Chapter 604: Infiltration, Madam Jade Skull's Strength |
White Bone Cave was a fifty-meter-tall giant human skull.
Fifty meters tall, its internal structure was naturally quite spacious. Unfortunately, judging by the armor and weapons worn by those Demon Soldiers, it was clear that the Dark Realm's craftsmanship was far inferior to the Ice Abyss. This inevitably meant the interior space of this giant skull had not been put to good use.
The entire White Bone Cave was roughly divided into three levels:
The first level was over twenty meters high. The cave's entrance was actually the skull's mouth. Upon entering, there was a wide space about ten meters square, clearly the oral cavity. Since the skull was a ghostly white inside and out, it wasn't dark at all. Under the eerie blue light, visibility was actually higher than outside.
The second level was also over twenty meters high, roughly extending from the skull's upper lip all the way up to the brow. The nostrils and eye sockets were ingeniously used as windows, though the craftsmanship of those windows was truly poor. Not even worth comparing to Great Xia — even windows made by craftsmen from any random Giant Camp in the Ice Abyss were probably better than these.
The third level was just over ten meters high, comprising the entire forehead area. Since the skull was preserved in extremely complete condition, the third level had no openings and was completely sealed. The only way up was via a staircase inside the cave.
"The Dark Realm might be strong, but their craftsmanship is nothing to write home about. Madam Jade is a Demon King-level spirit-life, a big shot by anyone's standards, yet her dwelling is this crude. This can't even be called architecture. No wonder they call it a cave..."
In the dim gray space, Xia Hong led the way up to the second level of the cave. Looking at the cluttered furnishings and haphazard layout inside, he shook his head inwardly.
In fact, from the Underworld Armor and Underworld Weapons those Demon Soldiers carried earlier, he had already spotted some signs. Those pieces of armor and blades had absolutely no design or style to speak of. Put bluntly, they were just scale plates and force blades. The only saving grace was that the materials were relatively high-grade, allowing these spirit-life beings to use them normally.
However, the survival logic of Dark Realm spirit-lives was vastly different from Ice Abyss humans. They didn't feel hunger, didn't get cold or hot, had no concept of reproduction or continuation, and were essentially immortal beings with no material needs. They had even less sense of time. The only thing they seemed to care about was improving their strength.
Given that, of course they wouldn't produce any remarkable craftsmen like Ice Abyss humans did, let alone nurture a thriving civilization and community.
Dividing territory, being able to forge armor and weapons, and initially forming an army was probably the Dark Realm's ceiling. Or, looking at it from another angle, for this biological population, reaching their current level was already quite suitable. Further development was neither needed nor necessary.
'Let's go up to the third level. That place with the only light source should be Madam Jade Skull's residence. We didn't find it anywhere else, so the spatial rift can only be in her room.'
Before entering the cave, Hong Yu said she could only maintain invisibility for half an hour. Xia Hong roughly calculated — they had spent about two-quarters of an hour searching the first and second levels. So now they only had about twenty-plus minutes left. Time was truly running short. They had no choice but to risk going to the top level to check.
Hong Yu's invisibility ability was indeed powerful. Xia Hong could roughly sense that the Spirit Evil Pearl on her head seemed to be a small spatial fragment, one that could easily integrate into other worlds.
The logic behind the three of them being invisible was probably that Hong Yu had pulled them into the Spirit Evil Pearl's interior, then directly merged with the Dark Realm. That way, those Demon Soldiers had absolutely no awareness of them.
But the downside of this invisibility method was also obvious. Those Demon Soldiers indeed couldn't sense their aura, but at the same time, they couldn't sense the other side's aura either. They could only rely on their eyesight.
Although White Bone Mountain was tight on the outside but loose on the inside, the cave wasn't completely devoid of Demon Soldiers. While searching the first and second floors just now, Xia Hong had seen at least a hundred Demon Soldiers and had even brushed past that Crimson Flame Demon General. Fortunately, none of them had been detected.
"Let's go up!"
Li Longyu had actually wanted to go to the third floor for a while now. It wasn't that she was certain the spatial rift was there, but mainly because she wasn't afraid of Madam Jade Skull. She remembered very clearly — her father had personally told her that the other party had connections with Great Xia.
Since Father had said that, in her understanding, Madam Jade Skull definitely couldn't harm Father's subordinates. Even if not, she would definitely obey Father's orders.
So, upon hearing Father say they should go to the third floor, she quickly nodded. Seeing that Father had already started climbing the stairs, she and Li Baobao hurriedly followed.
...
"Those corners of the dress still need to be tucked in."
Dividing territory, being able to forge armor and weapons, and initially forming an army was probably the Dark Realm's ceiling. Or, looking at it from another angle, for this biological group, reaching their current level was already quite suitable. Further development was neither needed nor necessary.
"The embroidery on the sleeve line should be like this, but the thread is wrong, so I can only..."
...
