Chapter 0877: Li Lingjing's Final Stand
This sudden development was truly surprising. Li Luo did not know what was happening for a moment. Hestepped back instinctively and summoned the Three-tailed Heavenly Wolf’s energy for protection.
He did not dare to approach it recklessly. With such mysterious developments, staying alert would be the wisest choice.
As he retreated, his gaze remained fixed to the front. He could tell that the Soul Eater True Devil was under immense pressure when the formless energy from the jade ornament flew into its mouth. It struggled wildly as its tentacles flailed about in the air, causing repeated earthquakes in the surrounding area.
At the same time, the strange, black mist filled with evil cries continued to leak from the cracks on its body.
Li Luo was uncertain, but he grabbed the Golden-Jade Onyx-Elephant Blade tightly. It seemed like a pretty bad situation for the Soul Eater True Devil now. If the opportunity arose, he wouldn't mind dealing it a death blow.
As the Soul Eater True Devil continued to struggle, Li Luo noticed that the ever-changing faces on it were starting to disappear one after another.
Along with the disappearance of each face, black mist also left the Soul Eater True Devil's body.
Just like this, more and more faces vanished. The aura of the Soul Eater True Devil got weaker and weaker.
In the end, there was only one face left, one that Li Luo was very familiar with. It was the face of Li Lingjing!
He was not sure if he was seeing things or not. For some reason, he sensed that her face was not completely vacant this time—it actually felt more human.
This was really weird.
After all, the black worm's tentacle was still pressing against her face. Despite how pretty it was, Li Luo did not find it charming at all. Instead, he found it really bizarre.
Nonetheless, it was the perfect opportunity for him to strike, as the aura of the Soul Eater True Devil was weaker.
A fierce light flashed across his eyes as he stepped forward with the Golden-Jade Onyx-Elephant Blade in hand. He raised the blade and was about to go for the kill.
At this juncture, the head of the black worm turned around, and a voice came from Li Lingjing’s mouth. "Cousin Li Luo, please hold on."
Li Luo was shocked to hear this. This voice was totally different from earlier. It was filled with emotion and spirit, as if he was back in Western City speaking with the real Li Lingjing.
Keeping his vigilance up, Li Luo frowned and asked, "Who're you?"
"I am the real Li Lingjing. In the past, the Soul Eater True Devil swallowed half of my spirit. I had the other half of my spirit secretly hidden in the jade ornament I gave you. When the True Devil was critically weakened earlier, the hidden half of my spirit took the opportunity to fuse back with the other half. In the process, I have also eliminated all the other spirits that resided within its body. You can say that I have effectively destroyed the Soul Eater True Devil," Li Lingjing said.
Li Luo was baffled when he heard this. So Li Lingjing had taken control of the Soul Eater True Devil? This was mind-boggling. After all, there was a huge gap in strength between Li Lingjing and the Soul Eater True Devil. It was like a little kid fighting against a wild beast. How could this succeed so easily?
After a while, his eyes changed. He slowly shook his head and asked, "Do you think I can believe such words?"
Li Lingjing remained silent for a moment before she replied, "Cousin Li Luo, half of my spirit was swallowed up by the Soul Eater True Devil a long time ago. This severely damaged my foundation, and my prospects for future growth were completely destroyed. However, I didn't completely give up, because the other half of my spirit was still in the Soul Eater True Devil's body. It was not totally wiped out, but rather eroded by the corruption time and again. The pain I've experienced was beyond your imagination... but I did not give up."
Hearing this, Li Luo's eyes narrowed slightly. If her words were true, her mental tenacity was truly impressive. After all, it was not an easy feat to endure the corruption of the Soul Eater True Devil. If she showed any signs of weakness, she would become its meal instantly.
"I had planned to fight the Soul Eater True Devil to the death when I put half of my spirit in the jade ornament. If I lost, I'd just lose the half that was left. If I managed to win, I could potentially recover my foundation. However, I knew that the chances of success weren't high. The gap in our strength was too great, so I'd most likely lose in a direct clash. So this time, I've come here prepared to die. After all, it is better for me to fight to the death than to carry on living in limbo. Even if I failed, it would be a form of relief for me. However, looking at things now, my luck has been pretty good. This should be considered a victory... although it has little to do with me. It's all thanks to the critical damage you have inflicted upon it, Cousin Li Luo. That gave me the opportunity to sneak up on it and regain control."
