<h4>Chapter 1274: Rising Tide</h4>


    <i>Boom!</i> The sound of rushing water smashing against the rocks could be hearding from the depths of the Golden Stone Valley. The surroundings trembled violently and worldly natural energy surged into the skies.


    Numerous people began to appear on both sides of the valley. Their eyes were full of greed and avarice as they stared down into the depths. The Golden Stone Spirit m Pearls were a very valuable item in the World''s End River Region. Most importantly, this hunting ground didn''t belong to any of the major powers officially, so everyone had a chance topete for it.


    Li Jinpan, Ox Biaobiao, and Li Rouyun appeared with the Guardian Army on one of the mountain peaks that nked the valley. They led the group at the front, with the younger ones like Jiang Qing''e, Li Luo, Xia Yu, and Li Hongyou behind. Five thousand fully equipped Guardians stood behind them, ready to act onmand. It was a truly grand sight.


    Li Luo looked deep into the valley. Numerous golden lights were spotted, which then transformed into roaring waves of water. The stream flowed quickly with a faint golden luster, as if gold had been melted and infused into it.


    More golden water flooded out until more than half of the valley was filled up. One could no longer see the ground.


    Along the two sides of the valley were countless golden boulders, all lined up. As a result of being soaked in the golden water for a long period of time, they had gotten stronger and more durable. Now they could even withstand the attacks of a Duke. It was one of the magical sights found in this region.


    It was then when Li Luo sensed some movementing from the inside of the boulders. It was as if something was trying to make its way out.


    As time passed by, the movements became more obvious. Suddenly, a loud cry of surprise could be heard.


    A Golden m that was a few feet long slowly emerged from the inside of a golden boulder. When it came out, its shell opened up a little and it began to greedily suck in the golden water.


    The Golden m appeared to bepletely fused with the golden boulder itself. If one wasn''t paying close attention, it would have easily gone undetected.


    As the m took in more of the golden water, its shell began to open up wider. Golden m flesh could be spotted inside it, and if one looked carefully, they could spot a mysterious light shining from its core.


    Li Luo''s heart skipped a beat upon this sight, and his eyes lit up immediately. This was a Golden Stone Spirit m, the reason why he hade to Golden Stone Valley. In the center of its flesh, that dazzling spiritual light had to be the so-called Golden Stone Spirit m Pearl!


    Many others on both sides of the valley had been waiting for this moment impatiently. In the blink of an eye, enormous amounts of resonant power surged up and several figures dashed down into the valley.


    <i>Ssh! Ssh!</i>


    The sounds of sshing water resounded in the valley repeatedly. Countless individuals dove into Golden Stone Valley like a school of fish, all attempting to obtain treasures from the Golden Stone Spirit ms.


    Li Rouyun turned and told Jiang Qing''e, Li Luo, and Xia Yu, "You should set out too. Go in teams of two hundred and keep a distance from each other, just like how we discussed earlier. Ensure that you''ll be able to reinforce each other if an enemy strikes."


    "The three of us will stand guard over here. We will iste this area, and if any strong True Devils appear, we will rush to your aid immediately," Li Jinpan added.


    Jiang Qing''e, Li Luo, and Xia Yu nodded.


    The three of them took the lead and leapt forward. The five thousand Guardians dove down right after them.


    <i>Ssh!</i>


    Li Luo felt a strong pressure emanating from all directions as soon as he entered the water. The golden water was infused with worldly natural energy and was thus unusually weighty.


    If anyone below Heavenly Resonance Tier were in this position, they would find that they were unable to swim in it, as if they had fallen into quicksand.


    Fortunately, this pressure did notst for long. Li Luo soon felt an energy that was simr to that of a first-grade Duke flowing into his body. Then the pressureing from the water dissipated.


    Li Luo nced over. The two hundred members behind him had gotten into formation, and that was the source of this energy.


    It was theirbined strength.


