Chapter 484: Emperor of Ice

Chapter 484: The Ice Emperor

Saint Xi awakened, becoming a legendary sacred dragon.

After exiting the Time Secret Realm, Li Wei and Gusewei deliberated briefly before deciding to head in the direction the group had departed years ago.

For Li Wei and Gusewei, that was already an event from eight years past.

Li Wei could barely recall it clearly anymore.

Fortunately, with deliberate effort, his formidable mental strength as a mage allowed him to quickly retrieve those memories.

He no longer knew just how powerful his mental force had become.

Perhaps enough to rival a legendary mage.

Far surpassing even Gusewei.

Gusewei was currently at the peak of the sixth tier; she only needed one opportunity to step onto the path of legend and become a legendary mage herself.

Her maximum range of mental perception stretched only eight hundred meters when fully exerted.

Yet Li Wei's mental reach easily exceeded a thousand meters—he estimated it might have reached around eighteen hundred meters.

In combat, this gave Li Wei a far greater advantage over Gusewei.

She might not even see him coming before being struck down by his attack.

Li Wei’s mental senses continued to spread forward into the darkness ahead.

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

The sound of Saint Xi gnawing on ice chunks and stones echoed constantly overhead.

Occasionally bits of ice and pebbles would fall down.

To Saint Xi they were mere scraps, but to Li Wei and Gusewei, these were substantial chunks.

Being hit carelessly wouldn’t be trivial.

Thinking for a moment, Li Wei looked up and said, “Saint Xi, let us sit on your back—you carry us flying.”

“This way will be faster.”

Saint Xi had no objections; she too was eager to leave this cold, dark cursed place.

Seeing her agreement, Li Wei smiled and flew together with Gusewei onto Saint Xi’s back.

Landing there, Gusewei showed surprise.

She realized that here, she felt none of the extreme chill of the Abyssal Depths of Ice.

“It’s actually quite warm here,” Gusewei remarked to Li Wei.

Li Wei chuckled, crouched down, and patted Saint Xi’s back lightly. “Alright then, full speed ahead!”

Li Wei took charge of navigation, communicating silently with Saint Xi through thought alone.

Saint Xi soared swiftly along the bottom of the lightless, frigid abyss.

They flew for a long time until Li Wei sensed mentally that their surroundings were narrowing—the end of the icy chasm seemed near.

Throughout the journey, he hadn’t seen any trace of that group.

Either so much time had passed that they’d already awakened the Ice Emperor and left,

Or perhaps they still lay ahead, simply beyond where Li Wei had yet caught up.

He warned Saint Xi, “Careful now, the passage is getting narrower up ahead—don’t crash into the walls.”

Saint Xi roared once, acknowledging the warning.

But her pace did not slow.

Standing beside Li Wei, Gusewei gazed down at the sacred dragon beneath them, turning slightly to look tenderly at Li Wei’s profile.

Though they had spent eight years together within the Time Secret Realm, she still found Li Wei shrouded in mystery.

Riding atop a dragon—that was something she'd never imagined possible before.

This novel experience was entirely new to her.

As they entered the gradually narrowing glacial fissure, the surrounding environment appeared to shift subtly.

Li Wei noticed the oppressive darkness seemed somewhat lessened.

Flying deeper inside, this sensation grew more pronounced.

Soon, a patch of icy blue radiance appeared ahead.

Saint Xi plunged straight into it, entering a crystalline world built entirely from glowing azure ice.

No longer completely dark, light from somewhere unknown illuminated the entire glacial domain.

Looking around, Li Wei saw countless reflections of Saint Xi shimmering throughout the icy landscape.

In an instant, Saint Xi seemed multiplied a thousandfold.

Of course, Li Wei understood these were merely reflections—like seeing oneself in mirrors.

Suddenly, Gusewei gripped Li Wei’s hand tightly, speaking nervously, “The Ice Emperor lies right ahead.” Her other hand clutched the Frost Staff firmly.

Legend held that the Frost Staff was forged using materials dropped by the Ice Emperor himself—a legendary scepter.

Thus, holding the Frost Staff enabled one to sense the location of the Ice Emperor.

Too great a distance rendered it useless.

Li Wei’s eyes narrowed slightly. A faint smile touched his lips as he gently grasped Gusewei’s soft small hand.

“Don’t worry—I’ll protect you.”

Hearing this, under some inexplicable influence, Gusewei’s anxious heart slowly relaxed.

She trusted Li Wei.

During their shared experiences within dreams, Gusewei had gained some understanding of Li Wei’s abilities.

She knew his power far exceeded what she had imagined.

It was rumored he had once slain a creature on the verge of ascending to legend.

Back then, Li Wei had been only fourth-tier.

Now his strength had advanced further, becoming even more unfathomable.

Gusewei harbored complete confidence in him.

Still, a thread of unease lingered.

Having grown up since childhood in the Far North Ice Plains, she had heard countless tales about the Ice Emperor, ruler of the frozen wastes.

She knew well the immense might of the Ice Emperor, fearing Li Wei might face grave danger.

Glancing at the sacred dragon beneath her feet, her worries eased slightly.

At least, if aided by a legendary-level dragon, maybe there stood a chance against the Ice Emperor.

Li Wei comforted Gusewei, saying, “Don’t fret. You sensing the Ice Emperor directly ahead is good news—it means they haven’t awakened him yet.”

Guswey nodded, responding softly, "Mm."

She felt that Levi had a point.

Looking at it this way, although the two of them had spent eight years within the Time Sanctuary, only a few days should have passed in the outside world.

Guswey couldn't help but feel somewhat fortunate.

She gazed fixedly at the glacial world ahead, praying silently: I hope we can make it in time.

Whoosh!

As if sensing the urgency in Levi's heart.

Shengxi's flying speed increased, her dragon wings vibrating as she accelerated.

Levi didn't have Shengxi slow down. He grasped the dragon fin on Shengxi's back, holding Guswey tightly with one arm to prevent her from being thrown off during sharp turns.

With Shengxi's accelerated pursuit, soon a light appeared ahead of the narrow glacial crevice.

Shengxi burst out of the narrow glacial crevice, entering an enormous, vast icy cavern.

This ice cave had a diameter exceeding ten kilometers.

It seemed to have only one exit—the glacial fissure—with all other directions sealed off.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Biting cold currents howled past, blocked by the divine power emanating from Shengxi's body.

Levi looked toward the front.

The frigid currents were coming from ahead—could this be their source?

Guswey gripped her trembling Frost Staff, gazing into the depths of the ice cave, and said calmly, "It's right up ahead."

"Shengxi."

Levi called out.

Shengxi accelerated forward.

Before long, Levi and Guswey beheld the legendary Ice Emperor who had ruled the Far North ice plains for hundreds of thousands of years.

Upon seeing the Ice Emperor, both Levi and Guswey were so stunned they stood transfixed on Shengxi's back.

Even Shengxi let out a dragon roar of astonishment.

Several figures preparing to awaken the Ice Emperor below heard the dragon's roar and instinctively looked up.

The moment they saw Shengxi, all of them revealed expressions of incredulous shock.

To them, this was no less shocking than their first encounter with the Ice Emperor.

(End of Chapter)