During the moment when Wang Xiaole was condensing Holy Power, he used shaping magic to create a considerable number of crystalline particles. These were in fact ice crystals, slowly emerging even from several meters underground, and then extending to envelop the summoner's surroundings. Before long, countless hands reaching out from underground discovered Wang Xiaole as their target; they could no longer drag him further down. The smooth surface of the ice blocks made it impossible for them to get a grip, making it difficult to even hold onto the ice block, let alone exert force. Once the force that was causing their downward movement disappeared, Wang Xiaole had to retreat. He had now turned into a large ice block, but his body's condition remained the same as usual, and his movement speed was not slow either. "Jump!" Wang Xiaole, within the ice block, controlled the enveloping object to leap upward, scattering the sand around before soaring up into the sky with a "whoosh."
On the other hand, when Mewo White saw "big brother" being dragged underground without any resistance, she thought he was playing with someone beneath the sand. Mewo White found herself in a new environment and wanted to play, so she wanted "big brother" to take her there. Unable to find "big brother," she picked up a dried twig and lightly poked the surface of the sandy ground. In her mind, she believed that whoever was beneath the sand, like her, lived in a region of the desert, which was the person's home; poking the surface sand with a twig was like knocking on someone else's door. Even though there was no immediate response from the other party, she thought that if she poked a few more times, it might have an effect! Mewo White believed that persistence would bring rewards, so she repeated the same action over and over for a period of time.
Finally, a change occurred, at which moment Wang Xiaole, who had been in the ice block, leaped out of the sand from below. Poof! The sand on the ground was thrown high into the air, with much of it subsequently falling back to the ground. However, the person causing this phenomenon continued to rise steadily. The rising of the ice block did not depend on Wang Xiaole's physical strength; rather, it relied on Holy Power as the driving force for leaping out from underground. However, there was always a limit to permanent ascension. When the ice block reached a height of about twelve to thirteen meters from the ground, the massive ice block, large enough to contain a person, finally ceased to rise and began to plummet back towards the ground. In Mewo White's eyes, a dozen meters and dozens or even hundreds of meters were all about the same, very high. Therefore, when she saw the ice block falling, the word "meteor" immediately popped into her head.
Since she had witnessed a "meteor" landing, she couldn't not do something. Mewo White immediately clasped her hands together and closed her eyes to make a wish in her heart; she made a wish that her grandmother and father would like "big brother" more in the future. Boom! Just as she finished making the wish, an explosion erupted in front of Mewo White, and a vortex of chilling and scalding hot air quickly spread out.
The ice cube landed delicately just half a meter in front of Mewo White.
Under the rapid pounding of the ice cube, the surrounding sandy ground collapsed, causing the spot where Mewo White was standing to sink slightly.
Mewo White stared at the "big brother" trapped in the solid ice, watching the stars spinning in front of her, and couldn't help but ask:
『......』
Although Wang Xiaole's vision was blurred, it was not difficult to understand the partial meaning behind Mewo White's silence.
He immediately replied:
『This is not a game of piling up sand by the seaside. You don't need to worry about burying me, just leave things as they are now.』
Wang Xiaole made this response, fully aware that even in games played on the beach, players buried themselves while making sure to keep their heads uncovered. There was never a gameplay of "burying the entire body."
Wang Xiaole's thought was:
Since he had successfully freed himself from the lower layer of sand, the layer of ice surrounding his body was almost unnecessary now.
He was prepared to break the ice later when suddenly a voice beside him said:
『Aren't you going to stay in the ice a bit longer?』
Upon hearing this voice, Wang Xiaole reflexively replied:
『No, it's quite cold to stay here... Hmm?』
Without turning back, Wang Xiaole still realized a moment later:
Something's not right; Mewo White doesn't usually speak when it's not necessary.
If it wasn't her who spoke just now, then who could it be...
Following the sound, Wang Xiaole turned to look, but saw nothing.
Just as he thought he might have imagined it, and turned back, a face suddenly appeared before him.
There was a white-haired old man in front of him;
The man's skin was as white as his hair, looking skeletal and gaunt;
He grinned at Wang Xiaole, like a grinning skeleton.
Startled by the sudden appearance of the old man, Wang Xiaole was at first stunned, then reflexively prepared to speak.
But before any words could leave his mouth, the old man vanished all of a sudden;
In the spot where he stood, there was no trace of him, as if he had never appeared.
