Chapter 319: A Difficult Journey

“No problem. Hold on tight to me, and remember—don’t let go!” Rod nodded firmly. As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to realize something, his expression changing. Lucy’s face was already crimson!
Seeing this, Rod seemed to realize something as well, and his expression turned awkward. The atmosphere became tense again, with neither of them knowing what to say.
“Mm! I understand. Don’t worry, big brother!” After a long while, Lucy said in a barely audible voice.
“Good. Then get ready. It’s time to leave!” As he spoke of leaving, Rod turned back and gave a deep look at the place where he had lived for over a month. With a wry smile, he felt an indescribable emptiness in his heart.
This place that had accompanied him for over a month, the place that had led him to the next stage of the Yin Yellow realm, the place where he obtained the King of Nether Flowers, the place where he found remnants of battle armor—it seemed tied to so many emotions.
Sometimes, having too many emotions wasn’t a good thing. Take Rod for example; the thought of leaving this place filled him with a sense of emptiness. Even though it was filled with bones, even though it was shrouded in thick dark mist, even though it had nearly taken his life, after living here peacefully for some time, Rod had come to regard it as his home. Leaving now inevitably brought sadness.
Turning to look at Lucy, he saw that she too was reluctant to leave. It was hard to imagine that a girl, especially one as beautiful as her, would be attached to such a place.
“Big brother, do you think we’ll have a chance to come back here?” Lucy asked softly after a while. Sometimes, she preferred to stay here forever and not leave, so she could spend time alone with Big Brother Rod in their little world—it would be a wonderful thing.
“Mm, we will! Whenever you want, we can come back. Of course, that’s after we finish what we need to do!” Rod said matter-of-factly, nodding.
“Really? But Lucy is afraid that Big Brother Rod won’t pay her any attention then!” A hint of excitement flashed across her face before she quickly fell silent, saying softly.
He knew that Big Brother had someone he loved waiting for him. So, when he met that person, would he still remember her?

“How is that possible? Even if I ignore everyone else, I won’t ignore you, Lucy. Don’t worry! Alright! Time is running out—let’s get started. We need to cover as much distance as possible today!” Rod picked up a dark, sharp blade he had found these past few days and said to Lucy. Of course, having this item would be useful.

It was impossible to climb such a high cliff in just one day. Even if Rod wanted to, he lacked the strength, and Xuan Yuan couldn’t handle it either. So this would be a lengthy process. As for the blade, it would naturally be used to create a clearing at the edge of the cliff—a place where they could rest and recover temporarily. Any weapon in the Death Valley wasn’t ordinary. Even those that were severely decayed might have been famous treasures tens of thousands of years ago. As for this one, its ability to remain intact for so long spoke for itself! A weapon with dark attributes—taking it back to Sognar would make a great gift, Rod thought to himself.

Lucy, with a red face, came over to Rod and shyly hugged him. The two of them pressed tightly together. Instantly, Rod felt her soft, delicate body and a faint fragrance, which stirred his emotions.

Lucy’s face was also red as she felt the warmth radiating from Rod, filling her heart with an indescribable feeling.

With a bitter smile, Rod quickly recited the “Meditation Technique” to calm himself down. He took a deep breath, looked at Lucy’s red face, opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say, and ended up staying silent.

“Go!” With a sharp shout, he rushed forward, holding Lucy in his arms. When they reached a rock, he exerted all his strength, and in an instant, his entire body soared into the air like an eagle.

At the same time, as Rod jumped, a powerful suction force emerged— the suction force of the Death Valley!

This force nearly caused Rod to fall even before he reached ten meters in the air. Fortunately, at that moment, Xuan Yuan, as instructed by Rod, began to exert force under the infusion of Rod’s combat energy, pulling Rod tightly and lifting him upward bit by bit.

The speed was slow. The body of Xuan Yuan sword emitted a buzzing sound as it struggled fiercely, trembling. At that moment, it was fighting hard against the powerful suction force below, carrying Rod and Lucy in an invisible battle!

In a full half hour, Rod and Lucy managed to climb less than sixty meters! The first goal was the huge protruding rock where they had rested when they fell before. They planned to reach that place today as well; there was still about forty to fifty meters left. So Rod had to grit his teeth and persevere.

His combat energy was being released frantically, causing beads of sweat to form on his forehead. Lucy clung tightly to him like a koala, her eyes filled with concern and worry as she watched him.

