand Devil Kings of the Others to assist, the Academic Federation had an esteemed reputation in the ten divine continents that enabled them to ask other Heavenly Emperors to assist them.

Heavenly Emperor Zhang from Golden Dragon Mountain was one such helper. The only drawback was that he was the only reinforcement who had arrived.

Heavenly Emperor Zhang had not reached the Divine Fruit Realm, so he was only capable of stopping a single Grand Devil King. However, the upside was that his ambush had come undetected, allowing him to temporarily restrain both Blood Butcher and Asura Arm. Though it was only a temporary measure.

Even so, buying just a bit of time was helpful.

Blood Butcher and Asura Arm had not completely descended, and their bodies would eventually be rejected from this world.

Before countless eyes full of awe, the bright moon in the sky slowly descended and gradually shrank, eventually floating behind Heavenly Emperor Zhang. It then turned into a wheel that flowed with light.

His eyes shone like stars as he glanced at the two trapped Grand Devil Kings and sighed.

"I don't know how many years it has been since I last saw two Grand Devil Kings descend onto the ten divine continents. The Origin Reversion Institute has gone too far this time."

Fury gradually arose within his calm gaze. Golden Dragon Mountain had always remained neutral and chose to distance itself from the conflict between the Academic Federation and the Origin Reversion Institute. However, the latter had attracted two Grand Devil Kings, an act that truly and utterly crossed the line.

None of the Heavenly Emperor powers within the divine continents would stand by idly and let this happen.

"Heavenly Emperor Zhang, you're just one person. How do you plan to stop us?"

Asura Arm and Blood Butcher Grand Devil King regained their senses. A moment later, the blood sea churned, and countless blood bats rushed out of the liquid, transforming into numerous blood-colored clouds that radiated Authority and smashed apart the incoming sound waves.

Asura Arm waved its titanic arm, each movement carrying annihilative power. It similarly shattered the mystical sound waves.

The bright moon that floated behind Heavenly Emperor Zhang began to glow with boundless moonlight, each ray containing the combination of both the Authority of Moon and the Authority of Sound. The moonlight seemed to contain infinite weight, and wherever it passed, the void would crack apart, leaving black holes in its wake.

The moonlight bolstered the sound formation, repairing the parts that were destroyed by the Grand Devil Kings.

"It doesn't matter. All I need to do is keep you here. The ten divine continents have countless other Heavenly Emperors who will rush over soon. This is our home ground, not your Shadow World," Heavenly Emperor Zhang replied indifferently.

"I'm afraid you might not be able to hold on for that long!"

The blood sea that was the Blood Butcher's body tossed and turned, causing the face on it to transform. Gradually, it transformed into the face of a titanic bat, letting out a terrifying screech. The screech propagated in every direction, causing layers of the void to collapse. There were even signs that it would exit their battlefield and wreak havoc across the Xia Kingdom.

If that happened, all of the creatures that lived on this land would perish.

Fortunately, Heavenly Emperor Zhang made a move, blowing into his flute and creating sound waves that enveloped the shrill cry of the giant bat, preventing it from leaking out and affecting the surroundings.

The Asura Arm Grand Devil King took advantage of this opportunity to allow its mountainous limb to break through the formation as it was wrapped in a devilish light.

This action caused Pang Qianyuan and the rest of the Kings' expressions to drop. If the Asura Arm Grand Devil King was able to escape, capturing it again would be no easy feat.

Unfortunately, Heavenly Emperor Zhang was just one individual and was equal to the two Grand Devil Kings in terms of strength. Considering that, it was no easy feat to keep both opponents trapped to begin with.

The crisis that now beleaguered the ten divine continents had not been resolved.

Li Luo frowned as he watched the berserk devil arm madly assault the sound formation. The moment the opponent broke past those shackles, they would definitely target the Pill Saint. The Pill Saint was actually Bai Mengmeng, and if she were captured, his close friend would also be taken away. This was something he didn't want to see.

However, when faced with such a superior existence, he was powerless despite being a Transcendent Duke!

"A seventh-grade Transcendent Duke still isn't enough."

Li Luo clenched his fists. He had thought that he had entered the ranks of the peak experts today. However, when he experienced what it was like to be in the presence of Grand Devil Kings, he understood that this was only the beginning of his journey to the top. Furthermore, Li Luo could sense that the Origin Reversion Institute, the tumor afflicting the ten divine continents, had hastened their plans. Their actions had become increasingly brazen in recent years. It was likely that a huge event would affect all of the divine continents in the near future, and if he wanted to protect himself and his cherished ones, he would have to become even stronger than before.

If the seventh-grade wasn't enough, he'd reach the eighth-grade!

If the eighth-grade still wasn't enough, then he would reach the ninth-grade!

Only then could he stand up to these Heavenly Emperors!

Jiang Qing'e could feel Li Luo's hand grip hers more and more tightly. She understood his feelings and softly consoled him, "You don't have to put yourself under so much pressure. You've already performed excellently, becoming a Transcendent Duke at this age and even surpassing our parents."

Li Luo clutched her slender hand as his handsome face flashed a smile and his gaze turned thoughtful. No matter what, he had to figure out a way to resolve this crisis and protect Bai Mengmeng.