In the quiet chamber at the top of White Bone Cave, behind a bone-white dressing table built entirely from skeletal materials, a pinkish-white skeleton was draped in a bright yellow dress, constantly making modifications.
But unlike humans, she didn't use needles and thread. Whenever she found something unsatisfactory, she would lightly tap it with her hand, or even just move her body slightly, and the clothing would instantly change according to her will.
The hem, the corners, the sleeves, the embroidery, including the overall color — with each modification, the bright yellow dress on her quickly took on an elegant and generous style. Compared to before, it had become noticeably more refined.
The scene was truly absurd — a skeleton, yet obsessing over clothes.
But the skeleton still seemed unsatisfied. She slightly opened her mouth, or more precisely, opened her jaw bones, and gently shook her head: "No, still not right. This is a conjured garment, not something sewn from cloth with needle and thread. The color and craftsmanship have major problems..."
Speaking to this point, the skeleton suddenly froze, then lowered her head.
"Cloth, needle and thread, sewing, color... How do I have these things in my mind? Where did they come from..."
The pink skeleton was, naturally, Madam Jade Skull.
It seemed many questions still lingered in her mind, but she couldn't figure them out. She soon redirected her attention back to the clothing.
But as she kept fussing, she accidentally looked up and saw her reflection in the polished, smooth white bone wall.
"Ah..."
Seeing the pink skeleton's reflection, she suddenly opened her mouth and screamed, her face filled with terror and panic, as if she didn't know her own true form.
"I am... How did I become a skeleton? This isn't me, this isn't me, it's not me..."
She screamed in panic and terror, grabbing everything in the room and hurling it continuously at that wall. Whether she wanted to shatter the wall or the reflection inside the wall was unclear.
But the hardness of that white wall far exceeded her imagination. She smashed countless things — forget shattering it, she couldn't even leave a single mark on the wall.
Yet she still didn't stop, as if she still refused to accept her true appearance.
Until...
"Hmm?"
She seemed to sense something and suddenly stopped. Then she turned her head and looked toward the open door.
Being a skeleton, she naturally had no eyeballs.
The eye socket positions on her head were completely hollow. But just that single motion of turning her head made it clear she was looking at the doorway.
The problem was, there was nothing at the door.
Madam Jade's brow bones suddenly sank. She then slowly walked toward the door. When she was about five or six meters away, she suddenly stopped again, then turned and walked toward the wall on the right.
"Whoosh..."
In the gray, alien space of the Spirit Evil Pearl, pressed against the left wall of the room, Xia Hong exhaled heavily in relief upon seeing Madam Jade walk toward the right.
After all, she was a Demon King-level spirit-life. Crimson Flame couldn't detect them, but whether Madam Jade could see through their invisibility was something Xia Hong had no confidence in. Just moments ago, before they even entered the room, when he noticed Madam Jade Skull looking in their direction, his heart had jumped into his throat.
Fortunately, she hadn't noticed them and had walked to the right.
'A skeleton without skin or flesh, yet she's putting on clothes, and wearing Xia-style attire at that. This Madam Jade Skull is pretty vain...'
Looking at Madam Jade Skull's back, Xia Hong's expression was extremely strange, and he couldn't help but mentally scoff.
This wasn't too strange in his opinion. Madam Jade had originally been an Abomination from the Blood Mire Plains, and she had likely come into contact with Great Xia. Besides, the clothes on her exuded an extremely strong aura of strange objects, clearly not made from normal fabric. They were probably conjured.
Rustle...
Hong Yu shook her head and was about to walk deeper into the room to see if she could find the spatial rift. But before she could move, a frost-white sword blade suddenly shot in from the left.
The sword blade was too fast. Xia Hong instinctively tilted his head to dodge, not forgetting to pull Hong Yu beside him. But before he could evade, he realized he was in the alien space and that this sword blade couldn't hurt him at all.
So he stopped moving and looked up toward where the sword blade had come from.
The moment he looked, his expression instantly froze.
Madam Jade Skull, who had just walked toward the right side of the room, was now holding a bone-white longsword in her hand, staring intently at his location.
This was the second time!
She had fixed her gaze on them once before at the door.
She could see them?
"Run!"
Xia Hong directly pushed Hong Yu away. As for Li Baobao on the right, he hadn't bothered with her the first time. He then swiftly drew the Star Shattering Sword, instantly summoned his Golden Body, and slashed out a sword blade — aimed directly at Madam Jade Skull.
Why such a strong reaction?
Because the frost-white sword blade he had ignored had actually slashed through the gray spatial barrier and was charging right at him!
She might not be able to see them clearly!
But this Madam Jade could definitely sense the alien space.
And the sword blade she slashed could break through the space created by the Spirit Evil Pearl!
Being able to break through space — just how strong was this sword blade Madam Jade had slashed?
