Chapter 117: Iceberg

The Peak!

The conspicuous light vanished. After shaking off the pursuing monsters, they didn't alarm any other monsters.

This confirmed that while monsters could see in the dark, they couldn't see very far. As long as no light source was created, avoiding them wasn't too difficult. Of course, this was based on them having wind scales.

Just as Shi Chun was observing the terrain, searching for landmarks, and memorizing the location of the huge pit, the special ability in his right eye suddenly vanished again. The entire world instantly plunged back into darkness.

There was no way; he couldn't fly blindly like this. Shi Chun once again cast a spell, using his vital energy to reactivate the special ability.

However, this time the side effects were exceptionally strong. The intense pain, which hadn't appeared for a long time, returned. The intensity of the pain felt similar to his first experience. Not only did he suffer from a splitting headache and a spine that felt like it was being gnawed by thousands of insects, but he also experienced intense dizziness, causing the flying wind scales to wobble unsteadily.

Wu Jinliang, who was clinging to his thigh, immediately felt it and asked in alarm, "Chuntian, what's wrong?"

Shi Chun forcibly steadied himself with strong willpower and said with a trembling voice, "It's nothing."

He couldn't even speak properly; how could that be nothing? Wu Jinliang said nervously, "Chuntian, don't scare me."

Shi Chun snapped, "Shut up!"

He was feeling extremely unwell, especially the dizziness, which made him nauseous and want to vomit whenever he heard noise. He no longer had the energy or desire to converse with Wu Jinliang.

He knew exactly what was happening: the special ability in his right eye had been used too frequently in a short period.

From the moment he killed Yan Ji, went to bury the body, discovered something unusual, and started using his right eye's ability until now, the entire process hadn't actually taken very long. Yet, within this short time, he had used his right eye's ability several times, affecting his physical body.

However, given the current situation, no matter how uncomfortable he felt, he had to endure. If he fell back into a pile of monsters, with his current physical state, it would truly be very troublesome.

On the ground, his right eye could see that in some areas, the sheer number of gathered monsters was terrifying, seemingly covering the entire land.

And this land seemed to have suffered some immense destruction, with many overturned and collapsed structures and irregular ravines. From high above, they looked as if they had been carved out by swords. In any case, it didn't resemble naturally formed ruins, and he didn't know what had happened.

As his right eye observed and searched along the way, upon seeing a bamboo shoot-like peak, he immediately lowered his flying altitude. He circled the peak once, confirming there were no monsters, and noted a large, gaping hole in the bamboo-shoot peak, as if it had been pierced through.

Regardless of how it got there, Shi Chun didn't plan to keep flying around. As long as there were no monsters, it was fine. Otherwise, he couldn't bear the consequences of exhausting his right eye's ability until it disappeared again. If he had to activate the ability once more right after, his body would likely collapse entirely.

After circling once, as he rushed towards the hole in the bamboo-shoot stone peak, the scales swirling around their bodies clattered as they flew towards the artifact's base in his hand. This base was also the key to controlling the artifact. Thousands of scales converged into one, reassembling into a pinecone shape.

Shi Chun, holding Wu Jinliang, dropped into the hole.

After pushing Wu Jinliang away, an overly exhausted Shi Chun sat down cross-legged on the spot. He took out several pills, threw them into his mouth, and swallowed them. "My right eye has been used too frequently, and my body can't take it anymore," he said. "I need to rest and recover. Don't wander off, and don't create any light that might attract monsters."

"Oh, okay," Wu Jinliang replied. As he responded, he blindly reached out and touched Shi Chun's face. Only after confirming Shi Chun was nearby did he feel a sense of security. He then moved back a few steps and also sat down cross-legged.

For him, being in this endless darkness was truly unsettling.

It was also too quiet. So quiet that he could even hear Shi Chun's now deep, long breaths. With eyes that saw nothing, he pricked up his ears, listening for any unusual movements that might approach. His broadsword lay across his lap, his hand gripping the hilt.

In the Moon Sea, the "Ma Ya" horn blasts occasionally rang out, bringing about scenes of frantic, chaotic escape.

Jieyun Mountain truly lived up to its reputation as the largest sect in Shengzhou. And Bai Shuchuan truly lived up to his reputation as the leader chosen by Jieyun Mountain. His courage and fierceness were fully displayed at the critical moment.

Many people were fleeing. He, however, not only didn't flee but found a way to cope. He swung his sword and roared at the crowd, "No one is allowed to run! Form up!"

His four fellow disciples were also panicking, but under his forceful lead, they pressed their backs against each other. Bai Shuchuan directed them from the center.

His fellow disciples would listen to him. However, people from other sects, facing such a chaotic scene, dismissed his words as nonsense, and those who could escape, scattered and fled.

In the end, only the Jieyun Mountain sect remained on site, holding their ground alone.

Bai Shuchuan occasionally cast spells to stir up dust from the ground, making the surrounding attacking monsters reveal themselves, which made it easier for his disciples to defend.

If a monster's tentacles wrapped around someone's limbs, those nearby would help chop them off. If someone was dragged away, Bai Shuchuan or other disciples would swiftly intervene to pull them back. In short, they worked together, fighting in place against all directions. As long as they didn't run wildly and weren't dragged away by monsters, they wouldn't vanish into thin air.

Furthermore, due to the monsters' enormous size, they couldn't gather in large numbers within a small area. This reduced the advantage of the monsters' invisibility. So, as long as they didn't panic, the monsters could barely harm them.

Seeing that they could fully cope and having overcome their psychological fear, the five members of Jieyun Mountain became increasingly calm.

However, someone still loudly reminded, "Senior Brother Bai, this isn't a viable solution. We don't know the monster's numbers, and exhausting ourselves like this might be disadvantageous to us."