However, he wasn't strong enough to turn the tables.

A look of fatigue appeared in his eyes. He swiped his finger across the pocket sphere on his wrist and turned towards Jiang Qing'e.

"Sister Qing'e, are you able to attempt another breakthrough?"

Jiang Qing'e paused before replying, "The Divine Matter has been consumed and my Transcendent Tribulation has been destroyed. Normally speaking, it would take some time to recover and accumulate enough strength to attempt it again. Unless, of course, you have another treasure like the Divine Matter. But even if I became a true Transcendent Duke, I wouldn't be able to do much in this situation."

Even if they were to join hands, two seventh-grade Transcendent Dukes could never hope to match a Grand Devil King.

"We won't have to rely on ourselves."

Li Luo grinned as he pointed at an object within his pocket sphere. There was no need to explain, as the two had a tacit understanding. She had a guess in mind when Li Luo pointed at his pocket sphere, and a look of surprise appeared in her bright golden eyes.

"Grandpa? Has his consciousness awakened?"

Li Luo caressed the surface of his pocket sphere as he explained, "When I became a true Transcendent Duke, the amount of Absolute Resonance Qi that was produced was so immense that the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo reached maturity. Grandpa's consciousness started to awaken, but it did not reach the state of complete awakening. We still need some more Absolute Resonance Qi.

"Therefore, I need you to make a breakthrough as well. If you succeed, you can enter the state of Divine Knowledge to link up with me, allowing me to activate the Ten Divines Absolute Resonance Halo and create the last bit of Absolute Resonance Qi required to allow Grandpa to awaken and completely transform. If everything works out, he will not only be resurrected, but his strength might even supersede his prime. He might be able to change the situation."

Jiang Qing'e paused upon hearing Li Luo's plan. Perhaps only by assisting Li Jingzhe's rebirth would they be able to make an impact. This was indeed a huge variable that neither Heavenly Emperor Jiang nor Heavenly Emperor Yin would have considered.

The only problem was that they lacked a treasure like the Divine Matter, so she could only force herself to summon yet another tribulation. However, just what would it cost to achieve that?

Regardless, she resolved herself to take this drastic action. But just as she was about to start, the space before them rippled and a figure appeared out of thin air.

Upon seeing who it was, the duo relaxed.

"Mengmeng! Ahem, no, Senior Pill Saint." Li Luo hurriedly clasped his hand respectfully in greeting.

The Pill Saint, with Bai Mengmeng's innocent, pretty face, sized up Li Luo before giving a shallow smile. "So you're the brat who cheated me out of the Myriad Resonances Golden Pill..."

Li Luo awkwardly replied, "I didn't know that that object was the Myriad Resonances Golden Pill. Regardless, I am beyond grateful to you for giving me this pill, Senior."

She casually waved her hand, indicating that it was nothing to be concerned about. She then turned towards Jiang Qing'e and fell into a daze.

"You..." the Pill Saint whispered in confusion.

She could sense a feeling of both familiarity and foreignness coming from Jiang Qing'e. Her brows furrowed, feeling confused about the emotions that were coming to her.

"Senior Pill Saint, this is my wife, Jiang Qing'e," Li Luo said.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The Pill Saint absentmindedly nodded before snapping back to attention and asking Li Luo, "Were your previous words meant for me to hear?"

Li Luo's discussion with Jiang Qing'e had naturally been heard by her as well.

He gave yet another embarrassed smile, quickly denying that he didn't know what she was referring to. Though she didn't seem to mind.

The Pill Saint could sense that a mighty aura was silently brewing within Li Luo's pocket sphere. However, it was still in the midst of a transformation. The Pill Saint stretched out her fair hand, and a colorful light emerged from the Demon Rainbow Butterfly, landing in her palm.

Within the ball of multicolored light was a spirit pill that flowed with esoteric runes. If one were to peer closer, they would see that it contained a miniature world, complete with mountains, rivers, a sun, a moon, and stars.

"This is a Tiny Realm Pill, a peak spirit medicine of the Sacred Void Resonance Sect. Its effects are no worse than the Divine Matter you are probably referring to. If she wishes to break into the Transcendent Duke Stage, this pill will allow her to recover her resonant power and replenish her damaged foundation."

These words were like honey to Li Luo's ears, and he was overjoyed. As expected, the Pill Saint truly had quite a few treasures on hand, and his plan to "accidentally" expose his idea to her had paid off.

"Thank you, Senior!"

Although it was strange to say these words to Bai Mengmeng, Li Luo didn't care. He hurriedly grabbed the pill and stuffed it into Jiang Qing'e's hand.

Jiang Qing'e tightly clutched the pill as she said to the Pill Saint, "Thank you."

The Pill Saint gently replied, "It's nothing. Hurry and take advantage of this opportunity to make a breakthrough. I'll do my best to buy you some time."

Jiang Qing'e had no time to dally, so she opened her mouth and swallowed the pill before sitting down cross-legged. Huge amounts of light resonant power poured out from her yet again.

Very quickly, worldly natural energy condensed above her.

Another round of Transcendent Tribulation was about to form.

1. TL Note: Qian here is the literal character for money... ☜