Chapter 149: The Old Woman’s Prophecy and the Endless Blizzard

Bai Yu and Ellie Roth quickly approached the Old Woman. They knew she posed no threat.

Aside from her cryptic words and her baseless accusations of them being sinners, the Old Woman had done nothing else to offend them.

After all, she hadn’t deceived them; she had even revealed the location of the ice wall.

“Old Woman, we’ve returned,” Bai Yu said.

She walked over to the Old Woman, asking with a smile.

A wave of embarrassment washed over Bai Yu, as the Old Woman’s prediction had indeed come true: they had failed to cross the formidable wall.

Yet, Bai Yu received no reply from the Old Woman.

The Old Woman remained seated, hunched over with her head bowed, facing the ice wall—the direction from which they had come.

She was utterly motionless, like a statue carved from ice.

“Old Woman?” Bai Yu tried again.

Still, there was no response.

Bai Yu frowned, about to take another step forward, when a terrible thought began to form in her mind.

However, Ellie Roth moved first, stopping Bai Yu and placing a hand beneath the Old Woman’s nose.

Ellie Roth then shook her head at Bai Yu.

Bai Yu was stunned, her worst fear confirmed.

Just days after speaking with them, the Old Woman had succumbed to the icy wilderness.

Bai Yu felt a complex mixture of emotions. Though their encounter with the Old Woman had been brief, and their initial impression of her not particularly favorable, her passing still struck a chord.

To witness the only living person they had encountered on this desolate continent die before their eyes left them deeply affected.

“Let’s go,” Ellie Roth said.

She gently patted Bai Yu’s shoulder, guiding her gaze away from the deceased Old Woman.

Bai Yu nodded. She had initially considered burying the Old Woman in the snow, but then she noticed the direction the Old Woman’s chair was facing, which made her reconsider.

The chair was precisely angled towards the ice wall.

Even this Old Woman, who spoke so readily of sinners and punishment, might have yearned for a day when she could escape this self-proclaimed prison.

Dismissing these thoughts, Bai Yu embraced Ellie Roth and soared away with all her might, pushing further into the distance.

****

‘What exactly was the sinners’ homeland the Old Woman spoke of?’ Bai Yu wondered.

‘A place one could reach by traversing endless blizzards.’

As Bai Yu pondered, the surrounding environment subtly began to intensify.

Not only did the wind speed pick up, but scattered snowflakes also began to drift down from the sky.

The air grew progressively colder, feeling as though it might solidify at any moment.

“Should we stop and rest for a bit?” Ellie Roth asked Bai Yu.

After all, Bai Yu had been carrying her the entire way, and Ellie Roth felt she hadn’t been much help.

On several occasions, Ellie Roth had offered to massage Bai Yu’s feet, but Bai Yu had always declined.

‘How could Bai Yu agree to that? If she massaged her too much, it would be hard to tell who was enjoying it and who was suffering. She couldn’t possibly let that happen.’

“Very well,” Bai Yu conceded. “Let’s wait for the snow to stop before we set off again.”

Bai Yu and Ellie Roth found another spot dotted with many rocks to rest.

They had no tent, not even a basic shelter from the wind and snow.

However, Ellie Roth used her rune-inscribed sword to ignite a blazing fire around them.

A massive ring of fire encircled Bai Yu and Ellie Roth, its flames soaring skyward. The intense heat was enough to melt the falling snow before it even reached them.

Observing Ellie Roth’s flames, Bai Yu realized their temperature surpassed that of the fire she could generate using her [Fantasy World] skill.

‘This [Fantasy World] was a versatile divine art, used indirectly.’

‘Yet, even calling it a divine art was a stretch; it was merely an arcanist skill devoid of divinity.’

‘It couldn’t even burn through that ice wall.’

‘In this world, it seemed only things imbued with divinity held true power; everything else was suppressed by it.’

Bai Yu sighed, then casually cast Shadow Wolf Summon, calling forth Xiao An.

Xiao An instantly leaped from the shadows, surveying her surroundings with evident delight.

“Woof woof!”

Perhaps she genuinely enjoyed such an icy, snowy environment.

“Is that a Shadow Beast?” Ellie Roth asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

She had never witnessed anyone possess the ability to summon a Shadow Beast before.

Moreover, this particular Shadow Beast didn’t attack on its own; it appeared to be tamed by Bai Yu.

“That’s right. Isn’t she adorable?” Bai Yu replied.

Bai Yu stroked Xiao An’s fur, and the Shadow Pup happily wagged her head, even letting her tongue loll out.

‘She’s becoming more and more like a dog,’ Bai Yu thought, a touch of exasperation.

Despite her amusement, Bai Yu knew Xiao An was a fierce fighter, even if she rarely had a chance to prove it.

Xiao An’s strength was directly tied to Bai Yu’s rank, yet Bai Yu’s true power far exceeded what her current rank suggested.

Ellie Roth, observing from the side, had already noted this discrepancy. Bai Yu had not yet revealed her true capabilities, maintaining an air of mystery for Ellie Roth.

‘It certainly wasn’t because her rank was too low and she was embarrassed.’

‘After all, she had awakened her spiritual core far too late, missing out on considerable development time compared to others.’

Bai Yu still harbored a lingering dissatisfaction, having been kept in the dark about the true nature of this world for so long.

Bai Yu lay upon Xiao An’s body, finding the Shadow Pup’s warm fur to be a perfect pillow—one of the reasons Bai Yu had summoned her.

As for Ellie Roth, she was likely too shy to cuddle up with Bai Yu to sleep, so Bai Yu reluctantly let her endure the cold alone.

After a night had passed, the relentless blizzard showed no signs of abating, continuing to descend from the sky.

This greatly troubled Bai Yu, as it severely obstructed her vision.

Yet, Bai Yu had no more time to wait. She needed to discover whether the so-called homeland truly existed.

Cradling Ellie Roth and recalling Xiao An, Bai Yu once again sped through the swirling blizzard.

Indeed, her worst fears had materialized.

The snow grew heavier, and the dim weather made it impossible for Bai Yu to clearly discern the path ahead, even with her enhanced vision.

The fierce gales were so terrifying that Bai Yu felt her flight was actively hindered.

“Damn it!” Bai Yu cursed.

She descended from the sky, summoning flames in an attempt to mitigate the blizzard’s impact.

Ellie Roth mirrored her actions, aiding Bai Yu with her own flames, but against the endless onslaught of the blizzard, their efforts were merely a drop in the ocean.

It was then that Bai Yu recalled the Old Woman’s words.

“Traverse the endless blizzard, and you shall reach the sinners’ homeland.”

‘Traverse the endless blizzard?’ Bai Yu murmured to herself.

She detested how everything the Old Woman had said was proving true.

Yet, the current situation undeniably proved the Old Woman’s words correct.

The unending blizzard blocked their path, sharp as blades. They were certain that any ordinary person would instantly perish in such a place.

There would be no other outcome.