Chapter 259 - 257: Why Hasn’t Luo Tian Come Out Yet?

Having reached Minor Achievement in the Second Layer of the Celestial Furnace Treasure Body, Luo Tian’s Defense was enhanced, and his resistance to ice grew even stronger!

Though Luo Tian was currently frozen solid, thanks to his Celestial Furnace Treasure Body and Nether Dragon Divine Vein, he was completely unharmed. In fact, he was quite comfortable.

’All I have to do is stay perfectly still, wait for time to pass, and my Points will increase. This is just fantastic.’

So, Luo Tian decided not to leave.

Meanwhile, down below, Li Mu was growing anxious.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Hailstones, like cannonballs, constantly bombarded his Protective True Qi, which would shatter after a dozen or so hits.

Occasionally, a sharp icicle would shoot up from the ground, sharp enough to easily pierce and kill an expert at the Eighth Layer of the Spirit Sea Realm.

At other times, the ground would split open into a massive fissure, revealing a bone-chilling, bottomless ocean below!

Li Mu proceeded with extreme caution, as if walking on thin ice.

’Why hasn’t Luo Tian been teleported out yet? Could he be dead?’

Nearly two incense sticks’ worth of time had passed. Getting teleported out now would earn him almost 20,000 Points.

Li Mu glanced at Luo Tian, who was inside the block of ice, and decided to go take a closer look.

Soon, he reached the mountainside, a mere dozen or so meters away from Luo Tian.

Although Luo Tian was frozen and motionless, Li Mu could sense a faint aura of life.

Luo Tian wasn’t dead!

’Damn it! His Body Refining Technique must give him extremely strong resistance to Cold Power. By hiding in there, he’s avoiding so many other threats!’

Li Mu saw through Luo Tian’s plan, and his heart filled with jealousy and resentment.

He was already at his limit. Even with his ability to rapidly recover True Qi and heal his injuries, there were still numerous dangers here that threatened his very life.

Yet Luo Tian, hiding inside the ice, faced none of these threats. He even gave off an air of being perfectly at ease.

’This is unfair!’

Li Mu felt that the risks and dangers he was shouldering were several times greater than Luo Tian’s!

"Luo Tian, are you dead?"

Li Mu shouted, then slashed out with his sword.

The bitingly cold, sharp Sword Qi left a Sword Mark several feet deep on the ice.

’Hm?’

Luo Tian heard Li Mu’s words and perceived his actions with his Spiritual Sense. ’Whether I’m dead or not is none of your business!’ he cursed inwardly.

Li Mu’s real goal was to dig Luo Tian out and force him to face the same great dangers.

This was tantamount to trying to get him killed.

So, Li Mu feigned concern, shouting, "Luo Tian, I’m coming to save you!"

SWISH! THUD THUD THUD!

Li Mu swung his sword again and again. Sharp strands of Sword Qi, glinting with a cold light, wove into a net that bombarded the ice in front of him.

’Trying to dig me out? Dream on!’

Luo Tian controlled the Cold Power from his Nether Dragon Divine Vein, infusing it into the ice in front of him to increase its hardness and thwart Li Mu.

"Luo Tian, I’m here to save you! I’ll definitely get you out of there!"

Li Mu yelled as he attacked frantically.

He could feel Luo Tian resisting, but Li Mu had no intention of letting him succeed.

"Ice-Splitting Sword!"

BOOM! CRACK!

A massive, crystal-white Sword Light slashed down, piercing three or four meters deep. Fissures spread rapidly, and large chunks of ice broke off and tumbled away.

The attack had missed Luo Tian by less than a foot.

’I really thought he wouldn’t come and bother me, but I guess I was wrong...’

Luo Tian sighed.

At this rate, Li Mu would dig him out soon.

"Luo Tian, come on out!"

A sinister, triumphant grin spread across Li Mu’s face.

BAM!

With a single slash, he shattered a large section of ice, blasting open a huge crater.

Luo Tian’s figure became visible; he was just about to be unearthed.

But just then.

