At the bamboo forest in the back of Dragon's Fang Mountain.
Li Luo had come over to share the good news after his victory at the Green Nether Banner's Banner Leader selection battle. Upon arrival, he saw that Li Jingzhe had been waiting for him with a meal of light bamboo shoots prepared.
Evidently, he already knew the result of the selection battle.
Seeing this, Li Luo accepted his hospitality and enjoyed a nice meal with the old man. After all, there were probably not many people in the Dragon's Fang Lineage who would get a chance to try the bamboo shoots personally prepared by him.
After drinking two cups of bamboo wine, Li Luo smiled and asked, "Grandpa, my performance so far is pretty good, right? It only took me two months to become the Banner Leader."
Hearing this, Li Jingzhe took another bite of bamboo shoot, slowly chewing on it as he replied, "Not too bad, you did not disgrace your father."
A faint grin appeared on his wrinkled, serious, old face and a look of satisfaction arose in his eyes.
"What about the things you promised me before, Grandpa?" Li Luo asked eagerly.
"About the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus?" Li Jingzhe clarified.
Li Luo nodded earnestly as he awaited his answer.
At this moment, Li Jingzhe placed his chopsticks down before answering, "I sent a letter over to the Dragon's Blood Lineage a few days ago. I wanted to withdraw the item from the treasury vault, but unfortunately, there have been some hiccups."
"Someone else has taken it?!" Li Luo inquired nervously as soon as he heard about the update.
"That is not the case, don't worry. Like what I told you previously, it is a precious treasure that our Ancestor brought back from the World Border. All of the lineages have been eyeing it, especially the Hall Masters of the Dragon's Blood Lineage. As soon as they heard about my request, there was a lot of opposition from the Dragon's Blood Lineage, and they used that as an excuse to turn me down this time," Li Jingzhe explained.
Pondering over it for a moment, he continued, "Don't worry about it, I have reminded their Hall Masters as well. If they dare to snatch it from me with some crappy reason, I will definitely not let it go. Let's just wait until the Lineage Chief's birthday party next month when I personally pay him a visit at the Dragon's Blood Lineage. They are probably just using it as an excuse to get something good out of it. In that case, we can just give them something in exchange for it. It’s not a big deal, don't worry. Since I have promised to get it for you, I'll definitely do so."
Li Luo was a little touched by his words. Looking at the old man’s calm and peaceful face, he knew very well in his heart that in the vast and complex dealings among the different lineages, the “something good” that they would gain would be far beyond his imagination.
Although they were all members of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li, there was intense competition with smoking gunpowder ready to blow at any time.
However, Li Luo could only keep this good faith etched in his heart for now. After all, he really needed the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus to help Jiang Qing'e recover her foundation. This would be critical for her future in reaching the Duke Stage. He had to obtain the treasure and deliver it to Jiang Qing'e within a year's time.
"Thank you, Grandpa," Li Luo said softly as he poured a cup of wine for Li Jingzhe.
Li Jingzhe accepted it with a smile and then downed it. He knew his grandson really wanted this item, although he did not know exactly why he was so concerned. As a Fiend Palace Tier cultivator, that treasure was too much for him to handle. Even if it were given to him to use, his physical body might not be able to handle it at all.
However, he did not probe any further. If his grandson had traveled all the way from the outer divine continent for it, he would get it for him as his grandfather.
"I can't get you the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus right now, but do you have any other wishes?" Li Jingzhe asked with a laugh.
Li Luo shook his head with a grin at first. However, he suddenly recalled the request from Li Rouyun earlier and asked, "Grandpa, I heard that the Green Nether Hall is choosing a new Hall Master. Can I nominate Uncle Biao for it?"
"Ox Biaobiao?" Li Jingzhe asked.
Li Luo nodded and told him frankly, "When I enter the Green Nether Hall in the future, there may be some tension between Zhong Yushi and I. If I arrange for friendly aid to enter in advance, this will help to make things easier for me in the future." He was really honest with his intentions and had not thought of hiding it.
