Chapter 306: 306.Chapter 303: Message from the Universe

306. Chapter 303: Message from the Universe

The whole world was shrouded by the white Grim Reaper; under the merciless scythe's harvest, one kind after another of life completely disappeared from this world.

Across the globe, countless rivers and oceans were completely frozen over; all fish and ecosystems suffered an unprecedented blow.

Countless insects, in this desperate environment, underwent frantic evolution; ants burrowed a hundred meters into the ground, hoping to use the earth to resist the extreme cold.

The birds flying in the sky screamed in despair, their wings coated with wind and frost, heavy as a thousand jin, unable to fly any longer; they could only stiffen and fall to the ground, deeply buried in the snow.

Immediately thereafter, humans, resembling balls, were dug out from the snow and eaten.

This time, the entire world fell into unprecedented panic; no one had the capacity to act against Great Xia anymore, as countless countries frantically responded to all of this.

But even so, the tragedy could not be stopped; at every moment, countless lives were lost, the death rate had reached a horrifying figure, they even dared not count how many died each day.

"How could this be? The death toll exceeds a new high each day and keeps increasing."

"What on earth is this extreme cold?"

"In the whole of India, just yesterday alone, ten million people died!"

"This blizzard is too terrifying; where does this extreme cold come from? It has surpassed common sense!"

Countless countries' officials, seeing the dire situation at home, have been worried for days and nights without proper sleep, even their eyes reddened from strain.

Although they anticipated this disaster would be severe, they never imagined it would be this terrifying, almost a force capable of destroying the world.

Within just a few days, nearly a hundred million people have died worldwide—what a horrifying number!

In the long river of human history, such a thing has never occurred!

Even the First and Second World Wars never saw such casualties; this is merely the beginning!

Their regimes are fracturing, nations are fading away; like an apocalyptic blizzard, it ruthlessly destroys everything, and no one can escape this calamity.

If no measures are taken, their only fate will be annihilation; their strength and resources cannot possibly support the entire populace of the nation.

These national leaders pondered for a long time, and finally made a painful decision.

"Miguo has decided to plan the nation's last five safe cities: they are New York, Huashengdun, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston!"

"We have decided to limit the supply of energy and security to these few cities; we now notify all residents near these cities to move entirely here."

"India has decided to plan the nation's last two safe cities: New Delhi, Mumbai."

"Italy has decided to plan the nation's last two safe cities: Rome, Milan."

"Eagle Country has decided to plan the nation's last safe city: London, Edinburgh."

One country after another issued bulletins, transmitted via satellite signals to nations worldwide; seeing these announcements, countless people across the globe became frenziedly angry!

What does this mean, prioritizing heating for these places?

Does this mean abandoning other places?!

Moreover, they are told to approach these places?

With such a massive blizzard, how could the hungry and weak possibly get through!

"Is this really the plan from above? Have they already abandoned us?"

"Hahaha! This is the wicked capitalist, the wicked elite; moneyed lives are lives, but ours are worth nothing!"

"Damn it, all of you go die!"

"God, let this utterly terrible world perish together!"

Across the world, countless peoples began to curse madly; after seeing these national leaders' decisions, most people fell into despair.

Around the world, countless wealthy people began desperately trying to head for those cities, but in this blizzard, how could they possibly break free?

The continually dropping temperatures, the unimaginably frenzied blizzard—no one can possibly get through!

Only those living nearest the cities, within a radius of several dozen li, can still attempt it.

The world had fallen into a near‑despairing situation; only Great Xia issued a different announcement.

"Great Xia has decided to list all cities nationwide as limited‑service cities; all power plants and heating companies nationwide will exert their utmost effort."

"Although the disaster is terrifying, fortunately we are using the latest means—a vacuum double‑layer warm‑water conduit inscribed with ancient runes from the Longyuan Mountain Range, which can still guarantee heating for all cities nationwide."

"Moreover, many people have recently called in, reporting increased food consumption during cultivation; to ensure public safety, the relevant departments, after deliberation, decided to double the food supply."

One piece of news after another, like a stimulant, made the whole of Great Xia boil over!

"Damn! Awesome! Even in extreme cold there's still heating—this is amazing; originally I worried my cultivation level wasn't enough to resist the cold, but now I can finally relax."

"Ancient runes from the Longyuan Mountain Range? I really want to know who wrote these ancient runes, and whether they might also come from the ancient beings there."

"I also noticed the Longyuan Mountain Range! Our previous ancient cultivation method came from its hand; now there are runes too—it feels too fantastical."

"I've heard many rumors before, supposedly transmitted from Longyuan Mountain, saying there are monsters there, though I don't know if it's true."

"Real or fake? Actually there are monsters—aren't they just reclusive cultivators?"

