“Phew!”
Lin Su swallowed the last small piece of meat, took a sip of water from his canteen, and felt his strength fully restored before finally breathing a sigh of relief. He looked down at Qiuqiu in his arms, “How are you doing?”
“Meow!” (I’m all better!)
“That’s good.” Lin Su smiled, then his expression slowly turned serious, “Are you ready? I’m going to move the stone.”
“Meow!” (Ready!)
“When I move the stone away, if a flyleaf sprout comes rushing in, use Frost Storm to repel it, then we’ll make a run for it.” After giving the instructions, Lin Su took a deep breath, picked up the rock, and pushed hard, exposing the blocked entrance once again.
Qiuqiu’s mouth surged with energy, with frost knitting in its gaze, fixing a deadly stare at the direction of the cave entrance.
However, its face soon turned into one of confusion.
“Meow? (°ω°)” (Gone?)
“Hmm?” Lin Su tossed the stone aside, frowned and cautiously peered through the entrance, but there was no sign of the flyleaf sprouts.
Those things had chased after them so fiercely just moments ago, and now they were gone?
He cautiously popped his head out, confirmed that they were really gone, and let out a huge sigh of relief, “Qiuqiu, we can go out now.”
No matter why the flyleaf sprouts had left, Lin Su knew that he and Qiuqiu were temporarily safe.
Bending down to pick up the oil lamp, he pinched out the spark and took the Space Ring back, Lin Su gently picked up Qiuqiu and walked towards the cave exit.
He didn’t notice that at the moment when his shadow intersected with the shadow of the rock he had just leaned against, something seemed to flow from that shade into his own.
At the same time, Qiuqiu in Lin Su’s arms twitched its ears.
“Meow?” (What’s that?)
“What’s the matter, Qiuqiu?” As he watched Qiuqiu looking around with Frost Eyes, Lin Su inquired curiously.
“Meow, meow… (⊙ω⊙)” (I thought I saw something just now, but now I can’t see it…)
“It might just be your imagination, don’t be too nervous. Those flyleaf sprouts probably left because of something else.” Lin Su patted Qiuqiu’s head and said with a smile, “We should make our move, continue keeping watch for me.”
“Meow!” (Understood!)
Qiuqiu responded affirmatively, adeptly jumping onto Lin Su’s head and settling down, the lingering intent of frost in its eyes as it scanned the surroundings.
Together, the man and his pet headed towards the snowy mountains again, and this time they encountered no other beast attacks. Shortly after, the white expanse of the snowy mountain, wrapped in the cold wind and snow, appeared before Lin Su and Qiuqiu.
Arriving in its familiar territory, Qiuqiu cheered and swiftly jumped down from Lin Su’s head, moving deftly among the drifting snowflakes, like a sprite dancing in the snow.
Lin Su smiled as he looked at Qiuqiu, checked his map for his location and direction, and pointed somewhere, “Next, let’s head that way, keep it low key, first to the Nirvana Pool…”
“Meow…” (There seems to be something over there…)
Qiuqiu’s voice interrupted Lin Su mid-sentence; it had ceased its frolic in the air and, infusing a heavy frost in its eyes, stared intently at something.
“Hmm?” Curiosity filled Lin Su’s eyes, “What is it?”
“Meow, meow?” (I feel there’s something good over there, can we check it out before going to the Nirvana Pool?)
“Of course.” Lin Su glanced in that direction, but couldn’t see anything through the poor visibility of the wind and snow, “Then we’ll go take a look before the Nirvana Pool, but we can’t delay for too long.”
“Meow! ฅ(≧ω≦)ฅ” (Great!)
After walking about a dozen steps in that direction, Lin Su’s movement came to a slight halt, his expression filled with surprise. There was a small ice cave there that he had completely overlooked, hidden amid the wind and snow.
At the entrance of that ice cave, a faint ice-blue glow slowly seeped out, and the dense supernatural energy was so intense that even Lin Su could feel it clearly, obviously nurturing some kind of supernatural resource inside the cave. Judging from the fluctuations, it was probably not simple.
Looking at the increasingly anxious Qiuqiu in the air, Lin Su couldn’t help but smile, “Is this the place you mentioned just now?”
“Meow!” (It should be!)
“Then let’s go in and look…” Before Lin Su could finish, a strange noise suddenly caught his ear, and his face changed as he abruptly turned to look at the ice cave.
At the previously empty entrance of the ice cave, a scorpion-like beast the size of a millstone and crystal-like ice in appearance had appeared out of nowhere. Its small, blue eyes watched the newcomers warily, its muscular tail raised high, and its sharp stinger gleamed with a cold light. Its huge claws, like dual blades, seemed capable of easily cutting through anything.
“Ice Armor Scorpion?” Lin Su quickly retreated, “Qiuqiu, retreat, it’s an elite rank beast!”
The Ice Armor Scorpion, an elite high-ranked commander creature of the ice type, with core Talent Skills including Erosion Mark, Ice Armor, and Cold Claw Kill.
As an elite and a high-ranking commander creature, its normal energy value could reach a minimum of four thousand, ten times that of Qiuqiu.
The current stage was only to run.
Although the Ice Armor Scorpion appeared, it did not attack, but merely guarded the entrance of the ice cave, staring fixedly at Lin Su and Qiuqiu, which made Lin Su even more convinced that there was something valuable in this ice cave, and this Ice Armor Scorpion was likely the Guardian of the supernatural resource in the secret realm.
“Qiuqiu, should we go to the Nirvana Pool and evolve before coming back?” Lin Su couldn’t help but suggest.