Xu Xing felt a tremor deep within his heart; even he found it difficult to stay in this place for long.
But he couldn't give up halfway, so Xu Xing wrapped his fox fur coat tighter around himself.
But in this frigid weather, even coats made from the fur of mutated beasts couldn't withstand the extreme cold.
This resulted in the ice-breaking effect.
Clothes are like shattered ice crystals; if too much force is applied, they can even be torn apart.
Realizing this, Xu Xing could only search his space for a few more pieces of clothing, all made from the fur of mutated beasts.
He hastily draped the blanket over his body to try and slow down the heat that had seeped into his bones.
At the same time, Xu Xing also mobilized his mental power, trying to create an absolute vacuum around him, which his physical strength was still able to withstand.
This also helps prevent being harmed by the cold.
However, when it came to actually implementing it, it was discovered that the surrounding space seemed to be different from other places.
Those pervasive cold currents are like an alternative life force, destroying all disruptive and disorderly factors.
Therefore, Xu Xing's method failed. This year, he can only condense a vacuum the size of a head. He is powerless to make it any larger.
At this point, Xu Xing had no choice but to give up and opt to keep warm and tough it out on his body.
"This damn weather! I remember it wasn't this cold when I came here in my previous life."
Such temperatures, exceeding the limits of human endurance, should not exist on Earth.
"If the inside is still like this, I'm afraid I'll have to return empty-handed," Xu Xing muttered to himself, complaining about the air around him.
No wonder that bear spoke in that tone; it must have experienced something similar before.
"Oh, what a pity."
What Xu Xing regretted was not that he hadn't followed the bear's suggestion to retreat earlier.
His regret was that he should have captured the mutated polar bear back then. Even though it would have taken some effort, as long as he could have skinned it, it would have been able to withstand a lot of the cold.
But having missed one opportunity, it's unlikely that they'll find that mutated polar bear again.
The Arctic Circle is too vast; humanity will eventually reach its limits.
After walking for a while longer, the air temperature dropped a few percentage points, finally reaching the critical point that Xu Xing could withstand.
All the fur protection they had taken for warmth had long since become useless.
Even if he took it off now, you could see that Xu Xing's body was covered with a thick layer of ice.
Apart from his head being fine, Xu Xing actually had small areas of frostbite all over his body.
"We can't go any further."
If this continues, there will really be risks.
Moreover, it is still unknown how far it is from the North Pole.
If it's truly ruined, the cost will be enormous, and before we've even reached the end, it will be a huge loss.
"Perhaps we should sacrifice the pawn to save the king, minimizing the losses as much as possible. Even if there are sunk costs, we'll accept the defeat," Xu Xing thought to himself, considering this potential failure.
Given the current situation, it cannot be said that Xu Xing made a mistake in judgment, overestimating his own abilities and underestimating the nature of the Earth.
Rubbing his hands, which had turned white and hard, Xu Xing felt a little feeling returning. He composed himself, took a deep breath, turned around, and prepared to leave.
But in that instant, Xu Xing was surprised to find a small igloo next to him.
Perhaps the near-absolute freezing temperature had numbed his senses. It's possible that he had forgotten the concepts of time and space as he traveled, completely oblivious to the world around him, his eyes fixed on the aurora borealis ahead.
However, as far as the eye can see, there is still some distance to go.
The shock was followed by fear.
How can there still be living things in this place?
Even he couldn't hold on, so it's estimated that even creatures that have just entered a higher level wouldn't be able to withstand this kind of extreme cold.
The fact that such a thing appeared before them meant that the owner of this house was definitely much stronger than Xu Xing.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to live here.
Whether friend or foe, Xu Xing dared not test the waters, fearing that one wrong step would plunge him into an abyss, a place from which there was no turning back.
The nerves, which had just been gradually numbed by the cold, snapped back to reality in an instant, and the thought was to rush out at top speed.
"I... meant no harm."
From inside the ice house, a hoarse, deep voice slowly uttered those words.
The next moment, the hard ice door of the igloo slowly and automatically cracked open, just big enough for one person to pass through.
Xu Xing recognized the voice and a thought popped into his head.
However, he didn't stop walking. He dared not gamble. Perhaps it was him, but even if it was, he might still perish here if he wasn't careful.
"I am Liu Changqing. Don't be afraid, I am still conscious." The voice came from inside the cave again.
Along with it, a transparent, diamond-shaped crystal flew into Xu Xing's hand.
Xu Xing immediately felt a cool, icy surface in his hand. The temperature wasn't cold, only around minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius.
"Ice core?"
Xu Xing recognized this item; it was also a rare and precious treasure, usually only appearing in the North and South Poles, and its appearance was extremely rare, with only a small number of lucky people able to find it.
Its function is actually quite different from that of crystal nuclei, but there is a huge difference in absorption time, absorption precision, and purity.
It is said that this crystal can even forcibly enhance a person's aptitude and can also be used in the process of advancing to a higher level of superhuman ability user.
It's important to understand that high-level ability users are the backbone of humanity, each one a treasure of all mankind. Those who are not strong enough may be stuck at the peak of level 6 for their entire lives, never able to get any closer.
Moreover, at this point in time, humanity as a whole probably doesn't even have many level six powerhouses.
Since he had this item, Xu Xing slowly stopped in his tracks.
Fortune favors the bold, and one of the main reasons he came here was to advance to the seventh rank.
Since the other party was willing to give him this opportunity, Xu Xing naturally had to seize it firmly.
Moreover, judging from this action, it is clear that the other party is expressing goodwill towards him.
With this thought in mind, Xu Xing smiled slightly, returned from his meal, and stepped into the ice house.
"Brother Liu Changqing, how have you been lately?"
"Ahem~ Brother Xu Xing, what brings you here? I thought we'd never see each other again."
Xu Xing looked toward the source of the sound.
Inside the spacious and bright igloo, various pieces of furniture were arranged in an orderly fashion, just like a normal family home, except that they were all made of ice.
Ice Cube sat on the sofa, facing Liu Changqing, the half-human, half-corpse whom Xu Xing had once encountered!
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