IMC Chapter 62

The closer they got to the bottom of the pool, the colder the water became, and the surrounding life grew scarcer. Looking down, there was nothing but an oppressive darkness, accompanied by a bone-chilling cold.

Shu Bao instinctively clung tightly to Fu Qing’s fingers, which served not only as a safety line but also as a source of warmth. Lan Qing wrapped himself even tighter around Fu Qing. Fu Qing couldn’t help but feel exasperated; despite the attractive appearance of his teammates, this snake wasn’t exactly a great lifebuoy—in fact, it might strangle him rather than save him.

Only when Fu Qing took out a glowing, fist-sized fruit from his system space did the constriction around his neck begin to ease.

Shu Bao recognized the fruit; they had collected similar ones in the Chaotic Swamp. He also had plenty in his system space and quickly took one out, which brightened their surroundings considerably.

Despite the added light, the temperature continued to drop, and the distance to the bottom remained uncertain. Shu Bao decided to drop the glowing fruit into the water. The fruit slowly descended, casting light into the seemingly endless abyss.

The three of them watched as the glowing fruit slowly descended. Fortunately, the pool’s bottom was much shallower than they had imagined. It didn’t take long for the fruit to come to a halt, which was a relief for them.

Fu Qing signaled for Shu Bao to hold onto his fingers tightly, then plunged headfirst into the water and began to dive quickly. The surrounding temperature dropped rapidly. Shu Bao felt like he was turning into a prickly, frozen hedgehog.

As for Lan Qing, he was somewhat surprised at his own ability to stay awake. Even though he was a snake, and snakes would normally enter hibernation if the temperature got too low, Lan Qing found himself increasingly alert and even more comfortable in the water than on land. He wasn’t sure if this was a side effect of growing his horns, but he felt that after growing them, he had become increasingly odd.

Fu Qing’s dive couldn’t continue indefinitely because the water temperature quickly became unbearable. The bone-chilling cold had driven all life away from this depth. Fu Qing sensed that if they continued, they might end up frozen solid and buried at the bottom of the pool.

Remaining in a zone where the temperature was still bearable, Fu Qing considered how to proceed. From their current depth, they could barely make out the glowing fruit at the bottom and noticed the reflection of an ice surface.

While Fu Qing pondered their next move, the lifebuoy around his neck loosened. Lan Qing quickly pulled out three pieces of meat. Unable to speak underwater, Lan Qing demonstrated by eating a piece of grilled meat in a few bites.

As the meat was consumed, a faint warm, yellow light began to radiate around Lan Qing, and the snake relaxed into a comfortable position.

Shu Bao immediately understood—this was the glowing meat made from ivory jackal meat by his snake teammate. He wriggled free from Fu Qing’s grasp and swam over to bite off a piece.

Buoyed by the water, Shu Bao floated slightly but cleverly used his short legs to hook onto Fu Qing’s collar to stabilize himself before quickly eating the meat.

Eating underwater wasn’t the most pleasant experience. If not for Shu Bao’s mastery of turtle breath, he might have choked. Seeing this, Fu Qing also took a piece of grilled meat and started eating.

Soon, the three glowing objects resumed their descent. Shu Bao realized why the glowing meat was so effective—not only did it emit light, but it was also delicious and provided a comforting warmth, all without needing to be held. In this chaotic world, who could resist a buff that provided both light and warmth?

Relying on the glowing meat to maintain their body temperature, the three finally reached the bottom of the pool. Due to the extreme cold, the bottom was desolate and lifeless.

The glowing fruit rested quietly on a massive block of ice. The ice had clearly been cut and showed signs of chisel marks, forming a rectangular shape.

The block wasn’t transparent but a deep sea-blue color. Under the light of the glowing fruit, it resembled a massive sapphire.

Lan Qing circled the ice block and then signaled Shu Bao with a thumbs-up. Shu Bao instantly understood this to mean confirmation, indicating that the massive ice block in front of them was the “Sunken Ice Crystal” they were looking for!

Shu Bao withdrew his small foot from where it had been hooked onto Fu Qing’s collar and swam to the ice block. The block seemed to have been thrown down, positioned at an angle as if cascading into the pool’s depths. Shu Bao touched the ice with his paws and immediately felt his body heat being siphoned away.

Without hesitation, he stored the ice block in the system space.

After the ice block disappeared, the terrifying sensation of having his body heat drained also vanished. Shu Bao let out a sigh of relief, paddled with his short legs, and began to check his surroundings. Turning around, he noticed that Fu Qing was no longer where he had been. Fu Qing was now flapping his wings, moving quickly across the pool’s bottom, examining other areas.

As Fu Qing moved, the situation at the bottom of the pool was illuminated. Large blue ice blocks lay quietly, only reflecting the stunning sea-blue light when illuminated. Otherwise, they perfectly blended into the surrounding darkness.

There wasn’t just one piece of Sunken Ice Crystal; it was clear that the Empire had made a significant investment to affect the Sea of Fire Tree. According to his snake teammate, a piece of Sunken Ice Crystal the size of a fist was worth one gold coin. Looking at the large scattered ice blocks at the pool’s bottom, it seemed the Empire had invested tens of thousands of gold coins.

