Chapter 320: Turmoil

Lucy’s face turned red again as she clung tightly to Rod’s back, allowing him to pull her along with one hand on her sensitive area. Feeling the warmth emanating from Rod, she rested her head quietly on his shoulder—this sensation fascinated her!
“Hold this sword. Wait for me to tell you to strike!” Lucy, still in a daze, quickly turned to respond upon hearing Rod’s words, her face turning even redder.
“Mm, I know. Don’t worry, big brother!” Rod had already explained to her what they would do today. The Xuanyuan Sword would still be used to lift the two of them upward, while Lucy would undertake an important task: when they reached a certain height, she would use this sword, capable of cutting through iron like mud, to carve out one or two grooves that would help Rod generate more force. In this way, Rod could occasionally use his own strength to jump higher. With this approach, the height they could reach today would likely be at least as much as yesterday’s, and possibly double if everything went well.
“Good, then let’s begin!” Rod nodded and spoke in a deep voice. As his combat energy flowed into the sword, the Xuanyuan Sacred Sword emitted its green glow once again, radiating a sense of righteousness.
Then Rod rushed forward a few steps before suddenly exerting force and soaring upward. As expected, just like yesterday, after jumping only about ten meters, an attractive force began to pull Rod back down—this was when the Xuanyuan Sword came into play! As they rose slowly, Rod and Lucy’s speed decreased further.
With the consumption of their combat energy, after climbing forty or fifty meters, their speed had dropped to less than half of what it was before.
“Now!” It was time! Thinking to herself, Rod shouted at Lucy.
“Mm!” Hearing Rod’s words, Lucy nodded and raised the long sword without hesitation. Magical elements began to gather! She couldn’t use magic, as it could harm her own body, and its force might affect the Xuanyuan Sword, causing both of them to fall. So she could only rely on magical elements to boost her strength, though it wasn’t as effective as combat energy, it was still better than nothing.
At this point, their climbing speed had dropped to barely one meter per minute, giving Lucy enough time to create a point of leverage for Rod to use.

Ding ding ding… A few random sword strikes were made, with flames flashing and harsh sounds echoing loudly through the canyon for a long time. Taking another breath, Lucy struck several more times while there was still time. Blades flashed, sparks flew, and debris scattered—weapons in the Death Canyon were indeed extraordinary. If this sword were taken outside, it would surely be considered a divine weapon. Capable of cutting through iron like mud, it could easily handle these rocks as well. But if others saw such a precious sword being abused like this, they would surely be devastated.

“Done!” She sheathed her long sword and saw a groove appear on the rock wall, large enough to support one’s foot. Lucy shouted to Rod.

“Mm, hold on tight!” Rod glanced at the groove at his waist, nodded—it was sufficient, meeting his requirements. Taking a deep breath, he maintained his combat energy while diverting some to his feet. Feeling his body rise slowly, the groove gradually reached his knees.

“Now’s the time!” Seeing this, Rod roared inwardly, suddenly bending his thighs. His feet quickly stepped into the groove, allowing him to stand firmly. Then, his combat energy surged, and every muscle in his body exerted force at once. Like an eagle, he soared upward.

This jump lifted Rod another seven or eight meters before he slowed down again.

“It worked!” The first attempt succeeded, and Rod smiled excitedly.

“Mm, it worked!” Lucy said softly, looking at the cliff top growing closer. Yet she couldn’t feel happy. Looking down at Rod, she wished this process could continue forever.

“Good, keep going!” Stabilizing himself, Rod continued to urge Lucy.

Perhaps only Rod could do such a thing—actually, only with Xuanyuan’s help. If outsiders knew these two were struggling in the Death Canyon, that they hadn’t died despite falling, and now they were trying to escape, having climbed hundreds of meters high, it would surely shock everyone. This was truly unprecedented.

With the first attempt as a foundation, this time they were noticeably more skilled than before! Lucy also became more proficient. Under these circumstances, in just one more jump, Rod and Lucy rose nearly ten meters higher!

After several attempts, Rod finally reached his limit! The critical moment arrived—there was no place to stand in the middle of the cliff, so Lucy had to chisel out a cave slightly! At that moment, Lucy’s face was red as she clung tightly to Rod from behind, her legs wrapped around his waist, acting just like a spoiled child.

