With the tacit permission of the unknown voice, Shen Yu felt a little more at ease. However, now was not the time to bring up such matters. Given the wild and impulsive personality of Mu Lan, who was near him, if he dared to suggest going to see the snow mountain, Mu Lan would most likely follow. Even if Shen Yu refused, a restless heart could not be stopped by any means.
Thinking of this, Shen Yu calmly continued to help Mu Qingqing tidy up at the Sheep Ranch. He then bid farewell, saying he was returning to the Sheep Inn. As a traveler, Mu Qingqing could not stop him, so she could only see Shen Yu off from the Sheep Ranch.
After leaving the Sheep Ranch, Shen Yu did not immediately head towards the snow mountain. Instead, he returned to the Sheep Inn and stayed for another night. It was not until the next morning that he set off from the Sheep Inn in the direction of the snow mountain.
After a day of rest, Shen Yu, now embarking on the snow mountain path, was truly prepared and full of confidence. Moreover, this time he did not use any conventional means of transportation. He was instantly teleported to the foot of the snow mountain.
"Sister Meng, when did you learn to teleport?"
Shen Yu tightened his scarf and looked at Mewtwo, who was standing beside him with his arms crossed, surveying the surroundings. Although Shen Yu was unclear about Mewtwo's move list, he was certain that Mewtwo did not possess this ability. Could it be that he learned it from Mew? That was impossible.
If Xia Huanao were here, this matter might be explainable. According to the system's data on Xia Huanao, Ling Yao Star was in its seventh generation. Although Mewtwo in this era could not learn Teleport at all, and there was no possibility of using its tail to trigger Teleport, this did not prevent Mewtwo from obtaining a "DLC" called "Let's Go, Pikachu!" or "Let's Go, Eevee!" from Arceus.
Getting back to the point, Mewtwo did not intend to explain how it had arrived here, even if one said it had opened a door with a legendary space-type Pokémon, what would that have to do with Mewtwo?
Mewtwo pointed towards the distant snow mountain, signaling Shen Yu to enter.
Shen Yu exhaled onto his hands and began walking towards the snow mountain.
...
On the mountain path of the snow mountain, although the weather was clear, a chill still pervaded the air. Scattered snowflakes were haphazardly swept by the wind towards Shen Yu and Mewtwo, who was beside him.
As Shen Yu walked, he asked Mewtwo, "Sister Meng, is there something you need here?"
Mewtwo floated along and replied, "Do you know about Arceus's treasures?"
Shen Yu was taken aback. "Arceus's treasures? I'm not very familiar with that. I've only heard that Arceus can change its attributes through mysterious Plates."
"Well, that's more or less correct. This snow mountain houses Arceus's Plates."
Huh? There are Arceus's Plates here? Why haven't I heard about it?
Perhaps sensing Shen Yu's confusion, Mewtwo explained, "This matter is quite confidential. Generally, no one knows about it. If it weren't for the fact that you are a friend and have no greedy intentions, I wouldn't tell you."
Shen Yu continued to exhale onto his hands. "Is that so? So you came just for Arceus's Plates?"
Mewtwo replied with some concern, "Yes, I've had some ominous premonitions recently, so I came to check. I heard you also wanted to explore the snow mountain, so I accompanied you."
After thanking Mewtwo, the two continued to walk further in. They turned a few bends along the mountain path but saw nothing. Shen Yu couldn't help but feel a little strange. "Sister Meng, do the Plates expel Pokémon within a certain range?"
Mewtwo turned to look at Shen Yu. "What do you mean? Although Arceus's Plates possess some of Arceus's might due to being carried for a long time, Arceus, as the creator of the world, would not refuse to expel humans and Pokémon. This applies even to its Plates."
Shen Yu asked again, "Then why haven't I seen a single Pokémon so far? This place is not a life forbidden zone. There should be some wild Ice-type Pokémon."
Mewtwo stopped its steps upon hearing this. This matter was indeed very strange. If it were a secret realm, then due to certain circumstances, there might be absolute life forbidden zones, such as absolute zero. However, on Ling Yao Star, such extreme weather was impossible on the snow mountain. Even on the highest peak of Ling Yao, there were some ordinary Pokémon. Why were there no Pokémon on this snow mountain?
Mewtwo looked at Shen Yu. "Something might have happened, we need to speed up."
Shen Yu quickened his pace and, guided by Mewtwo, arrived outside a temple halfway up the mountain. Shen Yu pointed to the giant stone gate in front of him. "Is this the temple that enshrines the Plates?"
Mewtwo nodded. "Yes, this is the temple that enshrines the Ice-type Plate. It seems there are no problems yet."
