Chapter 161
Most of the sea fire was positioned higher up, with only the sea fire surrounding the edges of the frozen underground river being closest to them.
i Liangyu followed behind Zhongli Shan as they walked. The ice surface beneath their feet felt very solid. Before they had even reached close to the sea fire, i Liangyu stopped and looked down: "What's beneath this?"
Zhongli Shan looked down at the ice surface with him: "Water?"
"Break it open and see," i Liangyu said.
Zhongli Shan instinctively reached to draw his sword, but when his hand touched his waist, he rembered losing his sword in the Sea Whirlpool. He shrugged helplessly and looked at i Liangyu.
i Liangyu gestured for him to step back, then crouched down and placed his palm on the ice surface. Golden protective energy ignited around his body as he gathered strength to strike the ice. A muffled sound ca from underground, but the ice surface didn't move at all.
Zhongli Shan also crouched down and tapped the ice surface with his hand. He estimated the ice layer wasn't very thick, but it was stable and solid like Profound Stone, difficult to break through.
"You're poisoned, which affects your performance. Let try," Zhongli Shan said.
Zhongli Shan had weathered his Five Elents Energy Chaos condition and felt much better upon waking. He pushed i Liangyu aside and gathered his Five Elents Energy to strike the ice surface, but still couldn't budge it even slightly.
The two knocked and hamred at the ice layer, only shaking off a few ice shards.
"The temperature isn't low, and I don't feel any Five Elents Energy fluctuations from below," Zhongli Shan withdrew his hand from the ice surface and pondered. "It might also be hidden deeper below where we can't sense it."
"Going up seems impossible. Currently, the only solutions I can think of are either extinguishing the fire or going below to investigate," i Liangyu said as he walked toward the sea fire.
He used the Xu Constellation Star Formation, summoning an ice-frost white python to charge at the dying sea fire. But he saw the sea fire, whose flas were so weak they were barely visible, suddenly rise into a towering wall of fire that swallowed the aggressively attacking ice-frost white python.
Zhongli Shan had only heard Xing Chun say this fla was sinister before, but seeing it with his own eyes now, it was indeed quite disturbing.
i Liangyu had intermittently heard Xing Chun's muttering and knew more than Zhongli Shan. He didn't stop and continued using different Nine Schools Arts trying to extinguish the fire or bypass the sea fire to leave. Without exception, they were all devoured by the flas.
No Five Elents Energy could pass through it.
i Liangyu then took out several chanism rabbits and threw them into the sea fire. In the blink of an eye, they were burned to ashes.
Zhongli Shan stood beside him pondering: "It really does seem like Strange Fire."
Hearing these words, i Liangyu thought of Yu Sui. For so reason, he felt like smiling as he asked Zhongli Shan: "Have you seen Strange Fire?"
"The abilities are similar. Fire that devours Five Elents Energy is rare. Sothing like this that gives no chance at all, where seeing it ans being burned, doesn't it seem like Strange Fire?" Zhongli Shan asked.
"The 'seeing it ans being burned' and 'devouring Five Elents Energy' aspects are indeed no different from Strange Fire, but I always feel sothing is missing," i Liangyu pondered.
Zhongli Shan asked: "Have you seen Strange Fire?"
He looked at i Liangyu with so surprise. His earlier words did seem to carry that implication.
"The Yin-Yang School's Five Elents Water Field at the academy was destroyed by Strange Fire. There was a World Destroyer who died there, and I happened to see it," i Liangyu answered casually.
Zhongli Shan stared at him for a long ti without speaking.
You really have seen it, kid.
i Liangyu was thinking when he inadvertently turned his head and discovered Zhongli Shan was still staring at him. He raised his hand and elbowed him: "Are you seeing flowers on my face?"
"The academy didn't leak even half a word about these matters," Zhongli Shan said.
i Liangyu said: "There's no need to make it public. It would cause too much speculation. If World Destroyers can co to Taiyi and release Strange Fire, would you still feel safe here?"
In recent years, there had been very little news about World Destroyers and Strange Fire. It seed they had always been around, just that related information was hidden by many people.
"The Five Elents Water Field still hasn't been fully repaired to this day. The destructive power of Strange Fire is so strong, but compared to what's in front of us, this fla really is lacking sothing," Zhongli Shan didn't ask much about past events and focused on solving the current problem.
i Liangyu was quiet for a mont, then suddenly said: "If I had to say... I think it's like dead Strange Fire."
