kingnovel Chapter 437 Polar Exploration - Distress on the Icefield
Chapter 437 Polar Exploration - Distress on the Icefield
After Yun Yao and Chu Mochen had a brief reorganization, they resolutely headed towards the Arctic Ice Field to explore the whereabouts of the first ancient artifact. Along the way, the cold wind was howling like a knife, the goose feather snow was flying all over the sky, the vision was blocked by the vast white snow, and every step forward was extremely difficult.
Although Yun Yao was wearing a thick cotton coat, she still couldn't resist the bone-chilling cold. Her body trembled slightly. She tightened her collar and exhaled a breath of white air: "Chen, the environment of this ice field is worse than we imagined. We must be careful." Chu Mochen saw this and felt distressed. He circulated his spiritual power, emitting a trace of warmth, wrapping the two of them, and said softly: "Yao'er, come closer to me, don't get cold."
The two supported each other and stumbled forward on the ice field with the occasional vague guidance given by the system. After walking for an unknown period of time, a towering iceberg suddenly appeared in front of them. The iceberg was azure blue, and it shone with cold light under the refraction of the sunlight, like a natural barrier in front of them.
"The system prompts that the artifact may be inside this iceberg." A glimmer of hope flashed in Yun Yao's eyes, and she looked up at the towering mountain.
"In that case, let's go up the mountain and take a look." Chu Mochen clenched the sword in his hand and took the first step forward.
As soon as they stepped onto the iceberg, they felt a strange pressure coming towards them. Every step they took upwards seemed like a heavy burden pressing down on them, and their movements became slower and slower. Yun Yao gritted her teeth and persisted, with beads of sweat on her forehead. In this icy place, the sweat instantly condensed into ice.
When they were halfway up the mountain, a strong snowstorm suddenly hit. The strong wind carried the snow like a beast. Yun Yao staggered and was almost swept off the cliff by the wind and snow. Chu Mochen was quick to grab her and hold her in his arms: "Yao'er, be careful!"
When the blizzard subsided, they found a narrow ice road ahead, with bottomless ice abysses on both sides of the ice road. The rising cold air was daunting. Yun Yao took a deep breath, turned on the system's auxiliary detection function, and walked carefully along the ice road.
Just as they were about to cross the ice path, there was a sudden violent vibration under the ice, and then several huge ice beasts broke out of the ice. These ice beasts were as big as mountains, covered with hard ice armor, with bloodthirsty red light flashing in their eyes, and they opened their bloody mouths, revealing sharp fangs, and pounced on the two.
Yun Yao quickly drew her sword, and the spiritual power on the sword surged, turning into an ice-blue sword energy, fiercely slashing at the ice beast that was rushing in front. The sword energy passed through the ice beast's ice armor, making a harsh friction sound, but only leaving a shallow white mark on the ice armor.
"This ice beast has thick skin and tough flesh, it's not easy to deal with!" Yun Yao exclaimed.
Chu Mochen snorted coldly, and shook the long sword in his hand. The sword was as powerful as a dragon, and a golden sword energy whistled out, intertwined with Yun Yao's sword energy, and slammed into the group of ice beasts. This attack was so powerful that several ice beasts were pushed back several steps, but soon they roared and pounced on them again.
The two stood back to back, fighting a desperate battle with the ice beasts. Yun Yao was agile, shuttling between the ice beasts, using unpredictable sword moves to attack the weak parts of the ice beasts such as their joints; Chu Mochen used his sword to swing with great force, and each swing of his sword was like a tidal wave, shaking off the approaching ice beasts.
However, the ice beasts were numerous and fearless, and the battle lasted for a long time, and the two gradually lost their spiritual power. Yun Yao was careless and was hit by the claws of an ice beast. Her left arm was immediately covered in blood. She screamed in pain and staggered.
"Yao'er!" Chu Mochen was extremely anxious. He rushed to Yun Yao regardless of everything and protected her behind him. He waved the sword in his hand wildly, forming a sword curtain to temporarily block the ice beast's attack.
"Chen, I'm fine. We can't stop." Yun Yao endured the pain, took out a healing pill from the storage ring and swallowed it. After a moment, her expression relaxed a little and she gripped the hilt of the sword again.
At this moment, the system suddenly issued a rapid reminder sound: "The ice beast's weakness is the ice crystal on its head. Breaking it will temporarily make it unable to move." Yun Yao was refreshed and shouted loudly: "Chen, attack the ice crystals on their heads!"
The two adjusted their tactics. Yun Yao used her skills to attract the ice beasts' attention and lead them to the right position. Chu Mochen seized the opportunity, jumped high, and stabbed the ice crystals on the ice beasts' heads with the long sword in his hand with powerful spiritual power. With a "crack", the ice crystal on the head of the first ice beast shattered, and its huge body instantly stiffened and fell to the ground.
