Just like Gao Zhen, panic was apparent on Yi Chen’s face as well.

However, along with panic, he was also trying hard to process everything that was happening.

’Could it be...’

He immediately linked the sudden changes to the fact that Gao Zhen had fully mastered the Qi Absorption Art.

’...so there was a limit,’ he thought as his head snapped in the direction of the white door at that moment.

A bitter feeling rose within him that very moment. However, it was immediately overwhelmed by the urgency of the situation as he locked eyes with Gao Zhen the next second and exclaimed.

"That doo-"

He was about to direct her to rush towards the door, but before he could finish, the entirety of the several-kilometre-long landmass crumbled, leaving only a couple of hundred metres wide area around their campsite intact.

WHOOOOOOSH!

What followed the very next second was the gushing of ice-cold water surrounding the little landmass that was still left intact.

As for everything else, it had submerged in just a matter of seconds!

Looking at the white expanse of land that had all of a sudden become a part of the water body, both Yi Chen and Gao Zhen were struck with fear.

That very moment, Yi Chen noticed a change on the Black tablet from the corner of his eyes and immediately turned to face it.

"This!" he exclaimed with a frown.

Hearing his exclamation, Gao Zhen immediately looked at him before following the direction of his gaze and witnessing the same thing.

00:59:55

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00:59:54

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00:59:53

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"It’s back? Does this mean we’ll have to face another wave in an hour?" She looked around at the little area that was still left intact and imagined dealing with the thousands of Glacial soldiers on it.

It would be quite restrictive and difficult to do. However, with Yi Chen’s skill to depend upon, it was still something they could manage.

Hearing Gao Zhen’s words, Yi Chen shook his head and said, "I’m afraid that’s not the case. The countdown is most likely indicating that the land on which we are standing right now will break down and be submerged by the sea by the end."

It wasn’t just a guess, as using his spiritual energy to sense the surroundings, he could clearly observe the pieces of ice breaking apart incessantly from the edges of the landmass several meters away.

"Submerge?!" Gao Zhen exclaimed as she too realised what Yi Chen said made sense. The next instant, she immediately pointed towards the white door and said, "There’s no time to waste then! Let’s go and open that door!"

"Mhm," Yi Chen nodded, hearing her words and added while tagging along with her, "From what the unknown voice had told me, after placing your hands on the imprint, you’ll need to pour your dark Qi into it. The Ice door will only open once it turns completely black, just like the Black tablet."

"I understand." Gao Zhen nodded seriously when she heard those words and soon stood before the five-meter-tall door. Her 185-centimetre-tall frame appeared like a dwarf in front of it.

"I’ll start then." Gao Zhen stated, and taking a deep breath, began pouring her Qi into the white, transparent door made completely of ice.

Her dark Qi immediately penetrated the structure, turning the ice next to her palms darker.

Like ink being poured into water, it kept spreading farther and farther seamlessly. However, as seamless as it looked, it was taking everything Gao Zhen had to keep pouring more and more Qi inside the white door.

Initially, she thought that the task requirements were quite simple and she would only need to pour her Qi into the Ice Door until it was completely black in colour.

But it wasn’t the case.

The longer she poured Qi into the door, the more resistance she felt in return. As a result, just a simple task of pouring her Qi into an object had begun to turn into a herculean task.

She also started understanding why she needed to master everything that was written on the Black tablet with regard to the Abyssal Blackglacial Arts in order to open this door.

With gritted teeth, she kept pouring her dark Qi into the Ice door that had started to turn a little grey in colour by now.

The flow of Qi through her palms never stopped, as she knew well that if it ceased even once, the resistance she would experience would force her to start the process all over again.

And she couldn’t afford to do that at this juncture because of the limited Qi she had in her Qi pool, and also the fact that with less than an hour’s time in hand, recovering her Qi using Spirit stones would waste too much time.

If not for her mastery, she would have kept succumbing to this resistive pressure and would have been forced to replenish her Qi pool and start all over again, only to be left with no progress once again.

Time passed as droplets of sweat kept trickling down her neck, getting absorbed by her already drenched robes.

Meanwhile, Yi Chen had been witnessing everything silently from the side. At first, seeing the difficulty Gao Zhen was facing, he felt a little worried, but seeing how quickly she adapted to the changes and kept pouring her Qi into the Ice door, he finally relaxed.

The previously white door thus began changing colours right in front of his eyes in a span of thirty or so minutes.

From white to grey.

From grey to black.

And from black to pitch black.

CREAKKK!

The moment that happened, the now pitch-black door creaked open as a white light crept outside through the gap.

As the opening widened, so did the white light, and a few seconds later, the five-meter-tall door was fully opened. What lay in front of them was a completely white screen that shone with brilliance.

Knowing full well that once they passed through it, they would finally leave this place, both their breathing intensified.

Locking eyes with each other, they nodded and soon made their way inside.

While at it, Yi Chen glanced back at the Black Tablet and their campsite as a bitter smile formed on his face, ’What a pity...’

He thought before walking straight inside.