Chapter 655: Frigid World

The guard originally weighed only a little over one hundred pounds, but when He Lingchuan took hold of him, he felt extraordinarily heavy, as if catching a piece of burnt jade.

Fu Shanyue had told him long ago that ordinary humans could not stay long in the Frey Realm without their lives soon being in danger. Even cultivators would feel their bodies heavy upon arrival. Now, He Lingchuan experienced it firsthand. Was the gravity approximately three times that of the human world?

The guard straightened up and said, "Thank you, Lord He."

Before entering the Eye of the Storm, everyone had already placed a Mouth-Cleansing Pearl in their cheek, which enabled them to breathe and speak normally. Otherwise, the air in the Frey Realm was toxic, and even cultivators would not last long.

He Lingchuan looked around; as far as the eye could see, it was vast and empty, with only mountains, rocks, and sand. Every few dozen zhang, short, sprawling plants grew from cracks in the ground. They looked more like clumps of hair than grass, and most of their tips bore a pale white pearl. These were the Cleansing Pearls.

Cleansing Pearl Grass was the only plant that survived in the Frey Realm. It was said that its seeds came from the human world and took root and grew here after being sucked in by storms. Each time the Eye of the Storm opened and air from the human world poured into the Frey Realm, the Cleansing Pearl Grass intercepted it, solidifying it into pearls. Other than this, the land was virtually barren.

However, the ground was not monotonous. The soil came in a variety of colors—yellow, red, blue, green, purple, and black, almost all seven colors. There were also bizarre, pockmarked rocks, mushroom-shaped hills, and terraced mountains.

From a high vantage point, the view was one of vast and desolate grandeur.

Furthermore, crystal clusters frequently grew on the ground, some like crystals, others like solid rock, varying in color and size. The smallest resembled snowflakes, while the largest were comparable to hills.

Once all four were present, He Lingchuan took out a box, glanced at it, and pointed north. "Let's go," he said, "to meet up with the others."

This box was a Tracking Bee Compass, a new product from Songyang Manor. Songyang Manor had already established contact with the Prince of Chi'yan, so they sent them trial products before the Grass Sea Hunt began. Undoubtedly, this was the most popular piece of equipment. It was said that Songyang Manor sold sixty or seventy Tracking Bee Compasses on the opening day of the Grass Sea event. The Chi'yan people had long used the bee larvae stored in the box to mark the path for the advance party, allowing He Lingchuan and others who arrived later to use the tracking bees' ability to find their companions.

As soon as they crossed into the realm, every step felt arduous. It wasn't just the equivalent of carrying two extra versions of themselves; their internal organs and brains also felt a heavy, sinking sensation, and blood flowed more readily to their lower limbs, making it difficult to supply the heart. He Lingchuan gathered qi in his dantian and noticed that the circulation speed of his True Energy had significantly slowed down. Most critically, there was not a trace of spiritual energy in this world. The spiritual energy in the human world seemed abundant in comparison. This also meant that cultivators entering the Frey Realm would receive no replenishment of True Energy, unless they brought their own mystic crystals. Here, everyone had to be very careful with their use of power.

He Lingchuan circulated his True Energy, regulated his breathing, and slowly adjusted. Where cultivators surpassed ordinary people was in their stronger physiques, which allowed them to adapt to harsher environments.

Near the Eye of the Storm, there was also a garrison from Lingxu City whose mission was to prevent Donaube Beasts from accidentally entering the human world. When He Lingchuan and his group approached, an officer came forward to warn them, "You cannot go west."

"Thank you for the warning. Why not?"

"There's a Thunder Colossus to the west. Go there if you want to die." Having delivered his warning and fulfilled his duty, the officer's mouth clamped shut tighter than a clam shell.

He Lingchuan instinctively looked. Indeed, lightning flashed on the distant mountains to the west, illuminating the world as if it were daylight. Was this the "powerful entity in the forbidden depths of the Frey Realm" that Fu Shanyue had repeatedly warned him about? It didn't seem very deep; just a walk to the west would get them there.

He immediately handed over a banknote. "Sir, what kind of creature is this Thunder Colossus, and how far west do we have to go to encounter it?" The banknote was of a large denomination, showing sincerity, and the officer's expression softened.

"Ten go, ten die; a hundred go, a hundred die. Over five hundred qing to the west is the territory of the Thunder Colossus. This creature is one of the Frey Realm's seven officially recorded lords, two and a half zhang tall, six zhang long, and inherently imbued with thunder. It can strike you down without you even needing to get close." The officer pocketed the banknote. "It's bad luck that this time the Eye of the Storm opened right on the edge of the Thunder Colossus's territory. We previously sent people to scout to the west, and nine out of ten never returned." He continued, "Fortunately, the Thunder Colossus is very lazy and doesn't like to move, otherwise we would have to implore the Imperial Preceptor to open another Storm Gate." He added, "Also, according to reports from hunters returning from the front, a large beast tide has appeared to the northwest and is very destructive. You must be careful."

He Lingchuan drew a sharp breath, thanked him, and headed out.

Generally, the lighter the Donaube Beast's hide and the larger its size, the greater its strength. Of course, this did not exclude a very small number of Donaube Beasts evolving camouflage colors to make opponents believe they were powerful.

However, in the Frey Realm, where gravity was more than three times that of the human world, mass and strength were indeed directly proportional. The Thunder Colossus, capable of growing to six zhang in length, undoubtedly possessed immense power. A lord-level monster could easily take on a thousand people. Moreover, this particular one had the innate ability to wield lightning, so participating teams would absolutely not provoke it.