With the successful experience, the two cooperated more and more tacitly, shattering several ice beasts' ice crystals in succession. The remaining ice beasts, seeing that the situation was not good, retreated back into the ice abyss one after another.
The two of them sighed and sat on the ground, their spiritual power almost exhausted and their bodies covered with wounds. But they knew that they couldn't rest for too long at this moment, as the whereabouts of the artifact was still unknown.
After a short rest, they continued to climb to the top of the mountain. Along the way, they encountered many dangers such as ice traps and ice waterfalls. With their tenacious will and mutual trust, they overcame danger time and time again.
Finally, near the top of the mountain, Yun Yao's system emitted a strong light and locked onto an ice cave: "The aura of the artifact is inside!"
The two walked into the ice cave with great expectations. The cold inside the cave was even worse. Huge ice cones hung on the walls, as fierce as fangs. Deep in the cave, on a stone platform, was a magical artifact emitting a faint blue halo - the Ice Soul Silver Needle. The silver needle was about one foot long and crystal clear, as if it was carved from ten thousand years of black ice. Runes flowed on it, containing mysterious and powerful power.
Yun Yao was about to reach out to take it, when suddenly, a large amount of black mist surged out from the surroundings of the ice cave, and bursts of sinister sneers came from the mist: "Humph, it's not that easy to take the artifact away!"
Then, a black-robed figure slowly emerged from the black fog. His face was hidden in the darkness and his appearance could not be seen clearly, but the evil aura emanating from him made people shudder.
"You have trespassed into the forbidden area of the ice field, disturbed the ice beasts, and attempted to take away the sacred artifact. You will lose your lives today!" The black-robed man's voice was hoarse and full of murderous intent.
Yun Yao and Chu Mochen exchanged a glance, and both saw determination in each other's eyes. Chu Mochen stepped forward, protecting Yun Yao behind him, and held his sword horizontally: "If you want our lives, then take them with your own skills!"
The man in black robe snorted coldly, and in a flash, he appeared in front of Chu Mochen in an instant, and raised his hand to slap out a black palm print. The palm print carried a strong stench, as sticky as ink, and the air seemed to be corroded wherever it passed.
Chu Mochen did not dare to underestimate him, and quickly raised his sword to block. With a loud "bang", he was knocked back several steps, and the ice under his feet cracked. Seeing this, Yun Yao quickly attacked from the side, and the silver needle in her hand turned into a stream of light and stabbed the black-robed man's back. The black-robed man seemed to have eyes on his back, and his body turned strangely, avoiding the silver needle, and grabbed with his backhand. Five black claw marks with a whistling sound grabbed towards Yun Yao's face.
Yun Yao used her skills to retreat repeatedly, and at the same time, she formed seals with her hands, and an ice shield appeared out of thin air to block the claw marks. The black-robed man's attack became more and more fierce, his palms flew, and black spiritual power surged out like a tide, covering the two of them.
Yun Yao and Chu Mochen struggled to hold on, and their spiritual power consumption increased rapidly. At this critical moment, Yun Yao suddenly had an idea. She remembered that the icy property of the Ice Soul Silver Needle might be able to restrain the evil spiritual power of the black-robed man.
"Chen, use the Ice Soul Silver Needle!" Yun Yao shouted, and at the same time injected her own spiritual power into the silver needle, making it shine brightly.
Chu Mochen understood, and took advantage of the gap between the black-robed man's attacks to snatch the silver needle from Yun Yao's hand and threw it fiercely at the black-robed man. The silver needle, with an icy blue light, penetrated the black-robed man's black spiritual defense like lightning and pierced his chest.
The black-robed man screamed and staggered back, his black spiritual power instantly becoming disordered. The two seized the opportunity and joined forces to launch their strongest attack. A brilliant beam of spiritual power rushed towards the black-robed man. With a "boom", the black-robed man was blown to ashes, leaving only a wisp of residual soul to flee.
The crisis was resolved, Yun Yao and Chu Mochen walked tiredly to the stone platform and picked up the Ice Soul Silver Needle. At this moment, with the artifact in hand, a cool force flowed into the body along the palm, moisturizing the damaged meridians, and the spiritual power of the two began to slowly recover.
“I finally got my first artifact, but the process was too dangerous.” Yun Yao said with lingering fear.
"Yes, but as long as we join hands, we can overcome any difficulties. Next, the South China Sea abyss is waiting for us. Yao'er, are you afraid?" Chu Mochen looked at Yun Yao gently.
"With you here, I have nothing to fear." Yun Yao smiled brightly, her eyes full of determination.
After a short rest, the two of them took the Ice Soul Silver Needle and set out on a journey to the abyss of the South China Sea in the cold wind of the ice field. They knew that greater challenges were still ahead, but each other's company gave them courage to face the unknown.