Chapter 493 - The Wastelands

The middle-aged man, who was controlling the Flying-cloud Stone, and the two assistants next to him were shocked by Xiao Chen’s sudden shout. The middle-aged man immediately asked the two assistants to stop the Flying-cloud Stone and brought it down a little. Then he looked at Xiao Chen and asked, “What’s the matter with you?”

Yang Qing and the others did not know why he suddenly wanted to stop the Flying-cloud Stone, and so they asked, “Brother Xiao, what’s going on?”

Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes but said nothing. He just stared blankly at the glittering thing on the glacier below. It was a rootless lotus, growing on the bank of the ice river. In the light of the sunset, it flickered.

“The Wilderness Ice-lotus!” Followed his gaze, Yang Qing and the others couldn’t help exclaiming in surprise. Yang Qing looked a little excited and said, “It’s really a thousand-year-old Wilderness Ice-lotus, which is even rarer to see than the Kunlun Saussurea Involucrata!”

The Wilderness Ice-lotus was a precious natural herb that was even more valuable than the Saussurea Involucrata, which usually grew in the snowy mountains like the Kunlun Mountains and the Thousand Summits Mountain. But only the glaciers that had existed since ancient times up to now had the Wilderness Ice-lotuses, which were extremely difficult to find.

Xiao Chen’s eyes looked a little dull. Suddenly, he moved his feet and was about to go down. However, a figure stopped him in no time. It was Chu Qi who stepped in front of him.

Chu Qi’s poker face was still expressionless. She glanced at Yang Qing and others and said coldly, “Protect master well.” After that, she went down to the glacier below.

“Watch out!” Xiao Chen shouted, trying to stop her, but it was too late. The glacier below was extremely dangerous. It was even difficult for those cultivators of immortality to get out of danger if they fell into trouble there.

If Qingluan saw that Xiao Chen wanted to go down, she would definitely go there with him. But Chu Qi… Now she was sliding smoothly to the opposite side of the ice river. As she approached the ice lotus, she threw the Full Moon Blade in front of her and stepped on it. By taking advantage of the moving Full Moon Blade, she bent over and picked up the ice lotus on the bank of the ice river.

Yang Qing and others were watching her on the Flying-cloud Stone. A series of Chu Qi’s movements put them in a cold sweat. After all, no ordinary people could go to such a dangerous place. Then, Chu Qi stepped on the piece of floating ice and leaped toward the Flying-cloud Stone by the reverse thrust. With a wave of her hand, the Full Moon Blade flew back and carried her to the Flying-cloud Stone.

The series of actions taken by her looked as natural and smooth as the floating clouds and flowing water. Even if Xiao Chen used his Immortal-override Steps, he would do no better than that.

By the time she returned to the Flying-cloud Stone, a layer of ice had already formed on the tips of Chu Qi’s brows, and her cheeks had also turned ghastly white because of the cold. Yang Qing, the few flyers who controlled the Flying-cloud Stone, and others all secretly praised her for her extraordinary skills. If it had been them, they would not have been able to land safely back on the stone if they rashly went down.

“Master, is this what you want?” Chu Qi handed the Wilderness Ice-lotus to Xiao Chen, but there was still no expression on her face. Her tone was still flat, without any emotion.

Xiao Chen took the ice lotus and immediately felt a chill. This chill went straight into every acupuncture point of his body, making him feel indescribably comfortable. Seeing that Chu Qi’s cheeks turned deathly pale in the cold, Xiao Chen said a little apologetically, “Thank you very much.”

There was still no expression on Chu Qi’s face, and she said calmly, “Sister Qingluan asked me to protect you. If you have something to do later, please tell me first. Don’t act rashly again to put yourself in danger.”

Xiao Chen couldn’t help feeling a little dazed. In the past two days, this was the first time that she spoke so many words to him. Yang Qing and the others were very envious. Was there anything happier than having such a subordinate? Moreover, she was such a rare iceberg beauty. The few of them couldn’t help taking a few more glances at Chu Qi. But immediately, they drew back their sights and turned to look at the ice lotus in Xiao Chen’s hand.

This ice lotus had three layers of petals. There were eight petals in its outer layer, six petals in the middle layer, and four petals in the inner layer. With a faint layer of cold air, the jade-like ice lotus seemed to be carved out of the ice.

