While the trip to the cave entrance had been relatively short, it had taken some time for the group to make its way down deep enough through the cave system to reach the city itself.
As soon as they entered the city, Maryam immediately understood why Nalema said it would be dangerous to go alone.
The air was incredibly cold. It was possible for immortals to survive in the void between worlds, and Maryam had done so before. The current temperature reminded Maryam of those times. The air in the ancient city was notably warmer, but it was still around halfway between the void and the surface world.
Ordinary Core Creation stage cultivators could live in these conditions for a few hours. Past that, it would get increasingly difficult.
Around Nalema, the temperature was much warmer. She arranged a meeting spot, and the group split up to explore. Anyone could stay near her to recover from the cold before heading out again.
Maryam also split off. The cold didn't trouble her—the heat of her blood-energy was enough to keep her warm. She held her light in front of her as she made her way though the city alone.
Only a small portion of the buildings remained standing. They were the ones made of stone and metal and the ones so infused with energy that traces still lingered even now.
The rest had succumbed to the passing of the years and, despite the stillness of the air, were nothing more than piles of rubble.
Energy infused buildings were typically only used by cultivators. Unlike the segregated cities of Song High's time, these buildings were scattered throughout the city grounds, albeit more concentrated in some areas and barely present in others.
No plants grew in the absolute darkness and all organic matter had long since crumbled into icy dust.
As Maryam got closer to the center of the city, the temperature gradually dropped. It was not a normal sort of coldness. There were traces of a sort of energy that caused everything it touched to stop.
The source appeared to be a massive cluster of buildings in the heart of the city.
Maryam entered one that was several hundred meters tall. The intensity of the freezing energy inside was incomparable to the outside.
Any energy she radiated disappeared as soon as it left her body. Even the air behaved strangely, flowing in a thin shell around her body and becoming solid after barely a centimeter of distance.
She took another step forward into the marble lobby, and then she was unable to move. The thin shell of fluid air had disappeared, and her front was practically encased in solid air.
The cold, too, was under her skin now. It pulled at her life force, trying to wrestle it from her control and dissipate it into nothing. The pain was unbearable. It took all of Maryam's will and strength to continue to stand there, conscious.
It was a warning, and it was an effective one, at that.
For the first time since she had taken the body of Song High, Maryam felt fear.
She knew the cause of this city's situation. She knew where the people of the city had gone. The one inside the building was a powerful, ancient immortal. His essence was the cold that comes at the end of all things.
However, fear hadn't stopped her from doing anything since her early childhood.
Through the pain, she focused all her energy and forced her mouth open. She addressed the empty space. The language she spoke was not one known by Song High, but an ancient one that she had used when she was still Maryam, the immortal.
"Lord of Peace, I have a proposal for you."
While she didn't have the strength to waste on smirking, her tone conveyed the same flavor.
Silence answered her, so she continued.
"It always struck me as ironic that an immortal so known for cherishing life had a power so suited to bringing death. You've held on for so long, but you cannot endure forever. Eventually, if this continues, your people will all die. They will never wake up."
At her words, the intensity of the cold assaulting her increased. She felt the air behind her solidify too. She was trapped, now. Still, she continued.
"I could help you. I could wake them up without hurting them."
Maryam heard gentle, silky laughter. It was transmitted by essence direct to her mind; the surrounding air remained as still as ever. Then, the immortal spoke.
[The first creature to talk to me in millennia and she says something so outlandish. Tell me, then. How do you know who I am? And how do you propose to save my people?]
"I know who you are because we met, long ago. I've also heard many things about you. It wasn't hard to figure out. As for how I'll save them, it'll be easy after I ascend."
[You haven't even lived two decades, let alone millennia. And you are still in the Core Creation stage. How would I know a cultivator like you? Counting on ascending in the future when you are still at such an early age is ridiculous.]
"Ah, old man. Don't you recognize me? Take a closer look at my soul."
The agonizing pain faded, although Maryam remained trapped.
[You are that child. Your life was as brief as a flash of lightning, but I remember you.]
"Then you know that I can do what I say."
[You have powerful enemies. It will not be as easy as you make it sound.]
"Let me worry about that. I do have a vested interest in my own safety. Besides, you have very little to lose. You are running out of time. You probably can't even leave this place, anymore."
[What do you want?]
"Well, a few things. But we can worry about those later. For now, can you do me a favour and watch my back while I break through? As you said, I have enemies. I can't cultivate openly."
[That isn't too troublesome. I'll help you this time.]
The essence transmissions disappeared, and Maryam was once again left in complete silence. She stood for a while, waiting.
Then, a man appeared at the opening of a wide hallway across the lobby. He looked to be around thirty, but Maryam knew he was much, much older. He was wearing a crisp black business suit, with a white shirt underneath.
His expensive leather shoes made no sound as they stepped across the polished marble floor. He casually walked over to her.
"It's good to see a human face after so long."
Maryam smiled at him. "I see you've come to escort me," she said.
"Well, I wouldn't want to have you running everywhere, now, would I? It would be unfortunate if you got lost." The immortal winked. He was smiling, too, but he despite his casual attitude, he had the air of someone who was accustomed to absolute respect.
He led her past some elevators and down a beautifully decorated staircase. The inside of the building was preserved perfectly.
There were pictures on the walls, plaques with writing on them—Maryam stopped to inspect one of them. The language bore some resemblance to one that Maryam recognized. She could make out the general meaning.
"The language changed a lot in the centuries after you died," the man said, noticing what she was looking at.
"Hmm."
"So, since I'm interested, mind telling me how you survived?"
The immortal was still smiling, but Maryam noticed that as he asked, the air around them subtly began to lock down.
"When the time sphere exploded, I was trapped inside. The woman whose body I now wear released me, with certain conditions."
"Ah, I see." The air lightened up again.
"It's not good to be so suspicious, old man."
"If you were more suspicious, you would be much better off right now."
"Ah, we're here," the man said, as they arrived in front of a set of ornately carved wooden doors. Unlike the rest of the contents of the building, the hinges on the door showed signs of wear and tear.
The doors swung open to reveal a luxuriously furnished suite.
"If you're going to stay somewhere for countless years, might as well do it in style?"
The man nodded. "It was something along those lines."
He opened up a cabinet and pulled out a few items, before tossing them at Maryam.
"Here, take these. They'll reduce the amount of energy you need to draw from the air."
They were elixirs containing vast amounts of very pure yin and yang energy.
Maryam raised an eyebrow. "You're rather helpful."
"It's not like I have any use for them."
It wasn't strange for an immortal to see through her cultivation technique, so Maryam wasn't surprised.
"Don't worry. I will ascend quickly."
"It's okay. Putting aside your absurd cultivating speed, at this point, I wouldn't mind waiting a couple more centuries. I have more than enough energy for that."
"So, where should I do it?"
"I'd offer you the bathtub for the sake of comfort, but I fear what would happen if I unfroze the water supply. So, just pick anywhere you like."
Maryam shrugged. Comfort wasn't an important concern at the moment. The man had been more than gracious enough.
Elixirs in hand, she sat on the pristine stone floor in one of the side rooms, preparing to reconstruct her body.