Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 495 Frost Unity

Si Han, who didn't understand Atlantis, continued, "When it rose a little from the deepest depths, the sensation we felt was the slight tremor we experienced earlier. Now the tremors are getting more and more intense, which means it's getting closer to the surface. Once it rises again, it might not just be an earthquake problem; if it causes the Hanchuan River to crack, the damage could be much more troublesome."

Lu Xingzhou asked, "Does the Lord Si have any ideas on how to stop it from rising further?"

Si Han shook his head: "No, I was just having a problem and was planning to report it to the Holy Lord for a decision. The Marquis and the Holy Maiden are here now."

Lu Xingzhou was also deep in thought. There are generally two reasons for this. One is the rise of the seabed due to crustal movement, and the other is the change in the location of the secret realm below. The cause is that the Ice Demon at the bottom is struggling to break free, and the residual force of its power is causing spatial disorder. All the scattered secret realms are moving around, and one of them is about to be unearthed.

Normal crustal movement shouldn't be able to move this fast, to rise this much in just six months. Anyway, this kind of world basically locks in the second possibility.

The fact that she and Ye Tinglan fell into the spatial rift together proves that the space beneath Hanchuan is chaotic, which can be verified.

To solve this problem at its root, the solution is, of course, to eliminate the Ice Demon. But that's impossible. Even in ancient times, the Ice Demon could only be sealed with chains and could not be destroyed. Modern cultivators are even less likely to completely eliminate it. Even if Ye Tinglan and Jiang Duxu, who have already reached the Qian Yuan realm, came, they could probably only strengthen the seal.

Even if they were to come, they wouldn't be able to escape to where the Ice Demon is now. Deep beneath the ice, separated by the unique icy chill of the Frozen Moon River, it's impossible to even pinpoint its location, let alone drill down there.

Otherwise, Ye Tinglan would have tried to resolve this potential problem that could affect her disciple long ago, but she couldn't, so she could only tell her disciple not to come...

The only way to bypass these hard conditions is through the combination of the Ice Prison Sect's formation and Dugu Qingli's source resonance. Only Dugu Qingli can directly confront the Ice Demon with her source; no one else can.

Therefore, it is currently impossible to solve the problem at its root... The only temporary solution is to try to stabilize the upward trend and gain a few years of stability.

This can be solved by setting up an array, but an array that can suppress such a vast space cannot be set up casually. The required array materials are quite high-end, and the nodes of the array need to be inspected on-site. There is a high probability that the array will need to be set up inside the secret realm, as setting up an array outside alone will not be enough to suppress it.

As for entering the inner part of the secret realm, since it's almost unearthed, there should be a way, but it involves unknown risks. The Xuan Snake that Ye Tinglan encountered when they fell into the small secret realm was not much weaker than Ye Tinglan herself. If they were to encounter something like that, or even stronger, they might not be able to defeat it.

In short, it's not about directly confronting the Ice Demon, so Dugu Qingli can go instead.

Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's intentions, and said in unison, "Let's go and see."

Si Han asked, "What kind of help do you need from me?"

Lu Xingzhou pondered for a moment and then made a list: "Lord Si, please help me find all these materials."

Si Han browsed through them for a while and found that they were all array stones and array flags, so he understood: "I understand, it will be done soon. Are you sure you don't need us to send a strong expert along?"

Dugu Qingli hesitated for a moment: "We can have someone meet us on the ice above... If we go down, we might not be able to bring too many people with us."

Si Han: "?"

I don't understand what you mean right now. Do you mean you can take people through the millennia-old ice?
The cultivators of all sects in our Heavenly Frost Kingdom have studied Ice Cold their entire lives, and they only dare to say that it has ice affinity; no one dares to say that they can actually achieve that...

…………

This is Lu Xingzhou's second time visiting Dongyue Hanchuan. The last time he came, he was only at the fourth rank, which was enough for him to search for medicine and conduct trials in the outer area. He couldn't even enter the central area.

The closer you get to the center, the denser the icy chill becomes. In the very center, the icy chill is so thick that it's almost tangible. Even those with the eyesight of the three ranks above can only see a hazy mist of ice, as if everything were a mirage.

Even with Lu Xingzhou's current first-rank strength, he felt very cold inside, just like an ordinary person in the dead of winter.

If they were even a few points weaker, they probably wouldn't be able to stay for a day.

Therefore, Zhang Liying said that she could not conduct a detailed survey here, and even standing still was a bit of a struggle, so there was no point in expecting her to do anything.

But Dugu Qingli beside her strolled around as if she were in a leisurely garden, making no difference between walking here and outside, without even blinking.

Amidst the howling, cold wind, Lu Xingzhou surveyed the surroundings for a long time, then frowned slightly.

There was nothing there, which in itself goes against the intuition of the cultivation world.

This special place should logically contain special things, such as ancient ice crystals or special ice-cold fruits that only grow here. But it's just a vast expanse of nothingness.

"Stop looking, there's nothing here." Dugu Qingli sat cross-legged on the thick ice, sword in hand, as if she were sitting idly on the grass.

Lu Xingzhou asked curiously, "Hey, with your little bit of cultivation when you were a kid, you didn't actually go to the Central Region, did you? It seems so familiar."

