Chapter 1650: Genesis Seed Reveals Itself

The thought of Jiang Qing’e being the Sect Master’s light resonance stirred up intense emotions within Li Luo, causing his head to hurt. His hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

He felt as though he was on the cusp of unraveling the truth around Jiang Qing'e. This was something even she didn't know. If the light resonance of the Sect Master was truly hidden within Jiang Qing'e's body, then it would explain the strange phenomenon where she only had light resonances.

He lightly exhaled, attempting to ease his heart. He didn't reveal his suspicions, as there were simply too many factors involved in this. He was afraid that if his suppositions were right, then Jiang Qing'e would indeed be in great trouble.

A Divine Fruit Heavenly Emperor from the Origin Reversion Institute had made his way here in person to get his hands on the windflame resonance. Li Luo couldn't imagine what would happen if Jiang Qing'e truly did possess the light resonance. The Shadow World's Grand Devil Kings and the Origin Reversion Institute would likely go crazy trying to steal it.

As he sorted his thoughts, boundless sacred light fell down upon the earth. Holy energy gathered and condensed into a series of bright suns in the sky.

Since someone had achieved transcendence, a natural phenomenon was starting to manifest. This was the world celebrating the birth of yet another Transcendent Duke.

Light energy began to flourish, turning abnormally dense.

Jiang Qing'e stood tall within the blinding light, as though she were a goddess of light. Energy condensed on either side of her sole Apex Resonance Crystal Core, and then two more cores appeared. Now she had a total of three Apex Resonance Crystal Cores.

"Wow! Three Apex Resonance Crystal Cores!"

Pang Qianyuan, Lan Lingzi, and the rest were moved by this sight. This meant that all of her light resonances had reached the upper ninth-grade upon breaking into the true Transcendent Duke Stage.

She originally only had one, and now there were three!

"It's not over yet..." Li Luo murmured to himself.

Runes of light appeared at the center of the three Apex Resonance Crystal Cores and spread over them like vines.

It was an Archaic Rune!

"Did she develop a fourth light resonance?"

Upon becoming a true Transcendent Duke, one would unearth a new resonant palace. Li Luo had obtained a fifth blank palace while Jiang Qing'e had obtained her fourth resonance. Hers, however, was a middle ninth-grade light resonance!

This meant that Jiang Qing'e now possessed four light resonances!

Three upper ninth-grade and one middle ninth-grade!

Such a configuration was truly terrifying to behold.

"Huh?"

Before Li Luo could get over the surprise, he discovered that Jiang Qing'e's transformation was not over. A speck of mystical light bloomed beneath the three Apex Resonance Crystal Cores, giving off a primordial and archaic aura from the time the world had been created.

"This is... the Genesis Seed!" exclaimed the Pill Saint.

She possessed one herself, and even though it was an acquired Genesis Seed, she was familiar with its fluctuations.

Li Luo was a little taken aback as this was the first time he had seen the Genesis Seed. Li Jingzhe had once told him that before its owner reached the King Stage, the Genesis Seed would do its best to conceal itself as a form of protection.

Now that Jiang Qing'e had become a true Transcendent Duke, the Genesis Seed was revealed to the world for all to see.

Worldly natural energy surged towards that speck of light, being swiftly devoured as the light began to grow in size. Ancient runes started to spread out from it, as though it were a germinating seed.

The runes crawled across Jiang Qing'e's flawlessly smooth brow and extended upwards, connecting the three Apex Resonance Crystal Cores and the Archaic Rune together. The resulting object resembled a sacred tree.

This... was familiar to Li Luo! He couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. This tree seemed to resemble the manifestation of the supreme ninth-grade resonance—the Empyrean Resonance Tree of Authority.

Furthermore, the three Apex Resonance Crystal Cores were hanging from the crown of the tree like wondrous fruits, flowing with scintillating and magical light.

He had previously borrowed the power of the Absolute Resonance Seed to allow his resonances to temporarily fuse into a supreme ninth-grade, so this wasn't new to him.

Strictly speaking, the Empyrean Tree Rune couldn't be considered a complete Empyrean Resonance Tree of Authority, but it should possess similar power.

