Chapter 1252 Father
As the night deepened, the patrolling spiritualist discovered Luo Li. She was standing in front of the barrier at the edge of the restricted area.
Seeing her return, the disciple was about to salute her, but was startled by the unprecedented coldness in her eyes.
Luo Li's voice was calm, as if she wasn't the one who got angry in the forest just now. "Notify Emperor Xuanming to convene an emergency meeting at noon tomorrow."
When I returned to the city wall, Di Xuanming was still waiting there.
Seeing that her armor was stained with undried dew, he didn't ask any questions, but just handed her a cup of warm spiritual tea.
"What did he say?"
Luo Li took the teacup, and the warmth spread along her fingertips, but it could not dispel the coldness in her heart.
She raised her head, drank the tea, and placed the empty cup on the battlement. "He gave me a choice: go to the Soul Locking Tower, or watch the rift in the Demonic Abyss widen."
"The Soul Locking Tower is in the Demon Abyss? But the Demon Abyss is still sealed. How is he going to get in?" Di Xuanming frowned and said in a deep voice, "Mo Xuan has clearly set a trap."
"I know." Luo Li looked towards the direction of the Demon Abyss, where the darkness was even thicker than the night. "But I must go."
She turned to look at Di Xuanming, the stars in her eyes lit up again, but they were colder and brighter than before: "Three days is enough time for us to do a lot of things. Since he wants to play, we will play with him to the end."
Di Xuanming held her slightly cold hand and slowly injected his soul power into her body: "I will go with you."
"No." Luo Li shook her head and held his hand tightly. "Gods City needs you to guard it. Xiao Liu will also stay. If the rift widens, it is inevitable that Yan Ye will attack again."
"I will return from the Soul Locking Tower on time in seven days." Luo Li's voice was filled with unquestionable power. "Until then, hold this place."
Di Xuanming looked at the determination in her eyes and finally nodded.
He raised his hand to brush away the strands of hair on her cheek, his fingertips carrying a cherished warmth: "I'll be here, waiting for you to come back."
The bell of the emergency council pierced through the morning mist and struck the ears of everyone in the City of Gods who had not yet completely recovered from the afterglow of victory.
Luo Li stood in the center of the conference room and told Mo Xuan about his provocation and the changes in the Demon Abyss Rift.
The elders looked solemn. "The North has always been the place where demonic energy is most prevalent. The Soul Locking Tower is the legendary place where the demon generals were suppressed during the Great Desolation. Going there would be like walking into a trap."
The white-haired elder's voice was filled with pain, "Lord Luo Li, please think twice."
Luo Li tapped the map on the table with her fingertips. The location of the northern border was circled in cinnabar, forming a striking red mark. "You only have three days to think it over."
She raised her eyes and scanned the crowd, but only said four words, "Wait for me to come back."
Three days later, at midnight, the wind from the northern wilderness blew across my cheeks, carrying icy particles.
Luo Li stood alone on the snowy plains of the northern border, surrounded by endless white snow.
She pinched her fingers together, and the power of chaos immediately spread over hundreds of meters around her.
The snowflakes were scattered by the power of chaos, reflecting tiny pieces of light under the moonlight.
Suddenly, there was a dull vibration on the ground. Beneath the snow, a dark purple crack was slowly opening, with devilish energy as thick as ink flowing around the edge.
Luo Li gripped the Xuan Yue Sword tightly and moved sideways to avoid a gushing black gas.
From the cracks came the sound of chains dragging on the ground, mixed with faint humming, as if countless wronged souls were struggling.
Liuli said solemnly in the Chaos Jade: "This is indeed the entrance to the Demonic Abyss. Be careful."
"It's here as expected." Luo Li murmured, tapped the ground with her toes, and leaped into the crack like a flying swallow.
The feeling of weightlessness from falling only lasted for a moment before my feet touched the cold stone steps.
There was bottomless darkness all around, and only the light emitted by Xuan Yue could illuminate an area of several meters.
The stone steps meandered downwards, and the walls were engraved with twisted runes, glowing faintly with the flow of demonic energy.
The footsteps were particularly clear in the empty corridor, and with every step, one could hear the sizzling sound of burning demonic energy.
Luo Li suddenly stopped and pointed the tip of her sword at the shadow diagonally above.
"come out."
There was a rustling sound in the shadows, and several demon insects with bone wings stumbled out, but turned into ashes the moment they touched the power of chaos.
Liuli emerged from the Chaos Jade, shrank, and sat on Luoli's shoulder. "Ali, this is still the outermost part of the Demon Abyss. The Soul Locking Tower is at the bottom of the Demon Abyss. Some of the demons in here may have awakened. Be careful."
Luo Li nodded, "I understand."
Under the protection of the power of chaos, Luo Li continued to walk down the cold and slippery stone steps.
The corridor seemed to have no end, only the demonic energy was wrapped around it like a sticky substance, constantly impacting the golden light shield.
The air was so heavy that it was almost stagnant, mixed with the rusty smell of blood and a stale atmosphere.
"Be careful on the left!" Liuli's voice sounded hurriedly.
Luo Li almost instinctively turned sideways and swung the sword, and the Xuan Yue sword light cut through like a streak of silk.
A twisted shadow that almost blended into the darkness was torn apart by the sword light, emitting a silent scream and dissipating, leaving only a deeper chill.
