Chapter 69: Divine Artifact Frost Moon

The sea wind howled, filling the white sails.

The ironwood boat cut through the blue waves, leaving a long white wake behind, like a silver ribbon dragging slowly across deep blue silk. The sky was high, with a few white clouds floating lazily, their shadows appearing and disappearing among the waves. Aikesi stood at the bow, one hand holding a rough sea chart, the other gripping the mast, his gaze drifting between the distant sea and sky. The chart was made of beast skin, marking the known islands and reefs of this sea, but most areas remained blank, waiting for him to fill them. Reading novels every day to pass the time is good, ttk. tw is super smooth.

Monika sat by the gunwale, her feet dangling, letting the sea spray dampen the hem of her skirt. The seawater was cool, splashing against her ankles with a refreshing sensation that made her gently swing her legs. Xiaoxue crouched on her shoulder, her snow-white feathers fluttering slightly in the sea breeze, her black eyes scanning the sea surface vigilantly, occasionally emitting low cooing sounds as if speaking to Monika.

"We have sailed for three days and explored seven islands." Monika counted on her fingers, her tone carrying a hint of disappointment, "Except for a few medicinal herbs and some low-level beasts, we have gained nothing."

Aikesi folded the sea chart, glanced back at her, and smiled, "The purpose of traveling is not for gain, but to see different scenery. Look at this ocean, boundless and turbulent, completely different from the scorching silence of the volcano."

Monika tilted her head, thinking, "That makes sense, but I still hope for some surprises. Don't you think? After traveling so far, if we find nothing, it feels a bit—like a loss?"

"Surprises?" Aikesi was about to speak when his gaze was suddenly drawn to an island ahead.

It was a medium-sized island; from a distance, it was covered in lush green trees, completely different from the desolate reef islands seen before. Those previous islands were either barren or had only sparse shrubs and weeds, but this island was covered with tall tropical trees, their canopies layered like a giant green umbrella covering the entire island. Even more striking was a low hill in the center of the island, from which a waterfall cascaded down, the white water ribbon refracting a brilliant rainbow under the sunlight, spanning between the mountainside and the lake surface.

"That island is different." Aikesi pointed ahead, his tone carrying a hint of excitement, "Let's go up and take a look. I can feel a strange aura on that island, though I can't say what it is."

Monika also noticed the island's uniqueness, her eyes lighting up, and she quickly pulled the sail ropes, adjusting the angle of the sail. Under Monika's control, the small boat turned nimbly, heading toward the verdant island.

The small boat docked, and Aikesi and Monika stepped onto the soft sandy beach. The white fine sand was delicate and soft, feeling like stepping on cotton, leaving a clear footprint with every step. Xiaoxue flew up from Monika's shoulder, circled in the air, and emitted a cheerful cry, her clear and pleasant call seeming to tell them the island was safe.

Coconut trees by the shore were laden with fruit, the heavy coconuts bending the branches. The sea breeze brushed past, rustling the leaves like a gentle island ballad. The air carried a salty sea flavor mixed with some floral scent and the sweetness of fruit, making one feel refreshed. Monika bent down to pick up a seashell, examining it in her palm; the shell's surface had natural colorful patterns, shimmering in the sunlight as if carefully painted by someone.

"So beautiful." Monika carefully put the shell into her pocket, looked up, her eyes full of expectant light, "Aikesi, let's go inside and take a look; I feel there must be a secret on this island."

Aikesi nodded, extended his spiritual power to probe into the island, and after confirming no obvious danger, he stepped forward. Monika held his hand, hopping and skipping ahead like a cheerful little bird.

The vegetation on the island was astonishingly dense; tropical trees blocked out the sky, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled light and shadow on the ground, painting a constantly changing light-and-shadow scroll.

Monika darted through the flower bushes like a little girl, occasionally letting out a gasp of wonder. She crouched before a blue flower, dewdrops from the morning still clinging to the petals, looking like tiny diamonds under the sunlight.

"Look at this one, doesn't it look like a butterfly?" She held up a small purple flower; the petal shape indeed resembled a butterfly spreading its wings to fly, with the patterns on the wings clearly visible.

"The vines of this flower have thorns; be careful not to prick your hand." Aikesi warned, his gaze sweeping over the flower's roots, seeing the dense sharp thorns on the vines.

