468: Chapter 468 How to remove a frozen tongue? (Waiting for an answer online)

As the train continued its ascent, the temperature inside the carriage began to plummet at an unreasonable speed.

Thick frost flowers bloomed along the edges of the windows, and the metal cabin walls emitted a teeth-grinding creak.

Chen You sat on a leather seat, his expression unchanged.

Within him, the Nine Revolutions Primordial Chaos Art circulated automatically; liquid pure yang spiritual energy flowed slowly through his meridians, isolating all cold air outside his body.

Ize, sitting opposite him, was not so composed.

Although he had swallowed a peiyuan pill, and the immense power of his blood energy was burning crazily within him, he was still freezing.

He curled into a ball, wrapped in that tattered fur coat, the sound of his chattering teeth exceptionally crisp in the quiet carriage.

"Da-da-da-da..."

Chen You glanced at him: "If you keep shivering like that, I suspect you'll shake the chassis of this carriage apart."

"M-my Lord, it's cold." Ize hugged his arms, his nose frozen bright red, "The cold currents of the Peak of Winter... even dragons are unwilling to come near."

"We are currently... at least eight thousand meters above sea level."

"Eight thousand meters?" Chen You raised an eyebrow.

In the real world, this altitude was already on the level of Mount Everest, no wonder that pack of frost wolves hadn't chased after them.

Just then, the roar of the train suddenly changed; the sound of the arduous climb transformed into a long, drawn-out whistle.

The carriage leveled out abruptly, and the violently shaking cabin instantly became exceptionally steady.

"We're here!"

Ize sprang up from his seat as if fitted with springs, scrambling toward the window.

He frantically wiped the frost flowers off the glass with his sleeve, his eyes pressed tightly against the window.

Chen You also turned his head to look outside.

The next second, his breathing involuntarily slowed.

The train broke through the thick gray clouds and drove into a space of absolute purity.

There was no wind or snow, no clouds or mist.

What presented itself before his eyes was a vast, boundless sea of stars.

The starry sky here was incredibly low, as if one could pluck a star just by reaching out.

Countless meteors trailing long tails streaked across the horizon, weaving into a brilliant net.

And in the depths of the star sea, a streak of aurora, gorgeous to the extreme, drifted slowly through the void like a giant veil, shifting with dreamlike colors of intertwined purple, green, and blue.

The train was like a lone boat sailing through the galaxy, with bottomless canyons on both sides and the reachable universe overhead.

Chen You had seen the holographic star map at Qinling Base, and had also witnessed the cross-dimensional light beam created by the high-dimensional entity "Invincible Beautiful Girl."

But this pure sea of stars, a natural wonder belonging to the Source Realm, still left him feeling a shock that struck directly at his soul.

"It's too beautiful... This is simply a masterpiece of the gods..."

Ize was pressed entirely against the glass, his voice trembling, tears streaming from his eyes, but they froze into ice beads hanging on his eyelashes as soon as they flowed out.

He scrambled to pull that tattered notebook and a charcoal pencil from his backpack, starting to record frantically by the starlight.

"I, Ize, have finally witnessed the miracle of the Peak of Winter."

"That starlight, like a maiden's eyes..."

"That aurora, like the hem of a deity's skirt..."

While muttering, he brought his face even closer, trying to see the textures deep within the aurora.

Chen You withdrew his gaze, looked at Ize's fanatical appearance, and shook his head.

Those involved in art really didn't have normal brains.

"You'd better stay away from that glass," Chen You kindly reminded him, "The temperature outside is at least seventy degrees below zero, and glass has high thermal conductivity."

"It doesn't matter! For art, what is this bit of cold!" Ize retorted righteously.

To express his excitement, he even opened his mouth toward the sea of stars outside the window, letting out a deep, affectionate exclamation: "Ah—"

Then, tragedy struck.

The train happened to pass through a tiny curve, and the carriage swayed slightly.

Ize lost his footing, and his face slammed forward.

"Splat."

His lips and half his tongue were stuck firmly against that bulletproof glass, which was dozens of degrees below zero.

The air suddenly went quiet.

Ize's eyes widened instantly, and a muffled whimper came from his throat.

He instinctively tried to pull back, but his tongue and lips were already frozen firmly to the glass; the slightest tug caused piercing pain.

"Wu! Wuwu!"

He waved his hands in terror, tears streaming down; this time, they didn't even have time to freeze into ice beads.

Chen You sat in his seat, watching him quietly.

"What did I tell you?"

"Wuwuwu!" Ize pointed at his mouth, frantically calling for help.

Chen You sighed, stood up, and walked over.

"When your tongue is frozen to an iron pole or glass, you absolutely cannot pull it hard, otherwise the flesh will be torn off," Chen You said, extending his right hand.

A trace of pure purple spiritual energy shimmered at his fingertips.

He didn't use lightning techniques, but instead converted the pure yang spiritual energy of the Nine Revolutions Primordial Chaos Art into the gentlest heat flow, lightly touching the glass around Ize's lips.

Sizzle—

A faint white mist rose.

The layer of ice melted rapidly.

Ize finally pulled his tongue free, sat on the floor clutching his mouth, and hissed in pain.

"Th-thank you, my Lord," he thanked him with a lisp, "I almost... I almost became a mute."

"Alright, put away your artistic germs and get ready to get off the train."

Chen You looked toward the front of the train.

Beneath the sea of stars, the outline of a city, vast to the point of suffocation, was gradually emerging from the darkness.

Aurora City.

It was not built on level ground, but rather attached to a massive glacier.

The entire city was composed almost entirely of crystal-clear ice and some kind of black metal; under the illumination of the aurora, it refracted a cold and aloof light.

There were no city walls.

Because that vertical glacier, reaching hundreds of meters high, was the best barrier.

The train began to decelerate, slowly driving into a massive semi-circular domed building.

This was the star rail station of Aurora City.

"Finally here." Ize excitedly shouldered his travel bag, which was bigger than he was.

"My Lord, once we enter the city, I'll treat you to Aurora City's most famous 'Ice Flame Wine'! Although I don't have money, I can go wash dishes at the tavern to exchange for it!"

Chen You ignored him, his gaze fixed intently on the platform outside the window.

The train came to a complete stop, and the airlock door emitted a "hiss" as it slowly slid open to both sides.

There were no noisy crowds, no NPCs soliciting business, and no patrolling guards.

The vast platform was deathly silent.

Chen You stepped out of the carriage first, his long boots stepping onto the frost-covered ground, making a crisp cracking sound.

Ize jumped down right after him; just as he was about to speak, his voice got stuck in his throat.

On the platform, hundreds of figures stood densely packed.

There were men and women among them: merchants wearing gorgeous robes, Berserkers carrying giant axes, and even a few train maintenance workers in uniform.

But they were all motionless.

Every single person was covered in a thick layer of transparent, solid ice.

They maintained the posture of their final moment in life: some were running, some were looking back in terror, some were attempting to draw their weapons.

Their expressions were lifelike; one could even see the solidified despair in their pupils.

"This... this is the Frost Curse..." Ize was so scared his legs went weak, and he fell to the ground on his butt.

"The rumors are true... Aurora City has already become a dead city!"