That was not a physical monster, but an evil shadow that was bred from the intense resentment and demonic energy of this place.
The further down we went, the more shocking the scene on both sides of the stone steps became. Instead of a monotonous stone wall, skeletons began to appear embedded in the rock.
Some were the skeletons of gigantic monsters, while others were clearly human-like skeletons, pierced by thick black chains and nailed firmly to the rock wall.
The chains were already rusted, but they still emitted ominous auras, as if they were still imprisoning the souls of the dead that had long since dissipated.
"These are all powerful individuals who were tortured here during the Great Wilderness period, or they are minions of the fallen demon gods."
Liuli's voice was filled with a hint of solemnity. "The power of the Soul Locking Tower has radiated here, binding even their last grudges and remaining souls. Ah Li, every inch of this place is soaked in pain."
Luo Li nodded silently, her eyes becoming sharper.
She saw that the road ahead was blocked by a swirling black fog, which seemed more corrosive and confusing than the demonic energy outside.
"It seems that this is the only way to reach the lower level." Luo Li stopped and pointed the Xuan Yue Sword at the ground. The power of chaos condensed at the tip of the sword, forming a tiny golden vortex.
She did not rush in rashly, but slowly raised her left hand with her palm facing up.
"Chaos, purify the world."
As she shouted coldly, a golden lotus composed purely of the power of chaos blossomed above her palm.
The lotus petals unfurled, emitting a soft yet incomparably pure light. Wherever the light reached, the swirling black fog, as if encountering its nemesis, let out a shrill cry and slowly dissipated.
Lotus light cleared the way, and Luo Li stepped steadily into the purified passage.
The black fog rolled on both sides, but it could never penetrate the range of the lotus light.
The passage was not long, and it suddenly opened up at the end. The scene in front of her made Luo Li's pupils shrink slightly.
This is a huge underground cavity with an invisible ceiling. Countless sharp minerals hanging down are like the devil's fangs.
In the center of the cave stands a giant tower whose grandeur and eeriness cannot be described in words.
Soul Locking Tower!
The tower is not made of bricks and stones, but is built up of countless huge bones that gleam with a dark luster.
Dark red energy as thick as blood flowed between the bones, like the blood vessels of the tower.
Countless thick, barbed black chains extended from all parts of the tower, some of which were deeply embedded in the surrounding rock walls, while others hung down, with the ends sinking into the bottomless dark abyss at the bottom of the tower.
The entire tower exuded a suffocating atmosphere. Just by approaching it, Luo Li felt a biting chill coming from the depths of her soul, as if the tower itself was a monster that was eager to devour all living things.
"This is it!" Liuli's face was solemn. "This is the weapon of the Demon God. I have seen this thing before, but the Demon God has not yet resurrected. Now is the best time to go in!"
Luo Li looked at a huge black stone door in front of her. On the door was a relief of a nine-headed snake coiled around it, and the obsidian inlaid in the snake's eyes was emitting a faint light.
On the door, the words "Lock Soul" exude a bone-chilling chill.
Luo Li raised her hand and pressed on the door. Just as she was about to inject the power of chaos, the door slowly opened on its own.
Behind the door was not the prison as expected, but a hall shrouded in fog.
A figure was floating on the high platform in the center of the hall.
His white clothes were stained with blood and his long hair was disheveled.
The person whose limbs were pierced by chains emitting black energy was her father, Luo Qi.
Luo Li's breathing suddenly stopped and the Xuan Yue Sword almost slipped out of her hand.
She looked at the floating figure. The bloodstains on the white clothes had long dried into dark brown, but they burned her eyes like red-hot iron.
The chains penetrated the shoulder blades and ankles, and light golden soul blood was constantly oozing out, which was a sign of damage to the soul.
"Father!"
Luo Qi seemed to have noticed something and raised his lowered head slightly.
His pupils were covered by a layer of gray mist, but the moment he saw Luo Li clearly, the mist surged violently.
Although he had only seen Luo Li when she was a child, her face was four points similar to her mother, allowing him to recognize her at a glance.
"Li'er?" His voice was broken as he growled, "Why are you here? Go away!"
Before he finished speaking, the chains around him suddenly straightened, and black energy crawled along the chains like a snake all over his body.
Luo Qi groaned in pain and his body trembled violently.
"Father!" Luo Li raised her sword and was about to go forward, but was blocked by an invisible barrier inside the palace gate.
She swung her sword, and the Xuan Yue Sword collided with the barrier, but only left a shallow scratch on it.
"Don't waste your energy." Luo Qi shook his head with difficulty, the clarity in his eyes being swallowed bit by bit by the black energy. "This is a soul-locking formation set up by Mo Xuan. It uses my soul as a guide. If you come in, you will only be trapped together..."
His words became increasingly unclear, while the black energy surrounding him grew thicker, almost completely swallowing up the white.
Luo Li became more and more anxious as she watched her father struggling in pain.
"Mo Xuan said that if you voluntarily break your vow, Mother will be free." Luo Li gritted her teeth, her voice trembling slightly, even unconsciously. "Father, is this true?"
Luo Qi's entire body trembled, a trace of determination flashing across his face, which was covered in black energy. "Breaking the oath? That's the same as killing Qing'er! Li'er, remember, no matter what happens, you must never believe Mo Xuan's words!"
He suddenly raised his head and roared with his last bit of strength: "Take your mother away from the Continent of Gods! Never come back!"
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