168: Cang Kong Realm, Cang Yuan City

“Boom—!!”

With the final tremor of the spatial tunnel, two streaks of light crashed down onto a vast, desolate snowfield like meteors.

“Hiss...”

Before they could even steady their footing or get a clear look at their surroundings,

what greeted Lu Yi and Shen Yueyao was not flowers and applause, nor a peaceful scene of auspicious mists.

Instead, it was a terrifyingly Frigid Astral Wind that felt as if it could instantly freeze the Soul and tear the Physical Body apart!

“Whoosh—!”

The wild wind howled, kicking up ice crystals that filled the sky.

This wind was entirely different from the cold winds of the natural world; it was actually interspersed with ice shards of cold energy that felt like countless tiny blades!

Every gust that blew past felt as if someone were cutting your skin with a blunt knife.

“Quick, use your Spiritual Qi to protect yourself!”

Lu Yi barked in a low voice.

Even with their current cultivation Realms, if they didn't use Spiritual Qi to protect themselves, they would eventually be eroded by this cold energy over time.

That bone-chilling cold ignored ordinary clothing defenses, drilling through the pores and straight into the marrow, threatening to freeze one's very blood.

The two had to immediately circulate the vast spiritual power within their bodies to prop up a thick Spiritual Qi barrier, barely managing to withstand this terrifying chill.

“What kind of godforsaken place is this?”

While barely adapting to this extreme cold environment,

Lu Yi’s brow furrowed tightly as he keenly sensed something even more bizarre and lethal about this Realm.

He tried to take a deep breath, wanting to draw upon this Realm's Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to replenish what he had just consumed to resist the cold wind.

However, in the next second, his expression turned even more unsightly.

“The Spiritual Qi in this Realm... is actually this thin?!”

Although the wind here was fierce and contained violent ice-attributed power, the free-floating Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the air available for Cultivators to absorb was exceptionally sparse!

How sparse was it?

It was even a few degrees more barren than the most desolate regions of the Heavenly Profound Realm! It was as if it had been sucked dry by someone!

Lu Yi, who had just grown accustomed to the Upper Realm where the Spiritual Qi was as dense as water,

now felt as if he had been suddenly thrown from a comfortable plain onto a high plateau with thin air.

That intense sense of disparity inevitably caused a feeling of discomfort and suffocation.

The Meridians in his body twitched slightly from the craving for Spiritual Qi; it was a terrible feeling.

“Damn that Gu Changsheng...”

Lu Yi couldn't help but grumble in his heart:

“No wonder that guy ran so fast. In a hellhole like this, without enough Medicinal Pill supplies, once the spiritual power in their body is exhausted, a Cultivator’s recovery here would be extremely slow. They would be no different from a Mortal waiting to be slaughtered!”

Complaints aside, business still had to be done.

Even though the Spiritual Qi in this Realm was so barren, with their current Realms, the large amount of spiritual power they held within themselves was enough to last them for a while.

Since they were here, they might as well make the best of it.

Lu Yi tapped his toes and rose into the air, standing atop a snow-covered mountain peak.

“Buzz—”

He closed his eyes and released his Divine Sense. To his surprise, it seemed as if even his Divine Sense was being subjected to some kind of interference.

After releasing his Divine Sense, it actually caused a stinging pain in his Sea of Consciousness.

He had no choice but to forcefully spread his vast and resilient Divine Sense outward like a violent tide.

Everywhere his Divine Sense swept was a scene of dead silence.

Aside from the rolling, seemingly endless snow-capped mountains and the heavy snow fluttering across the sky, there was almost no sign of life.

There weren't even any Yao Beasts, nor were there even any traces of Yao Beast activity.

This was a true forbidden zone for life.

Finally, as a thin layer of cold sweat broke out on Lu Yi's forehead and his Divine Sense struggled through the barrier of a dozen mountain peaks,

a different color finally appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.

“Found it.”

Lu Yi snapped his eyes open and looked toward the far east.

At the edge of his vision, roughly a hundred miles away on the ice plain,

stood a massive, towering city built entirely of black stone, looming in the wind and snow like a giant beast.

Most notably, above that city, a massive pale red Formation light screen was draped.

That light screen was like a giant hemispherical shield, firmly sealing out the swirling snow and appearing exceptionally striking against the white expanse of the snowfield.

Lu Yi withdrew his Divine Sense and said to Shen Yueyao, who was still working hard to circulate her Cultivation Technique to adapt to the environment:

“A hundred miles to the east, there's a city. Judging by its scale, it's not small; it should be a gathering place. Let's go there to rest first and find out which corner of the Cangkong Realm this is so we can plan our route.”

Shen Yueyao nodded. The bizarre cold here had made her face somewhat pale.

She possessed the Vast Moon Divine Body, and although her attributes leaned toward the yin-cold side, the cold in the Cangkong Realm carried the power of Law, making her feel quite uncomfortable. She desperately needed a place to stay to recover her state.

“Alright, I'll follow your lead.”

The two hesitated no longer.

“Swish! Swish!”

Two streaks of light cut through the sky, braving the biting wind and snow as they sped toward the east.

With their cultivation, a hundred-mile distance would normally pass in an instant, but to save spiritual power, they slowed down, so it took a bit longer.

When they actually arrived above the towering black stone city, they couldn't help but be a little surprised.

“This...”

Looking down through the transparent pale red light screen,

it was the complete opposite of the dead, desolate, and barren permafrost outside the city.

The city within the light screen was actually exceptionally prosperous!

Wide streets crisscrossed each other, buildings stood in rows, and the lights were bright.

They could even see many Cultivators piloting various Magic Treasures weaving through the city, and the streets were lined with shops where the sounds of peddling could be faintly heard.

If the outside was a frozen Hell, then this was practically a paradise built within Hell!

“It seems this Cangkong Realm is quite a bit more special than we imagined.”

Lu Yi narrowed his eyes.

To avoid drawing attention, they decided to keep a low profile.

After all, this was the Lower Realm at the junction of two provinces, a place of mixed characters.

“Let's go down.”

Lu Yi took Shen Yueyao's hand and they landed several miles away from the city gate.

The two restrained their auras, suppressing their cultivation to a Realm that seemed ordinary yet wasn't so low that they would be casually bullied.

Then, they disguised themselves as two ordinary traveling Loose Cultivators and walked toward the city gate.

As they drew closer, they could clearly see three bold and powerful characters carved above the city gate—Cangyuan City.

At this time, a long queue of people was waiting to enter at the tall gates of Cangyuan City.

The crowd in line mostly consisted of burly local Cultivators wrapped in thick animal skins with fierce auras.

Occasionally, one could also see young Prodigies dressed in fine clothes like Lu Yi and his companion, who were clearly outsiders.

Lu Yi and Shen Yueyao blended into the end of the line, quietly observing their surroundings.

Just as the two were slowly moving forward with the queue, preparing to enter the city,

a sudden commotion broke out at the front of the city gate.

“Crack!”

The crisp sound of a whip striking the ground rang out in front of the gate.

Following that was a burst of noisy clamor and a young man's voice filled with anger:

“On what grounds are you refusing me entry?! Is it just because I offended your City Lord's son? You're using your public office to settle a private grudge!”

Hearing that familiar voice of Li Xiu, Lu Yi couldn't help but shake his head.

The protagonist truly lives up to his name; he gets targeted no matter where he goes.