However, considering that a single phoenix could produce thousands of high-quality phoenix feathers, the returns were undoubtedly substantial.

Faced with so many Sunken Ice Crystals, the three weren’t polite. They split up to explore every inch of the pool’s bottom, collecting all the Sunken Ice Crystals with their system space and ensuring nothing was missed. After regrouping, they climbed aboard Fu Qing’s makeshift submarine and began their slow ascent.

On the shore, the phoenixes had long been anxiously waiting. The three dragon hatchlings had squatted by the water’s edge, gazing eagerly at the pool bottom and occasionally calling out, worried that their parents might not return.

With a splash, the three reemerged at the surface. The dragon hatchlings, who had been anxiously waiting, immediately erupted into joyous jumps and cheers, causing the earth to tremble with their excitement.

When the three returned to the shore, the phoenixes, curious along with the dragon hatchlings, gathered around. As Fu Qing was putting on his clothes, Big Black couldn’t help but ask, “So, what’s the situation? Is there a problem at the bottom of the pool?”

Fu Qing’s expression turned serious. “Yes, and it’s quite severe. The bottom of the pool has been filled with a large amount of Sunken Ice Crystals thrown there by the Empire. Each piece is bigger than this rock here.” Saying this, Fu Qing patted a massive black rock at the shore.

Upon hearing this, the phoenixes were indeed agitated. They were well aware of what Sunken Ice Crystal was. As divine firebirds, there were few things that could suppress them and Sunken Ice Crystal represented the ultimate manifestation of water—water controls fire according to the natural laws!

With so many Sunken Ice Crystals appearing in the Sea of Fire Trees, it was no wonder the fire trees had stopped bearing fruit. Under the relentless erosion of the Sunken Ice Crystals, it was fortunate that the fire forest hadn’t already withered.

Seeing the chattering phoenixes, who were acting like sparrows, Shu Bao, still damp and shaking out his furs, looked curiously at Fu Qing.

Fu Qing cleared his throat to interrupt the phoenixes’ discussion. “But don’t worry. Although we went through some danger, we have dealt with all the Sunken Ice Crystals. I believe the Sea of Fire Trees will return to normal soon.”

Hearing this, the phoenixes looked at them with gratitude. In an instant, these benefactors who had helped them regrow their feathers were elevated to the status of deities in the eyes of the phoenixes.

Big Black spoke directly, “You have saved the Sea of Fire Trees and our clan. We really don’t know how to thank you properly.”

Fu Qing waved his hand. “No need for such formalities. The Empire’s actions were excessive, and we couldn’t stand by. There’s no need for thanks. However, if you could provide us with naturally shed feathers and any excess Fire Seeds in the future, that would be appreciated. Of course, if it’s too difficult, just forget I mentioned it.”

“Not difficult at all! Not difficult at all!” Big Black was deeply moved. The request for naturally shed feathers and excess Fire Seeds seemed so minimal; it was clearly just to save face.

Thus, the three were warmly embraced by the phoenixes. Many phoenixes felt that Fu Qing’s request was too modest and went out of their way to find rare items from the Sea of Fire Trees to present to them.

Fu Qing accepted everything graciously and also offered to help inspect other water sources.

The phoenixes erupted in cheers, almost worshipping the three.

Later, the three inspected other water sources as promised and found two pieces of Sunken Ice Crystals in two of the larger water bodies.

Then, under the phoenixes’ enthusiastic invitation, they stayed for another day, traveling through the Sea of Fire Trees with the phoenixes and collecting a large number of rare gifts.

After all the Sunken Ice Crystals were cleared away, flower buds quickly began to form on the treetops of the Sea of Fire Trees. These buds were bright red, nestled among lantern-like leaves.

Shu Bao then realized that what he had previously thought were lanterns with fruit were actually lanterns without wicks. Now, the fiery red wicks inside these lanterns represented the essence of life.

The phoenixes were jubilant. Each time they discovered a fruiting leaf, they celebrated for a long time, especially the enormous fire tree, which had also started to bear fruit. This was the hope of the Phoenix clan.

After confirming that the Sea of Fire Trees had returned to normal, the three dragons prepared to set off again with their bountiful harvest. Many phoenixes were reluctant to part with them, flying far to escort the three dragons on their way.

Even after the three dragons’ figures had completely disappeared into the darkness, the phoenixes continued to express their gratitude, feeling they had truly met great benefactors! They vowed to send any shed feathers, excess Fire Seeds, and valuable items from the forest to the provided address in the future.

As for the Empire, having suffered once, they would certainly guard the water sources carefully this time and not allow anyone to enter the Sea of Fire Trees again!

The enthusiastic phoenixes were so absorbed in their gratitude that they didn’t realize the Empire had previously bargained for feathers with Fire Seeds. Now, with the Fire Seeds gone, they were even more eager to send them gifts for free. But the phoenixes were delighted to do so.

Of course, Lan Qing wouldn’t take anything for free. The phoenixes’ delivery point was the tavern, and Lan Qing would ensure they were well-compensated for their troubles.

After confirming that his share was sorted out, Fu Qing left how Lan Qing would handle things to him, confident that the phoenixes would definitely send ample gifts in the future.

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