Splitting the Heavens - Chapter 982: Frost Wave!
Shang Xia was sure it was his first time in the Spirit Abundance World and its Northern Region…
How could there be a familiar feeling originating from the frozen wasteland?
As Shang Xia continued to venture deeper into the wasteland, he discovered that the feeling of familiarity didn’t come from the geography of the place nor the environment. Instead, it seemed to come from the world origin in the region!
The World Origin naturally originated from the World Origin Source but for a world like the Spirit Abundance World that was extraordinarily vast, the special properties of each individual continent might affect the world origin it contained.
The familiar feeling originated from the strange properties in the world origin that existed in the frozen wasteland!
Continuing his journey, the sense of familiarity only grew stronger.
When he finally arrived at a small city located on the frozen wasteland and came into contact with cultivators of the Northern Region, Shang Xia finally learned about the location of the Azure Island that reigned supreme in the 3 continents in the North. They were located in the northernmost region on a floating sea of ice.
According to the records, there used to be 5 continents in the Northern Region. Due to something that happened thousands of years ago, 2 of the 5 continents in the Northern Region split off and disappeared in the vast sea of stars.
During the change, a landmass from one of the main continents broke off and drifted over to where the Azure Island is today.
Because of the disappearance of the continents, the heavenly screen above the Northern Region was also torn back in the day. In order to restore it to prevent foreign experts from entering the Spirit Abundance World through the tear, many experts of the Spirit Abundance World gathered in the Northern Region and used the drifting landmass as their base camp of operations.
The heavenly screen was eventually restored and most of the experts of the Spirit Abundance World took their leave. However, a portion of them chose to remain where they were and eventually formed the Azure Island which was recognized as one of the 9 great powers of the Spirit Abundance World.
After recalling the legends, Shang Xia understood where the sense of familiarity came from. If he wasn’t mistaken, the continents that broke off from the Northern Region probably formed the Manyu Continent that was drifting in the vast sea of stars!
In the past, Shang Xia had personally witnessed the destruction of the Manyu Continent. He took part in splitting the spoils and obtained a portion of its world origin and merged it with the World Origin Source of the then Azure Origin World. It was no wonder he was no stranger to the world origin of the Manyu Continent. If the Manyu Continent originated from the Northern Region of the Spirit Abundance World, it would explain the similarity in world origin and the sense of familiarity he was feeling.
After conversing with the cultivators in the small city he passed, he managed to learn that he was currently in the Moba Continent. It was the northernmost continent and the city he was in was one of the hotspots of cultivators. If he headed up further north, he would arrive at the coast of the Ice Ocean.
“Does that mean that we’re close to the Azure Island?” Shang Xia casually asked as he ordered a flask of Ice Fire Wine that was a specialty most traveling cultivators would buy when passing through the area. It cost a pretty penny, but Shang Xia was fucking loaded!
The cultivator he was asking didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he waited for the Ice Fire Wine to be served before pouring himself a cup. Downing it in one gulp, a burning white mist emerged from his lips. He seemed a lot more relaxed than before and replied, “Is this your first time in the Northern Region?”
Shang Xia chuckled softly and poured the cultivator another cup without responding.
“You should be here for the Frost Wave outside the heavenly screen of the Northern Region, right?” The cultivator didn’t touch his cup enough though it was filled. Instead, he stared intently at Shang Xia.
Cupping his fists in response, Shang Xia muttered, “Please give me any advice you have!”
Nodding slightly, the cultivator explained, “It’s your lucky day… Actually, it’s more accurate to say that you made the right choice. Today, many mid to high-level cultivators responded to the call to arms by the 9 great powers. Even though our victory is assured, everyone plans to head over to fish for more benefits. There are fewer people here in the Northern Region to try their luck at the Frost Wave. You didn’t choose to head out for the expedition and came to the North instead… Now that there are fewer people fighting for opportunities here, you will stand a much better chance.”
Shang Xia waved his hand and ordered another grilled fish that was covered in glistening icy scales that came from the Ice Ocean before he continued to ask, “Brother, please tell me more about the Frost Wave!”
Watching the giant grilled fish being brought to the table, the cultivator swallowed a mouthful of saliva and mumbled, “Looks like I’m going to be able to eat my fill today!”
He sliced off a fragrant and fatty part of the fish’s belly before placing it straight into his mouth. Smacking his lips, he mumbled in a slightly inaudible voice, “Fellow cultivator, rest assured. I’ll tell you everything I know!”
The Frost Wave outside the heavenly screen of the Northern Region was a special phenomenon that happened in the Spirit Abundance World!
It happened after the 2 continents broke free from the Northern Region and it would appear once every 5 years. Every time it arrived, the Frost Wave would pass through the heavenly screen and enter the northernmost part of the world.
