Chapter 0866: Discussion
When Li Luo arrived at the rendezvous point, there were already thousands of people lying about lazily on the abandoned square in the wasted plains. Despite how scattered they seemed, the over twenty thousand soldiers were breathing in sync as if they were one entity. Three overwhelmingly powerful forces that covered up the area were formed as a result, driving out any corruption that tried to enter.
They all noticed Li Luo and the Green Nether Banner arrive at the same time.
Three of the people rushed up from the crowd and quickly appeared in front of Li Luo.
They were none other than Li Fengyi, Li Jingtao, and Deng Fengxian.
"Little Brother, you're too slow! We've been waiting for you for over half a day! If you were any slower, we would have gone out to look for you," Li Fengyi complained to Li Luo after giving a sigh of relief.
Li Luo smiled bitterly and asked, "Was everything fine on your way here?"
Li Jingtao nodded and replied, "Perfectly fine. Although we encountered some Others, we simply finished them off along the way."
At this point, Deng Fengxian took another look at Li Luo and inquired, "Did something crop up on your end?"
Li Luo sighed and responded, "We met Zhao Jingyu."
Hearing this, Li Fengyi's face changed immediately and she asked, "Are you alright? Did the Green Nether Banner suffer great casualties?" The Tiger Division led by Zhao Jingyu was the second strongest out of the twenty divisions in the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao after all. Their strength should not be underestimated. Among them, not even Deng Fengxian could say with confidence that he could fight off Zhao Jingyu. Hence, Li Luo and the Green Nether Banner must have suffered great casualties in that encounter.
Although Li Luo did come out on top in the Yellow Dragonbreath Pool, everyone knew that he had managed to escape from Qin Yi largely due to the fact that she had to split up her power and maintain the Aqua Palace. He might have proven himself to be extraordinary and one of the top few in the Twenty Banners, but it was still debatable if he was strong enough to handle a strong opponent like Zhao Jingyu.
In response, Li Luo waved his hand and told them, "I did not fight him."
It was only at this point that Li Fengyi heaved a sigh of relief. However, her heart started pounding as soon as she heard his next sentence.
"Because we ran into two True Devil Others blocking our road," Li Luo continued.
The three of them were dumbfounded. It had just been half a day, yet countless exciting occurrences had happened to Li Luo.
"How did you escape from them? I can see that the Green Nether Banner barely had any casualties," Deng Fengxian asked with some suspicion after taking a look at the Green Nether Banner.
One could not really blame him for asking this question. What Li Luo had just shared was too unbelievable. If he had really encountered both Zhao Jingyu and two True Devil Others, he would most likely be dead meat. Even though he had somehow escaped, the eight thousand members of the Green Nether Banner should have been largely wiped out in the process.
Li Luo shrugged and responded, "Luckily, Zhao Jingyu was there to help me out with one of the True Devil Others."
At the same time, he shared with them how Zhao Jingyu had tried to trick him at the last minute, but he had managed to turn it around and escape from the dark curtain in the end.
Li Fengyi and the other two looked at each other with weird expressions.
"It seems like you really have to thank Zhao Jingyu," Li Fengyi said as she held back her laughter.
"I'll definitely offer incense to him whenever I come back here," Li Luo replied with a serious tone as he nodded.
At this point, Deng Fengxian calmly told them, "Zhao Jingyu may not have died to those two True Devil Others. He's not as simple as you may think. After all, he's the second strongest in this generation of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao."
"That's even better," Li Luo responded with some anticipation. It would not be an issue at all if Zhao Jingyu had survived, as there were still five dragon fangs in his possession.
Li Jingtao shook his head and commented, "But Third Brother, aren't you a bit too unlucky?"
Li Fengyi agreed with him too. They had also rushed to the rendezvous point like Li Luo, but they had only ran into a few weak Others along the way. They had not even encountered any Greater Heavenly Disaster-class Others, let alone a True Devil Other.
Yet Li Luo had come across two True Devil Others. This was truly unfortunate and unfathomable.