"The Genesis Seed really lives up to its reputation."

He sighed in his heart.

Clearly, the Genesis Seed was starting to demonstrate some of its grandeur. The metamorphosis Jiang Qing'e had undergone upon breaking through was indeed shocking.

"It looks like she's caught up once again."

Li Luo smiled helplessly. He had taken the lead for merely half a day before this happened. Additionally, he only had two upper ninth-grade and two middle ninth-grade resonances with primary and secondary affinities.

He wouldn't be able to overtake her before he resolved the issue of his fifth blank palace.

"She truly was born to become a Heavenly Emperor of light." The Pill Saint sighed in admiration. Someone like Jiang Qing'e was the Shadow World's biggest fear.

Li Luo glanced at the Pill Saint momentarily. She obviously did not assume that Jiang Qing'e was the inheritor of the Sect Master's light resonance. Although it was rare to find individuals who only possessed light resonances, it wasn't as though it had never happened across the ages. Therefore, it wasn't unusual that she hadn't arrived at the same conclusion.

It was a rare sight, but even the Academic Federation's Radiant King Qi Huang also had three of them. If one didn't know that Jiang Qing'e was found within the Sacred Void Resonance Sect's ruins, then no one would associate the two together.

"Li Luo!"

At this point, Jiang Qing'e turned towards him, her eyes emitting a blinding holy light. She stretched out her fair jadeite hand, indicating that they needed to proceed with the plan.

Li Luo naturally didn't want to tarry, so he took a step forward. His figure flickered right beside her, and he grabbed her hand.

"Can I still call you 'Little Jiang'e,'" he asked as he took in Jiang Qing'e's sacred and regal expression, intent on teasing her.

She pinched his palm, and a hint of emotion came back to her face.

"You can call me whatever you wish," she replied, clearly annoyed.

"Oh ho..." He grinned.

A moment later, the void behind him shuddered, and a beam of light shot up into the skies, transforming into a towering golden wheel.

At the edge of the Auric Halo were ten divine seals that radiated boundless esoteric energy. Divine light flowed across its surface, constantly changing in form, turning into all sorts of different elements.

When the Pill Saint set her eyes on the Ten Divines Absolute Resonance Halo, a look of reminiscence appeared within them. This was a rare occurrence even among the Sect Masters across the eons. Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo were indeed a pair of heaven-defying geniuses.

Li Luo activated his Absolute Resonance Halo, and Jiang Qing'e entered the state of Divine Knowledge. The two then melded spirits and became one in mind and body.

The Absolute Resonance Halo rumbled as it moved, letting out extraordinary sounds. In the next instant, copious amounts of Absolute Resonance Qi poured out of it.

With a wave of his sleeve, heavenly thunder boomed as a shoot of Heavenly Thunder Bamboo appeared, contained within the five-colored clay basin. The Heavenly Thunder Bamboo had grown much larger, reaching a height of ninety-nine thousand and nine hundred feet.

Its surface was engraved with explosive thunder runes, racing across its surface like a waterfall of destruction, along with immeasurable amounts of lightning energy. What was most surprising was the oppressive and intimidating aura that it emanated.

This immediately attracted the attention of the Heavenly Emperors yet again.

Heavenly Emperor Jiang looked over in surprise. "Is that the power of a Heavenly Emperor?"

"No, the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo is undergoing a transformation. This particular existence encountered a great catastrophe and is now attempting the Ascension of Heavenly Steps to reach the Heavenly Emperor Stage! Which Triple Crowned King is that?"

Heavenly Emperor Jiang was speechless. He had never expected Li Luo to have something like this hidden up his sleeve. It had far surpassed everyone's expectations and plans. Every single Heavenly Emperor within the divine continents shouldered massive responsibilities, and the Origin Reversion Institute crafted all of its schemes around them.

The fact that Li Luo had an expert capable of ascending to the Heavenly Emperor Stage stowed away was mind-boggling. If this individual successfully made a breakthrough, then the situation would indeed change.

Heavenly Emperor Yin gloomily said, "Asura Arm, Blood Butcher... the Shadow World's Grand Devil Kings are indeed useless. How can you be held back in a two-versus-one battle?"

