Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 400: Persistence

The further he advanced, the more shocking the scenes became.

The ice layer beneath his feet began to develop cracks.

At first, the fissures were insignificant—only a slender crack meandering within the interior of the ice layer that might have easily gone unnoticed.

Gradually, cracks multiplied, spreading like a dense spider’s web deep inside the ice cave, and it was obvious that these new fissures had just formed, raising concerns that the ice cave might collapse as a result.

The ice inside the ice cave, which had existed for countless years, was extraordinarily hard.

Without employing my astra, I couldn't have caused such a huge damage. The center of the battlefield is still in front; what kind of enemy has Wandering Man encountered?

Boom!

Once again, an irregular vibration resounded.

Sometimes, the tremors occurred in rapid succession; at other times, there were long pauses between them.

Suddenly, Qin Sang halted and looked ahead in astonishment. Before him, deep within the blizzard, stood an ice sculpture in which a figure had been sealed, his back turned away.

Wandering Man!

Even though only his back was visible, Qin Sang recognized him immediately—Wandering Man had been frozen into an ice sculpture right there.

His entire body was shrouded in ice, yet he stood resolutely within the ice cave like an ancient pine rooted in the ice, his spine straight as he faced the raging storm head-on.

Layer upon layer of wind and snow had clung to him, and the ice grew ever thicker.

Wandering Man remained motionless.

The anticipated vibrations from an encounter with an ancient beast that might have shattered the ice cave were still coming from further ahead.

Still, his condition was far from good; his body was utterly silent, with not even the faintest trace of aura perceptible.

Qin Sang’s gaze narrowed as he prepared to move forward.

A sudden, faint crack resounded—a sound so slight that, amid the howling snow, it might have been missed if not for his keen hearing.

That sound had emanated from the ice on Wandering Man.

Stirred by the noise, Qin Sang paused and lowered his gaze to Wandering Man’s left leg.

Wandering Man had not been standing with his feet evenly apart; his left foot was half a step ahead of his right. At the instant the sound emerged, a ripple of spiritual power coursed through his legs, casting a faint, bluish glow as the ice began to crack from within.

Unfortunately, the ice did not shatter outright; as soon as the cracks appeared, the relentless wind and snow reinforced them, leaving only faint fissures.

No wonder the ice on his body was crisscrossed with so many fractures.

Undeterred, Wandering Man persisted. His internal spiritual power began to pulse weakly, time and again, until it finally shattered the ice on his leg. Seizing the opportunity, he moved—first stepping forward with his left foot in a long stride, his body leaning slightly ahead.

Yet when he attempted to move his right foot, it was once again ensnared by the ice.

In that moment, his body assumed a strange posture: his left leg stretched forward in a wide stride while his upper body remained erect, showing no fear of the oppressive wind and snow.

That step had seemingly consumed too much of his strength, and Wandering Man paused, maintaining that posture as if gathering energy for his next move.

Watching this scene, Qin Sang silently advanced from behind until he beheld Wandering Man’s face.

Wandering Man’s expression was impassive; his eyes were tightly closed, and his snowy white hair and beard had been frozen by the wind and snow into rigid silver needles, rendering him a lifelike ice sculpture.

Only the faintest trace of aura testified that Wandering Man was still alive—that he persisted.

A Flawless Orb floated before his forehead, and on his chest glowed an azure lamp.

Qin Sang immediately realized that Wandering Man was relying on the Flawless Orb to safeguard his primordial spirit, warding off the terrible onslaught of cold, while the azure lamp functioned much like a Crimson Core.

However, Wandering Man had to expend all his strength, harnessing the power of the Flawless Orb, to barely resist the encroaching cold—leaving him little capacity to maintain the azure lamp.

Its flame was exceedingly faint, nearly imperceptible to the naked eye, and it was on the verge of dying.

Keeping the azure lamp alight proved extremely difficult; it could only scarcely protect his body from freezing, and it was powerless against the ever-thickening ice layer outside.

Nonetheless, Wandering Man had not given up; he was steadily accumulating strength.

The azure flame that had shattered the cold ice earlier was the result of him gathering sufficient power and seizing the opportunity to move forward, step by step, until he reached this point.

At that juncture, Wandering Man could no longer afford any distractions; with his eyes closed, he devoted all his focus to the Flawless Orb and the azure lamp, his unwavering determination alone guiding him onward.

Qin Sang walked to Wandering Man’s side, positioning himself at the front of Wandering Man’s left flank. At the edge of his vision, deep within the blizzard, he could faintly see a crystalline flower swaying on the ice wall.

It was a lily.

A rare natural treasure—the Night Lily!

It had grown amid the frozen ice, its leaves and stem sprawling along the surface, merging seamlessly with the cold.

The flower, as clear and brilliant as ice, appeared extremely fragile, evoking a worry that a single touch might shatter it.

In such a harsh environment, the Night Lily was still in full bloom—solitary and proud, like a fairy amid ice and snow, detached from the mortal world.

As a furious storm of wind and snow howled by, wielding an energy capable of obliterating everything, it inexplicably parted around the Night Lily, as though unwilling to disturb her.

Qin Sang fixed his gaze and discovered that a spiritual array had been formed around the Night Lily.

One could surmise that this array had been left behind by the senior who had first discovered the Night Lily, serving to guard its growth until it matured.

The array not only repelled the wind and snow but also tightly sealed in the Night Lily’s aura, preventing the divine bloom from attracting the prying eyes of demonic beasts.

For some unknown reason, that senior later never returned to harvest the mature Night Lily.

Crack!

Wandering Man had once again mustered a bit of strength and begun to make his move. Unfortunately, this time the duration was too brief—he advanced his right foot only a short distance, less than half a step.

Then, Wandering Man halted once more to resume his preparations.

His face betrayed no despair or urgency, no agitation or hopelessness—only calm. Beneath that calm lay a power that was nothing short of astounding.

Wandering Man had steadfastly maintained himself, driven by unwavering determination. With his focus set on the Night Lily, he had exerted every ounce of strength to advance step by step, seemingly unaware that Qin Sang was right beside him.

Qin Sang silently glanced at Wandering Man before stepping over him to approach the Night Lily and examine it carefully.

His gaze swept casually over the flower, though most of his attention was fixed on the spiritual array encircling it.

It was evident that the protective array of the Night Lily was not a formidable killing array; its primary function was concealment. Any immortal cultivator arriving here would not find it overly difficult to break through.

Qin Sang then turned and watched as Wandering Man took yet another step forward. The layer of cold ice on him had grown even thicker.

Although the distance appeared short, for Wandering Man at that moment it was like an insurmountable barrier.

The further he proceeded, the more fearsome the bitter wind became; and as Wandering Man neared the point of exhaustion, even Qin Sang could not be sure whether he could persist until this point. freewёbnoνel.com

It could only be said that the odds were not in his favor. Many times, even unwavering determination was not enough to achieve one’s desires.