It was said that a few years ago, the South Sea's terrain had not looked like this. Back then, it had been much like the North Sea, all normal icebergs and glaciers.
But now, it resembled a colossal splash of water, frozen across thirteen million square kilometers. [Equivalent to one and a half Chinas]
Chen Youjia was quite curious about the taste of the ice. Polar ice was said to contain very little salt, and those ancient blocks that never melted were practically freshwater ice. Such top-grade pure water was excellent whether for brewing tea or making soup. She used her mana to draw up a huge block of ice, then gave half of it to Wang Qi.
Expressionlessly, Wang Qi threw away the ice in his hand. Chen Youjia curled her lips and licked the ice. Then...
"Bitter." Her expression twisted in an instant.
"You could have understood that by probing it carefully with spiritual sense." Wang Qi rubbed her head. "The salt content is very high. This isn't natural ice."
The crystal structure of ice was rather special; it could be considered a kind of single-mineral salt. As seawater froze, it automatically expelled impurities. But the entire South Sea icefield had been frozen in an instant by a spell. The salt in the seawater had not had time to be expelled before it froze, so all the ice in the South Sea was salty.
Incidentally, since the spell that froze the South Sea had been cast several years ago, this polar region had already gone through several half-years of daylight. The original ice had changed somewhat, and the salt content on the surface of the ice was especially high.
This little interlude did not affect the group's advance. Beneath the faint morning light, several spirit boats streaked rapidly