Chapter 0636: Cultivated

By the lakeside.

Mentor Chi Chan was demurely sitting by, her slender back and curvaceous body for none to see. Her jade-like fingers were fiddling with a teacup as her beautiful eyes continued to focus upon the unmoving golden lotus before her. By the looks of things, twenty days had already passed.

Only one of the three golden petals remained, and it continued to emanate radiant light.

Meanwhile, Li Luo was still sitting atop the lotus cross-legged, his eyes tightly shut. His complexion was pale and his body was trembling, an expression of terror scrawled over his face.

Clearly, he was still locked in a stubborn stalemate with the concept within the Underworld River's Black Dragon Banner.

Such a terrifying concept was not easily endured.

Mentor Chi Chan understood Li Luo's personality. He was a tenacious one, molded by the sticky situation he had encountered with the blank palaces much earlier in his life. Thus, he was able to endure much more than his fellow peers and was much more resilient to setbacks. Even so, the concept of the Duke Art tormented him to no end.

The very fact that Li Luo could hold on for twenty days without going insane was already an achievement in and of itself. Ultimately, he was still only at the Fiend Palace Tier, and frankly speaking, a Duke Art was out of his league.

"The last petal should allow him to hold on for another five days." Mentor Chi Chan estimated as her willow-like eyebrows shifted into a frown. This was his last chance, and if Li Luo could not overcome the concept's test, this cultivation would be a failure. Alas, his school points would be squandered.

Although he would be able to continue meditating on the Underworld River's Black Dragon Banner, the degree of difficulty would skyrocket without the assistance of the Golden Nirvana Lotus.

More importantly, if Li Luo failed to capitalize on the current situation, he would undoubtedly feel endless regret.

After all, the Housemeet would start in ten days or so.

Knock, knock…

Mentor Chi Chan lightly knocked the table with her jade-like fingers as she whispered, "Li Luo, it's all up to you to take advantage of this last opportunity."

...

Within the depths of the murky, black seawater

The gigantic eye of the dragon was like a dark-red mirror emerging from within the darkness, Li Luo's entire body reflected within. Indifference and a trace of savagery was contained within its gaze as a wave of terror washed towards Li Luo's mental state once again.

Li Luo had simply lost count of the number of times he had experienced this.

Every single time, an unspeakable, unexplainable sort of fear would rise from the depths of his heart, crushing his state of mind into mere fragments.

Once again, this was no different.

As the fear surged towards him like a tidal wave, Li Luo felt as though he could hear his mental state disintegrating into pieces. Black seawater surged towards him in every direction, wrapping him in its watery embrace, colliding against his soul repeatedly.

He held on bitterly.

He was like a tiny boat being rocked by the massive waves. He did his best to maintain his state of mind, protecting that last sanctuary of sanity as it was enveloped by the tides.

However, the black seawater also possessed the ability to erode one's willpower. As time passed by, he could feel his mental state splintering apart once again.

"Am I going to fail once more?" Feeling his vision gradually distort, he understood that this was the sign that his mental state could no longer hold on. Li Luo sighed helplessly. During this period of time, he had felt his mental state shatter again and again, allowing him to truly understand the difficulty of cultivating a Duke Art.

At the same time, he realized that time was probably running out as well.

He could distinctly feel that with each failure, the Golden Nirvana Lotus' protective energy would gradually weaken. All good things had to come to an end eventually.

Once the Golden Nirvana Lotus was depleted, his cultivation would have to stop.

Losing the opportunity to cultivate in this miraculous environment would be a pity. It was exceedingly difficult to find something that could match its power, and his dreams of cultivating a Duke Art would have to be shelved until he reached the Heavenly Dipper General Stage.

More importantly, he would lose the opportunity to obtain a trump card before the Housemeet.

Although he still possessed the Three-tailed Heavenly Wolf, it was still an external aid, whereas a Duke Art was a strength he could call his own. Additionally, if he could combine this killing move with the power borrowed from the Three-tailed Heavenly Wolf, he would be able to bring out nonsensical strength for at least a brief period of time. This indomitable strength was what he had truly hoped to achieve.

Only this level of power could possibly qualify to shift the tides in the Housemeet.

Otherwise, most of the pressure would inevitably fall upon Qing'e.

With her desire to constantly improve and strengthen herself, she had spent several years preparing a killer trump card. The price she had paid was mind-boggling amounts of effort and sacrifice, a weight that Li Luo did not wish to see her shoulder alone.

She had done enough for House Luolan. And for him as well.

It was his turn to bear the burden. Her gorgeous face flashed past his mind when he had these thoughts. Forcing his eyes open, he could see the behemoth staring right at him, entrenched deep within the black sea, a look of mockery and contempt in its eyes.

Mocking him for not understanding his place.

A mere Fiend Palace cultivator trying to set his grubby hands on a regal Duke Art?

The black dragon lifted a claw, and a vortex formed under it, its black scales sparkling beautifully in contrast to the murkiness of the sea. It then slammed it towards Li Luo.

Li Luo could feel his mental state splintering at a significantly quicker rate than before with this unprovoked attack.

As he stared at the inky, black claw, he felt the terror afflicting him recede slightly. Instead, a mysterious sense of indignation and fury surged from the depths of his heart.

“This damn snake.

“It dares to look down upon me?”

Li Luo could feel his blood boiling at this very instant, coursing through his veins violently and with renewed vigor. It was as though he could hear furious waves crashing within him. A sense of majesty descended upon him like an Emperor speaking to his subjects as he icily glared back at the black dragon.

The black claw slammed down without mercy.

However, just as it was about to make contact with the manifestation of Li Luo's spirit, a void was ripped open right behind the dragon. It was the titanic beast's turn to feel a sense of shock and horror. An indescribably monstrous claw stretched out from within the ripped void. The black dragon was already humongous when compared to Li Luo, but before this inscrutable development? It was like an eagle gripping a tiny grass snake!

The enigmatic dragon claw directly parted the black sea with a single swipe before grasping the frightened black dragon that was now mournfully roaring. No time was wasted before the claw clamped down mercilessly.

Bang!

The black sea was torn asunder, ripped into pieces, along with the once-horrifying black dragon.

Mentor Chi Chan, who had been taking a quick nap, opened her eyes all of a sudden. Her beautiful eyes were staring at the golden lotus in the middle of the lake in absolute surprise. At this point, Li Luo was drenched in a crimson liquid, blood pouring out of every orifice, turning him into a literal bloody man.

Despite his completely miserable appearance, he was exuding an inexplicable sense of oppression.

It was so intense that even her heart palpitated in fear.

“What happened?”

She hurriedly stood up, but just when she was about to make a move, Li Luo opened his eyes.

At that very moment, a roiling, black sea seemed to have materialized around his body. a coiled up black dragon could be seen right in the middle of the sea. As its tail gently swayed, black waves rose and fell before it.

Chi Chan's pupils shrank at this sight.

“Is this the Underworld River's Black Dragon Banner?

“Has Li Luo managed to cultivate it successfully?”