All the Cultivators, including Li Yao, could not help but sigh at the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator's self-inflicted wounds. They all had mixed feelings for him.
The Cloud Qin Gold Statues and the path to the deities' realm were both priceless treasures. They were enough to trigger the infinite greed hidden in the bottom of anyone's heart, making them break the shackles of rationality and do the craziest things.
The small exploration team that had been jumbled up temporarily was probably not the first to arrive at the Land of Eternal Night without the court and the six major sects knowing, nor would it be the last.
At this moment, there was no telling how many exploration teams and Cultivators had lost their way in the Land of Eternal Night, waiting to be ripped apart by the bone-piercing tempests.
Were they stupid? Perhaps very stupid.
But how much better were they than the people who had barged into the Land of Eternal Night recklessly?
Perhaps, they were well-prepared, well-equipped, and had many experts. It was possible that they could resist the scourge of the tempests and reach the depths of the Land of Eternal Night smoothly, where they could excavate the legendary Divine Palace.
But when the day came, when the Cloud Qin Gold Statues and the path to the deities' realm were really placed in front of them, would they be caught in a storm that was even more dreadful than the tempests, a storm that would sweep out from the bottom of everybody's heart and destroy all their trust and rationality and make everybody attack each other?
The discovery of the debris made the exploration fleets, which were vaguely divided into three forces, even more solemn.
More than once, Qi Zhongdao sought out Li Yao, Yan Liren, Ba Xiaoyu, and Master Bitter Cicada to discuss countermeasures. After all, no matter how chaotic the situation was, the five of them had to be united. Only by playing the role of 'anchor' could the situation be stabilized and not completely out of control.
Emperor Phoenix summoned Li Yao a few times, too. Every time, he would ask him questions about the production of magical equipment respectfully, but he never mentioned the exploration of the Divine Palace. He only hinted that he supported Li Yao in establishing his own sect vaguely. Every time, his support was greater and greater. Even Li Yao was quite tempted.
On their way forward, the dozens of high-level Cultivators in the Yuanying level expanded the range of their search at the cost of tremendous crystals. As they expected, they found another three clusters of debris.
The smallest of them only had one flying boat, while the largest had as many as seven or eight large boats, carrying Cultivators from dozens of sects.
It was a pity that their flying boats were not solid enough to resist the scourge of the tempests. Also, they did not have the 'Heaven Magnetic Measurement Instrument' of the royal astronomer's level or the relatively accurate map of the Divine Palace. They could only wander on the ice field like blind people. It was inevitable that they would be crushed. The thousand Cultivators were all frozen into statues.
From the traces left behind on the ice field, it seemed that there were still a few Jin Dan and Yuanying level experts who had escaped from the snowstorm.
However, without the protection of the flying boat and the support of sufficient materials, how long could they last in the cold ice field? What kind of miserable state would they end up in? It was unbearable to imagine.
The last wreckage was different from the other wreckages.
Most of the dead bodies had turned into broken limbs. Countless bright flowers of blood were blossoming on the white land. All the crystals and assets on the flying boats had been looted. The Cosmos Rings and the Cosmos Bags on the Cultivators' waists were gone, too.
The ferocious beasts on the ice field might gnaw on the dead bodies, but they would never steal the Cosmos Rings.
They were not scourged by the tempests but attacked by the enemy.
A lot of dead bodies of alien Cultivators whose robes were different from those of the central plateaus and who had tremendous tattoos on their faces and enormous gold rings on their ears were left on the spot. They should have been the Ghost Qin Cultivators.
It was not good news that the Ghost Qin Cultivators had arrived ahead of them.
Thankfully, the internal organs of some of the dead bodies were not completely frozen. The vague stink of blood was still lingering in the air, suggesting that the hunting battle had not been going on for a long time. It was very likely that it took place yesterday or the day before yesterday.
When Wang Xi escaped, he had stolen the map core of the Divine Palace, but the Thousand Stars Tray had been left in Li Yao's hands.
The Thousand Stars Tray was a piece of magical equipment designed to analyze the map core. It was unlikely that there was a second copy of it.
Therefore, the two parties were both drawing imprecise maps based on the memories in Li Yao's and Wang Xi's head.
Neither Ghost Qin, the Heaven Battering Army, the White Lotus Cult, or the Ghost Character had the precise localization methods of the court.
Therefore, everybody was still on the same starting line. It was time to see who would arrive at the 'Divine Palace' sooner.
The appearance of the Ghost Qin soldiers was like a whip on the bottom of the exploration fleet of the Great Qian Dynasty. They rushed forward without caring about the cost at the risk of the disintegration of the flying boats. Finally, they reached the coordinates of the Divine Palace on the map five days later.
In this place, the point on the map in Li Yao's memory and the location of the fleet based on the measurements of the Heaven Magnetic Measurement Instrument overlapped.
