novelraw Chapter 363: Rise Again, Ice Witch!
Chapter 363: Rise Again, Ice Witch!
Huff, huff—
The surrounding temperature continued to drop.
Chen Qi held the lantern, and as he stepped onto the staircase, layers of ice crystals began forming on his hand.
Step! Step! Step!
Chen Qi followed behind Fen, quickly reaching the bottom level of the Witch's Coffin.
The moment they descended from the staircase, unimaginable extreme cold filled the entire space.
Chen Qi even felt his own speech becoming extremely slow.
[You have fallen into a 'Frozen' state. Remaining in this state for too long will cause you to develop Ice Sculpture Disease, with a chance of permanently becoming a statue in the Great Sea Coffin.]
Chen Qi activated his Body Forging Technique and qi force, striving to raise his body temperature.
The low temperature of the Witch's Coffin exceeded his expectations.Chen Qi estimated that even though he had studied Rift Slash, he could only stay in the Witch's Coffin for twenty minutes.
Beyond twenty minutes, his body would start having problems.
The only benefit of this place was that the blizzard had stopped, allowing him and Fen to communicate normally.
Chen Qi turned back, looking upward toward the end above the staircase.
Fen picked up her water bottle, took a sip of hot water, and said in a hoarse voice:
"What's wrong, Qi?"
Chen Qi pricked up his ears.
At the entrance, he could faintly hear the sound of giant elephants stomping the ground, the sounds of battle between the Tentacle Merchant and the Azure Beast, and the Tentacle Merchant's wails.
After emerging from the Witch's Coffin, they would likely encounter an ambush from the Blackfin Crew.
Chen Qi said gravely:
"We might get ambushed after we come out."
Fen remained silent for a moment, then distributed the relics of the Lamp Witch and the Witch Relic of the Cup to Chen Qi. The Ice Witch could restore her power by absorbing the relics.
After distributing the items, Fen said softly:
"Qi, we need to hurry now..."
A pale little white flower grew on Fen's head, a sign of her exhaustion.
Chen Qi nodded, looked around, and asked:
"Where to next?"
The entire Witch's Coffin was pitch black, as if they were in an empty ice plain.
Fen pointed in one direction:
"This is my first time here too, I don't know the teacher's exact location.
We can only search one by one."
"Qi, let's search from left and right sides separately, looking for the teacher, then meet at the center in twenty minutes."
Splitting up... Chen Qi nodded. The situation inside the Witch's Coffin indeed didn't support them moving together.
Chen Qi nodded, walked to Fen's side, took her lantern, hooked his finger, and increased the flame in her lantern.
In this bottomless darkness, the only light came from their lanterns.
Chen Qi handed the lantern to Fen:
"Here..."
Under the lantern's glow, a blush appeared on Fen's pale face as she nodded:
"Be careful, definitely watch out for any living creatures nearby, even tiny insects."
As a 'witch', the Flower Witch's mobility inside the Witch's Coffin was higher than Chen Qi's.
Meanwhile, Chen Qi, not being a witch, was more likely to be attacked by monsters.
Fen had heard from her teacher that all living creatures in the Witch's Coffin were monsters without exception.
And every monster here could cause a terrifying disaster if released into the Witch Sea.
The two didn't speak further, separating and walking toward the depths of the Witch's Coffin to search for the Ice Witch.
Chen Qi carefully held the Daylight Lantern as he walked deeper.
The deeper he went, the lower the temperature became.
Chen Qi remained vigilant against monsters as he walked.
The Witch's Coffin was considered one of the deeper layers of the Great Sea Coffin, and the monsters inside were even more terrifying and bizarre.
"I hope my luck isn't too bad..."
Chen Qi stepped on crunching broken ice, each step feeling unusually heavy. His breath condensed into white mist in the cold air, then dissipated without a trace.
The surroundings were eerily quiet, with no signs of life except for the echo of his footsteps and occasional ice cracking sounds.
