Above the mage!

Chapter 605 A Thousand Years of Cold Fragrance

This is Gaode's biggest achievement since it started.

It can only be said that cooperating with Ella was indeed the right choice.

The professional competence of military mages is quite trustworthy.

Even the cold fragrance hidden in the crevices of reefs and enveloped in thick energy mist could be easily found by her.

After processing this large piece of condensed incense, which was equivalent to two fists, both Ella and Gode trusted each other's abilities to a new level.

The subsequent collaboration became increasingly smooth, and a tacit understanding gradually developed:
All Ella needs to do is locate and inform Leng Ningxiang of her location using [Communication], and Gao De can take immediate action.

Both of them moved with fluid grace, without the slightest hesitation.

Although I haven't encountered those rare large chunks of condensed agarwood again, small, scattered pieces of condensed agarwood still appear frequently.

As the number of times they dealt with the problem increased, the two of them became faster and faster, and the time required from discovery to tidying up became shorter and shorter.

Ella's surprise grew as the collaboration progressed.

Through repeatedly sensing Gao De's magical fluctuations, she was able to confirm that Gao De's mage level was indeed only at the second ring.

Yet a second-ring mage could remain calm and composed in such an extreme environment as the Pale Water Bloom, and even...

Ella vaguely felt that Gao De was more adapted to the environment here than she was.

Many details corroborate this unbelievable fact for her:
Every time it surfaces to breathe, it is the first thing it needs to replenish with oxygen.

Gao De seemed to only take a breath out of politeness; even after staying underwater for half an hour, his breathing remained steady.
When swimming in the water, no matter whether you speed up or slow down, Gaode Maps can always keep up with you at a steady pace, about one body length behind you.

Neither ahead of its time nor behind, it seemed completely unaffected by the viscous water flow.

Even when she felt her magic flow sluggish due to the low temperature, Gao De's control over his magic remained terrifyingly precise, without the slightest fluctuation.

Her surprise and curiosity grew, but as a highly skilled military mage, she suppressed all of it and did not delve too deeply into Gaode's secrets.

During this time, Gao De and Ella also encountered other colleagues who were in charge of the cleanup task on several occasions.

Most of them were military mages of the Lightforged, and there were also a few official mages.

It was clear that the other side was far less efficient and gained very little.

Whenever she meets a colleague, Ella will proactively share the markers for the safe zone.

Gaode Maps would occasionally help them get rid of a few stubborn pieces of cold incense, earning them a lot of gratitude.

As time went by, even with Ella's precise guidance, they encountered Leng Ningxiang less and less frequently.

At first, it took a few minutes to find one piece, then it took more than ten minutes to find one piece, and finally it took one or two hours to find one piece.

This indicates that, thanks to their efforts and those of other mages, the density of condensed incense in the Pale Water Blossom Sea has been significantly reduced, and the mission is progressing far beyond expectations.

"Done." After processing another fist-sized piece of condensed incense, Gao De was about to inform Ella via [Communication] when he suddenly sensed something unusual.

The seawater, which was originally as viscous as solidified ink, inexplicably began to surge and ripple.

Ocean currents are a normal phenomenon.

But in the sea area covered by pale algae, the seawater has long been eroded by the distorted energy and become extremely viscous, almost in a static state. How could an ocean current suddenly appear?
Before Gao De could think it through, the surging of the seawater became more and more intense, like a huge rock being thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples.

Thanks to the perception and control abilities granted by his water-bound body, he was able to barely maintain his balance.

Ella, standing beside him, was already struggling to stay upright. Her body was swaying violently with the current, and she almost dropped her staff.

"It's started on the side that's guiding the energy outflow."

A hurried notification came from Ella in Gao De's mind: "The high-level mages must have seen that Leng Ningxiang has been cleared up, so they have begun to increase the intensity of energy guidance to direct all the chaotic energy of the Pale Water Bloom to the deep sea trench."

The treatment of pale algal blooms is carried out on two parallel tracks.

On one side is their work of cleaning up the condensed fragrance.

On the other side, the high-ranking mages are in charge of directing the chaotic energy of the Pale Water Bloom into the deep ocean trenches, allowing it to dissipate naturally in the deep sea.

Previously, the Pale Water Bloom contained a large amount of condensed incense, like unstable bombs. Once guided by energy, it could trigger a chain of explosions.

