The cold sand was exposed, and a chill surged upward in an instant.
Mu Fan released his Divine Sense, attempting to gather some of the cold sand. The moment it made contact, his Divine Sense was rapidly consumed, while the sand itself felt incredibly heavy.
His eyes lit up.
The more unusual the material, the better, this was undoubtedly something valuable.
After collecting a small portion of the cold sand, Mu Fan quickly withdrew, putting distance between himself and that freezing spot. He wanted to push forward as much as possible while the cycle had just begun.
When the extreme cold arrived, he would simply sit down and endure it.
Mu Fan had found a workable method for passing this stage. It wasn't a shortcut, but it was reliable.
Six hours passed…
Eight hours passed…
Ten hours passed…
Mu Fan had already traveled over fifty kilometers.
He had attempted to fly using a Magical Artifact, but the consumption of Qi was far too great. In the end, he chose to continue on foot.
Along the way, he dug through the sand layers several more times to collect cold sand. He didn't encounter any Yao Beasts, but the consumption of Divine Sense still exceeded his expectations.
As for the cold itself.
Mu Fan's Physical Body was strong enough to withstand it. Combined with Qi circulation and Talismans, he could endure the extreme cold phases, but the drain on his Qi was significant.
Even with meditation, Medicinal Pills, and the recovery boost from Endless Vitality, he was left with only about half of his Qi.
"How vast is this desert…?"
"If it stretches two or three hundred km… I might exhaust myself to death here."
After enduring another wave of extreme cold and recovering somewhat through meditation, Mu Fan stood up, caught in hesitation.
Each cycle, from mild coolness to extreme cold, lasted two hours.
He could meditate for one hour to recover, sprint for half an hour, and then walk steadily during the final half, preparing for the incoming cold.
In this way, his Qi could slowly recover over time.
But Mu Fan didn't know whether this desert had a time limit.
So far he had encountered no Yao Beasts.
Only the relentless cycle of cold and massive Qi consumption.
If there were no restrictions, couldn't one simply inch forward little by little until reaching the end?
Could it really be that simple?
Two opposing thoughts clashed in his mind:
Advance as quickly as possible
Or conserve Qi and move cautiously
The uncertainty gnawed at him, In the end, Mu Fan clenched his teeth.
"Charge."
The previous two stages had been swarms of flying insects and venomous snakes.
This desert was the third stage.
Could its difficulty really have dropped so drastically?
Since there were no Yao Beasts and no direct combat, then there must be another form of restriction hidden within this stage.
Mu Fan made his decision.
Advance at full speed for one hour, walk steadily for half an hour, and then sit down to meditate for the final half, recovering Qi while preparing for the next extreme cold.
⸻———x——————
[Eighteen hours later.]
Mu Fan had traversed a full hundred km.
After enduring another extreme cold phase, the sand beneath him suddenly trembled.
Looking around, it seemed as though the entire desert was vibrating.
Mu Fan lifted himself slightly off the ground, his gaze fixed warily beneath the sand.
Had he passed the stage?
Or…
Bang!
The sand exploded outward.
A strange Yao Beast leapt forth, its body resembling a toad, but with an unusually round head.
Its entire body was covered in a thick layer of ice armor, emitting a faint, chilling aura. Its eyes were dull and expressionless, devoid of emotion, like a puppet.
Mu Fan tested it with a Freezing Talisman.
It had no effect whatsoever, like a breeze brushing past it.
"As expected. Ice-based techniques are useless."
"No need to consider water based ones either."
He quickly adjusted his Talismans.
Fireball talisman!
Mu Fan launched a barrage, throwing out more than twenty fireball talismans in succession.
Blazing flames engulfed the Ice Armor Beast.
Moments later.
The beast burst through the fire, even shifting its position to extinguish the flames completely.
It seemed… it could not completely tolerate fire.
Mu Fan's eyes brightened.
"So fire works."
The fireballs had burned away a thin layer of its ice armor, maybe one-thirtieth of its thickness.
Explosive flame talisman.