RUMBLE!

The ice mountain shuddered violently. Its peak snapped off, and an endless torrent of white, moving with the force of a thunderbolt, came crashing down.

"Ava...lanche!"

Li Mu’s face went white as a sheet.

He trembled all over, the hairs on his body standing on end as his heart plummeted into an abyss.

Normally, this terrifying avalanche was only triggered in the middle stages of the trial, when one’s Points reached over thirty thousand, approaching forty thousand.

But now, the avalanche had come early.

Li Mu tried to flee immediately, but where could he go? The avalanche’s scope was too vast, almost completely filling his vision.

’Get down the mountain as fast as possible? But could I possibly outrun an avalanche?’

’An avalanche?’

Luo Tian, still hidden in the ice, felt a chill run down his spine.

His Spiritual Sense could faintly perceive the terrifying force. He feared that no one below the Earth Element Realm could possibly withstand it!

RUUUUMBLE!

The avalanche thundered down, blanketing the entire ice mountain and pouring onto the ground below, kicking up monstrous waves of snow.

After the earth-shattering avalanche ended, the world fell silent in an instant.

Within the ice mountain, buried by the avalanche.

Luo Tian only felt a powerful pressure wash over him. Once he withstood it, he was fine.

’Good thing I’m inside the ice...’

The massive block of ice Luo Tian was in was part of the mountain itself. Unless the entire mountain collapsed, the avalanche couldn’t affect him much.

However, the deluge of snow had buried him even deeper within the mountain.

’Now I can’t get out even if I want to...’

Luo Tian smiled wryly.

Buried deep beneath the snow, the biting chill from all sides intensified instantly.

Even with his Nether Dragon Divine Vein and Celestial Furnace Treasure Body activated, Luo Tian felt a bone-piercing chill.

Not daring to be careless, Luo Tian activated his True Qi Body Protection, covering his skin with a crystalline-yellow True Qi Membrane.

’I’ll just have to hold on as long as I can!’

Luo Tian decided to just go with the flow.

He didn’t dwell on it, simply remaining frozen and buried.

He focused all his energy on resisting the Cold Power, trying to endure for as long as possible.

...

「Outside.」

One of the three orbs of light above the entrance to the Survival Grotto Heaven suddenly dimmed.

Li Mu was teleported out.

HUFF! HUFF!

His face was ashen and he was breathing heavily, his heart still pounding in his chest.

A moment ago, he had truly experienced profound despair and felt the chilling touch of death!

Thankfully, he had been teleported out at the critical moment, saving his life.

"Who’s that? Incredible! He stayed in the Survival Grotto Heaven for so long his Points reached 20,000!"

"He’s one of the new Upper Sect Disciples, too. That’s amazing!"

A wave of admiration rippled through the crowd.

For a new Upper Sect Disciple, Li Mu’s performance was outstanding.

The graceful woman also looked surprised. She hadn’t expected Li Mu to last this long. It seemed the Secret Technique he’d mastered truly gave him a significant advantage in the Survival Grotto Heaven.

However, Luo Tian still hadn’t emerged!

"This is a bit unexpected. The new Upper Sect Disciple, Li Mu, reached 20,000 Points, but Luo Tian is still in there. His score is probably even higher!"

"This past month’s new Upper Sect Disciples are full of surprises!"

"I wonder just how long Luo Tian can hold out..."

The spectating Upper Sect Disciples grew intensely curious.

Ning Xin had a chance to break 30,000 Points, and her total score could potentially reach 100,000.

Everyone was also curious about what Luo Tian’s final score would be.

A long time passed.

The two orbs of light remained lit; neither Luo Tian nor Ning Xin had emerged.

By now, Luo Tian and Ning Xin had likely accumulated around 25,000 Points!

"Luo Tian still hasn’t come out! How in the world is he doing it?"

A senior disciple exclaimed in shock and curiosity.

"Impossible! Could Luo Tian have found a loophole in the Survival Grotto Heaven?"

Li Zhiyun found it hard to believe.

