Mystic Ice?

The valley was still flooded with a great deal of standing water, almost submerging the entire thicket and leaving only a few tips exposed.

For the Sprites, this was absolutely an ecological disaster.

Wang Wu, on the other hand, was quite at ease. His food supply was relatively abundant; calculated at 300 points of Satiety per day, he could hold out for three days without a problem, and he should still gain at least 20 points of Spiritual Qi.

It was just that the fog outside was growing thicker and thicker. Though there was no wind, the dense mist kept churning, as if an invisible giant python lurked within it, stirring and coveting.

It gave Wang Wu a very bad feeling.

So after eating and drinking his fill, he immediately shrank into the deepest part of the rock crevice and silently entered Level 5 Stealth, doing his utmost not to expose himself.

Time slowly passed, yet the fog showed no sign of dispersing. The entire valley was as quiet as a graveyard.

The temperature was also dropping lower and lower.

If two days ago had still been blazing midsummer, with the scorching sun like fire and the air like a furnace, then today already carried the bleak desolation of late autumn, when all things withered.

Wang Wu estimated that the temperature had dropped into the single digits. It even seemed to be falling further. Was it because the air was too damp?

A faint worry rose in him.

Yet nothing happened that day either. Perhaps it was because of the advantage of his Level 5 Stealth.

But early the next morning, Wang Wu was actually frozen awake. When he opened his eyes and looked outside, the thick fog still sealed everything off, but a layer of white frost had already formed on the ground.

No way. This is far too wrong.

When he listened carefully, rain was still falling outside. It was merely a spell of gloomy, overcast weather, yet frost should not have formed near his rock crevice.

This made no sense. Even in the Cultivation World, there had to be some logic, right? It could not be raining outside while frost formed at the door.

Unless there was something fishy going on.

Wang Wu's heart stirred, and an unpleasant thought came to him. Could those five White-Haired Rats be targeting him?

But was that really necessary?

As long as those five Enlightened High Rats had confirmed his location and knew he was hiding here, they would not need to do anything else. Sending two to block the entrance would be enough to deal with him. Why go this far?

Could it be that the White-Haired Rats had actually launched an offensive against the Flame Scorpions?

Taking advantage of the right time, place, and people.

That was very possible.

This endless rainy weather was practically the greatest nemesis of the Flame Scorpion Tribe, while those five White-Haired Rats all seemed to be Cryomancers.

Thinking of this, Wang Wu relaxed a little. He cautiously ate some food, bringing his Satiety up to 300 points, then silently entered Stealth once more. He could not act rashly.

The entire following day still passed without any movement, but the temperature truly grew colder and colder.

Wang Wu could clearly hear the drizzle pattering down in the distance, yet snow was actually drifting outside the rock crevice. The dense fog still shrouded everything. There was definitely something sinister at work!

He truly had not expected those five White-Haired Rats to play such a big game, capable of affecting the local weather.

He just did not know when they would launch their attack.

With unease in his heart, Wang Wu fell asleep once more. Daily rest and sleep were also important measures for ensuring sufficient Stamina.

Then he was frozen awake yet again.

He did not know what time it was. Outside the rock crevice was pitch-black, and waves of cold air swept in, making his whole body tremble uncontrollably. His 300 points of Satiety had already been exhausted, yet he had gained only 0.4% Growth Rate. This was not normal.

A line of information drifted past soundlessly.

"The temperature of your current environment has fallen to a critical point. Your growth and development have temporarily ceased. All food will be prioritized for resisting the severe cold."

--

Damn, simulated hibernation?

Wang Wu thought as he shivered, then first ate the Hedgehog that had already frozen into a lump of ice. Good lord, the temperature was at least minus fifteen degrees Celsius now.

Those five White-Haired Rats truly had heaven-defying methods!

Still, he had to thank them. Otherwise, the food he had stored should have rotted long ago.

After eating the Hedgehog, Wang Wu solemnly took out the corpse of a Scorpion Sentinel. There had originally been five of them. He had eaten one, and over the past two days, he had resisted eating the others precisely to guard against a situation like this.

