85: Icefield Wild Bear

Continuing forward, the passage inside the Ice Valley became wider.

Strange rocks stood across the ice surface, which was several feet thick. Only by getting closer did they realize they weren't strange rocks, but ice sculptures.

Inside the ice sculptures were Source Beasts of various appearances, and some even encased humans wearing ancient clothes.

This Ice Plain was like a history book, recording the Contract Masters who came here to hunt in past eras.

The further they walked, the more exotic and ferocious the Source Beasts encased in the ice sculptures looked, unlike low-Realm Source Beasts.

With this speculation, the Contract Masters walking on the ice became increasingly alarmed. Since even these powerful Contract Masters had died here, could those of lower ranks truly walk out alive?

They looked at the Ink Scroll floating in the sky, unsure how they felt. They couldn't know if this Ink Scroll would protect them when true danger arrived.

Perhaps they were just a herd of cattle being driven toward the slaughterhouse.

Snowflakes gradually began to fall from the sky, and the temperature had dropped to a level unbearable for some Mortal Rank Contract Masters.

Chu Jingyu looked at the two elders beside him and sighed helplessly. Elderly Contract Masters have weaker Qi and blood, and their physical fitness is naturally better than younger Contract Masters of the same Realm,

but in such cold conditions, he truly didn't know how much further the two of them could walk.

Chu Jingyu slowly shook his head. In fact, he didn't know how much further he could walk either. Old Ancestor Huo didn't seem to have intended for any of them to survive.

But with so many heads of large and small Noble Families dying Beyond the Border, could the Huo Family truly bear the consequences? Chu Jingyu couldn't quite figure it out.

Or perhaps the Huo Family was also gambling?

Before Chu Jingyu could muse for too long, a tremor came from the ground of the Ice Plain. Tall figures rushed out from the snowstorm ahead.

Bears—they were Source Beasts resembling bears. Irregular ice crystals grew behind their ears, on their shoulder blades, spines, and elbows, and their eyes were a deep azure color.

Each one was about three or four meters tall, with the largest growing to around ten meters.

Depending on their size, their Realms ranged from Uncommon Rank to Spirit Rank.

"Snow Plain Savage Bear," someone exclaimed, calling out the name of the rushing Source Beast.

Chu Jingyu's expression was also extremely grim. The Snow Plain Savage Bear was not known for its Spells; its terrifying aspect was its brute physical body. They possessed naturally strong defenses and could withstand bombardment from many Energy Spells.

Furthermore, their strength was immense. Hit by one of their palms, let alone a Contract Master, even a stone-composed Source Beast like a Stone Golem would fall apart.

Unfortunately, a Spirit Rank Snow Plain Savage Bear, about ten meters tall, leaped high into the air and smashed down toward the location of Chu Jingyu and the two others.

"Get out of the way!"

Chu Jingyu shouted loudly, then, without looking back, he and the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast dodged to the side.

Fortunately, the Snow Plain Savage Bear was not known for its speed, so all three managed to dodge a considerable distance in time. However, the impact of the Snow Plain Savage Bear smashing into the ground generated an extremely powerful shockwave.

The shockwave directly sent Xu Yinghui, the other elder, and their Source Beasts flying backward several meters before they crashed onto the ground.

Chu Jingyu fared slightly better, but he also knelt on one knee, his hands glowing with the light of Golden Armor, resisting the incoming shockwave.

But this was clearly not the end; it was the start of the true hunt. The Snow Plain Savage Bear looked around, then dropped to all fours and charged frantically toward Chu Jingyu.

Chu Jingyu cursed inwardly. Large swathes of Golden Sand floated up in front of him, sweeping up fragmented snow and rushing toward the Snow Plain Savage Bear's face.

Furthermore, Chu Jingyu moved closer to a nearby lower-Rank Snow Plain Savage Bear. The battlefield was chaotic, and he now had to learn how to Use Strength Against Strength.

When the Golden Sand arrived before its eyes, the Spirit Rank Snow Plain Savage Bear had no choice but to slow down and raise its palm to block it.

