97: Chapter 95 The Death of Lin Mo
Southern Barrens, King Burial Valley.
Thick black mist pressed down between heaven and earth. The vegetation for dozens of miles had long since withered, and even the stones on the ground were tinged with a deathly gray.
The cliffs on both sides were covered with densely packed suppression runes.
This was the ancient battlefield where the Noble Families had joined forces to fight the final battle against the Dragon King.
At this moment, deep in the valley floor, eighteen pitch-black high towers rose from the ground.
Surrounded in the center by these eighteen towers was an even taller and larger main tower.
The top floor of the main tower.
A roundtable meeting was in progress.
Zhou Yanting stood before a massive crystal curtain wall, looking down at the thirty thousand elite coalition troops waiting in battle formation below.
His only remaining arm was tucked behind his back, his fingertips lightly tapping against his sleeve.
“Brother Zhou, that Su Xiaoli has gone completely mad.”
Helian Cang sat in a chair, rolling two withered walnuts in his hand, his voice calm and unhurried.
“She even severely injured people from the Alliance.”
Ling Zhengyang gave a cold snort and tossed the frontline battle report onto the table.
“If she hadn't gone mad, I would actually be wary of the Alliance people constantly protecting her.”
“But now, it's perfect.”
“She’s alone, without even a dao protector.”
He looked up, his tone filled with mockery.
“Just because she’s a Second Class Advancement who gained King-level power, does she really think she can sweep across the world?”
In the corner, Zhang Wei let out a sinister laugh.
“King-level power is indeed troublesome.”
“But the one controlling that power is, in the end, just a little girl who hasn't grown up.”
He raised his head, his eyes cold.
“Back then, wasn't the eighth-advancement Dragon King also schemed against by those old bones of the previous generation until his life and path were extinguished?”
“In today's world, the Fifth Class Advancement is the ceiling.”
“We have thirty-six peak fifth-advancement experts here, plus a hundred thousand formation masters.”
“A mere Su Xiaoli... Hmph! She can be crushed with a flip of a hand!”
Around the round table, some picked up tea cups, some laughed softly, and others pressed their fingers against their family crests.
Not a single person objected.
In their eyes, no matter how strong Su Xiaoli was, she was just a vessel that had yet to truly mature.
King-level power was terrifying, but it wasn't something just anyone could easily master.
Zhou Yanting turned around, leaning one hand on the table.
“Killing her is too wasteful.”
“Su Xiaoli is a natural-born King.”
“If we can wipe out her consciousness and turn her into a dedicated weapon for the Alliance of Noble Families, that would be the true maximization of profit.”
Ling Zhengyang narrowed his eyes.
“How do we wipe it?”
Zhou Yanting grinned, his smile as venomous as a viper.
“Back then, White Dragon King was consumed by madness and only knew how to vent his desires.”
“So, the clan elders used the abyss flower to corrode his soul, and then used an illusion formation to wear him down until he died.”
“A King may seem invincible, but as long as there's a flaw, we have a chance.”
After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and clapped.
The next second.
The plaza below the main tower shook violently.
A super formation covering a thousand acres roared to life.
Twelve copper pillars carved with eerie runes slowly rose from the ground.
Fissures opened at the tops of the copper pillars, and dark purple poisonous miasma gushed out, filling the entire canyon in just a few breaths.
One hundred thousand formation masters pressed down on their formation plates simultaneously.
Buzz—
The entire King Burial Valley was like a waking giant, emitting a low rumble.
“This [Nine-Fold Heart-Eroding Array] was originally a super illusion formation prepared over the past two months to guard against the Dragon King's resurrection.”
Zhou Yanting stared at the crystal curtain wall, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.
“Using Su Xiaoli to test it out now is just perfect!”
“As long as Su Xiaoli enters the formation, she will see the person she wants to see most.”
“Isn't she looking for Lin Mo?”
“Inside the formation, there are plenty of Lin Mos.”
Around the round table, several heads of the Noble Families glanced at each other.
“This plan is brilliant!”
They agreed.
Zhou Yanting lowered his voice, saying word by word:
“We will make her watch Lin Mo die before her eyes over and over again in the illusion.”
“If once isn't enough, then ten times.”
“If ten times isn't enough, then thousands or tens of thousands of times.”
“Gaining him every time, then losing him every time.”
“Once she has cried all her tears and her mind has collapsed, we will use the abyss flower to corrode her soul, turning her into a beast that only knows how to roar by instinct...”
He paused, his smile twisting slightly.
“At that time... she will be at our mercy!”
Inside the main tower, a burst of enthusiastic applause suddenly erupted!
“Brother Zhou is indeed the number one strategist of the Zhou family! To think of such a wonderful method!”
“Brother Zhou truly possesses extraordinary wisdom!”
