Chapter 0868: Crimson Fire Mountain Range
The crimson mountain range was like an enormous fire dragon that roamed the land, stretching out with no end in sight.
A very clear distinction separated it from the outside world. On the outside, the air was filled with thick corruption, and insidious whispers echoed throughout. In contrast, there was barely any corruption in the mountain range, and the worldly natural energy was extremely dense inside.
Such was a special trait of this Dark Domain.
In order to avoid the corruption, the worldly natural energy would usually gather in one spot, forming a special region. The worldly natural energy in those areas would be extremely concentrated. As a result, the corruption could not easily enter these regions full of energy.
Such special regions with extremely concentrated energy thus formed natural grounds for cultivation in Dark Domains.
It was a cultivation spot that many of the rogue cultivators would flock to if not for the dozens of Others in the Dark Domains.
Besides that, many rare treasures were born as a result of the extremely concentrated energy in the region. It was also where the Sacred Infant Fruits that Li Luo and gang had been searching for were located.
At this moment, Li Luo and the other three were standing on a mountaintop, watching the crimson mountain range in the distance. The members of the four banners were quietly seated behind them, breathing in sync with a strong force of energy that could be summoned by the Banner Leaders at any moment.
"It feels so easy to get drunk on the immense power granted by the state of Harmony," Li Luo suddenly said with a smile.
They were currently in the depths of the Dark Domain. Under ordinary circ.u.mstances, neither the banner members nor Fiend Finishers like Deng Fengxian or Li Fengyi would dare to come here alone for training. The Others appearing in this area tended to be of higher grades. Putting the True Devils aside, it would be extremely dangerous if they had encountered any Heavenly Disaster-cla.s.s Others.
It was only thanks to the power of Harmony that Li Luo and the other three could sit here peacefully now.
Such power had enabled them, who were clearly still in the Earth Fiend Stages, to fight against True Devil Others.
In fact, it was just like Li Luo had said earlier—one could easily lose themselves in the face of controlling such power.
"Although being able to control the state of Harmony feels wonderful, one should be careful not to be overly reliant on it. If one starts to think such power belongs to them alone, it"ll be extremely harmful to one"s mental state and impede them from cultivating any further," Li Fengyi warned.
"In fact, that is not uncommon at all. Every now and then, a Banner Leader loses himself. Their mental state is affected, and even though they used to be a pretty talented individual, they end up as an ordinary guy unable to cultivate any further," Li Jingtao added with a sigh.
Li Luo nodded in agreement. After all, the power of Harmony was an external aid. He should not confuse it with his own true strength just because it was convenient. Otherwise, he would have to pay a heavy price for it one day.
As he thought about this, Li Luo drew his focus back to his inner self. They had been in the Dark Domain of the Western Region for close to ten days. As they were busy hunting Others, he had not had the time for his own cultivation.
The Dark Domain was actually an excellent place for cultivation despite its harsh environment. In the few days that pa.s.sed, Li Luo had unexpectedly obtained two more Cosmic Sword Intents.
At present, he had three in his possession. This further boosted his confidence in acquiring a Sacred Infant Fruit.
"Let"s head into the Crimson Fire Mountain Range."
Li Luo gave the order without any further words. His attention and gaze were focused upon the crimson mountain range in the distance before him. There were a few volcanic openings that were steaming with hot air over there. That was where Sacred Infant Fruits were said to grow.
His only thought now was to get a Sacred Infant Fruit as soon as possible and leave this Dark Domain.
Hearing his order, the other three nodded in agreement. With a wave of their hands, the members of all four banners started marching into the mountain range blanketed by a searing atmosphere.
The mountains were carpeted with red forests that were dispersed like spreading wildfire.
Li Luo and the rest noticed the presence of spirit beasts as soon as they stepped into it. These beasts looked like monkeys with crimson bodies that appeared to be wreathed in flames.
"Those must be Fire Spirit Monkeys. They appear in areas with extremely dense fire element energy and can be considered the true lords of this mountain range. Ordinary Fire Spirit Monkeys are around Earthly Disaster-cla.s.s in power, while some of the elites are Heavenly Disaster-cla.s.s. However, there are a lot of them, so it"s best not to provoke them," Li Fengyi reminded the rest.