Hearing this, Li Luo stared back at her with a face of uncertainty. He could not tell if these words were trustworthy or not.
But...
Li Luo calmly replied, "Let's leave that aside for now. More importantly, you never told me that half of your spirit was hidden within the jade ornament. I guess this was a part of your plan?"
Back then, Li Lingjing had only told him to pa.s.s this jade ornament to Li Rouyun. There was no mention of any other matters.
Hearing this, Li Lingjing was silent for a moment before she explained, "It's my bad for keeping you in the dark. With half of my spirit in the jade ornament, the Soul Eater True Devil would be able to sense your location naturally. Adding on the fact that you are amazingly talented, the Soul Eater True Devil definitely set its eyes on you the moment you stepped into the Dark Domain."
Li Luo sneered and responded with a little frustration, "So all these troubles along the way were mostly caused by you."
Couldn't she have been more frank? How else could one encounter all these troubles as soon as they stepped into the Dark Domain? It was ludicrous.
At this point, Li Lingjing softly said, "I was afraid you would not have been willing to bring me along if I had told you everything beforehand. This was my last chance to regain my spirit. If I dragged on any longer, my body would fall into a deep slumber and never wake up again. However, I have to admit that what I did was not right. I owe you a huge favor for this."
"I don't deserve such a favor," Li Luo replied indifferently.
Li Lingjing was truly crafty and had a tenacious will. If not for the incident, she would definitely have become a legendary figure on the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent. As such, Li Luo still held a hint of restraining fear towards her. Li Lingjing could also sense dissatisfaction from Li Luo, but she remained silent.
The silence lasted a while before Li Luo spoke again. "I owe Aunt Yun. If you had explained this to me honestly, I might not necessarily have turned you down."
Li Lingjing smiled awkwardly. "My bad. It was an unnecessary move on my part."
At that moment, Li Luo asked her again, "If you had such a way to save yourself, why didn't you ask the powerful Dukes from your family to help out?"
"The Soul Eater True Devil is extremely mysterious and strange. They have all tried searching for it, but it was hopeless. Only a rare talent like you can lure it out," Li Lingjing answered honestly.
"I guess that's something I should be proud of." Li Luo laughed at himself.
At this moment, he took another look at the physically warped Li Lingjing and continued, "With your appearance now, people will a.s.sume you are an ordinary Other and attack if they see you."
"This is why I still need to trouble you to bring me back to Western City. Back there, my spirit will be able to go back to my original body," Li Lingjing requested.
"You have too many requests. Besides, I am not even sure if you are the real Li Lingjing or not. Perhaps you are just a last ditch attempt of the mysterious Soul Eater True Devil to save itself," Li Luo responded emotionlessly.
"I am willing to be sealed. I will also accept any questioning and interrogation from the Dragon's Fang Lineage. I just didn't want things to end this way, so I had to stake everything for this last chance of survival," Li Lingjing said. Li Luo fell into silence for a moment after he sensed the strong and persistent will behind her words. Her desperate act for survival had reminded Li Luo of himself back when he merely possessed blank palaces. At that time, he also did not give up and tried his best to figure a way out of his predicament.
As Li Luo pondered in silence, Li Lingjing's eyes moved a little, and a tiny stream of light flew out from the black mist. It stopped right in front of him.
Li Luo saw a pocket sphere floating in front of him.
It looked very familiar... Wasn't that Zhao Jingyu's pocket sphere that had fallen off along with his arm earlier...?
Inside the sphere were five dragon fangs.
"What's this? Are you trying to bribe me?" Li Luo said with a frown.
"I simply wanted to make it up to you for all the troubles. Besides, I have gotten some of the Soul Eater True Devil's memories after taking over its body. Apart from the ripened Sacred Infant Fruit that lies here, there may be another precious opportunity here that can help you out," Li Lingjing explained.
"What opportunity?" Li Luo grew slightly interested in it.
After thinking for a moment, Li Lingjing continued, "It should be able to help you reach the perfect Gla.s.s Fiend Tier."
Li Luo was surprised to hear this. Perfect Gla.s.s Fiend Tier... He suddenly recalled the request from Li Jingzhe.
The Tri-Radiance Gla.s.s Fiend Tier, the true peak of the Gla.s.s Fiend Tier.