The temperature swung between freezing cold and scorching heat, leaving her caught between worlds of ice and fire. When it was cold, even she, with her ice spiritual root, nearly froze solid; when it was hot, she felt as though she would melt the next second.
Yet no matter how much her body suffered, she still could not wake. In the end, Su Jiu lost consciousness completely, which at least put her out of her misery.
Everything that followed happened while Su Jiu was unconscious. Her spontaneous advancement, for instance.
As Su Jiu advanced on her own, she also slipped into a dream.
The sky was scarlet. Even the sun had lost its former radiance and turned bloodred, as though splashed with blood.
Three enormous black rifts appeared in the sky, with bizarre creatures constantly leaping out of their gaping mouths.
The mountains and rivers had dried up long ago, though she did not know when. The Nine Provinces Continent was a wasteland of scorched earth, its conditions even harsher than the Savage Wilderness she had seen.
Su Jiu glanced at the nearby mountains. A great fire was raging through their forests as well.
There was no trace of humanity on the barren land, but those bizarre creatures were everywhere.
The creatures did not gather together. Each went its own way, as though searching for something.
Just then, a faint rustling suddenly came from a house that was already tottering on the brink of collapse.
One of the bizarre creatures immediately charged inside with a massive hammer over its shoulder.
Its eyes were scarlet, and excitement colored its ugly, misshapen face. With a single kick, it knocked down the house's wooden door.
A mother and daughter huddled in a corner were exposed before the monster.
The monster swayed its