When faced with his provocations, the two Grand Devil Kings coldly snorted.

The sprawling blood sea began to toss and turn, its waves gradually receding, but a new object emerged from the depths.

It was a gigantic blood-soaked drum. The top of the drum was a deep scarlet, resembling blood-soaked human skin. Its surface was carved with countless terrifying symbols that radiated an energy that would turn any Duke mad with a simple glimpse. This was the Blood Devil Drum!

Two titanic bat wings formed within the blood sea and savagely slammed onto the surface of the drum.

Dun! Dun!

Scarlet sound waves visible to the naked eye raged across the world, completely annihilating all the worldly natural energy in their path.

The sound formation created by Heavenly Emperor Zhang started to collapse at a frightening speed, and Asura Arm continued with its attempts to escape.

When Heavenly Emperor Zhang saw this, he laughed fearlessly. "Although I can't kill you, I can still trap you for a period of time, regardless of what you have up your sleeve. You won't be able to escape so soon."

One could hear the immense self-confidence contained within his laughter. The moon wheel behind him floated forward, swiftly shrinking until it was small enough to fit in his palm. From afar, it looked as though he had plucked the moon out of the sky.

Heavenly Emperor Zhang casually tossed the crescent moon out. As it fell, it turned into a shower of crystal moondust that enveloped Blood Butcher and Asura Arm. The Grand Devil Kings' bodies were effectively sealed as their movements gradually turned incredibly slow. The scarlet sound waves from the drum also started to move through the air at a snail's pace.

As Heavenly Emperor Zhang did his best to restrain the two Devil Kings, the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo began to emit resounding thunderous booms. The aura that had been slumbering within quickly started to strengthen. A fearsome phenomenon started to unfold between the heavens and earth, with endless thunderclouds surging out from the void, directly covering the entire Xia Kingdom.

The natural phenomenon that occurred as a result of Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e reaching the Transcendent Duke Stage was a far cry from this.

The thunderclouds emitted absolutely terrifying pressure. When Li Luo saw this, his heart was filled with excitement. He could distinctly sense Li Jingzhe's aura rapidly awakening within the depths of the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo. His eyes welled up with uncontrollable tears. After the catastrophe in the World's End River Treasure Domain, Li Jingzhe had sacrificed himself for the sake of his descendants.

Fortunately, the heavens had revealed a path of hope. The Absolute Resonance Halo had managed to retain a strand of Li Jingzhe's consciousness, and with the unique characteristics of the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo, Li Jingzhe was able to survive in a different form.

Li Luo had painstakingly nurtured this plant for years, and now he could finally sense his beloved Grandpa again. Li Jingzhe's stern and wizened face appeared in his mind as he was reminded of the boundless love and kindness the old man had shown him.

A long time ago, a youth who was not even at the Duke Stage was separated from his loved ones, forced to travel an arduous distance across the mountains and seas, to the esteemed Dragon's Fang Lineage.

Although everyone there was supposed to be fellow descendants connected by blood, it all felt foreign to the youth with no connection to anything or anyone. He had left his homeland and made his way there alone. No matter how strong he was, confusion and hesitation muddled his mind.

Yet, when they first met, the old man who often sat high up with a severe expression and who everyone feared was capable of seeing past the resilient facade the youth had put up. After all, he was just a young boy who was lost in this wild world. The old man's eyes contained an imperceptible glimmer of emotion, his heart aching silently for his grandson on their very first meeting.

To the surprise of absolutely everyone, he was willing to change his icy behavior.

Even though they only spoke on occasion, his presence created a silent warmth and a home for the youth.

Gradually, the eyes of the youth became brighter and brighter with each passing day, finally able to see the truth that blood was indeed thicker than water.

To this youth, the old man was truly the best grandfather he could have. It was a sincere and heartfelt emotion.

One that was binding enough that even Tantai Lan, who held a deep prejudice against the Dragon's Fang Lineage, was willing to put aside her pride and willingly shoulder the heavy responsibility of leading them.

Li Luo stretched his hand out and wiped away the tears that started to pool in the corners of his eyes as he whispered, "Grandpa, welcome home."