Seeing the blade rushing at him, Xia Hong realized this. He held nothing back, directly using the Heavenly Sword Art. The Bone-Burning Pill's effect was still active. His forty-eight-zhang Golden Body exploded completely, the Soul-Illuminating Lamp on his head suddenly blazed to life, and the Soul-Calming Cauldron inside his body was instantly activated.
Even his left eye shot out a Shattering Divine Light.
In that instant, he had thrown almost everything he had.
There was no choice. A person's reputation was like a tree's shadow. For someone to make seven Demon Generals of such terrifying power obey obediently, to accurately detect the Spirit Evil Pearl's alien space, and to cleave that space open with a single sword strike — this Madam Jade's strength...
Clang!
No need for more words. The violent collision of the fiery red and frost-white sword blades said it all.
Pfft...
As the alien space shattered, Hong Yu, who was controlling the Spirit Evil Pearl, instantly turned deathly pale. Her body flew backward like a kite with a snapped string, crashing directly into the room's wall and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Li Baobao, who was weaker, fared even worse. She had also drawn the longsword at her waist, frantically trying to raise it to defend.
But forget blocking — her sword blade hadn't even been unleashed before it was directly neutralized by the residual waves of the two colliding sword blades. Then a shockwave from the clash pierced straight through her shoulder, instantly soaking her entire upper body in red.
She didn't fly backward or crash into a wall. Precisely because of that, she also failed to disperse the force. The full force of the residual waves from the two blades' collision had been absorbed entirely by her.
As a result, her injuries were more than twice as severe as Hong Yu's.
After crashing into the wall, Hong Yu could still barely stand. But Li Baobao, with her shoulder severely wounded, instantly wilted, swaying unsteadily and nearly dropping her longsword.
"There are paths in heaven you refuse to take, yet you barge into the gates of hell. You actually dared to come to my White Bone Cave. You're looking for death!"
With the alien space shattered, Xia Hong and his two companions were completely exposed in the room.
Madam Jade's voice was filled with icy coldness. Behind her, a giant skeleton phantom suddenly materialized. The bone longsword in her hand swung violently.
Swish, swish, swish, swish...
She didn't charge at Xia Hong, but as she swung her sword, countless enormous bone spikes materialized out of thin air in the area where Xia Hong stood, each one aimed directly at his vital points.
Ding, ding, ding, ding...
Xia Hong wildly swung the Star Shattering Sword in his hand to block. Forget afterimages — he was almost spinning the sword into a blur. He couldn't even count how many strikes there were. He did manage to block eighty to ninety percent of the bone spikes, but many still slashed the skin on his body, cut open his flesh, and several even pierced straight through his torso.
"Miss Hong, this is what you meant by 'connections with Great Xia'? If I had trusted you, I would have died eight hundred times over!"
In an instant, Xia Hong had gained over a dozen wounds. The moment their blades had clashed, he had already sensed it — Madam Jade's strength was definitely above his own.
His base strength was 298 Jun. With the Sacred Mark and the Bone-Burning Pill stacking, it reached 670 Jun. Combined with the five-level amplification of the perfected Heavenly Sword Art, the sword strike he had just unleashed was just over a thousand Jun.
And even with that, he was at a disadvantage...
'About a twenty percent gap. So her strength is probably around 1,200 Jun!'
Clang...
To put it in perspective, from the initial sword blade collision to Madam Jade angrily summoning the bone spikes, everything happened in the blink of an eye. Just as Xia Hong was inwardly lamenting because the opponent was too strong, the Shattering Divine Light his left eye had shot out finally arrived.
The divine light struck Madam Jade directly in the chest. Probably because the divine light wasn't fast — at least, not comparable to the speed of their sword blades — the other party hadn't taken it seriously.
Pride comes before a fall. Many times, it was this moment of carelessness and negligence that would lose an originally favorable situation.
Right now, that was exactly what was happening to Madam Jade!
The moment the Shattering Divine Light struck her body, her pink skull face instantly changed. Before she could summon a second wave of bone spikes, she let out a sharp, piercing scream.
Her conjured clothing had long been destroyed by the sword blade shockwaves, so the condition of her chest bones was completely exposed. After being struck by the Shattering Divine Light, the several bones on her chest rapidly heated up, turned red, then quickly began to crack. The fissures were spreading and extending at an accelerating pace.
At the same time, the giant skeleton phantom behind her displayed the same phenomenon — the same spot on the chest, heating up, turning red, cracking, and spreading.
"Demon Lord... Demon Lord, you are the Demon Lord! No, impossible, impossible, this is impossible..."
Madam Jade stumbled backward, kneeling and retreating, staring at Xia Hong in terror. After saying "impossible" five or six times in a row, the terror in her voice gradually faded, becoming extremely resolute at the end, as if she had discerned something.
As for Xia Hong, the moment the Shattering Divine Light hit her chest, he had already quickly scooped up Li Baobao from the floor, grabbed Hong Yu, and bolted out of the room, down to the second floor, leaped out the window, and fled for his life.