Chapter 475: Extreme Cold Abyss

Chapter 475: The Abyss of Ultimate Cold

Once Li Wei had made the decision to depart, he did not linger long within the Ice and Snow City.

After briefly explaining the situation to Gu Ze, he set off alongside Gu Ze's younger sister, Gu Swei, on the journey toward the Abyss of Ultimate Cold.

He recalled the Shadow Servants who had been by Bear Two’s side, leaving the still-slumbering bear in Gu Ze’s care.

“I can only take you this far. Beyond here lies territory where Snow Striders cannot tread,” said Monis, as she rode atop her Snow Strider with Li Wei and Gu Swei.

Li Wei and Gu Swei leapt down from the beast, landing softly in the powdery snow.

He patted the Snow Strider that had carried him nearly a hundred li, saying, “Thank you. You may return now.”

Going further would risk the Snow Strider being unable to make it back to the Ice and Snow City.

Monis had suggested using the beasts precisely to conserve their strength and magical energy.

“Mm, then I wish you safe travels,” Monis replied, turning her mount around to head back toward the city.

Li Wei and Gu Swei each employed their own methods to continue onward toward the Abyss of Ultimate Cold.

According to the Ice Queen, even if they walked without rest for three days and nights, they would barely reach the edge of the abyss—a trial both daunting and grueling.

Gu Swei glanced at Li Wei and said, “It must be hard for you to recover your magic here. Why don’t you come with me? I’ll carry you.”

Li Wei considered this for a moment before stepping onto the ice beneath her feet. “Then thank you.”

“Hmph. It’s just that I don’t want you dragging me down when we run into danger because you’ve no mana left,” she retorted.

Li Wei chuckled but didn’t respond.

Gu Swei guided the ice beneath her feet forward toward the Abyss of Ultimate Cold.

The block of ice carved a straight path through the snowy expanse.

After some time, Li Wei asked, “Can’t we sit down? Isn’t standing tiring?”

“Oh, well, standing gives us better sight,” she replied, promptly conjuring two chairs from ice so they could sit upon the moving slab.

Li Wei gazed into the distance and asked, “What does the Abyss of Ultimate Cold actually look like?”

Without turning back, Gu Swei answered, “I’ve never been there myself, but Her Majesty once told me—it is an endless chasm with no bottom in sight.”

Li Wei looked up at the darkening sky and remarked, “This isn’t perpetual daylight or darkness. Why did the Ice Queen say that seven days hence will mark the transition between polar day and night?”

Gu Swei explained, “The Ice and Snow City is still quite distant from the Abyss. Only within a thousand-li radius of the Abyss itself can one witness true polar day or night.”

“It should currently be polar night. That region has remained shrouded in darkness for thirty-three years already—the temperature there is far lower than here.”

“They say that during the era of polar day, strange phenomena such as unfrozen seas appear near the Abyss.”

“Unfrozen seas?” Li Wei questioned curiously.

“Yes—waters that remain liquid despite temperatures far below freezing point,” she clarified.

“If the Abyss were surrounded by ocean, our crossing might become even more troublesome.”

“Oh, I see.”

They continued their relentless march. At first, conversation flowed easily.

But later, faced with the vast blackness of the snowfields stretching endlessly around them, neither felt inclined to speak anymore—they pressed silently onward through the dark.

Had it not been for Gu Swei leading the way, Li Wei would have lost all sense of direction in the night.

She herself relied entirely upon her Frost Staff to maintain a straight course toward the Abyss.

As Li Wei surveyed the desolate black snowscape, his thoughts turned suddenly to those who had ventured into the Abyss seeking to awaken the Ice Emperor.

How had they crossed the Frozen North Plain to reach the Abyss?

Surely, anyone capable of such a feat must possess formidable power.

Time passed indeterminately until a faint glimmer appeared in the sky—they had traveled through the entire night.

Li Wei glanced at Gu Swei and said, “Let me take over now—you should rest awhile.”

She looked at him with confusion tinged with fatigue.

“How do you plan to manage?” she asked.

Li Wei smiled. “Simple.”

Under her watchful gaze, he took control of the ice beneath her feet.

Though he couldn’t manipulate the ice directly as she had created it, he could use telekinesis to propel it forward.

Astonishment flickered across Gu Swei’s face. “How did you do that?”

“The Hand of the Mage,” Li Wei replied simply.

“The Hand of the Mage?”

Her eyes filled with bewilderment as she stared at him.

She glanced down at the ice beneath her feet, pondered briefly, then shook her head, choosing not to dwell on it further.

Instead, she closed her eyes and sat back in the icy chair, resting her mind.

Occasionally opening her eyes to ensure Li Wei was steering correctly.

Thus, they alternated in taking turns to rest, pushing relentlessly through day and night.

Finally, at noon on the third day, they arrived at the edge of the Abyss of Ultimate Cold.

Though technically midday, once within a thousand li of the Abyss, perpetual night reigned.

There was no sunlight, yet thanks to the shimmering auroras dancing across the heavens, they could barely discern the path ahead.

Whoooosh!

Cold winds howled ceaselessly before them.

Even Gu Swei couldn’t help but tremble against the biting chill.

She exhaled a puff of warm breath, gripping tightly to her Frost Staff in hopes of drawing warmth from its enchantments.

Here, the temperature had plummeted past minus one hundred and eighty degrees Celsius.

Not exaggerating—one breath expelled from her mouth instantly crystallized into shards of ice, driven by the wind to sting her cheeks.

Bitter cold pierced her skin.

She pulled tighter the mink-fur scarf wrapped around her neck, trying desperately to shield herself from the relentless gusts.

Glancing sideways at Li Wei, she noticed he wore nothing but his thin mage’s robes, seemingly unaffected by the cold.

Of course, Li Wei also felt the cold—especially after entering the vicinity of the Abyss.

The concentration of fire elementals in the surrounding air had dropped almost to nothingness.

Even the fire elements within his body grew sluggish.

In this place, his strength would be severely compromised as well.

Levi glanced at Gwythian; perhaps from this point onward, they truly would have to rely on her power.

The two exchanged a look, then averted their eyes.

Levi said, "Let's go. The Abyssal Deep of Extreme Cold is just ahead."

Gwythian nodded in assent, "Mhm."

They walked forward, drawing closer to the frozen chasm amidst the enveloping darkness, and only upon nearing did they behold the bottomless, monumental precipice.

It was as if the earth itself had split asunder.

Standing on this side of the cliff, one could not catch a glimpse of the far side.

The cliff face was by no means a smooth, sheer surface sliced clean by a blade.

Hanging from the precipice were countless icicles and ice spires, frozen by the biting wind to a hardness that surpassed steel.

Yet these masses of ice were exceptionally slick; anyone attempting to descend to the bottom of the abyss by clinging to them had to be prepared to lose their grip at any moment and plunge to a shattering death.

Fortunately, neither Levi nor Gwythian needed to take such a risk.

Both of them could simply fly straight down.

The only hazard to watch out for was the sudden, erratic eruption of absolute-zero air currents from within the chasm.

Should they be struck by one of these freezing blasts, they would instantly be turned into icy shards and plummet into the abyss.

(End of Chapter)