Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 798 Challenge Dungeon 53

Yun Chu immediately grasped the key point: "You mean, simply defending is meaningless? We must destroy it, or reseal that 'permafrost core'?"

"Indeed." The phantom of the King's Soul seemed to nod slightly. "Protection can only delay death."

"Only by venturing deep into the frigid abyss, finding and balancing or destroying the permafrost core, can the ice tide be ended at its source, giving this world a chance to breathe, and perhaps... even bringing back a trace of lost warmth."

"However, the dangers in the Abyss are far greater than you can imagine. The ice tide itself is a manifestation of the overflow of core power."

“The closer you get to the core, the more terrifying the cold and monsters become. And…” Wang Hun’s gaze refocused on Yun Chu, “The residents are repelled by the rules of this place and find it difficult to approach the core. Your ‘alien substance’ may be able to offset some of the repulsion, but you will still face a nine-out-of-ten chance of death.”

"Stranger from afar, would you heed my plea and take on this heavy responsibility concerning the survival of this world?"

As Wang Hun spoke, a clear system notification sounded in Yun Chu's mind:

[Ding! The unique hidden main quest has been triggered: Oath of the Ice Abyss.]

[Mission Objective: Venture deep into the frigid north to locate and resolve the imbalance within the 'Permafrost Core' (balance/seal/destroy, method of your choice), ending the ice tide at its source. Mission Time Limit: 14 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes (before the next major ice tide).]

[Task Rewards: Depends on task completion and resolution. Basic rewards include: a large amount of points, legendary skills or items, 'Frost Oath - Erus's' blessing/legacy fragments, and a special title. Additional rewards may include: insights related to the laws of ice and snow in this world, and partial access to the Heart of Winter.]

[Mission Penalty: Failure or timeout will result in a direct impact from the ultimate ice tide, with an extremely low chance of survival. Do you accept?]

【whether】

Yun Chu looked at the illusory yet heavy King Soul before her, and then at the Heart of Winter, which pulsated slowly on the high platform and sustained the life of the entire city.

Venturing deep into the frigid abyss, facing the source of the ice tide... this level of danger is more than ten times greater than simply defending the city.

But correspondingly, the rewards are absolutely astonishing. Moreover, this is the only way to access the true core of this instance world.

She didn't hesitate for long.

Taking a deep breath of the cold air, Yun Chu spoke clearly and firmly to the phantom of the King's Soul:

"I accept."

[Ding! You have accepted the only hidden main quest: Oath of the Ice Abyss. Quest countdown has begun.]

The phantom of the King Soul seemed to ripple slightly, and a rare hint of "gratification" flashed in his icy eyes.

“Good.” His voice remained cold, but seemed to have a slight, almost imperceptible fluctuation. “Bearing this mark can reduce the abyss’s repulsion to a certain extent and grant temporary protection from the Heart of Winter.”

"But remember, the core of the matter ultimately depends on your own strength and will."

A wisp of icy blue light separated from the phantom of the King's Soul and drifted into Yun Chu's hand, transforming into a small ice crystal rune that continuously emitted a faint chill. It fell into her palm, then merged into her skin, forming a faint blue snowflake mark on the inside of her wrist.

"The road ahead is fraught with peril; may the frost guide you and protect you." As the words fell, the phantom of the King's Soul began to fade, eventually disappearing into the air above the Heart of Winter like melting snow.

The temple returned to its emptiness and silence, with only the heart of winter still beating silently and powerfully.

Yun Chu clenched her fist, feeling the faint connection between the snowflake mark on her wrist and the Heart of Winter.

The hidden mission has been triggered; the objective is clear, and time is of the essence.

Next, she needs to develop a detailed plan—how to get to the frigid abyss and what preparations she needs to make.

Yun Chu returned to her hotel room and immediately set up layers of arrays to isolate the inside from the outside.

She needs to be fully prepared to venture into the frigid depths and solve the problem of the permafrost core.

This is not only about the success or failure of the mission, but also directly related to her life or death.

After some thought, Yun Chu decided to seal the 'Eternal Frozen Core'!

To seal it, a large-scale sealing array must be prepared. First, there are the core elements of the sealing array—the array flags and array plates.

She took out top-tier materials she had accumulated in the cultivation world from her spatial storage: millennium-old cold jade marrow, star sand, clear stone, five elements refined gold, and several rare spiritual materials containing special rule auras that she had collected in the Misty Forest dungeon.

A cluster of pure inner fire, fueled by spiritual energy and controlled by mental energy, rises from the palm of the hand. The materials slowly melt, purify, and fuse under the burning of the inner fire.

Yun Chu was completely focused, her fingertips guiding the threads of spiritual energy, like the most precise carving knife, outlining intricate and dazzling sealing runes in the liquid material.

These runes must not only contain powerful sealing power, but also possess certain "guiding" and "balancing" properties to cope with the violent and unbalanced icy energy of the permafrost core.

The refining process is extremely demanding on mental and spiritual energy.

For two whole days and two nights, she worked without sleep and failed three times before she finally succeeded in refining thirty-six palm-sized, crystal-clear jade array flags with silver and blue runes flowing on their surfaces, as well as a star sand array plate engraved with three-dimensional composite array patterns, which served as the central hub of the array.

Each banner seemed to emanate a chilling aura and a spiritual light, as if it were alive.

The completion of the array flags and array plates is only the first step.

Next are various auxiliary talismans.

She spread out the specially made ice silk talisman paper, mixed the spiritual ink with dragon blood sand and mind-stabilizing medicine, and picked up the brush again.

Vajra Protection Talisman, Swift Travel Talisman, Concealment Talisman, Barrier Breaking Talisman, Spirit Gathering Talisman, Rejuvenation Talisman... Each one strives to reach the pinnacle of current materials and techniques, and there are a vast number of them.

Drawing talismans is also a delicate art, requiring a high degree of control over spiritual energy and mental focus.

Yun Chu was so engrossed in the world of runes that she forgot the passage of time.

When hungry, take a fasting pill; when spiritual energy is depleted, meditate to recover; when mentally exhausted, light calming incense, adjust your breathing, and pick up your pen again.

The only sounds in the room were the soft scratching of the pen tip across the talisman paper and the faint glow of spiritual energy being injected.

Another four days passed.

The talismans of various functions had accumulated into thick stacks, which were then carefully categorized and stored away.

Finally, there are elixirs.

She took out the alchemy furnace and, using the existing medicinal materials combined with some ice-attribute spiritual herbs collected from the dungeon, began to refine them.

He concocted various pills, including Spirit-Replenishing Pills, Mind-Boosting Pills, Cold-Resistant Pills, and Detoxifying Pills. He even attempted to refine a few "Ice Soul Pills" that could significantly increase ice resistance in a short period of time, but also had obvious side effects, just in case.

The refining of the elixir went relatively smoothly, taking just over a day to complete.

At this point, all preparations were basically complete.

Yun Chu slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, looking at the dazzling array of array flags, talismans, and pills in the room, and felt somewhat at ease.

Eight days of non-stop work and intense concentration left her with obvious fatigue on her face, but her eyes became even clearer and sharper.

She left messages for Hou Fei and Chu Ya, informing them that she was going to carry out a dangerous mission with no return date in sight, and that they should not worry and focus on the defense of the city. She also left behind several enhanced defensive array plates and communication talismans.

Afterwards, she packed up all her belongings and got herself into the best possible state.

At midnight, Yun Chu activated a high-level directional teleportation spell, setting the target to: the edge of the Northern Extreme Cold Abyss.

The talisman burned, and intense spatial fluctuations enveloped her.