Swallowed Star: Primordial Artifact

Chapter 328 Abyss
Outside the vast "Crystal Silk Forbidden Zone," Jiang Ye quietly concealed himself, standing silently with his miniature detector always on. Beside him, the short, thorny shadow dwarf trembled slightly, yet could not hide the excited light in his eyes.

"Let's take advantage of this moment, accelerate to the speed of light, and then embark on a space traversal. Let's go," Jiang Ye instructed.

"Yes." Thorn Shadow Dwarf's eyes gleamed with excitement.

Whoosh!
The Thorn Shadow Dwarf's figure was like a black lightning bolt, its speed soaring to its limit in an instant.

He streaked across the sky above the "Crystal Silk Forbidden Zone" in a dazzling streak of light.

In the blink of an eye, he reached the speed of light. Space seemed unable to bear the weight and trembled slightly, rippling with strange waves. Then, the figure of the Thorn Shadow Dwarf disappeared without a trace.

Jiang Ye watched this scene from afar, pondering to himself, "Those Frost Demons travel from one palace to another, and from the 'Crystal Silk Forbidden Zone' back to their dwellings, all using space travel. Otherwise, such a vast distance, even traveling at sub-light speed, would take ten days to half a month. With such frequent oscillations in space travel... then, this space travel by the Thorn Shadow Dwarf probably won't attract much attention."

"It all depends on luck now."

"I hope Thorn Shadow Dwarf has enough good luck that he can pinpoint the exact location of the Spirit Rhinoceros Divine Kingdom," Jiang Ye thought to himself. "Even if he can't find it, at least he can gather some crucial information about the Frost Demon Temple."

Jiang Ye knew that entering the Frost Demon Temple was like stepping into a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, fraught with danger, and he absolutely could not rashly venture in himself.

Eighteen million kilometers away in space, outside the Frost Ape Temple that radiated a mysterious and chilling light, strange ripples suddenly appeared in the calm void, spreading outwards like ripples on a lake after a stone has been thrown in. Then, the Thorn Shadow Dwarf appeared out of thin air, emitting a faint glow. His miniature detectors were already activated, vigilantly scanning his surroundings.

"Hehe, following my master for so many years, always staying in the world ring, life has been incredibly boring. There's never been anything to do. Finally, something exciting to do! Where on earth is this place? It feels dangerous everywhere." Thorn Shadow Dwarf muttered to himself as he cautiously surveyed his surroundings. At the same time, his consciousness, through the sensor, quickly connected to the virtual universe, transmitting everything he saw to Jiang Ye in real time, like a delivery service.

"Frost Demon Continent." Jiang Ye's voice rang in Thorn Shadow Dwarf's consciousness, concise and clear.

The Thorn Shadow Dwarf, ignorant and fearless, had never heard of the Frost Ape and was completely unaware of the terrifying dangers lurking there. But his master's orders compelled him to cautiously fly towards the vast icy continent. Sixteen million kilometers, seemingly a great distance on a cosmic scale, was actually relatively close. Although the Thorn Shadow Dwarf's speed wasn't particularly fast, it soon approached the palace complex of the icy continent.

"call!"

"call!"

Two streaks of light suddenly shot out from the Frost Demon Temple; they were two Frost Demons at the Realm Lord level.

The two Frost Dwarves were stunningly beautiful, chatting and laughing together. Their gazes inadvertently swept in the direction of the Shadow Dwarf, but the Shadow Dwarf, having activated its miniature detector, completely concealed its presence, making it impossible to detect with the naked eye.

The two frost goblins seemed oblivious to anything amiss, continuing to chat and laugh, their laughter echoing through the void.

Immediately afterwards, they accelerated simultaneously, their figures moving like lightning, instantly reaching the speed of light... Then they used cosmic teleportation, disappearing in the blink of an eye, heading towards other parts of the Nine Abyss Secret Realm.

"Luckily, I wasn't discovered. But my master's master is too cowardly. Those two little guys should be at the Realm Lord level. I'm confident I can easily take them down, yet he forbids me from provoking any other life forms." Thorn Shadow Dwarf muttered to himself, suppressing his disdain as he cautiously flew towards the Frost Ape Temple.

Having not made a move for so long, the bloodlust within him was already itching to act!

Finally, suppressing his bloodlust, he stepped into the palace complex on this icy continent.

Outside the "Crystal Silk Forbidden Zone," Jiang Ye was hidden in the void, his consciousness closely connected through the virtual universe.

In the virtual universe, in the primitive area of ​​Yuxiang Mountain, at Jiang Ye's manor.