Strange Fire released by World Destroyers couldn't stay in one place. Its spreading speed was so fast that people couldn't resist it, and it brought strong destructive power with obvious burning traces.
In i Liangyu's view, when Strange Fire burst forth and scattered, it seed to have life and self-awareness as it advanced toward this world.
These fires staying in place without causing destruction everywhere were like Strange Fire that had lost its vitality. Though they seed on the verge of death, their power remained.
After hearing i Liangyu's explanation, Zhongli Shan felt sowhat helpless: "If it's Strange Fire, then we really can't get out, and moreover..."
He looked up above, his eyes reflecting the chaotic overlapping of the stone cave and black Profound Stone that blocked their upward path, yet rcifully allowed a few rays of light to shine through: "If the Sea Whirlpool transported us here, then the destruction the Sea Whirlpool brought can't be underestimated either. The Underwater chanism City must have noticed and will take action. Can't you summon Saint Chang Gen?"
i Liangyu also looked up with him, his gaze cold: "Summoning Master... would be sowhat troubleso. He might not be able to co."
Zhongli Shan wasn't surprised by his answer. i Liangyu indeed didn't like summoning Saint Chang Gen. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't let Saint Chang Gen intervene.
Most of the ti, i Liangyu only listened to Saint Chang Gen's words. Whatever his master said was what it was. But sotis, he would make his own choices.
"Using the sea surface as reference, the Sea Whirlpool pierced through the sea surface and seabed but stopped here," Zhongli Shan turned to look down at the ice layer below. "Is this as far as it could go, or is sothing blocking it?"
"Fighting this fire is hopeless," i Liangyu also looked down. "We still need to find a way to break the ice and see what's below."
The two briefly discussed and began taking action. Fortunately, both knew many offensive Nine Schools Arts. They selected a point and fiercely attacked the ice layer.
Xing Chun was startled awake by the noise and jumped up defensively. Turning his head, he saw Zhongli Shan rolling up his sleeves, gripping his fists and rapidly punching the ice layer.
"What are you doing?" Xing Chun wiped his face.
i Liangyu waved his hand, indicating he shouldn't worry and should continue sleeping.
Xing Chun lay back down, but after a while, he got up again and ca to the two n's side to ask: "Did you think of so solution?"
"Trying to go down below," i Liangyu said.
Xing Chun said: "It won't break. I tried that too."
i Liangyu: "This kind of work should be left to Military School people to build physical strength."
Xing Chun was convinced by i Liangyu and stood beside them yawning as he watched: "Is his hand okay?"
"I treated it for him," i Liangyu said. "It won't break a second ti."
"Why aren't you breaking it?" Xing Chun looked at him puzzledly.
i Liangyu stared at the area below the ice layer without looking up: "I'm poisoned."
"Is it Six Mysterious Wood or Silver River Water?" Xing Chun began getting nervous again. "If it's Silver River Water, you might..."
"I won't die," i Liangyu said. "Whether it's Six Mysterious Wood or Silver River Water, I'll need to get out and investigate to know for sure. I've temporarily suppressed the toxins. As long as I don't have Five Elents Energy Chaos, there won't be major problems."
Only then did Xing Chun breathe a sigh of relief. He crouched down and tapped the ice surface with his finger, sighing: "This trip has been quite a loss."
i Liangyu didn't respond, because for him, this Abyss Sea operation couldn't be considered a loss.
"When I was alone earlier, I was thinking whether I could lure the fire over here to burn away these ice layers," Xing Chun stared at the flas ahead with a gloomy gaze. "One thing conquers another."
Zhongli Shan, who was hamring the ice layer, looked up at him after hearing this and slowly withdrew his fists.
i Liangyu touched his chin thoughtfully: "That's not impossible."
Zhongli Shan felt this idea wasn't good: "If we can lure it over to burn the ice layer, it might also burn us."
i Liangyu said: "The question is how to lure it over."
Zhongli Shan: "Is that the main issue?"
Xing Chun really wanted to leave this gloomy, dark, cursed place. He actively thought of solutions: "Earlier I thought about stripping your clothes to make rope knots to lure it over, but I was afraid you'd strip my clothes when you woke up, and also afraid you wouldn't have ti to run and would be burned to death, so I didn't dare. Now that you're awake, you can undress yourselves!"
i Liangyu and Zhongli Shan fell silent after hearing this.
