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Chapter 1168: Exposed Ice Layer

Of course, it wasn’t exactly as though Shang Xia wouldn’t face any problems. Even though the Crimson Soul Tablet was absorbing the power of frost at the moment, his inner qi was still being quickly used up.

That was because even though it was absorbing the power of the frost, it wasn’t returning any energy it had devoured to Shang XIa.

Thankfully, Shang Xia seemed to have brought enough essence crystals with him. Even though he used many of them to lay down Five Element Spirit Gathering Formations, he could still last for a good amount of time with his stash.

Of course, he was also starting to think of ideas to get himself out of his current predicament. After all, using up all his resources and waiting to die didn’t sound that great of a plan. Not to mention he used his only Six Harmony Teleportation Talisman to enter the world of frost and if he wished to leave, he would need to think of another way.

When he slowly lowered himself back to land, the mirage that he observed seemed to have disappeared.

He was slowly thinking of what he should do next.

The first thing he had to do was to find a way to start using the heaven and earth qi to replenish his reserves. After all, that was the key to him staying a longer time in the world.

Of course, if he could meet native experts of the world, he would be able to transform his inner qi to imitate theirs. That would cause the sense of suppression he felt to weaken greatly, and he would be in a much better position.

Secondly... He needed to look for the Star Origin Lord Robe. Since he entered the world of frost after chasing down the robe, it might be the key to him being able to leave.

As for Zhuge Xiang’s clone... After it crashed into the world, everyone assumed that it had already been destroyed.

... When he finally solved both problems, he would be able to start examining the world of frost and learn its secrets.

One had to know that the world of frost was most definitely a world that stood above Spirit Worlds. The benefits and opportunities it might contain were difficult for anyone to judge, and Shang Xia knew that fact clearly. There was no way he would give it up so easily.

If he managed to accomplish everything he set out to do and if the stars continued to align, his final goal would be to also kill Wen Juxiang while he was at it. He also wished to challenge Hua Jianlou and experience his sword art.

He came up with a rough plan of what he wanted to do and he decided to see if there was an end to the endless frost desert.

Before all of that, he decided to dig down slightly to see how deep the layer of frost went. He also wished to see if there was actual earth beneath it.

In order to conserve inner qi the best he could, Shang Xia didn’t use any special method. He simply brought out a shovel-like artifact and started to go ham on the ice beneath his feet.

Even without inner qi, the physique of a True Immortal was just too damn terrifying. Digging into the ground wasn’t difficult when he started.

The first 3 feet of ice were dug out with ease, but everything below started to feel a little more compact. The deeper it went and the more compact the ice became, the easier it was for Shang Xia to dig out large chunks.

After digging 5 more feet, the ice became even denser. Without using any inner qi, Shang Xia was starting to find it hard to dig.

Brute forcing his way 3 more feet into the ground, the low-grade artifact that resembled the shovel scraped against the ice with a crisp dong and it merely made a mark without going any deeper. Since he wasn’t using any inner qi, Shang Xia felt his hands going numb.

Raising the artifact, he noticed that the edge was already bent out of shape.

Standing on the tough ice, Shang Xia gasped in amazement that the ice actually managed to damage a low-grade artifact.

Taking out an even better artifact that resembled an axe, Shang Xia didn’t use any inner qi as he slammed it into the ice below. Massive cracks started to form.

Along with several more blows, he managed to go down another foot. The power of frost started to rise slowly through the cracks.

Nearly jumping with excitement, Shang Xia continued to smash his way downwards.

Clang!

The axe eventually rebounded while leaving a huge crack in the ice below.

Ignoring the numbness in his hands, Shang Xia no longer cared about saving energy as he poured his inner qi into the axe before slamming it down again.

Crack...!

The ice that could take the force of the axe earlier was immediately shattered now that Shang Xia was using his inner qi.

Digging another 3 feet, the density of heaven and earth qi that emerged from below became a little denser. It might be related to the density of the layer of ice that grew as it went deeper, but Shang Xia felt that the ice he was digging through at the moment contained some special properties and could be considered a special spiritual treasure.

Even though he dug close to 20 feet into the ground, he showed no signs of giving up. He wanted to continue, and what he wanted most was to see what was contained in the ice below.

No longer saving his energy, Shang Xia’s digging efficiency increased. The ice below grew harder and more compact, and every piece he dug out seemed to be of even higher quality. Of course, with the inner qi of a True Immortal imbued in his artifact, no matter how great the quality of the ice, it couldn’t slow him down in the slightest.

1 foot... 2 feet... 5 feet... Only after Shang Xia heard a loud scrape again did he notice that even with his inner qi, the artifact he was holding couldn’t go any deeper.

A strange look could be seen on his face as he stared at the ice beneath his feet. It was one of shock and confusion at the same time.

Through the light refracted through the layer of ice, Shang Xia could see that there were other rays of light wriggling about beneath his feet, and the tracks they left behind seemed similar to runes in a giant formation.

How can formation runes appear in the layers of ice?!

From how his axe was stopped earlier, Shang Xia could tell that the formations were still active.

His interest was greatly piqued, but he raised his guard at the same time. No matter how careful he wanted to be, he couldn’t suppress the curiosity in his heart.

No longer using his axe, he pressed his hand directly on the layer of ice beneath his feet.

The power of frost that came from the ice directly in contact with his skin was much stronger than the power of frost in the air, but with the protection of the Crimson Soul Tablet, they couldn’t affect him in the slightest.

Six Direction Qi started to gather in his palm before reaching into the depths of the ice below. Brilliant rays emerged from those runes that could be seen deep below. They started to glow with greater intensity, and they were clearly starting to react to foreign interference.

With Shang Xia’s inner qi slowly corroding everything beneath his feet, a massive hole appeared in the formation below.

A burst of energy emerged from his palm once again and without the power of the formation solidifying the ice beneath his feet, it crumbled instantly and Shang Xia fell through several layers in an instant.

When Shang Xia got rid of the formation beneath his feet, he already prepared himself to fall. He quickly composed himself before scanning the vast space he appeared in after falling. The ice above him formed a giant dome and he started to fall into a vast region of hollowed out ice.

The sound of ice cracking when it shattered all over the ground could be heard, and the dense heaven and earth qi formed a white smog that gathered around the hole he created.

He felt powerful winds blowing against him as he descended as they were formed by the dense heaven and earth qi in the air. He started to circulate his Six Harmony Flawless Rod Technique in mid air while devouring all the energy he could to replenish his exhausted reserves.

Even though using heaven and earth qi was a slow process for a third tier True Immortal, the situation was still much better than not being able to recover.

At the very least, Shang Xia no longer had to carefully ration his inner qi for fear that he wouldn’t be able to recover without the help of essence crystals.

Releasing his divine soul after stepping into the region of empty space, he was shocked.

There were actually signs of human activity in the giant hollowed out space in the ice below. Quickly regaining his composure, he couldn’t wait to interact with them.

After all, as long as he interacted with native cultivators, he would be able to copy their inner qi and shake off the suppression the World’s Will placed on him.

Unfortunately, he was disappointed when he landed on the ground below.

There were traces of human activity down there, but there was no trace of life no matter how hard he searched with his divine soul.

That wasn’t all. The traces of human activity seemed obvious when he took a look at them, but it was probably because they were well-preserved by the ice that covered the land. Due to the special conditions, those traces of human activity might very well be ancient!