Chapter 9 - Terrible Ordeal Over a Thousand Miles

Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales

Yang Dingtian took one last look at the place where Dongfang Niemie had vanished before heading east. He was able to move at a much faster speed than he was able to on Earth. His body felt so light. In addition, he felt that he was now many times stronger than he was in his previous life.

Though he had only completed the enlightenment period, he had also already washed three layers of his veins. As a result, it felt like there was wind flowing throughout his body. If he were still on Earth, he would have broken every world record.

Two hours later, Yang Dingtian had already run about 100 kilometers. Of course, he wasn’t running at his top speed. However, if he ran any faster, he would also use up more of the energy in his body. Hence, he must maintain a balance to maximize efficiency.

Approximately ten hours later, Yang Dingtian had already run 500 kilometers without feeling the least bit of fatigue. This world of martial arts was truly amazing. Yang Dingtian had only completed the enlightenment period and could already run 500 kilometers a day without feeling exhausted. Of course, he wasn’t aware that the largest contribution to his current condition was the washing of his veins up to the third layer.

However, he ran into a heavy snowstorm and was buffeted by strong winds that pushed against him. As a result, moving forward became much harder and he had to use up more energy to do so. He had no choice but to dig a hole in the snow to hide and wait for the wind and snow to pass.

He stayed in that hole for a full three days.

Three days later, the weather had cleared up. However, the sky was still as blue as an ocean. The twin suns were like gems illuminating the ground. The glare of their light reflected off the snow made it almost impossible to open one’s eyes.

Yang Dingtian came out from deep beneath the snow. He luckily possessed the Nine Yang body. Otherwise, he could’ve died from suffocation after being buried by a few meters of snow.

To be honest, it was truly weird that after cleansing his marrow and veins, Yang Dingtian didn’t need as much oxygen. He could hold his breath for almost twenty minutes and could survive on a small amount of oxygen for quite some time.

Eventually, the weather took a turn for the better. Yang Dingtian ran east at a high speed. However, he ran with his eyes closed as the surrounding snow was too glaring. Besides, there was nothing but snow for ten thousand meters. There was no risk of crashing into something while he was here.

Yang Dingtian was pretty lucky as the clear sky lasted three days.

During these three days, Yang Dingtian had run over a thousand kilometers. However, he then encountered another heavy snowstorm and strong winds. Thus, he had to dig a hole and hide again.

He hid for a full seven days. This time, the snow and wind were much stronger than last time.

When he crawled out of the hole on the 7th day, he felt cold and weak. This was because the energy in his body had once again been completely consumed. Hence, Yang Dingtian took out the Flame Pill that he placed in his ears and ate it.

Instantly, a strand of strong energy burst out within his body and flowed through all his veins. It was so warm and comfortable that it wasn’t easy to describe. Because of this strand of strong energy, Yang Dingtian slowly felt all of his limbs regain their strength.

Leveraging this strand of energy, Yang Dingtian ran east with his eyes closed.

Run, run, run….

Under the illumination of both suns in these ten thousand kilometers of ice and snow, there was a black dot moving at high speed.

This time, God was looking out for Yang Dingtian as the sky had stayed clear for nine days. Actually, it had started turning gloomy on the fifth day, and Yang Dingtian was worried that the heavy snow might resume. In the end, the snow had only fallen for less than three hours before the clouds dispersed.

Over these nine days, Yang Dingtian had run over three thousand kilometers. He could finally leave this Thousand Kilometers Ice Stream after running another thousand kilometers.

Just as he was preparing to sprint the last one thousand kilometers, Yang Dingtian encountered the strongest wind and snow he had ever seen. The wind was so strong that it threatened to blow him away. Yang Dingtian had no choice but to dig a hole and hide again.

The good news was that the wind and snow came so quickly and heavily that it left faster as well. The snow stopped after two days, and the sky cleared up. However, after crawling out of the hole, Yang Dingtian did not have much energy left in his body. Whether he could cross the remaining one thousand kilometers would depend on his determination.

Four days later, Yang Dingtian had run about a thousand kilometers, but the energy from the Flame Pill had been completely consumed. Yang Dingtian had nothing to eat but ice and snow. His body became weaker with each passing day. He stopped running and started walking. Eventually, his entire body turned numb. His eyes gradually dimmed to the extent that once he collapsed, he would not be able to stand back up.

At the moment when he was about to fall, he saw his first large tree since coming to this world.

He immediately cried out in joy, using the last of energy to shout at the sky.

“Ahhhhh……”

He had finally run the full five thousand seven hundred kilometers and left this damnable Thousand Kilometers Ice Stream. His vision was no longer completely filled with white.

At last, he was able to eat something solid. Despite the fact that the tree seeds were bitter and dry, he still ate more than ten, eating until his entire tongue and mouth had become numb.

After eating, he took a restful nap. When he got up, Yang Dingtian continued east. As he ran, the number of trees increased in number until they finally formed a humongous forest canopy. This large forest contained extremely huge trees. They were spaced ten meters apart, so it wasn’t hard to get through this forest.

