Going Berserk

No sooner had Shen Hanyu finished speaking than a sharp cry carrying terrifying might rang out from above. The fury within it was unmistakable, practically off the charts. The horrifying sound waves blew the snow off the surrounding trees, sending it drifting down in flurries.

Other than Shen Hanyu, the other three clutched their ears tightly, unable to catch their breath under the energy carried by that cry.

Shen Hanyu's mouth twitched. Thoroughly puzzled, he simply asked Tian Meng, who was still leisurely slacking off in the Sea of Consciousness:

"Tian Meng, come take a look at what's going on. Something seems seriously wrong with this thing."

Tian Meng, who had been enjoying his leisure time, froze for a moment before swiftly releasing his Mental Power to investigate. It would have been better if he had not checked. The instant he did, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Hey, hey, hey, Hanyu, I only stopped watching the outside for a moment. How did you guys provoke such a huge monster? My goodness, a Silver Emperor Sky Falcon with over Fifty Thousand Years of cultivation—I've never even seen one myself in the depths of the Far North, yet one actually showed up here. I don't even know whether to call you lucky or unlucky..."

Even Shen Hanyu was unusually at a loss. He said:

"You think we wanted to provoke it? No, we never provoked it at all. We hadn't even exposed our auras, but this huge thing suddenly went berserk. I'm confused too."

The piercing cries continued as the enormous silver figure of the Silver Emperor Sky Falcon slowly appeared above the forest. Its silver feathers looked dazzling and sleek beneath the sunlight, and its appearance was undeniably exceptional.

Of course, it would have been even better without those bloodthirsty eyes that had turned red.

As its enormous wings beat continuously, they whipped up a gale across the ground. Shen Hanyu led the three girls to a relatively low-lying area, but they could still feel the icy wind cutting into them like blades.

Shui Yue'er and Shui Bing'er had already crouched on the ground, while Shen Liuyu half-supported herself against a nearby tree. Shen Hanyu stood at the very front, his expression gradually turning solemn.

The Silver Emperor Sky Falcon's huge eyes kept shifting as though searching for something. Its massive body circled through the low air above the area, completely sealing off Shen Hanyu's group's path forward and back.

Tian Meng was also rather dumbfounded. After racking his brains for a moment, he came to a conclusion:

"Hanyu, it's not that I want to say this, but there are only two choices now: fight or run."

Shen Hanyu rolled his eyes and said speechlessly:

"Say something useful. Anyone with a brain could think of that."

Looking at the Silver Emperor Sky Falcon still going berserk in the distant sky, Tian Meng said helplessly:

"A Soul Beast of this level won't be drawn in by something ordinary. Either you accidentally picked up something that could drive a Silver Emperor Sky Falcon mad, or there was already something in this area attracting it. Judging by the current situation, the latter is more likely."

Shen Hanyu was initially stunned, then quickly said:

"Tian Meng, search this area and see if there's anything unusual. This thing wouldn't go mad for no reason. There must be something causing it."

Tian Meng obediently did as he was told.

Shen Hanyu did not remain idle either. Turning around, he spoke seriously to Shui Bing'er and the other two girls:

"Alright, listen carefully to what I'm about to say. Don't lie. You've all seen the current situation. Without you, it wouldn't be difficult for me to kill my way out alone. But if I have to protect you, I really don't have absolute confidence. If the odds of winning aren't even ninety-eight percent, what's the difference from courting death?"

Shen Hanyu paused before continuing:

"Since arriving at the Frozen Forest, have you picked up anything particularly unusual? Or before coming here, did you carry any valuable items with you and expose them to the outside world, creating a risk of them being sensed?"

Shui Bing'er was the first to shake her head. Aside from necessities, she had brought nothing else.

Shui Yue'er shook her head as well. Other than food, her Soul Tool contained more food. How could it possibly have attracted such a huge creature?

Shen Hanyu turned his gaze toward Shen Liuyu, only to see her shaking her head as well. She said:

"Brother, I didn't bring anything either. The things you gave me are all in the dormitory. You know I have a habit of not bringing things when I go out. Besides, the dormitory is safe. The dean lives right behind it."

Shen Hanyu was somewhat bewildered. Could the problem actually be with him?

Other than a few Soul Bones, he had several hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, a large pile of Medicinal Herbs, and several remaining immortal herbs. But none of those things looked like they would attract a Silver Emperor Sky Falcon. Besides, Tian Meng had protected all of them, so their auras could not possibly leak out.

Just as Shen Hanyu was still thinking, Tian Meng's shocked voice rang out.

"Hanyu, I've really had my eyes opened today. I just carefully searched this area. Guess what I found?"

Growing impatient, Shen Hanyu said:

"Tian Meng, this isn't the time for jokes. If you found something, say it quickly. Don't tell me the Ice Empress showed up here to confess to you and get together with you..."

Tian Meng pretended not to hear him and continued unconcernedly:

"Listen, beneath that forest is the nest of a Thirty Thousand Years Blizzard Spider King. At first, I didn't think much of it, but when I looked more closely, guess what I saw? Good grief, that thing actually kidnapped a Silver Emperor Sky Falcon chick and dragged it back to its nest. Then its mom tracked its aura here and caught it red-handed. So the Silver Emperor Sky Falcon suddenly going mad really has nothing to do with you. You just happened to be within this Blizzard Spider King's territory and misunderstood the situation."

The corner of Shen Hanyu's mouth twitched upon hearing that.

Good grief, no wonder it had gone so mad. It was like going out to find food, then coming home to discover your son had been kidnapped by human traffickers—and those traffickers lived in the building next door. This was fucking absurd!

Although Soul Beasts like the Blizzard Spider King sounded incredibly high-class from their name, in reality, they specialized in fighting dirty. Their nests were built dozens of meters underground, with extremely concealed entrances and exits. Like Cave Spiders, they were exceptionally skilled at camouflage. Sometimes, other Soul Beasts could step right onto them without realizing it, only to end up as a meal.

Of course, their species also had a peculiar hobby.

They liked hunting the young of other Soul Beasts and seemed to especially enjoy watching other Soul Beasts suffer and go mad. Many masters in the academic world had concluded through research that this type of Soul Beast seemed to possess an innate soul skill capable of absorbing negative energy. Or perhaps these spider-type Soul Beasts were naturally the beasts that represented depravity and darkness. Evil blood flowed in their bones, while brutality and devouring were what they did best...

Tian Meng also said with a trace of regret:

"What a pity. The Silver Emperor Sky Falcon race was already exceedingly rare. Tens of thousands of years ago, the Snow Empress personally killed a Hundred Thousand Years Silver Emperor Sky Falcon that had endangered numerous populations in the Far North. After fighting it, she called it a top-tier Soul Beast no weaker than the Titan Snow Demon. If it hadn't brought no benefit to the Far North, the Snow Empress would have been more than willing to see it grow..."

"Of course, if this type of Soul Beast doesn't die, it will certainly break through to the Hundred Thousand Years level or even higher. But the tragic part is that they seem to reproduce only once every Thirty Thousand Years, which is twenty thousand years slower than Everfrost Silkworms. Otherwise, the species rankings of the Far North would probably have to be rearranged..."