Chapter 366 The God of the Ice Wasteland - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

The person had been rescued, but now a new problem arose—what to do with Lin Jiujui’s team. Taking them along would be torturous for someone like Su Miao, who had social anxiety. Being stared at by a group of strangers every day was just too terrifying. Leaving them behind, considering the dangers of the otherworld, Su Miao felt their chances of survival were quite slim. Whether it was the monstrous entities Lin Jiujui had slain earlier or the town's natives, they would likely meet the same fate upon encountering them. However, entering the otherworld had been a choice made by the Twelve Departments, an organization of ability-wielders. Death was something they should have anticipated. Therefore, even if one day these people were to become corpses, Su Miao wouldn’t feel much emotional disturbance. At most, she would send them off with a large fireball to ensure they wouldn’t be left unburied in the wilderness. “Sister Su Miao, can we temporarily bring them along?” Lin Jiujui proactively requested. Su Miao looked at Lin Jiujui, surprised by her request. “Why?” “The Twelve Departments' plan was to locate stable spatial nodes nearby upon entering, find the portal back, and establish an outpost near it,” Lin Jiujui explained, “But too many of my people died, putting the plan on hold. Now that these people are alive, they can be of use.” Xia Xiao'an added, “Sister Su Miao, among them are scientists capable of detecting spatial nodes.” After pondering for a moment, Su Miao asked, “Where are the rough coordinates for this portal?” “In the ruins of the city we left, we need to locate it,” Lin Jiujui responded. City ruins… Who knows how many mysterious monsters were hidden within. However, having a stable portal meant not having to worry about the way back, and that was crucial. Su Miao thought for a moment and decided to stay temporarily: “Alright, I’ll plant a tree in the city center and set up a magical barrier.” This way, she would leave a marker in the otherworld, creating an outpost whether she returned the same way or found a different route. Lin Jiujui was delighted: “Thank you, Sister Su Miao!” Having traveled extensively through the apocalypse with Sister Su Miao, Lin Jiujui knew that she had severe social anxiety. When around Xia Xiao'an, Su Luoli, and her, Sister Su Miao could manage, but with strangers, the situation would be different. And if any of them showed malice, things could get much worse. But having rescued them, Lin Jiujui didn’t have the heart to just abandon them. After all, theoretically, these people were her subordinates. So Lin Jiujui came up with this plan. This way, they wouldn’t have to bring these people along, but they could stay and build an outpost here. Once the outpost was established, they could choose to remain in the otherworld or return to Earth. Half an hour later, Su Miao planted a mutated willow tree outside the city ruins. With a wave of her hand, she launched a large water ball, causing the tree to grow over five meters tall and a magic barrier measuring 30 meters in diameter to form. Due to the unique environment of the otherworld, Su Miao added a touch of light magic to the mutated willow tree this time. Thus, when the barrier was set up, it appeared like a holy light barrier from a distance. Inside the barrier, Su Miao pitched a composite military tent. It was meant for her, Xia Xiao'an, Lin Jiujui, and the starling, not the members of the Twelve Departments. Meanwhile, the starling reverted to its large avian form and carried back Lin Jiujui's seven subordinates in a large basket. Tao Yujie and the others saw the magical barrier and the military tent within. But they kept their thoughts in check, knowing it was a blessing just to be alive, and acting foolishly in front of Su Miao would be incredibly stupid. What if Lady Su Miao was testing them, gauging if anyone would have ulterior motives to justify killing them? Tao Yujie had seen similar antics back at the department plenty of times. It's not beyond the realm of possibility. If something has even a one percent chance of happening, not betting is fine, but betting on that one percent could lead to trouble. Tao Yujie was relieved that the others didn’t entertain such thoughts, so she didn’t have to worry about any teammates messing things up. In truth, these people were still in shock and dread. Firstly, they'd been captured by the natives of the otherworld, imprisoned, and living in constant fear. Secondly, Lin Jiujui and Xia Xiao'an had come to the rescue, the latter dispatching enemies with a mere gesture, instilling terror with her ruthlessness. Thirdly, the otherworld had incomprehensible monsters capable of body possession, and without the Witch Su Miao's intervention, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Fourthly, the Witch Su Miao was as lethal as rumors suggested, their survival solely owed to her mercy. Lastly, who'd have thought the small girl accompanying their esteemed lord and Xia Xiao'an was actually a royal-class mutant creature? They remembered it now. The starling beside Witch Su Miao. When had this starling risen to the status of a royal-class creature? It was terrifying. Tao Yujie was slightly reassured, hoping everyone could maintain this mindset to increase their chances of surviving the otherworld. Frankly, compared to the otherworld, Earth's apocalyptic disasters felt gentle. She longed to return. … On Su Miao’s side, as she turned to speak to Lin Jiujui and Xia Xiao'an, she suddenly noticed the starling was gone. “Where is Luoli?” “She was here just moments ago,” Lin Jiujui looked around in confusion, worried that Su Luoli might be in danger. Xia Xiao'an pointed to the sky, saying, “Sister Su Miao, up there.” In the sky, the starling was returning like lightning. “Your Highness, I found this,” the starling landed, transforming into Su Luoli, presenting an ancient-looking scroll like a treasure. The scroll seemed to be made of some special fabric, appearing quite resistant to water and fire. Upon opening it, she discovered it was a map, marked with numerous locations. “The Frozen Wasteland…” Su Miao muttered while examining the map. Xia Xiao'an noticed an oddity, pointing at the scribble-like text, and asked, “Sister Su Miao, can you understand these words?” Hmm? Su Miao retorted, “Isn’t it written in Chinese?” Xia Xiao'an and Lin Jiujui were taken aback: “No, what we see are scribble-like symbols.” Su Miao looked at Xia Xiao'an and Lin Jiujui, then focused on the map’s