Monika looked closely, and indeed, the flower stem was covered in tiny sharp thorns, their tips gleaming with a faint cold light in the sunlight.

The two passed through the forest, pushed aside the last patch of shrubs, and arrived at the open area in the center of the island. The scene before them made Monika hold her breath, and even Aikesi was slightly stunned.

It was a naturally formed hot spring lake, about a hundred mu in area, irregularly circular, like a giant sapphire embedded in the verdant valley. The lake water was crystal clear; looking from the shore to the center, one could clearly see every grain of sand and every swimming fish at the bottom. The lakebed consisted of white sand and colorful pebbles; red, blue, green, yellow, and purple stones scattered among the white sand, emitting a dreamlike glow under the refraction of sunlight and water waves.

A faint mist floated on the lake surface, like a thin veil covering the lake, making the entire lake look like the Jade Pool in a fairyland. The air was filled with a sulfur smell, but it was not pungent; instead, it had a unique freshness, mixed with floral and herbal scents, making one feel refreshed. To the north of the lake was a low hill, about a hundred zhang high, covered in verdant trees. A waterfall cascaded down from the rock face in the middle of the hill, plunging into the lake, raising white water splashes and making a rushing sound.

"This place is too beautiful." Monika crouched down, reached out to test the water temperature, "It's warm! Just right, neither hot nor cold. Aikesi, shall we stay here for a few days?"

Aikesi looked around, swept his spiritual power over a range of several hundred meters, found no beast aura, nor any trace of human activity. He nodded, "This location is hidden and not easily discovered, the water source is sufficient, and food is not lacking. There are also many fruits and edible plants on the island; it is indeed a suitable place to rest."

Monika cheered, immediately starting to set up a tent by the lake. Xiaoxue landed on a large tree, preening her feathers with her beak, occasionally tilting her head to watch Monika busy, emitting a clear cry as if cheering her on.

For the next two days, the two spent a leisurely and pleasant time by the hot spring lake.

Every morning, Monika meditated by the lake; sunlight fell on her, and the golden light resonated with the light elements in the air, slowly merging into her body. Xiaoxue stood beside her, also faintly emitting white light; the auras of the human and the beast seemed to respond to each other, forming a strange harmony.

Aikesi sat on a rock below the waterfall, letting the water flow strike his body. The waterfall's water fell from a height, smashing onto the rock, splashing water everywhere, making a deafening boom. Aikesi closed his eyes, feeling the impact force of the water flow and the rhythm of the Fire Element within his body, entering a semi-meditative state.

"Fire is yang, water is yin; the two seem opposed, but in fact, they generate and complement each other." He murmured to himself, feeling the impact force of the waterfall and the rhythm of the Fire Element within his body, "Flame can evaporate water, water can extinguish flame, but when fire and water blend, they produce steam, which is another form of energy. Fire is not simply heat, water is not simply cold; their essence is different manifestations of energy."

On the third morning, the sun just rose from the sea horizon, dyeing the sky a golden red. Monika cultivated by the lake as usual, Xiaoxue standing on her shoulder; the human and the beast bathed in the morning light, both covered by a faint halo.

Suddenly, Xiaoxue let out a sharp cry, piercing and urgent, completely different from her usual cheerful calls. Her wings spread abruptly into a warning posture, her black eyes fixed on the lake's surface, her pupils contracting to the size of needle points.

"What's wrong?" Monika opened her eyes, followed Xiaoxue's gaze, and a sense of unease rose in her heart.

The lake surface was calm as a mirror, reflecting the morning glow of the sky and the green trees on the shore, showing no abnormalities. The mist by the lake still rose gently, the waterfall still rushed, everything was the same as the previous two days. But Monika knew Xiaoxue's perception ability far exceeded that of humans; it could hear sounds humans couldn't hear and see lights humans couldn't see; it must have discovered something.

Aikesi flew over from the direction of the waterfall, moving extremely fast, and when he landed beside Monika, he brought up a gust of strong wind. His gaze looked heavily at the lake surface, his brows tightly furrowed, "I sensed it too. There is a weak energy fluctuation deep in the lake bottom, although most of it is blocked by the lake water."

"What is it?" Monika stood up, and Xiaoxue flew from her shoulder into the air, circling above her head.

