Chapter 602: Predestined Bond and Grievance, Stealth Methods |
Li Longyu’s string of lies might have been wild and unfounded, but she still managed to cobble them together. However, after she finished speaking, she waited for a long time without getting any response from Xia Hong. When she looked up and met his half-smiling gaze, she immediately felt guilty and averted her eyes, glancing elsewhere.
Little did she know, that this guilty action of “protesting too much” only exposed the fact that she was lying, not to mention that her ears, reddened to the tips, had been clearly seen by Xia Hong.
“So, you’re from the Lulong feudatory, just stumbled in here by accident, ran into her along the way, thought there was strength in numbers, so you brought her along while fleeing, and only ran into me to finally be saved…”
“That’s right, Lord Leader Xia’s life-saving grace—this little woman will never forget it!”
Seeing that Hong Yu was still stubbornly insisting on her excuse, Xia Hong was already a bit speechless. But after staring at her for over ten seconds, his expression gradually softened, and in the end, he gently nodded.
“Got it.”
It was a bit strange. Even knowing full well that she was lying, he couldn’t muster a shred of anger in his heart. The familiarity he had inexplicably felt when he first saw Hong Yu’s face, which he had thought was an illusion, he now realized upon closer look was no illusion. The strong sense of familiarity was still there, and beyond that, there was even an absurd feeling of closeness.
Closeness?
This Hong Yu seemed to carry a particularly pure and ethereal aura…
He set aside these pointless thoughts, turned his head to look at Li Baobao, and his once-softened expression immediately darkened. He barked sternly, “Where are Jiang Yiqing and Xiahou Yong?”
Xia Hong could vaguely sense that as soon as he let go of Hong Yu’s hand, the earlier inexplicable irritability would surge back into his mind. But he didn’t have the energy to dwell on it right now. Thinking that if Li Baobao hadn’t gone down to Red Dragon Lake to steal the gold, he wouldn’t have been inexplicably dragged here, he naturally had no good face for this woman.
Having been fleeing for six days straight, nearly dying several times, and having just barely escaped with her life, Li Baobao was already shaken. Xia Hong’s sudden harsh interrogation made her jolt with a start.
Li Baobao looked up at the anger on Xia Hong’s face. Thinking about how he had been so gentle and kind to Li Longyu, and how even when she had spun such an obvious pack of lies, he hadn’t gotten angry, yet he was treating her like this—the grievances that had built up over six days almost burst forth uncontrollably.
“Those two were too weak. When they first entered the Dark Realm, most of their soul bodies were devoured. They completely lost consciousness. I couldn’t bear to leave them there to die, so I used Tribulation Qi to protect their soul bodies and brought them along while fleeing toward White Bone Mountain. But as soon as I entered White Bone Mountain, I ran into a large number of Demon Soldiers. I couldn’t run far carrying them, so I hid them in a cave on the outskirts of White Bone Mountain. I can take you to find them.”
This woman, at least she still had some conscience!
Xia Hong’s expression improved slightly upon hearing this, but the nameless rage in his heart just wouldn’t dissipate. Seeing a hint of grievance on Li Baobao’s face, he couldn’t help but let out a cold sneer and curse, “Bitch, you’re feeling wronged? If you hadn’t gone down to the lake to steal the gold and disturbed that Fiend Dragon, how would we have ended up here?”
The Dragon Palace at the bottom of the lake was the Fiend Dragon’s lair. The pool that had sent them here could only have been tampered with by the Fiend Dragon. So, in Xia Hong’s view, the one who had brought them here could only be that Fiend Dragon.
Of course, it wasn’t just the Fiend Dragon. Li Longyu, who had abducted Li Xuanling and her two children to the Dragon Palace, had also likely played an extremely important role.
From the information gathered so far, Xia Hong naturally assumed the Fiend Dragon was the mastermind behind the scenes. And in his view, the Fiend Dragon had been in a deep sleep. Until he had rescued Li Xuanling and her two children, it hadn’t made a single move.
Clearly, it was Li Longyu’s theft of the gold that had caused him and Li Baobao to scuffle inside the Dragon Palace. The commotion they had stirred up had awakened the Fiend Dragon, which then tampered with the pool passage and sent them all to the Dark Realm.
With that chain of logic, Xia Hong’s resentment toward Li Baobao was perfectly natural.
“Xia Hong, you…”
“Miss Li, no need to argue. The priority right now is to find a way out of the Dark Realm. What’s the point of pointless bickering here?”
Li Longyu was about to retort, but Hong Yu cut her off mid-sentence.
It was clearly Xia Hong who had started cursing her first, yet Hong Yu’s words made it seem like she was the one being unreasonable. Li Baobao was fuming and was about to speak, but then Xia Hong chimed in again.
“Li Baobao is right. I can’t be bothered to waste words with you right now. When we get out of the Dark Realm, just obediently hand over the gold you stole!”
