Xia Hong didn’t care at all about what Li Baobao was thinking, but Li Longyu’s twice speaking up in support truly made him feel much better, and his previously irritable mood evened out, his mind becoming much clearer.
"Miss Hong is very familiar with the Dark Realm?"
Just as they were escaping with two others, Hong Yu detailed the situation surrounding the Mist Swamp Forest, so naturally, Xia Hong had to inquire clearly.
Li Longyu shook his head and replied, "I’m only familiar with this particular area; what I just mentioned is absolutely true. I ask Lord Xia to trust me, not to mention Qi Mountain—it’s not necessary—but to the south at Broken Soul Cliff, Qing Yazi ranks thirteenth among the seventy-two Ancient Demons under Qi Mountain Demon Lord, possessing extremely terrifying power; the Blood River Dragon King in the Evil Dragon Sea is an equally powerful entity famous alongside Qi Mountain Demon Lord..."
Good gracious, each one is more formidable than the last! What kind of power does this Blood River Dragon King possess to be as renowned as Qi Mountain Demon Lord?
While Xia Hong was internally shaken, Li Longyu seemed to think of something and continued to add, "Oh, by the way, the son of the Blood River Dragon King, Chi Yuan, is precisely the Bloody Demon Dragon currently slumbering in the Panlong Palace."
The Dragon Palace beneath Chilong Lake is called Panlong Palace;
The Bloody Demon Dragon now sleeping is called Chi Yuan.
What a remarkable background for that Demon Dragon! No wonder it dared to boast in front of the Five Great Masters, claiming that even the Five Treasures Tathagata of Lingyin Mountain would have to kowtow upon seeing it because it has a father as famous as the Qi Mountain Demon Lord.
"If that’s the case, can we only return to White Bone Mountain?"
Li Longyu nodded and replied, "Indeed, and within a thousand-mile radius, only within the White Bone Cave is there a space rift hidden, through which we can return to the Ice Abyss. There is no other way."
The Six-Armed hadn’t lied; we can only go through White Bone Mountain!
Xia Hong’s brows furrowed slightly. Thinking of the earlier encounter with Demon General Red Flame, his heart wasn’t particularly fearful, but as Six-Armed had mentioned, there were not only Red Flame in the White Bone Cave—there were a total of seven Demon Generals and an even stronger Lady Yulou. Adding a large number of Demon Soldiers, for the three of them to forcefully break through might not be that simple.
"Lord Xia need not worry. Lady Yulou has some connections with the Great Xia. If you directly reveal your identity, she will let us pass."
...
If anyone else were to say this, Xia Hong would think they must have gone mad, but coming from Hong Yu, it surprisingly swayed Xia Hong somewhat upon seeing the honesty in Hong Yu’s eyes.
He truly began to somewhat believe!
"May I inquire how Miss Hong came to know of this, given that Lady Yulou is a Deceitful Monster and one within the Dark Realm? How could she have any connections with my Great Xia?"
Xia Hong had already sensed that he naturally felt a sort of affinity toward this girl named Hong Yu, and with that affinity, he inexplicably placed trust in her.
Yet, even so, he still forced himself to remain calm. The connection between Lady Yulou and Great Xia sounded outrageous; if anyone else had said this, he wouldn’t have believed it at all. That he now could even pose such a question showed just how immense his trust in Hong Yu was.
And Li Longyu, upon hearing Xia Hong’s question, looked puzzled, clearly not knowing how to respond.
"Lady Yulou’s connection with Great Xia is something I learned from my father. Father being able to ask this now means that at this point in time, he is also not familiar with Lady Yulou, so how can I answer..."
After pondering for a long time, Li Longyu indeed couldn’t figure out how to respond to Xia Hong, so she spoke sincerely: "I truly can’t explain this clearly, but please, Lord Xia, trust me just this once. Going to White Bone Mountain will absolutely be safe!"
Confronted once more with Li Longyu’s sincere gaze, Xia Hong admitted that internally, he felt genuinely swayed.
"This... Miss Hong, given the gravity of lives, forgive me for not being able to trust you!"
If it were some less severe matter, Xia Hong truly could trust the other party, but not at this moment.
Finishing his words, Xia Hong shook his head and continued asking, "Since you are so familiar with the surrounding environment, you must be very aware of Lady Yulou’s strength as well?"
Li Longyu immediately nodded her head; this was something she indeed knew.
