Yun Ge's threat had no effect on the frozen corpse. The frozen corpse walked stiffly to Yun Ge's side and nonchalantly slapped Yun Ge's fists with its withered palms. Then, Yun Ge saw several small black dots appear on his fists, and soon felt his fists were as heavy as if filled with lead, drooping on both sides of his body, unable to be raised again.

  "Wh-What did you do to me?! Let go of my hands now!" Yun Ge continued to shout in fright.

  "Oh dear! Don't be afraid! We mean no harm! We just want you to stop moving so we can continue our conversation! Hehehe!" The frozen corpse said, its mouth moving stiffly.

  Yun Ge knew that the voice definitely did not come from the frozen corpse. However, since the frozen corpse had restricted his mobility but had not actually harmed him, Yun Ge tried to relax and asked in a panting voice, "Alright! Since you want to communicate, why don't you tell me what you really are?"

  The frozen corpse stiffly spread its hands and mechanically replied, "Didn't we just say? We are the forest spirits you speak of. We live in the Lost Woods and have become the guardians here to ensure the forest can exist for a long time."

  The frozen corpse pointed to the small black dots on the back of Yun Ge's hand, then squatted down beside Yun Ge, making its height shorter than his. It continued, "Of course, we have another name—Little Ones. As you can see, we are very small, so small that we are as inconspicuous as a tiny black dot! Pfft pfft pfft!"

  'Little Ones,' a name that aptly described these terrifying beings. However, Yun Ge felt that these creatures were far from harmless, as suggested by their name. Sensing the immense power from them, he thought it better to refer to them as forest spirits. Only by showing them respect could he avoid offending them and suffering their cruelty. After all, Yun Ge did not want to become a frozen corpse controlled at their whim.

  It was unknown whether the forest spirits had the ability to read minds, but they clearly understood Yun Ge's thoughts through his gaze.

  The frozen corpse immediately waved its hand under the control of the forest spirits and said, "Hi hi hi! Don't get any wrong ideas! We didn't kill Kayne! Well, maybe we should take some responsibility for Kayne and other creatures that died here. But I must argue that this place is not a forbidden zone you should enter."

  "Moreover, the fog they encountered was not our doing, but a cruel trick of nature. These fogs are naturally formed in the Lost Woods, and we just prefer the environment here, choosing to live here rather than in the forest above."

  "Additionally, compared to the lofty title of 'forest spirits,' I prefer to be called Little Ones by my friends. It's just that few have the chance to call me that. Hahaha!" Little Ones added.

  Yun Ge immediately grasped the implication in Little Ones' words and hurriedly asked, "So you mean I'm not the only one who has entered here alive?"

  "Yes, but not many. And they have nothing to do with you guys and your Candy Town matters. So I don't want to tell you too much for now. I can only say that you are indeed the chosen one. Otherwise, you would have met the same fate as Kayne, perishing soon after entering the Icy Abyssal Realm!" Little Ones said, patting its withered face with the frozen corpse's hand.

  "So, uh—Who exactly is Kayne? Can you reveal something about him? Do you know why he entered the Icy Abyssal Realm?" To ease the discomfort of talking with the frozen corpse, Yun Ge took a half-step back and asked.

  "Hehehe! Besides searching for the legendary bloody sweetaurum, what else could it be?" Little Ones said.

  "Is he from Honeysnow Village?" Yun Ge asked with some surprise.

  "That's right! Kayne, like you, is from Honeysnow Village. The only difference is that you ventured here not only because of the entrustment from Candy Bear but also to save your beloved Lily and other women. He, on the other hand, came here solely to save his own lover." Little Ones replied.

  Then Little Ones continued, "Hey hey hey! Do you know for whom Kayne was willing to risk his life to find the bloody sweetaurum here?"

  Without waiting for Yun Ge's response, Little Ones eagerly answered in a very gossipy tone, "He did it for Lauren."

  "Lauren? Which Lauren?" Yun Ge frowned and asked.

  "Besides that Lauren, Luke's ex-girlfriend Lauren, who else do you know named Lauren?" Little Ones asked disdainfully.

  "Kayne was saved by the village patrol before Candy Bear rescued Lauren. So when Candy Bear brought Lauren back to the village, he was there too, and he fell deeply in love with Lauren at first sight. However, Lauren gave very limited responses to Kayne's continuous courtship."

  "This directly led to Kayne, who kept showing his affection to Lauren, deciding to take a risk and go to the Icy Abyssal Realm alone to find the bloody sweetaurum.

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  Unfortunately, although we gave him a chance for his sincere love, he was not the chosen one, so he ultimately failed." Little Ones shook his head in regret while speaking, but his tone was filled with schadenfreude.

  After listening to Kayne's story, Yun Ge sighed helplessly. He knew that Lauren did not accept Kayne's love because she already had someone she loved. However, Yun Ge also admired Kayne's courage and devotion, as he was willing to pay with his precious life for a woman he could never have.

  Thinking of this, Yun Ge suddenly felt that the frozen corpse in front of him was not so terrifying anymore. So, while examining the poor soul who died for love, he asked, "Why do you all say I am the chosen one? Just because I can enter here unharmed?"

  "Of course not. Because, as long as we are willing, anyone can come here without being harmed by the fog. Look, isn't Kayne an example?" Little Ones said, pointing to the frozen corpse he controlled.