“You two…”
“What ‘us’? You stole Lord Leader Xia’s gold first. Now you have nothing to say for yourself. Lord Leader Xia is magnanimous and won’t hold it against you for now. Don’t be ungrateful—everything can be discussed once we leave the Dark Realm.”
Twice interrupted while trying to speak, Li Baobao was both furious and anxious, so aggrieved she almost cried.
The problem was that Li Longyu had saved her life, and so had Xia Hong. Moreover, it seemed that the only hope of getting out of the Dark Realm rested on Xia Hong’s shoulders. No matter how resentful she felt, she had no choice but to swallow it down.
This girl was not only sensible but also knew how to talk—truly rare…
Xia Hong couldn’t have cared less about what Li Baobao was thinking, but Li Longyu’s two intercessions had genuinely made him feel much better. His irritable mood calmed down again, and his mind cleared considerably.
“Miss Hong, are you very familiar with the Dark Realm?”
Earlier, while leading the two of them to escape, Hong Yu had described the surroundings of the Misty Marsh Forest in detail. Naturally, Xia Hong wanted to ask for clarification.
Li Longyu shook her head and replied, “I’m only familiar with this region. Everything I said just now is absolutely true. Please, Lord Leader Xia, you must believe me. Let’s not even mention Qishan Mountain. To the south, Qing Yazi of the Soul-Severing Cliff is ranked thirteenth among the seventy-two Ancient Demons under the Qishan Demon Lord. His strength is terrifying. And the Blood River Dragon King of the Sea of Sinful Dragons is a powerful existence on par with the Qishan Demon Lord…”
Holy shit, one more terrifying than the next. On par with the Qishan Demon Lord—just what kind of strength did the Blood River Dragon King have?
As Xia Hong’s mind was shaken, Li Longyu recalled something and added, “Oh, right. That Blood River Dragon King’s son, Crimson Abyss, is the sleeping Blood-colored Fiend Dragon in the Panlong Palace.”
The Dragon Palace beneath Red Dragon Lake was called Panlong Palace.
That sleeping Blood-colored Fiend Dragon was called Crimson Abyss.
No wonder that Fiend Dragon had such a big background. Back when it saw the five Masters, it had dared to boast, saying that even the Five Zang Tathagata of Lingyin Mountain would have to bow and kowtow to it. Turns out it had a father who was on par with the Qishan Demon Lord.
“So, that means we can only go back to White Bone Mountain?”
Li Longyu nodded and answered, “Indeed. Within a thousand li, only the White Bone Cave hides a spatial rift. We can return to the Ice Abyss through that rift. There’s no other way.”
So the Six-Armed Evil Abomination hadn’t lied to him. White Bone Mountain was the only way.
Xia Hong’s brow furrowed slightly. Thinking of the Demon General Crimson Flame from earlier, he wasn’t particularly afraid. But according to the Six-Armed Evil Abomination, White Bone Cave wasn’t just home to Crimson Flame. There were seven Demon Generals in total, along with an even stronger Madam Jade. Add to that a large number of Demon Soldiers, and forcing their way through with just the three of them wouldn’t be easy.
“Lord Leader Xia, there’s no need to worry. That Jade Skull Madam has some connection to Great Xia. If you just reveal your identity outright, she’ll let us pass.”
………………
If anyone else had said this, Xia Hong would have thought they had lost their mind. But it was Hong Yu who said it. And strangely enough, looking at the sincerity in her eyes, Xia Hong was genuinely shaken.
He was actually starting to believe it a little.
“May I ask how Miss Hong knows this? The Jade Skull Madam is an Abomination, and an Abomination of the Dark Realm at that. How could Great Xia possibly have a connection with her?”
Xia Hong had already realized that he seemed to have a natural sense of closeness to this girl named Hong Yu. And because of that closeness, he would inexplicably trust her.
But even so, he forced himself to calm down. The idea that the Jade Skull Madam had a connection to Great Xia sounded absurd no matter how he thought about it. If anyone else had said this, he wouldn’t have even bothered to acknowledge it. The fact that he was asking this question now was a testament to just how terrifyingly much he trusted Hong Yu.
As for Li Longyu, upon hearing Xia Hong’s question, her face showed obvious difficulty, clearly at a loss for how to answer.
“The connection between Madam Jade and Great Xia—I only learned of it from my father’s mouth. The fact that my father can ask this question now means that at this point in time, he isn’t familiar with the Jade Skull Madam either. How am I supposed to answer…”
After thinking for a long time, Li Longyu truly had no idea how to explain it to Xia Hong. In the end, she spoke with a sincere tone, “I really can’t explain this matter, but please, Lord Leader Xia, just trust me this once. Going to White Bone Mountain will definitely be fine!”
Meeting Li Longyu’s sincere gaze again, Xia Hong had to admit—his heart was genuinely wavering.
“This… Miss Hong, people’s lives are at stake. I’m sorry, but I can’t trust you on this.”
If it had been any other less serious matter, Xia Hong could have believed her. But this time, he really couldn’t.
Xia Hong shook his head after speaking and continued asking, “Miss Hong is so familiar with the surrounding environment. I assume you’re also well-informed about Madam Jade’s strength?”
