The biting cold wind whipped across her cheeks, but upon touching Tang Sui's skin, it dispersed like ripples on water, dissolving the force of the wind. The chill was insignificant compared to Tang Sui's own low temperature.
The snowflakes dancing in the air were disrupted by the airflow generated as Tang Sui flew past.
Wherever Tang Sui passed, the snow was undisturbed, for she was traveling in a state of suspended flight.
After flying forward for a while longer, Tang Sui stopped and took out a hand-drawn map from her soul tool, murmuring to herself, "If I keep going south to the end, it should be the Icefield Forest, where many powerful soul beasts reside."
The Fox Mask floated up and down in her spiritual space, as if nodding. "The direction is correct. However, I still maintain my original suggestion."
As for the Fox Mask's original suggestion?
That would bring us back to the divergence of opinions when they discussed matters in the guest room prepared for Tang Sui by the village chief after last night's bonfire party.
Although communication had been established with Qing Nu Fang, her missing power pointed towards the far north. However, the exact form and location of this lost power remained unknown.
Undoubtedly, even a fragmented power would be a treasure to both humans and soul beasts.
Just like the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, who, despite not knowing the use of a particular prism, had stored it in his private treasury.
Conducting a carpet search of the snowfield with spiritual power would alert the powerful soul beasts inhabiting it, potentially leading them to be perceived as intruders by territorial soul beasts and thus cornered.
Much like the Star Dou Great Forest, the Icefield Forest was a soul beast forest with a long history. Who knew if there were one or two soul beasts above 100,000 years old hidden within its depths?
Currently, Tang Sui was not eager to be ganged up on.
Thus, there was the Grandma Mask's suggestion.
The Grandma Mask proposed going to the Icefield Forest first, then finding a powerful soul beast under 100,000 years old but above 50,000 years, and politely inquiring if it knew of any powerful treasures or rumors concerning them.
Native soul beasts lived longer; they would surely know more than her, a newcomer.
The Fox Mask's opinion was to head directly for the center of the Icefield Forest, seek out more powerful soul beasts, and try one's luck.
Big Fei thought that wouldn't work. It suggested that once they reached the Icefield Forest, it would be simpler and more direct to initiate a spiritual carpet search and immediately retreat if nothing unusual was found.
In essence, it was seven masks with six mouths, each chattering away, while one waited for Tang Sui's decision.
As they neared the outer edge of the Icefield Forest, the Ape Mask let out a sneer. Though its expression was fixed, one could discern its genuine disdain. "Not every 100,000-year soul beast is as easy to deal with as the Titan Giant Ape and the Azure Sky Python. Moreover, the little master is no longer a cub."
"An adult demon stepping into someone else's home, what is that if not provocation?"
Tang Sui nodded in agreement and, in turn, advised the Fox Mask, "I think the Ape Mask is absolutely right. It's better to be cautious."
Since even Tang Sui said so, the Fox Mask had no choice but to retreat into silence.
Suddenly, Tang Sui, about to continue, paused. Her spiritual power, spread like a net covering a radius of ten miles, detected several soul masters and a soul beast around 60,000 years old rapidly approaching her direction.
Someone?
Tang Sui closed her eyes, and the tendrils of spiritual power she extended painted a flowing picture in her mind of the life-or-death chase on the other side.
An Ice Scale Armored Dragon, around 60,000 years old.
One Soul Emperor and four Soul Kings?
One Soul King seemed to have reached saturation point in their soul power, with one foot already in the Soul Emperor realm... was this a team hunting for soul rings?
[It seems they were trying to hunt that 60,000-year-old Ice Scale Armored Dragon, but failed and were chased by the enraged soul beast.]
The Black Mask's voice suddenly rang out.
Tang Sui turned her feet and swept towards the direction where the five people were being pursued.
"They're coming from the direction of the Icefield Forest. Maybe if I get involved, they'll have some information I don't know."
This time, all the masks, including the Black Mask, reached a unified opinion: they supported Tang Sui going over.
On the other side, the six-person hunting team poured soul power into their legs, desperately fleeing for their lives.
Even though they were in a world of ice and snow, after an hour of frenzied running from the Icefield Forest to here, despite being clad in thick winter clothes, they were drenched from the inside out.
It was a mix of sweat and melted snowwater that had settled on them.
Leading the escape was a middle-aged man, about fifty years old.
Among all those fleeing, his aura was the strongest; undoubtedly, he was the Soul Emperor-level expert Tang Sui had sensed with her spiritual power.
"No, I can't do it anymore, my soul power is about to run out!"
Behind the middle-aged man, another man in a fur-lined outfit looked distressed, his chest heaving faster and faster. The air he drew in through his slightly parted lips felt like a knife cutting his throat, making his voice hoarse and intermittent.
This was a clear sign of shortness of breath and failing stamina.
"Don't stop if you don't want to die!" the leading middle-aged man shouted back at the fur-lined man, without slowing his pace at all.
After all, at this moment, slowing down would truly mean being caught by the scythe of death.
The other four were also in misery. The Ice Scale Armored Dragon behind them, with scales as translucent as ice and a severely torn upper back from some sharp weapon, strained its limbs, roaring continuously, and even condensing ice spikes from its mouth to attack the bipedal creatures fleeing in a disordered formation.
At this point, no one could blame anyone else.
They were a team temporarily assembled due to their ice and snow-attributed martial spirits, driven by profit or the shared desire to find a suitable powerful soul beast for a new soul ring.
This Ice Scale Armored Dragon was the second soul beast they had chosen for their team members in the more than three months they had spent in the snowfield.
Who would have thought that this Ice Scale Armored Dragon possessed an ability like a soul skill, unlike ordinary Ice Scale Armored Dragons?
They had already beaten it to within an inch of its life, but when the team member whose soul power had reached saturation approached the Ice Scale Armored Dragon, a blue light suddenly enveloped its body, like a swirling vortex of water.
The momentary daze was just that, one second. In that second, the Ice Scale Armored Dragon, which should have been unconscious and on the verge of death, suddenly opened its cold, fierce, crystal-blue vertical pupils. With a sweep of its armored dragon tail, it flung that team member away. Even more remarkably, its wounds healed at a visible rate, and it began to counter-attack them with full vigor.
At that time, their soul power was already less than half due to the prolonged battle with the Ice Scale Armored Dragon. Now, facing an Ice Scale Armored Dragon at its peak strength, possessing an ability akin to a soul skill, they had no choice but to retreat in unwilling defeat.
However, the Ice Scale Armored Dragon showed no intention of letting them go.
Indeed, even soul beasts understood the principle of striking while the iron is hot, and finishing off a wounded enemy.