"We've entered the palace complex." Jiang Ye sat at the antique desk, staring at the holographic screen in front of him. The screen was displaying images in real time, which were being transmitted synchronously from the Thorn Shadow Dwarf.

"Now it's all up to you, Thorn Shadow Dwarf. I don't know the exact location of the Spirit Rhinoceros Divine Kingdom either." Jiang Ye silently stared at the screen, secretly hoping for the best.

Logically speaking, a vast divine kingdom hidden within the territory of a race should be easily discovered. However, Jiang Ye harbored a sliver of hope, after all, this was the work of a cosmic lord, and perhaps it held some unknown secrets.

The entire Frost Demon Palace complex stands on the surface of a vast, icy continent. The chill here is biting, as if it can penetrate the soul and freeze all life.

The Thorn Shadow Dwarf landed lightly on the ground and immediately felt the bone-chilling cold, causing it to shiver involuntarily.

"It's so cold." Thorn Shadow Dwarf looked around, its miniature detectors simultaneously covering the surrounding area and emitting a faint halo.

"Where exactly is the Spirit Rhinoceros Divine Kingdom that my master's master asked me to find?" Thorn Shadow Dwarf was filled with doubt and confusion. In this vast, icy world, finding the entrance to a divine kingdom was like finding a needle in a haystack.

The Frost Demon Palace complex is located on an icy continent with a diameter of over 8000 kilometers, resembling a desolate white wasteland. The icy surface is bare and devoid of anything except for wide passages, like cracks in the earth, leading straight into the depths of the palace complex.

"Let's choose this one."

Thorn Shadow Dwarf randomly selected a passage and flew silently into it, carefully surveying its surroundings using its miniature detector.

The deeper one goes, the more intense the chill becomes, a tangible coldness surging in like a tide, attempting to freeze all outsiders completely.

After flying for about three thousand kilometers, the Thorn Shadow Dwarf finally reached the end of the passage.

"Wow, the depths of such a massive palace complex are actually... an abyss?" Thorn Shadow Dwarf stared wide-eyed at the sight before him in disbelief.

It was a bottomless abyss, like the terrifying gaping maw of the earth, ready to devour everything in the world. Thick, icy mist billowed and surged from the abyss, emanating an aura that instilled fear in the very depths of its soul.

"What exactly is hidden in here?" Thorn Shadow Dwarf was both curious and afraid, but the task Jiang Ye had given it prevented it from easily backing down. It cautiously flew along the outer edge of the abyss, its miniature detectors running at full power, trying to probe the situation inside. However, there seemed to be some force within the abyss interfering with the detectors' signals, and the information returning was blurry and unclear.

"There seems to be an extremely powerful being inside." Thorn Shadow Dwarf's heart tightened, and he gritted his teeth inwardly.

"Master's master, what should I do now?" Thorn Shadow Dwarf hurriedly asked Jiang Ye through the virtual universe.

"Activate the large detector now, and simultaneously control the large probe to cover the entire Frost Demon Palace complex on the icy continent, but avoid the abyss! Except for the abyss, thoroughly probe every other place." Jiang Ye quickly issued the order.

"Yes, master's master." Thorn Shadow Dwarf did not hesitate and immediately controlled the large detector. The large detector flashed with a ghostly blue light and emitted a low hum as it rapidly scanned the icy continent.

Apart from the icy abyss at the core of the continent, all other areas were thoroughly explored, and all the information was transmitted to Jiang Ye in real time through the virtual universe like a rushing data stream.

……

Jiang Ye stared intently at the holographic screen, his brows furrowed, carefully analyzing the information he received.

"The continent where the Frost Demon Palace is located is somewhat similar to the headquarters of the Virtual Universe Company," Jiang Ye muttered to himself. "Apart from the palace, there are no other special treasures on the entire continent; it's all ice. It's impossible for a divine kingdom to be hidden there. Without a doubt... the entrance to this Spirit Rhinoceros Divine Kingdom is most likely in that core abyss!"

"Thorn Shadow Dwarf!"

"Shut down the large detector, turn on the mini detector, and enter that abyss," Jiang Ye decisively ordered.

"Yes, Master."

Although the Thorn Shadow Dwarf sensed the powerful and chilling aura emanating from the abyss, it dared not disobey Jiang Ye's command and could only cautiously approach slowly along the edge of the abyss. The interior of the abyss was utterly empty, filled with darkness as far as the eye could see, without a single sign of life.

"It's too cold."

The Thorn Shadow Dwarf slowly flew towards the depths of the abyss, not daring to go too fast, for fear of attracting the attention of the powerful beings in the palaces surrounding the abyss.