Hearing his direct and blunt words, Li Jingzhe did not know if he should laugh or cry. Was it really appropriate to talk about a power struggle in front of him, the Lineage Chief of the Dragon's Fang Lineage?
"It's good that you are planning ahead," he responded in the end. Even after all these years, he had not removed Li Taixuan as the Hall Master of Green Nether Hall because he still believed that the Green Nether Hall belonged to him. Although Li Taixuan had not returned, his son, Li Luo, had come back. In the future, the Green Nether Hall would definitely be handed over to Li Luo.
As such, he did not object to Li Luo's suggestion about placing his own man into the Green Nether Hall.
"Ox Biaobiao does not have a title in the Dragon's Fang Lineage, so this may not really be in line with the rules. However, there have been similar precedents like this, so I can still let him participate in the selection for the Hall Master position. Nevertheless, his Duke Bergfrieds have been destroyed and he has yet to fully recover his strength. He requires external aid just to maintain his power as a fourth-grade Duke, but the participants in the Hall Master selection battle will all be fifth-grade Dukes minimally. He can join, but he may not be able to defeat his opponents," Li Jingzhe explained.
"So, my suggestion is for him to wait patiently for now. I will try and push back the selection battle to buy us some time while we find a way to restore his Duke Bergfrieds. Once he has restored his strength, things will be easier," Li Jingzhe continued.
Hearing this, Li Luo nodded in agreement.
"Let's do as you say, Grandpa," Li Luo replied. Li Jingzhe nodded in response too.
At this moment, Li Jingzhe also reminded Li Luo, "Now that you are the Banner Leader of the Green Nether Banner, you need to familiarize yourself with achieving Harmony with the entire banner. This is the most important thing right now. There will be tasks assigned to your banner in the future, and some are bound to be extremely dangerous. You will surely need everyone's combined effort to clear them."
Li Luo nodded seriously. As the Banner Leader, he would be able to use Harmony with all eight thousand banner members in the Green Nether Banner. This power would be far stronger than what he had experienced with just the fifth division alone. Perhaps... this force could even rival someone at the Duke Stage!
However, such a mighty force would definitely be challenging to control properly.
He would need to spend a lot of time and practice before he could pull it off.
"Grandpa, I would like to increase the efficiency in which I refine abstruse fiend lights. Do you know any other ways?" Li Luo asked.
"With the Nine Revolutions Draconic Breath Fiend Arts, two monthly stipends, and the rewards from the Fiendish Devil Cave, you are still lacking?" Li Jingzhe replied jokingly.
Li Luo shook his head in response. With the things he mentioned, Li Luo could basically condense about three thousand strands of abstruse fiend light every month. This was already a very fast pace of progress. However, Li Luo's goal was to fully fill all three of his palaces.
Based on his current estimation, his three palaces could contain not less than thirty thousand strands of abstruse fiend lights at the moment.
This was an incredulous amount.
If it were anyone else, even someone with a ninth-grade resonance, their resonant palace would require only twenty thousand strands of abstruse fiend lights or so to fill.
However, he had three resonant palaces, so his needs far exceeded what an ordinary ninth-grade resonant cultivator would require.
With thirty thousand strands of abstruse fiend lights as his foundation, he could very likely skip the Silver Fiend Tier and head straight into the Gold Fiend Tier when he finally strived for the Fiend Body Tier! However, wouldn't it take close to a year to fill it up based on his current rate of progress?
Honestly speaking, taking a year to move from the Greater Fiend Palace Tier to the Fiend Body Tier was not considered fast at all.
Furthermore, time was the most precious factor for Li Luo. He could not afford to waste any more.
With these thoughts in mind, he had come to seek advice from Li Jingzhe.
"That is a pleasant trouble to have," Li Jingzhe commented. He was wise enough to know at a glance that Li Luo was planning to fill up all three resonant palaces before heading into the Fiend Body Tier.
