Chapter 0981: Activating the Lantern Bearer
Li Luo stared at the lantern bearer in front of him. He remained quiet as he continued his slow stroll along the destroyed hallway, appearing illusory from time to time. The same old lantern was swaying from side to side in his hand, its flame appearing to have been extinguished since time immemorial.
Li Luo took a deep breath and did not hesitate any longer. Ignoring the warning signs from his body, he carefully approached the lantern bearer.
In a few moments, he was standing right beside him.
From such a close distance, he could see that the lantern bearer's face was kind of blurry. However, his size and posture indicated that he stood tall and stalwart.
Li Luo grit his teeth and reached out with his hand, trying to give the lantern bearer a light tap.
To his surprise, his hands went straight through him. Nonetheless, he had no reaction to Li Luo's sudden action. He simply continued with his slow walk.
Li Luo pulled his hand back. It seemed like ordinary methods would not suffice if he wanted to awaken the lantern bearer...
After putting some more thought into it, his gaze turned towards the old, bronze lantern. "The flame has died out... The flame has died out..." the same phrase continued to echo faintly from the lantern bearer, as if these words had come from a far more ancient time.
"Don't worry, brother. Little brother here will help you light the flame. I only hope that you'll show some other reaction afterwards..."
After saying this, Li Luo placed both of his hands together as if he was doing a prayer. He then stretched out his arm and activated the Acquired Resonance Godly Forging Art. In the blink of an eye, a transparent ball of Acquired Resonance Flame hovered above his palm.
He was not sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but for a moment, the illusory lantern bearer seemed to have finally reacted when his Acquired Resonance Flame appeared.
Li Luo felt his spirits lift. With a flick of his fingers, the Acquired Resonance Flame flew through the air, aimed right at the bronze lantern.
He did not even dare to blink as he watched the flame's flight carefully.
What happened next was shocking. The acquired resonance flame reached the inside of the bronze lantern, but it did not fly past it like every other object. Instead, it hovered inside the lantern for a moment. Li Luo's heart was beating rapidly as he watched the situation unfold.
The wick inside the lantern ignited!
A ball of flame faintly rose into sight in the ancient, bronze lantern.
In the same moment, the lantern bearer finally stopped his endless walk.
Li Luo excitedly looked at the lantern bearer. There finally seemed to be a faint sign of life within his empty eyes. However, it was still a mere glimmer.
Nonetheless, this was much better than the illusory state that he was in previously.
In fact, Li Luo could feel that the lantern bearer had begun to turn his confused eyes towards him in an extremely slow manner.
"Cultivated… acquired resonance flame… but… did not merge… with resonance...
Li Luo was dumbfounded, but the words gradually entered his mind.
"Who cultivated the Acquired Resonance Flame but did not merge it with their resonance. Foolish?"
Li Luo's face turned black. “This elder must have been a really strict teacher back in the Sacred Void Resonance Sect. Despite how weak and faint he sounded, the first words out of his mouth are calling me a fool?
“Nonetheless, what did he mean by merging it with my resonance? No one taught me anything about it at all!”
Li Luo felt aggrieved by these words, but he knew that there was something more important now. He carefully said, "Elder, an Other has snuck into the Sacred Void Resonance Sect. Please help us out and eliminate this devil!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed the illusory figure of the lantern bearer showing violent fluctuations. This time, anger appeared to surface within those dead and blank eyes.
"Other? Other! How dare it sneak into the Sacred Void Resonance Sect! It deserves to die!"
His words and voice had chained together and became coherent this time.
Li Luo was really pleased as he replied, "Yes, it deserves to die. Please help us out quickly, Elder!"
"Kill it! Kill it!" The voice of the lantern bearer echoed.
However, Li Luo's face changed quickly after a few seconds. He realized the lantern bearer was repeatedly chanting for it to be killed, but there was no further action...
"Elder, what's the use of shouting? Please act now!" Li Luo could not help but shout in response.
The lantern bearer turned silent for a moment before he replied, "I am just a remnant of memories from years ago. What can I do?"
Hearing this, Li Luo felt like he was about to vomit blood! This was completely different from how he had imagined it to turn out.
At this point, the lantern bearer continued slowly, "I may not be able to act directly. However, I can still borrow your hands to slay this devil."
Li Luo was taken aback after hearing such big words from the elder. However, he immediately answered, "As long as I can get rid of the devil, I am more than willing to help out as a disciple of the Sacred Void Resonance Sect!"
The lantern bearer nodded slightly. In the next moment, the flame in his bronze lantern burned more brightly before it condensed into a golden flame talisman.
The flame talisman rose into the air and hovered in front of Li Luo.
"This is the Golden Holy Fire Talisman. You can use this to help you get rid of the devil. However, you will also suffer burns when it’s used. If you can endure through this ordeal, you may perhaps earn some unexpected rewards."
Li Luo's heart wavered when he heard the lantern bearer's words. He looked at the flame talisman in front of him, and he could feel terrifying undulations it faintly emitted.
He carefully reached out to it. At the same time, he noticed that the flame in the lantern had died out once again after being used to create the fire talisman. The lantern bearer's body was also beginning to fade, as if he was about to disappear.
Li Luo quickly took the chance to ask him another question. "Elder, what did you mean by merging it with resonance earlier?"
The lantern bearer replied in a deep voice, "You fool. Didn't you pay attention during our daily training? I've never seen such a foolish disciple." Li Luo was stunned by his blunt scolding.
Nonetheless, the lantern bearer explained to him in the end. "Go towards the Golden Dew Platform and complete the ritual. You'll be able to merge it with your resonance."
"Golden Dew Platform?"
Li Luo's eyes move slightly. He was about to say more, but the lantern bearer was about to disappear completely. As such, he took the chance to ask one last question. "Sorry, but how should I address you, Elder?"
All of a sudden, the blank eyes of the lantern bearer reacted violently again. It seemed like he had regained consciousness completely for a moment as he stared back at Li Luo. He seemed to have seen right through him.
In the next moment, Li Luo saw a surprising scene. The lantern bearer vanished completely, but the bronze lantern remained, falling onto the ground.
He then heard a soft echo that seemed to have come from a time long past.
"I am known as the Sixth Son of Void Resonance, Wang Taixi."
"The Sixth Son of Void Resonance, Wang Taixi?" Li Luo whispered to himself as the image of the lantern bearer's gaze surfaced in his mind once again. He frowned for a moment, unable to understand the lantern bearer's reaction in that last moment. However, he could not come to any conclusion. Li Luo took a look at the bronze lantern on the ground and hesitated for a moment before he carefully reached out and picked it up. Using some resonant power, he tried to activate it, but there was absolutely no reaction from it. It seemed to have become a piece of useless junk. Li Luo stored it in his pocket sphere though, never wasting anything. He then looked down at the Gold Light Fire Talisman, and his eyes lit up. With this in hand, his trip here had not been wasted.
Li Luo turned around and dashed back towards the depths of the thick mist once again.
“Cousin Lingjing, please wait for me!”