Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1822: Chapter 583: Darkness and Lostness, 6th-Level Soul Suppressing Tripod

Darkness, how should it be understood?

Having struggled to survive in the Ice Abyss for sixteen years, Xia Hong originally thought he had experienced these two words deeply enough.

Before breaking through to the Cold Resistance Level, he could only move at night, having almost never seen the daytime world. Due to the unfamiliar surroundings and the attacks of Cold Beasts and Deceitful Monsters, even at night, he could only hide with the people of Great Xia in enclosed spaces. Though there was illumination from fire, darkness still remained the main theme.

Darkness brings a dual-layered impact on both the physiological and psychological levels. People long living in darkness suffer physical destruction. Before the Ice Abyss people break through to the Cold Resistance Level, their average lifespan is only about 40 years, the result of such physical destruction.

And the physical layer is just one aspect. Those who cannot see light slowly become filled with despair about the future, leading to increasingly twisted psychology, either becoming timid like mice or becoming brutal and irritable, extremely extreme.

In this regard, the most significant manifestation among the Ice Abyss people is the evolution into extreme fear of death and fearlessness, the two most common personalities.

Xia Hong is undoubtedly lucky. After coming to the Ice Abyss, he had a system by his side, a relative in Xia Chuan, and loyal Great Xia compatriots. The former gave him hope to grow stronger, the latter gave him the responsibility and courage to continue living in the Ice Abyss. The two complemented each other, forming the person he is today.

He had long emerged from the darkness of the Ice Abyss!

Because of this, when he looks back objectively at his difficult situation when he was weak, he can truly understand how despairing the darkness of the Ice Abyss really was when he first came.

A vast number of humans in the Ice Abyss had no system, no small torch, no solidified fire oil, no Suppression Talisman, nor did they have those many mysterious and wonderful buildings that enabled Great Xia to rapidly develop from a small camp into the Great Xia it is today, firmly rooted in Moao South Slope with the essence of a Feudal Town.

Take the population distribution of Moao River as an example. In the vast Ice Abyss World, the number of humans definitely reaches into the trillions, probably even more. Most humans without Xia Hong’s fortunes are perpetually living in fear and despair facing this darkness of the Ice Abyss.

Just this point alone is enough to prove how heavy the darkness of the Ice Abyss is. Even Xia Hong, with his cultivation at the Xianyang Level, feels compassion when facing weaker humans, because he has deeply experienced such suffocatingly heavy darkness.

Though he lacks the heart of a savior, he does not mind influencing and even changing the situation of some people within his capabilities. As his personal strength grows stronger, and Great Xia becomes more prosperous, the scope of this influence and change will naturally expand.

He believes that having brought a system to the Ice Abyss, while ensuring the survival of himself and his relatives, he must do something for this world.

Xia Hong always thought that from the moment he broke through the Cold Resistance Level and witnessed the scenery of the Ice Abyss in daylight, he had already walked out of the darkness of the Ice Abyss, never to return to that pitch-black period.

However, at this moment, he realizes he was incredibly mistaken!

Black…

Wherever the eye can reach, there is only darkness!

This is a forest of extreme darkness. Xia Hong strides through the darkness, his eyes can only see within ten meters. Once beyond the ten-meter boundary, whether trees, hills, vegetation, puddles, even large rivers and lakes, towering mountains all turn into silhouettes and shadows in pitch blackness.

Ice Abyss’ forest at least has snow covering the ground, ice hanging from branches, overall with gray and white as its base, if lucky, special Spirit Plants can be seen in the Snow Forest, making the colors more vivid.

But here, there is only black!

Not only black, but quiet, frighteningly quiet.

The Ice Abyss’ forest occasionally has noises made by Cold Beasts, even in some areas without Cold Beast activities, occasionally there are subtle noises of snow falling or icy branches snapping.

Yet in this pitch-black space, there is no sound, it’s an absolute silence. No light, no wind, no water, no Cold Beasts, or if there are, Xia Hong cannot see them.

Step… step… step…

The entire forest can only hear his slow footsteps.

This world seems to be so vast, as if he’s the only person left.

“Where the hell is this! Wasn’t that pool connected to Chilong Lake? How did I end up here… how long has it been, how long has it been, no, no, if this continues, before finding any living creature, I might just go insane first…”

Xia Hong stopped moving, looking ahead, his appearance had become somewhat haggard, his state extremely weak, even revealing a trace of despair as he spoke.

The phrase ‘dark as night’ in Xia Hong’s understanding had always been just an adjective for a despairing mindset, but when it truly materialized, he realized just how terrifying these four words were.

After emerging from the golden palace’s pool, he arrived in this world!

Whether visually seen as a dark scene or the silent and suffocatingly terrifying atmosphere, the moment Xia Hong landed, he was acutely aware he was no longer in the Ice Abyss.