Chen Xiaohan didn't understand either. She had been honest with them, so why did everyone become more distant?
It seemed that sincerity didn't really earn true affection.
Even Meng Zibin would ask from time to time, "Bao, did you secretly put a charm on me?"
After Chen Xiaohan mastered the [Lamp of Extreme Cold], she commanded the spirit of the lamp to part the ice and snow of the [City of Lingering Winter].
As a gust of cold wind blew past, everyone who was chipping away at the ice and dismembering bodies froze. The ice... had melted!
The temperature of the entire city began to gradually rise, and the melting ice turned into scattered blue lights absorbed by the [Lamp of Extreme Cold].
Joy and distress began to coexist.
Before, these corpses were ice sculptures, and people didn't feel as disgusted. Now that the ice had melted, they had to touch the soft, flabby skin, which was truly uncomfortable.
There were hundreds of thousands of corpses in this city. It felt like being in a pile of dead bodies, which was quite terrifying.
What gave them some psychological comfort was that these things had been frozen for tens of thousands of years, preserved like in a freezer, so at least they wouldn't stink.
The melting ice also meant that the previously frozen areas could now be explored.
For example, auction houses, alchemy associations, blacksmith shops...
This meant that everyone's honeymoon period was over, and it was time to compete for resources.
"Ah Wei, what are you doing? Put down the Empress's storage ring, I killed her!" Li Qingyun hurriedly shouted at Luo Xiaowei, who was secretly trying to grab the Empress's storage ring.
Luo Xiaowei's face stiffened, and he immediately retorted angrily, "What do you mean you killed her? She was clearly cut down by my Xiao Xiao's axe!"
"Exactly!"
"Young friend Luo, this storage ring involves a lot. The situation here is very complex. Listen to this humble Taoist's advice, you can't handle it!"
"Scram, Ah Wei, don't blame your brother Teng for being ruthless!"
"What the hell! Is our friendship broken just because of a storage ring? Xiao Xiao, run!"
Luo Xiaowei, taking Qin Xiaoxiao with him, turned into two streaks of light and rushed out, but was quickly intercepted by others.
So, the people who were just moments ago politely yielding immortal artifacts to each other, started fighting again over the spoils of opportunity.
"Damn it! Meng Zibin, control your girlfriend! Stop secretly casting spells while it's chaos!"
"Chen Xiaohan can't participate anymore, she already got an immortal artifact. Let her find other things!"
"Yes, yes, let's pause the fight and ban Chen Xiaohan!"
Chen Xiaohan: "..."
"Should I leave then?"
Meng Zibin also smiled awkwardly and pushed Chen Xiaohan, saying, "You go snatch someone else's or find something else. Leave this to me!"
The Ice Empress's storage ring was definitely the treasure trove of this city. At the very least, they couldn't let them monopolize it!
They all thought the same way. The competition for this storage ring would take some time. As for other opportunities, there was no rush, they could just snatch them from others later.
...
More than three months had passed since Chu Yang obtained the system. In these three months, the world had changed incredibly fast. The highest among these cultivators had already reached the Nascent Soul stage.
With more than two years left, time was very tight.
So far, the highest time acceleration the system had given Chu Yang was only two hundred times in the Time Secret Realm.
The farthest plane recorded in the [Book of Plane Anchors] also only had a time flow of 250 times.
At most, it was not enough for a thousand years. To reach the Immortal Emperor realm in a thousand years, how difficult was that!
A convenient path was to defeat the Immortal Emperors on the tenth floor while you were still an Immortal King, and completely inherit their Dao fruits.
But... an Immortal Emperor fighting an Immortal King was even more difficult than a titled Douluo slaughtering a god.
How could inheriting their Dao fruits be that simple?
For Blue Star, the biggest problem was the discontinuity of the cultivation civilization, which was entirely supported by what Chu Yang obtained from the system.
Therefore, sending people to cultivation worlds to gather resources became very important.
After the [City of Lingering Winter] thawed, it also experienced a chaotic struggle.
This struggle might last for a while, as it was indeed very rich. There wasn't just the Ice Empress among the Nascent Soul cultivators in the city. The storage rings of these powerful cultivators would definitely be extremely wealthy.
Pity those who painstakingly searched through the corpses, only to face the snatching by those geniuses afterward.
Although they were very angry, they were helpless.
It took about a year for the chaotic situation in the [City of Lingering Winter] to end, and then everyone entered a period of patient secluded cultivation.
Li Qingyun and the others had their bottom lines, and they wouldn't forcefully disturb those in secluded cultivation.
But once you entered secluded cultivation, you would be without any remaining opportunities.
In the fourth year of the [City of Lingering Winter], Meng Zibin broke through from the Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul stage, becoming the fourth Nascent Soul stage cultivator on Blue Star.
Wang Teng followed closely, completing bone fracturing and entering the Blood Refining realm.
Luo Xiaowei, with the help of the [Sword Spirit Grass] in his body, had already reached the peak of the Golden Core stage early. Although he felt he could break through directly, it didn't feel like a natural progression, so he decided to suppress it further.
Qin Xiaoxiao didn't wait for Luo Xiaowei; she also broke through to the Nascent Soul stage.
As for the others, Li Qingyun and Bai Nianchen were still in the early Nascent Soul stage, currently making full efforts to break through to the middle Nascent Soul stage.
For geniuses of their level, breaking through a minor realm would incur a thunder tribulation.
Zhang Xiaohu had also reached the peak of the Golden Core stage. Due to his relatively poor aptitude, he basically relied on pills and various heavenly treasures to push himself up.
But it didn't matter; as long as his cultivation increased, it was a good thing for him.
Liang Zifan had also reached the peak of the Golden Core stage. Since obtaining the [Thunder Control Body] from the Nine Tribulation Thunder Emperor, his cultivation speed had advanced by leaps and bounds.
Shen Yingxue started her journey later and was still in the middle Golden Core stage.
Xiao Long, whose aptitude was originally as high as Li Qingyun's, was now also at the middle Golden Core stage.
This did not meet Chu Yang's expectations for him. Although he was already very outstanding, Chu Yang had laid the most solid foundation for him.
The fact that he had not yet caught up to Luo Xiaowei's level already indicated many issues.
Most likely, his state of mind was insufficient, and his training was also inadequate.
The previous trials were too easy for him, and he had not experienced the thrilling and dangerous near-death experiences that others had.
Last time, during the Dragon Palace group battle, due to his lower cultivation, he didn't have much participation. Seeing the gap between him and Li Qingyun widening, his confidence was a bit shaken.
Chu Yang saw all of this.
"Although his body has grown, his mind is still very immature. This kid... also needs a baptism of blood."