Chapter 1062: Chapter 1062: Spring of Awakening

“That’s good, but how can their speed remain the same all the time?”

Shard’s position at this time was still at the bottom of a snow slope, only this time there were no massive Ancient Fiends appearing behind the ridge.

The open environment offered an unobstructed view all around, but Shard still did not see any sign of Miss Chloe and her two companions, just like last time.

He couldn’t carelessly search around, as the snowstorm would quickly cover his tracks. If he lost direction and forgot the starting point, he might never find his way back.

Just as he was considering whether to unleash Silvermoon’s glimmer to actively attract the Witch’s attention, he suddenly noticed a faint white mist being blown away by the snowstorm on the other side of the ridge.

He couldn’t be sure if it was his illusion, but he still braced against the wind and climbed up the ridge, then rolled down the snow slope.

The white mist was indeed not his illusion, but it was very unfortunate that the mist had nothing to do with the three Witches.

It was a hot spring located at the base of the ridge, and the white mist Shard saw just now was actually hot steam. He couldn’t understand why there would be a hot spring in such an environment, but upon closer inspection, Shard confirmed that the Spring Eye was actually some kind of Relic.

The Deity known as the “Winter Maiden,” barefoot, with silvery hair, holding a Long Staff, was standing by the Spring Eye at this time. Therefore, even if Shard didn’t want to approach a Relic in such a strange place, he still braced against the wind and snow to come over.

As he approached, he increasingly felt the reality that a Deity’s presence was Power.

He didn’t get too close, instead stopping five or six steps away from the Deity:

“God.”

He greeted respectfully, hoping his voice could be heard through the snowstorm.

“Outlander, take some water from here and give it to The Lost Ones.”

The Deity, with her back to Shard, said. Shard looked down at the Spring Eye:

“I don’t know what this is…”

“Spring of Awakening. After drinking, it can awaken from the Dream, understand one’s own errors, and break free from the Illusionary Realm.”

She said softly:

“The Lost Ones need this. Before she reaches the summit, she must recall what she has forgotten.”

“She… what did she forget?”

Shard hesitantly asked, but the Deity slightly shook her head, her silvery hair swaying contrary to the wind, and the pure white glow on the Deity was brighter than the silver of the Snow Mountain:

“You must understand, Outlander, this is her Trial, her final step towards the end of her journey.”

“The final step? Isn’t Miss Chloe only at the Eleventh Rank?”

Shard thought suspiciously.

“Then why are you here?”

Despite the disrespect, Shard asked the question.

The Deity, looking like a young maiden, turned to face Shard, who immediately lowered his head to show his reverence. At this moment, traces of the Divine Afterglow appeared on his body surface, and he could feel the cold Power of the Deity in front of him.

The soft white light was not abrupt in the all-encompassing silvery snow; the Deity extended a finger towards Shard. Since the maiden’s form was somewhat shorter than Shard, Shard instinctively lowered his head again.

Thus, the icy finger directly touched Shard’s brow:

“Just like the Toy God who favors you, I too have favored mortals.”

The instant coldness made Shard mistakenly think his soul was frozen on this Snow Mountain. When he regained consciousness, the Deity in front of him had disappeared without a trace, only the pond still emitting hot steam.

“Outlander, any ice-related Powers of yours are permanently enhanced.”

He pressed his brow with his hand, still feeling the cold permeating through his body:

“Is this considered a blessing?”

“Certainly not, it’s just an insignificant gift you received from contacting a Deity.”

Shard nodded, shivering in the snow as he fished out a water pouch, then knelt by the Spring Eye intending to draw water, only to find that the water wouldn’t enter the pouch:

“Do I need a special container?”

He rummaged out a glass bottle and was finally able to collect some water. But it seemed that this Spring Eye only allowed him to take a certain amount of water, and afterward, no matter what he did, he couldn’t take more water with him.

After corking the bottle, the liquid inside definitely needed to be brought to Miss Chloe, but Shard also wanted to try some himself. Although he couldn’t use any containers to collect more water, he could dunk his head into the Spring Eye:

“Hmm…”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, but with no one else watching, Shard resolved to lower his head into the Spring Eye—

Crash~

“Oh!”

The sudden cold made him a lot more clear-headed, and the chill made him quickly retract his head. Looking again, the Spring Eye emitting hot steam had vanished, and he had clearly just dunked into an ice hole covered with a layer of floating ice:

“Although I know I’m being a bit greedy, could you not be so stingy and at least let me have a sip?”

He complained softly, feeling as if his whole head was about to freeze.

He found a towel to dry his head, then took out a few scarves to wrap himself up carefully. Only then did he stand up and look towards the silver mountains under the bizarrely colorful black sky:

“So, where are Miss Chloe and the others now?”

