As soon as Shen Hanyu's words fell, a sharp cry carrying terrifying might rang out from overhead. The anger within it was clearly about to explode. The terrifying sound wave blew away the fallen snow on the surrounding trees, causing it to flutter down in abundance.
Aside from Shen Hanyu, the other three tightly covered their ears, overwhelmed by the energy carried in that voice and struggling to breathe.
The corner of Shen Hanyu's mouth twitched. He was utterly puzzled and simply asked Tian Meng, who was still idly lazing about in his mental sea:
"Tian Meng, come take a look at what's going on. This guy seems a bit off."
Tian Meng, who had been enjoying his leisurely time, froze for a moment before quickly releasing his mental power to investigate. The moment he did, his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
"Hey, hey, hey, Hanyu! I was only away from the outside for a little while. How did you manage to provoke such a big fellow? Good heavens, a Silver Emperor Heavenly Falconwith over fifty thousand years of cultivation! Even in the deepest parts of the Far North, I've never seen one with my own eyes. To think it would appear here… I don't even know whether to call you lucky or unlucky…"
Shen Hanyu was also unusually bewildered and said:
"Do you think we wanted to provoke it? No, we didn't provoke it at all. We didn't even reveal our auras, yet this big guy suddenly went berserk for no reason. I'm completely baffled."
The sharp cries continued. The enormous silver figure of the Silver Emperor Heavenly Falconslowly appeared in the sky above this forest. Its silver feathers gleamed beautifully and smoothly under the sunlight, with an extremely high level of aesthetic appeal.
Of course, that would be even better if one ignored those eyes that had turned red from bloodlust.
As its massive wings continuously flapped, fierce winds whipped up on the ground. Shen Hanyu led the three girls to retreat into a relatively low-lying area, yet they could still feel the biting cold wind slashing against their faces like knives.
Shui Yue'er and Shui Bing'er had already crouched down on the ground. Shen Liuyu was also half-supporting herself against a nearby tree trunk. Shen Hanyu stood at the very front, his expression gradually turning solemn.
The Silver Emperor Sky Falcon's enormous eyes kept turning, as if searching for something. Its huge body continuously circled at low altitude over this area, completely sealing off any path of advance or retreat for Shen Hanyu's group.
Tian Meng was also somewhat dumbfounded. After racking his brains for a moment, he finally concluded:
"Hanyu, I'm not kidding, right now, there are only two choices: fight or run."
Shen Hanyu rolled his eyes and said speechlessly:
"Say something useful. Anyone with a brain could figure that out."
Tian Meng looked at the still-raging Silver Emperor Heavenly Falconin the distant sky and helplessly said:
"A soul beast of this level wouldn't be attracted by something simple. Either you unintentionally picked up something that could drive a Silver Emperor Heavenly Falconmad, or there was already something in this area attracting it. Judging from the current situation, the latter is more likely."
At these words, Shen Hanyu first froze, then quickly said:
"Tian Meng, scan this area and see if there's anything unusual. This guy wouldn't go berserk for no reason; there must be a cause."
Tian Meng obediently complied.
Shen Hanyu didn't idle either. He turned around and spoke seriously to Shui Bing'er and the other two girls:
"Alright, listen carefully to what I'm about to say, and don't lie. You can see the current situation yourselves. If it were just me, escaping wouldn't be difficult, but protecting all of you, I truly don't have full confidence. My chances of success are less than ninety-eight percent, which is no different from throwing our lives away."
Shen Hanyu paused, then continued:
"After entering the Icebound Forest, have any of you picked up anything particularly special? Or before coming out, did any of you carry something precious on your person and expose it to the outside, risking detection?"
Shui Bing'er shook her head first. Aside from some necessities, she had brought nothing.
Shui Yue'er also shook her head. Her storage soul tool contained only food—and more food. How could that possibly attract such a big fellow?
Shen Hanyu's gaze turned to Shen Liuyu, only to see her also shake her head and say:
"Brother, I didn't bring anything either. Everything you gave me is back in the dormitory. You know my habit, I never take things with me when I go out, and the dormitory is safe anyway. The dean lives right behind it."
Shen Hanyu was somewhat stunned. Could the problem really lie with himself?
On his body, aside from a few soul bones, there were several hundred thousand gold soul coins, a large pile of medicinal herbs, and a few remaining immortal herbs. No matter how he looked at it, none of these seemed capable of attracting a Silver Emperor Sky Falcon. Moreover, all of these items were protected by Tian Meng; their auras couldn't possibly leak out.
Just as Shen Hanyu was still thinking, Tian Meng's somewhat shocked voice transmitted over:
"Hanyu, I've really opened my eyes today. I just carefully searched this area—guess what I found?"
Shen Hanyu said impatiently:
"Tian Meng, this isn't the time for jokes. Whatever you discovered, say it quickly. And don't tell me the Ice Emperor has appeared here to confess her love to you…"
Tian Meng pretended not to hear and continued unconcerned:
"Let me tell you, this forest's underground is the nest of a thirty-thousand-year Violent Snow Spider Emperor. At first, I didn't think much of it, but when I looked closer, guess what I saw? Good heavens, this guy actually kidnapped a Silver Emperor Heavenly Falconhatchling and brought it back to its lair. Now the mother has followed the scent and caught it red-handed. Looking at it this way, the Silver Emperor Sky Falcon's sudden rage really has nothing to do with you. You just happened to be within the territory of this Violent Snow Spider Emperor, so it was a misunderstanding."
Hearing this, the corner of Shen Hanyu's mouth twitched.
No wonder it was going so berserk. It was just like going out to find food, only to return and discover your son had been abducted by a human trafficker, who, as it turns out, lives in the building right next door. Truly absurd!
Although the Violent Snow Spider Emperor sounded extremely high-class and impressive, in reality, this type of soul beast specialized in being unable to afford to lose. Their nests were built dozens of meters underground, with very concealed entrances and exits. Like the Burrowing Demon Spiders, they were extremely skilled at camouflage; sometimes other soul beasts would step right on them without realizing it, only to end up as a meal.
Of course, this species also had one peculiar hobby.
They all loved to hunt the young of other soul beasts and seemed to particularly enjoy watching those soul beasts suffer and go mad. Many scholars in the theoretical world, through research, had discovered that this soul beast appeared to possess an innate soul skill capable of absorbing negative energy. Alternatively, spider-type soul beasts like this were simply representatives of malice and darkness; their very blood flowed with evil. Brutality and devouring were what they excelled at most…
Tian Meng also said with a hint of regret:
"What a pity. The Silver Emperor Heavenly Falconclan is already extremely rare. Tens of thousands of years ago, the Snow Empress personally slew a hundred-thousand-year Silver Emperor Heavenly Falconthat was harming large numbers of clans in the Far North. After battling it, she called it a top-tier soul beast no weaker than the Titan Snow Demon. If it hadn't been detrimental to the Far North, the Snow Empress would have been quite willing to see it grow stronger…"
"Of course, this type of soul beast, if it doesn't die, is certain to break through to one hundred thousand years or even higher. The tragedy is that this soul beast seems to only reproduce once every thirty thousand years, twenty thousand years slower than the Everfreeze Silkworm. Otherwise, the ranking of clans in the Far North would probably have to be rearranged…"