Aside from a slight frown, Dyon didn't say anything further. But, he did realize that although his divine sense's range hadn't fallen, it was still affected by the cold. It almost seemed… slow, for lack of a better way to explain it. Usually, when Dyon sensed something with his divine sense, even if it was at the outer edge of his 500 000km range, he would also sense it easily. There was no lag time at all.
However, right now, Dyon felt like there was a massive delay. In fact, the delay was becoming larger and larger. Suddenly, Dyon's mind was receiving images that occurred several minutes ago.
In the end, Dyon retracted his divine sense. What was the use of receiving images from so long ago? All they would do is distract him. If the lag time got large enough, it would be possible that a threat would enter the range to attack before Dyon even picked up that it had appeared 500 000km away.
"You've gotten colder." Ri suddenly said with a furrowed brow. The fact that she, as a woman who had profound wills of ice and water, could feel uncomfortable because of Dyon's temperature spoke volumes.
Her small palm raised up to wipe frost that had accumulated on Dyon's brows. It was only then Dyon realized that Ri had spoken to him. Such a realization made his blood run cold.
Dyon realized that he couldn't wantonly use his divine sense here. The cold seeped in so far that it wasn't just his divine sense that lagged, but his own reaction time as well.
"It shouldn't be like this…" Dyon quickly explained to Ri what happened.
"Such a profound ice will? It could affect even your divine sense?" Ri was astonished.
While it was true that the soul was incredibly fragile, Dyon's was still in the dao realm. The fact that Dyon was affected not only so profoundly, but also so quickly, even while his divine sense was protected by his Presence, meant that what was hidden here wasn't so simple at all.
"The odd part is that we're still so shallow, we couldn't be more than 1000 meters deep right now. I've swam in this very ocean before, without the protection the golden yacht. It doesn't make much sense."
These parts of the ocean were the very place where the Demon Sage's Legacy world appeared. Even Focus Academy wasn't more than 100 kilometers from here.
Back then, after Dyon fought those 11 geniuses alone, he had fallen into the ocean in this very place, or at least, a place that wasn't too far from here. Judging by how powerful this cold energy was, for Dyon who hadn't even begun to truly cultivate back then, it should have meant instantaneous death.
In addition, this obviously wasn't something all parts of the ocean were like. Because, just 10 or so years ago, Dyon fell into the ocean parts near Elvin Kingdom.
Unless?... Unless this cold qi was something that only affected the soul path. Or, only showed itself when soul qi made its presence known.
Dyon immediately tested his theory, sending out a web of celestial qi. But, his thoughts fell apart in the next moment. Not only was the cold qi still there, it was even more tyrannical, seeping into Dyon's body even faster. It was clear that Dyon's planet grade soul qi was far stronger than his celestial qi, and as such, resisted far better.
Dyon's body began to freeze over. Luckily, Ri took action to stop it, pulling the cold qi away from Dyon and into her own body.
Ri's delicate brows arched in surprise. "My ice will comprehension definitely just deepened…"
Dyon was astonished as well. But, he could only grit his teeth and do one final test.
He pulled the golden protection of the yacht as close to himself as possible. After a deep breath, he didn't hesitate to stick his arm out of it, prepared to face the piercing cold.
Seconds ticked by as Ri waited anxiously, ready to take action. But, it seemed as though nothing would happen…
Dyon pulled his hand back. "It felt cold, but only insofar as a mortal was concerned. It wasn't enough to bother me at all."
"But that only makes it scarier…" Ri said after a moment. "When you stuck your hand out, you retracted all of your soul and celestial qi, right?"
Dyon nodded.
"That means that this cold qi can restrict an expert to be without their soul and energy paths for help. If this sort of power was applied to a pseudo or true domain, just how powerful would it be?"
Suddenly, understanding, Dyon sucked in a cold breath.
"But… It only seems to work in water. In fact, air seems like a natural barrier against it." Ri said, lamenting the lost potential.
Ri's words woke Dyon up from his fantasy. That was right. He had been using his divine sense the entire time up until they entered these waters. Yet, nothing happened.
If he wanted to take a step further than that, weren't both he and Ri floating in the skies before they entered the water? That ability was something that fundamentally necessitated the circulation of qi. According to what Dyon understood, any activation of qi in the area of this cold qi would immediately cause it to latch on. Yet, Dyon hadn't felt remotely uncomfortable floating above the ocean waters.
After settling down from his disappointment, Dyon still felt that this was a great opportunity.
"Even if it can only be used in water, it's possible that we'd be near undefeatable in large oceans and seas if we could harness this power." Dyon said after a moment.
Ri nodded in agreement. "Under normal circumstances, a cultivator would create a barrier between themselves and the water with a thin layer of qi so that they don't get wet, but doing so here is seeking death. As long as someone enters the water, they'll be bound from using their qi and soul."
Ri's explanation wasn't even the best part. If someone entered these waters without knowledge of the cold qi waiting for them, they'd be subject to the same lag Dyon experienced.