Lady Yulou’s power is very strong, being a Rule-level Deceitful Monster, akin to a top-tier Demon King Level Spiritual Body in the Dark Realm. However, during her time, aligning the time of the Ice Abyss with the Dark Realm puts it about eighty days before her own timeline in this current period.
In the Dark Realm, Spiritual Life can enhance their strength quite easily, and with Ancestor Xue Kong as a significant backer, Lady Yulou’s strength might not have grown too much in those eighty days, reaching only...
"Probably at early-stage Demon King, which, translated to the Ice Abyss, would be akin to top-level Calamity Level Deceitful Monster. She should currently be able to exert a strength of about a thousand jun."
That’s solid assurance!
Upon hearing this answer, Xia Hong immediately felt relieved and continued, "Then we just need to consider the Seven Great Demon Generals and those tens of thousands of Demon Soldiers. According to you, with only the space rift in White Bone Cave, they are likely able to guess that we intend to go through; as for your capabilities..."
Xia Hong scrutinized the two, his brows slightly furrowing.
To be candid, though his cultivation was not on par with the two, his basic strength was already nearing 300 jun, not too divergent, enough for him to roughly gauge their capabilities.
Li Baobao’s basic strength wasn’t too far off from his own, estimating at just below 400 jun; Hong Yu, however, seemed much stronger, likely surpassing 600 jun.
The problem was, these two didn’t possess the numerous methods he did, so despite having cultivation above his own, their maximum combat capabilities were less than his own.
"Each of you take one; it can boost your strength in the short term, but there are significant side effects that will affect you later on..."
After a moment’s hesitation, Xia Hong took out two Bone Burning Pills from the Yellow Mustard Bag, intending to hand them to the two, but before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Li Baobao.
"Bone Burning Pills are ineffective at the Tribulation Body Realm."
Xia Hong’s face froze, suddenly recalling that Li Baobao was with Wei Bo, and how could they possibly lack the Moao River’s Bone Burning Pills?
Li Longyu also recognized the Bone Burning Pills and shook her head, clearly aware that they were useless on the Tribulation Body Realm.
"Lord Xia, no need to worry further. Though my strength is inadequate, I possess a method of Invisibility exclusive to the Dark Realm, thus, you need only be concerned about those Demon Soldiers—I can stealthily lead you and her into the White Bone Cave."
At Hong Yu’s words, Xia Hong immediately looked at her with anticipation.
"Why didn’t you use this method earlier?"
Li Baobao was also full of bewilderment; during the perilous six days prior, why hadn’t she utilized such a method earlier if she possessed it?
Li Longyu, her demeanor unchanged toward her, rolled her eyes and said, "Red Flame was directly behind us, with thousands of Demon Soldiers watching below; no matter how great my method, it couldn’t be used then!"
Finishing, she noticed the expectancy in Xia Hong’s eyes, causing a slight shift in her spirit. The thirteen beads hanging from her forehead suddenly emitted a radiant light.
That intense light, originally golden, swiftly shifted to the same dark-blue hue as the Dark Realm’s primary colors, and then, after several tens of seconds, her entire being gradually became transparent, eventually disappearing from Xia Hong and Li Baobao’s sight.
On Xia Hong’s face was sheer curiosity, and shortly after, he held a Soul Lamp above his head.
When the Soul Lamp appeared, the surroundings instantly became much brighter, yet it failed to reveal Hong Yu’s true form.
Not only had her physical form disappeared, but even her soul body had also become invisible, her aura completely absent— even the Soul Lamp was ineffective.
"Lord Xia, please close your eyes, do not resist!"
As Hong Yu said this seemingly out of nowhere, an even more extraordinary scene unfolded.
A wave of energy suddenly approached from the front, and upon hearing Hong Yu’s call, Xia Hong closed his eyes, offering no resistance, allowing the energy to envelop his entire being. Soon after, he felt a sense of isolation, and when he reopened his eyes, while the surroundings remained unchanged, the dark-blue hue had now become a misty gray.
In this misty gray space, Hong Yu stood gracefully to one side, looking at him with smiling eyes.
On the other side, Li Baobao was glancing around, her face full of confusion, with tinges of fear added upon their disappearance.
"With this method of Invisibility, it can be even more assuredly safe; there’s no time to waste—let’s detour to White Bone Mountain now, but first, we must rescue Jiang Yiqing and Xiahou Yong."
"Alright!"
Even more intriguingly, Li Baobao outside clearly couldn’t hear the conversation between him and Hong Yu, which means, in addition to providing invisibility, this space could entirely isolate all sounds made within.