Luo Li moved with light steps, as graceful as a lotus. With every slow step, her long silver hair, as dazzling as the silver river in the galaxy, turned obsidian black at an alarming speed.
In just a few short moments, her originally cool toned silver hair transformed into inky black strands.
Naturally, there were other changes besides that of her long hair, including her disposition and aura. If the usual Luo Li was as tranquil as the lotus of a secluded valley exuding a beauty of refined serenity, now she exuded an aura of palpable coldness, her crystal clear eyes filled with nonchalance. It was as if she were sitting on the divine throne, overlooking the masses like an empress.
In the sky, Ji Xuan and Xie Tianhe narrowed their eyes as they gazed at Luo Li. Their expressions were somber, as if they could detect an unusual sense of danger unlike before.
They remained silent, as they were aware that Luo Li must have tricks up her sleeve. However, they were not simple characters to be trifled with, either. Now that they had temporarily become allies, even if Luo Li had a strong ace up her sleeve, it would be difficult for her to fight one versus two against them.
"Heh, it seems like you intend to fight us one versus two?" Xie Tianhe cackled, his gaze ghastly.
Luo Li looked at him coldly but did not reply. Her slender hands lightly clasped together, forming an ancient seal, as a soft voice rang out.
"Luo River."
Crash!
When those two words were uttered, a hurricane seemed to have taken form in the world as the spiritual energy between heaven and earth rioted in a wild frenzy.
In the space behind Luo Li, a violent turbulence occurred and amidst countless shocked gazes, a nearly invisible vast and endless river appeared.
The river, brilliant and dazzling, resembled a primordial ancient dragon, greatly astonishing the crowd. Despite the river being a shadow, the vast majesty it exuded still shook many to the core.
Even the Chiefs of the Great Spiritual Academies in the sky could not help but gape in surprise. Their faces were startled, as the Chiefs of the Five Great Academies stared solemnly at the ancient river.
Whoosh.
There was a faint sound of trickling water and the sound seemed to contain a strange, irresistible force.
Luo Li's lovely face remained composed as she conjured a seal with one hand, placing it lightly before her chest.
Crash!
In the winding ancient river, a gushing water column suddenly burst out, soaring into the sky. Everyone's faces morphed into shock, as a pair of huge majestic wings condensed from water spread out from within the water column.
The spiritual energies between heaven and earth fluctuated in a violent frenzy.
The water column dissipated into mist, revealing the figure within. It was a shadow of about 100 feet, slender and graceful. She floated atop the ancient river and if one scrutinized her face, they would find it to be similar to Luo Li's but at the same time, there were slight differences. She spread her wings with an elegant flourish, exuding an indescribable sense of beauty that made everything in the world pale in comparison.
She seemed to be the embodiment of beauty.
Furthermore, everyone could feel the powerful spiritual energy fluctuations around her.
Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at the scene before them.
In the sky, Ji Xuan and Xie Tianhe's expressions twisted with surprise. The former's eyebrows knitted tightly in frustration, while the latter seemed to have recalled something. Shock flitted through his gaze as he cried out in disbelief.
"This is… the Spirit of the Luo River?"
Ji Xuan's heart jolted in shock as his eyes narrowed.
"The fifth rank in the Beast Record's Earth Ranking, revered to be the most mysterious Spiritual Beast, the Spirit of the Luo River?"
In this vast world, the Beast Record was divided into two lists; the Heaven and Earth Ranking, with the Earth Ranking sometimes called the Spiritual Beasts Ranking, because all the rankings belonged to the domain of Spiritual Beasts. In this ranking, the most mysterious one was that of the Spirit of the Luo River, which was ranked in fifth place.
To a certain extent, the Spirit of the Luo river was the most intriguing existence in the Spiritual Beasts Ranking because it did not rely on the usual methods of reproduction and inheritance of the bloodline, but rather developed from a miraculous existence of the Luo River as its precursor.
In the primordial times of the Great Thousand World, there was once a magical river named the Luo River, which seemed to have an everlasting existence. It was ancient, with infinite power and mystery. However, after the horrendous catastrophe when foreign tribes invaded the land, the Luo River was destroyed and ceased to exist, so it was extremely rare to see the Spirit of the Luo River appear again.
As the birth of the Spirit of the Luo River required very precise and harsh conditions, it not only required the Luo River as a precursor but when it is born, it must find a perfect host, a fetus still in the mother's womb to integrate with. Otherwise, the newly born Spirit of the Luo River would once again fade into nothing and dissipate in the Luo River.
This fusion was rather intriguing, as not only does it not damage the host, it instead serves a complementary function in the path of cultivation, hence it is highly coveted by practitioners.
In the primordial times, when the Luo River was not yet destroyed, there was a group of Sovereigns who merged with the Spirit of the Luo River, and these top powers were a powerful force to be reckoned with in the catastrophe of guarding the Great Thousand World.
However, now that the Luo River had been destroyed, it was obvious that it was impossible to restore it to its former glory, hence over time, the Spirit of the Luo River became one of the most mysterious ranks in the Spiritual Beasts Ranking.
