When the Blood Demon Empress Wusha tore through the void and opened the great spatial array, she consumed half of her own magic power. Even so, she could barely withstand the remaining half, which showed just how terrifyingly powerful the Blood Demon Empress had been before ripping the void apart.
Fortunately, the transport tunnel had rapidly compressed the berserk magic power within her. To survive, Wusha had decisively used the transport array to seal her own magic power and soul.
Right now, not a trace of magic power surged within Wusha. Here in the Tianwu Continent, she was no different from a lowest-grade Martial Warrior. However, having no magic power did not mean Wusha was frail. Her pure magic-body physique remained terrifyingly formidable.
Besides, she was still the Tiger Demon Queen; it was just that lacking magic power destined her to be unable to fly in the Tianwu Continent.
At this moment, the Blood Demon Empress felt as though her chest were about to explode. In this barren, birdless, and boundless snowy wasteland, the air was many times thinner than in the Tianmo Continent. A generation of the peerless Blood Demon Empress was finally experiencing weakness, despair, pity, helplessness, and utter isolation.
Loneliness, however, could hardly be called new to her; due to certain peculiarities of her constitution, Wusha had always been alone.
Having just arrived in the Tianwu Continent, Wusha inevitably felt lost and desolate. Unreconciled, she muttered to herself:
"To think that I, the Blood Demon Empress who has been undefeated for three hundred years and ruled over a vast world, would end up in such a wretched state."
Using every ounce of her remaining strength, Wusha slowly stood up and pulled the Blood Demon Spear out from where it was planted beside her.
Yet the Blood Demon Spear possessed spiritual awareness; because of Wusha's plummeting strength, it had likewise downgraded itself to a realm and weight suited for her current state.
After all, Wusha was a sovereign of the Tianmo Continent. Despite her extreme weakness, she did not lean on her long spear to stagger forward. She parted her full red lips, heavily inhaling the freezing air, and then randomly picked a direction, carrying the Blood Demon Spear diagonally as she slowly walked away.
One had to admit that the Tiger Demon Queen possessed astonishing perseverance. Even dragging a heavily wounded body, her stride remained resolute. Not the slightest trace of fatigue from severe wounds could be seen—perhaps this was the bearing of a sovereign, or perhaps what they called the majesty of a tiger that never fades even in death!
That was right; the Blood Demon Empress possessed the Tiger Demon Bloodline. True to her name, she was a genuine tigress.
Wusha wore a red dress with a high slit, her silver hair draped casually over her shoulders down past her rounded hips. Yet the attire of the red-robed empress was rather revealing; vast expanses of bronze skin coupled with a flawless figure made her look utterly enchanting and explosively sexy.
Moreover, true to the saying of a lone figure with a long spear, the Tiger Demon Queen walked alone against the wind across the vast snowy wasteland. The lonely figure in red formed a sharp, striking contrast with the frigid wilderness.
***
Li Lanhao rushed from the edge of death to high places over and over again. Shattered rocks and avalanches could not stop his advance. Within a short while, the twin snowy peaks were leveled, and the valleys were flattened into plains.
Due to the massive, widespread collapse and avalanche across the entire Snowy Wasteland, after the rustling tremors finally died away, snow filled the sky and the world was a vast expanse of white. Li Lanhao could not make out the path ahead at all.
"Hoo, hoo! I almost lost my life here. Huh? The red beam of light has disappeared. Whew, what's going on? Oh well, why worry so much? Maybe right now is the best opportunity to find the Ice Ridge Eagle."
Muttering to himself, Li Lanhao packed his gear and set off. Guided by a hunch, he marched straight in the direction where the red beam of light had appeared. For him, there were no snow-capped mountains in his eyes, no hardships or obstacles—only the goal of discovering the traces of the Ice Ridge Eagle as soon as possible.
Over the next half-month, Li Lanhao found no traces of the Ice Ridge Eagle whatsoever. He did, however, run into quite a few Ice Snow Holy Lotus plants; he harvested every single one he encountered and stored them in his Spatial Ring.
If nothing else, once he got out of the Snowy Wasteland, he could trade them for a considerable number of spirit stones, or even use the spirit stones to purchase at least one spiritual treasure—which would be well worth it.
***
Half a month later, Wusha grew weaker and weaker. Now, she was relying purely on her physical strength to sustain her heavily wounded body.