“Not when I was little…” Dugu Qingli said calmly, “Didn’t you see my childhood house? It was also on the outskirts.”

Lu Xingzhou was taken aback: "How do you know I've seen you before?"

The two flew here, but did not visit any historical sites along the way.

Dugu Qingli said, "The house I built myself is a cultivator's cave dwelling, and I have set up some sensors... I knew you and Anuo were squatting inside when I was thousands of miles away."

Lu Xingzhou's expression changed slightly. At that time, Dugu Qingli was only at the third rank, and it was not something an ordinary person could do to have such a sense. Lu Xingzhou asked himself what kind of sensing array he had set up, but he could not receive it from a thousand miles away. There are quite a few special things about this little white hair that can be explored.

Dugu Qingli said, "Although I couldn't enter the central area when I was a child, I lived here for about half a year before I left the mountain."

"You were only a fifth-rank official back then..."

"Yes, is it strange that a fifth-rank official can enter the central region?"

Lu Xingzhou: “?”

Both Ah Nuo and I, being fourth-ranked, could only squat outside.

Dugu Qingli glanced at him disdainfully: "You two, one of you is only good at lechery, and the other is only good at eating. What else can you do?"

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Dugu Qingli said, "However, I gained almost nothing in those six months, which was a waste of time. In the outer areas, you can often find special ice-type plants, rare and precious materials, as well as tombs or ruins at the bottom of the ice. The further you go into the center, the less there is above, and the ice below is too thick. I couldn't break through it with my strength at the time, so I gained nothing. So I simply left the mountain... and then my master sent me to protect Shen Tang."

Then I met this jerk next to me.

Dugu Qingli's early life was too simple; her memories are nothing but a vast expanse of frost and snow. The human she interacted with most was Ye Tinglan, who would occasionally visit Hanchuan and instruct her disciple.

In fact, it's difficult for others to find any rare treasures, tombs, or ruins on the outskirts. The vast Hanchuan is a desolate place, rarely visited by humans. People from the Tianshuang Kingdom rarely come here for trials, so there's nothing there.

The reason why Dugu Qingli was able to find things was similar to A Nuo's talent for being close to plants. Bing Lin often gave her special information and her perception was different from others.

Lu Xingzhou said, "It's because you can't break through that you gain nothing, but do you actually know there's something down there?"

“Yes, Binglin will tell me what’s different.” Dugu Qingli said with certainty, “It’s just that before I had a vague feeling and wasn’t quite sure, but now I can sense that there is a huge frozen city below, very close to the surface.”

"Can you break in now?"

Si Han, who had been listening for a while, couldn't help but say, "Even if I, Si Han, were to strike here, I could only break a small, shallow pit. Digging deeper would be almost impossible."

"Is that so?" Dugu Qingli said, "I don't think so."

Just as Si Han was about to say something, his eyes suddenly widened.

Dugu Qingli sat cross-legged on the ground, her legs visibly merging with the ice below, as if she were a single ice sculpture.

Then the ice sculpture sank lower and lower, from a full-body ice sculpture to a half-body ice sculpture, and finally melted completely into the ice. Even the last tuft of white hair that disappeared looked like frost and snow fluttering in the air.

Suddenly, a hand emerged from the ice and grasped Lu Xingzhou's ankle.

"Holy crap..." A cry of alarm rang out as the person was pulled into the ice and disappeared. Lu Xingzhou's last words echoed in the cold wind: "The Lord of Si sent people up there to meet us... We'll go there soon..."

Si Han was dumbfounded.

This is ancient ice that even swords cannot penetrate, it is incredibly solid, so why does this scene look like snow and mud?
Undeterred, he poked at the spot where the two had disappeared, but it remained so solid that he couldn't even poke a dent.

I've heard of Water Release, Fire Release, and Earth Release, but I've never heard of Ice Release... And was that state just now Ice Release? Can Ice Release carry people?

Is it one with the frost?

Is he truly the ruler of ice and the embodiment of the law of frost?

With a whooshing sound, Si Han snapped out of his daze and shouted sharply, "Halt, you intruder!"

But then Ling Qixuan, the sect leader of the Ice Prison Sect, appeared nearby, his eyes burning with fervor: "It really is the Ice Lord..."

Si Han said irritably, "I don't care what you're thinking, don't even think about messing with the Ice Demon at this time. No one can bear the consequences of the Ice Demon's birth! If you act recklessly, don't blame me for being impolite!"

“Your Majesty misunderstands. We are too busy worshipping the Ice Goddess to cause her any trouble. Besides, we can only sense the Ice Demon at most, but we can’t even get close to her. What could we possibly do?” Ling Qixuan said with a smile. “I’m just here to admire the Ice Goddess’s abilities. If Your Majesty allows me to guard this place, I will be extremely grateful. If Your Majesty doesn’t agree, then I will simply go back.”

Si Han frowned slightly, still not quite trusting: "Then please go back. I and my men are more than enough to meet you here."

Ling Qixuan didn't care, and retreated with a smile, as if he was satisfied with just witnessing this process of becoming one with the frost.

In the distance, a small, mechanical figure peeked out from behind an ice rock, taking in all of this.

Jiang Yuan sat on the periphery, stroking her chin: "Isn't this person a little strange..."

(End of this chapter)