After leaving the previous area, Shui Ningbing's mood had clearly improved a lot, but it remained somewhat low. It seemed that her sad memories had indeed been stirred up.
Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er, the two sisters, were a bit worried but also quite helpless. They didn't know exactly how to comfort Shui Ningbing.
Shen Hanyu continued to clear the path ahead, occasionally releasing his spiritual force to carefully probe the surrounding environment and soul beasts.
After entering this open region, there were almost no signs of any creatures having been active around them. Only occasionally could they see some enormous footprints on the ground, with intervals between them sometimes so vast that they were unimaginable.
All these abnormalities indicated that there was definitely a terrifying carnivorous soul beast of immense size nearby, and this area was one where they frequently appeared.
"Everyone, be careful. There might be powerful soul beasts nearby. This place is too open; we're too exposed here. If we're not careful, we'll become obvious lambs waiting to be slaughtered."
Shen Hanyu warned them.
In fact, from the moment he saw these huge footprints, Shen Hanyu had already roughly guessed what soul beast had passed through here.
In the Far North, a soul beast with such an enormous body and that walked upright—aside from the Ice Devil Titan, Shen Hanyu couldn't think of any other soul beast that fit the description.
The Ice Devil Titans were said to be the descendants left behind when the ancient Ice God favored the ancient Titan Giant.
Possessing the bloodline of the Ice God and the terrifying physical strength of the giants, this also made their race extremely powerful in combat, while their temperament was also the most violent kind.
Unfortunately, this type of soul beast was quite balanced overall and did not possess an extreme attribute. Otherwise, an Ice Devil Titan King would have been a near-perfect soul ring choice for Shen Hanyu.
Shui Ningbing also pulled herself together. Grief was grief, but the Far North was not as calm and simple as it appeared on the surface. Many soul beasts might have already noticed them in the shadows. Even if she didn't think for herself, she had to consider the three young girls.
Shen Liuyu quickened her pace to catch up and asked with some worry:
"Brother, those footprints are so big. Just how enormous must the body of the soul beast that left them be, and how strong must its power be..."
Shen Hanyu thought for a moment, while paying attention to the safety around them, and said:
"Do you remember the concept of ferocious beasts that I mentioned?"
All four nodded. They remembered everything Shen Hanyu had told them clearly, almost able to recite it backward.
"There are three great kings in the Far North, and these footprints here come from the third-ranked Ice Devil Titan clan. They are very likely the descendants of the ancient Ice God and the Titan Giant. They are considered adults only when their bodies reach over fifty meters, with the tallest even exceeding a hundred meters. The combat power of this soul beast is extremely terrifying. The current clan leader of their tribe is also a ferocious beast, with cultivation exceeding two hundred thousand years..."
As his words fell, a cold wind suddenly blew past, causing a layer of goosebumps to rise on all four of them. They unconsciously swallowed.
Only now did everyone notice that there seemed to be a faint rotten stench in the air, one that no matter how they tried to dispel it, remained deeply rooted and made them feel somewhat nauseous.
Shen Hanyu frowned, then said to the four:
"No matter what, let's first leave this open area. If we encounter anything here, it won't be easy to deal with."
The four also nodded repeatedly. At this point, they couldn't care about anything else and simply hurried to follow behind Shen Hanyu, praying to pass through this "hunting ground" as soon as possible.
...
They hurried almost the entire way. The distant snow mountains, which had originally appeared tiny, gradually grew larger. The footprints around them became increasingly dense, and a strange and tense atmosphere enveloped everyone.
"There's something wrong nearby. It seems like something just had an intense battle in the vicinity..."
Shui Ningbing noticed the huge claw marks on the ground and the obvious friction traces and said in a cold voice.
Shen Hanyu's expression remained unchanged. He placed his palm against the icy ground, using it as a medium to spread his spiritual force outward.
When his spiritual force was about to reach its limit, Shen Hanyu suddenly stood up, grabbed everyone, and quickly left the area.
Only after they had put some distance between themselves and that area did Shen Hanyu slightly slow his pace, his expression somewhat strange.
A faint tremor came from the ground behind them. The accumulated snow on the surrounding snow mountains began to slowly fall, and even the stones on the ground were gradually shaken. For a moment, it felt like the earth was moving and the mountains were shaking.
Shen Hanyu carried Shen Liuyu, while Shui Ningbing carried Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er. The five flew to the peak of a nearby snow mountain and watched the scene before them in shock.
Three giants, each over sixty meters tall, were driving a dozen or so Icefield Elephants toward this direction in a frenzied charge. Wherever they passed, the ground shook and cracked. One Icefield Elephant after another was casually crushed to death and then discarded on the spot like garbage.
The three giants didn't even blink as they continued their one-sided bloody slaughter.
The leading Icefield Elephant had at least sixty thousand years of cultivation, yet it was now covered in wounds. Its tribe behind it was already dead or injured, leaving only the old, weak, sick, and disabled.
Seeing that there was almost no escape ahead, the Icefield Elephant leader let out a heaven-shaking roar. Its eyes turned blood red as it directly turned around. A layer of blue frost covered its sharp tusks. Its feet stamped hard, its powerful thigh muscles tensed—it had clearly prepared to fight desperately.
With a furious roar, the Icefield Elephant leader looked at the elephant herd that was about to escape this open area and charged straight toward the three Ice Devil Titans.
The leading Ice Devil Titan was nearly seventy meters tall, several times the size of the Icefield Elephant leader. It exuded a violent killing aura, with its fur stained with quite a bit of blood. Its massive hand clenched into a fist and met the Icefield Elephant leader's full-force charge head-on.
With a massive boom, the Icefield Elephant leader was heavily smashed into the ground. A black soul ring slowly floated up, proving that the Icefield Elephant leader was dead beyond dead.
The other two Ice Devil Titans looked at the escaping Icefield Elephant herd, let out angry roars, and then went to collect the corpses of the Icefield Elephants they had slaughtered. These were their food reserves, to feed their offspring or for their own consumption.
Countless Icefield Elephant corpses were piled up like a small mountain, innumerable in size, both large and small. The bloody scene made Shui Yue'er unable to hold back her dry heaving.
"What terrifying soul beasts..."
Shen Liuyu's voice trembled as she tightly grasped Shen Hanyu's arm. Only by witnessing this scene firsthand could one truly understand the bloodiness and terror here. Even with mental preparation, Shen Liuyu was still so frightened that she felt chills.
Shui Bing'er's pretty face was snow-white, her hands clenched into fists. She had still received no small shock.
Shui Ningbing was also full of astonishment. She had never seen soul beasts that were so intelligent and powerful. Not only did they know how to use traps and strategies, but their own strength was also so overwhelming. If it were her, in front of these colossal beings, her outcome probably wouldn't be much better than these Icefield Elephants...
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