The Great Freedom Celestial Demon shook his head in denial when he heard Zhang Chen’s words: "Nothing left! Really nothing this time! If I knew anything useful, why would I hide it from you?"
Upon hearing the Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s words, Zhang Chen did not continue to press for answers. Even if the other party was indeed hiding something, he still had to make his way to that mystical hand!
Zhang Chen had a few ideas in mind on how to deal with that hand.
He put away the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, sat in a corner watching the new buds sprouting from the big tree. Now that it was the season of ’grass growing and warblers flying’, the earth was rejuvenating and all things were reviving, the world was finally no longer cold, and the weather was no longer so torturous for Zhang Chen.
Three days later
Zhang Chen had prepared everything, once again he opened a secret chamber deep in the earth. He then looked at the alchemy furnace filled with charcoal fire, placed it in his embrace, sat cross-legged on the ground and took out the Golden Scissors. Now that the Golden Scissors had been nurtured by Zhang Chen, many cracks on it had disappeared, and the entire Golden Scissors exuded a new aura.
Zhang Chen caressed the Golden Scissors: "Golden Scissors, oh Golden Scissors, whether we live well in the future all depends on you. You can even withstand the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder, you shouldn’t disappoint me, right? I don’t expect you to cut it off completely, even if you can just tear a piece of skin, I will consider you accomplished."
After speaking, Zhang Chen put away the Golden Scissors, decisively activated his Mental Realm, and entered the Third Heaven.
As soon as he entered the Third Heaven, a terrifying cold wave hit. The deathly silence that seemed to freeze everything rose in his heart once again, attempting to freeze Zhang Chen’s thoughts. However, Zhang Chen was prepared; above his head the Qi Mechanism circulated, the Buzhou Seal floated, and the rich Divine Power spread out to firmly protect Zhang Chen.
Divine Power can destroy all techniques!
The moment the cold air approached Zhang Chen, it seemed as though a barrier was added, reducing its power by at least half!
Although the cold air still seeped through, it could not immediately freeze Zhang Chen.
At this moment, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, seeing Zhang Chen unleash the Buzhou Seal, couldn’t help but shrink his pupils, wishing he could slap himself: "I truly am foolish! How could I have forgotten, that Ancient God and Buzhou Mountain originated from the same source; of course, the core of Buzhou Mountain has the power to resist the Law of Extreme Cold! I really am foolish, how could I forget this trifle! And there’s also that Divine Power, inherited from some supreme existence, the source of all things in Heaven and Earth. Both combine to provide great resistance against the freezing of all things."
Zhang Chen was unaware of the thoughts in the Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s heart. Since he dared to explore this place, it was impossible for him not to have prepared. He never goes into battle without preparation.
Seeing that the Buzhou Seal and Divine Power could actually counteract that Power of Extreme Cold, Zhang Chen’s eyes lit up: "Good! Good! Good! In this way, it gives me enough time."
Zhang Chen summoned the Golden Scissors from his Magical Power, then after a moment’s thought, he summoned a drop of water and attached it to the Golden Scissors. This was the Divine Technique awakened by Zhang Chen’s Water Control Technique; two water droplets could move instantly, but the range was limited to within a kilometer. The location of the hand was ten miles away from Zhang Chen, so Zhang Chen regarded it as a backup plan to collect the skills dropped by the hand.
After affixing the water droplet, Zhang Chen’s eyes looked toward that translucent hand in the distance, muttering: "Good treasure, whether or not we succeed this time depends on you."
As his words fell, he activated the Golden Scissors with his Magical Power, and the Golden Scissors transformed into intersecting black and white rays, shooting up into the sky. They slashed through the Power of Extreme Cold, heading towards that hand.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon, seeing Zhang Chen actually unleash the Golden Scissors at this moment, was stunned: "Kid, what’s the point of unleashing the Golden Scissors? Although the Golden Scissors have boundless power, they’ve already suffered severe damage, and your strength is too inadequate. You can’t possibly think that holding the damaged Golden Scissors can shake that hand?"
"I have my own plans," Zhang Chen stated simply.
The divine light of the Golden Scissors flowed as they moved towards that hand. However, the cold air around the hand circulated, and when the Golden Scissors were only ten miles away, Zhang Chen’s Golden Scissors began to slow down, its speed decreasing.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Chen’s pupils shrunk, and a wave of worry surged in his heart: "Could it be that the Golden Scissors also cannot affect that hand?"
When the Golden Scissors were nine miles away from the hand, their speed decreased again, slowing down to ninety percent of its original speed.
At this time, the divine light of the Golden Scissors flowed sluggishly, continuing to dance amidst the cold air. When they reached eight miles, their speed had decreased to seventy percent.
...
When it finally reached the last kilometer, the Golden Scissors emerged from their black and white Escape Light form, transforming into the shape of a pair of scissors, reverting to their true appearance.
But at this moment, the Golden Scissors continued to maintain ten percent of their original speed, rapidly flying through the air.
