Chapter 199: Icy Gorge
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Whooo! Whooo!"
As the North wind blew, the elements were harsh.
Only a white scene could be seen. Water froze into ice and the flying snow was sharp like a knife. It was like a blizzard hell!
This is the chilly winds? Who would've thought that this would be how the extreme North of the plains look like!"
Fang Yuan was laying on the unihorned beast lazily with Purple Dream. As he inhaled, he could smell the mild fragrance from Purple Dream, and a few strips from her robe caressed his face playfully.
What happened to the white horse? It was already frozen to death a few hours in the chilly winds. Normal beasts could not handle the harsh elements here.
Even Purple Dream's Unihorn Beast was releasing a white glow from its horn, and the glow covered its body.
Not just that, the hairs on its hooves stood on its ends, resembling a huge vacuum. Only then could it traverse on the snow without obstruction.
'To be able to do this meant that it could also walk on water. There was a rumour in Xia Country that there was once an outstanding general with a pet that was able to walk on water. On many occasions, it rescued the general from danger, and was known as a lucky animal...'
Ultimately, it felt different travelling with a beauty. Fang Yuan felt a little different in his heart.
Purple Dream wasn't asleep yet. Suddenly, she turned around and in a clear voice, exclaimed. "This is only the outer boundary of the chilly winds. In order to reach Da Qian Empire, we need to go through the heart of the extreme North. I have already led you around the blizzard. However, you will be by yourself in the depths of the plains, against the wild animals."
"You... Are you not going to Da Qian to look for your master?"
Fang Yuan could hear Purple Dream's intention from her voice and asked.
"Master... Are you talking about my Almighty Father?"
Purple Dream laughed pitifully. "You will never be able to accomplish what he had done. I pray for Him and tell Him about all my worries. He has always been with me!"
Fang Yuan remained silent.
He felt that this lady in front of him had displayed the signs of becoming a mad follower of a cult.
'Will a dream master end up a God?'
He felt that something was not right. It could be because that dream master had passed on, which led to Purple Dream having these thoughts.
"Whooo! Whooo!"
The Northern winds were extremely strong.
A shadow appeared in front. It slowly became bigger and bigger, and finally, it took on the shape of a huge gorge.
No!
This was not a normal gorge; it was the gate to the Heavens!
Two icy cliffs stood on each side, and they were tall as they blocked out more than half of the sky. He could not see the end.
"You must be careful. In the icy gorge, there are a lot of dangers. I should put it this way. It is a whole new world altogether..."
Purple Dream dismounted from the horse and took a step back. "I can only bring you thus far!"
"Many thanks!"
Fang Yuan rubbed his nose.
If Purple Dream did not help him, he might have wasted too much effort trying to circumvent the blizzard and to locate this place.
"I hope that you can find what you are looking for!"
Purple Dream smiled, turned around and leapt on her horse. In an instant, she disappeared into the snow.
"The dream people... they're interesting!"
Fang Yuan looked in the direction that she went, smiled, and turned around to face the icy gorge.
"Whooo! Whoo!"
As the chilly winds blew, the coldness within the gorge was extreme due to the fact that it was paved with two icy cliffs on each side.
Fang Yuan almost lost his footing to the wind. Fortunately, he was prepared and he exerted a force on his legs, as they held onto the ground like roots.
Suddenly, a black shadow whizzed past him, as though it was fired from a bow pulled back all the way.
"Mm?"
With his right hand, he caught the object. Immediately, there was a 'kacha' sound and ice crystals were fragmented. All that was left on his hand was snow.
At the entrance of the gorge, the extreme wind could even blow icicles as though they were arrows. This was scarier than any other type of traps!
"Icicles?! As this stage, even martial artists of 4 Heavenly Gates would not be able to escape!"
Fang Yuan looked at this hand and let out a cold breath.
His reaction time, defence, and the speed of his hand was already at a stage which Wu Zongs could only dream of.
This was only one icicle. If there were many flying at the same time, even Wu Zongs would be troubled by it, and might even be pierced to death!
At this place, any wounds sustained would lead to the loss of one's martial arts, and even the blood flowing from the wound would freeze!
"I was fortunate to have strengthened my body before I came here. Reaching the stage of 1st Refining Stage is already many many times stronger than a normal Wu Zong!"
There was a white flash!
Suddenly, in Fang Yuan's hands were many metal chains. At the tip of the chains were long nails that were thick. The entire thing was heavy and it reflected a silvery black.
All of this was made from Hundred Casted Iron. In the normal world, it could be made into magical weapons, but to Fang Yuan, it was just a tool.
"Ha! Go!"
As he raised his right hand, he exerted an immense amount of force. The chain, which was a few hundred pounds heavy, spun into a black ray of light. As he flung it straight ahead, it broke through the icy surface and struck on the stone wall, stuck.
"Go!"
As he looked at the entrance of the gorge, he walked ahead without hesitation.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The freezing cold wind was stinging! Furthermore, there were thousands of icicles flying through the wind this time!
Nearer to the entrance, the icicles were more concentrated, and it flew at an astonishing speed!
"Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!"
Fang Yuan retrieved a gigantic metal shield from the Mountain River Pearl and shielded himself. In an instant, he could hear the icicles pelting on his shield, like how raindrops would land on a banana leaf.
As the icicles hit his shield, they shattered and soon after, a thick layer of ice formed on this shield.
