After retreating to a sufficiently safe distance, Ling Feng hid behind a thick clump of bushes, his chest rising and falling slightly-not from exhaustion, but because his brain was racing and adrenaline was quietly coursing through him.
A head-on fight was the worst possible choice: ten deaths and not a single chance of survival.
He had to outsmart it.
His gaze swept across that clearing of death again like the most precise instrument, overlooking not the slightest detail.
The Thunderhorn Zheng still lay near the Titan Giant Ape's skeleton, seemingly dozing, but its occasionally swishing tail, wreathed in lightning, and its faintly twitching nostrils showed that it remained highly alert. Its position guarded the only route to the Dragon Blood Orchid and the pool, with an open field of view that made even the slightest stirring of wind or grass difficult to hide from it.
An eerie chill rose from the pool. The soil along its edge was damp, supporting patches of shade-loving moss and ferns.
The Titan Giant Ape's skeleton was enormous, its dark golden bones shimmering faintly in the dim light. Even after so many years of death, it still gave off a faint oppressive presence, leaving the vegetation somewhat sparse within a certain radius.
The golden light at the tip of the Dragon Blood Orchid's bud seemed to flow a little faster, and its peculiar, delicate fragrance had grown a little richer.
It's about to ripen... Ling Feng judged. This was the crucial moment! As a Soul Beast waited for a heavenly treasure to ripen, its attention would often be at its most focused and its nerves at their tightest, because this was the moment it prepared to enjoy the fruits of its vigil. Yet that excessive focus might also create a momentary "blind spot."
But how could he exploit that blind spot?
Charge straight over? The Thunderhorn Zheng's speed was absolutely far beyond his own. Before he even reached the Dragon Blood Orchid, a bolt of lightning would probably blast him into charcoal.
He needed bait. Something enticing enough to draw the Thunderhorn Zheng's attention and make it temporarily leave its guarding position.
Ling Feng's gaze settled on the Titan Giant Ape's skeleton.
A bold idea flashed through his mind like lightning.
Why had the Thunderhorn Zheng settled here? Apart from the Dragon Blood Orchid, did this top-tier Soul Beast's skeleton also hold some special attraction for it? Perhaps it cultivated with the help of the lingering oppressive presence? Or did the bones still contain something it coveted?
Time to gamble!
Ling Feng silently backed away once more, circled far around, and reached the rear flank of the clearing, closer to the Titan Giant Ape's skeleton. The trees here were denser, making concealment easier.
He took several wolf fangs collected during the earlier battle from inside his clothes, then took out Xiao Li's ring and gently probed it with his spiritual power-sure enough, there was space inside. It was not large, about one cubic meter, and contained a jumble of Gold Soul Coins, ordinary wound medicine, and several changes of clothes. Nothing particularly useful, but...
Ling Feng's eyes flashed. He took out the clothes and tore them into strips. Then, with great care, he used the strips to bind several wolf fangs tightly together, making a crude, fist-sized cloth bundle.
Next, he circulated his Soul Power, forced a drop of bright red blood from his fingertip, and let it fall onto the bundle. The blood quickly soaked in, giving off a faint bloody scent.
That was still not enough.
He recalled the accounts of Soul Beast habits in Grandmaster's notes, particularly the description of the Thunderhorn Zheng: it favored lightning, loathed cold and gloom, was extremely sensitive to the scent of powerful Soul Beasts' blood essence, and had a strong possessive streak.
Cold and gloom... the pool!
Ling Feng's gaze sharpened. Moving as silently as a wildcat, he slipped to the pool's edge, avoiding the Thunderhorn Zheng's line of sight. With a large leaf, he swiftly scooped up some icy pool water and splashed it over the blood-soaked bundle.
Hiss...
A strange smell spread, mingling blood with the cold, gloomy scent of the pool water.
Once everything was done, Ling Feng drew a deep breath and brought himself into peak condition. He activated his Purple Demon Eye, locking firmly onto every minute movement of the Thunderhorn Zheng.
He waited.
Time passed, second by second, and the air seemed to congeal.
The golden light on the Dragon Blood Orchid's bud grew ever brighter, like a tiny sun. Its delicate fragrance almost became tangible, refreshing the heart and soothing the mind.
The Thunderhorn Zheng's breathing grew noticeably heavier. Its body rose slightly, its slit pupils fixed on the Dragon Blood Orchid, brimming with desire. The purple scales all over its body lifted slightly, and arcs of electricity crackled. Clearly, it had entered a state of intense excitement and vigilance.
Now!
A brilliant gleam shot from Ling Feng's eyes!
His arm whipped forward, and with all his strength, he hurled the bundle soaked in blood and icy pool water far toward the other side of the Titan Giant Ape's skeleton!
Whoosh!
The bundle cut through the air with a faint whistle.
Ling Feng had applied his strength deftly to this throw. The bundle traced a high, long arc, landing just behind the skeleton, at a spot the Thunderhorn Zheng would have to turn its gaze slightly to see.
Almost the instant the bundle left his hand, Ling Feng sprang like a spring compressed to its limit, making a low, stealthy rush in the opposite direction-toward the pool and the Dragon Blood Orchid! He pushed Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to its utmost, his figure becoming a blurred shadow as he sprinted madly close to the ground, using weeds and uneven terrain for cover!
"Roar?!"
The faint sound of the bundle landing, along with that strange smell mingling blood and icy cold with faint traces of a wolf-type Soul Beast and a human, instantly provoked the Thunderhorn Zheng in its highly sensitive state!
It whipped its head around, its slit pupils instantly locking onto the area behind the skeleton!
What was that?
An intruder? Trying to steal the giant ape's bones? Or an accomplice coveting the Dragon Blood Orchid, making a feint in the east to strike in the west?
For the fiercely territorial Thunderhorn Zheng guarding a supreme treasure, any abnormality was enough to arouse its fury and vigilance!
That scent in particular filled it with instinctive revulsion (the icy pool water) and attraction (a hint of lingering blood essence from a powerful Soul Beast?).
"Roar-!"
An enraged roar shook the forest! The Thunderhorn Zheng kicked off hard with all four limbs, turning into a streak of purple lightning. Trailing crackling electricity, it instantly pounced toward the bundle's landing spot! Its speed far exceeded Ling Feng's imagination!
It worked!
Lure the tiger from its mountain!
Wild joy surged through Ling Feng's heart, but his feet never paused, and he drove his speed up another notch! The distance between him and the Dragon Blood Orchid was shrinking rapidly!
Fifty meters! Forty meters! Thirty meters!
The Dragon Blood Orchid's crystalline blood-red color and flowing golden light were already right before his eyes! He could even smell that extraordinary fragrance seeping into his heart!
Check in! All I have to do is touch it!
Yet, in the instant before Ling Feng's fingers could touch the Dragon Blood Orchid's jade-like leaves!
"Awooo!!!"
An even more savage roar came from the Thunderhorn Zheng behind him, filled with towering rage at having been toyed with!
It had evidently discovered in an instant that this was nothing but a clumsy decoy! And it had determined where the true target lay!
A terrifying oppressive presence swept toward him from behind like a tsunami! With it came the scalp-prickling sizzling of gathering lightning!
It was back!
And faster than when it had left!