The thin air, the piercing cold wind, and her ravenous stomach relentlessly drove the empress deeper into weakness.
Wusha gazed into the distance at the still endless snowy wasteland. Watching the snow-white giant birds soaring across the nine heavens, a ravenous Wusha could not help swallowing her saliva.
"Damn giant bird, if only I could still fly... sigh."
Wusha muttered to herself. Although she could resist the bitter cold, she truly could not withstand the hunger. She had been chasing the Ice Ridge Eagle for three days and three nights, and she had tried to stab the giant bird down with her spear many times, only to miss on every attempt.
The gravity of the Tianwu Continent was more than ten times weaker than that of the Tianmo Continent. Although she could not fly, her jumping ability had increased dozens of times over. However, jumping had a fatal flaw: she could not change direction mid-air. Furthermore, she was extremely weak and completely unable to catch food hovering high in the sky.
Wusha felt as though she had fallen from heaven into hell. Delicacies that were normally within easy reach could now only be stared at while her mouth watered. The Blood Demon Empress's confidence and willpower took a severe beating; she was being driven mad by the torment of hunger.
"Sigh! I, the dignified Blood Demon Empress, am I really going to starve to death in this wasteland? No, no, I am not resigned to this!"
Driven to the brink of despair, Wusha muttered to herself before continuing her slow march forward. She had not given up yet; she wanted to hold out until the giant bird in the sky ran out of willpower and landed to rest. Wusha also knew that the white giant bird wanted to outlast her just as much so it could eat her meat—otherwise, the bird would have shaken her off by a hundred thousand miles long ago.
***
At this moment, with his head hanging low, Li Lanhao inadvertently spent another half-month and still found no trace of the Ice Ridge Eagle, right when he was about to give up.
"Squawk!"
A crisp eagle cry rang out. Li Lanhao snapped his head up to look at the high sky, where a snow-white male eagle was circling above. This was only the second animal he had seen in the Snowy Wasteland in over forty days!
The first had been a hundred-pound half-grown Ice Ling Fish he caught at the Frigid Ice Lake three days ago. Unsurprisingly, that big, fat fish had lasted him three full days, improving his meals for that period.
Thrilled, Li Lanhao rolled twice on the ground, then hurriedly jumped to his feet and roared:
"Found it! Found it! It's definitely the Ice Ridge Eagle, hahaha! Sorry, Brother Eagle, but for my mom and dad, I have to shoot you down with an arrow. Haha!"
As he spoke, Li Lanhao unslung his giant bow, drawing the string back until it was fully curved like the moon. Just as he was about to release the arrow, a sudden thought struck him.
"Wait a minute! At this distance, the Feather Arrow probably won't reach! No, I have to sneak closer and find the best opportunity. If I fail to hit it on the first try and it flies away, I'm done for!"
Holding the massive curved bow in his left hand and two Feather Arrows in his right—arrows he had specifically bought at a high price to deal with the Ice Ridge Eagle, possessing extremely strong piercing power—he leaped forward, scaling the peak in a few bounds, his burning gaze fixed tightly on the Ice Ridge Eagle.
The Ice Ridge Eagle had already noticed every move Li Lanhao made. However, the creature clearly did not realize the danger; the bow and arrow in Li Lanhao's hands were nothing like the long spear that the red-robed woman behind it kept failing to hit things with.
Even so, as a hunter, the Ice Ridge Eagle could sense that this two-legged monster before it was brimming with vigor.
"Squawk!"
With a single cry, the Ice Ridge Eagle circled once and flew away.
Furious, Li Lanhao stamped his feet on the ground. He had not yet reached the point where he could fly, but how could he possibly give up the chase? vaulting over the mountain col, he saw that the Ice Ridge Eagle had already flown far away, leaving him with no choice but to continue pursuing it.
***
Meanwhile, Wusha could no longer hold on due to her weakness. Taking advantage of the Ice Ridge Eagle flying away, her utterly exhausted body collapsed flat on her back to rest.
"Squawk!"
Another eagle cry echoed. Wusha raised her eyes to the sky and saw the Ice Ridge Eagle hurtling down at extreme speed from the high, snow-filled air, a pair of sharp talons striking straight toward her chest. Wusha narrowed her phoenix eyes slightly, the corners of her lips curving upward.
"Damn giant bird, could you not hold out any longer?"