Yang Dingtian fantasized that he would find animals within this forest so that he could finally eat meat again.

But, he was disappointed! In this gigantic forest, there was not even a single animal. Much less four-legged animals, there wasn’t even a single bird.

It shouldn’t be like this! When he was learning about this world, Yang Dingtian had learned that there should be many beasts inside this forest. The Mao Li Man clan frequently went inside the forest to hunt, but now, there wasn’t a single living thing that could be seen. In this thousand-plus-kilometer wide forest, it was so dead quiet that Yang Dingtian was about to break down.

However, Yang Dingtian managed to improve his diet. He had replaced the bitter and spicy tree seeds with another type of tasteless fruit.

Five days later, Yang Dingtian managed to exit the forest and saw mountains. Getting here really wasn’t easy. Since coming to this world, he’d only been inside the Thousand Kilometers Ice Stream. Soon, he would reach the Mao Li Man Clan and would finally encounter human beings.

True enough, two days after he left the forest, he saw the first house. It was a small solid wooden house. He rushed in excitedly but found nothing inside. There were a few pieces of wooden furniture inside, but they were all covered with thick layers of dust. There was also no food or even any clothes.

However, Yang Dingtian was not upset as he thought that this might have been the house of a hunter who was out for the time being. Hence, he found it normal even though it was empty.

However, the second, third, and fourth houses were all empty and had no signs of people living in them.

Finally, Yang Dingtian found a village consisting of many houses. There were dozens of wooden houses, but without exception, each one was bereft of inhabitants. The furniture was all arranged neatly but was all covered with thick dust.

On top of that, Yang Dingtian still hadn’t spotted a single animal or bird.

The further east he walked, the more villages he passed by. He even passed through two or three towns that used stones to build large houses. However, there were still no people and, just as before, there wasn’t a single animal to be seen.

“What had happened here? Why is there isn’t a single living thing?”

As he kept walking, Yang Dingtian’s heart gradually grew colder and gloomier. He had left the Ice Stream a month ago and walked more than three thousand kilometers since then. He had seen countless houses and numerous small towns, but he hadn’t encountered a single person, bird, or any other moving creature.

This land that was thousands of kilometers away from the Ice Stream should have had tens of thousands of Mao Li Man clansmen living with countless creatures. However, now it seemed as if they had all completely vanished from this world.

From what Master had said, the Mao Li Man Clan that should have been living here had a high tolerance to the cold. They also used axes and were born to be strong martial artists.

There was still one explanation for the complete lack of humans. The difficult living conditions might have caused their entire clan to move away. However, it was still too strange for there to not be a single creature around.

Yang Dingtian was aware that if he continued heading east, he would soon reach the ocean. Yang Dingtian could even smell the sea breeze in the air.

Early on, Yang Dingtian had been afraid that he was moving too slowly. Now, Yang Dingtian dared not walk quickly. He was afraid that he would reach the ocean without seeing a single human being or other creature. Then, he would really have no idea what to do.

Towards the end, Yang Dingtian walked slower and slower until he was merely walking ten kilometers per day. Then, he simply entered a house to rest, as if afraid of reaching the seaside.

Yang Dingtian still ate tree seeds because there was nothing else for him to eat. His body was still naked he couldn’t even find an animal skin, much less proper clothing. There were actually tree leaves available, but he didn’t know was wrong with the trees here as the leaves were all hard and sharp. They were not a suitable material to wear! Moreover, there was not even a single human shadow to be seen, and Yang Dingtian wasn’t afraid of the cold. Hence, being naked didn’t really matter to him.

****

Inside the wooden house, Yang Dingtian was lying on a wooden bed and was a little afraid. He felt that his willpower and fighting spirit were actually weakening and that he was gradually becoming dispirited and lazy.

In the icy and snowy Ice Stream, he was constantly balancing on the edge between life and death. In addition, the place had nothing but snow, so Yang Dingtian’s fighting spirit was exuberant. Now that there were trees and houses, with no human and animals around, he was scared, and his fighting spirit weakened.

What exactly had happened? If he reached the ocean without meeting anyone, what should he do? He wouldn’t be able to find out where the Yin Yang Sect was, much less get directions.

He lay down on the bed but was unable to fall asleep. An endless sense of loneliness invaded his heart, filling it with murkiness. This sort of daily life had already gone on for several months. The current Yang Dingtian already completely resembled a savage person. His beard was long and tangled. His hair was long and messy.

Suddenly, Yang Dingtian heard a sound. It sounded like a hooved animal walking on the snow.

He immediately climbed out of bed and listened, not daring to believe his ears. He strained his ears to listen closely, fearing that this sound was just a hallucination.

It wasn’t a hallucination! It wasn’t a hallucination!

Truly, it wasn’t hallucination! The sound was getting louder and louder. It sounded like horse hooves, and he even heard the sound of people talking and drinking.

He immediately became excited! Yang Dingtian jumped and ran out of the wooden house!

A few hundred meters in front of him was a troop walking in his direction.

There were several hundred people. They all wore glamorous fur clothes and carried expensive weapons.