They headed north.

As they traveled, others often saw He Lingchuan bend down to scoop up handfuls of soil, a few crystal clusters, and some fine sand, putting them into his pouch. Everyone thought he was simply new to the place and found everything fascinating. In truth, this was a requirement of the Divine Bone Necklace. Yes, the Great Square Flask seemed very interested in this foreign realm, asking He Lingchuan to collect some samples for its amusement.

Further north, dead Donaube Beasts of all varieties were commonly seen by the roadside.

"Donaube Beast" was merely a general term used in the human world for monsters from the Frey Realm that produced floating stones. Just as there was a wide variety of monsters in the human world, Donaube Beasts in the Frey Realm were also diverse: some were stout, others slender, some ran on four legs, others on six. However, those that stood and walked on two legs like humans were especially rare. He Lingchuan wondered if this was due to the gravity.

These Donaube Beast corpses always had large holes. Aside from the floating stones dug out of their skulls, the crystal clusters accompanying their bodies could also be good materials for artifact refining. Over hundreds of years, artisans from Lingxu City had discovered numerous uses for Donaube Beast materials.

The further out they went, the more dead Donaube Beasts they found, sometimes in nests or herds. It was clear these had been hunted.

During the first five days of the speed competition, the participating teams had essentially wiped out all Donaube Beasts within a hundred-li radius of the Eye of the Storm, except for the west. Now, He Lingchuan and his group could travel safely, as the route was lined with Donaube Beast corpses and newly grown Cleansing Pearls from the ground cracks. Every few hours, the Cleansing Pearls would regrow, and everyone needed to be mindful to collect them. Participating teams wanting to hunt more floating stones had no choice but to venture further. This was not only a test of combat strength and physical endurance but also of financial resources and logistical capability.

He Lingchuan also saw worm-like monsters, resembling large earthworms, near the Donaube Beast corpses. Their lengths varied from several feet to several zhang, and often dozens of them would be wriggling and voraciously chewing on the carcasses. He Lingchuan couldn't find their eyes, or perhaps these creatures were naturally eyeless. Their feeding method was also unique: they would use a suction cup at their front end to latch onto the prey, then twist their fleshy bodies to tear off a piece of meat. He Lingchuan could even see the meat lumps moving as bulges within their bodies.

His teammates explained that these were Turboworms, one of the Frey Realm's scavengers. They could not produce floating stones, and their bodily fluids were corrosive, so hunters had no interest in them whatsoever.

There were also other strange and stealthy small animals, but they were not described in detail.

Led by the Tracking Bees, He Lingchuan and his group took no detours, generally heading north for more than half a day until they reached a series of low hills.

Here, Donaube Beast corpses were piled into small hills.

They climbed to a high point and saw that the scene stretched for at least several li.

The reddish earth was stained purplish-black by beast blood, an ominous sight.

A profound silence hung over the area, broken only by the occasional chirping sounds of scavengers enjoying their feast, like someone walking in squishy cotton slippers.

He Lingchuan frowned, because there were also many corpses of participating hunters here.

Both humans and demons were among them, their deaths quite gruesome. However, the scavengers of the Frey Realm showed no interest in them whatsoever. They wouldn't touch anything not on their menu.

At a glance, he saw at least twenty or thirty bodies.

He Lingchuan's teammates, each of whom had entered the realm two or three times before, now squatted down to examine the scene. "It seems they encountered a beast tide," one of them said.

"A beast tide?" He had heard this term as soon as he entered the Frey Realm.

"Just like wild oxen and horses in the human world, many Donaube Beasts move in herds. Sometimes a single herd can number in the hundreds."

He Lingchuan shaded his eyes and gazed into the distance. "There's more than a hundred here," he remarked.

"Herds can also gather and migrate together, which is called a beast tide. There's no telling how many there might be," his teammate said with a wry smile. "When they charge, they're overwhelming. Anyone who stands in their way dies."

He Lingchuan knew that Donaube Beasts also engaged in mutual slaughter, possessing a complete food chain. Lower-tier Donaube Beasts didn't eat grass, but rather crystal clusters and nutrient-rich soil, while higher-tier Donaube Beasts fed on them. Slaughter, struggle, and feeding – creatures everywhere were the same.

"They retreated in that direction," He Lingchuan said, pointing southwest. As an experienced hunter, he could discern the signs of a fighting retreat. Moreover, even when at a disadvantage, the participating hunters hadn't forgotten to cut out the floating stones and other valuable parts from the beast corpses.

A teammate suddenly gasped, "It's one of ours."

He rushed to a nearby corpse and knelt down.

He Lingchuan followed and saw that it was indeed one of Fu Shanyue's personal guards, his neck severed. He must have been killed by sharp, massive claws, as there were two claw marks on his chest, inflicted with such force that half of his lung had been torn out.

"It must be a Heavy-Claw Beast that moves with the beast tide. These monsters like to track prey," just as predatory animals always accompany wild bison herds in the human world.

"There are more here!" another person shouted. "Old Bao and Wei San are also dead!"

Not far away, there were two more Chi'yan guard corpses, one human and one bear demon.

He Lingchuan had originally opposed including that bear demon in the team lineup, as its movements were already not agile enough, and under the Frey Realm's gravity, its mobility would be even slower. Seeing it lying there now, he let out a long sigh.