Looking around, Wang Xiaole found no signs of the old man, nothing at all;
In the vast desert, there were only him and Mewo White, not even the sound of wind at this moment.
What's going on? Did I see an illusion, hear things that weren't there?
Wang Xiaole wondered, looking around in confusion but finding nothing.
This situation was unsettling:
It was like students gearing up for the weekend only to hear the class teacher announce a surprise study session for the next day on a highly anticipated Friday afternoon...
Most adventurers in his position would almost certainly start to doubt:
Are they facing the challenges of a warrior, or the gates of the netherworld?
At that moment, Wang Xiaole did not move frantically, but stood still, waiting for the previous situation to unfold once again.
Wang Xiaole didn't break the ice for now. After turning around, he stood there for several minutes with his feet on the ice, but everything remained silent around him.
The only thing that lasted for a long time was the scorching sun hanging overhead, radiating heat that made Mewo White slightly moist. Wang Xiaole glanced at the current state of Mewo White and thought that it wasn't good to stand like this. If this little girl suffered heatstroke, it would be troublesome. The old man still didn't show up, almost running out of patience; combined with his concern for Mewo White's condition, he continued to walk forward while keeping ice on her body and preparing to maintain the ice wrapping state.
But in the moment of departure, he suddenly found that the ice under his feet seemed to sink into a quagmire, making it difficult to move. When he looked down, his whole body trembled in an instant, blood rushing to his face. At that moment, the ground under his feet unexpectedly turned into a yellow muddy swamp; and at the bottom of the ice, the white-haired old man he had just seen was gripping it tightly, pulling it down with force.
As the old man pulled down the ice, he laughed strangely at Wang Xiaole. Wang Xiaole didn't hesitate this time, but turned around as he moved the ice, his head and feet turning instantly, staring at the old man with unblinking eyes.
"Hey, the second living supernatural creature I've ever encountered!" Wang Xiaole was absolutely the weirdest scare target the old man had ever seen in his life. Previous treasure hunters had only two reactions when they encountered it; either they were scared off or they punched it without fear of ghosts. The old man, being the guardian, could accept both reactions.
He just couldn't stand it when the other party not only wasn't afraid of him but also looked at him with eyes like he was observing a rare animal; that reaction was too much.
"Do you not know who I am?" The old man was angry, no longer trying to scare Wang Xiaole with his previous strange smile, but instead glaring at him with a furious expression.
It had hoped to use its scary appearance to make the young human in front of it, who was reacting strangely with foolish surprise, snap out of it and be dominated by the feeling of fear again... "Oh, you can talk too, interesting," Wang Xiaole said. However, the subsequent results once again left the old man disappointed, even feeling hopeless as Wang Xiaole continued to express his thoughts non-stop.
Today was a really bad day for the old man. The person it tried to scare happened to be Wang Xiaole, someone who was interested in supernatural creatures and seemed completely unafraid. It was not surprising, considering that not too long ago, Wang Xiaole had faced Flora, who was semi-transparent, without a trace of fear. In that case, how could a scaremonger like the old man, who had a "textbook ghostly appearance," instill fear in him?
Not long after, the old man realized how miserable he was today. To summarize its current mood in four words: wounded self-esteem! To summarize its current mood in five words: too wounded self-esteem! Giving up its duty to drive away the treasure hunters, the old man climbed out from under the sand and squatted alone in the distance, seemingly becoming withdrawn for the time being. Wang Xiaole saw the old man becoming despondent and hesitated whether to comfort him, but was met instead with a resounding shout without the old man turning back.
"Hail the mud emperor!"
It resisted so strongly that Wang Xiaole found it difficult to continue disturbing it, so he could only apologize with a wave of his hand while shattering some ice cubes.
Soon, Wang Xiaole placed a small piece of the broken ice on Mewo White's face and they continued on together.
The two of them continued their adventurous journey and after walking a distance, they arrived near an oasis.
In the midst of the golden hot desert, this area seemed particularly significant;
The lush green color that met their eyes, especially nourished the dry corners of their eyes.
At first, Wang Xiaole also doubted whether the oasis in front of him was just a mirage;
But when he went forward before Mewo White and filled a small bottle handed over by her with flowing water, he no longer doubted the authenticity of the oasis.
Wang Xiaole needed to ensure that he could be ready for battle at any time, so he couldn't carry the water bottle with him.
This practical consideration led him to decide to hand the bottle to Mewo White.
He held the bottle in his hand, extended his arm flat to Mewo White, and in an instant of loosening his fingers...
