The powerful icy-cold aura immediately caused her body to grow cold; even the Celestial Essence within her body had started to freeze up and could not drive out this cold. Surrounded with such icy aura, even her Spiritual Consciousness had almost frozen, which also meant that she could no longer walk forward. Shen Qinyu felt sure that if she did not retreat at this moment, she would end up frozen into an ice sculpture.
Ning Cheng’s Sea of Consciousness had long since transformed into a starry skies’ Sea of Consciousness, and yet even with the full operation of his Celestial Essence, he still found the icy aura unbearable. As such, how could he not understand the plight of Shen Qinyu? It was not that Shen Qinyu did not want to talk; she simply could not talk at all. Ning Cheng took a step before appearing behind Shen Qinyu and placing his palm squarely on her back. A moment later, his Celestial Essence infused with the warmth of the Celestial River Flame spread out under Ning Cheng’s stimulation and the surrounding immediately issued creaking-like sounds.
This sound gave the feeling as if his Celestial Essence, infused with the Celestial River Flame’s heat, had started to melt and crack formless ice as soon as it encountered the icy atmosphere.
Shen Qinyu immediately felt a burst of warmth coming from Ning Cheng’s palm on her back, which helped her drive out the cold. Just like a shining sun emerging from the horizon during the cold winter, this kind of warmth was not something that she could describe with just words itself.
At this moment, she finally understood why one had to collaborate with someone possessing a flame to explore the Sea of Twilight. Looks like it was all for this place.
This Wanderer’s Celestial Essence could oppose this icy cold atmosphere; most likely, it had some relations to a flame, which he cultivated within his body.
As Shen Qinyu’s thoughts wavered, Ning Cheng’s stature unfolded as he grabbed her rushed in quickly.
Half a day later, Ning Cheng stopped at the periphery of a vast round altar.
“A Transfer Array?” Shen Qinyu spoke out in shock after looking at the inscriptions over the round altar. She then proceeded with an affirmative voice, “Yes, it definitely is a Transfer Array. It must be a Transfer Array.”
Ning Cheng also nodded and spoke, “It is a Transfer Array. Sure enough, this place can definitely send us out.”
“So, should we leave now?” Shen Qinyu asked eagerly.
If she could survive on her own, she would have liked to look around this place to see if she could find some Glimmers of Dawn Ice Essence, and confirm if such a legendary object actually existed. Unfortunately, in this place, she remained very dependent over this Wanderer to carry her around. Without Wanderer’s help, she would die ten times out of ten in this place.
After thinking about something, she spoke out once again, “Senior Apprentice Brother Wanderer, I can help preserve your Time Stones for you. After we come out of this place, I will give them to you. I can a.s.sure you that even the Heavenly Emperor Striking Order would not dare take them from me.”
Ning Cheng was just about to speak when a violent force swept over them. Just like a ma.s.sive tornado, this force immediately curled around them. Ning Cheng, swept up by this horrifying tornado, could not even resist for a moment.
“Boom…. Katcha…..”
A fierce roar erupted, emerging from the bottom of their feet, and a few feet wide crack suddenly appeared below them extending from the outer edge of the Transfer Array. This glacier-like canyon kept widening, with its bottom nowhere in sight.
The raging rotational force, coiled around Ning Cheng, immediately forced him into this glacier canyon.
Ning Cheng could not think of anything. Grabbing Shen Qinyu, he immediately stimulated his Celestial Essence to throw her behind him before bringing out his Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds. Inside this wilderness, Ning Cheng already some experience with a similar phenomenon. It felt similar to when he had fallen into that deep well previously. The only difference was that in the deep well, a suction force wanted to pull him down, while this place had a whirlpool that tried to force him in from the outside.
When Ning Cheng threw out Shen Qinyu, she did not feel any resentment or any sense of loss in her heart. Instead, her mind flashed with scenes of Wanderer carrying her everywhere. Wanderer had taken her around for the past few years within the depths of the Sea of Twilight, and she had not yet repaid that debt or even thanked him for it.