This Scorpion Sentinel did not have much meat, but it possessed a special kind of energy. After he ate it, a small stream of heat formed inside his body. It was remarkable, though it made sense when he thought about it. These were scorpions that could spit fire; their level of energy use was far higher.

A Black Snake Priest of the same level had decent meat too, but it was clearly a whole tier inferior.

In the blink of an eye, Wang Wu had eaten the entire Scorpion Sentinel, chewing even the bone fragments to pieces before swallowing them. It seemed his teeth had grown sturdier over this period as well.

His Satiety increased by another 80 points, while he gained 5 points of Spiritual Qi. Counting what he had saved before, along with the Spiritual Qi provided by those Wandering Mantis Swordsmen and Iron-Cloth Hedgehogs, he had exactly 20 points.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, Wang Wu added it to his Defense attribute again, raising his Base Defense from 7 points to 8.

No matter what, higher Defense meant less damage taken, didn't it?

After eating two more Scorpion Sentinels and raising his Satiety close to 300 points, Wang Wu finally no longer felt cold. He only felt warmth flowing through his body, incredibly comfortable.

The Scorpion Tribe really were good neighbors.

Unfortunately, they had become the negative example in the saying, "When the snipe and clam fight, the fisherman profits." They had only just defeated the Black Snake Clan and had not even secured the boss's seat before the White-Haired Rats stabbed them in the back.

Just as he was thinking, a familiar fireball explosion suddenly rang out, followed by a second, then a third, directly above the cliff.

The war had truly begun.

But the situation was extremely unfavorable for the Scorpion Tribe, because the White-Haired Rats had already completed their arrangements.

Wang Wu's heart stirred. He immediately rushed toward the entrance of the rock crevice, only to discover that it had been wrapped in a thick layer of ice. He tried ramming it with his body, but the heavy ice was like a wall, utterly impossible to shake.

So the White-Haired Rats had sealed off his exit?

Or had they sealed the entire cliff in ice?

This would not do. If this continued, once the Scorpion Tribe was finished, it would be time for the classic scene—catching a bear in a jar!

Wang Wu regretted it a little. He should have rushed out yesterday, but fear had kept him from escaping.

Now that the only entrance and exit had been sealed, his little life was done for.

"Swish!"

Wang Wu clawed at the thick ice layer and found that this ice was unlike ordinary ice. It was incredibly hard, comparable to rock. His claws had become quite tough by now, yet when he raked them with all his strength, he only left tiny claw marks less than a centimeter deep.

Even so, his claws hurt a little, as if he had scratched stone.

Even stranger, just a few seconds later, a wisp of pale white chill swept past and actually repaired those claw marks!

Wang Wu spun around in panic. If there had been dirt in this rock crevice, he would have wished he could transform into a groundhog and dig a tunnel to escape.

I refuse to believe this!

In the end, Wang Wu returned to the thick ice layer, stuck out his tongue, and began licking it!

Physical attacks were ineffective, so he would use chemical attacks.

He was desperately seeking any remedy in his panic. Yet when he licked it, although his tongue nearly froze off, that sweet, icy sensation completely stunned him.

Even the old-fashioned ice pops, the legendary "ice cream assassins," and the ice cream he had eaten on Earth had never tasted this good.

That sweetness carried an indescribable freshness—such clarity, such brightness, such purity. Wow, he felt as if he were about to fly.

After a long while, Wang Wu came back to his senses. When he looked at the thick ice layer again, his eyes shone brightly.

He knew what was going on.

This was ice formed by condensing moisture with Spiritual Qi. It was indeed exceptionally sturdy and capable of repairing itself, but it inevitably came with certain side effects—for example, being exceptionally pure and exceptionally sweet.

Even the legendary Mystic Ice was probably no more than this.

Tears streamed down Wang Wu's face. White-Haired Rats, you are my eternal gods! I am your most loyal believer! Please accept my bow!