Not only will it fail to eliminate the pale algae bloom, it will also cause the pale algae bloom to spread even further.

Therefore, they had previously controlled the degree to which they guided the energy, and had not fully activated it.

But now that the density of the condensed incense has decreased significantly, they have naturally been able to do more.

From this perspective, these abnormal fluctuations are actually normal.

The next moment, Gao De and Ella both frowned.

The surge of the water continued to increase, even forming several small whirlpools several meters in diameter around it.

Even more disturbing is that the temperature of the seawater is dropping at an alarming rate.

It could even be described as a precipitous drop.

In less than a minute, the temperature had already put pressure on Gaode Maps.

This is not common sense!

"Isn't something wrong?" Gao De asked, his tone serious.

“That’s not right.” Ella’s tone became solemn, and her voice trembled slightly.

It wasn't fear, it was just being frozen.

In the end, she was just a third-ring mage, and unlike Gaode, she didn't have a mid-level ice-protected body. Swimming in the pale water was already close to her limit.

The temperature has plummeted, and her lips have turned purple from the cold, her face is pale.

Even his uniform was covered in a layer of frost, and his magical power became sluggish.

She was about to suggest using [communication magic] to rise up and observe the situation when she suddenly seemed to sense something and abruptly looked up and down.

The grayish-white energy there suddenly became unusually thick, like stirred ink, and was frantically converging in one direction.

Gao De also made the same gesture as Ella.

"Evacuate immediately." At the same time, a dignified voice entered both of their minds.

In Gaode's view, a white-haired monk floated up from the unfathomable depths of the sea.

"The energy leakage got out of control, and 10% of the energy was not directed to the deep-sea trench, but instead flowed back into the pale algal bloom area."

The temperature in the Pale Alpine Bloom area will continue to drop, and the energy field will become completely chaotic, creating extreme danger. You must leave this place immediately!

Gao De's gaze sharpened slightly.

He had already clearly seen the medals worn by the mage; he was actually a military mage with the rank of lieutenant general.

"Let's get out of here right away." Ella nodded quickly, without a second thought, and the moment she received the order, she turned and swam toward the coastline.

Although her movements were somewhat stiff from the cold, she still maintained the decisiveness of a military magess. Gao De hesitated for a moment.

He wanted to take advantage of the sudden drop in temperature to test his cold resistance.

But he also knew that the consequences of the energy reversal were unpredictable.

Even with a mid-level Ice Protection Body, one might not be able to escape unscathed if they encounter an energy storm.

Besides, the lieutenant general had already given the order; it wouldn't make sense to force them to stay.

So Gaode nodded and followed Ella as they swam toward the shore.

After informing God and Ella, the lieutenant general mage fled in another direction.

He also needs to notify other people.

Although any mage with a brain would choose to evacuate immediately in the face of such an obvious anomaly as the Pale Bloom, it is still necessary to notify those who need to be notified.

Ella's swimming speed was at least 30% slower than before, and each stroke required a great deal of effort.

Out of consideration for their previous cooperation, Gao De naturally wouldn't abandon Ella and evacuate alone. Instead, he kept pace with her and slowly moved towards the coastline.

After evacuating for about five minutes, when they were still more than halfway to the shore, an extremely chilling cold suddenly swept in from below with the ocean current, heading straight for Ella.

This chill was even more terrifying than the previous low temperatures, and it came so suddenly that Ella, whose movements were already stiff from the cold, had no chance to react.

Stunned by the chill, Ella froze instantly, and a layer of frost quickly formed on her uniform.

Her body sank uncontrollably downwards, her consciousness began to blur, and she found herself in a dangerous situation.

Fortunately, she had many tricks up her sleeve and a strong will. In the critical moment, she mobilized her internal magic power, and a burst of light instantly enveloped her body.

Although it couldn't completely dispel the chill, it at least got her out of danger.

As energy continues to flow back, the Pale Alpine Bloom is becoming increasingly dangerous.

She adjusted her posture, preparing to leave quickly.

But at that moment, Ella's movements suddenly stopped, her pupils dilated sharply, and her gaze was fixed on the sea below.

Gao De noticed her unusual behavior and followed her gaze downwards.

About three or four seconds later, he finally understood why Ella had lost her composure.