"Where exactly is it? The Spirit Rhinoceros Divine Kingdom, where exactly is it?" Thorn Shadow Dwarf muttered to himself as he repeatedly searched with his miniature detector.

The instant the Thorn Gnome flew through the depths of the abyss—

An invisible wave suddenly surged throughout the abyss, quickly spreading outwards.

"Outsiders!"

An angry roar exploded like thunder, and at the same time, a purple streak of light appeared in front of the Thorn Shadow Dwarf in an instant.

"Oh no!" Thorn Shadow Dwarf thought in alarm.

"Activate the large detectors to survey the entire abyss, then escape immediately." In the virtual universe, Jiang Ye also urgently issued the order.

The Thorn Shadow Dwarf immediately activated its large detector, disregarding everything else, and accelerated to its maximum speed, desperately trying to escape.

"Still trying to run!"

The purple figure pointed at the Thorn Shadow Dwarf from afar, a ray of purple light shooting directly from its long, crystalline fingers, landing precisely on the dwarf. Crack! Crack! Crack! A thick layer of ice rapidly condensed on the Thorn Shadow Dwarf's body, instantly encasing it in a massive block of ice. The Thorn Shadow Dwarf within the ice was completely still; all its soul imprints had been utterly frozen and shattered by this extreme cold.

Thus, the Thorn Shadow Dwarf fell.

In reality, the moment a Thorn Dwarf becomes a soul slave, it loses true freedom; in a sense, it is tantamount to falling. In this cruel universe, the strong always prey on the weak.

"Hmph." The powerful purple figure snorted coldly, "These outsiders, one after another, covet the Frost Demon Crystal Core and the Frost Abyss Spirit Liquid. One of them is a Marquis Immortal, yet he dares to trespass into my territory. May they all turn into ice sculptures."

Then he waved his hand.

A powerful gust of air swept up the frozen corpses of the Thorn Shadow Dwarf and carried them directly to a corner of the inner sanctum. There stood a dozen ice sculptures, each a testament to the countless audacious and reckless immortal gods of other alien races who had dared to venture into the mortal realm over countless years, ultimately frozen into ice sculptures and perishing in resentment.

……

In the virtual universe, Jiang Ye sat upright at an ancient desk, intently reviewing all the information about the palace complex obtained by the large detector.

"There is actually a Frost Demon Crystal Core inside this palace." Jiang Ye stared at the pale blue crystal, no bigger than a fingernail and as pure as crystal, displayed on the screen.

"The Spirit Rhinoceros Divine Kingdom... should be hidden in that other icy abyss. Fortunately, it's not with the Frost Demon Crystal Core," Jiang Ye mused to himself. Within this Nine Abyss Secret Realm, in the area occupied by the Frost Demon Clan, there exist two special treasures coveted by powerful figures from all corners of the universe, attracting those in dire straits or those daring adventurers willing to risk everything for them.

If you can successfully acquire just one of them, your destiny will be completely changed!

These two rare treasures, renowned throughout the universe, are the "Frost Ape Crystal Core" and the "Frost Abyss Elixir." Only the blue Frost Ape, after countless years and immense effort, can condense the "Frost Abyss Elixir," while the purple Frost Ape requires an enormous sacrifice to create the "Frost Ape Crystal Core."

Both of these treasures are extremely rare materials and possess incredible special effects.

The frost demon crystal core, the size of a fingernail, stored in the temple alone, is worth around 8 trillion Chaos Units.

"It's truly a rare treasure."

“However, the more precious the treasure, the more dangerous the place it is often located.” Jiang Ye shook his head slightly. “The place where the Frost Demon Clan is located is one of the most dangerous areas in the Nine Abyss Secret Realm. In particular, the strongest Frost Demon Saint Venerable in the Frost Demon Clan is even more powerful. He is a strong person among the universe Venerables and may be comparable to the level of the Heavenly Eclipse Palace Master.”

“The inner palace has obviously been refined by that immortal frost demon, resembling a powerful weapon. Once an outsider steps into the inner palace, the powerful being who is in charge will immediately notice.” Jiang Ye frowned. “If I want to enter the Spirit Rhinoceros Divine Kingdom, I must enter the abyss, but once I step into the outer palace of the abyss, I will definitely be discovered.”

Jiang Ye didn't care about the dangers and difficulties involved.

What he really cared about was whether the Spirit Rhinoceros Divine Kingdom had already been discovered by the Frost Demon Saint!

After all, even though the Lord of the Spirit Rhinoceros possessed great supernatural powers and had hidden his divine kingdom extremely well, he had still been dead for hundreds of millions of years. The possibility that this dilapidated divine kingdom could remain hidden in someone else's territory for so long without being discovered was extremely slim.

(End of this chapter)