Venturing deep into the Icebound Forest.
The originally hard-covered ice and snow had now shown signs of melting. The accumulated snow on the ground had become extremely soft, sinking with every step, greatly slowing down the group's speed.
Such an environment undoubtedly consumed far more physical strength and soul power compared to normal conditions, severely testing one's mentality.
In the four-person team, Shen Hanyu and Shen Liuyu walked at the front and rear respectively, protecting Shui Bing'er and the other two with weaker soul power in the middle.
This was also a common formation for teams when hunting soul beasts, offering considerable defensive benefits against soul beast attacks.
Due to the extremely limited information from Tianshui Academy's scouts, they only knew that the Silver Emperor Sky Falcon had appeared in this area, but no one knew the exact location of its nest.
However, this type of soul beast typically would not leave its territory to hunt beyond a radius of fifty kilometers, so with some time spent searching, there was a high chance of finding it.
As for Shen Liuyu, her third soul ring only required a powerful soul beast; there were no strict specific requirements. This was one of the advantages of her crocodile-type martial soul.
Shui Bing'er, thanks to the powerful physique granted by her Ice Phoenix martial soul, had no major issues, but Shui Yue'er, with the lowest soul power level and only an advanced martial soul, was finding it somewhat hard to endure.
The Jade Dolphin was an agility-attack system martial soul, and its enhancement to the physique was not as strong as the others'. The long journey and massive soul power consumption had long left her gasping for breath, with fine beads of sweat even appearing on her forehead.
In fact, Shui Bing'er had once told her not to come, but Shui Yue'er, wanting to join for fun, had acted coquettish and cute in various ways to persuade her older sister. Helpless, Shui Bing'er had let her come.
"Let's rest for a bit first. Yue'er is struggling to hold on."
Shui Bing'er patted Shui Yue'er's back with some worry, her eyes full of heartache as she looked at the other's small face and hands that were frozen red.
Shen Hanyu nodded, cleared a spacious snowy area under a tree, then gathered a lot of dry firewood from nearby low shrubs and neatly started a fire.
Shen Liuyu also took out some fresh water from her soul guide, set up a simple rack with branches, and began heating the water.
Shui Bing'er hugged Shui Yue'er and gave the two a grateful look.
With the help of the campfire and hot water, Shui Yue'er's complexion quickly improved a lot. At this time, Shen Hanyu also took out some dried meat and handed it to everyone:
"This is dried meat made from a twenty-thousand-year-old Swordspine Crocodile Fish. Don't mind the fishy smell, eat some to replenish your strength. We'll continue searching for soul beasts later."
Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er visibly paused at the fishy smell, but, feeling their rumbling stomachs, they still accepted it and began chewing in small bites.
From time to time, a few soul beasts ran past nearby, but none posed any threat. Most were small soul beasts like snow rabbits and snow ferrets—the lowest-level predators in this area.
With the strongest perception and mental power, Shen Hanyu even sensed a thousand-year cultivation Snow Void Leopard, a rare soul beast with ice attributes and simultaneously possessing space attributes. It was currently carrying a snow rabbit in its mouth, moving at an astonishing speed. It had two innate soul skills, both related to space, and was said to be a close relative of the Void Demon Leopard.
Shen Hanyu silently noted the location where this soul beast appeared. This type of soul beast generally had extremely strong territorial awareness and would not stray far from its territory.
After Shui Yue'er broke through to become a Great Soul Master, this soul beast would undoubtedly be the most perfect second soul ring for her.
......
After a simple rest of more than an hour, the group set off again.
The deeper they went, the taller the trees became. The small trees had long withered due to insufficient sunlight and nutrients.
The low shrubs on the ground grew increasingly lush. Shen Hanyu narrowed his eyes slightly, sweeping his mental power around. The information transmitted back made a trace of joy appear on his face:
"We're close. It's in this nearby area. Now we just need to search around here."
A hint of joy also appeared in Shui Bing'er's eyes. The longer they spent in a place like this, the greater the pressure and danger they had to endure. No one wanted to stay longer in a dangerous environment; any creature had an instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm.
"Can you determine the general direction?"
Shui Bing'er held Shui Yue'er's hand and asked softly.
Shen Hanyu closed his eyes to sense for a moment, actually notifying Tian Meng to search.
A moment later, Shen Hanyu said:
"Ten kilometers east from here."
Shui Bing'er nodded lightly. Ten kilometers wasn't far under normal circumstances, but in this situation, there were too many things to be cautious about. The journey would take at least two or three hours.
This was no exaggeration. No one could guarantee absolute safety. Exchanging some speed for higher security was a consensus among the four of them.
Shen Hanyu gave a faint hum, glanced at the sky, and said:
"We'll move forward a bit more, then set up camp for the night. At night, our vision is impaired, and many carnivorous soul beasts will come out to hunt. For your safety of you three, we'll investigate tomorrow. Any objections?"
Shen Liuyu nodded first. After walking all day, she was already exhausted. Now that her stinky older brother suggested resting, she absolutely agreed a thousand times over.
Shui Bing'er also nodded, and Shui Yue'er, leaning on Shui Bing'er's shoulder, nodded weakly.
Seeing that no one had objections, Shen Hanyu led the group forward a bit further before beginning to set up camp.
The three girls were all female, so they shared one large tent, while a smaller tent was left for Shen Hanyu to sleep alone.
Shen Hanyu additionally gave them two blankets made from the fur of fire-attribute soul beasts. He was nearly unaffected by the surrounding cold and no longer needed them, so he simply left them for the three girls.
Night came very late here. After the group finished setting up the tents and such, they started a campfire and gathered around it, chatting idly.
Shen Hanyu went out for about two minutes and returned with two plump snow rabbits. He skillfully skinned and beheaded them, found two moist branches to skewer them, and placed them directly over the flames for high-heat roasting.
Looking at the sizzling, oil-dripping rabbit meat, the gluttonous Shui Yue'er and Shen Liuyu were the first to swallow their saliva, and Shui Bing'er also slightly pursed her lips.
Shen Hanyu secretly found it amusing. His grilling skills weren't bad, after all. In his previous life, to save money on a few meals, he had often gone fishing and eaten by the lake with friends, slowly honing his grilling technique through repeated practice, and it could withstand scrutiny.
Seeing that the three girls were already impatient, Shen Hanyu smiled helplessly, took out the final soul seasoning, poured it evenly over the meat, and a rich aroma quickly spread out, drifting slowly into the distance with the breeze…