Zhongli Shan noticed Xing Chun's eyes were full of "I'll use any ans necessary to leave this cursed place." If he refused, Xing Chun would directly pounce on him, so he said: "One piece each."
No more than that.
The three each removed one outer garnt and connected them into a long rope, first removing all accessories from the clothes before twisting them into rope form. They secured one end to the ice layer while i Liangyu approached the sea fire holding the other end.
Zhongli Shan and Xing Chun were driven far away by i Liangyu. Xing Chun shouted to i Liangyu: "Run fast when the ti cos! Don't get burned!"
"Will this work?" Zhongli Shan was still in a doubtful state.
i Liangyu said from ahead: "I'm throwing it now."
Zhongli Shan couldn't stop him in ti and watched helplessly as i Liangyu threw the clothing rope into the fire. The flas clinging to the junction of the underground river and stone wall suddenly surged. The instant i Liangyu released his grip, the long rope was already burned away.
This speed was too fast, not even lasting the blink of an eye. The clothing rope that had just been lying on the ice layer now had no trace of being burned, no charred black marks at all. It had disappeared completely clean.
The three n stared at the empty ice layer and froze, unable to speak.
"Did you see it burn over?" Xing Chun asked with a gloomy expression.
Zhongli Shan shook his head: "Too fast."
i Liangyu crouched down and pressed his hand on the ice layer. After a mont, he said: "Try once more."
"Any discoveries?" Xing Chun asked.
"Need sothing to make it stay longer," i Liangyu tapped the ice surface with his finger. "Attach Five Elents Energy to the clothes and guide it down into the ice layer."
They couldn't break the ice surface, but they could find ways to make Five Elents Energy drill into it.
This seemingly dying fla would actually put all its energy into burning any Five Elents Energy, so it would definitely drill into the ice layer.
i Liangyu couldn't directly use Five Elents Energy to guide it to burn over, as that would burn himself.
Seeing he still had a solution, Xing Chun was very cooperative: "Then let's strip, let's strip."
While undressing, Zhongli Shan asked: "How will you guide Five Elents Energy down below the ice layer?"
When he was hamring the ice layer earlier, he discovered that the ice layer could intercept their Nine Schools Arts. Guiding Five Elents Energy downward was simply impossible.
i Liangyu said: "It's possible. You two hide far away."
He could use his Divine chanism Arts.
After Zhongli Shan and Xing Chun finished undressing, they hid far away. i Liangyu had them retreat to the stone cave passage wall, which was the farthest distance. Xing Chun gripped the railings with both hands, poking his head out to look.
i Liangyu tied knots in the clothes while keeping an eye on the weak flas. Recalling how the rope had been burned the instant he released it, he couldn't help thinking that if Junior Sister could freely use Strange Fire, she would be unstoppable.
It would be good if she were here.
As a World Destroyer herself, she might know more information related to Strange Fire.
Though it was hard to say whether this thing was actually Strange Fire.
It's so dangerous, she better not co.
i Liangyu's mind worked quickly, thoughts racing. He wrapped Five Elents Energy around the clothing rope, looked at the tail end that was pressed against the ice layer, then lowered his gaze with furrowed brows. His hands moved steadily as he threw the other end toward the sea fire.
Zhongli Shan and Xing Chun didn't know by what ans i Liangyu would guide Five Elents Energy down into the ice layer. They only saw i Liangyu release his grip and throw the rope, followed imdiately by the sound of ice layer explosion:
No one knew how far the ice below extended, but it seed like thousands of miles of ice layers suffered a heavy blow and shattered into pieces. The crisp sound of colliding ice fragnts also struck the stone walls, transmitting the sound of ice layer fracturing throughout all of Northern Kun City through the connected black Profound Stone.
The chanism School practitioners searching underground for routes and people, Lin Chenghai and Hu Gui who had finally reunited, Zhang Xiangyun and Luo Fu still resting in the Spirit Puppet pit, Situ Jin who had brought Li Jin Shuang to the surface, and Yu Sui who was still guarding Situ Ling Kui, all heard that crisp sound of breaking ice coming from the underground depths, carrying the intimidating force of crushing everything.
Reviews
All reviews (0)