"Li Mu, do you know what’s going on with Luo Tian?" the graceful woman asked, her curiosity piqued.

"He... I’m not sure."

Li Mu’s expression was complicated. He felt resentful, furious, and bitter.

He didn’t want to praise Luo Tian’s performance, so he could only feign ignorance.

A little more time passed.

Luo Tian still hadn’t been teleported out, and the orb of light hadn’t gone out, which proved he wasn’t dead.

By now, even Li Mu was finding it hard to stay calm.

He knew Luo Tian’s method allowed him to evade many of the dangers, which could be considered an opportunistic trick.

However, even if others knew about this method, it would be useless to them.

After all, not everyone possessed a physique and Defense like Luo Tian’s, nor his incredible resistance to Cold Power.

Otherwise, Li Mu would have simply copied him instead of trying to dig him out.

Because he couldn’t do it! If he were to be frozen in a block of ice, he would quickly freeze to death.

’How can he possibly still be in there?’

Li Mu couldn’t wrap his head around it.

Suddenly, another orb of light dimmed.

Seeing this, many people breathed a sigh of relief.

Luo Tian was finally out.

If he had stayed in any longer, they would have started to suspect him of cheating.

Otherwise, how could a mere cultivator at the Third Layer of the Spirit Sea Realm possibly last so long in the Survival Grotto Heaven?

But when the light faded, the person who appeared was... Ning Xin!

"Ning Xin, why is it you?"

A senior disciple was dumbfounded.

The other senior disciples nearby were also stunned, standing rooted to the spot like statues.

"What do you mean?"

Ning Xin didn’t understand the senior disciple’s question.

’I took part in the trial, so of course I was going to come out. What’s that supposed to mean, "why is it you"? And why are all of you looking so shocked and disbelieving?’

It made Ning Xin feel like she was being underestimated, as if these senior disciples thought she was some kind of weakling.

"Too bad I didn’t run into Luo Tian in there. He probably got out a long time ago," Ning Xin murmured to herself.

Then, she turned to look at the "Survival Points Board" on the canyon wall and immediately spotted her name.

"30,200 Points!"

Ning Xin was neither overjoyed nor disappointed.

The result was within her expectations and wasn’t particularly surprising.

"Huh? Why isn’t Luo Tian’s score here?"

Ning Xin had wanted to see how many Points Luo Tian had earned, but she couldn’t find his name.

"Ning Xin, Luo Tian still hasn’t come out!" the senior disciple who had spoken earlier said, his expression somewhat dazed.

"What?"

Ning Xin’s body went rigid and her expression froze, her delicate face filled with utter shock!

Her Cultivation was at the Eighth Layer of the Spirit Sea Realm. She was already out, yet Luo Tian was still in there!

’Are you kidding me?’

Ning Xin glanced around. She really couldn’t see Luo Tian, and his name wasn’t on the leaderboard.

Either Luo Tian was dead, or he was still inside the Survival Grotto Heaven.

Just then.

The last orb of light dimmed, and Luo Tian was teleported out.

"So cold!"

Luo Tian’s voice trembled as he shivered, a wave of cold air spreading out from him.

Those last few moments in the Survival Grotto Heaven had nearly frozen him to death.

Luo Tian had pushed his Celestial Furnace Treasure Body to its limits, frantically unleashing his Guiyuan True Qi and drawing on his Nether Dragon Divine Vein to the extreme.

Only when he sensed mortal danger did he finally give up the struggle and allow himself to be teleported out.

"32,000 Points? Ranked third! Not bad, not bad at all!"

Luo Tian’s limbs were frozen stiff. He turned around rigidly and saw his score and rank.

’I need to get back quickly!’

After seeing his score, Luo Tian immediately beat a retreat.

His clothes were frozen solid. The slightest touch might cause them to shatter, which would be incredibly embarrassing.

Despite his stiff limbs and clumsy movements, Luo Tian’s steps, though slightly comical, carried him swiftly away from the area.

But the surroundings were completely silent. No one found it amusing; they were all still in a state of shock.