Li Longyu immediately nodded. This was something she did know.
The Jade Skull Madam was very powerful—a rules-class Abomination. In terms of the Dark Realm, that would make her a top-tier Demon King-level spirit body. However, at her point in time, converting the time difference between the Ice Abyss and the Dark Realm, this current time period was probably about eighty-odd days before her own timeline.
Spirit-body lifeforms in the Dark Realm found it relatively easy to increase their strength. Moreover, the Jade Skull Madam also had the backing of the Blood Pool Patriarch. In eighty days, her strength probably wasn’t too formidable yet. Only…
“Probably early Demon King stage. In terms of the Ice Abyss, that would be a top-tier Disaster-level Abomination. She should be able to exert roughly a thousand Jun of strength right now.”
That was reassuring!
Hearing this answer, Xia Hong immediately let out a sigh of relief and continued, “Then we only need to worry about the seven Demon Generals and the tens of thousands of Demon Soldiers. As you said, the only spatial rift in the area is the White Bone Cave, so they’ll probably guess we’re heading there. Your strength…”
Xia Hong sized up the two of them, his brow sinking slightly.
Truth be told, even though his cultivation level was lower than theirs, his base strength was close to three hundred Jun. The gap wasn’t huge, so he could roughly gauge their strength.
Li Baobao’s base strength wasn’t too far off from his, probably under four hundred Jun. Hong Yu was much stronger, likely over six hundred Jun.
The problem was, neither of them had as many tricks up their sleeves as he did. So even though their cultivation levels were higher than his, the strongest combat power they could unleash was actually inferior to his.
“Take one each. They’ll boost your strength for a short time, but they have significant side effects that will affect your future…”
After thinking for a moment, Xia Hong took out two Bone-Burning Pills from his Yellow Mustard Bag. He was about to hand them over, but before he could finish speaking, Li Baobao cut him off.
“Bone-Burning Pills are useless against Tribulation Body.”
Xia Hong’s expression froze. He only then remembered that Li Baobao was from Wei Bo. Bone-Burning Pills from Mo’ao Chuan—how could someone like her possibly be lacking them?
Li Longyu also recognized the Bone-Burning Pills. She shook her head, clearly already aware that they were useless for Tribulation Body.
“Lord Leader Xia, there’s no need to overthink it. Though I’m lacking in strength, I do have a method for becoming invisible in the Dark Realm. What you’re worried about is the Demon Soldiers, right? I can take you and her and sneak into the White Bone Cave undetected.”
Hearing Hong Yu’s words, Xia Hong immediately looked at her with anticipation.
“If you have such a method, why didn’t you use it before?”
Li Baobao was utterly baffled. For the past six days, they had been in constant danger. If she had such a trick, why hadn’t she brought it out sooner?
Li Longyu’s attitude toward her was as cold as ever. She rolled her eyes and said, “Crimson Flame was right behind us, and tens of thousands of Demon Soldiers were watching from below. Even if I had heaven-defying methods, I couldn’t have used them!”
After saying that, she saw the expectation in Xia Hong’s eyes. Her mind stirred slightly, and the thirteen beads hanging on her forehead suddenly blazed with a burst of brilliant light.
The light was originally golden, but it quickly shifted to a deep blue hue, matching the dominant color of the Dark Realm. Then, after another few dozen seconds, her entire figure slowly became transparent, until she finally vanished from sight before Xia Hong and Li Baobao.
Xia Hong’s face was full of curiosity. He then conjured a Soul-Illuminating Lamp above his head.
As soon as the Soul-Illuminating Lamp appeared, the surroundings brightened considerably. Yet even so, it couldn’t reveal Hong Yu’s true form.
Not just her physical body—even her soul body had turned invisible along with it. Even her aura had disappeared. Even the Soul-Illuminating Lamp was useless.
“Lord Leader Xia, please close your eyes and don’t resist!”
As Hong Yu spoke this sentence out of thin air, an even more miraculous scene unfolded.
A sudden surge of energy came from directly in front of his face. Xia Hong obeyed Hong Yu’s words, closed his eyes, and did not resist. He let the energy envelop his entire body. After a moment, he felt a sense of isolation arise in his heart. When he opened his eyes again, his surroundings hadn’t changed at all, but the deep blue dominant hue had become a gray, hazy expanse.
Within this gray, hazy space, Hong Yu was standing gracefully to one side, her brows arched and eyes smiling as she looked at him.
On the other side, Li Baobao was looking around in all directions, her face full of confusion. She even seemed to have a touch of panic from their sudden disappearance.
“With this stealth technique, things are much more secure. There’s no time to lose—we’ll head toward White Bone Mountain now. But first, we need to rescue Jiang Yiqing and Xiahou Yong.”
“Alright!”
What was even more interesting was that Li Baobao, on the outside, clearly couldn’t hear the conversation between him and Hong Yu. That meant this space didn’t just grant invisibility—it could completely isolate sound as well.