text. Concentrating slightly, she saw the scribble-like symbols they spoke of. Yet, despite this, Su Miao could still comprehend the symbols as if she had known them long before. But surely, this couldn’t be knowledge one obtained upon awakening powers. Could it be an ability she possessed as a witch? Since her last awakening, Su Miao felt significant changes in her body. Being the subject of these changes, she wasn’t entirely sure what they were even now. As for the native inhabitants of the otherworld calling her “god”... That was not something Su Miao accepted. These natives seemed to call anyone capable of flight a god, which seemed absurd to her. However, what intrigued Su Miao was the final words of a bizarre creature that had attempted to possess a person, claiming knowledge of the secrets of the Frozen Wasteland god. Coincidentally, this map was called the Frozen Wasteland, the name given to this vast land. Su Miao speculated that there had once been a god in the Frozen Wasteland. Due to some misfortune, the god might have fallen into a deep slumber or even perished, triggering a series of unusual transformations. Of course, the truth could only be uncovered by witnessing it herself. Su Miao wished to investigate. With her eyes on the map, she quickly found their current location. The abandoned city they were in was called Crystal City, once a beautiful metropolis, now reduced to ruins. Utilizing an instrument, Su Miao conducted a rapid measurement of the terrain, confirming that this city was 30,000 years old. Its ruins being preserved so well after such a long time was extraordinarily unusual! Normally, this city should have long been buried in dust. As she continued to study the map, Su Miao hoped to find clues related to the Frozen Wasteland god, but unfortunately, despite her efforts, she found nothing. Beyond the map, the most distinctive marks were small triangle symbols. By recalling and comparing them to reality, Su Miao determined that these triangles were coordinates for special spatial nodes. This map was extremely valuable! “You all stay here to set up the camp, I’m heading out for a while.” Looking into the distance, Su Miao intended to first explore the special areas marked on the map, each labeled with the word “void.” There were exactly six voids on the Frozen Wasteland, and each covered a massive area. Xia Xiao'an asked, “Sister Su Miao, how long will you be gone?” “I don’t know. You just stay here,” Su Miao replied. Xia Xiao'an and Lin Jiujui nodded. "Alright." Su Luoli said, "Your Highness, I..." Su Miao instructed, "Luoli, stay and protect Xiao'an and Jiujui." Su Luoli initially feared that Lady Su would abandon her, but being tasked with protecting Xia Xiao'an and Lin Jiujui gave great significance to the mission. With arrangements made, Su Miao left them a few spatial storage devices and ascended into the sky, heading toward a marked area on the map. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared from their view. ... In the Frozen Wasteland, atop a towering mountain stood a majestic castle. Built with the distinctive gray stone associated with demons, one might mistakenly think it a demon's castle. In reality, to humans, it resembled one, but the primary difference was that the castle wasn't owned by a demon king but by a sage. "Great Sage!" The raccoon man entered a room, his expression grave and respectful. "Mohe Town has lost contact since the god’s descent nearby." Seated at a desk, the Owl Sage said, "Is that so?" "Great Sage, Old Yan's caravan has also gone silent," the raccoon man continued. The Owl Sage replied, "The Frozen Wasteland is heading towards destruction. Prepare yourselves." The raccoon man's expression changed. "Great Sage, even you can't save us? Not even the demon king was a match for you..." The Owl Sage said, "I see no hope." "Great Sage, finding this place was hard. Moving means deaths. If there’s no hope here or elsewhere, why not fight once?" questioned the raccoon man. "Do you understand what a god represents?" the Owl Sage asked. "A god stands for destruction. As long as gods exist, the Frozen Wasteland is hopeless. I remember the terror brought by the wasteland god," the raccoon man replied. "Even if that god might now be dead or asleep, it leaves us cursed and tormented," he continued. "If you know this, do you grasp the consequences of battling a god that descended upon the wasteland again?" the Owl Sage asked. Tears in his eyes, the raccoon man pleaded, "Great Sage, we have no choices left. Unless all agree to become monsters—children are losing control. Soon, except for you, we all might be monsters." The Owl Sage fell silent. [Indeed, not even the demon king was a match, so why not gamble once?] [If I succeed this time, maybe I’ll have a chance...] [Yes, fight once! Fight once!] Suddenly, a strange voice echoed in his mind, slowly gnawing away at the Owl Sage's rationale. His aura shifted. "Very well, make the arrangements." "Yes, Great Sage!" The raccoon man exited the room. In short order, peculiar flying creatures departed the castle, heading toward Mohe Town. The Owl Sage opened a thick magical journal on his desk, containing records of various experiments he conducted to save his kind. 30,000 years ago, during the divine wars, the chief god of the Frozen Wasteland fell from the void one day, ushering in endless calamity and anomalies. Many kin transformed into irrational monsters, with some evolving into creatures like him. Over time, offspring were born as monsters. This persisted until 7,000 years ago when he, the Great Sage, was born. The Owl Sage seemed to absorb the fortune of the Frozen Wasteland, becoming its epicenter of luck. In 300 years, he rose as the Great Sage, devising a method to slow his kin's degeneration by harnessing the demon king's power. But why would a demon king cooperate with such perilous experiments? Thus, the Great Sage killed and consumed the demon king, using his body as a crucible to transform the demon king's power for his people. Initially, it slowed the symptoms, but relying on demon king's power invited new catastrophes. His kin grew dependent on the power, descending into non-human, non-demon, more terrifying monstrosities. In this dilemma, the Owl Sage faced two choices: provide endless power or abandon them entirely. The people were unaware. Sustained usage and consumption of the demon king's essence were leading the Great Sage himself toward becoming a demon king. Unless he found a god, consuming and balancing its power with his own. The Owl Sage resolved to attempt it. (End of this chapter.)