Netherworld Retrograde

Chapter 453: Chapter 215 Human Village

Atop the towering and deathly still Great Snow Mountain, a solitary figure moved with a spear in hand. The crimson light of an oil lamp flickered amidst the snowy peaks, emitting the only source of heat in the mountain. It carved out a safe haven in the perilous and lethal Snow Mountain.

Li Yelai utilized Aerial Stepping, quickly descending from the slope of the Snow Mountain.

It was indeed the Great Snow Mountain, and even with the possession of Taboo Items like the Fierce Fire Oil Lamp, Li Yelai could feel his heart racing. A moment of inattention could allow the Spiritual Barrier to freeze over, then be thawed or even ignited by the oil lamp.

Even the lower reaches of the Great Snow Mountain were terrifying enough for Li Yelai, an Awakened Spirit User of the Four Awakenings. Who could imagine the horrors that awaited at the summit?

As the battlefield for the ultimate conflict between mankind and the Forbidden Zone, it held many mysteries. But in the end, it served as a natural barrier for Heavenly Kingdom.

”What a natural line of defense,” Li Yelai grumbled, yet he couldn’t help but feel envious.

If Giant City had the protection of a special wasteland like the Great Snow Mountain, the Forbidden Zone Army would likely find it difficult to penetrate—any that tried would turn into ice sculptures.

Regrettably, Li Yelai currently lacked the ability to take these dangerous and special snowflakes with him, nor was there a need.

The chill contained within the snowflakes was terrifying, but once one left the Great Snow Mountain for some time, the chill would dissipate, rendering the snowflakes indistinguishable from any other.

Otherwise, both the authorities and the Forbidden Zone would have long been using these extreme cold snowflakes in combat.

However, within the ark... If Li Yelai were promoted to the Second Ring and utilized the ark’s privileges, perhaps he could attempt to transport and preserve these snowflakes. He could use them as a trump card when necessary.

”The greatest secret still lies at the summit,” Li Yelai thought to himself, having already reached the bottom of the Snow Mountain’s valley.

He then controlled the Spiritual Energy to slightly reduce the lamp’s fierce flames. After all, handling Taboo Items came with risks—the flames were too powerful and he risked self-immolation, too weak and he would be frozen to death by the Snow Mountain. Li Yelai had to maintain a balance of the flame while keeping himself as low as possible.

After entering a valley within the Great Snow Mountain, Li Yelai leaned on his spear and took out his Path-finding Compass, its needle pointing towards a certain direction in the Great Snow Mountain.

Li Yelai confirmed the direction and found it happened to be on his way.

Before, Li Yelai and the Little Mad King had used the Path-finding Compass to locate Life Material, which was within the Great Snow Mountain.

Now, Li Yelai needed to hold the Taboo Item, the Fierce Fire Oil Lamp, and traverse the Great Snow Mountain.

He might as well try to find that unknown Life Material within the Great Snow Mountain.

If he could directly find the Life Material, it would be a cause for great celebration.

The greatest pressure on Giant City was the dwindling lifeforce of the strongest leader, the Old Mad King.

As a Spiritual Power Monarch, he should have had a long lifespan, for humans have never heard of a King dying of old age. Not even of a Supreme or Overlord dying, since their lifespans were incredibly long.

However, due to the Old Mad King’s curse of consuming lifespan, each use of his ability significantly depleted his life, and years of warfare almost exhausted his extended existence, bringing him near the end.

According to internal intelligence revealed by the Little Mad King, the Old Mad King had, at most, two more years.

After two years, humanity would lose a supremely powerful King, and the situation would deteriorate completely.

If they could obtain a potent Life Material to extend the Old Mad King’s lifespan, mankind’s pressure would be greatly reduced.

If it couldn’t be found directly, then at least Li Yelai could determine its approximate location and range. Afterwards, the authorities would naturally find a way.

As long as the Old Mad King remained, humanity would still have time to grow.

Li Yelai pondered this, following the Valley’s lowest point towards the direction indicated by the compass.

The Great Snow Mountain was a true Forbidden Zone of life, sought after for exploration by both Giant City and the Forbidden Zone. After all, the Great Snow Mountain had been the battlefield where humanity and the Forbidden Zone had fought, and there could be some very powerful weapons or Taboo Items there.

But regardless of strength, all Explorers, big or small, who attempted it never returned. Those who did come back had nothing to show for it.

The official conjecture that Li Yelai’s Fierce Fire Oil Lamp could be active below five hundred meters altitude was based on data obtained from past attempts or acquisitions.

Thus, as Li Yelai traversed a stretch of the valley, besides the vast white Snow Mountain and occasionally exposed rock faces, no sign of life could be seen. No vegetation, no birds, just the occasional gust of chilling wind.

It aptly matched the description ”All birds vanished from the thousand mountains, all trails erased by human footsteps.”

Fortunately, the authorities had provided him with sunglasses; otherwise, he would eventually develop snow blindness.

Li Yelai walked alone through the solitary valley for five hours, replacing a bottle of rock marrow fuel, but ended up at a dead end.

Calling it a dead end wasn’t quite accurate; it was more accurate to say he had reached the intersection of two mountain ranges, and if he had continued following the compass, he would be blocked by the several-hundred-meter-high mountain range.

Li Yelai frowned at the towering mountain range. It wasn’t hard for a Spiritual Ability User to cross mountains; a firm push with Aerial Stepping was all it took. Aside from those with acrophobia, most Spiritual Ability Users could leap across mountain ranges with relative ease.

Yet in the peculiar Great Snow Mountain, rising hastily was indeed dangerous.

The higher up the Snow Mountain one went, the colder it got. Even the mighty Overlord had frozen to death before.

Therefore, Li Yelai did not attempt to climb over the mountain range but continued along the valley, following the base of the mountain range, starting to circumvent it while looking for a lower peak to cross.

However, after walking through the valley for another couple of hours, Li Yelai finally saw something special.