As the Frost Wave contained the properties of extreme Yin and Frost, frost extermination origins would usually appear during the Frost Wave and rare treasures would also be born. Experts of various factions would fight for those treasures when the time came.
“From what I know, there will definitely be some sort of hidden regions that would appear during the Frost Wave. Even True Immortals would gather to fight for treasures. The Azure Island was able to become one of the 9 great powers of the Spirit Abundance World because of the Frost Wave…” The cultivator explained as he ate the fish with gusto while downing cups of wine. He didn’t seem tired at all as he ate mouthful after mouthful. While he ate, he told Shang Xia everything he knew. He didn’t care if the information was useful or not, or if it was related to the Frost Wave. He basically poured his life experiences and every rumor about the Northern Region he heard out during his meal.
Shang Xia thought for a second and asked, “Did no one in the Northern Region guess the origin of the Frost Wave? Also… When True Immortals look for treasures in the Frost Wave, do they do it outside the heavenly screen?”
“Is there anyone who can be sure of what is happening?” The cultivator was pretty tipsy after drinking so much and he no longer restrained himself. “There were people who said that the Frost Wave was related to the disappearance of the continents. There are also some who say that the Frost Wave comes from a broken Frost World hidden somewhere in the sea of stars. A portion of its world origin would leak from time to time, causing the phenomenon. There were even legends that said that the continents were actually torn from the world because of a battle between several supreme beings. The shockwaves of their battle affected the world and flung those continents deep into space. Their remnant energy was said to be the cause of the Frost Wave…”
“… There were even some powerful experts who guessed that the death of True Immortals during the massive battle that took place caused the continents to be torn apart. Because of that, their death qi might have caused the appearance of the Frost Wave. But there were also people who refused to believe any True Immortals died. They might have fallen into deep slumber because of their injuries and the Frost Wave was caused by the recovery process…”
“As for the True Immortals…” The cultivator finally paused before pointing to himself. “Do you think I would know anything about True Immortals?! Well… At the very least. It’s most likely they would be outside the heavenly screen to look for the truth of the Frost Wave.”
The Frost Wave had been happening for thousands of years…
Since it happened once every 5 years, that would mean that the True Immortals of the Spirit Abundance World tried hundreds of times to look for the secret of the Frost Wave!
Shaking his head slightly, Shang Xia decided to bid farewell and take his leave when he knew that the other party wouldn’t be able to give him any more information.
He didn’t expect the cultivator to seem to think of something that very instant in his drunken stupor. “Oh, right! I heard that dozens of years ago, those True Immortals managed to find traces of the continents that had been torn apart because of some strange factors in the Frost Wave.”
Shang Xia was slightly taken aback and he turned to stare at the cultivator. However, by the time he turned around, the cultivator was already sprawled on the tablet in a drunken sleep.
The Ice Fire Wine truly deserved its name. The cultivator who gave Shang Xia the information he wanted was close to the Martial Dipper Realm, but he was drunk after drinking a single flask. It would probably take half a day before he woke up.
Of course, the wine was also extremely helpful to one’s cultivation. It had assistive properties when combating the frosty qi in the north.
It was a shame the wine wasn’t something easy to come by. Shang Xia wanted to buy several vats before leaving, but he was only able to purchase a small jar.
After leaving the small city, Shang Xia continued to make his way to the coast. He didn’t see many signs of life in the area as no one would want to stay there if they could help it. After all, the weather conditions were just too horrible.
As the Azure Island was located in the depths of the Ice Ocean, the conditions there were supposed to be worse, but that wasn’t actually the case. The Azure Island was formed by a massive volcano and the heat coming from the earth turned the island into a mystical place. The intense cold and heat allowed strange treasures that couldn’t be found in other parts of the world to be produced on the Azure Island!
Shang Xia didn’t venture deep into the Ice Ocean after arriving at the coast. In fact, he didn’t even plan to do anything when the Frost Wave arrived.
From what he learned, the Frost Wave should arrive in 3 days and the northernmost point of the Spirit Abundance World should be the first to experience it.
According to his calculations, the attention of nearly every single high-level expert would be drawn to the Frost Wave when it arrives. If even Martial Void Realm True Immortals were to head over… It would be his best shot at escaping the Spirit Abundance World!
3 days passed in a flash. No one knew when, but a thick gray mist covered the skies above the Ice Ocean. Shang Xia could feel that the frosty qi in the surroundings grew stronger as a bone-chilling wind blew against him.
If even peak-tier experts like Shang Xia found the wind cold, one could imagine how others would feel.
The Frost Wave might have descended on the northernmost point, but it had yet to reach the shore where Shang Xia was. However, he was still surprised by the fact that the heaven and earth qi in the world was becoming denser.
However, the sharp rise in heaven and earth qi didn’t mean that it was pure energy. Through the Crimson Soul Tablet, Shang Xia could feel that the heaven and earth qi that emerged seemed to contain traces of world origin from another world!