"Unclear, but very ancient." Aikesi extended his spiritual power to probe the lake bottom, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter, "There is something down there; let's go down and take a look."

The two exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and jumped into the lake together, diving toward the lake bottom. Xiaoxue spread her wings, flying close to the water surface, her pair of black eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly, guarding them from the air.

The deeper the lake water, the colder it became; the warmth on the surface was gradually left behind, replaced by a bone-piercing chill. The light also grew darker and darker; the sunlight penetrating from the surface almost completely disappeared at a depth of several dozen zhang, and the surroundings fell into a deep, dark blue.

Aikesi cast a fireball, the orange-red light illuminating the surroundings. The scene at the lake bottom gradually became clear; white sand and pebbles covered the lakebed, colorful pebbles scattered among the white sand, occasionally a few small fish swam past, startled by the fireball's light and scattering in all directions. Everything looked very normal, with no abnormalities, just an ordinary lake bottom.

But that energy fluctuation indeed existed, and the closer one got to the lake bottom, the stronger the fluctuation became.

Aikesi stopped at the lake bottom, stepped on the soft sand and pebbles, closed his eyes, and condensed his spiritual power into a thread, probing toward the source of the fluctuation. After a moment, he opened his eyes, his gaze falling on a large pebble ahead.

That stone was about half a person's height, oval-shaped, with a smooth surface, covered in algae and moss, looking no different from other stones. But when Aikesi pushed it with his hand, the stone didn't budge at all, as if rooted firmly in the lake bottom.

"This stone has a problem." Aikesi said, placed both hands on the stone, and Strength Profound Mystery exploded instantly. He let out a low shout, forcefully lifted it, and the stone was slowly raised, revealing the mud and sand below.

Below the stone was a cave entrance, about two meters in diameter, the edge of the opening so neat it did not look naturally formed. The cave walls were carved with dense ancient runes.

"This is—a seal." Aikesi carefully identified the runes, his pupils trembling slightly.

"Then we—" Monika swallowed, her voice somewhat tight.

"Go down and take a look, but stay close to me, and do not touch anything randomly." Aikesi said in a deep voice.

The two slid down along the cave entrance. The interior of the cave was much larger than imagined; the passage wound and twisted, extending downward for at least a hundred zhang. The runes on the cave walls became more and more numerous and complex, changing from sparse distribution at the entrance to dense coverage, almost covering every inch of the stone wall. Aikesi could feel that these runes had been severely eroded by time; many rune patterns were already blurred and unclear.

After sliding about a hundred zhang, the cave suddenly opened up; the end of the passage was a huge space.

This was a stone chamber that had collapsed mostly, with an area of about three to four hundred square zhang, but most of it was filled with collapsed giant stones, leaving only a small area in the center where one could stand. The four walls were made of black-green giant stones, each weighing over ten thousand jin, carved with various battle scenes: human experts fighting beasts, God Level experts dueling in the sky, the heavens and earth changing color, mountains and rivers shattering, the sun and moon losing their light. Although the stone chamber was broken, many carvings had been smoothed by time or smashed by falling stones, the carvings that remained were still vivid, as if telling the story of that earth-shattering great battle ten thousand years ago.

In the center of the stone chamber stood a broken stone pillar, about three feet in diameter, carved with complex patterns and runes. Leaning against the stone pillar was the corpse of a youth, as if asleep.

The corpse's right hand tightly gripped a long spear; the spear body was entirely silver-white, about eight feet long; although covered in dust, a faint cold light still flowed within.

Aikesi walked forward, stopped before the corpse, bowed slightly to show respect for the deceased, and then carefully took the long spear from the corpse's hand.

The spear felt heavy in hand, weighing about a hundred jin, made of a material neither metal nor jade. Aikesi brushed the dust off the spear body with his hand, revealing the silver-white surface, smooth as a mirror, reflecting his face. Two ancient characters were carved on the spear body, the brushstrokes vigorous and powerful, each stroke containing the power of laws—Frost Moon.

"Frost Moon—what a good name." Aikesi murmured, his fingers gently stroking the two ancient characters on the spear body, feeling the power of laws contained within, and stored the long spear into his space ring.

Just then, a cold voice came from outside the stone chamber, echoing in the cave.

"Human, leave the thing behind."