Top-tier Unruly Master-Chapter 1604 - 1641: Harsh Environment
For a while, Ding Fan alternated between using Sword Flight and walking to restore his strength. He knew nothing about this place, and some of the dangers here couldn’t be easily predicted. This was not good news for Ding Fan. Moreover, he already knew before entering the Xuantian Secret Realm that it held numerous dangers, so he had to be extra cautious.
Therefore, Ding Fan needed to keep his Divine Vigor in a relatively full state at all times.
Walking through the endless desert could easily lead to despair, even to the point of giving up on life. But Ding Fan was not an ordinary Cultivator. Though he was somewhat worried at the moment, anxious about not being able to escape the desert, his overall Mental State remained rather stable without any agitation.
Besides, Ding Fan now had a goal. Somewhere ahead, though it wasn’t clear how far, lay a lush Oasis. As long as he reached there, he would have effectively exited the desert. Hence, Ding Fan persistently walked in the direction of his determined belief.
After walking for a while, Ding Fan glanced at the blazing sun overhead and estimated that it must be noon by now. It was extremely hot, and being in the desert, the heat-retentive sand was everywhere. Ding Fan could even feel the warmth rising from under his feet, scalding his soles.
At that moment, the temperature of the entire space must have been at least forty-five degrees or higher. It made anyone walking there sweat profusely. For some reason, Ding Fan always felt that the noontime in the desert lasted much longer than in the Cultivation World. A period had passed, yet the air temperature not only hadn’t decreased but had risen.
Before long, the temperature where Ding Fan stood approached fifty degrees, seemingly still climbing. Eventually, Ding Fan could no longer withstand the scorching heat and directly released the Frost Toad, surrounding himself with Arctic Chill to cool down.
The moment the Arctic Chill was released, a refreshing coolness spread throughout Ding Fan’s body, allowing him to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness for you, old friend. Without you, I might have been roasted by this blazing sun before encountering any danger..."
Ding Fan couldn’t help but communicate with the Frost Toad in his Storage Bag using Divine Sense.
With the Arctic Chill from the Frost Toad, Ding Fan no longer felt as hot, and his body gradually returned to its usual temperature. However, Ding Fan realized that the Frost Toad seemed to dislike this weather. It was understandable, given that the Frost Toad, being a cold Attribute creature, even as an Ancient Divine Beast, naturally disliked such opposing climates. Nevertheless, Ding Fan continuously consoled the Frost Toad:
"Old friend, I understand you don’t like it here. Just hold on through this long afternoon, and you can rest."
Ding Fan was truly defeated by the bizarre climate here. It was blisteringly hot at noon and unbelievably cold at night, two complete extremes. The climate here was simply too strange.
Upon hearing Ding Fan’s Divine Sense, the Frost Toad reluctantly agreed.
Thus, Ding Fan walked through the desert wrapped in Arctic Chill, continuing for several hours. As the scorching sun finally began to set in the west, the heat, though still oppressive, was much milder than before. The Frost Toad could finally reduce the release of Arctic Chill and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Suddenly, just as Ding Fan was beginning to relax, a strong wind suddenly whipped up across the desert, sending yellow sands swirling in the air. They slapped against Ding Fan’s face like daggers, causing intense pain. This wasn’t just a single grain of sand hitting Ding Fan’s face; it was countless grains, filling the sky.
Ding Fan quickly summoned his Divine Vigor, creating a protective layer around himself. The airborne sand was blocked by Ding Fan’s Divine Vigor barrier, allowing him a moment of relief. However, the air was so thick with sand that breathing became difficult.
Ding Fan promptly took a veil from his Storage Bag and wrapped it around his face. As the wind became increasingly intense, Ding Fan sought a place to take shelter, but the surroundings were empty, filled only with endless sand and no place to hide.
Ding Fan could only cover his mouth and nose, gritting his teeth as he struggled forward. Sword Flight was impossible in such weather, and he could only move forward step by step. After walking less than a hundred steps, the wind in the desert became even more violent.
The fierce wind made Ding Fan’s body waver, hindering his progress. Quickly, Ding Fan noticed a Tornado forming not far from him, moving slowly in his direction. Ding Fan was startled; he hadn’t expected a Tornado to appear. In the desert, Tornadoes were generally massive sandstorms, which Ding Fan knew something about in terms of desert climates.
It’s indeed not unusual for a sandstorm to form in this place, but this is the first time Ding Fan has encountered one, which inevitably makes him feel tense. Although the tornado not far from Ding Fan is slowly approaching him, it seems to still need a long time before reaching him.
