bookbashuk Chapter 564 The Origin of the Barrier
Chapter 564 The Origin of the Barrier
"I was trapped in a hidden dungeon before, and the exit was blocked by a barrier. I wanted to test if my talent could get through, so I activated my ability."
He paused, then gave a wry smile.
"I did manage to get through, but in the wrong direction. I didn't come out of the instance; instead, I was swept up by spatial turbulence and ended up here."
Lin Tian glanced at him.
A level 35 player was thrown into a map with an average level of 75 or higher by a spatial turbulence, and still managed to find a secondary barrier to hide in—although it was a mess, his luck was indeed quite good.
"I have plenty of survival items." Zhao Hao seemed to understand Lin Tian's gaze and added, "Invisibility scrolls, invincibility potions, random teleportation talismans—I spent a lot of money hoarding them. I used them as I ran, and finally found that ice cave protected by a light membrane, so I hid inside."
"How long have you been hiding?"
"Two days. We've run out of survival items, and our food and water are almost gone." Zhao Hao's voice trailed off. "If no one comes soon, I reckon we'll—"
He didn't finish speaking.
But the meaning is already very clear.
Lin Tian remained silent for two seconds.
He looked Zhao Hao up and down – level 35, all equipment durability below 20%, only one-third of his health remaining, almost no mana, and three debuffs: hunger, cold, and weakness.
In a place like this, it's already a miracle that a level 35 player can survive for two days.
"Barrier collapses." Lin Tian read the name of this talent aloud.
Zhao Hao nodded.
"Does your talent allow you to sense the energy channels within a barrier?" Lin Tian asked.
Zhao Hao nodded again, this time with even more force.
"Yes. My talent not only allows me to penetrate barriers, but also to 'see' the direction of energy flow inside them. It's like... like being able to see the blood in a vein. I can sense where it's flowing smoothly, where it's blocked, and where there are cracks."
He spoke with a rare air of confidence. It was the only thing he could truly be proud of.
Lin Tian's lips curled up slightly in a barely perceptible arc.
"That's perfect."
He turned and faced the depths of the icy plain.
There, a vast life force slumbered. A slow heartbeat, a muffled pulse of energy, like an ancient beast lurking beneath the earth.
Zhao Hao followed Lin Tian's gaze—he couldn't see anything, but his talent allowed him to sense the heavy pressure.
The oppressive feeling wasn't like that of Warcraft; it was more like a volcano about to erupt, quietly, oppressively, and irresistibly gathering its power.
Zhao Hao's face turned somewhat pale.
He opened his mouth, wanting to ask what that aura was, but swallowed the words back.
He was afraid to hear the answer.
"Come on," Lin Tian said.
Zhao Hao took a deep breath and drew the short sword from his waist, holding it in his hand.
A level 35 weapon wouldn't even scratch the hide of a monster in this place. But having something in your hand gives you peace of mind.
He followed behind Lin Tian, limping into the depths of the icy plain.
His bare foot stepped onto the ice, leaving a clear footprint with each step. The footprint was quickly filled with tiny ice crystals, stretching out behind him like a white dotted line.
Xiao Bai flew off Lin Tian's shoulder, its dragon body unfurling in the air, circling and keeping watch within a 300-meter radius of Lin Tian.
Celia emerged from the shadows, standing half a step behind Lin Tian. Her black robes fluttered without wind, and shadow energy pulsated slightly at her fingertips.
Zhao Hao stared at that figure from behind.
Lin Tian's steps were slow, but each step was steady. His boots left two clear, straight footprints on the ice, like a line pointing straight into the depths of the ice field.
Zhao Hao quickened his pace, trying to keep up.
The slippery ice surface nearly caused him to fall several times, but he gritted his teeth and kept steady.
Behind him, in the ice cave where he had hidden for two days, the light membrane of the secondary barrier rippled slightly in the cold wind before going out completely.
The last light went out.
......
Lin Tian emerged from the ice cave and stood once again on the icy plains of the North Wind Barrier.
A cold wind, carrying tiny ice crystals, lashed at his face, stinging like needles. He didn't close his eyes, letting the ice crystals condense into frost on his eyelashes.
Little White flew off his shoulder, its dragon body unfurling in the air, the icy blue luster on its scales forming a striking trail in the grayish-white light of the sky.
It hovered around Lin Tian within a 300-meter radius of the airspace, maintaining vigilance.
Celia emerged from the shadows, standing half a step behind Lin Tian. Her black robes fluttered without wind, and shadow energy pulsated slightly at her fingertips.
Zhao Hao crawled out of the ice cave.
He was a little more steady than before, but he was still limping. His right boot had stepped into a crevasse while running, and a layer of the sole had been sheared off, making it very slippery on the ice.
Lin Tian stood next to an icicle and raised his hand to make a gesture in the air.
A semi-transparent virtual map unfolded before him.
That's a structural diagram of the interior of the North Wind Barrier, retrieved by the system based on the North Wind Pass's permissions.
The map marks the barrier's energy nodes, rune arrays, sealing core, and current damaged locations.
Most areas are displayed in green, indicating that energy flow is normal.
Five nodes are displayed in yellow, indicating insufficient energy supply.
Another area is shown in red—that's a crack in the ice wall on the west side of the barrier, and the root cause of the seal's decreased integrity.
"62%." Lin Tian glanced at the number in the lower right corner of the screen.
Current seal integrity: 62%.
It is declining at a rate of about 1.5% per day. This means that without intervention, integrity will fall below 50% in about eight days.
At that time, the leader-level magical beast guarding the inside of the barrier will break free from its seal.
Zhao Hao leaned closer and craned his neck to take a look at the map. He couldn't understand the complex runes on it, but he did see the red crack mark.
"That's it," Zhao Hao said firmly, pointing to the red marker.
"The 'breakpoint' that I sensed using my talent is right there. The energy flow stops there, like a river being cut off in the middle."
Lin Tian glanced at him sideways.
"Can you sense the specific direction of energy pulsations?"
Zhao Hao nodded.
He closed his eyes, and the pale golden light between his brows shone again.
This time it was brighter than in the ice cave. The light extended from between his eyebrows, forming an extremely complex three-dimensional grid structure in the air—a visualization of the energy network of the barrier under Zhao Hao's talent.
The grid lines are of varying thickness; the thicker lines represent the main energy channels, while the thinner lines represent the branches.
Most of the lines are blue, indicating that the energy flow is normal.