Chapter Thirteen: Returning to the Snowfields, The Frozen Canyon

The flow of time and space shifted.

A little past three in the afternoon the next day, Yi Shen set foot on the Snowfield Desert once again.

Visiting during the day presented a slightly different scene compared to the night; for one, there were two or three times as many people in daylight.

This was the lowest-level Plane Gate in Jingmen Safe Zone. Many young people, or those explorers unwilling to risk themselves in higher-level areas, would choose to make a living at such low-level Plane Gates.

...

“Buying dune worm and snow serpent corpses at high prices! Buying venom sacs! Buying venom sand grass!”

“The Blazing Fire Guild is purchasing toxic materials, finished antidote potions also accepted!”

“Blood Slaughter Guild is recruiting! No level restrictions! If you dare to join us, even under level 10 is fine!”

...

From the start of the day, people had been gathering materials for antidote potions. Clearly, those two girls yesterday had some foresight—it was no wonder they were willing to slowly collect items with him.

Yi Shen paid little mind to such paltry sums. He rented a landwalker vehicle once more and headed straight for the eastern edge of the Snowfield Desert.

The Snowfield Desert was vast—so vast, in fact, that humanity had yet to fully explore the map. Most activity was limited to a few hundred kilometers around the Plane Gate. Deeper in, supplies became an issue; rather than venturing further, most chose to seek new opportunities in other maps.

So far, about ten secret realms had been discovered in the Snowfield Desert. The lowest-level monsters in these realms were level 10, while the highest reached level 30.

This time, Yi Shen was headed to the Frozen Canyon Secret Realm in the east. The monsters there started at level 13, and it was roughly a two-hour drive by landwalker from the Plane Gate—a considerable distance.

It was his first time delving into this world alone.

As he traveled across the desert, he encountered many different terrains and creatures.

Taking in the sights of this otherworldly landscape, he found he didn’t feel bored at all.

Speeding up a little, after burning through a third of his fuel, Yi Shen arrived at the canyon.

There were not many people near the canyon—just the occasional convoy or supply post. Most secret realms capped out at ten participants, so people usually formed parties of ten to explore. Only when stronger would they reduce their teams to four or five.

Yi Shen stopped at the entrance to a massive, slanting crevice. In the distance, he saw a purple rift resembling a Plane Gate. Stepping into this area meant crossing into the secret realm.

After a moment’s thought, Yi Shen decided to go in.

...

[Beep. You have entered the Secret Realm: Frozen Canyon. Current party size: 1. Current clear record: none. Fastest clear record: 3 minutes 23 seconds.]

As Yi Shen approached the purple rift, the system notified him that he’d entered the secret realm. Here, nearly everything was made of a peculiar crystalline ice.

Inside the realm, the sky was no longer dull and dim, but glowed with a unique pearly white.

Advancing further, Yi Shen spotted two special Ice Bramble Grass Fiends guarding the canyon passage.

These creatures could also be found outside the canyon, but out there they were mostly ordinary Ice Bramble Grass, around level 10.

Inside the instance, however, their attributes were greatly enhanced—each one was equivalent to an elite monster in the outside world.

According to forum guides, these Ice Bramble Grass had around 1,800 health and mainly attacked by spitting icicles, as well as deploying brambles when approached.

Though their names marked them as “grass” monsters, in truth they were special lifeforms—far from mere plants in the traditional sense.

“There’s an exploit here,” Yi Shen murmured.

He surveyed the terrain and quickly found two large, recessed boulders. Climbing to the center of one, he took up position.

After years of development, players had studied these secret realms extensively. Many areas had unique terrain tricks that allowed for damage-free monster kills, and such experience had been passed down for everyone’s benefit.

Like these two sunken boulders—monsters at the entrance simply could not hit you with their icicles, nor could they climb up.

As long as you had a ranged attack and dodged their projectiles, you could whittle them down at your leisure.

If it weren’t for the fact that monsters in the secret realm only respawned after a set time, people would likely farm this spot endlessly, creating a unique soloing routine.

“Crack!”

Having positioned himself, Yi Shen locked onto one Ice Bramble Grass and unleashed Arcane Impact.

A special blue radiance gathered around him, and moments later, the arcane energy struck the monster.

“-36...”

Perhaps because the monsters out-leveled him by more than five, much of Yi Shen’s damage was mitigated. Where the system described seventy-some damage per hit, he now only managed in the thirties.

Still, this already exceeded his expectations. As long as he could deal damage, soloing was possible.

Yi Shen cast spell after spell. By the time the Ice Bramble Grass realized it was under attack, he’d already hit it with four Arcane Impacts and set two Burning Bombs on its body.

“-47..”

“-54..”

“-65..”

“-78..”

“-8...”

“-6...”

In just a few seconds, one of the Ice Bramble Grass Fiends had lost over 400 health, and his Arcane Impact stacks were maxed—allowing him to cast twice per second, each hit dealing over eighty damage!

Spell after spell flew from Yi Shen’s hands, and in less than ten seconds, one of the creatures was slain.

The other lasted little longer, quickly collapsing as well, leaving behind a peculiar green glow.

Thanks to the increased challenge, monsters inside the secret realm gave far more experience and loot than those outside. Yi Shen’s output now rivaled a ten-man team, but he alone enjoyed the spoils.

Approaching the green glow, a special chime sounded.

[Beep. You have slain Ice Bramble Grass Fiend (Secret Realm), gaining 34 experience points.]

[Beep. You have slain Ice Bramble Grass Fiend (Secret Realm), gaining 35 experience points.]

[Beep. You have obtained Ice Bramble Leaf (E).]

[You have obtained Ice Bramble Leaf (E).]

[Beep. You have obtained Frozen Staff (E).]

Perhaps it was because this was Yi Shen’s first solo venture into a secret realm, or because he’d defeated monsters above his level, or perhaps simply because he was particularly handsome.

After slaying these two entry-level monsters, not only did he receive the basic materials, but an E-tier piece of equipment dropped as well!