Just then, an untimely anomaly broke this silence.
Chen Qi looked into the distance and saw a massive coffin suspended in mid-air, floating alone without ropes or support, as if held up by some supernatural force!
The coffin's surface was covered with a thin layer of frost, reflecting the faint surrounding light and shimmering with an eerie blue glow, adding to the ominous atmosphere.
The Ice Witch's coffin? Chen Qi took a step forward.
However, the moment he took that step, the floating coffin inexplicably moved, emitting creaking sounds.
What a haunted place... Chen Qi took a deep breath, cautiously approached, and drew his longsword.
Neither he nor Fen could determine the Ice Witch's exact location, so they had to check every coffin they encountered.
Simply put, it was like opening blind boxes, drawing cards!
If they could draw the Ice Witch, this journey could end immediately!
Chen Qi picked up his longsword, approached, and aimed it at the coffin's seam.
The scene before him was extremely frightening.
Fortunately, after so many adventures, his courage far exceeded that of ordinary people.
"Pardon me..."
Chen Qi forcefully pried open the coffin lid with his sword.
Bang! Instantly, icy white mist billowed from the coffin.
Chen Qi couldn't help but shiver, covering himself from the mist as he looked inside.
Even under the lantern's light, the coffin's interior remained extremely dark.
Come out, Ice Witch! Chen Qi prayed inwardly.
Gradually, his vision revealed a woman about 1.8 meters tall.
She lay quietly inside the coffin, her skin pale as ice and snow, blue hair like silk gently draped beside her, as if merging with the surrounding ice and snow.
Her appearance resembled that of snow demon-type monsters.
On her right chest was the emblem of the Magic Bullet Family.
And her face bore a faint smile, as if about to crack open, particularly eerie.
An ancestor of the Magic Bullet Family, or something else... Chen Qi shook his head.
First draw failed—no, first coffin opening failed.
Although also female, this wasn't the Ice Witch, but someone else sleeping here.
"Pardon me..."
Chen Qi closed his eyes, preparing to close the coffin lid.
However, the next second, Chen Qi's pupils contracted involuntarily!
In just one second.
The woman in the coffin had disappeared.
Chen Qi looked around but could no longer see the corpse's figure.
Undoubtedly, he had encountered a monster from the Witch's Coffin.
I shouldn't be possessed... Chen Qi tapped his forehead, activated his spiritual vision, and checked his surroundings.
However, within his inspiration range, he couldn't detect any trace of the previous corpse.
A corpse had vanished right before his eyes.
Really bad luck... Chen Qi firmly gripped the lantern.
Although spiritual energy couldn't detect it, his inspiration could faintly sense that something was staring at him like a shadow!
It would attack at the slightest moment of relaxation.
He had likely encountered one of the Witch Sea's most terrifying monsters, the Ice Doll.
Must speed up... Chen Qi tried to calm himself, held the lantern, remained vigilant of his surroundings, and walked deeper into the Witch's Coffin.
Along the way, Chen Qi saw numerous eerie humanoid ice sculptures and coffins suspended in mid-air.
Chen Qi walked while opening coffins.
In a short time, he had opened twenty coffins.
Among them were various legends of the Witch Sea: the lucky adventurer Steve, the Saint from Bonfire Family's history, the former leader of the Sea God Pirates who made a deal with the Deep Sea Ancient God.
There was even a Heart Witch sleeping here.
Of course, most coffins contained people Chen Qi couldn't identify.
Chen Qi vaguely remembered forum analyses stating that many sleepers in the Witch's Coffin didn't belong to the Witch Sea but came from other eras, other worlds.
After walking for an unknown duration, Chen Qi's footsteps slowly stopped.
He looked up and around again, seeing numerous knight ice sculptures.
Even as ice sculptures, Chen Qi could faintly see slowly moving souls in their eyes.
"How long has it been..."