"Never mind all that, brothers—just cultivate well; since we can't go out anyway, diligent cultivation is the right path, and no matter what the Longyuan Mountain Range holds, it surely won't harm us."

"Great Xia is awesome! Longyuan Mountain Range is awesome!"

"Fortunate to be born in Great Xia in this life; in the next life I'll still be in the flower‑growing family!"

Accompanying Hua Tiancheng's announcement, Great Xia's interior instantly erupted in cheers; the earlier unease and restlessness brought by the heavenly‑earthly extreme cold vanished completely, replaced by an unprecedented sense of trust and security.

Within Great Xia, countless people rejoiced and leapt with joy; yet abroad, countless surviving peoples who saw all this were utterly shocked!

Damn, what the hell is going on?

Making every city a key city—are you joking?

You know Great Xia's population is the largest in the world; wanting to keep everyone safe on such vast land is nothing short of a pipe dream!

"Impossible, absolutely impossible—where does Great Xia get the gall to do this?"

"They are doomed to die en masse; in the face of such extreme cold, even having food is useless!"

Around the world, countless nations' eyes reddened, their expressions filled with disbelief.

However, once they actually witnessed Great Xia's measures and saw what happened within Great Xia, they were completely dumbfounded!

Because in Great Xia, there actually still is heating.

Under the extreme cold, the pipes that carried the heating not only did not break, but even the cables standing in the wind and snow continued to work stubbornly!

Seeing these scenes, countless global leaders were shocked beyond belief.

How could heating pipes possibly still operate in the extreme cold of minus 100 degrees?

Moreover, how could something as fragile as cables not collapse in the extreme cold!

They had tried every means to rescue these two things right away, but no matter what they did, in the face of the extreme cold they were as fragile as paper, easily torn apart by the blizzard!

How on earth did Great Xia manage that!

Not only did this shock the officials of each country, it also stirred up a huge wave in the hearts of ordinary people.

Compared like this, life in Great Xia was practically like heaven, while they lived in a hell of fire and water, the difference between the two sides immediately clear.

"Damn! Compared like this, our country is basically a useless joke—we only have five safe cities, while over in Great Xia, every city is a priority."

"I'm really unlucky—why wasn't I born a Great Xia citizen? Now I don't even know if there's still time to be reborn."

"I heard that foreigners living in Great Xia can also receive aid—I really envy them."

"Damn country, damn leaders, oh my god, Great Xia is simply my dream country—if I were a Great Xia citizen, I couldn't even imagine how fortunate I would be."

"There was once a chance to change my nationality right in front of me, but I didn't cherish it; now even crying my eyes out is too late."

The people of other countries cursed their own nations while envying the people of Great Xia.

Compared to their hand-to-mouth existence, not knowing if they'd have a next meal, life in Great Xia can be said to be paradise!

Ice and snow fell, and the true extreme cold arrived.

Unlike the previous Heavy Snow, the earlier Heavy Snow that blanketed the world, although it fell in flurry, brought people enormous difficulty.

But that difficulty mostly lay in other aspects, such as food crises, panic, and various riots, etc.

Those who died this time were not because of the severe cold, but due to the fear and panic before the disaster arrived; actually, very few truly died from the cold weather.

Although it was also cold between heaven and earth, it ultimately remained within the range of endurance, and most of the people who died worldwide were due to riots and famine.

The dead plants and animals were mostly only those near the tropics, and the non‑cold‑tolerant flora and fauna of the tropics, as well as the flora and fauna of frigid zones such as Antarctica, the Arctic, Siberia, etc., were basically unaffected.

But this extreme cold is different.

As time passed, the Earth gradually drifted away from the sun, sunlight diminished, and the whole world fell into a murky darkness!

This cold accelerated the freezing of heaven and earth, and together they brought an extreme cold that was terrifyingly multiple times worse than the previous ice age!

Under this freezing chill, the entire Earth seemed to be sealed in ice, and the global average temperature plummeted like a stock market crash, almost a straight line downward!

The terrifying cold current turned the sea surface into a crystal‑clear icy continent!

In the sky, what drifted down was no longer snowflakes but sheets of sharp, blade‑like ice and snow! Accompanied by the gale, it rampaged wildly across heaven and earth!

Faced with all this, countless people around the world were stunned.

"This damned weather is really too cold—it doesn't give anyone even a chance to survive."

"The original blizzard was already terrifying enough—why are there so many more cold waves descending!"

"My God, merciful and great Lord, please have pity on Your devout believers; quickly let this terrifying disaster pass, amen!"

"It's too cold—could this really be a natural temperature?"

Practically every country worldwide suffered an unprecedented disaster!

