"..." Gio and Cherub stared at the scorching and super bright desert sky with a somewhat lost look. They had exterminated the giant death desert worms to the so-called nest, but they were now at a loss as to what to do.
They had teleportation talismans, but they weren't sure how to use them to catch up with their masters. At this rate, they could just be left in the desert forever!?
"I was wondering why you didn't catch up with us. However, it seems you don't know how to use a teleportation talisman?" Ai held her forehead and shook her head when she found the two giant dragons sitting side by side, looking at the sky like abandoned pets.
"Rawr!" Gio and Cherub looked to the side and found Elysia's group already there somehow. Their masters just came to pick them up! The two giant dragons ran towards their masters happily.
"I hope we don't make you wait long. We will go to the last separate realm under the desert, then enter the extreme north." Elysia stroked the colossal earth dragon's head while holding back her laughter. Gio and Cherub just now were looking like puppies.
"..." Gio thought for a moment, transforming into a little tortoise-like dragon.
"Hrrr..." Cherub lay down on the ground, waiting for the girls to climb on his back. He knew everyone would be leaving with him as a mount.
Thus, everyone flew north.
"This place is called the Boundless Desert, but this desert isn't actually that wide. The Unknown Continent is much wider than this." Fortuna surveyed the surrounding desert area.
"That's because we are at the Emperor-level and above. If it's a Saint-level and below, they will suffer in this desert. Do you know the reason?" Rhea leaned into Elysia's arm and glanced at Fortuna.
"Why?" Fortuna was intrigued.
"If you are at Saint-level and below and dare to step into this forbidden desert region, your strength will be suppressed two levels down. Flying is impossible, and they will be forced to explore on foot. That's why they call this Boundless Desert." After saying that, Rhea took a sip of her cold and refreshing iced juice.
"Oh~ So, everyone will be forced to roam this vast desert as ordinary people without being able to get much support from magic items and their power. If they could only roam this desert on foot, it would be reasonable for them to call it boundless." Fortuna dropped her fist onto her open palm upon realization.
"Our objective is to hunt life-saving treasures called vitality herbs? Don't you have a whole new world containing countless priceless treasures? I have never been there in person, but I can see it from my mracelet home realm." Zera asked in wonder while glancing at Elysia and the Goddesses.
"We do have a lot of treasures, but most of them were damaged or destroyed in the decisive battle a hundred thousand years ago. We don't have any vitality herbs left." Rhea sighed and glanced at the maid behind Zera before closing her eyes.
"..." Number One trembled slightly because that gaze had an indirect mental attack.
Her power was suppressed beyond measure, and she almost vomited blood because of the Goddess' offensive gaze. She was the avatar of the superior Ruvoid God, but she was here, being a maid of the ones who should be her enemy.
"Hey, Zera. Is that maid obedient and docile? I have a question I want to ask her." Ai pointed to the maid behind Zera.
"Yes, she is a meek and obedient little maid now. I have educated her intensively, but she is still a bit rebellious. If you have any questions, feel free to ask her, and she won't try to cover up anything even if it's classified information regarding her Gods!" Zera moved aside and pointed her palm at Number One. All attention was on her maid now.
"This still something that bothers me a bit. Ely, you still remember that, right? Those bastards, ahem, I mean shadow beasts from that realm have the similar aura and smell as the accursed. but Zera no longer has it. I want to know about your God's origin and background. How much do you know about Ruvoid Gods and their minions?" Ai glanced at Elysia for a moment, then stared at Number One intensely.
"My apologies, I don't know the information that far. All I know is what happened since I was created." Number One grasped her hand and bowed slightly.
"E-eh? Do I smelly? I make sure I smell good and fresh." Zera sniffed her body to confirm something, then checked Number One's body odor. Unfortunately, she couldn't identify the smell and aura that Ai meant.
"We can only confirm it when we meet the other Ruvoid Gods the day after tomorrow. But, yeah... I also feel that the accursed them are similar to those shadow beasts. They both have skills related to deadly curses." Elysia heaved a subtle sigh, then looked up at the eastern sky.