Chen Qi tried to check the time, but the pocket watch in his Backpack Card had already been completely damaged by the extreme cold.
Chen Qi could only estimate through bodily sensation that about twenty-five minutes had passed.
And he should now be at the center of the Witch's Coffin.
Ice Witch, where exactly are you? Chen Qi looked around, muttering to himself.
His skin had already started developing severe ice crystals.
Continuing like this, he might turn into an ice sculpture in the coffin.
Moreover, what truly worried Chen Qi was that he still hadn't seen any sign of Fen until now.
"Fen..."
Chen Qi called out several times but received no response.
If his bodily time sense wasn't wrong, it meant Fen had likely encountered trouble in the Great Sea Coffin!
"Troublesome..."
Chen Qi couldn't help feeling irritated, stomping the ground hard with his foot.
However, suddenly, his foot felt a strange sensation.
Simultaneously, all the knight ice sculptures around him turned to look at him!
"???"
Chen Qi looked down;
he seemed to have stepped on something soft.
Beneath his foot, a young girl lay quietly.
And his boot was accurately stepping on this girl's face!
Chen Qi silently moved his foot away and looked at the 'thing' beneath him.
She lay quietly in the frozen ground, wearing a Winter Kingdom monastery's mage robe, hands crossed over her chest like a devout nun.
Her skin was like the purest ice and snow under moonlight, emitting a faint blue glow.
Her long hair, an unusual white-blue color, shimmered with faint blue light, gently draped beside her, each strand seeming to tell ancient, distant stories.
Though her body was stiff, her posture was exceptionally elegant, like a meticulously carved artwork, every detail exuding a witch-like charm!
As if in the next instant, she would instantly rise and cast powerful magic.
Chen Qi's heart pounded wildly.
Compared to the amiable statue, the woman before him possessed more of a witch's youth and coldness, lacking some holiness and kindness.
But undoubtedly, this person's appearance.
Was the legendary Ice Witch, the Flower Witch's mentor, the undisputed popularity leader of the Witch Sea region, the one countless sea people prayed to!
"Finally found!"
Chen Qi couldn't help exclaiming.
The Ice Witch was like a statue, her emitted spiritual energy too faint, and she had merged with the ice, making her extremely difficult to find through spiritual energy alone.
Next was reviving the Ice Witch!
Reviving the Ice Witch required two steps.
First, inject the witch relics' energy into her body.
Chen Qi took out the Lamp Witch's relic and the Witch Relic of the Cup, placing them on the Ice Witch's chest.
The moment the witch relics touched the Ice Witch, their energy slowly infused into her body.
The thick ice crystals on the Ice Witch began to dissolve.
The second point was strong external stimulation!
And the best stimulation was pain!
After waiting for the absorption to complete, Chen Qi didn't hesitate, raising his boot that had frozen into an iron block.
Sorry, Witch, I don't have time to wait for you to wake naturally now!
Chen Qi stomped directly on the Ice Witch's face!
The force was so powerful that it deformed the Ice Witch's face and created numerous cracks in the surrounding ice!
"Arise! Ice Witch!"
Chen Qi retracted his foot and shouted.
However, contrary to his expectations, aside from an additional shoe print on the Ice Witch's face, there were no other changes!
The Ice Witch still lay there peacefully with her hands on her chest, like a noble saint.
Completely unmoved!
Moreover, the Ice Witch's expression faintly carried a hint of smile, as if mocking Chen Qi's weak force.
In that instant, Chen Qi felt insulted.
That was his full-power stomp, yet she slept this deeply...
Chen Qi thought for a moment, took out a hot water bottle, and poured it on the Ice Witch.
Then, he used fire to roast her and kicked her several more times.
However, the Ice Witch remained completely unmoved.
Chen Qi wiped cold sweat, looking at the Ice Witch beneath him.
He couldn't help but recall the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty.