Green light sword
Although the beast dispersed the explosive flames, it still had to expend effort to extinguish them, giving the green light sword an opening to strike repeatedly.
Three clean hits landed.
However The hardness of the ice armor was formidable.
Each strike from the sword was only equivalent to two or three fireball talismans.
Mu Fan's expression darkened.
"This is turning into a battle of attrition…"
To completely break the armor, he would need over six hundred fireball talismans.
Or land two to three hundred strikes with the sword.
And he had less than thirty percent of his Qi remaining.
Fortunately His total Qi now exceeded eight thousand.
Even thirty percent still amounted to over two thousand, equivalent to a cultivator at the twelfth or thirteenth stage of Qi Refining.
It wasn't a dead end yet.
He could still fight.
Putting away the green light sword, Mu Fan took out the Armor-Piercing Bead.
A plan quickly formed in his mind:
Use explosive flame talismans sparingly to divert the beast's attention, and control the Armor-Piercing Bead for heavy strikes.
Close in with the spear, abandoning thrusts in favor of sweeping and smashing attacks
Since gaining the AFK system, his Physical Body had steadily improved.
Though not as explosive as his Qi growth, it was still formidable.
His strength, speed, coordination, defense, and recovery were all solid.
Even without refined martial techniques, brute force alone was enough.
He moved…dodging, weaving and striking.
The spear became a staff, sweeping and smashing.
The round shield blocked attacks he couldn't evade.
The Armor-Piercing Bead circled the battlefield, darting in to strike at crucial moments.
With explosive flames drawing the beast's focus, Mu Fan seized every opportunity to land blows.
Nearly half an hour later
The Armor-Piercing Bead struck upward, lifting the beast into the air.
Mu Fan leapt and brought his spear crashing down.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
A layer of the ice armor shattered.
Only half remained, but Mu Fan panted heavily and then the beast suddenly roared.
A vortex of ice crystals began forming at its mouth.
The vortex shot forward, rapidly expanding until it reached ten feet in size.
Mu Fan leapt aside to dodge but his exhausted body let him down.
The cold radiating from the vortex invaded everything within three feet, and a pulling force dragged at him.
His heart pounded violently.
He forced his round shield up, activated his wind-chasing boots with Qi, and barely avoided the attack.
Even so…The right side of his body stiffened instantly and his arm went completely numb.
Without hesitation, he circulated Qi, forcing the cold out of his body.
At that exact moment
The beast finished its technique and lunged again.
Mu Fan threw his last explosive flame talisman.
The beast forcibly turned midair, crashing into the explosion just to extinguish it before continuing its attack.
Mu Fan retreated several steps, quickly swallowing Qi-recovery and healing Medicinal Pills.
His expression grew extremely somber.
"This is bad…"
"I've worn down half its armor, and it's already revealed a new technique…"
"Once the armor breaks completely… who knows what comes next."
"All my fire Talismans are gone."
"Under normal conditions… my chance of killing it is extremely low."
He considered retreating.
As long as he is alive, there is hope.
But…The moment he thought of the path behind him..
A 150km long cold desert.
More than 18 hours of travel.
Sixty to seventy percent of his Qi already consumed.
Even if the beast doesn't pursue him he won't make it back.
"…Wait."
A thought suddenly flashed across his mind.This Secret Realm was clearly a structured trial.
Layered stages, with escalating difficulty.
He considered..
If he retreated far enough, would the beast stop pursuing?
If so, he could recover and fight again.
Mu Fan turned and ran.
The beast immediately gave chase.
Earth wall talisman!
Barriers rose behind him one after another. Even without fire Talismans, he still had other options.
For this Secret Realm, Mu Fan had prepared thoroughly.
With the backing of the Exotic Treasure Pavilion, and Jiang Yi, his resources were far from lacking.
After running three km
Bang!
Mu Fan slammed into something invisible.
A barrier revealed itself, a pale, icy dome shaped like an inverted bowl, sealing the area.
Mu Fan froze for a moment.
Then, a bitter smile spread across his face.
"…So that's how it is."
"The area is sealed."
"No leaving until you kill the boss."