Chapter 0885: Secret Art of Extraction
Li Lingjing smiled sweetly when she heard Li Luo"s question. She then raised her slender finger and pointed to the five dragon fangs, saying, "Because not a single drop of Dragon Fang Essence has been born in them."
Li Luo stared in disbelief. He couldn"t help but ask, "How do you know? Can you sense the Dragon Fang Essence?" That was something that even the strong and powerful Dukes couldn"t do, right?
"I can sense it indeed. But it"s a very abstract feeling. I"m not too sure how it"ll really turn out in the end," Li Lingjing said as she revealed her clean and white teeth. She turned her head slightly towards Li Luo and continued, "Cousin Li Luo, why don"t you give it a try? Try and extract from one of the fangs and see if my feeling is right?"
This placed Li Luo in a really tough position. He was unable to decide what to do now as these dragon fangs were really precious to him. It had taken so much effort to obtain them, and they were his only hope to cultivate the Myriad Resonances Dragon Fang Sword Formation. If he missed this chance, he would not be able to master the art by the Dragon"s Head compet.i.tion. Clearly, this would not be good news for him.
Of course, he could make a bet and go for it. If Li Lingjing"s feeling was off, he could get lucky and extract a drop of Dragon Fang Essence out of one these five dragon fangs.
After giving it some thought, Li Luo decided to trust Li Lingjing"s feeling and restrained the gambling urges.
"Cousin Lingjing, you didn"t come all the way here just to remind me of this, right?" Li Luo asked seriously as he stared at her beautiful face with a strand of demonic air hovering about.
Fiddling with her teacup, Li Lingjing replied with a slight smile, "You really are smart. Although these dragon fangs do not contain any Dragon Fang Essence yet, I have a secret art that can make them give birth to the essence when mixed with spirit materials. The success rate is not high, but if you"re lucky, it would not impossible to get one drop of Dragon Fang Essence out of these five fangs."
Li Luo was surprised to hear about this. "There"s such a secret art? How do you know about it?"
Li Lingjing sighed a little. "Have you forgotten about the Soul Eater True Devil? I"m not the only talented one who has fallen prey to it. The memories of other talented individuals have been swallowed by it too. Since I"m tangled up with it, these memories have also become mine. That"s how I learnt about this secret art." Li Luo finally understood. If what she was saying was true, her knowledge far exceeded that of most of the Dukes. In that case, her takeover of the Soul Eater True Devil was a blessing in disguise.
"Are there any conditions to doing that?" Li Luo asked calmly after giving it some thought.
"Like having you accept me as your maid?" Li Lingjing chuckled as she teased him.
In response, Li Luo replied helplessly, "Please be serious, Cousin Lingjing."
She had been showing more and more potential in the past few days. Now, she even had the memories and knowledge from all the talented individuals eaten by the Soul Eater True Devil. This meant that even Li Luo himself wouldn"t feel right about having her as his maid.
Most importantly... Li Luo wouldn"t dare to.
This was partly because of the special state that Li Lingjing was currently in. If the Soul Eater True Devil returned one day and corrupted him, it would be a complete disaster.
With such a big risk, how would Li Luo dare to accept her?
Hearing his response, Li Lingjing sighed as well. Her smile disappeared as she calmly replied, "I would like you to promise me one thing."
"What is it?" Li Luo asked.
Her eyes lowered a little as she continued, "To protect my life."
Li Luo froze for a moment when he heard this. With a frown on his face, he asked, "Cousin Lingjing, do you feel unsafe about going to the Dragon"s Fang Mountain Range?"
Li Lingjing replied honestly, "Of course. The Soul Eater True Devil is really mysterious. Now that I am entangled with it, even the Lineage Chief himself may not be able to separate us completely. In that case, the most simple and direct solution will be to get rid of me along with it.
"The Western Region"s Li Family is not a highly respected family in the Dragon"s Fang Lineage. We only have my aunt as the Third Hall Master of the Green Nether Hall. However, that"s not enough to influence the others if it really boils down to a vote on whether they should eliminate me along with the Soul Eater True Devil. Most likely, no one will be able to protect me then."
Li Luo listened to her as she explained herself with total composure. He was slightly taken aback. Her mind was really deep and calm. It was no wonder she could remain conscious despite the Soul Eater True Devil"s corruption and had even made a comeback against it.