The bone-piercing chill of the ice slowly spread through the metal shield.
Even Wu Zongs might freeze to death in such an intense cold!
"My physical body is slowly becoming unable to withstand the cold!"
As he focused, three spiritual meridians appeared on his body. They transformed into a layer of armour and covered his body.
"Weng!"
With the glow, the previous cold that he felt was mitigated.
Not just that, his palms became burning hot like a furnace. As the shield conducted the heat from his palms, there was visible steam coming from the front of the shield as the ice started to melt and evaporate.
"Again!"
Fang Yuan walked to the marking which he had placed earlier on, pulled out the metal nail and swung the chain once more.
"Whoosh!"
The black glow was like a black dragon, and once again, the metal chain was stuck firmly to the stone wall.
"At this stage... Even Meridian Opening Wu Zongs might not be able to pass through this place safely!"
At the entrance of the icy gorge where the wind came from, the air current was extremely strong and the air was chilly. Fang Yuan bit his teeth. "This is only the first stage to overcome on my way to Da Qian Empire. I now know why many died here. Firstly, there is no one around here to help. Secondly, not anyone can successfully pass through the perilous obstacles!"
His master and Yang Fan were both dream masters at the Illusionary Divine stage and were both extremely capable.
Even Nie Kuang did the impossible. With his 10th Refining Stage of his Hundred Poison Golden Body, he could use brute force to force his way through.
Other than these three people, normal Meridian Opening Wu Zongs, or even Elemental Opening spiritual knights would retreat in fear when faced with this natural threat.
"Rumble! Rumble!"
Another cold and extreme wind came. With the extreme pressure on the metal shield, there was a crack appearing!
"What in the world!"
Fang Yuan focused. As he released and recovered the metal chain in quick succession, he rushed his way through.
Even a metal shield casted from Hundred Casted Iron could not withstand against this. Even if he had confidence in his own body, he should have guessed that he would not be able to hold any longer.
"Ping!"
After walking a few yards forward, there was a huge mess of icicles, icy rocks and icy boulders falling straight down at him.
"Dang!"
Fang Yuan raised his metal shield, knocking one of the icy boulders away. His arm was left in pain, and he quickly used his elemental force to recover his arm.
"Run!"
As his eyes glittered, he started to use his Lightness skill and Shadowstep. Avoiding the icy boulders, it was an arduous task to traverse within the icy gorge.
Occasionally, he would encounter boulders which cannot be avoided, and he would use the metal shield to block it with brute force. As for the flying icicles, he could no longer care about them and could only use his physical body to endure.
Fortunately for him, he was well built. His Iron Skin Technique together with his First Refining Stage body was indeed an effective combination.
If it was a normal Wu Zong who came, his body would have already been pierced a few bloody holes.
"Not just defence wise, but a normal Wu Zong's elemental force would not be enough as well!"
Fang Yuan sighed. Suddenly, his hair stood on its ends. He could feel danger approaching, and suddenly he was ambushed, causing his Mind Palace to shake.
"Rumble!"
At the peak of the cliff, a huge icy mountain started to crumble. The base of it started to crack up, and like a pillar, it smashed its way down, covering the entire sky in the process.
"What the... f*ck!"
Fang Yuan's eyes opened wide. Seeing the shadow engulfing him in, he quickly threw the shield away and ran for his life.
'If I were to be smashed by the icy mountain, I would have zero chance of staying alive!'
As his hands held on to the metal chain, he quickly advanced. He started to harness all the rough breathing techniques he could as he could not care less about the icicles hitting him. Under his elemental force's protection, most of the icicles were shattered in an instant.
"Whooo!"
"Whooo!"
As the shadow grew bigger, the air current which was initially there was starting to become obstructed as well.
"What a joke! I don't want to end up as a popsicle! Shadowstep!"
With all his strength, Fang Yuan swung the metal chain and advanced a few yards at once. His face was flushed and his eyes were bloodshot.
"Kacha!"
As he leapt out, it was as though he had escaped into another territory. The intense winds were now much milder than before.
"Since the middle of the gorge is much wider than the entrance of the gorge, the strength of the wind would naturally be reduced!"
It was the perfect opportunity! Without hesitation, Fang Yuan used his Shadowstep, and on every layer of ice, he left a deep footprint.
"Rumble!"
The icy mountain crashed into the ground without any reservation, causing a mini earthquake in the vicinity. Shattered pieces of ice and rocks started to fly in all directions.
"Whoosh!"
A shadow flew past.
Fang Yuan's body escaped the area which the icy mountain crashed into. However, he was still hit by many shattered pieces of ice, and as the elemental force protecting him weakened, many shrapnels of ice struck his back.
"Ah!"
He let out an exclamation. However, he continued to move forward and used the force from the flying shrapnel to further propel him forward. Finally, he reached a safe area.
"Phew!"
After crossing a crack on the ground, Fang Yuan looked at the pile of mess behind him and felt regretful.
"This... Is this the inside of the icy gorge?"
After entering the icy gorge completely, there was a completely new world in front of him.
Although the surroundings and the ground were still covered in ice and snow and were extremely tough, this was a whole new world. The intense winds were much milder, and not far from him he could feel the spiritual aura of a living thing.
"There is indeed a new world after going through hell!"
Fang Yuan let out a satisfactory sigh and his eyes glittered. "Da Qian Empire... I'm coming!"