Then she immediately showed a self-deprecating smile; in this world, everyone worked for his or her own selfishness, not to mention that she and Wanderer were not even on familiar terms. However, she still felt that this starry skies’ Wanderer was a lot better compared to many people she had met in the past. Although she did not blame him for leaving her behind in such a desperate situation, Shen Qinyu definitely felt as if she had not done enough for all the grat.i.tude she had received from this person.
“Bang.” Shen Qinyu’s feet landed on hard ground. What happened? Only when Shen Qinyu looked around did she discover that she was standing at the centre of the Transfer Array, not in the depths of the glacial canyon as she imagined.
A moment of clarity washed over her, and she understood why Wanderer had thrown her away. It definitely was not what she had thought initially; instead, he had thrown her to let her reach the Transfer Array first.
At this moment, all she had to do was to take out a few starry skies’ crystals and put them into the grooves of the Transfer Array to take her away from this place. No matter where this Transfer Array led to, it definitely was better than falling into this unfathomable glacial canyon.
Shen Qinyu touched the grooves of the Transfer Array in a daze and unexpectedly forgot to take out any starry skies’ crystals.
She was an open-minded individual and rarely partook in irrational thoughts, except for the one time when she let a stranger look at her real appearance. Until a few moments ago, she felt that they had no hope to survive and get out of this place. Even when Ning Cheng caught her naked before she could put on a new pair of robes, she did not turn angry and calmly asked why.
Since her birth, she had done everything in an orderly fashion and never did anything that she did not want to do because of some impulses. As such, the word ‘impulse’, never belonged to her dictionary.
Now, Wanderer had thrown her on to the Transfer Array while he ended up falling into the glacial canyon. If one asked for the only thing that existed within her heart at this moment, it would be ‘impulse’. She truly felt the urge to jump into the bottom to look for Wanderer. Why would she care anymore about anything?
Shen Qinyu carefully walked out of the Transfer Array; however, under the ever-present ice-cold aura, she once again shuddered subconsciously. However, she quickly noticed that the icy cold aura was not as horrifying as when she first came in. At least she could remain safe while circulating her Celestial Essence.
Feeling slightly relieved, Shen Qinyu walked to the edge of the cracked glacial canyon. Trying to gaze into the deep valley of horror; however, her gaze could not sweep out until the end. Even without using her Spiritual Consciousness to scan, she could feel a one-of-a-kind chill emanating from the deepest part of the gorge.
Shen Qinyu shivered; falling into such a terrifying place, was there any hope for survival? Moreover, in this place that not only restricted one’s Spiritual Consciousness but also limited flight capability. Not to mention encountering a Time Wheel, despite not facing any external danger while climbing up, could one still climb up?
……
After Ning Cheng sent Shen Qinyu away, it turned a lot easier for him. However, in the face of the raging whirlpool that had swept him away, he still could not break free.
This whirlpool was like a spinning funnel in general, that kept forcing him to the bottom.
“Bang…..” Not knowing how long he remained trapped within, the dominant force of the whirlpool suddenly dropped Ning Cheng to the ground causing ice crystals to scatter. The shocking power contained within the drop had enough strength to shatter Ning Cheng’s bones several times over. Fortunately, Ning Cheng was a body-refining cultivator; at the same time, also wielded the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds with full power. As such, although injured, the injuries did not turn out fatal.
Under the circulation of the Celestial Essence, the broken bones quickly healed automatically.
Ning Cheng immediately stimulated the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds, planning to fly out of the glacial gorge that had suddenly appeared. However, he had just flown up a few feet, when the raging whirlpool above once again sent him smashing down.
This kind of powerful force was unlike the one he encountered at the bottom of the well. Moreover, the further up he tried to move, the higher the pressure the vortex exerted. Ning Cheng felt his heart sink on witnessing such a scene. If he could not force himself out of this vortex, he would never reach the Transfer Array.