Rod freed his other hand, picked up the black sword, and began chiseling. In just a few strokes, with debris flying everywhere, a cave large enough for two people appeared. Once inside, both of them breathed a sigh of relief. This time, Lucy was also exhausted and out of breath; clearly, this effort had taken a toll on her as well.

Yet the results were remarkable. Through their combined efforts, they had climbed over 200 meters—more than twice as much as the previous day. And this was only the first day. Rod believed their climbing distance would increase even further in the days to come. At that moment, he was filled with confidence and hope.

His internal combat energy once again became empty, so he didn’t dare be careless. He quickly sat in seiza position to enter a cultivation state and replenish his energy. Lucy, too, wasn’t idle—she began restoring her magical elements.

……

“Andy, since no one has come out yet, can we leave? Everyone knows the Death Valley is lifeless. Even a god falling in wouldn’t have a chance of survival! You don’t need to worry!” After half a month of waiting by the edge of the Death Valley with no signs of life or movement, the Red Wolf leader who was in charge of guarding said to Wolf King Andy.

Hearing the Red Wolf’s words, Andy carefully walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. It was pitch black, and a strong sucking force made him step back several times before he could stabilize himself. “Hmm, let’s go. We’ll report back to my king!” After pondering for a moment, Wolf King Andy nodded in agreement.

Indeed, no creature had ever emerged from the Death Valley in thousands of years. Many strong warriors had fallen in, but none had survived. The bottomless valley, as the Red Wolf leader said, was deadly even for gods—let alone two warriors at the Yin Yellow realm.

Perhaps he was overthinking it. With a sigh, he led the guards back, and the cliff returned to its quiet state. No one could have imagined that at that very moment, two tenacious lives were slowly climbing upward, nor could they have imagined that someone would actually survive and emerge from the Death Valley.

“What’s the situation with the demons?” In the Dark Moon City of the Source of Darkness, a man spoke in a low voice to the people around him. There were three men and one woman present, each of them renowned figures within the Source of Darkness, yet all of them had solemn expressions on their faces.

“Lilith, have you gotten any news?” After pondering for a moment, the man continued to ask.

These four were the ones sent by the dragon clan and the Black Phoenix clan to monitor the demon faction after Rod left—Lilith, Sognar, Heibin, and Heiyao, four powerful gods at the later stages of their cultivation. Especially Sognar; since returning from the Netherworld, he had almost reached the Yin Yellow realm and was definitely among the top figures in the Source of Darkness.

The Mi Jiao clan and the York family had sent many strong warriors to the continent recently, and Zi Yang had also been dispatched. It seemed a major battle was imminent on the continent. Meanwhile, the demons had established a small kingdom there and were expanding outward. Despite no progress over the past year, it seemed they were now serious about it!

Three years ago, the demons had already established a small kingdom on the continent—by the time Rod entered the Source of Darkness, they already had their own kingdom. But ever since then, they had barely made any further progress. The continent had assembled a large force to blockade the demon kingdom from all sides. Led by the Church, they launched defensive counterattacks, causing the demons great suffering. After years of stalemate, it seemed the demons had lost patience, which was why they sent a large number of reinforcements this time.

“Report this news back first, and keep an eye on the movements of the militant faction! The Source of Darkness might also experience turmoil soon!” After thinking for a while, Heibin said in a low voice.

“That’s right. The Wolf Emperor has appeared, and the wolf kings from all directions have gathered. It seems the wolf clan is about to regain its former glory!” Heiyao said worriedly. Five days ago, they finally received news that the wolf kings from all directions had returned, unifying the wolf clan. Now, the wolf clan had taken its first step toward the Source of Darkness!

“I just hope they won’t cause any trouble. We have no objection to their rise as long as they can coexist peacefully!” Lilith said in a low voice, frowning.

But none of the people present looked pleased. They all knew well what the appearance of the Wolf Emperor meant. Which Wolf Emperor had ever been easy to deal with? Which one had never had ambitions? Especially this Wolf Emperor, who had already shown great ambition—perhaps even the entire Source of Darkness wasn’t enough to satisfy it.

During the time Rod was away, the Source of Darkness underwent tremendous changes; the entire situation was in turmoil, with war on the brink. Now, the Source of Darkness seems especially gloomy.