In the top four ranks of the Spiritual Beasts Ranking, the Four Spirit Symbols consisted of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird and Black Turtle. However, this was in fact only symbolic, as the bloodlines of the four spirits were unable to be restrained by the Spiritual Beasts Ranking. They were not only ranked extremely highly on the Spiritual Beasts Ranking, but even on the terrifyingly formidable Heaven Ranking in the Beast Record. Some also called it the Divine Beasts Ranking.
The reason why these four spirits could dominate the top four of the Divine Beasts Ranking was because they had to go through a period of infancy before they could evolve into the true form of their Divine Beasts.
Hence, to a certain extent, the first rank in the Spiritual Beasts Ranking could be considered as the fifth-ranked Spirit of the Luo River…
Moreover, the Spirit of the Luo River possessed the power of evolution. Although it did not have the power of a bloodline, once it really evolved, it became particularly terrifying, as the Spirit of the Luo River would transform into the God of the Luo River. That sheer magnitude of power could only be rivalled by those who had lived for countless years, and only the most powerful Divine Beasts would be able to best it.
In this era, the Spirit of the Luo River had become a legendary myth. Thus, when Xie Tianhe and Ji Xuan witnessed Luo Li summoning the shadow of the Spirit, their faces twisted into dread.
"She's actually the host of the Spirit of the Luo River, how could it be…" Ji Xuan's eyebrows knitted in frustration as he murmured incredulously.
Although the Luo River had been destroyed, there had been a remnant of the hidden Luo River in the Luo God Clan. Who would have expected that the little remnant of the Luo River could really birth the Spirit of the Luo River. What a great fortune indeed!
Xie Tianhe's face was livid with rage as he gnashed his teeth.
"I see." Ji Xuan nodded his head subtly.
"Hmph, well there's nothing to be afraid of. The Spirit of the Luo River is clearly still at a juvenile phase. It won't pose as a threat at all!"
Xie Tianhe snorted disdainfully.
Something in Ji Xuan's gaze flashed momentarily before smoothing back into an indifferent expression.
"I would really like to see what you could possibly do to me."
Xie Tianhe's gaze turned chilling. Now that Wen Qingxuan had been defeated, Luo Li alone would not be able to turn the situation around. Even if she had revealed an astonishing card up her sleeve, Xie Tianhe was not a cowardly imbecile who was easily intimidated.
He smiled grimly at Luo Li and then roared ferociously, plunging his unnervingly hideous crimson arms into the crown of the Demonic Blood Beast's skull. The crowd saw his arms wriggling frantically, as dark red blood flowed unceasingly into the Demonic Blood Beast's body.
With the influx of blood, the body of the huge and ferocious Demonic Blood Beast flushed blood red. The crimson blood thorns that grew from its back of red bone thorn extended into something increasingly grotesque and horrendous.
Roar!
The Demonic Blood Beast let out a bloodcurdling roar skyward and its murderous aura pervaded heaven and earth, causing the world to shake ominously.
"Blood Demon Bell!"
As Xie Tianhe's roar permeated the air, a flash of blood red light burst out of the mouth of the Demonic Blood Beast and transformed into a gargantuan crimson red bell. Droplets of blood trickled and dripped down the surface of the bell. As countless ferocious faces emerged, a shrill roar rattled through the world.
The rumbling growl seemed to have the power to influence the minds of the people nearby. Numerous disciples in the vicinity of the battle stage felt their spiritual energies fluctuate uncontrollably and even their blood showed signs of ebullience.
Bong!
The Demonic Blood Beast swung its huge fists, dealing a brutal blow towards the Blood Demon Bell. Suddenly, a murderous aura pervaded the heavens and earth, a beam of blood red light around a hundred feet long spewed out, like a blood dragon howling past, creating unnerving sound waves aimed straight towards Luo Li.
Luo Li lifted her gaze slightly. Her beautiful face remained impassive. With just a gentle lift of her hand, the slender and graceful silhouette behind her mirrored her movement.
Crash!
A gentle stream of crystal clear water flowed out, colliding lightly with the beam of blood.
Whoosh!
In the collision, there was no hard impact causing the spiritual energies to fluctuate and spread. Instead, the blood almost disintegrated entirely at the first touch of the seemingly gentle and clear water.
The ancient Luo River always had the power to cause everything to dissipate.
Luo Li did not give Xie Tianhe any opportunities to regroup as she dealt continuous blows towards his attacks. With a flourish of her hands conjuring up seals, the clear stream of water coalesced into tumultuous waves and in a flicker, appeared above the Blood Demon Bell, engulfing it entirely.
Whoosh!
The Blood Demon Bell was swept into the water and was reduced to nothing in the gentle swooshing sounds of the water.
Xie Tianhe's expression twisted with dread and terror.
However, before he could attack again, he suddenly felt a turmoil in the space surrounding him. His eyes narrowed as he saw his surrounding space being torn apart. Turbulent waves of crystal clear water surged out, turning into a lake that enveloped him.
A seemingly gentle attack instead made Xie Tianhe feel that he was in mortal peril.