These tiny grains of Golden Sand caused a slight stinging sensation when they hit its palm; it seemed a few granules had even embedded themselves in the flesh of its palm.

It let out an angry roar, its gaze following the initiator, and charged forward again.

At this moment, Chu Jingyu arrived behind another Uncommon Rank Snow Plain Savage Bear, raised the Machete in his hand, and struck its back.

There was no sensation of the Machete slicing into flesh. Chu Jingyu felt as if he had struck an iron mountain, and the shock left his arm numb. The Machete only shaved off a few strands of the Snow Plain Savage Bear's white fur.

The bear that was struck, which had just smashed a Human Race Contract Master's Source Beast into a pulp with a single paw, felt the movement on its back and turned around fiercely to look.

Chu Jingyu gave it a friendly smile, and his figure quickly ascended.

The Uncommon Rank Snow Plain Savage Bear was slightly bewildered. It was just about to turn and jump up to claw Chu Jingyu down.

But a sudden hand, as large as its own face, slapped down with a “smack.” With a “shhh-la” sound, a wide, bloody gash appeared on its face.

Its body was knocked down by this immense force. Lying on the ground, it ignored the injury on its face and turned its head fiercely to look.

Upon seeing that it was a much taller Snow Plain Savage Bear, the roar that had reached its mouth was swallowed back. It quietly covered its face and whimpered a few times in grievance.

However, the massive Spirit Rank Snow Plain Savage Bear didn't care whether it had accidentally injured its kin or not. Having been tricked by Chu Jingyu, it looked up at Chu Jingyu, who was being carried by a Mountain Eagle gripping his shoulder blades, flying high in the air.

Its azure eyes seemed ready to burst into flames. It suddenly bent down, picked up an ice sculpture two or three meters wide, and violently hurled it into the air.

The ice sculpture was very fast, the sound of it tearing through the air rapid and sharp. The White-Browed Mountain Eagle was not a very large Source Beast after all, and carrying Chu Jingyu into the air was already quite strenuous.

Although it tried hard to flap its wings and dodge the continuously incoming ice sculpture while carrying Chu Jingyu, its speed was still slightly too slow, and the ice sculpture grazed the side of Chu Jingyu's body.

Pulled by the immense force, the White-Browed Mountain Eagle instantly lost its center of gravity. The man and the beast tumbled crookedly toward the ground.

The Spirit Rank Ice Plain Savage Bear's eyes lit up, and it was about to pursue the direction where Chu Jingyu was falling. At this moment, hundreds of Contract Masters leaped down from the scroll in the sky.

These were precisely the Spirit Rank Contract Masters who had not shown up since entering the Howling Cold Ice Valley. Five minutes into the battle with the Ice Plain Savage Bear pack, they finally entered the fray.

The Ice Plain Savage Bear that had just wanted to chase Chu Jingyu was intercepted halfway by a Source Beast of the same Realm.

The biting wind carried a faint smell of blood. The battle on the Ice Plain lasted about half an hour, and many Human Race Contract Masters, their Source Beasts, and Ice Plain Savage Bears lay dead forever on the Ice Plain.

Following a horn blast from the depths of the canyon, the remaining surviving Ice Plain Savage Bears retreated without hesitation toward the depths of the canyon.

Chu Jingyu searched through the crowd for a long time before finally finding Xu Yinghui kneeling on the ground, and the other elder lying lifelessly on the ice.

Xu Yinghui looked at the elder, his eyes hollow, while clutching the Flying Feather Crane in his arms, whose fate was unknown. He looked at Chu Jingyu walking over, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

The Ink Scroll in the sky rolled up again. The corpses on the ground, whether Source Beasts or humans, transformed into masses of colorful, thick, inseparable ink that merged into the scroll, becoming part of the painting.

Xu Yinghui held the Flying Feather Crane in his arms, his eyes glazed over as he looked at the Ink Scroll in the sky, and he spoke a nonsensical sentence:

"It'll be my turn next."