Everyone was dazed, and even on the Great Xia side, some were surprised.

"My goodness, this cold—can the heating hold up?"

"Even if the heating fails, we still have our cultivation technique to rely on and can endure—indeed, cultivating technique and raising one's realm is truly the correct decision!"

"Master the Longyuan Mountain Range cultivation technique, and you'll have nothing to fear wherever you go—well, let's get to cultivating."

Actually, facing this extreme cold blizzard, there is nowhere in the world that can block it!

The original steel‑reinforced concrete cities gradually became covered outside with vast expanses of extreme‑cold frost; the already low temperature plunged wildly, and the blizzard grew ever larger.

Moreover, in the cold, the heating and water supply in most cities have been cut off!

Across the world, countless people began to die on a massive scale.

The first to die were the drifters; their corpses froze within ten seconds, blood turned to ice, pupils cracked, torn apart by the blanket of heavy snow, and buried in the ice layer.

Then came the suffering masses, who had no electricity, no heating, no food supply, and could only await death.

There were able‑bodied youths who exhausted all the food in their homes, and after eating snow for several days to fill their stomachs, they went out to look for food.

But they were instantly pierced through the body by the sharp ice shards outside.

Some also ventured out into the blizzard to seek food and resources for their families' safety, but never returned.

There were mad scientists who desperately researched countermeasures, working night shifts in the institute until they died suddenly.

Devout Catholics clung to their crosses and died in front of the church.

There were wealthy celebrities who, in their huge mansions, set fire to all their books and treasures—precious golden‑thread nanmu wood and precious ancient paintings—all consumed by flames to provide warmth.

There were wilderness survival experts who built an indestructible ice‑snow fortress, brought food and family inside, but in the end they still died cold and alone in the blizzard.

Heaven and earth changed, countless humans began to die, and this extreme cold was like a great hand sweeping across the globe—wherever it passed, innumerable living beings fell dead!

Those in cities and villages at least had some warming measures and houses, but the flora and fauna of the vast land suffered an unprecedented catastrophe, even including some organisms that had survived since the Jurassic era, which now began to die out gradually.

On the Nile River in ancient Egypt, crocodiles died in the familiar waters, turning into giant ice sculptures that appeared on the river surface.

The Komodo dragon of Indonesia died of the severe cold.

Australia's kangaroo‑sloth had its face utterly torn apart by icy snowflakes.

Elephants were slaughtered one after another in the holy Dai kingdom, and on the Henghe, countless believers swarmed to devour them.

Polar penguins huddled together and died en masse; polar bears perished on the icebergs of the Arctic; the elk of A'erbeisi shan vanished in the blizzard; and underwater, sperm whales struck ice as thick as a continent, dying in desperate suffocation.

Only in the distant Longyuan Mountain Range of Great Xia, evergreen through the seasons, lush and verdant, amidst the ice and snow like a gigantic jade gem set in the white world, flashing with brilliant light.

The Longyuan Mountain Range is one of the few places not affected by the blizzard and the cold current.

The snowflakes in the sky fell all around, as if they had hit a transparent cover, scattering everywhere, as if trying to avoid it at all costs.

The temperature inside the mountain range remained unchanged, still holding the temperature before the heavenly cataclysm, forming its own world; no matter how the outside changed, it could not affect Longyuan Mountain.

Unless that is the day Earth meets utter destruction.

At this moment, Ye Qin was observing the state of heaven and earth, calculating the time when the Signal Tower would be fully completed, when suddenly a streak of light appeared, and a jade tablet floated into midair.

"Huh?"

His pupils contracted sharply, showing a hint of surprise.

This jade tablet is the one Qinghuan gave him earlier for communication!

Because Ye Qin was on Earth, the jade tablet could not be used, and after returning from the universe it had shown no activity.

But now, what is going on?

He clearly hadn't activated it, yet the jade tablet moved on its own?

At this moment, a phantom appeared in midair, exactly Qinghuan's likeness, though the shadow was hazy and blurred, yet one could still see she looked somewhat disheveled.

"Longling of the Heaven Sect Outer Gate Relocation Office is pursuing me. If... you help me, I will... thank you."

Qinghuan's speech was also broken and intermittent; soon the jade tablet returned to calm, its glow ceased flashing, and it was no different from an ordinary tablet.

Ye Qin's eyes flickered with light, "Could it be that because the Signal Tower has been erected, Earth is also within its signal range, so Qinghuan's message to me can be received, but since the Signal Tower isn't fully completed, it's somewhat unstable?"

Although the signal was unstable and the incoming message was fragmented, Ye Qin could tell that she seemed to have provoked a practitioner of the Heaven Sect's Outer Gate Relocation Office, who is now being hunted and is asking for his help. (End of chapter)