He proceeded to give his advice.
"Ordinarily speaking, you have already reached the fastest pace in refining your strands of abstruse fiend light. Adding more high-grade Fiend Origin Pills would not make much of a difference. If you really want to boost the rate at which you acquire abstruse fiend lights, you will require the assistance of rare opportunities or encounters."
Hearing this, Li Luo was slightly disappointed. These so-called opportunities were magical items or places in the world that further bolster his growth. However, if they were so easy to find, they wouldn't be rare!
With a leisurely tone, Li Jingzhe continued, "There are indeed some special locations in the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent, such as the Ten Thousand Starlight in the Starfall Palace. It was formed by the combining resonant power from the stars and worldly natural energy. It is said that a strand of Ten Thousand Starlight can be refined into three thousand strands of abstruse fiend light.
"In addition, there is also the Nine Mountains Spiritual Earth from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qing. It gathers the worldly natural energy from the nine surrounding mountains and condenses it into Spiritual Earth Energy that can also greatly boost one's refinement of abstruse fiend lights," he further elaborated.
"However, these special opportunities are all governed by the respective major forces, and outsiders are unlikely to get access to them."
Hearing this, Li Luo shook his head in disappointment. However, he had a quick thought and asked, "What about us in the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li? Do we have such special opportunities too?"
"Oh? You caught what I was hinting at?" Li Jingzhe laughed in response.
He continued, "For us, the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li, we have a pool named... the Mystical Yellow Dragonbreath Pool. There is a special dragonbreath known as the Mystical Yellow Dragonbreath in a lake that can be used to condense the strands of abstruse fiend light which you so desire. Through this method, one portion of dragonbreath can condense..."
At this moment, he stretched out his palm and waved five fingers in front of Li Luo.
"Five thousand strands of abstruse fiend lights."
Clank! Clank!
Li Luo dropped his chopsticks onto the floor upon hearing this.
At the bamboo forest in the back of Dragon's Fang Mountain.
Li Luo had come over to share the good news after his victory at the Green Nether Banner's Banner Leader selection battle. Upon arrival, he saw that Li Jingzhe had been waiting for him with a meal of light bamboo shoots prepared.
Evidently, he already knew the result of the selection battle.
Seeing this, Li Luo accepted his hospitality and enjoyed a nice meal with the old man. After all, there were probably not many people in the Dragon's Fang Lineage who would get a chance to try the bamboo shoots personally prepared by him.
After drinking two cups of bamboo wine, Li Luo smiled and asked, "Grandpa, my performance so far is pretty good, right? It only took me two months to become the Banner Leader."
Hearing this, Li Jingzhe took another bite of bamboo shoot, slowly chewing on it as he replied, "Not too bad, you did not disgrace your father."
A faint grin appeared on his wrinkled, serious, old face and a look of satisfaction arose in his eyes.
"What about the things you promised me before, Grandpa?" Li Luo asked eagerly.
"About the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus?" Li Jingzhe clarified.
Li Luo nodded earnestly as he awaited his answer.
At this moment, Li Jingzhe placed his chopsticks down before answering, "I sent a letter over to the Dragon's Blood Lineage a few days ago. I wanted to withdraw the item from the treasury vault, but unfortunately, there have been some hiccups."
"Someone else has taken it?!" Li Luo inquired nervously as soon as he heard about the update.
"That is not the case, don't worry. Like what I told you previously, it is a precious treasure that our Ancestor brought back from the World Border. All of the lineages have been eyeing it, especially the Hall Masters of the Dragon's Blood Lineage. As soon as they heard about my request, there was a lot of opposition from the Dragon's Blood Lineage, and they used that as an excuse to turn me down this time," Li Jingzhe explained.