“It’s actually the rarest Ice Lotus XVIII,” Yang Qing said in a daze.

There were good ice lotuses and bad ones. For example, the ice lotus in Xiao Chen’s hand had eight, six, and four petals in the outer layer, the middle layer, and the innermost layer, respectively. It was called the Ice Lotus XVIII, the rarest and most precious kind. If a True Immortal took it, he must be promoted to a higher realm. A Rogue Immortal could become an Earth Immortal after he used it. And the physical body of a person who ascended to heaven could keep his body from being destroyed. If a mortal used it, he might not be able to become an immortal, but he could stay away from all kinds of diseases from then on. Besides, his strength could grow explosively, or even he could be brought back to life and health.

Although it was an outstanding rare treasure, ordinary people couldn’t eat it easily. Otherwise, their bodies couldn’t bear the medical effect of the ice lotus.

Yang Qing and the others looked at the ice lotus with all their eyes. However, Xiao Chen gradually lost in thought. “It is really the Wilderness Ice-lotus that has eighteen petals. It looks the same as the ice lotus outside the Yaoguang Temple in those years. Master had been to this place before, Master…”

Xiao Chen looked down at the ice river, his heart full of sadness. At this moment, he felt like crying. It seemed that just as he closed his eyes, he could see the scene when his master was picking up lotuses. The reflection of his master seemed to be still on these glaciers.

Now when the sun went down, its last light fell. Between heaven and earth was all pale yellow, the scene of which naturally added those vast glaciers a bit of desolation.

“Brother Xiao, what is wrong?” Seeing his miserable and sad expression, Yang Qing and the others asked, feeling much puzzled. Finding an ice lotus that was rare to be seen in a thousand years was clearly a good thing, but why was he so sad at this moment?

Xiao Chen held the ice lotus in his hand, shook his head gently, and looked down at the glacier below. His eyes turned a little red because of the cold wind blowing in his face, and his voice sounded a little bit bitter as if he were going to cry. He murmured to himself, “She had been here…”

“Who was here?” Yang Qing and others asked, feeling even more puzzled. It seemed that Xiao Chen had been acting weirdly since he passed through the Kunlun Mountains in the afternoon.

In the next three days, Xiao Chen either stared blankly at the ice lotus or walked to the edge of the Flying-cloud Stone, looking at the vast glacier below in a trance. Like him, Chu Qi also remained silent. As long as Xiao Chen didn’t talk to her, she would never take the initiative to speak to him.

On the seventh day, the Flying-cloud Stone crossed these glaciers and arrived at an endless ice field in the extreme north. There was no alternation of day and night here. In summer, it was day time forever and in winter, it was the everlasting night.

On the ninth day, the brilliant and colorful polar light appeared in the sky ahead, but it seemed that the polar light would hang on the horizon forever. No matter how fast the Flying-cloud Stone was, it could not reach the light just like people could never catch up with the sun.

When Yang Qing saw the appearance of the polar light, his expression became extremely exhilarated. “We’re almost there. As long as we pass through this ice plain and the polar light disappeared, we reach the boundary of the Wastelands.”

Xiao Chen also cleaned up the gloomy mood that he had in the past few days. He walked to the edge of the Flying-cloud Stone and stood side by side with Yang Qing and the others, looking at the colorful polar light before.

A man next to Yang Qing smiled and said, “Brother Yang, after going through so many things in these years, I have never thought that we would come back again.”

Yang Qing sighed. “Yeah. Back then, we had just entered the Foundation Building Realm. But now… It’s a pity that some of our brothers will never return.” When he said this, the other six people also heaved a deep sigh.

Xiao Chen looked ahead and thought, “That very year, they were just in the Foundation Building Realm, but now they have reached the Nascent Soul Realm. All of this is because the Annihilation Times has arrived.” Suddenly, a strange idea came to him.

When the lamp was about to go out, it would definitely give out the most dazzling light at the last moment. People’s potential would erupt at the last moment before they died. But now, since the Annihilation Times had arrived, everyone’s cultivation speed was accelerating. Was it true that an era would end and be annihilated?

Two more days later, the light in the sky gradually died away, and the weather became slightly warmer. Under the sky, the green vegetation gradually revealed, but there were still many places covered with thick ice and snow.

