A Dog-headed Bird slowly flew toward Luo Feng and the others.
With so many trees in the forest, there really were all kinds of birds.
When the Dog-headed Bird noticed that Luo Feng's group had spotted it, its speed instantly increased.
It charged rapidly toward Tang Xuewei.
The dog head opened its large maw wide, aiming to bite Tang Xuewei.
Although White Tiger had regressed to level 1, it instinctively positioned itself in front of its master upon sensing danger.
Leaping into the air, it prepared to engage the level 4 Dog-headed Bird in combat.
Luo Feng stood barely two meters away from Tang Xuewei.
Without hesitation, he immediately wreathed his entire body in flames, which surged forward to shield Tang Xuewei.
Having inherited the Snow Goddess's power, Tang Xuewei was no pushover either.
A massive barrier of ice and snow instantly coalesced before her.
An icy shield materialized in front of her.
The Dog-headed Bird moved with terrifying speed.
It tore through Luo Feng's flames, shattered Tang Xuewei's ice shield, and sank its teeth into White Tiger's body as the beast stood protecting Tang Xuewei.
Failing to land a direct hit, the Dog-headed Bird flapped its wings and retreated.
Its movements were lightning fast.
In the blink of an eye, it vanished without a trace.
Most astonishingly, the creature's movements produced almost no sound.
It had come silently, and left just as quietly.
Luo Feng's initial shock quickly gave way to fury.
Had White Tiger not taken the blow, Tang Xuewei would have been injured.
This was absolutely unacceptable to Luo Feng.
He swore to cut off that damned bird's head and kick it like a ball.
Using a Clairvoyance Charm, Luo Feng pinpointed the Dog-headed Bird's escape route.
But he didn't immediately give chase.
First, he needed to tend to White Tiger's wounds.
Thinking this, he quickly retrieved numerous Mist Crystals and Mystic Seed Water from his space ring.
Tang Xuewei watched White Tiger with concern, summoning her Nine-Colored Glazed Pagoda to heal the beast.
Fortunately, White Tiger possessed robust vitality.
Moreover, the Dog-headed Bird's attack power had been weakened after passing through Luo Feng and Tang Xuewei's defenses.
After several minutes of treatment, White Tiger's injuries had mostly healed.
Seeing White Tiger's condition stabilize, Luo Feng said grimly:
"I never expected such creatures in this forest.
A bird with a dog's head that flies without making a sound.
And it's quite intelligent too.
Earlier, it deliberately made dog-like noises in the grass.
While we were distracted, it attacked from above.
We can't afford to be careless.
First, I'll hunt down this Dog-headed Bird, then we'll search for the Soul-Bewitching Fruit."
Hearing this, Tang Xuewei looked worried. "That creature is incredibly powerful and elusive. Maybe we should just focus on finding the Soul-Bewitching Fruit instead?"
The earlier encounter had shaken her—merely recalling the Dog-headed Bird's appearance filled her with dread.
Luo Feng, hearing Tang Xuewei's words, confidently said, "You can rest assured on that point.
With me here, no unexpected incidents will occur.
This Dog-headed Bird nearly hurt you. No matter what, I'm going to chop off its head today.
I've already pinpointed its location. Let's hurry over."
Hearing Luo Feng's resolute tone, Tang Xuewei didn't say anything more.
Since Luo Feng had spoken like this, she would naturally support him wholeheartedly.
Feeling his concern for her, she couldn't help but feel deeply happy inside.
At the same time, she secretly resolved to improve her strength as quickly as possible—she couldn't afford to hold Luo Feng back.
With this thought, she said, "Alright, let's go. I'll have Xiao Bai rest inside my Nine-Colored Glazed Pagoda first."
Watching the White Tiger disappear, Luo Feng fell into thought.
At present, the gap in strength between Xiao Bai and the Black Tortoise was far too great.
To be precise, Xiao Bai shouldn't even be called a White Tiger.
It only possessed a trace of the White Tiger Bloodline and wasn't yet one of the true Four Divine Beasts.
If Xiao Bai were truly a White Tiger, even at Level 1, it wouldn't fear a Level 4 Dog-headed Bird in the slightest.
The innate suppression of a Divine Beast's bloodline alone would make ordinary beasts think twice before acting.
Luo Feng was now wondering—were there any items that could enhance bloodline power?
He needed to find a way to turn Xiao Bai into a true White Tiger.
Otherwise, with its current strength, Xiao Bai simply wasn't enough at times.
Thinking this, Luo Feng said, "We don't need to linger here any longer. Let's go.
Earlier, I wasn't paying attention to potential threats in the trees, which allowed this Dog-headed Bird to ambush us successfully.
But now, I've used my ability to scan the entire surroundings and confirmed there's no danger.
Let's head toward the Dog-headed Bird's location."
Luo Feng hadn't expected it earlier—despite the barking coming from the ground, the attack had come from the sky.
He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Using the Clairvoyance Charm, he had already pinpointed the Dog-headed Bird's exact position.
Then, he led the two of them swiftly toward the Dog-headed Bird's direction.
The Soul-Bewitching Fruit could be obtained anytime, but Luo Feng couldn't stand the thought of the Dog-headed Bird living even a minute longer.
As Luo Feng's group advanced, the Dog-headed Bird continued flying without pause.
It seemed to sense their formidable strength—after failing in its first attack, it immediately began retreating.
It showed no intention of attempting another ambush.
Luo Feng had already observed its intent, but he had no plans to abandon the pursuit.
However, with Tang Xuewei and the Merfolk Queen accompanying him, their speed wasn't particularly fast.
Fortunately, the Dog-headed Bird wasn't flying at full speed either.
They could barely keep up with its pace.
After five minutes of travel, the Dog-headed Bird suddenly landed on a tree.
When Luo Feng saw where it had perched, a look of surprise and disbelief crossed his face.
The Dog-headed Bird had settled into a nest.
If it were just an ordinary nest, Luo Feng wouldn't have been so shocked.
After all, despite its dog-like head, the Dog-headed Bird was still a bird.
Having a nest wasn't all that surprising.
Some might suspect there were bird eggs inside the nest.
The thought of a Dog-headed Bird's nest was quite thrilling.
Who knew what kind of item might hatch from a Dog-headed Bird's egg?
Though Luo Feng was extremely curious about the bird's eggs, what lay inside its nest wasn't an egg.
It was a silver treasure chest.