Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe

Chapter 297 - 290: Ah Jian, a Great Help

The moment Shi Ming saw the Snowcap Jade, he confirmed it shared the same origin as the "Seed of Life" from Da Yu’s Treasure Vault.

It possessed a dangerous allure.

It compelled those who saw it to consume it whole.

The abundant power of ice and snow, along with Life Power, permeated the perennial glaciers and snowdrifts. The Snowcap Jade’s surface temperature was around -110 degrees Celsius. This terrifyingly low temperature was, however, perfectly masked by the dense Life Power, causing one to subconsciously ignore the danger and put the alluring, jade-green morsel directly in their mouth.

Any normal person would probably be frozen into a popsicle instantly.

Shi Ming didn’t pick it.

The -110-degree temperature was terrifying, but to him, it was merely slightly refreshing.

He was observing.

According to Da Yu’s intelligence, the place where the Snowcap Jade grew was likely a point where the displaced life force from the fallen Creation Celestial Pillar was leaking out. The body of the Creation Celestial Pillar lay within the mountain’s core. With current technology and methods, it was still impossible to cleave open Mount Everest and retrieve its massive remains in their entirety. However, one could follow the leak and excavate bit by bit, hoping to find usable fragments! Even a few pieces of its body would be of immense value.

"Ah Jian, send your Spiritual Power down through the root system of the Snowcap Jade and infiltrate the area below."

"Maintain maximum concealment."

Ah Jian’s twelve wings vibrated.

"Yes, Master."

It twisted its immense yet imperceptible Spiritual Power into a fine thread. Following the Snowcap Jade’s root system, the thread slowly infiltrated the earth, passing beneath the ancient glacier and seeping into the permafrost. It penetrated even deeper, through 470-million-year-old Ordovician sedimentary rock, as it began to probe with extreme caution.

If Ah Jian had its way, it would have surely been unrestrained and unleashed its Spiritual Power at full capacity.

But Shi Ming understood that while this probe didn’t seem particularly dangerous on the surface, he was actually wading into very deep waters.

It was never wrong to be cautious.

"Master... I’ve found... this plant’s... growth path."

"Excellent. Follow the path and probe deeper."

The Eternal Insect’s Spiritual Power acted like a tiny drill. Following a faint, hidden trail, it located the path through which the Life Power was leaking from the mountain’s core. Then, per Shi Ming’s instructions, it followed that path, delving deeper inch by inch.

Probing through the rock, which was suffused with Holy Hall Power, was an uphill battle.

It was very difficult.

But Ah Jian was far more powerful than before. Its Spiritual Power, accumulated over countless ages, was already immense. On top of that, several days of rest and the nourishment from devouring the "Infinite Virus" had allowed the Spiritual Power it lost in the Sealed Prison to recover significantly. It could therefore withstand this extraordinary force and push on, tracing the path back to its source.

Meanwhile, Shi Ming used his own formidable Spiritual Power to scan the surface, staying vigilant for any environmental anomalies.

He was mainly guarding against the occasional Sub-Blade Storm.

This was a force born from the powers of ice, snow, wind, and space combined. Even the ice immunity granted by the "Third Law" could not completely negate its damage. Without the Black Tortoise Shield, a strike to the face would leave a gash that burned with searing pain.

No matter how powerful sea beasts or humans became, their strength was ultimately a notch below the natural forces that had birthed them.

There were five great forbidden zones in the Endless Ocean.

The Sea of Boiling.

The Great Maelstrom,

The Earth’s Lung,

The Extreme North Icefield,

And the Top of Mount Everest.

The cores of the first three were true forbidden zones. At the heart of the Sea of Boiling, a region over a hundred nautical miles wide, the terrifying temperatures were enough to melt any carbon-based life-form. Aside from Shi Ming—who had once brute-forced his way through using his "Phaseless Pure Ice"—there were almost no records of any human ever entering. The Great Maelstrom, formed by the fourth-ranked artifact, the "Four Feared Vedas," was considered the very heart of the Endless Ocean. It churned the boundless seas, and any ship or creature that entered would inevitably lose its balance and be unable to escape. As for the "Earth’s Lung" in the Amazon Sea Region, its chaotic air currents would cause any intruder to become hopelessly lost.

As for the Extreme North and the Top of Mount Everest, it was possible to mitigate the risks with certain methods, making them barely accessible.

But caution was still required.

Because nature’s surprises were always so sudden.

WHOOSH~

The ultra-high-frequency sound of it tearing through the air was beyond the range of human hearing, but Shi Ming still detected the incoming Wind Blade with his Spiritual Power. Hidden within the blowing snow, it streaked silently toward his head, but he dodged it perfectly with a single evasive move.

The Wind Blade then sliced across the glacier, silently carving through the thick, hard ice before disappearing once more into the mountain’s core.

A single Sub-Blade, during its intermittent phase, had enough power to decapitate an A-rank sea beast or leave a scar on Shi Ming’s skin. A "Sub-Blade Storm" at its peak was hundreds, even thousands of times more terrifying. The dense swarm of Sub-Blades would make any creature lost within it understand the true meaning of death by a thousand cuts.

For this reason, those who perished on the mountain peak often vanished without a trace.

...

Deep within the mountain, Ah Jian’s probing Spiritual Power suddenly jolted to attention.

Its twelve wings shot straight up.

"What’s wrong?"

"Master... Found... it. A section... of broken branch... decayed... yet rich... in Life Power."

’Decayed, yet rich in Life Power?’

’Colorful black?’

"Where is it, exactly?"

"Deep within the mountain, outside its core structure, at a depth of 1,000 meters from the surface..."

Shi Ming frowned.

If it were 20, 50, or even 100 meters deep, he could just dig down to it. But 1,000 meters... without tools or the ability to Tunnel, it would be extremely difficult for him to get inside the mountain’s core. After all, this wasn’t Fujing Mountain, with its ready-made tunnels carved out by the Black Society and rivers of flowing lava. And his Sunshot only had a flight mode, no Tunneling mode.

But Ah Jian had a way.

"Master, that piece of branch is... very strange. I can use [Spiritual Reorganization] to decompose a small part of it into Spiritual Power, assimilate and carry it out of the mountain, and then reassemble it back to its original state."

[Spiritual Reorganization] was one of Ah Jian’s minor abilities.

It was the same technique it had used to remotely deliver blood and Nerve Saliva to Shi Ming in the past.

"Nice work! But don’t push yourself too hard. Avoid being contaminated by the Holy Hall Level Power."

"Yes, Master."

Ah Jian could be considered the third-ranked S-class being, but it had yet to fully merge with the Infinite Virus, so it couldn’t truly contend with Holy Hall Level Power.

’A strange feeling stirred within it, as if it was finally understanding the human emotion known as ’concern.’’

’Having a master feels so good!’

The tendril of Spiritual Power that had located the strange branch immediately changed form and penetrated it. Using [Spiritual Reorganization], it forcibly modified, deconstructed, and broke down the tip of the branch, assimilating the matter into its own Spiritual Power. Then, saturated with power, it began its slow withdrawal from the mountain’s core.

WHOOSH~

After its Spiritual Power assimilated a seven-inch section of the branch, it seemed to sense a mystery lurking even deeper within.

SWOOSH—

As if it had received an electric shock, its speed tripled.