Nourished continuously by the potent effects of the many rare treasures, Marquis Glorious Light's divine body recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye. His once-faint aura gradually strengthened, and color returned to his face.
He slowly opened his eyes again. This time, clarity had returned to his gaze, though it was still tinged with incredulous bewilderment.
Marquis Glorious Light looked at the rare treasures floating before him, still radiating immense medicinal power despite being more than half depleted, then looked up at Hu Yanbo, whose aura was as unfathomable as the ocean. For a moment, he simply stared, as though he had yet to fully recover from his brush with death or comprehend the unbelievable sight before him.
Seeing him awaken, Hu Yanbo smiled faintly and said gently, "These remaining treasures still contain a great deal of energy. Put them away for now."
At his words, Marquis Glorious Light instinctively obeyed, carefully putting away the remaining treasures.
Yet his bright eyes remained fixed on Hu Yanbo's face without blinking, as though searching for something.
Amused by his stare, Hu Yanbo teased, "What, it's only been a few thousand years. Have flowers sprouted on my face, or have I changed so much that you no longer recognize me?"
Only then did Marquis Glorious Light seem to snap out of his daze. A barely perceptible blush flashed across his face, and he hastily lowered his head in flustered embarrassment. His voice, however, carried unconcealable shock and confusion as he muttered, "...Changed? That hardly begins to describe it..."
He drew a deep breath, as though gathering his courage, then raised his head again and looked intently at Hu Yanbo. His tone was utterly earnest. "You've changed so much... if your face and the essence of your soul aura hadn't remained the same, I-I would almost have thought I was still unconscious from my injuries and hallucinating!"
He paused, seemingly searching for the right words. "Your-your strength, and those things you just brought out..."
"This-this simply isn't the kind of change that should happen in a few thousand years!"
Hu Yanbo merely smiled calmly, his tone as casual as though he were discussing something insignificant. "A little good fortune, a little progress. Nothing worth mentioning."
Then he paused, looking at the lingering awe in Marquis Glorious Light's eyes, and added gently, "There's no need to be so reserved with me. Just call me Hu Yanbo, like before."
Marquis Glorious Light faltered slightly. Looking at Hu Yanbo, who was no different from the man he remembered, only stronger, he felt the invisible barrier created by the gulf in their strength melt away a little.
He nodded gently, a hint of warmth and ease flashing through his eyes, and murmured obediently, "Yes... Hu Yanbo."
Marquis Rock, who had been watching quietly nearby, heard Hu Yanbo's easygoing words and saw how naturally Marquis Glorious Light could address him by name. Once again, an indescribable envy welled up within her.
To so casually address by name a powerhouse who could grievously wound a King Rank with a wave of his hand and produce astonishing treasures just as easily!
Glorious Light, you really are...
Seeing the two Immortal Gods present regain their spirits, Hu Yanbo asked the question that had been troubling him. "Speaking of which, how did you provoke a demon King Rank and end up being hunted down so miserably?"
"Normally, King Level beings tend to operate and hunt in the core regions of the Nether God Secret Realm, where the resources are more valuable."
"And why would an Initial King pursue two Marquises so relentlessly unless he absolutely had to?"
"Especially when one of them is you, Marquis Rock-a High-level Marquis with exceptionally strong defenses!"
An Initial King's ordinary physical attacks could not annihilate a High-level Marquis's immortal body.
To annihilate it quickly, they would have to burn their own divine power, which would take even a King Rank hundreds or thousands of years to recover.
Against someone with exceptionally strong defenses like Marquis Rock, it could take even longer.
If they suddenly encountered another human powerhouse during the pursuit, they could easily end up wasting their divine power for nothing.
Thus, in terms of "returns," pursuing them was far less profitable or economical than hunting Early Marquises, or even Immortal Army Lords, who were easier prey and potentially more numerous.
"Was there another reason behind this?" Hu Yanbo asked.
"Lord Hu Yanbo, I think it was because, when we were clearing out some demon Immortal Army Lords around the outskirts of the grotto, we may have accidentally killed a descendant or clansman closely related to him by blood. He happened to witness it, which drove him to pursue us so crazily, regardless of the cost..."
Marquis Rock's explanation sounded perfectly reasonable. It was hardly uncommon for powerhouses to seek revenge after witnessing someone kill their descendants or fellow clansmen.
Hearing this, Hu Yanbo's thoughts stirred slightly. Perhaps his earlier guess in Chaos City-that they might have stumbled upon a treasure-had been wrong.
But on second thought, whether there was a treasure or not no longer mattered.
Hu Yanbo's horizons had long since changed.
He had spent a thousand years in Chaos City studying the Chaos Stele, taken a Universe Overlord as his master, and possessed the Prepayment System. After coming here, he had also comprehended a top-tier secret Soul Attack technique and further strengthened his will.
The so-called treasures produced in ordinary Cosmic Secret Realms, which could tempt Initial King Immortals into fighting over them, probably would not be of much use to him. At most, he could exchange them for resources or give them to his subordinates or old friends!
Surely he couldn't just kill a few Immortal Army Lords and find a "supreme treasure" in their World Rings while cleaning up the battlefield?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Hu Yanbo was about to tell them not to dwell on the matter, and that once they completed their Mercenary Alliance mission, they should leave the secret realm as soon as possible.
However, before he could finish, Marquis Glorious Light, who had been quietly assessing his condition while seemingly diverting a sliver of his consciousness to examine something, suddenly stiffened and snapped his head up.
"Rock! Something seems wrong!"
His sudden cry immediately drew both Hu Yanbo's and Marquis Rock's attention.
Seeing surprise and a trace of barely perceptible tension instantly appear on Marquis Rock's face,
Marquis Glorious Light hurried to explain.
"Rock, I thought the same as you just now! But after regaining consciousness, I instinctively sent a sliver of my consciousness to carefully examine the spoils from our earlier battles, which we temporarily stored in my World Ring..."
He drew a deep breath, his gaze turning utterly grave. Looking at Hu Yanbo and Marquis Rock, he said, enunciating every word,
"Rock and I may both have been wrong."
"The reason Blood Fang King was so frenzied, even willing to burn his divine power to make sure we never escaped, wasn't some vague notion of avenging his bloodline at all!"
"It was because one of those descendants was carrying..."
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