"Do you really think I"ll be able to protect you?" Li Luo slowly asked.
"The Lineage Chief has always been serious and fair. However, he feels some remorse when it comes to you, his grandson. If anyone in the Dragon"s Fang Lineage has a chance to change his mind, it"ll surely be just you," Li Lingjing responded.
"Cousin Lingjing, you"re really tricky to make use of even this," Li Luo said with a calm expression.
"I just want to survive. Is there anything wrong with that?" Li Lingjing said as she suddenly clenched her fist. Veins started showing on her jade-white, slender arms as she looked at Li Luo directly. Her emotions were surging.
"Do you think I wanted to become like this? Anyone would be disgusted if they found out that there"s an Other in me. But do I have a choice? This is my only way to survive!" Li Lingjing shouted.
Li Luo was slightly taken aback when he saw how emotional Li Lingjing had gotten. Who would have expected his words to spark such a strong response? She had always been so composed in their previous interactions. However, Li Luo could empathize with her. Despite her strong and tough appearance, she was clearly affected by the Soul Eater True Devil.
Li Luo pondered over it for a moment before he replied in a deep voice, "You"re not wrong. In fact, I admire you. It is true. Among all the young generation"s talents that I have met, there aren"t many that can be compared to you."
Hearing this, Li Lingjing stared deep into Li Luo"s eyes, but he did not avert her gaze. She gradually calmed down when she saw the sincerity in his eyes.
She lightly brushed apart her hair and said, "Sorry for getting so emotional."
Li Luo replied in a gentle tone, "Don"t worry about it. I believe you"ll be able to resolve this. After all, you"ve already cleared the hardest part. What else is there to worry about?"
Li Lingjing bit her red lips lightly as she responded, "Let"s hope your well wishes come true."
At this point, Li Luo pondered for a few seconds before he continued, "There is no need to worry too much about what happens next. Since you’re coming with me, I"ll be responsible for your safety. I can promise to protect you to the best of my abilities as long as your mental state does not get completely consumed by the Soul Eater True Devil. After all, you"re a talent in the Dragon"s Fang Lineage too. With your extraordinary potential, you may even become a King in the future. It"ll be a heavy loss for our Dragon"s Fang Lineage to lose someone like you so easily."
Hearing this, Li Lingjing simply stared back at Li Luo in a daze.
Li Luo was getting a bit embarra.s.sed by her look as he voiced out, "Cousin Lingjing, although it"s very charming of me to say that, you"ll need to restrain yourself a little. If not, my fiancee will not let you off when she learns about this."
Li Lingjing rolled her eyes when she heard his words. She replied with a half-smile, "Now you"ve aroused my compet.i.tive spirit. If I meet her in the future, I"ll have to ask her for some advice."
In the next moment, she reached out her jade hands, and a scroll appeared. She handed it over to Li Luo.
"This is the secret art that I"ve been talking about."
Li Luo opened it hurriedly. The scroll was filled with beautiful characters written in ink that had yet to dry completely. It was clear that this had just been written not too long ago. After reading through it, Li Luo memorized the details in his heart and said with a bitter laugh, "It"s indeed a good secret art. However, we"ll need a King Stage helper on top of the various spirit materials..."
"This is a tough requirement for others, but it shouldn’t be an issue for you, right?" Li Lingjing responded with a chuckle.
Li Luo nodded and replied, "Looks like I"ll have to trouble the Respected Elder again."
However, he was clearly in a good mood. With this secret art from Li Lingjing, there was a higher chance for him to obtain a Dragon Fang Essence now. If that happened, he would finally be able to cultivate the Myriad Resonances Dragon Fang Sword Formation.
Following this, the two chatted happily for another moment before Li Lingjing stood up and left.
There were many secret glances at her as she walked through the hallway back into her own room. When she closed her door shut, her tiny body leaned back against the door and she heaved a sigh of relief.
She raised her right hand up and looked into her pale palm. In the middle was a strange, black light, wriggling in it like a worm.
As the black light shone onto Li Lingjing’s face, her eyes appeared a little dark as she whispered to herself, "Cousin Li Luo, I hope that you can keep true to your words...
"If not... I won"t sit around and wait for death quietly.
"I have finally gotten a chance of survival after fighting so hard. I will not let others cut it off, no matter what happens."