"With this, I guess that's enough." Elysia plucked their fourth vitality herb. Their objective had been accomplished, and it was time for them to get out of there.
However, Rhea seemed to be observing something in the blizzard sky as if she had noticed something.
"What's wrong?" Elena asked curiously.
"There are absolutely no nature spirits here, no matter how far I look. Also, this blizzard seems to have sealed this region from the outside world." Rhea looked around. She already felt something was wrong with this place the farther she went into the deepest region.
"What could possibly be here? Ely has confirmed there is no accursed's sealed area in this zone. Tuna also doesn't sense anything malicious with her foreboding ability." Ai asked in wonder.
"But, this isn't a separate realm. Perhaps, something in the ancient ruins that the ice dragon spoke of has a clue about the phenomenon here." Fortuna put her hand to her chin and stared at a particular snow mountain. It was the most sacred place with the highest suppression and pressure.
"Hey, your goal has been accomplished, right? You've obtained a lot of precious things, and the so-called vitality herb you've been looking for has been obtained. Don't be greedy and we should head back now." Lixue, the little fluffy ice dragon, called out to everyone.
He was already at Emperor-level, so close to divinity. Yet, he still found himself overwhelmed by the extreme suppression even though they were far from the ancient ruins. It was hard for him to accept because he had cultivated for thousands of years and still couldn't get close to the most sacred place.
"We can only see an ordinary eternal blizzard region if we observe this place far from the sky. No wonder I didn't find anything in this place while circumnavigating the world at that time. The forbidden region was created after the decisive ancient battle a hundred thousand years ago, right?" Zera folded her arms, thinking of something.
"Yes, the forbidden zone was created because of the after effect of the past destruction and other unforeseen factors. Among the forbidden places, this Eternal Winter Continents is the most mysterious one. There are many unsolved mysteries buried in the snow and ice. Do you want to check out the ancient ruins that even the ancient dragons who have almost reached divinity are afraid of?" Elysia turned around and looked at everyone.
"Hey, I'm not scared." Lixue snorted. Yet, he was there, taking refuge in the girls' barrier to relieve the extreme temperature and suppression.
"What can your sacred vision find?" Elena took Elysia's hand.
"Void. Even though my sacred vision had already advanced to the next level, I discovered what was hidden in the snow mountain prevented me from looking deeper. It was as if the world also didn't want me to see it from the outside, but something was calling me to come closer. There is also no ominous feeling. What do you think?" Elysia tried to look at the snow mountain again with her sacred vision active, but she only found a void, which was not natural.
"If there is no omnious feeling, then let's check it out." Elena nodded in understanding.
Hey, didn't anyone hear me? You pride yourself on going this far, but that sacred mountain and the ruins below are something in a different realm. I'm reminding you one last time. No matter how many tricks you have, you will die if you dare to go in there." Lixue ran in front of the girls to warn them.
"You are so considerate, hmm? I thought you were a cold and indifferent dragon. We will withdraw if the place surpasses our capabilities. You may come along to see how far we will go." Elysia crouched down and gave the fluffy ice dragon a head pat.
"Don't touch me. Fine, I will accompany you for a few more minutes." Lixue felt slightly strange when she received that head pat and immediately avoided the girl's hand.
He assumed these girls would faint when they set foot on the sacred mountain, and he could at least drag them away. After all, he still needed to get information about the thieves from these girls.
Elysia and her group then walked closer to the most sacred area. Lixue was completely surprised because the barrier could almost perfectly negate the extreme suppression.
Everyone could still breathe well and felt no significant chills despite stepping onto the sacred snow mountain.
"!?" Ai felt an evil entity with malicious intent was watching from afar. She glanced back and released a void slash with her finger on reflex.
*Swish!* *Slash!*
The eternal blizzard was split in half, and the iceberg was cut like a sliced cake. In that split second, the little fluffy ice dragon could see a golden divine aura radiating from this girl, making him widen in shock.