Taking out a few medicinal pills that helped in restoring one’s Celestial Essence, Ning Cheng once again stimulated the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds. This time, with the boost provided by the medicinal pills, Ning Cheng managed to hover about a dozen feet before the powerful funnel-shaped vortex forced him down once again.
Looking up and seeing that there was no end to the glacial canyon, Ning Cheng realised that it would prove difficult to escape from this place. However, at this moment, he also clearly felt something else. This whirlpool carried traces of flowing time; moreover, it grew stronger the higher one went.
Since Ning Cheng lost his chance to go out by falling into this place, he must find another way to get out. As for Shen Qinyu, he had already thrown her towards the Transfer Array, so she should not be in any problem.
After walking a few hundred meters, his Spiritual Consciousness swept by a ring. Ning Cheng reached out with his hand and picked the ring up. However, the ring immediately collapsed, and everything inside it turned into nothingness.
Ning Cheng took in a deep breath as he realised that a few people must have also fallen in this place. However, the bones of those cultivators had long since turned into nothingness, eroded by the icy cold aura at the bottom of this gorge. Even the cultivators’ ring could not withstand the test of time. Combined with the freezing cold aura, just a light touch could completely obliterate the ring, transforming it into ash.
Seeing the ring turning into ash, it immediately caused a sliver of doubt to arise within Ning Cheng’s heart. For a cultivator to reach this place, it meant that the cultivator definitely had some powerful means. Yet, this person not only got caught within the funnel-like whirlpool of flowing time before falling to this place, but even that cultivator’s bones also could not survive before turning into dust. Trapped in this place, was there any possibility of survival?
Thinking of this, Ning Cheng turned even more cautious with his actions and used his Spiritual Consciousness to explore everything carefully around him. Once again sensing a faint trace of flowing time, Ning Cheng felt great shock within his heart. Was there a Time Wheel inside this place?
This canyon looked very narrow, if he encountered a Time Wheel in this place, Ning Cheng would have no other choice but to enter the Mysterious Yellow Bead to survive. However, Ning Cheng quickly discovered that this trace of flowing time was not from a Time Wheel, but some stones that gave off a faint twilight-like glow. Apart from the difference of Laws, these stones were not any different in size compared to the Time Stones in his possession, and about the size of a baby’s fist. However, what made Ning Cheng feel even more shock was the beauty of these stones. It was as if he and Shen Qinyu had once again encountered the setting sun at dusk from before, something beautiful to look at.
Ning Cheng took a few steps forward and reached the stones, which radiated time in the form of twilight, before picking up one of them.
The faint pa.s.sage of years caused Ning Cheng to feel some melancholy in his heart. However, holding the stone, radiating the twilight rays of dusk, Ning Cheng also could not help but sigh while admiring its beauty.
Ning Cheng admitted to himself that he had never encountered such a beautiful stone, which not only gave him a shock but also induced a sad feeling. It felt like the slight despair one would feel when one faced the dusk. This kind of beauty remained utterly different from other forms of beauty, containing a hint of twilight.
This must be the Twilight Sand. Ning Cheng did not need to ask someone and instinctively knew that this must be the Twilight Sand.
With Twilight Sand hidden in such a place, even if he and Shen Qinyu stayed in the Sea of Twilight for decades, they might have never found the slightest hint of Twilight Sand. However, since the outer world knew about the Twilight Sand, it also meant that someone not only came to this place, but someone had also made it out of this place with this treasure.
Understanding this point, Ning Cheng suddenly felt a significant boost while his mood also improved. If someone else can manage to get out, it meant that he could get out.
Ning Cheng quickly picked up more than a dozen Twilight Sand scattered on the frozen ground and carefully packed them in a jade box. No matter whether he used them in creating a spear or for something else, this thing definitely was a treasure.
The force of the whirlpool, which after waning countless times, ended at this place. Therefore, when Ning Cheng looked up once again, he quickly realised why there were so many pieces of Twilight Sand in this place. This Twilight Sand was something that the power of the time vortex had dragged down. Under the many years of acc.u.mulation, this place ended up gathering many stones.