However …
The tiny point on the map was a vast area of almost a hundred square kilometers in reality.
Together with the measurement errors of the Heaven Magnetic Measurement Instrument, the specific range of the Divine Palace's coordinates was very likely to be hundreds of square kilometers away.
The weird world in front of their eyes made every Cultivator look extremely awful, too.
Since last night, a thin mist that was as thin as a veil had been floating on the Land of Eternal Night.
At first, nobody paid much attention to it. But on second thought, it was impossible for a dense mist to be generated in the horrible environment of minus seventy degrees.
Perhaps, it was not mist but a weird natural phenomenon that was very similar to mist.
This morning, as they drew closer and closer to the Divine Palace, the 'icy mist' grew denser and denser, too. In the end, it was like an ocean of clouds that was spreading on the ground. When one entered the mist, they could barely see their own fingers.
The icy mist had a very strong suppressive effect on spiritual energy. Both the Cultivators and the magical equipment would find that their spiritual energy was not functioning properly when they were in the middle of the icy mist.
"The Divine Palace can be anywhere in the hundreds of square kilometers around. The Divine Palace is hidden deep inside the mist.
"We will set up camp at the edge of the icy mist. All the flying boats will be connected to each other with chains. Then, we will dig holes in the ice field and fix the claw anchors to the solid rocks deep inside the ice field.
"Send out exploration teams in batches and search in all directions. Also, draw a map and divide every square kilometer in the five hundred square kilometers around into a grid. Mark every grid that is explored.
"The experts of Ghost Qin, the Heaven Battering Army, the White Lotus Cult, and the Ghost Character Painting are probably hiding on the other side of the icy mist. Be very careful."
Qi Zhongdao issued the order in an orderly manner.
The camp made of twenty-six flying boats was soon established. Bronze pillars were erected around the camp, constructing a defense array that was strong enough to resist the snowstorm.
Li Yao and the other Yuanying Cultivators led an exploration team and searched for the Divine Palace in the mist.
However, the moment he entered the hazy icy mist, Li Yao immediately sensed that the operation was rather troublesome.
The icy mist was like an invisible maze and prison that could not be torn apart. After only several hundred meters, the temporary camp made of twenty-six flying boats behind him vanished into thin air. Even the dazzling lights on the masts that were guiding the way for them were as lackluster as fireflies that were dying.
He shouted to the surroundings, but his voice seemed to have been absorbed by the fluffy cotton. It could not have been louder after less than fifty meters.
The exploration team that he was leading had fifty members, but only the ten or so closest to him could still see their shadows. Those further away could not see or hear anything at all.
They seemed to have stepped into a weird white world by accident. The original world had completely vanished, and they were the only ones left in the world. Even their breath and heartbeat would be swallowed by the mist if they were not careful.
Li Yao had considered whether or not he could soar into the sky and explore the Divine Palace from a higher altitude, too.
But when he really did so, he found that he was facing a milky white sea of clouds. All the mountains were like isolated islands, faintly discernible in the sea of clouds. There was no way to observe the details of the ground clearly.
Therefore, they could only explore the land inch by inch in the most clumsy way and set up enormous marks in the areas that they had explored.
Thankfully, they had thousands of subordinates. Other than those who stayed in the camp, they were enough to form almost thirty exploration teams. Their speed was not slow when they moved forward together.
After only three days, they had finished exploring the areas close to the camp and were marching toward the center of the icy mist.
As a result, it was even more difficult to communicate with the rear. Also, the temperature at the center of the icy mist was even lower, which was more corrosive to the human body and magical equipment. The Refinement Stage Cultivators and the Building Foundation Stage Cultivators could not persist for long and had to return to the camp to rest and recover.
Even the Core Formation Stage Cultivators and the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators such as Li Yao were exhausted and miserable after being exposed to the icy fog for a long time and exploiting their brain cells to search for the target.
"Hu."
Li Yao took a long breath in relief. A white mist immediately formed in front of him like an arrow, which soon melted into the overwhelming icy mist.
This was the seventeenth area that he had explored, but he had found nothing yet. There was nothing but hard, frozen soil and icy rocks of unknown thickness.
Judging from the scale of the map of the Divine Palace, the 'palace' was so enormous that it was almost a small city. If it had been standing on the ground, it would have been impossible for them to find it after such a long time.
Unless the Divine Palace was right below their feet and was an enormous underground city.
If that was the case, it would be troublesome. They had to increase the level of their telepathic thoughts so that their telepathic thoughts could penetrate the thick layer of ice. Both the time and the consumption of crystals would be multiplied.
While Li Yao was pondering, he suddenly sensed danger from the depths of his brain.
His nostrils flared as he breathed in the air that was as sharp as a saber. He felt a stinging pain from his nose to his chest.
The temperature had dropped by more than ten degrees in a short moment, and it was still dropping.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