Pondering over it for a moment, he continued, "Don't worry about it, I have reminded their Hall Masters as well. If they dare to snatch it from me with some crappy reason, I will definitely not let it go. Let's just wait until the Lineage Chief's birthday party next month when I personally pay him a visit at the Dragon's Blood Lineage. They are probably just using it as an excuse to get something good out of it. In that case, we can just give them something in exchange for it. It’s not a big deal, don't worry. Since I have promised to get it for you, I'll definitely do so."
Li Luo was a little touched by his words. Looking at the old man’s calm and peaceful face, he knew very well in his heart that in the vast and complex dealings among the different lineages, the “something good” that they would gain would be far beyond his imagination.
Although they were all members of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li, there was intense competition with smoking gunpowder ready to blow at any time.
However, Li Luo could only keep this good faith etched in his heart for now. After all, he really needed the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus to help Jiang Qing'e recover her foundation. This would be critical for her future in reaching the Duke Stage. He had to obtain the treasure and deliver it to Jiang Qing'e within a year's time.
"Thank you, Grandpa," Li Luo said softly as he poured a cup of wine for Li Jingzhe.
Li Jingzhe accepted it with a smile and then downed it. He knew his grandson really wanted this item, although he did not know exactly why he was so concerned. As a Fiend Palace Tier cultivator, that treasure was too much for him to handle. Even if it were given to him to use, his physical body might not be able to handle it at all.
However, he did not probe any further. If his grandson had traveled all the way from the outer divine continent for it, he would get it for him as his grandfather.
"I can't get you the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus right now, but do you have any other wishes?" Li Jingzhe asked with a laugh.
Li Luo shook his head with a grin at first. However, he suddenly recalled the request from Li Rouyun earlier and asked, "Grandpa, I heard that the Green Nether Hall is choosing a new Hall Master. Can I nominate Uncle Biao for it?"
"Ox Biaobiao?" Li Jingzhe asked.
Li Luo nodded and told him frankly, "When I enter the Green Nether Hall in the future, there may be some tension between Zhong Yushi and I. If I arrange for friendly aid to enter in advance, this will help to make things easier for me in the future." He was really honest with his intentions and had not thought of hiding it.
Hearing his direct and blunt words, Li Jingzhe did not know if he should laugh or cry. Was it really appropriate to talk about a power struggle in front of him, the Lineage Chief of the Dragon's Fang Lineage?
"It's good that you are planning ahead," he responded in the end. Even after all these years, he had not removed Li Taixuan as the Hall Master of Green Nether Hall because he still believed that the Green Nether Hall belonged to him. Although Li Taixuan had not returned, his son, Li Luo, had come back. In the future, the Green Nether Hall would definitely be handed over to Li Luo.
As such, he did not object to Li Luo's suggestion about placing his own man into the Green Nether Hall.
"Ox Biaobiao does not have a title in the Dragon's Fang Lineage, so this may not really be in line with the rules. However, there have been similar precedents like this, so I can still let him participate in the selection for the Hall Master position. Nevertheless, his Duke Bergfrieds have been destroyed and he has yet to fully recover his strength. He requires external aid just to maintain his power as a fourth-grade Duke, but the participants in the Hall Master selection battle will all be fifth-grade Dukes minimally. He can join, but he may not be able to defeat his opponents," Li Jingzhe explained.
"So, my suggestion is for him to wait patiently for now. I will try and push back the selection battle to buy us some time while we find a way to restore his Duke Bergfrieds. Once he has restored his strength, things will be easier," Li Jingzhe continued.
Hearing this, Li Luo nodded in agreement.
"Let's do as you say, Grandpa," Li Luo replied. Li Jingzhe nodded in response too.
At this moment, Li Jingzhe also reminded Li Luo, "Now that you are the Banner Leader of the Green Nether Banner, you need to familiarize yourself with achieving Harmony with the entire banner. This is the most important thing right now. There will be tasks assigned to your banner in the future, and some are bound to be extremely dangerous. You will surely need everyone's combined effort to clear them."