But this 'Sleeping Beauty' couldn't be awakened by a kiss—only extreme violence could rouse her!
"Excuse me, Ice Witch."
Chen Qi stopped holding back, igniting his longsword.
"I'm getting serious, Ice Witch!"
Chen Qi took a deep breath, determination flashing in his eyes, assuming a drawing slash stance, gathering his spiritual energy into the blade!
Dark blue flames burst into life around him!
Chen Qi accumulated power, then suddenly unleashed his sword.
Black Wave Great Slash!
Revive for me, Ice Witch!
All his power poured out, the blade like a fire dragon's breath, fiercely striking the Ice Witch's delicate body!
However, when the flame slash capable of melting steel touched the Ice Witch, it only burned away some of her clothing.
But under this force, the Ice Witch finally showed some reaction.
Her lips murmured:
"Fen..."
The Ice Witch was waking! Chen Qi's face showed joy.
Then, the Ice Witch instinctively adjusted her sleeping position.
"???"
Chen Qi's eyes widened in shock.
She instinctively grabbed Chen Qi's heavy coat and covered herself with it.
Then, the Ice Witch's barely opened eyes quickly closed again.
After waking for a moment, she stole a blanket and went back to sleep?
Is this even possible?
She sleeps this deeply, and my clothes... Chen Qi resisted the urge to take his clothes back.
He carefully nudged the Ice Witch's face with his foot again.
"Ice Witch, if you don't get up, don't force me to use harsher methods, like spanking your..."
He had severely underestimated the Ice Witch's sleep quality.
Out of desperation, Chen Qi even considered threatening her with spanking or drawing turtles on her face!
But considering the Ice Witch's power and cold personality, Chen Qi swallowed his words.
The Ice Witch was a hundred times more dangerous than Fen, and an extremely cold existence.
Chen Qi cautiously said:
"Witch, if you don't get up, I'll pour hot water on you."
However, facing Chen Qi's threat, the Ice Witch showed no reaction, continuing to sleep deeply.
She slept very soundly, very peacefully...
Trying to wake a witch who had slept for nearly twenty years was indeed difficult...
How could he wake her? Chen Qi sighed helplessly.
He had no choice but to rest briefly, waiting for his spiritual energy to recover before trying to wake the Ice Witch with attacks again.
Just as he let his guard down to rest, a wave of malevolent cold came from behind Chen Qi!
A female doll had somehow appeared behind Chen Qi, its head suddenly swelling five times larger, violently opening a mouth full of sharp teeth!
It was the monster from the earlier coffin! A monster that could hide itself, track prey, and mercilessly kill them at their weakest moment!
In the Witch's Coffin, multiple legends had died by its mouth!
Taking advantage of Chen Qi's brief moment of inattention, its sharp teeth were already dripping with hungry saliva!
Swish!
Damn, my attention was distracted by the Ice Witch... Chen Qi immediately turned around, stepped back, and prepared to draw his sword to fight.
However, a scene he would never forget was reflected in Chen Qi's pupils!
Snowflakes landed on his face.
Somehow, a proud figure now stood before the doll monster pouncing toward him.
The proud figure lightly raised one hand, as if countless scattered snowflakes danced in the air, then condensed into a dazzling magic circle.
Almost the instant the monster pounced, a brilliant magical light burst from her fingertips, like dawn breaking through darkness, instantly enveloping the monster and slicing it into countless pieces!
Swish!
The icy cold wind blew past, the monster's blood splashing onto Chen Qi's face, its head full of sharp teeth rolling to his feet.
A legendary-level monster had been dismembered instantly before his eyes.
Killed a legend in one move... Chen Qi couldn't help but swallow.
In the aftermath of the magic, the Ice Witch slowly turned her head.
Chen Qi's pupils reflected the Ice Witch's flowing white hair, her proud posture like a white dragon standing tall.
And those blood-red eyes stared fixedly at him, icy to the extreme.