"Hum, looks like you're right. Unfortunately, this pawn doesn't know anything. Any other questions will obviously end up being pointless, so forget about that. Apparently, we can only uncover the truth during our visit to the moon." Ai flapped her hand and was no longer interested in Number One.
"Nee, I feel attracted to the shadow beasts. What realm are they in if I may ask? I'm not afraid of curses. They can't hurt me." Zera approached Ai as she was curious.
"I could tell you at dinner, but that's if you perform well in the extreme north." Ai turned her face to the side.
"All right, you have said it and Master Elysia is the witness." Zera gave a thumbs up.
After that, they visited the last separate realm beneath the northern desert. Unfortunately, there was none of the oasis they were trying to find. Just a mountain of gold and thousands of dry energy cores.
Therefore, Elysia's group of adventurers immediately entered the extreme north to search for more vitality herbs or precious treasures.
After the desert land, the expanse of the eternal snow mountains greeted them. The hot temperature became cold as if they entered a different realm.
Underground ruins under a giant mountain became a place that caught their attention. Thus, there was the first place they visited.
"This icy pond emits so much pure yet pleasant cold energy. It might rival our hot spring of life." Elena dipped a small stick into the super cold pond and found it froze instantly. "Wow, it's so cold, and yet, the water in the pond doesn't completely freeze into ice?"
"Extreme cold ice pond? This is the opposite of our hot spring, but it can only freezes inanimate objects. See, my hand is fine, but it sure is as cold as ice water." Elysia dipped her hand into the pond.
"Yes, this is similar to our hot spring of life. That little bead at the bottom of the pond is the key to this attractive cultivating spot." Rhea could notice the secret behind the pond, but she wondered more about who owned this pond. She doubted this cultivating spot was the result of a natural phenomenon.
"The treasure left out in the open without protection belongs to no one. We can take it without any worries, right? Yuuki will definitely like this pond, but we should give this to Lady Tifa. She can use this pond to cultivate some ice-related plants and many more. We can also soak in ice water if we want." Elysia manipulated the earth element to take the entire icy pond. She put it into the snowy region of the Nature Realm and felt satisfied with it.
Elysia's skill in securing the entire pond made Fortuna gape in shock, but that didn't matter.
Fortuna then stared at the object in her hand. She finally obtained a large chunk of high-grade space stone that could create a top-tier space-related artifact.
She needed a few more to create a mini world like the Nature Realm or Firmament Realm.
"You need more than space stones to make a private world. That thing can only make twenty grade five Space Bags at most." Rhea patted Fortuna on the shoulder because she knew what this girl was thinking.
"Well..." Fortuna secured her space stone, then took some more around the cave. Her mini world would wait for some more time. At least she could craft more space-related artifacts to hone her techniques first. Rhea would definitely teach her more detail if she brought her own resources.
"These ruins are so far from the surface. This place seems to have been abandoned by the owner for a long time." Ai rubbed the ice walls questioningly.
The place should be dark since they were deep underground, but the surrounding ice walls glowed a blue light as if they were in eternal daylight. However, there was no sign of life, no matter how much she tried to check. Apart from the wild ice plants, there was nobody but her group.
"Perhaps, this place belongs to a snow fairy? Hey, look what I found. Is this a vitality herb?" Zera returned to the room with an ice glass flower. She preserved it so well and even put it in a pot.
"It's not a vitality herb, but it's still a priceless ice flower. We may be able to cultivate it in Nature Realm." Elena looked at the ice flower carefully.
"Is that so? I found a lot of ice attribute plants in the cave over there. My maid is currently harvesting them all and placing them in pots." Zera sighed. They had explored for nearly half a day and only had two vitality herbs.
"The important thing is that the roots aren't damaged." Elena went in the direction Zera pointed.
"Yup, an abandoned and unprotected place belongs to no one. So, we can harvest everything with no worry~" Rhea put her hands together and followed Elena.
With that said, Elysia's group cleaned up everything they could find in that place, assuming there was no original owner.
After that, they left and flew relatively high into the sky to ask the nearby Nature Spirits before continuing their exploration of the vast Eternal Winter Continents.