Chapter 475: Extreme Cold Abyss
Once Li Wei decided to depart, he didn’t waste much time in the Ice and Snow City.
After briefly explaining the situation to Gu Ze, he and Gu Ze’s younger sister, Gu Sewei, embarked on the journey to the Extreme Cold Abyss.
He recalled the Shadow Attendant from Xiong Er’s side and entrusted the still-unconscious Xiong Er to Gu Ze’s care.
"I can only take you this far. Any further and we’ll be in territory Snow-Treading Beasts can’t enter."
Monice said to Li Wei and Gu Sewei from atop her Snow-Treading Beast.
Li Wei and Gu Sewei jumped down from their Snow-Treading Beast, landing in the soft snow.
He patted the beast that had carried him for nearly a hundred li. "Thanks for everything," he said. "You should head back now."
If they went any further, the Snow-Treading Beast might not be able to make it back to the Ice and Snow City.
Monice had suggested using the Snow-Treading Beast to bring them to the edge of the Ice and Snow City’s domain precisely to conserve their stamina and Mana.
"Alright. I wish you a safe journey."
Monice guided the Snow-Treading Beast to turn and head back toward the Ice and Snow City.
Li Wei and Gu Sewei, meanwhile, used their own abilities to press onward toward the Extreme Cold Abyss.
According to the Ice Queen, it would take them three full days and nights of non-stop travel just to reach the edge of the Extreme Cold Abyss.
This would be a tremendous trial for them both.
Gu Sewei glanced at Li Wei. "It must be difficult for you to recover Mana here, right? Why don’t you stick with me? I’ll take you."
Hearing this, Li Wei considered for a moment before stepping onto the block of ice at her feet. "In that case, thank you."
"Hmph. I just don’t want you to be out of Mana and dragging me down when we run into trouble."
Li Wei just smiled, unbothered.
Gu Sewei controlled the block of ice beneath their feet, propelling it toward the Extreme Cold Abyss.
The block of ice carved a perfectly straight line across the snowy ground.
After a moment, Li Wei asked, "Can’t we sit? Aren’t you tired of standing?"
"Oh, right. Standing gives you a higher vantage point."
With that, Gu Sewei fashioned two chairs out of ice, and they both sat down on the moving platform.
Li Wei gazed into the distance. "What does the Extreme Cold Abyss actually look like?" he asked.
Without turning her head, Gu Sewei replied, "I’ve never been, but I heard Her Majesty the Queen say the Extreme Cold Abyss is a bottomless chasm that seems to stretch on forever."
Li Wei looked up at the sky, which was already growing dim.
"This isn’t a polar day or a polar night," he said. "So why did the Ice Queen say the shift between them would happen in seven days?"
Gu Sewei explained, "The Ice and Snow City is a long way from the Extreme Cold Abyss. You can only experience the polar day and night within a thousand-li radius of the Abyss."
"It should be the polar night right now. That region has been in continuous darkness for thirty-three years, and the temperature is far lower than it is here."
"I’ve also heard that after the polar day begins, the miraculous phenomenon of an unfrozen sea will appear outside the Extreme Cold Abyss for a while."
"An unfrozen sea?" Li Wei asked, confused.
"It’s seawater that remains liquid even when the temperature is far below its freezing point," Gu Sewei said.
"If the Extreme Cold Abyss is surrounded by an ocean, it might be even more troublesome for us to get across."
"Ah, I see."
The two traveled without a moment’s rest. At first, they had things to talk about.
But as time went on, gazing at the pitch-black Snowfield around them, neither felt like speaking. They advanced in silence through the darkness.
It was a good thing Gu Sewei was leading. Otherwise, Li Wei wouldn’t have been able to find his way to the Extreme Cold Abyss in the dark.
Gu Sewei, too, was relying on her Frost Staff to maintain a straight course toward the Extreme Cold Abyss.
Li Wei stared out at the dark Snowfield and suddenly thought about the group that had entered the Extreme Cold Abyss, seeking to awaken the Ice Emperor.
’How did they cross the Extreme North Icefield to reach the Extreme Cold Abyss?’
’Anyone who could pull that off must be quite powerful.’
After what felt like an eternity, the sky began to show the faintest signs of light. They had been traveling for an entire night.
Li Wei glanced at Gu Sewei. "Let me take over," he said. "You get some rest."
Gu Sewei looked at him, her eyes clouded with doubt and a hint of exhaustion.
"How?"
Li Wei smiled. "It’s simple."
As Gu Sewei watched, Li Wei took over control of the ice platform from her.
Li Wei couldn’t control the ice Gu Sewei had created, but he could use his Object Control Skill to push it forward.
Gu Sewei looked astonished. "How are you doing that?"
"Mage’s Hand," Li Wei replied.
"Mage’s Hand?"
Gu Sewei stared at him, her eyes filled with confusion.
She glanced at the ice platform beneath her feet, mulled it over for a moment, then shook her head and decided not to dwell on it.
She closed her eyes, resting on the ice chair to recover her Spiritual Power.
She would occasionally open her eyes to confirm that Li Wei was still heading in the right direction.
They took turns resting, traveling day and night without pause.
They finally reached the edge of the Extreme Cold Abyss at noon on the third day.
Although it was noon, the area within a thousand li of the Extreme Cold Abyss was trapped in perpetual night.
There was no sunlight, but thanks to a strange aurora flickering across the sky, they could just barely see the path ahead.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
A frigid wind howled ceaselessly before them.
Even Gu Sewei couldn’t help but tremble from the cold.
She exhaled a warm breath and tightened her grip on her Frost Staff, as if trying to draw immunity to the cold from it.
The temperature here was already over one hundred eighty degrees below zero.
It was no exaggeration to say that the very air she exhaled was turned to ice crystals by the wind, stinging her face.
It was a biting, stinging cold.
Gu Sewei pulled up the marten-tail scarf around her neck, trying to block the invading wind.
She glanced at Li Wei, who was still dressed in his thin Mage Robe, seemingly unaffected by the cold.
Of course, Li Wei felt the cold, too, especially after arriving near the Extreme Cold Abyss.
The concentration of Fire Element in the surrounding air had become almost nonexistent.
Even the Fire Element within his own body grew sluggish.
Here, his Power would be severely hampered.
Li Wei glanced at Gu Sewei. ’It seems I’ll have to rely on her Power from here on out,’ he thought.
Their eyes met for a moment before they both looked away.
"Let’s go," Li Wei said. "The Extreme Cold Abyss is just ahead."
Gu Sewei nodded. "Right."
The two walked forward, approaching the Extreme Cold Abyss in the gloom. Only when they drew near did they see the impossibly high, bottomless precipice.
It was as if the very earth had cracked open.
Standing on their side of the chasm, they couldn’t see the other end.
The cliff face wasn’t a smooth, sheer drop like a knife’s cut.
The cliff face was studded with countless icicles and Ice Cones, frozen by the wind until they were harder than steel.
However, the ice was exceptionally slick. Anyone trying to descend to the bottom of the Extreme Cold Abyss using these icicles and Ice Cones had to be prepared to slip and fall to their death at any moment.
Fortunately, neither Li Wei nor Gu Sewei needed to take such a risk.
They could both fly down directly.
The only thing they had to watch out for were the blasts of hyper-frigid air that could erupt from the Extreme Cold Abyss at any moment.
If one of those blasts hit them, they would be instantly frozen solid and Fall into the Abyss.