Chapter 1051: Return
Li Jingzhe's words left Li Luo feeling a bit helpless and embarra.s.sed. Shaking his head, he responded, "Grandpa, you're overthinking things..."
Li Jingzhe replied, "That's a bit of a pity, this little girl doesn't look too bad. This power... Is it the power of Golden Dragon Mountain's Sacred Seed?"
A look of surprise appeared in his eyes as he surveyed the frozen Lu Qing'er, saying, "She can mobilize a strand of the power of the Holy Permafrost Seed at such a young age. Though it is just a small amount, it still proves her affinity for it... It’s a perfect match."
"Sacred Seed? What exactly is that?" Li Luo asked curiously. He had heard Elder Sister Jin mention it before.
"It's a true world-cla.s.s treasure, a derivative of the world's source origin, and it was refined by the blood and toil of a Heavenly Emperor. The Sacred Seed is the foundation of a Heavenly Emperor power, and a power without a Sacred Seed cannot survive for long," Li Jingzhe patiently explained.
Li Luo was secretly shocked. It sounded like the so-called Sacred Seed was very profound. This was information that he was previously completely unable to surmise.
From Li Jingjing's words, it seemed that the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li also possessed a Sacred Seed. However, Li Luo didn't ask any further questions about it. "Then, can you free her from her sealed state, Grandpa?"
The priority right now was to save Lu Qing'er.
Li Jingzhe smiled and said, "I am able to undo the seal, but I don't think there's a need for it."
"Why?" Li Luo asked in shock.
"Self-freezing using the power of the Sacred Seed is not a bad thing. It will cause this young lady to deepen her attunement with the power of the Sacred Seed in a higher state of concentration. As long as she can maintain a wisp of clarity within her heart and prevent the endless ice from freezing her mind, she will be able to reap the benefits from it. Moreover, if I were to make a move, my only option would be to destroy the power of the Sacred Seed with an equally strong power, which is not the best strategy. The most prudent thing to do right now would be to send the young lady back to Golden Dragon Mountain, where they will use the power of the Sacred Seed to lift the ice seal."
When Li Jingzhe said this, he glanced at the several figures beside Elder Sister Jin and asked, "What do you guys think?"
These Duke Stage experts had obviously been sent to protect Lu Qing'er. When they heard his question, they respectfully said, "What you just said is indeed the best course of action, Dragon Fang King."
Elder Sister Jin also nodded and said to Li Luo, "Li Luo, you don't have to worry too much. We have deliberated amongst ourselves earlier and have decided to take the Young Mistress home as soon as possible."
Li Luo could only nod when he heard this. He just felt a little regretful in his heart as he could not personally say goodbye to Lu Qing'er.
Golden Dragon Mountain was not located in the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent, thus he did not know when they would meet again.
"Then I'll leave her in your care. Qing'er experienced some changes in the Spiritual Resonance Cave, so it would be wise to keep an eye on her." Li Luo reminded them.
An elder from Golden Dragon Mountain nodded and cupped his hands together. "Many thanks to Dragon Head Li Luo for the reminder. We have heard the same from Lady Jin, and we will report it to the family head and let him make the decision when we return to Golden Dragon Mountain."
After a brief conversation with Li Luo, they brought Lu Qing'er onboard one of Golden Dragon Mountain's flying ships and quickly left the Heavenly Star Plains without any further delay.
Slightly despondent, Li Luo looked at the flying ship fade into the distance before exhaling deeply and collecting his emotions.
This was finally the official end of the trip to the Spiritual Resonance Cave, and he had managed to reap a lot of rewards from it. The harvest from this trip could be considered a ma.s.sive windfall.
"Let's go, we should return to Dragon's Fang Mountain as well," Li Jingzhe said.
Li Luo nodded.
A few moments later, the main ship of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li floated up into the air with the teams of the five lineages on board, and it began to start the return journey. The other teams of the various powers also began to retreat one after another.
As they dispersed, all the news and happenings within the Spiritual Resonance Cave would propagate at an astonishing speed, eventually spreading throughout the entire Heavenly Origin Divine Continent.
Of which a sizable chunk would be the deeds of Li Luo and Li Lingjing.
As the Dragon's Head ship sailed across the sky, swiftly heading towards the boundaries of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li, Li Luo once again met Li Jingzhe on the top floor of the ship.
When Li Jingzhe saw Li Luo, the first thing he said was, "Li Lingjing didn't die in the Spiritual Resonance Cave, but was taken away by the Spirit Eye Other King, right?"
Li Luo's heart skipped a beat, then he laughed dryly and asked, "How did you know, Grandpa?"
He didn't try to deny it, because if Li Jingzhe could ask this question, he probably already had the answer.
Li Jingzhe smiled faintly and said, "There were too many people back there, so it was not a good place to talk... Perhaps because of her history, Li Lingjing's way of thinking is very deep and complex, and she is very guarded against everyone, including me. When I helped her purify the corruption, she appeared to be extremely cooperative, causing the purification to be very effective. But in reality, there was a trace of the Soul Eater True Devil's aura lurking in the deepest recesses of her heart."
Li Jingjing gestured for Li Luo to sit down, then he poured a cup of tea for him before continuing, "Unfortunately, this means that Li Lingjing's innermost heart did not actually intend to remove the Soul Eater True Devil."
Li Luo froze. This information had come out of left field.
"Cousin Lingjing, she..." Li Luo wore a conflicted expression.
During his time with Li Lingjing, he was naturally able to sense that the latter wouldn't hesitate to resort to underhanded means to achieve her objectives, but she did not have the slightest bit of evil intentions towards him.
"Grandpa, Cousin Lingjing never harbored the intention of harming me," Li Luo said.
Li Jingzhe nodded and said, "I know. That's why I let her leave Dragon's Fang Mountain alive. Between the Dragon's Fang Lineage and the Origin Reversion Inst.i.tute, she chose the latter out of ambition. If she is truly allowed to rise in a place like the Origin Reversion Inst.i.tute, she might have the potential to become an important figure in it in the future. Truthfully, a hidden danger of this kind is best eliminated when it has not yet matured... But she's really cunning. She's pinned her hopes on you, and in doing so, she's preserved a glimmer of hope for herself as well."
Listening to the blunt words of the elder in front of him, Li Luo let out a bitter smile. He understood what his grandfather was trying to say. If anyone else pleaded for mercy for Li Lingjing, Li Jingzhe would pay no attention; the only one who could make Li Jingzhe change his mind was a certain special person: Li Luo.
This is why Li Jingzhe had said that Li Lingjing was very cunning—she had keenly chosen the person who was most useful to her among so many people. "Perhaps she used you again," Li Jingzhe said slowly.
Li Luo was silent for a moment before saying, "Grandpa, Cousin Lingjing might have been influenced by the Soul Eater True Devil to act egotistically, but I don't blame her. She was just trying to preserve her own life, and it's precisely because of all the despair she has experienced that she would want to utilize every means possible to survive. Moreover, I believe in her, and I know that she won't harm me." Li Luo's expression became serious as he also trusted his own perception and judgment.
Regardless of what Li Lingjing turned out to be in the future, at the very least, she wouldn't harm him. As for some of the other problems, they would have to be dealt with when the time came.
Li Jingjing nodded slightly and replied, "I hope your feeling is right."
And then his tone suddenly changed.
"Was that blade of yours shattered?"