    <i>"Two hundred members are enough for me to rival a first-grade Duke."</i> Li Luo sighed in his heart. The strongest member out of these two hundred was only at the Heavenly Resonance Tier, yet they were able to summon up the power of a first-grade Duke through a secret art. This was clearly an enhanced version of the state of Harmony which he wielded in the Twenty Banners.


    Based on his estimate, it would require at least two thousand members from the Green Nether Banner to achieve the same effect. With this boost in strength, Li Luo could now move freely in the water.


    His eyes swept across the surrounding area. There were four other groups of two hundred around him, so a total of a thousand Guardians under his lead. If there was an emergency, he could activate their power and achieve enough strength to rival a third-grade Duke.


    The wonderful bolstering effects were simply amazing.


    Li Luo sighed again in his heart as he thought about all this. However, he did not procrastinate any further. He flew forward and moved towards the closest boulders. It was time to hunt for Golden Stone Spirit ms.


    As the water continued to flood the area, the Golden Stone Spirit ms began to make their appearances. It didn''t take long before Li Luo found his first m. It slowly opened its shell and began to suck in golden water.


    Li Luo grabbed his Dragon Elephant de and shed outwards at this instant. A beam of de energy flew across and urately sliced into the m flesh. A mote of light flew out of the core of the m flesh, and he swiftly grabbed it.


    Li Luo opened up his palm and looked into it curiously. A golden pearl that was around the size of an infant''s fist was in his hand. The pearl glowed brilliantly, giving off a beautiful light that extended several dozen feet.


    "Forty feet of brilliant light, this is a middle-grade pearl."


    Over the past few days, Li Luo had learned about the different grades of the Golden Stone Spirit m Pearls. This was based on the amount of brilliant light they emitted. Ten to thirty feet was considered low-grade, thirty feet to one hundred feet was considered middle-grade, and anything above that was considered high-grade.


    Li Luo was a little disappointed with his first harvest, but he kept the middle-grade Golden Stone Spirit m Pearl. At the same time, the Golden Stone Spirit m he had just attacked was startled. It dove straight back into the golden boulder and there was no sign of it ever again.


    He did not care about this and continued his search.


    The valley was extremely lively as people swam about from point to point. Some of the rogue cultivators had even gotten into fights for the pearls. Fighting had halted in the vicinity earlier because the tide hadn''t arrived. Now that things had started, they did not need to worry about causing disturbances with their energy waves anymore.


    When more Spirit ms appeared, some unlucky people found themselves opening up ms with hidden Others. These Others were of varying strength, and every time one appeared, it would cause quite a bit ofmotion.


    Casualties began to rise as the golden water continued to flood into the valley. However, no one retreated because of this. This was just anothermon sight in this particr region.


    Before they noticed, two hours had passed.


    Li Luo had gotten a total of five Golden Stone Spirit m Pearls during this time. His hard work had finally paid off and he managed to find one high-grade pearl with one hundred and fifty feet of brilliant light.


    However, this did not mean that the high-grade pearl belonged to him yet. If he wanted it for himself, he would have to buy it in the end using his contributions during this mission.


    Strictly speaking, Li Luo hadn''t earned it with his strength alone. It was thanks to thebined strength of all the Dragon''s Fang Guardians.


    Li Luo put the high-grade pearl away carefully. Just as he was about to set off again, he sensed an extremely strong energy wave nearby. He looked over and was shocked.


    "Senior Hongyou?"


    Li Hongyou was leading two hundred Guardians not too far away. In front of her were three True Devil Others that resembled humans. However, there was no hair on their bodies and their brains could be clearly seen on the tops of their heads.


    From a distance, they were like three humans with a giant spiritual pearl on each of their heads.


    Their brains wriggled in an unsettling fashion and their facial features twisted strangely as they approached.


    They had surrounded Li Hongyou.


    Li Luo was taken aback by this. He had not seen a single True Devil yet, so how had three appeared in front of Li Hongyou all of a sudden? However, his hands did not slow down because he was surprised. He dashed forward like a fish swimming across the water.


    "Senior Hongyou, I''ll help you out!"


    Along with his voice, a sh of sharp de energy zipped across the water, directly heading towards the True Devil Others.