“Big brother… are you… are you okay?” Seeing Rod’s flushed face and signs of exhaustion, Lucy knew this was a result of overusing his combat energy, so she couldn’t help but ask anxiously.

In her opinion, it would be fine to find and dig a place to rest now—it wouldn’t slow them down; it would probably just take a few extra days to reach the top.

“I’m fine, I can hold on. Hold on tight!” Taking a deep breath, Rod managed to say. His combat energy was being used wildly; in just half an hour, he had already used up about six layers of it, even with replenishment. The strain was immense. If he were still at the advanced stage of the Divine Realm, he would likely be exhausted by now. Even at the early stage of the Yin Yellow Realm, he had reached his limit. Rod was glad he had reached the advanced stage of that realm.

They climbed slowly, even slower than a snail. What was even more bizarre was that as they rose, the suction force didn’t decrease as expected but remained constant. It seemed the upper areas would also be like this, meaning their journey ahead would be very difficult.

As his combat energy drained rapidly, Rod’s face gradually turned pale. He inwardly groaned in pain. If he had a choice, he would rather fight several intense battles than endure such torment. This wasn’t just hard work—it was deadly.

It was fortunate he had Xuan Yuan by his side. If it were just one person, even a strong warrior from the Yang Xuan Realm, they probably wouldn’t stand a chance of escaping this place.

He didn’t know how much time had passed; it felt to Rod as if he had endured an eternity. Finally, at that moment of utter exhaustion, he felt as if he had grasped a life-saving straw and tightly held onto the rock before him. Using every last ounce of strength, he climbed up the rock and reached his goal—now they were nearly a hundred meters above the bottom of the canyon!

“Huff… huff…” Rod, whose body had reached its limit, couldn’t care less after reaching the rock. He simply lay there, gasping for breath. His eyes rolled back; his internal energy had been completely drained, making him feel even worse than if he had been killed.

“Big brother… are… are you okay?” Seeing Rod’s condition, Lucy lost all her shyness. She rushed to his side, hugged him, and asked anxiously. Her voice was tinged with tears—Rod’s appearance must have scared her greatly.

“Big brother… speak! I…” Seeing that Rod didn’t respond, Lucy’s eyes reddened.

“Cough… cough… No, I’m fine! Don’t worry, stop crying. What’s the point? You’re such a big person—aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?” Seeing Lucy cry, Rod said anxiously. He wasn’t afraid of blood or death, but he couldn’t stand seeing women cry.

“Big brother, do you think I’m useless? I can only watch you work while doing nothing. Am I really that useless?” Hearing Rod speak, Lucy finally calmed down. Then, with a tear hanging from the corner of her eye, she looked at him—her expression made anyone feel sorry for her, let alone Rod.

“No… what are you thinking? Of course not. Don’t worry. Lucy is very useful. Your magic is stronger than mine. Without your help, how could I have gotten here? Stop thinking nonsense. Look, you’re still crying. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?” Rod wasn’t very good at comforting people, so he could only say whatever came to mind.

“Really? Hmph, don’t lie to me, big brother. I’m not afraid of being laughed at. There’s only you and me here—no one else!” With Rod’s persuasion and coaxing, Lucy finally stopped crying and smiled. This let Rod breathe a huge sigh of relief.

“Alright, then rest for a while. I’ll recover too. We can only go this far today. We’ll continue tomorrow!” After thinking for a moment, Rod said. Looking up, he saw that they were at least several thousand meters above the ground. At this pace, it was unclear when they would be able to get out. They would need to think of a new plan!

“Mm-hm, big brother, rest well. Lucy will protect you!” Lucy nodded obediently.

Seeing Lucy in such a state, Rod finally smiled. He then sat in lotus position to begin practicing. At the same time, the Xuanyuan Sword beside him also started to repair itself. This hour was no easier than a battle—carrying the weight of two people yet not tiring it out at all was truly remarkable.

The next morning, Rod stood in front of Lucy, refreshed and full of energy. Her amazement at his extraordinary recovery ability was evident. Most people would have thought it would take three to five days to recover, but he had done it in just one night—something truly admirable.

“Alright, let’s go. We’ll cover more distance today and get ready!” Looking at Lucy beside him, Rod said cheerfully. Last night, he had accidentally come up with a method that might be useful. If it worked, their distance covered today could at least double.