His previous assumptions may be correct. These girls didn't rely on the tricks behind their sleeves but the powerhouse beyond mortality! No wonder they were still so relaxed even though they had stepped into the forbidden territory.
Luckily, he didn't clash with these girls because of unnecessary hostility, or he would have been doomed.
"Evil spirit? What is that creature doing here?" Elysia asked in wonder.
That was the first possible threat they encountered in this region. Still, Ai eliminated it swiftly before the other party made any move.
"I don't know, maybe he was one of the top-tier powerhouses who died here like what Lixue talked about before. Here is the graveyard of the Emperor Beasts who tried to get the inheritance and treasures of immortality. I would ignore him if he stayed in his bones, but he harbored evil intentions." Ai shrugged her shoulders and sighed.
"Let's go. It's nearly dinner time. Our friends must be awake and exchanging stories before we return." Elena shook her head and continued walking.
"..." Lixue followed behind everyone, then glanced at the two little dragons nearby.
He knew that they were at least his level, but these ancient dragons would be willing to serve someone as their masters. It was easy to tell that this group might consist of several immortals!
It was a chance of a lifetime to hug the golden thigh to reach a greater height. If he joined this group, he might become an Immortal Beast with no effort.
With that thought in mind, Lixue was surprised to find they had already arrived at the cave entrance to the underground ruins.
The entrance was unusually thick ice. No one could discover that it was a cave door that had been frozen and sealed for a long time. Yet, a girl could quickly melt the eternal ice with black flames.
"Alright." Zera retracted her black predator flame after creating a sufficient hole for them to enter.
"Allow me to scout ahead. You come with me." Zera then asked permission from Elysia and walked in front with Number One.
Even though they entered deep into the underground ruins, it looked much brighter there compared to the eternal blizzard situation outside. The walls of ice glowed a bluish light and illuminated their way.
Using elemental memory, Rhea trailed her hand to the ice wall to see the events many years ago. Unfortunately, she couldn't see very far, and nothing had happened here in the past few years.
It was the opposite of what Elysia found. She walked over in a daze and only moved to follow Elena.
It might be an epiphany, illusion, or trance image. She could see a land of snow and ice like a peaceful north pole. However, a rainbow aurora-colored meteor suddenly fell from the sky.
The explosion was terrifying and obliterated the north pole from the world map. The giant crater was created in the middle of the super cold ocean. Still, no water flowed to fill the void resulting from the explosion.
That day was the first night in the place of eternal daylight. By the time the light came back to the north pole, everything was back to normal, as if no meteor had ever fallen there. However, the north pole has become much broader. It was also the beginning of how the Eternal Winter Continents came to be. Three continents become one to replace the north pole.
"Gasp! What was that?" Elysia came out of her trance. She held her forehead and found she was already breaking out in a cold sweat.
She glanced right and left. Elena and the girls were talking about something, but she strangely couldn't hear anything.
*Snap*
Time suddenly stopped, and everything stopped moving. Elysia widened her eyes in shock and immediately put her vigilance to the highest level. She cast layered divine protection to protect everyone.
*Sparkle* *Sparkle*
"Hmm?" Elysia was confused because this time-stopping spell had lasted so long. Still, she was surprised when she found a trail of glistening ice particles suddenly appearing on the ground.
It was as if those glistening ice particles were pointing the way for her to go there.
"..." Elysia felt her heart skip a beat as she felt her soul drawn to something that might be waiting for her in the most profound ruins.
That strange thing sought Elysia's presence, but the others couldn't go any further. Without realizing it, Elysia had already left her barrier and followed the sparkling particles.
Elysia didn't know how far she had walked, leaving Elena and the others behind. She arrived at an ice cave room with an altar in the middle. A four-pointed rainbow aurora crystal floated in mid-air, emitting an extremely holy, mysterious aura.
Elysia blinked her eyes several times when she came to her senses. And yet, a word involuntarily came out of her mouth at that bewitching sight. "Primordial Star?"
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