Martial Arrogance Dragon Soul-Chapter 186 - 176: Hunting the Azure-Horned Snow Wolf
Ancient trees towering straight into the clouds, the heavy snow had stopped for several days, but the temperature was still extremely cold. The stout and powerful branches of these towering trees were all coated with a thick layer of ice, looking as if they were sculptures made of ice and jade, resembling clusters of sparkling and translucent corals.
Patches of ancient trees frozen by the cold ice connected together, making these mountains and forests appear like a frozen ocean, shockingly white and spectacularly grand.
Qin Qing walked through this icy and snowy world as if he were in a fairy tale.
Because of the snow, there were fewer hunters entering the Tianjue Forest this season compared to others.
Especially for some ordinary hunters who hadn’t cultivated or whose cultivation was very low, moving around in this season would bring huge trouble.
First, the Tianjue Forest covered with snow lacked cover.
Bushes, thorns—these were often good hiding spots for hunters. Once they encountered a ferocious beast they could not match, hiding had a great chance of saving their lives.
Second, walking on snow often made noise, which could attract the attention of ferocious beasts.
However, these weren’t problems for Qin Qing.
At this moment, Qin Qing was leaping between several towering trees, the accumulated snow on those trees hadn’t fallen in the slightest.
Afterward, with a slight spread of his arms, he leaped gracefully and landed on a patch of snow ahead.
His movements were incredibly agile, then he walked with light steps.
It seemed he wasn’t walking quickly, but each step covered more than a dozen feet; and upon closer inspection, one would notice that there were no footprints left on the snow where he had passed!
Naturally, each step also made no sound.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Qin Qing stopped in his tracks.
At the same time, a small white figure darted out from his sleeve like a flash of white light.
In its normal form, Xiao Bai was now over a meter long, but it could make itself even smaller. Most of the time, Xiao Bai coiled around Qin Qing’s arm like a bracelet.
Xiao Bai flew out, landing on Qin Qing’s shoulder, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
"Shh!"
Qin Qing made a silencing gesture, signaling Xiao Bai to keep quiet.
Then, Qin Qing himself closed his eyes and began to sense the surrounding environment.
Qin Qing had an extremely strong sense of perception, capable of hearing any sound in the vicinity very clearly.
At that moment, all was silent.
The forest seemed to quiet down.
"Whoosh whoosh..."
Occasionally, the sound of the whistling wind came from within the woods.
In the snow, small animals moved about from time to time.
"Around three hundred yards away, atop an ancient pine, two squirrels are hopping up and down."
"To the south, four hundred yards away, a snake is slithering through the snow..."
Qin Qing was somewhat surprised to sense a snake moving in such cold weather, knowing that most snakes, being cold-blooded, would hibernate in cold weather and wake up gradually when the warmth of spring approached.
But there were also a few special spirit snakes that possessed spiritual energy within their bodies and therefore did not fear the severe cold. Indeed, these snakes were no longer ordinary cold-blooded creatures.
"To the north, eight hundred or more yards away, there’s a four-legged animal! This animal is moving cautiously..."
Qin Qing’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
He couldn’t discern what kind of animal it was.
But he could sense that the animal’s movements were very agile and light.
Through the operation of the Emperor Dragon Secret Technique, he could sense fluctuations of spiritual power.
"The spiritual power is very stable; it must be at least a Second Rank ferocious beast!"
"Let’s go!"
Having chosen his target, Qin Qing instantly dashed out.
He was like a gust of wind, a breeze sweeping across the snow-covered mountains.
Without any superfluous noise.
In the span of a dozen breaths, Qin Qing had reached a valley.
He crouched behind a huge rock that was also covered with ice and snow, wrapped layer by layer.
Qin Qing pressed close to the huge rock, observing the situation ahead.
Indeed, it was a four-legged animal.
And at this time, Qin Qing could see clearly that the animal was a wolf.
More precisely, it was a ferocious wolf species, with pure white fur that seemed to blend with the surrounding snowscape.
And in the middle of the wolf’s head was a horn that looked like jade, growing solitary.
"Horned Snow Wolf!"
This was a relatively common ferocious wolf. Unlike most wolves, the Horned Snow Wolf preferred to live alone, hunting solo, and could be considered an outlier among its kind.
"Swish!"
The next instant, Qin Qing turned into an afterimage and burst forth.
The Horned Snow Wolf sensed danger immediately. It spun around, and its jade-like solitary horn emitted a dazzling green light as a fierce Wind Blade was released from it, slashing towards Qin Qing’s direction.
However, the attack of the Horned Snow Wolf posed no threat to Qin Qing.
Qin Qing thrust his sword forward, directly dispelling the Wind Blade without the slightest hint of pause.
"Pfft!"
Then, the blade shot out from Qin Qing’s hand, piercing straight into the skull of the Horned Snow Wolf.
The Horned Snow Wolf fell to the ground, its body convulsed a few times before completely losing its life force!
"Done!"
Qin Qing crouched down and used his sword to pry off the complete horn of the Horned Snow Wolf.
The horn of the Horned Snow Wolf, the most valuable part of this beast, could be used to forge Spirit Soldiers or as an ingredient in medicine.
"A horn from a Horned Snow Wolf should fetch thirty to forty Spirit Stones, and the price could even go up when supply is short."
"Besides, the inner core. The inner core of the Horned Snow Wolf can fetch over ten Spirit Stones."
Even though the inner core wasn’t as valuable, every little bit counts, and Qin Qing wasn’t about to waste it.
Soon, the inner core was also sliced off by Qin Qing and placed inside his Spirit Ring.
"Done! Searching for the next target!"
Qin Qing gave a slight smile, but at this moment, Little White jumped in front of Qin Qing, waving its little paws in protest.
"Haha... Little White, what’s wrong?" Qin Qing asked with a chuckle, feigning ignorance.
Little White pouted annoyedly, pointed at the Horned Snow Wolf on the ground, then swung its paw forcefully a few times.
"Alright, alright..." Qin Qing nodded with a smile. "Next time, next time we encounter a First Rank or Second Rank ferocious beast, I’ll definitely let you take action, okay?"
"Moo moo!"
Little White then nodded in satisfaction, all while looking eager to try.
"To the south, target spotted!"
Suddenly, Qin Qing glanced at Little White. "Hehe, Little White, charge! Let’s see who gets there first, and whoever does will take the lead! Quick, quick, quick, we can’t let this opportunity slip away!"
"Whoosh!"
Before Qin Qing could finish speaking, Little White had already turned into a white shadow and darted out.
"This little guy, his speed really isn’t ordinary..." Qin Qing laughed and stretched his mouth, then similarly transformed into an afterimage and dashed out...