Xiao Chen couldn’t help sighing with emotion. “It will only take three days to cross the five continents, but it took us more than ten days to pass through the Arctic Wilderness. The world is so big that no ordinary person can see through it. What I have seen in my past and present life is only the tip of the iceberg at most.”

When it was almost noon, the Flying-cloud Stone finally crossed through the Arctic Wilderness, and they could no longer see any ice covers. Below them was a dark green mountain range with continuous mountains, among which were flying birds and running beasts. Compared with the Arctic Wilderness before, the range looked much livelier.

The Flying-cloud Stone also slowly descended and landed on a wide grassland. The middle-aged man cupped his hands and said with a smile, “Now we have crossed the Arctic Wilderness. According to our previous agreement, our deal is cleared.”

Xiao Chen naturally understood what he meant. They were businessmen, so they needed to be paid more if Xiao Chen wanted them to go further. But since there was a mountain range in front of them, Xiao Chen and others could fly on their swords. Thus, he didn’t need to waste the extra money so that Xiao Chen clasped his hands and said while smiling, “Then thank you for taking care of us these days, Brother Hu.”

“You’re welcome, Brother Xiao.” The middle-aged man surnamed Hu was still very enthusiastic.

After they saluted and bidding each other farewell, the Flying-cloud Stone flew back the way it came. Looking at the sky in which the Flying-cloud Stone disappeared, Xiao Chen kept quiet, lost in thought. “Five continents, wait for the day when I come back.”

“Brother Yang, we were chased by that mad dog all the way up here last time, right?” a man suddenly said.

Yang Qing looked at the lofty mountains and high ranges in the distance and sighed. “Yes. If we hadn’t met some people who were on their way to the Violet Manor, we probably wouldn’t have been able to escape, but unfortunately, six of our brothers had died.” In the end, his voice sounded a little desolate gradually.

Xiao Chen looked at them, thinking that everyone had his own stories. He then asked, “Brother Yang, who is your Nemesis?”

Yang Qing smiled bitterly, shook his head, and said, “It’s a force from the Black-horn City. We cannot defeat them.” As he finished, he raised his head again and looked at the distant mountain ridge. “Brother Xiao, let’s go. After passing through this mountain ridge, we will be able to reach some barren areas of the Wastelands. Let’s settle down first.”

Xiao Chen asked nothing more. After spending so many days with them, he found that the seven of them were very loyal to their friends. Especially when they were hunted by the Immortals’ League in the Pingxi Village that day, Yang Qing and his brothers chose to stay behind to buy some time for Xiao Chen and others.

Immediately, they rode on their swords and flew forward. After flying for hundreds of kilometers, Yang Qing suddenly said, “Brother Xiao, I just remembered one thing. A Demonic Beast mountain range is about 100 kilometers ahead of us, and there are many monster beasts hidden there. When we pass by that place later, will we go down and get some monster pills? Tomorrow, we can take these monster pills to the city and exchange them for some Spirit Stones.”

Xiao Chen thought that he didn’t have much money now, so it was just at the right moment. Anyway, they were not in a hurry. Then, he smiled and said, “Alright.”

…

Meanwhile, 100 kilometers away, on the top of a mountain stood two elders in fluttering robes. One was wearing a green robe, and the other was wearing a purple one.

They looked down at the mountain range below. After a long time, the purple-robed elder whose face looked quite ruddy stroked his beard and said with a smile, “Hehe, in the past, our Pure Mind Sect won every time. It seems that this time is no exception.”

When the cyan-robed elder heard his words, his face became uglier. He gave him a sideways glance and then sneered. “It’s too early to say this now, isn’t it? There are more than four hours left. Our Heaven Heart Pavilion may catch up with them before sunset, but we are just short of seven Monster Pills.”

The purple-robed old man smiled and said, “That’s right. In four hours, you will be short of dozens of pills. Haha!”

Upon hearing his words, the cyan-robed elder became angrier. However, the disciples of him were all good-for-nothings, who were still useless after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm. Though they had gone through rigid training in normal times, it was difficult for them to kill a few fourth-order Demonic Beast at the critical moment.

The more the cyan-robed elder thought about it, the angrier he became. However, he could not reveal his emotions. When he was about to say something, the purple-robed elder suddenly withdrew his smile, and his expression became solemn. “Wait, some other people have broken into the mountain range!”