Bai Shuchuan, who was swinging his sword in all directions, said resolutely, "I know. I only resent those cowardly rats who are afraid of death."

He truly didn't want to leave this place. A group of them had not spent much time here but had already found over a dozen Insect Core Crystals. Given more time, the outcome was unimaginable.

But reality was reality; it had to be faced. He could only plan for the long term.

He pulled out a metal pinecone from his bag. It was indeed the artifact, Wind Scales. The largest sect in Shengzhou certainly had some impressive items.

The scales rapidly flew out from among the group, spreading outwards. Like a tornado, they battered everything around them, each scale razor-sharp.

The tentacles attacking from all sides seemed to be sliced thousands of times. Their flesh and blood were splattered everywhere, preventing the group of monsters from approaching.

So, some monsters rolled rocks and trees, but they were all clatteringly pulverized. This also made the scene resemble a true tornado.

Bai Shuchuan, looking up, saw that the opportunity had arrived. With a hand gesture, he swiftly led his fellow disciples to ascend into the air.

The scene was spectacular. The swirling dust rose like a giant dragon into the sky. After a streak of light separated from it, the rising dust and debris immediately collapsed into disarray.

The incident site wasn't too far from the cliff edge.

Seeing the fleeing people on the ground from the air, the streak of light quickly descended, and the five members of Jieyun Mountain blocked their path.

The retrieved Wind Scale fragments, however, could no longer neatly reassemble onto the base. They clattered and scattered across the ground, catching Bai Shuchuan off guard. He returned his precious sword to its sheath, squatted down, and picked up a scale to examine it. He found that it was deformed due to hitting hard objects, making it impossible for the scales to fully reassemble and restore themselves.

He knew that the Wind Scales of this level he possessed were the lowest grade and couldn't be used as a weapon. However, the situation at the time was urgent, and leading his disciples to escape was the priority, so he couldn't afford to worry about these details.

The black cloth pouch for the Insect Core Crystals came in handy. Bai Shuchuan put all the scales into it.

He tucked the pouch onto his waist. Facing the people he had stopped, he quickly counted them, finding that only about sixty people had returned. He asked, "Where's Zhao Shanqi?"

He had already found the knack for dealing with the dangers of the Moon Sea. He needed to find people he was close to for consultation. If no one took the lead in agreeing, the words of the Jieyun Mountain sect alone would ultimately be too weak.

Everyone looked at each other. The situation at the time was chaotic, and people were panicking, so no one had really paid attention to Zhao Shanqi. Now that he was missing, the outcome was not hard to guess.

Bai Shuchuan then looked around and found that Bian Weiying, whom he had kept by his side, was also gone. He couldn't help but curse inwardly, "I told that woman not to run, but she had to panic and run wildly. Now look! Serves her right!"

At this moment, Zhao Shanqi, Bian Weiying, and others were desperately fighting in another realm. Each of them wielded a sword or blade in one hand and held a sandalwood gold light in the other.

In her desperation, Bian Weiying cast several immobilization talismans. She was stunned to find they had no effect and almost ran into trouble. Fortunately, Gan Tangyu, who had rushed over in an emergency, severed the tentacles and saved her.

Earlier, outside, Gan Tangyu had also noticed she was swept away. He had rushed to save her, which resulted in them both ending up here.

"What are you staring at?" a furious Zhao Shanqi yelled. "Haven't you figured it out? Immobilization talismans are useless here! Hurry up and fight them off!" Because of Bian Weiying's stunned inaction, he too was thrown into a panic.

He was enraged whenever he saw this woman now. It was because he coveted her beauty that after the incident, he subconsciously led people to run in the same direction. And what was the result? They ran right into a pit.

Fighting sounds still came from afar. The people brought into this space seemed to have landed in different spots upon entry, but they were all desperately gathering by following the sounds of fighting. The solitude in the endless darkness was more unsettling than facing monsters. The characteristics of social animals were fully revealed at this moment.

Gradually, more than ten people had gathered here.

"Over here, come this way! These monsters are afraid of the cold," someone shouted from behind.

Everyone spared a glance and saw someone in the distance waving a sandalwood gold light. The scene was strikingly a slightly translucent glacier. And indeed, there were no monsters disturbing their location.

If that was the case, what was there to hesitate about? They grouped together, fighting and retreating towards the glacier.

Initially, the monsters still chased and rushed into the glacial area, causing trouble. As they delved deeper, they gradually began to tolerate the cold from the glacier less. Even their attack movements became sluggish. Fewer and fewer monsters kept up. They watched helplessly as a group of people escaped unhindered, and the monsters stopped pursuing, flying away in all directions.

The dozen or so people who reached the heart of the glacier finally breathed a sigh of relief. With their cultivation, dealing with this much cold was nothing.

In the far distance, faint sounds of fighting could still be heard.

No one knew who they were. Some suspected it was also people from Shengzhou, but no one mentioned it, as no one intended to rush to their aid.

A relieved Zhao Shanqi looked around him. He found only two fellow disciples, and two others who either hadn't entered or had landed elsewhere, which he couldn't concern himself with now. He couldn't help but shake his head and say, "The individual strength of those monsters isn't great; they're not hard to deal with. Their advantage lies in their sheer numbers." He looked around, "I don't even know what this place is."

Someone said, "It's rumored that many people have disappeared in the Moon Sea before. It seems they disappeared right here."

Another person chimed in, "The biggest problem is, we've never heard of anyone who disappeared in the Moon Sea returning. So, we've also never heard of the environment we're currently in." These words caused everyone's hearts to sink simultaneously. "Could we be trapped here to die?"