Li Luo nodded seriously. As the Banner Leader, he would be able to use Harmony with all eight thousand banner members in the Green Nether Banner. This power would be far stronger than what he had experienced with just the fifth division alone. Perhaps... this force could even rival someone at the Duke Stage!
However, such a mighty force would definitely be challenging to control properly.
He would need to spend a lot of time and practice before he could pull it off.
"Grandpa, I would like to increase the efficiency in which I refine abstruse fiend lights. Do you know any other ways?" Li Luo asked.
"With the Nine Revolutions Draconic Breath Fiend Arts, two monthly stipends, and the rewards from the Fiendish Devil Cave, you are still lacking?" Li Jingzhe replied jokingly.
Li Luo shook his head in response. With the things he mentioned, Li Luo could basically condense about three thousand strands of abstruse fiend light every month. This was already a very fast pace of progress. However, Li Luo's goal was to fully fill all three of his palaces.
Based on his current estimation, his three palaces could contain not less than thirty thousand strands of abstruse fiend lights at the moment.
This was an incredulous amount.
If it were anyone else, even someone with a ninth-grade resonance, their resonant palace would require only twenty thousand strands of abstruse fiend lights or so to fill.
However, he had three resonant palaces, so his needs far exceeded what an ordinary ninth-grade resonant cultivator would require.
With thirty thousand strands of abstruse fiend lights as his foundation, he could very likely skip the Silver Fiend Tier and head straight into the Gold Fiend Tier when he finally strived for the Fiend Body Tier! However, wouldn't it take close to a year to fill it up based on his current rate of progress?
Honestly speaking, taking a year to move from the Greater Fiend Palace Tier to the Fiend Body Tier was not considered fast at all.
Furthermore, time was the most precious factor for Li Luo. He could not afford to waste any more.
With these thoughts in mind, he had come to seek advice from Li Jingzhe.
"That is a pleasant trouble to have," Li Jingzhe commented. He was wise enough to know at a glance that Li Luo was planning to fill up all three resonant palaces before heading into the Fiend Body Tier.
He proceeded to give his advice.
"Ordinarily speaking, you have already reached the fastest pace in refining your strands of abstruse fiend light. Adding more high-grade Fiend Origin Pills would not make much of a difference. If you really want to boost the rate at which you acquire abstruse fiend lights, you will require the assistance of rare opportunities or encounters."
Hearing this, Li Luo was slightly disappointed. These so-called opportunities were magical items or places in the world that further bolster his growth. However, if they were so easy to find, they wouldn't be rare!
With a leisurely tone, Li Jingzhe continued, "There are indeed some special locations in the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent, such as the Ten Thousand Starlight in the Starfall Palace. It was formed by the combining resonant power from the stars and worldly natural energy. It is said that a strand of Ten Thousand Starlight can be refined into three thousand strands of abstruse fiend light.
"In addition, there is also the Nine Mountains Spiritual Earth from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qing. It gathers the worldly natural energy from the nine surrounding mountains and condenses it into Spiritual Earth Energy that can also greatly boost one's refinement of abstruse fiend lights," he further elaborated.
"However, these special opportunities are all governed by the respective major forces, and outsiders are unlikely to get access to them."
Hearing this, Li Luo shook his head in disappointment. However, he had a quick thought and asked, "What about us in the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li? Do we have such special opportunities too?"
"Oh? You caught what I was hinting at?" Li Jingzhe laughed in response.
He continued, "For us, the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li, we have a pool named... the Mystical Yellow Dragonbreath Pool. There is a special dragonbreath known as the Mystical Yellow Dragonbreath in a lake that can be used to condense the strands of abstruse fiend light which you so desire. Through this method, one portion of dragonbreath can condense..."
At this moment, he stretched out his palm and waved five fingers in front of Li Luo.
"Five thousand strands of abstruse fiend lights."
Clank! Clank!
Li Luo dropped his chopsticks onto the floor upon hearing this.
