Absolute ResonanceAbsolute Resonance
When Qin Lian died, the heavens and earth rumbled as her eight Duke Bergfrieds exploded and transformed into boundless amounts of energy returning to the world. In the skies above, a gigantic scarlet Luan's illusory figure was blazing with flames, illuminating the dim clouds like the glow of sunset. That was Qin Lian's resonance. High-grade Dukes had a close connection with the world around them, and whenever they fell, their resonance would dissipate and resonate with the environment, creating certain phenomena. This scene was reflected through the void, and even some of the mighty beings in the World's End River Region could sense it.
"Qin Lian has fallen."
"Was she actually killed by Li Luo?"
Divine Tiger King Zhao Zong and White Elephant King Zhu Yuan couldn't help but to halt momentarily. They focused their gazes into the depths of the Treasure Domain, where the Four Heavenly Emperors' Sealing Talisman was gradually being eroded.
Qin Lian was an eighth-grade Duke, and although her strength didn't mean much in their eyes, it didn't make sense that Li Luo had beaten her, even though he had just broken through to the Duke Stage. There was an uncrossable chasm in strength between them after all.
"He actually destroyed his second Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfried? His determination is commendable," the Kings thought to themselves in surprise upon sensing what had happened.
"Good brat," Divine Tiger King Zhao Zong mused to himself as his eyes lit up. This was a good conclusion to the situation from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao's perspective. They didn’t want to see yet another Transcendent Duke arise from the Dragon's Fang Lineage. Additionally, Qin Lian's death meant that the Origin Reversion Institute's plans would be set back.
This was killing two birds with one stone.
……
In the air above Heavenly Dragon City.
Li Jingzhe similarly sensed Qin Lian's demise. "Little brat, you're even more amazing than your father all those years ago. It must have been tough for you," he said to himself in a low voice.
His abstruse gaze turned towards the void before him. A gigantic flame veil with nine flaming dragons stood before him, each emitting energy undulations that were capable of slaying Qin Lian effortlessly. Currently, all of the dragons were spewing out scarlet dragonbreath that flowed with boundless sword energy, capable of destroying everything.
The dragonbreath was all focused on a single figure: the Human Fetus of the Tri-Pupil Enigmatic Fetus.
To fend off Li Jingzhe's assault, it was wielding a black oilcloth umbrella. An inky-black ocean containing innumerable struggling and tortured figures covered the surface of the umbrella.
The umbrella flowed with dusky light as it mitigated the effects of the sword energy dragonbreath.
This exchange of blows didn't cause any sort of earth-shattering tremors, but every strand of energy was capable of annihilating countless cities. The moment Qin Lian fell, the Human Fetus' energy undulations slightly weakened. Its previously calm disposition trembled slightly.
"It looks like my grandson has done his best to create an opportunity. His grandfather won't let his efforts be in vain." Li Jingzhe had detected the Human Fetus' weakness. It was clear that Qin Lian's death had led to the weakening of the summoning efforts of the luring platform, affecting the Tri-Pupil Enigmatic Fetus' ability to project its power. Thus. he waved his sleeve, and endless amounts of Azure Wind kicked up. When combined with the Nine Dragon Fire Sword Veil, the nine dragons opened their maws and sucked in deep breaths, inhaling great amounts of the mysterious Azure Wind.
A moment later, the dragons unleashed nine fireballs imbued with Azure Wind which collided in the air and began to fuse.
Destructive waves of energy emanated in every direction, causing the void to shatter.
A few moments later, a dragon pearl containing both azure and scarlet colors surfaced. The pearl then descended and stayed afloat above the Human Fetus. Azure and scarlet light shone as the dragon pearl flowed with source origin. The beams of light were able to cause tiny cracks to appear in the black oilcloth umbrella.
At the same time, cracks began to spread on its body.
Meanwhile, the eyes of the Human Fetus remained placid like deep pools, devoid of any emotion as it quietly observed Li Jingzhe.
……
In the void outside Abyssal City.
The Faceless Other King was currently embroiled in a "vicious struggle" with Qin Jiujie. However, Qin Jiujie's expression suddenly changed. He glanced towards the Treasure Domain and then turned towards Heavenly Dragon City.
"Faceless! The Tri-Pupil Enigmatic Fetus' ability to project more strength has been halted," he glumly said.
From afar, the Faceless Other King, who was shrouded in gloomy energy, replied in surprise, "That woman Qin Lian is pretty useless. How could she, an eighth-grade Duke, be beaten by a bunch of juniors?"
Qin Jiujie's gaze turned dark. No matter what had been said, Qin Lian was his descendent, and she would not have been implicated in this if he had not invited the Faceless Other King here. Thus, he had a big part to play in her death.
"It wasn't that she was useless; it was because she had a death wish. Otherwise, if she was willing to give everything she had, Li Luo might not have beaten her even if he were to destroy his remaining Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfried," he coldly retorted.
This caused Qin Jiujie to feel frustrated. Things had long escalated to the point of no return, but Qin Lian had hesitated in the end. "What do we do now, Faceless? If the Tri-Pupil Enigmatic Fetus can’t project any more power, the Human Fetus won't be able to reach Triple Crowned King strength."
"Haha... Qin Jiujie, why are you so anxious?" The Faceless Other King laughed.
Qin Jiujie's eyes creased as he coldly replied, "The Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin has sacrificed a lot of people, and if Li Jingzhe remains safe and sound, won't that mean that I've lost completely?"
The Faceless Other King continued to cackle. "No need to be anxious... no need to be anxious. Li Luo might have caused a little bit of trouble, but the schemes of the Origin Reversion Institute are not that easy to deal with. After all, the real sacrifice doesn't come from those pipsqueaks. It was actually... Qin Lian all along!"
Qin Jiujie squinted. "Qin Lian is the real sacrifice? Then why didn't you do it from the start? It would have saved so much time."
"Hahahaha! Qin Jiujie, you're even more vicious than I am! You are definitely suited to join the Origin Reversion Institute," the Faceless Other King praised. He then explained, "The secret method I arranged could not be activated while she remained conscious. Now that Li Luo has killed her, I can finally take action."
The Faceless Other King stretched out a sharp finger and ripped apart the pale skin on its head, forming a human-skin talisman. He then drew on it, outlining some ominous runes before spitting out a ball of white flame and incinerating it. The human skin talisman burned up, forming black smoke that disappeared into thin air.