Hearing this, Li Luo smiled helplessly and replied, "I feel like this isn't just a coincidence."
"What do you mean?" the three of them asked. Not just a coincidence? Why would the two True Devil Others go after Li Luo? Was there a secret behind all this?
"Do you all remember Li Lingjing from the Western Region's Li Family?" Li Luo said.
"Of course. Cousin Li Lingjing is just a few years older than us. She was pretty well known a few years back. With her close ties to Aunt Li Rouyun, I heard that she was supposed to join the Green Nether Banner. With her talent, she would have elevated the Green Nether Banner's position in the previous generation. In fact, some of the guys in the Dragon's Fang Guardians even told me that she had the potential to compete for the Dragon's Head at the time.
"It's a pity that she encountered a True Devil Other and succumbed to its corruption. Her foundation was destroyed and she lost many opportunities as a result. Nowadays, she's staying home to recuperate, and we haven't heard much about her since," Li Fengyi elaborated while feeling sorry for her.
Li Luo nodded and replied, "I met with cousin Li Lingjing earlier. She shared with me that there was a mysterious True Devil Other in this Dark Domain known as the Soul Eater True Devil. This True Devil is particularly fond of talented individuals and enjoys consuming their talent and soul. It is the True Devil that she fell prey to back then."
The other three were surprised to hear about this. "Such a thing exists? This is something we have never heard of before." At the same moment, Li Jingtao's simple and honest face also turned serious as he asked, "Third Brother, do you mean you are being targeted by the Soul Eater True Devil too?"
Li Luo was a triple resonance user. In terms of talent and rarity, he was on par with those who possessed a ninth-grade resonance. Hence, it was not surprising for the Soul Eater True Devil to be interested in Li Luo if it had gone for Li Lingjing previously.
"The two True Devil Others may have come under its instructions," Li Luo explained.
Deng Fengxian frowned and commented, "If it can order two first-grade True Devils, just how strong is the Soul Eater True Devil?"
"There's no need to worry too much. The Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li and the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao send people into the Dark Domain from time to time to hunt True Devils that are of too high a grade. After all, the explorers here are second-grade Dukes and below due to the seal. If a True Devil is too strong, it'll be a disaster for them."
At this point, Li Fengyi pondered for a moment before continuing, "As such, I feel like the Soul Eater True Devil is probably a second-grade True Devil.
"But a second-grade True Devil would be hunted down as well. The Soul Eater True Devil must be something special to have survived here for so long."
"A second-grade True Devil is also very strong," Li Jingtao commented with a frown. After all, this would mean it had the strength of a second-grade Duke. Right now, the four of them could only reach the quasi first-grade Duke Stage with the help of Harmony. There were still a lot of restrictions for them, and they were ultimately far below a real Duke in terms of strength and methods available.
However, Li Luo did not show any signs of fear. He still had the Three-tailed Heavenly Wolf, so he could put up a fight even if he really encountered a second-grade True Devil.
"One more question. If what Banner Leader Li Luo said is true, can this Soul Eater True Devil order the other True Devils as well?" Deng Fengxian asked after giving it some thought.
Everyone frowned when they heard this. Based on the intel they had gathered, there were around ten True Devils in this Dark Domain. If the Soul Eater True Devil really could command the others, it would be a really big headache for them.
Li Luo pondered over it for a moment. He took out the map of the Dark Domain and studied their destinations. They were headed for the places where the Sacred Infant Fruits grew. While they were found in multiple locations, they were all scattered in the deeper parts of the Dark Domain.
Considering that they needed a ripe fruit as well, there was only one spot that fulfilled all their requirements.
It was a district with four True Devils.
Li Luo stared at the red markings on those districts for a moment before his eyes lit up. He then raised his head and looked at the other three.
"I have a bold suggestion," he said as the three stared back at him.
"Get the jump on them. Clip the wings of the bird."
As he finished his sentence, Li Fengyi, Li Jingtao, and Deng Fengxian's faces twitched a little. This was indeed a presumptuous idea.