[Head towards higher ground.]

“You’re right.”

Shard crouched low and intended to climb back up to the ridge:

“They must be nearby. Oh, even though eating the snow has boosted the Primal Fire’s power, it’s still truly cold here.”

The location of the group of three witches was closer than Shard had expected. He walked along the ridge towards the summit for less than three minutes before seeing flickering firelight under the snow slope to his left.

Tumbling and scrambling down the snowy slope, he indeed found the tent left behind when he had last left. But this time, the three-person group wasn’t as lucky in finding a wind-sheltering rock, so the witch had to manipulate ice and snow to build a not-so-sturdy-looking low wall beneath the ridge, with the tent placed behind it, now covered by a thick layer of snow.

Firelight was shooting out from the big tent, and three silhouettes could be seen simultaneously.

It seemed Miss Chloe had recovered somewhat and set up a vigilance ritual on the perimeter, so when Shard appeared, she was the first to detect the incoming presence.

“Who is it?”

An unusually tense voice came from inside the tent, even trembling a bit. Shard didn’t know what had happened, but he still identified himself:

“It’s me, do you want to see my flame?”

The tent was opened at once, and the witch appeared proactively, immediately embracing Shard and ushering him in. This short lady with crimson-gold eyes smiled, grabbed Shard’s hand, and had him sit down to warm himself by the fire first.

Since he had plunged headlong into icy water not long ago, Shard was indeed in poor condition now.

“You did keep your promise and came back again.”

Miss Chloe said with a smile, then asked Mrs. Marques, who was tending the campfire, to prepare hot tea. Seeing Shard appear once more, this middle-aged woman in her forties was also very pleased, as this meant Shard had brought supplies again.

It appeared that a long time had passed since Shard had last left. Although the black tea hadn’t entirely been consumed, food like vegetables was nowhere to be seen.

The good news was that although the group’s mental and body states didn’t look as good as before, their minds were still functioning normally, and they could keep going. After all, they knew they weren’t alone on this silver snow mountain and that someone would come to help them.

Even the man who stole [Impermanence: Darkness] looked up and gave Shard a smile when he entered the tent.

The timid man was still huddled in a corner of the tent. Though he seemed thinner, he appeared fairly healthy.

“Yes, but I still can’t stay too long this time… Oh, the flames.”

Shard sat by the campfire, drank the hot tea, stretched out his hands to warm them by the fire, and then let out a long breath. This flame, which consumed spiritual power, was warm enough for the four of them, and with Shard’s guidance, it rose another notch.

“Did you fall into the water just now?”

Miss Chloe asked with concern on one side, Shard chuckled awkwardly, embarrassed to admit he had plunged into the icy water:

“This is for you, I encountered the deity again, and they asked me to give this to you. The Spring of Awakening, said to dispel illusions.”

Shard handed the glass bottle to the witch, who looked curiously at the water bottle:

“But I haven’t sunk into any illusions, although time here is chaotic, I’m quite sure this moment is reality.”

“Since the deity requested it, you should drink it and give it a try.”

Shard encouraged.

The witch nodded slightly, frowning as she drank the warm water. Everyone in the tent watched her, as if expecting her to utter something astonishing, but Miss Chloe put down the bottle with no reaction:

“You see, I told you, I am pretty sober at this moment.”

Though Shard was a bit skeptical, he didn’t know how to explain the situation. As he surveyed the tent, he inquired:

“So, what was the reason for camping here? Did you encounter problems, or was it just to rest?”

“Indeed, there were some troubles.”

Upon touching on the topic, the young witch seemed slightly dispirited. Wrapped in the white fur Shard had lent her last time, she curled up closely beside Shard, feeling his warmth, but, this time, not turning into a cat:

“Something troublesome has its eyes on us, and we’re not sure what it is. It turns into the companions we’ve lost and who have died in the snow mountain, continuously stalking and harassing us, so I decided to camp first and see just what it wants.”

“When I came over, I didn’t see anything strange around. I can stay here for over twenty minutes, let me see what exactly it is that’s bothering you all.”

Shard said, seeing that it was temporarily safe here, he reached into his coat to retrieve Mia’s toy, using his coat to transform the toy back into the cat.

“Meow~”

Though the tent was relatively warm, it was far colder than home. The soft-furred cat had just appeared and immediately dove into Shard’s arms. Burrowed in his coat, it only popped its little cat head out to curiously observe the unfamiliar surroundings outside. Its white whiskers quivered slightly, and its tiny pink nose was a bit moist, with large amber eyes full of caution.

The appearance of the cat seemed to make the tent feel even cozier, and everyone’s mood improved.