Li Luo nodded. Many of the Fire Spirit Monkeys were screaming at the intruders, but they did not dare to come close to them. Clearly, they must have felt the huge power coming from the four banners in the state of Harmony and knew it was best to steer clear of them.
This was a good thing for Li Luo and the rest. They did not need to worry about getting distracted.
"According to our intel, the Sacred Infant Fruits should be in the depths of this mountain range. There are three volcanoes that may have what we want," Li Fengyi explained.
"Let"s go, then. Hopefully, the Sacred Infant Fruits are ripe."
Li Luo took a deep breath and led the banner forward. His eight thousand members were acting as one. There was not much disturbance wherever they pa.s.sed—it felt just like four people marching on unimpeded.
It had been a strangely smooth journey with no surprises.
However, Li Luo dared not let his guard down. His mental state was closely connected to his banner, and they adjusted their conditions accordingly. This mission was full of uncertainties, whether it was the Soul Eater True Devil or the two other True Devils that had disappeared from their own districts nearby. Moreover, there was still the defective fool Zhao Jingyu and his three divisions that might be lingering somewhere.
The people from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao seemed to have disappeared after Li Luo clashed with Zhao Jingyu when he first entered the Dark Domain. However, Li Luo knew that someone with Zhao Jingyu’s temper would not take this lying down.
He was probably so taken aback by the encounter with the two True Devils previously that he had decided not to come for Li Luo in the middle of the journey. However, he knew very well that Li Luo and the rest would be coming for the Sacred Infant Fruits. If he wanted to strike again... this mountain range was the perfect place. The air of corruption was really thin here, so there was no need to worry about the appearance of True Devil Others.
Just as Li Luo was thinking about this, a chill ran up his spine. He took a heavy stomp and the floor below him cracked, making him stop in his tracks immediately.
Li Fengyi, Li Jingtao, and Deng Fengxian also stopped when they saw his reaction.
"What"s the matter?" Li Fengyi asked.
Li Luo stared sharply at the fiery, dense forest in front of him. He couldn"t see anything unusual in it, but he felt like something was wrong.
It was a feeling that came from the wood resonance within him.
As someone who possessed a wood resonance, he was particularly sensitive to forested areas like this.
Li Luo took a deep breath and puffed up his mouth. In the next moment, he exhaled, and resonant power shot out in waves into the dense forest in front of them.
As the resonant power pa.s.sed through, Li Fengyi and the others could spot tiny, pearl-like particles floating in the air of the dense forest ahead.
The pearl-like particles had a fishy smell and were filled with smoke, as if they were some kind of poisonous substance.
Hidden in the air, these particles would have gone undetected if not for the breath of resonant power. Li Luo and the rest would surely have inhaled them and become poisoned as soon as he led them through this district.
The faces of Li Fengyi, Li Jingtao, and Deng Fengxian turned dark immediately. It was a truly vicious trap.
In fact, such traps could not have been set by True Devil Others.
In that case, there was only one possibility...
Li Luo lifted his head without any change in expression. He stared into the depths of the crimson forest and calmly shouted, "Zhao Jingyu, get your a.s.s out here."
Although his voice was calm, it echoed repeatedly in the dense forest like the rumbling of thunder.
A few moments later, footsteps could be heard coming from the depths of the forest.
Four figures emerged and stopped not too far from the group.
As expected, one of them was naturally Zhao Jingyu.
Zhao Jingyu stared fiercely at Li Luo as he said with a sly smile, "Li Luo, you are really cautious. Even this wasn"t able to get you."
Li Luo smiled and replied, "Likewise, I did not expect an idiot like you to survive those two True Devils either."
Hearing this, Zhao Jingyu"s face twisted as he glared at Li Luo and shouted, "Don"t worry. Since I"m not dead, you"ll be dying next."
In response, Li Luo simply smiled and said, "May I ask you another question?"
However, he did not wait for Zhao Jingyu to reply. He continued in a warm and gentle tone, "You didn"t lose my dragon fangs, did you?"