Everyone praised Zhou Yanting one after another, as if Su Xiaoli had already become a plaything of the Noble Families under Zhou Yanting's plan.
...
Fifty kilometers away.
The ground shook violently.
A streak of dark golden light charged across the wasteland, like a crude plow blade, forcibly carving a straight canyon into the surface of the earth.
Su Xiaoli's feet crushed the air as her figure turned into an afterimage.
Ahead, a mountain peak several hundred meters high blocked her path.
She didn't go around.
She didn't even pause.
Her entire being turned into a blood-colored streak of light, slamming hard into the mountainside.
Boom—!
The entire mountain peak exploded from the middle.
Giant rocks soared into the sky and then crashed down to earth like a meteor shower.
Su Xiaoli burst out from the shattered mountain.
Her crimson hair danced wildly in the gale, and her black heavy armor was stained with the blood of the Noble Families' defenders.
Gravel brushed past her cheeks without leaving the slightest scratch.
Those dark red eyes were terrifyingly empty.
There was no anger, no fear, and not even a clear focus in them.
She only had one thought in her mind now.
Find Lin Mo.
She stopped at the entrance of King Burial Valley.
Ahead, dark purple miasma swirled like a giant mouth that had long been open.
Su Xiaoli held the overlord halberd in one hand and stepped inside.
Without any hesitation!
The surrounding world fell silent the moment she stepped into the black mist.
The gale disappeared.
The army formations disappeared.
King Burial Valley also disappeared.
Between heaven and earth, only a void of white remained.
Su Xiaoli stood there blankly, her dark red eyes slowly scanning the surroundings.
Step... step... step...
From deep within the white mist, the sound of gentle footsteps echoed.
Su Xiaoli’s hand gripping the halberd shaft suddenly tightened.
Her knuckles made a faint clicking sound.
The white mist parted.
A youth wearing a casual hoodie walked out.
He was tall and slender, with his hands in his pockets and that slightly lazy smile on his face.
“Xiao Li.”
The youth looked at her, his voice very soft.
“I'm back.”
Su Xiaoli froze in place.
The murderous intent surging in her eyes seemed to be washed away by a tide.
A mist of water gradually rose in her hollow red pupils.
The ferocious heavy armor covering her body also silently dissipated at this moment, turning back into that clean white dress.
The formidable overlord who had slaughtered her way through, whom even fifth-advancement experts didn't dare to block, now looked like a child who had been lost for too long and finally saw her family.
Clang.
The overlord halberd fell to the ground.
Su Xiaoli ran over, opening her arms and throwing herself hard at him.
“Lin Mo...”
Her voice carried a thick sob, sounding incredibly aggrieved.
Inside the main tower.
Zhou Yanting stared at the crystal light screen, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.
“The fish has completely taken the bait.”
“Everyone—please begin to enjoy the show!”
He suddenly raised his hand.
“Activate the formation!”
Just at the moment Su Xiaoli's fingertips were about to touch the corner of Lin Mo's clothes.
Puchi—!
A pitch-black bone blade two meters long pierced through Lin Mo's chest from behind.
Blood sprayed out.
It splashed all over Su Xiaoli's face.
That blood was hot.
It slid down her cheeks bit by bit.
“Xiao Li...”
The illusory Lin Mo turned his head with difficulty, his voice so weak it seemed it would break at any moment.
“Run...”
As his voice fell.
His body shattered inch by inch before Su Xiaoli like broken porcelain.
Finally, it turned into a pool of blood.
Su Xiaoli's hand stopped in mid-air.
She stared blankly at her blood-stained hands.
Her pupils gradually lost focus.
“No...”
The next second.
The white mist surged frantically.
One Lin Mo after another walked out from deep within the mist.
Some were hacked to pieces by many blades.
Some were burned by raging fire.
Some were bitten at the waist by giant beasts and forcibly torn in two.
Others reached out through the blood mist, calling to her for help.
“Xiao Li, save me!”
“Ah—!”
The screams slammed into her ears again and again.
Every scene was so real it could drive one mad.
The blood had warmth.
The fire had a stinging pain.
Lin Mo's voice, even that familiar laziness in the final note, was exactly the same.
Su Xiaoli knelt in the blood covering the ground.
She clutched her head, her body trembling violently.
A desperate, mournful wail like a dying beast squeezed out of her throat.
“Is she about to collapse?”
Inside the main tower, the breathing of Zhou Yanting and the others became hurried.
“Quick! Go prepare the abyss flower!”
One minute passed.
Ten minutes passed.
The illusory Lin Mo was killed exactly a thousand times.
Time and time again.
Su Xiaoli reached out to grab him.
But every time, she was just that little bit short.
Her voice was already so hoarse she couldn't make a sound at all.