Chapter 500: Chapter 489: Human Skeletons
The journey that followed.
As expected, it became increasingly challenging the further they went...
Xu Lingjun couldn’t help but wonder how Zhou Qianmo managed to make it all the way from the Secret Realm of the Nanyun Martial Mansion to the Bei Xuanwu Martial Mansion.
The numerous dangers along the way could easily claim the life of even a Grandmaster if they were the slightest bit careless...
Both of them barely had the strength to contend with a Grandmaster, not to mention Xiaoya’s support and early warnings.
Still, their journey was full of stumbles and mishaps.
Danger?
Very dangerous...
Several times Xu Lingjun himself encountered attacks from enemies, although they all ended with him unscathed and the attackers being counter-killed.
But walking along and suddenly being snatched by a wild beast was quite a thrill.
Half a day later.
The two leaned against a tree to rest.
Both of them had high vitality and strong defenses, especially Xu Lingjun, who could fight bloodily with the enemy for three days and nights without blinking.
But unfortunately, in this Secret Realm, their spirits had to be highly focused at all times.
The stress was immense...
So much so that they had to stop occasionally to rest and recover their energy.
"Honestly, I’ve been at the Polar Star Battlefield for two years, and the level of danger here in the depths of the Secret Realm far surpasses that of the Polar Star Battlefield!"
Recalling the encounters along the way.
Xu Lingjun still felt a lingering fear.
While passing by a river, cannibal fish several meters high suddenly leaped from the water, lunging at them.
A vine might very well be a deadly snake in disguise.
Resting against a tree, the tree itself might try to devour you.
Crisis lurked around every corner...
They could hardly find a single safe place.
"After all, one is an open blade and the other is a hidden trap; you know what they say, ’an open attack is easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow is hard to avoid.’"
Han Yun City carefully applied antidote potion to his arm.
His defense was ultimately a notch below Xu Lingjun’s... not yet at the point where even a Level 8 Demon Beast couldn’t penetrate it.
This made him all the more astonished at Xu Lingjun’s current strength.
He had the feeling that if Xu Lingjun were to enter the Secret Realm alone, there would be no need to dodge or evade.
"If it wants to bite, let it bite; if it wants to eat me, let it eat; if it wants to coil around me, let it coil."
Once its excitement passed and it exposed a flaw, I would just kill it outright.
Even if he were swallowed alive, the beast probably couldn’t digest him...
This skin was too thick; it seemed like the person in front of him besides their brains had nothing but skin, as if all other internal organs had disappeared.
Han Yun City silently criticized Xu Lingjun in his heart but solemnly said, "And don’t forget, the current area of the Secret Realm occupies less than a tenth of Blue Star’s land. In reality, it’s because this piece of land has been compressed, and the original Blue Star was likely more than ten times larger."
"Now, although the area has shrunk, the number of Demon Beasts hasn’t decreased much. Their territories have suddenly and drastically been reduced. We don’t know the specific situation over these years, but for sure, brutal battles have broken out within the Secret Realm... How many simple ones could have survived?!"
"Indeed."
Xu Lingjun said, "Rest for half an hour, then continue onward."
He gazed towards the seemingly endless expanse of the Secret Realm and said, "I have a gut feeling we’re gradually approaching the truth."
Unconsciously, both their mindsets had changed by now.
Initially, they merely sought to break through in power; uncovering secrets was a secondary goal that they could let go of if hopeless.
But now...
Faced with the succession of dangers they had encountered, they both suddenly felt that if they could uncover the true secrets of Blue Star amidst these layered perils, it might very well be a world-shaking revelation capable of changing Blue Star’s entire status quo.
They had to find it...
In other words, both Xu Lingjun and Han Yun City felt that enduring such hardships along the way, merely breaking through to a new realm would be too unrewarding.
The half-hour passed quickly.
"Let’s go, get the Immortal Beans ready."
"Don’t worry, when it’s time to use something that important, I won’t be stingy."
The two stood up and continued to venture deeper.
Xiaoya carefully sat on Xu Lingjun’s shoulder, her small hand tightly clutching his collar.
The dangers they had encountered along the way were so unpredictable that even she couldn’t always give warnings in time...
It had indeed frightened her.
Pressing onward.
But after some rest, their condition had vastly improved compared to earlier, aside from initially having been caught off guard.
As they gradually acclimated to the perilous environment...
They felt like fish in water.
Despite still being in the most dangerous part of this planet, they had transformed into two of the fiercest beasts themselves.
Feeling even more in their element.
Along the way...
They encountered further attacks.
Nonetheless, both managed successful counter-kills.
Xu Lingjun even found time to skin, gut, and harvest meat and gall from these Demon Beasts, storing everything in the Transformation Capsule.
The flesh and blood of Level 8 Demon Beasts was indeed good stuff.
If they brought it back and kept consuming it...
As long as the supply of this blood and flesh was ample, Xu Lingjun was confident he could break through to become a Guiyuan Grandmaster within a month with such a massive boost in Blood Qi.
Of course, more likely, he could complete the breakthrough directly within this Secret Realm.
In just a single day, through constant battles encountered back-to-back...
Although these Demon Beasts lacked True Qi, their powerful strikes upon him provided notable benefits...
While they didn’t match up to a Grandmaster Level expert, sheer numbers made up for it.
The deeper they went, the more dangerous it became.
Yet paradoxically, they felt more fluent and even relaxed, killing and laughing as they went... Xiaoya’s warnings turning unnecessary.
Since they could already rely on their instincts to preempt their enemies’ attacks.
Along the way...
They even caught sight of traces of a Level 9 Demon Beast and carefully avoided it.
Undoubtedly, they had truly reached the deepest part of the Secret Realm.
The very core of the Original Blue Star’s territory...
It was at this moment.
Xiaoya, who had been quietly sitting on Xu Lingjun’s shoulder and hadn’t spoken in a while, suddenly said, "Master, in the direction of 85 degrees to the left, there are human remains. Judging from the weathering of the bones, they haven’t been dead for very long!"
"What?!"
Just about to charge forward, the both of them momentarily froze.
Xu Lingjun was shocked and asked, "Human... remains?!"
They exchanged a glance, shocked expressions in each other’s eyes.
This was already the deepest part of the Secret Realm, impossibly far for humans to reach... yet there lay human remains?
"Most likely Grandmaster Liu’s corpse."
Han Yun City gravely stated, "We’re close to where he perished, Old Xu, we should go over there at least to gather Grandmaster Liu’s remains; don’t let them lie here without a proper resting place."
"Alright, Xiaoya, lead the way."
"Understood."
Xiaoya’s voice was noticeably more cheerful; evidently, she was eager to be used by Xu Lingjun.
Previously, he had made it through on his own ability...
Though she said nothing, in her heart, there was no telling how disappointed she was.