However, the wind around Ding Fan quickly intensifies, and in no time, the wind force near him becomes very strong. Meanwhile, the tornado not far away grows larger and taller, with yellow sand being swept high into the sky, making it impossible to tell how high it truly is.
If Ding Fan hadn’t summoned all of his Divine Vigor to stabilize himself, he might have already been swept into the sky by the tornado. Fortunately, Ding Fan’s cultivation is quite profound. If it were another cultivator at the Emergence Stage, they might have already been blown away by this tornado.
At this moment, Ding Fan is finding it difficult to move. He stands in place with great effort, while his clothes flutter noisily in the wind. Then, he sits cross-legged, striving to control his body as he unleashes all his Divine Vigor to resist the erosion of the tornado.
Meanwhile, Ding Fan takes out an Array Plate, which he previously refined into a Defensive Formation, and uses it immediately. Instantly, Ding Fan finds himself within a Defensive Formation, and he feels the wind around him slightly subside, allowing him to open his eyes a bit wider without having to squint.
Sitting cross-legged, Ding Fan doesn’t have the mood to cultivate. He closely watches the tornado’s movement, aware that if the tornado comes his way, his Defensive Formation won’t hold, and even his entire cultivation won’t be enough to withstand it.
For a moment, Ding Fan is filled with dread, but then he breathes a slight sigh of relief as the tornado’s trajectory shifts slightly, narrowly missing his position. However, Ding Fan remains vigilant, knowing that tornadoes are unpredictable.
Though it’s not heading his way now, it might suddenly turn towards him at any moment. Ding Fan stays alert to the tornado’s movement, and under the protection of a small-scale Defensive Formation, he slowly stands up and cautiously moves away from the tornado’s center.
The wind around Ding Fan is already fierce, and without the Defensive Formation’s protection, even sitting cross-legged with all his cultivation unleashed, he might get blown away by the tornado. As Ding Fan gradually moves, he pays no mind to the direction of the Oasis.
At this moment, survival takes precedence over moving away from the tornado.
As Ding Fan cautiously walks some distance away, the sky suddenly fills with dense clouds. Moments later, bolts of Mysterious Thunder crash down, but there’s not a drop of rain—only the Mysterious Thunder.
Boom, boom, boom...
The sound of Mysterious Thunder echoes continuously, leaving Ding Fan utterly speechless about the weather. In no time, bolts of Mysterious Thunder strike near him, with one even hitting the formation around him. Startled, Ding Fan quickly reinforces the formation and takes out his Thunder Pill. As soon as the Pure Thunder Pill appears, it hovers above his head, and the Mysterious Thunder in the sky seems to have found an ideal receptacle, striking towards the Pure Thunder Pill.
The amount of Mysterious Thunder in the sky visibly decreases as most are drawn to and absorbed by the Pure Thunder Pill, giving Ding Fan a slight sense of relief. Although this Pure Thunder Pill is strong and can handle this amount of Mysterious Thunder, Ding Fan remains uncertain about how much Mysterious Thunder there is in the sky.
If it’s too much, even the Pure Thunder Pill won’t be able to absorb it all. Yet Ding Fan believes that it won’t be a problem for the Pure Thunder Pill to absorb the Mysterious Thunder for a few hours. Ding Fan eventually finds a spot far enough from the tornado to sit cross-legged and rest.
Though the tornado isn’t too far away, the yellow sand around him remains fierce. Yet with the protection of the Defensive Formation, he’s safe. However, Ding Fan is aware that the Defensive Formation won’t last long, as his materials for setting up formations are running low.
Ding Fan doesn’t know how long the Defensive Formation will hold. He’s like a gambler at this moment, betting against the will of the heavens, with his life as the stake. Should this weather persist, he truly fears he might perish here. However, Ding Fan knows the desert climate well; it comes and goes quickly, albeit intensely.
Previously, Ding Fan had only heard of such climates. This is his first personal experience, and he feels that the climate here is harsher than traditional desert climates in the Cultivation World. After all, the presence of Mysterious Thunder in the desert was unheard of before.
Yet now he’s witnessing it firsthand. It’s evident that the Xuantian Secret Realm holds many dangers, certainly not for the average cultivator. Even if someone enters, only a few might survive to leave. Ding Fan even wonders if Long Ren’s estimate of a fifty percent survival rate in the Xuantian Secret Realm isn’t somewhat exaggerated.
Ding Fan feels that even a thirty percent survival rate would be impressive, and this is his most conservative estimate, given that it’s only his second day in the Xuantian Secret Realm.