Zhang Chen witnessed this scene with his heart in his throat, his hands tightly clenched in his sleeves, silently praying, hoping the Golden Scissors could break through that cold air. Even just brushing against the hand would be good.
Although the Golden Scissors returned to their original form, they continued to fly through the air, just slowly because of the overwhelming cold air encompassing them.
Just as the Golden Scissors’ speed was getting slower, slower than a bird’s flight, they remained stubbornly flying in the void. Finally, they came to stop one meter before the hand, as a layer of frost congealed over the entirety of the Golden Scissors.
"What? Just one meter short?" Zhang Chen looked at the Golden Scissors that had completely stopped flying, displaying a trace of unwillingness in his eyes.
Just a little bit more!
Just a little bit more and the Golden Scissors could have pierced that hand.
One meter’s distance is like a natural barrier.
Being one meter short is like being a hundred thousand miles away!
"Kid, you didn’t think about the fact that the cold emanating from that hand is so fearsome. The closer you get to that hand, the more terrifying the cold becomes. Your Golden Scissors are already damaged, and combined with your meager magical power to motivate them, getting as close as one meter to it is already a rare feat." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon consoled Zhang Chen from the side.
Zhang Chen remained sullenly silent, knowing that the Golden Scissors could be considered his strongest offensive tool at the moment. If the Golden Scissors couldn’t get close to that hand, wouldn’t his plan go for naught? Wouldn’t those four million experience points be wasted?
Moreover, if the Golden Scissors fell near the hand and he couldn’t retrieve them, wouldn’t he be losing another piece of treasure?
It’s important to know that the Golden Scissors were his last resort, and he valued them far more than the Sun Charcoal Fire.
Just as Zhang Chen was secretly feeling disappointed, he suddenly saw the Golden Scissors fall freely from the void, hitting the ice-sealed ground. The ground’s cold ice was like steel, directly bouncing the Golden Scissors back up, and then, coincidentally, the tip of the scissors directly collided with the skin of the hand. The next moment, a blue light cluster fell from that hand.
"It worked!" Zhang Chen’s eyes lit up when he saw the light cluster fall from the hand, though he didn’t know whether the light cluster was a skill or experience points. Based on Zhang Chen’s estimation and past experience, it should be skill points.
However, Zhang Chen was still ten miles away from the dropped skill, namely five thousand meters. Even if Zhang Chen used instant movement, he would need to get within one thousand meters for it to be effective.
"The closer I get to that hand, the heavier the cold becomes, and the shorter the furnace’s endurance time. If I want to get close, I have to take a gamble! Now I have the Buzhou Seal and Divine Power protecting me, giving me resistance to the cold, so perhaps I can give it a try. At least now I have a margin for error, and even if something unexpected happens, I can still react and retreat." Zhang Chen made up his mind, and in the next moment, started accelerating rapidly, gliding fast on ice skates, rushing towards the direction of the hand in the cold wind.
He knew his situation, the flames in the alchemy furnace couldn’t hold for long, so he had to race against time to slide.
As Zhang Chen glided through the ice and snow, he sensed the change in air temperature. Roughly every thousand meters, there’s a huge temperature disparity, with dramatic changes in temperature every thousand meters.
But fortunately, with Divine Power and the Buzhou Seal, Zhang Chen could still endure.
As Zhang Chen passed through the first temperature disparity, he felt cold winds blowing at him, his body slightly chilled.
As he passed through the second temperature disparity, frost had already touched his temples.
As he passed through the third temperature disparity, his ears had turned red and his cheeks were a vivid crimson.
...
As he passed through the fifth temperature disparity, his body began to stiffen, as if it had been frozen at minus thirty degrees in Northeast China for thirty minutes, his entire body had grown rigid, his fingers had lost feeling.
"I’m nearing my limit." Zhang Chen mechanically skated through the air, his thoughts seemed to slow down, almost losing perception, losing awareness of his body’s movements, relying only on inertia to keep sliding.
When he reached the sixth temperature disparity, the cold in his body had reached its peak. The scent of the Sun True Flame was almost imperceptible, even the Buzhou Seal floating above him was starting to gather layers of frost.
"I must keep going forward, I cannot give up!" Zhang Chen gazed at the snow scene quickly retreating on both sides, suddenly a great fear surged in his heart:
"What if, just if, the skill dropped by that hand isn’t the ice cold qi control skill I want?"
"If it’s not the skill I want, I’m very likely to freeze to death there. Is such a risk really worth it? Even without the creation brought by that hand, I still live well now, and if I steadily acquire skills as planned, I can still reach the supreme path in the future. I might even rival the owner of that hand, or surpass the owner of that hand!" At that moment, negative emotions in Zhang Chen’s mind were fiercely rebounding.
Indeed, there is great fear between life and death!
In the new year, Nine Lives wishes everyone:
"The dipper’s shadow welcomes the passage of time, cypress leaves and pepper flowers herald the new year."
May everyone be healthy, excel academically, prosper financially, secure government positions, and find happiness in marriage in the new year.