This ocean current, surging from the depths of the sea, brought not only this terrifying chill, but also something else:
A giant piece of condensed incense, almost half the height of a person!

At this moment, it is drifting in the sea dozens of meters below, following the trajectory of the current.

As you can see, the silver-white spiral patterns on the surface are tightly wrapped by dark black energy, like a gemstone wrapped by a venomous snake.

Each of its movements caused the surrounding seawater to vibrate violently, emitting a heart-stopping energy fluctuation.

"This is the thousand-year-old condensed incense of the Whale King," Ella's voice came through the [Communication] spell, filled with undisguised shock. "Only the Whale King could condense such a large amount of condensed incense."

Its value is dozens of times that of ordinary cold incense; encountering it under normal circumstances is considered extremely lucky.

"But now we're encountering one whose energy density is dozens of times that of ordinary condensed incense. If it's ignited by the reverse energy impact, the consequences will be dire."

The thought sent a chill down Ella's spine.

She gritted her teeth, her gaze fixed on the giant, cold incense stick, her eyes filled with struggle.

As a Lightforged mage, her sense of responsibility wouldn't allow her to stand idly by and watch disaster unfold.

But the limits of my body are already in sight.

The current low temperature caused by the energy recirculation means that even with her many methods, she is already nearing her limit as a third-ring mage.

If they don't leave quickly, they might not even be able to save themselves, let alone help deal with Leng Ningxiang.

"No...we can't just leave like this..." Although they were communicating through [communication spell], God could still sense that Ella's voice was trembling.

It wasn't because of the cold, but because of resentment.

"Mage Ella, this is not something you can handle." God's voice echoed in Ella's mind, calm yet reassuring.

“Your body can’t take it anymore. Staying here will only be a pointless sacrifice and won’t solve anything.”

“But if it explodes now, all the previous cleanup work will be wasted…” Ella knew perfectly well that what God said was true; she knew her own situation all too well.

"What I mean is, you evacuate according to the original plan, and leave this to me."

Because of the appearance of the Thousand-Year Cold Fragrance, Ella's pupils had already expanded to their limit.

But now that Gao De has said these words, her pupils, which had already reached their limit, suddenly dilated a little more.

What does this say?

A second-level mage, while advising me to give up in time, also said to leave the problem to him to solve?!

Her first reaction was to "question".

But upon seeing Gao De's calm and composed expression, the conversation abruptly ended.

Even under such terrifying extreme cold, is it still insignificant to him?

Ella was utterly terrified by this level of cold resistance.

But
Ella wanted to say something more.

Gao De had already sent another message via [Telecommunications]: "The situation is urgent. Mage Ella, you should leave as soon as possible. Don't worry about me here."

"This temperature is still far from my limit."

He paused, raised his hand, and condensed a wisp of pure ice magic power to show Ella. It was smooth and even purer than before.

“But…but that’s a thousand-year-old condensed incense!” Ella was still worried, her voice still filled with concern. “Its energy density is dozens of times that of ordinary condensed incense, and its energy shell is full of cracks. It could explode if you’re not careful. Even if you can withstand the low temperature, you might not be able to stabilize its energy!”

“I’ll give it a try. At least for now, I’m the only one who can possibly solve this problem. As for you, you must leave as soon as possible. If something happens any later, I’ll have to spare the energy to take care of you, which will only cause more trouble.”

"Once you return to shore, immediately contact a high-ranking mage and have them come to your aid. Even if I can't resolve the situation, there might still be room for improvement."

Looking at God's composed expression and listening to his clear and logical analysis, Ella took a deep breath and used reason to suppress the complex emotions in her heart:

"Okay, I'll listen to you. You must be careful and don't be reckless. Once I get ashore, I'll immediately contact a high-level mage and have them come to your aid as quickly as possible!"

"Okay, go ahead." Gao De nodded.

After watching Ella turn and swim towards the shallow water, he immediately turned his gaze back to the ancient, condensed incense.

At this moment, the energy fluctuations in the seawater became increasingly violent, and the surrounding ocean currents became even more chaotic.

Gao De dared not delay and swam toward the thousand-year-old cold fragrance until he was a few meters in front of it. He then stopped, took a deep breath, and opened the Mandora's Eye to its fullest extent.

In an instant, the flow of energy in every strand of this thousand-year-old condensed incense was clearly visible in his field of vision.

(End of this chapter)