As soon as it finished speaking, they felt the ground shake violently within the snow mountain, and the temple also began to tremble. Amidst the violent tremors, a rocket soared into the sky and instantly disappeared into the distance.
Watching the rocket disappear with its tail of flames, Mewtwo gritted its teeth. "You protect yourself here." With that, it gave chase.
Mewtwo also disappeared from sight, leaving Shen Yu alone to look at the ruins of the temple. After careful consideration, he still walked over.
Although the stone gate of the Divine Eagle still stood, it was merely a prop. Shen Yu carefully bypassed the stone gate and entered the interior of the temple.
The temple was very spacious inside. Even with ruins scattered everywhere, it still exuded a grand atmosphere. Shen Yu lowered his head to look at the stone slab beneath his feet, carved with patterns of various Ice-type legendary Pokémon, including Regice and Articuno. In the center of the temple was a shattered ice sculpture, broken beyond recognition.
Judging solely by the four legs still standing, this should have been Arceus's ice sculpture. Shen Yu reached out and gently touched it, and the crystal-clear ice sculpture shattered into pieces. Now, not even Arceus could be identified.
At this moment, Mewtwo returned to the temple with a rainbow glow and came to Shen Yu's side. Seeing Mewtwo, Shen Yu asked eagerly, "How is it? Did you catch up?"
Mewtwo shook its head. "Human technology has indeed developed rapidly. It is unlikely that any Pokémon could catch up to that thing just now."
"Then what do we do?"
Mewtwo gave Shen Yu a reassuring look. "Don't worry, just an Ice-type Plate will not have a particularly significant impact on the ecosystem of Minglong Country. As long as the other Plates are fine, it should be okay."
Speaking of which, Mewtwo glanced in the direction of Xue Tian City below the snow mountain. Shen Yu also turned his head, understanding dawned upon him.
"Disasters are often accompanied by fortune, and fortune by disaster." If the loss of the Ice-type Plate not having a significant impact on the entire Minglong Country was a fortune, then it seemed that the so-called disaster would befall Xue Tian City.
Shen Yu asked, "What impact will the loss of the Plate have on Xue Tian City?"
Mewtwo did not answer but walked out of the temple and looked down at the ground. Shen Yu followed and looked at the ground. The snow-covered area outside the temple had already begun to turn muddy. Shen Yu quickly realized that the entire city might have been maintained by the Ice-type Plate. With the loss of the Ice-type Plate, the surrounding ecosystem of Xue Tian City had been significantly altered. At the very least, this snow mountain seemed to be disappearing.
Shen Yu pursed his lips and remained silent. Mewtwo advised him, "You'd better not tell anyone about this. It's something that cannot be explained clearly."
Indeed, if you saw the Ice-type Plate being stolen and tried to persuade Xue Tian City to relocate, who would believe it? Even if you explained, what would be the use?
Shen Yu sighed. "This means that all the people around the snow mountain are in for bad luck."
Mewtwo floated down the mountain. "Let's go, I'll escort you down the mountain first. I have other things to do afterwards."
Shen Yu followed Mewtwo down the mountain path. As they walked, Shen Yu still had one unsolved question: where did all the Pokémon in the mountain go? If even the construction of a rocket in the mountain went unnoticed, how could the Pokémon remain oblivious to such a loud commotion? With the disappearance of the Ice-type Plate and such a significant climatic change, why did the Pokémon show no reaction? This was unreasonable!
Mewtwo's steps suddenly stopped. "You want to know about the Pokémon in the snow mountain, right?"
Shen Yu nodded. Mewtwo changed direction and continued forward. "Let's go, I'll show you, but you need to be mentally prepared."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yu's heart tightened. He silently followed Mewtwo's footsteps to a mountain hollow not far from the temple.
Perhaps because it was too close to the temple, the climatic change had already affected this area with mud. Shen Yu had only walked a few steps before his shoes were covered in mud. But upon closer inspection, Shen Yu realized that the mud underfoot was not from melting snow, but from blood.
Shen Yu trembled as he looked forward. As far as his eyes could see, there were Pokémon corpses, densely packed. Shen Yu bit his lip, forcing himself not to cry. Together with Mewtwo, he gathered all the Pokémon corpses and watched as Mewtwo ignited a blazing farewell fire.
"Using heart's blood to break the ice sculpture that guarded the Ice-type Plate, you humans are truly resourceful."
Mewtwo's voice was devoid of emotion, but Shen Yu knew very well that Mewtwo was in a state of extreme anger at this moment, and any further provocation would cause it to explode. Fortunately, Shen Yu was there, which prevented it from erupting directly.
"Let's go down the mountain."
"Okay."
Shen Yu and Mewtwo descended the mountain with their own thoughts. Mewtwo said, "I still have things to do, so I won't accompany you back. Be careful on your own."