  "What then? Do I possess some unique ability?" Yun Ge asked, puzzled.

  "Hmph hmph hmph—The specific reason—It seems it's not time for you to know yet. I can only say that your power is far from limited to this. They are all dormant and undefined.”

  “So everything depends on your future development and the choices you ultimately make! However, you are indeed a very interesting guy! Whether you will remember us in the future or not, we will always keep an eye on you! Hohoho!" Little Ones smiled mysteriously, his voice full of deep meaning.

  Yun Ge naturally did not understand what Little Ones meant, but he felt that what Little Ones said must be very important, so he wanted to ask for a further explanation.

  However, Little Ones interrupted him before he could finish speaking and changed the subject, "Alright! There are many things we can't say much about! After all, we don't want to get into trouble! Come on! Let's talk about the bloody sweetaurum!"

  Since Little Ones brought up the matter of the bloody sweetaurum, Yun Ge naturally put aside other thoughts and hurriedly asked, "Are you really willing to tell me where the bloody sweetaurum is?"

  Little Ones' fingers, frozen and blue, fluttered in the air, "No no no! We won't tell you where the bloody sweetaurum is. Because the bloody sweetaurum has always grown here! Cough cough cough!"

  Upon hearing this, Yun Ge immediately looked around, but apart from the snow-covered mountains and forests, he did not find any plants resembling flowers.

  "Don't look! Actually, there is a bloody sweetaurum growing right under your feet. You just can't see it now! Hahaha!" Little Ones said.

  "So, how can I see it?" Yun Ge asked, looking down. At this moment, apart from the snow under his feet and the tiny black holes on the snow the size of a needle, he did not find anything.

  "Because you are not yet qualified to obtain it, you naturally cannot see it! If you want to get it, you must pass our test." Little Ones said again.

  "What kind of test? No matter what the test is, I will do my best to pass it!" Yun Ge said immediately, with determination.

  Of course, since Yun Ge knew that Kayne had died here because he failed the test, he was very nervous about this test, which he knew to be very dangerous. But since things had come to this, he could only take the risk. Otherwise, let alone finding the bloody sweetaurum, he would probably have no chance of leaving here at all!

  Seeing that Yun Ge agreed to participate in the test without hesitation, Little Ones nodded with satisfaction, "Very good! In fact, our test is very simple. You just need to pass the test, and you can leave here with the bloody sweetaurum. But if you fail the test, you will be trapped in it forever until your life is exhausted! Hahaha!"

  Well! Little Ones' explanation of the test was almost non-existent. Since that was the case, Yun Ge did not want to waste any more words and urged, "Alright! I know! Then let's start the test quickly!"

  "Don't be impatient! Don't be impatient! Hmm—Let me think, what should we do next? Hey? How did we start the test last time?" Little Ones said, and the voices from the frozen corpse became many again. Then, these voices from all over the frozen corpse discussed in an incomprehensible chirping.

  Seeing this, Yun Ge immediately regretted it, because he did not expect these Little Ones to be so unreliable. As a result, Yun Ge began to worry that these Little Ones would make some mistakes in the upcoming test, putting him in danger and causing him to lose his life in vain.

  "Aha! I remember now! I remember now! So that's how we started the trial before! Hehehe! Yun Ge, are you ready? If you are ready, please sit down where you are and close your eyes to try to relax. Because the test is about to begin! Hehehe!" After a lively discussion, these Little Ones said to Yun Ge excitedly.

  Given that Little Ones' tone was somewhat lacking in confidence, Yun Ge couldn't help but hesitate whether to follow their instructions to prepare. But then he thought that he really had no way out now. So, Yun Ge took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly sat down on the ground.

  After Yun Ge sat down, he heard the voices of those Little Ones merge into one again, chanting an incomprehensible spell. Then, Yun Ge felt a cold and lifeless palm press against his forehead. Realizing that the palm pressing against his forehead belonged to Kayne's frozen corpse,

  Yun Ge felt a chill in his heart and subconsciously wanted to open his eyes. But before he could react, he felt his body sink heavily, and then he quickly lost consciousness under the strong drowsiness.

  Yun Ge slept very soundly and comfortably. Because he felt that the environment around him was no longer cold, but gradually became warm. Moreover, the environment seemed too warm, to the point that he was panting from the heat.

  At this time, Yun Ge had not fully awakened from his deep sleep, but an indescribable sense of crisis pierced his heart like ice. Because Yun Ge thought of a terrible thing, that is, when a person's core body temperature drops severely in a cold area, the brain's temperature regulation center may misjudge, causing the body to mistakenly believe that it is overheating, thus creating an illusion of "getting hot."

  This is a very dangerous signal. If rescue measures are not taken quickly, he may soon be frozen to death in the snow. Therefore, when Yun Ge suddenly thought of this in his half-asleep and half-awake state, he immediately sat up with a loud shout.

  As a result, just after waking up from his sleep, Yun Ge was stunned immediately. Because he found that he was not suffering from hypothermia due to a severe drop in core body temperature, but was woken up by the heat because he had been sleeping in the scorching desert all along.

  "What is this place?" This was the first question Yun Ge asked after waking up.

  "Why am I here?" This was the second question Yun Ge asked.

  "Strange? Why am I asking such questions? How did I get here? Before this—Why don't I remember anything?" Then, Yun Ge asked a series of questions. But apart from knowing his own name, he couldn't remember anything else.