The cold in the depths was strong enough to pierce through the defenses of the lord.
Despite his cultivation base he was unable to endure the chill which was stunning as even freezing temperatures were bearable by those at the Nascent soul too as long as they actively defended against it.
This proved that the chilly energy from this area was not just simple cold. It was on another level.
'Interesting… it can actually pierce through defenses similar to the Sapphire Qi.' Lin Wu took note.
Even the system whirred into work and quickly started analyzing it. The more data it gathered, the better its chances at improving the Undaunted Sapphire meridian Art after all. It was also one of the cultivation technique that was unable to be integrated into the Chimeric Revolution technique.
It was simply at a different level and could not meld well with the others. The system had told Lin Wu that it needed a lot more data to do so, whether it be from external sources or by Lin Wu's own cultivation and improving of the technique.
"I'll take care of that," Lin Wu spoke to Lord Geng Zilai.
The man was surprised at a coat of energy surrounding it. It was rather warm and easily cut off the chilly energy that was entering his body.
"Thank you, King Lin Wu." The man said with gratitude.
He knew the horror of this chilly energy. It was difficult for even him to expel it, especially at the rate that it was entering here. If he was exposed to it for any longer, he might have reached an irreversible point and ended up succumbing to it.
'Hmm… So Radiation can still block it. That's good.' Lin Wu noted.
The energy that was coating Lord Geng Zilai was none other than Lin Wu's radiation. He had only used a limited amount to make a thin coat around the man. With his current proficiency of the Radiation Manipulation innate skill, this was simple.
But to Lord Geng Zilai it was quite stunning. As he realized his spirit Qi couldn't get past this coat either.
"I… can't use my spirit sense?" Lord Geng Zilai was stunned.
"That'll have to be for now. My skill blocks energies from both sides." Lin Wu replied.
"Ah… I see." Lord Geng Zilai nodded his head.
Feeling relived that he hadn't lost his ability to use spirit sense, he continued after Lin Wu.
A short while later, they finally reached a new level of the lake.
"The ice… It's turned dark." Lord Geng Zilai was baffled.
Lin Wu saw it too and found it unusual. His sprint sense tried to enter this new type of ice, but was blocked after just a few meters.
'System does your senses work for this?' Lin Wu questioned.
~DING~
——
SCAN: Possible
SCAN: Completed
NOTIFICATION: A new mixture of energy has been found!
ANALYZING: Please wait patiently…
——
"At least you can still analyze it." Lin Wu was fine with that.
He continued to drill through the ice and continued downwards. The temperature had continued to fall and was below 100 degree Celsius. Lin Wu reckoned this was the lowest temperature he had encountered so far that was naturally present.
'Perhaps only the skills of Patriarch Bing and Guardian Yun Bai can reach this level of cold.' Lin Wu thought to himself.
By now, drilling had become a bit slower as even Lin Wu found the ice getting tougher.
'It's not just the ice… that energy in it is also resisting the drilling.' Lin Wu noticed.
He focused his senses on the ice when it was drilled and discovered that the energy contained within the ice was actively trying to refreeze the ice while also trying to slow down Lin Wu's tail itself.
If not for the Sapphire Qi, Fire Qi and radiation coating Lin Wu's tail, it would have already entered Lin Wu's body.
Still, Lin Wu didn't stop and continued drilling.
~CRUMBLE~
A new sound was heard and Lin Wu suddenly felt like he had struck air.
"Huh?" Lin Wu noticed that there was no ice after this point. "An air pocket?"
He checked the depth and discovered that he was over 3500 meters deep now.
Lord Geng Zilai couldn't tell why Lin Wu had stopped and didn't know that they had encountered a new area either. After all, there was Lin Wu's large body blocking the way.
"What's the issue, King Lin Wu?" Lord Geng Zilai questioned.
To this, Lin Wu didn't respond but simply descended further. Just a few seconds later, Lord Geng Zilai saw a vast empty space below them.
"What in the name of heavens…" The man was stunned.
There were shimmering lights floating in the air as well as a few that were spread on the ground.
"Just how big is this?" The man couldn't tell.
The shimmering lights could be seen all around them, with no end to be seen.
"This is much bigger than the entire Circle Peak Lake. I reckon this extended northwards to the ocean." Lin Wu could see this in the system's map.
This area was over nine hundred kilometers, and this was just what was within the system's current range. It was likely to be a lot bigger, but couldn't be seen due to the interference.
"How did we never know this… Wait! If this is a large hole… then why is the lake above this? Shouldn't it have fallen?" Lord Geng Zilai couldn't figure it out.
"This seems to be an air pocket." Lin Wu replied. "Its hard to tell when or how this was created. But the water should have filled this part too. I can sense more ice below us and it extends to the north." He explained.
Lord Geng Zilai didn't know what to think of that, and was lost in thought. Lin Wu continued to descend and soon reached the floor that was a mix of ice and rocks.
This was the first time he was seeing something that wasn't just solid ice.