Noticing this, Wusha intentionally closed her phoenix eyes with their delicate brows, relying on her subtly twitching ears to locate sounds and carefully determine the direction from which the Ice Ridge Eagle was diving. The distance between her and the Ice Ridge Eagle gradually closed.
Just as the Ice Ridge Eagle was within two spear-lengths of Wusha—
Suddenly, Wusha snapped her eyes open, lying flat on her back in the snow, gripping the Blood Demon Spear tightly in her right hand, and thrusting it fiercely toward the chest of the Ice Ridge Eagle.
"Big white bird, becoming this Empress's meal is your greatest glory."
"Whoosh, whoosh."
However, the Ice Ridge Eagle's reaction speed was extremely fast, and its aerial flight skills were flawless. It spread its massive wings to maximum deceleration and changed direction.
Even so, the Ice Ridge Eagle still failed to completely evade the sneak attack. Who was Wusha? The supreme monarch of the Tianmo Continent. Even though she was now dragging a heavily injured body without a shred of spiritual power, her predictive ability was still not to be underestimated.
Before you knew it, Wusha had thrust her spear straight through the Ice Ridge Eagle's left wing.
The sharpness of the Blood Demon Spear and the overwhelming brute force of Wusha were simply not something the Ice Ridge Eagle could withstand. The momentum of the eagle's flight instantly tore a long gash in its left wing, and a surge of fresh blood dyed the snow-white giant wing crimson.
Without any suspense, the large bird tumbled, flapping its wings as it fled back the way it came.
Wusha curled the corners of her lips upward, leaned on her long spear, and slowly stood up, staring at the unsteady, flying bird and murmuring to herself:
"Stupid creature, you wanted to outlast this Empress, but in the end, didn't you just become my meal?"
Wusha carried her long spear diagonally and walked slowly in the direction of the Ice Ridge Eagle, showing not a shred of weakness. In reality, Wusha's bodily functions were reaching their absolute limit, and she was already tottering on the brink—at any moment, she could become a stunning ice sculpture frozen on the wasteland.
...
On the other side, Li Lanhao was in hot pursuit, but the Ice Ridge Eagle flew far too fast. He was feeling quite frustrated; after managing to spot the Ice Ridge Eagle with such difficulty, it had just circled above his head once and flown away.
"Where on earth did this damned thing fly off to in a flash?"
Li Lanhao shook his head and sighed, then leaped in two steps over a small mountain col. His movements were as agile and light as a swallow, truly living up to his reputation for being "lightning-fast and effortlessly cool."
However, once Li Lanhao crossed the mountain col, he was dumbfounded. Heavy snow was swirling ahead, making it impossible to discern any direction, let alone spot the Ice Ridge Eagle. Li Lanhao felt a wave of frustration and disappointment.
"Sigh! Is the Ice Ridge Eagle just gone like this? No, I refuse to accept this. Mom, Dad..."
Suddenly—
"Squawk!"
A crisp eagle cry pierced the air, and a trace of a smile appeared on Li Lanhao's face. He could clearly judge that the Ice Ridge Eagle was not flying very high and was heading right toward him.
"Mom, Dad, Haor'er will definitely gather the medicinal ingredients for you within two years and cure your illness. Brother Eagle, please forgive Li Lanhao for wronging you."
Li Lanhao muttered to himself, holding a bow in his left hand and touching an arrow with his right, his eyes locked on the direction from which the Ice Ridge Eagle was flying.
Sure enough, after a short while, the Ice Ridge Eagle was beating its wings laboriously, leaving a trail of blood streaming from its heavily injured left wing.
Li Lanhao's mind went completely blank; you could say that from the strands of his hair to the tips of his toes, he was covered in question marks.
"This shouldn't be! Brother Eagle, how did you get such a severe injury just after flying out? Could there be large beasts around here after all?"
Li Lanhao immediately became vigilant, though his primary focus remained hunting the Ice Ridge Eagle.
The Ice Ridge Eagle drew closer and closer, flying harder and harder, but it still couldn't maintain its balance. Its head kept turning to eye the red-robed woman behind it, completely unaware as it stumbled closer and closer to Li Lanhao.
Li Lanhao thought to himself, "A prime opportunity!" He then slowly drew the bowstring until it was full like a moon, a majestic surge of spiritual power clinging to the Feather Arrow. He murmured under his breath: "Come closer, just a little bit closer."
Just as the Ice Ridge Eagle reached a distance of about two hundred meters from him, Li Lanhao felt completely confident and decisively released the bowstring pinched in his right hand.
"Swish!"
A Feather Arrow tore through the air. Li Lanhao kept his eyes locked on the Ice Ridge Eagle and immediately felt for two more Feather Arrows with his right hand. He exerted every ounce of his strength, pulling the giant curved bow until it creaked loudly.
High in the sky, the Ice Ridge Eagle heard the hissing sound splitting the air and, out of instinctive animal reflex, glanced back.
Unfortunately, by the time the eagle turned its head, the arrow had already arrived. What good was trying to dodge at the last second? That was a Feather Arrow imbued with the mighty spiritual power of a Tianwu Master!
The Ice Ridge Eagle's pupils dilated as it watched the sharp arrow fly straight toward it. As a prey animal, the eagle instinctively opened its beak.
By sheer coincidence—*swish*—the Feather Arrow ruthlessly pierced through the Ice Ridge Eagle's beak and shattered its throat. A torrent of blood burst from the eagle's neck, and it went plummeting headfirst from the sky.
"Thud, thud!"
"Clatter, clatter!"
The Ice Ridge Eagle crashed down onto the snowy slope, thrashing its large white wings and rolling twice on the ground. The eagle desperately tried to stand up, only to collapse headfirst into the snow, its life instantly snuffed out.
Li Lanhao was utterly ecstatic. The torment of over forty days in the Snowy Wasteland had finally paid off! Before he could even jump for joy, Li Lanhao leaped powerfully into the sky, carved a flawless arc above the mountain peak, and plunged downward in freefall.
The poor kid was so overexcited that he laughed and shouted while still mid-air: "I did it! Hahaha, I did it! I shot down the Ice Ridge Eagle! Haha, it was worth it! Forty-some days of hard work weren't wasted, hahaha!"
Li Lanhao landed right beside the carcass of the Ice Ridge Eagle, looking left and right with the pure excitement and joy of a child who had just found a new toy.
...
However, this entire scene had long since been witnessed by the Blood Demon Empress Wusha amidst the swirling snow.
No joke—even though Wusha possessed no spiritual power, her hearing and eyesight were still far beyond what Li Lanhao could compare to.
At this moment, Wusha was so furious her chest ached—both sides hurt. After chasing that big white bird for three days and nights and finally stabbing it into a state of severe injury, she had just had the spoils stolen right out from under her nose by this impossibly handsome young man?
No way. Absolutely not. Even if this youth was the absolute ceiling of male attractiveness that the Blood Demon Empress had seen in three hundred years, so what?
Filled with murderous intent, Wusha's exquisite face twisted into a bitter scowl as she closed in step by step on the gesticulating Li Lanhao standing beside the Ice Ridge Eagle.
Li Lanhao had completely forgotten about the large beast that had inflicted such heavy injuries on the Ice Ridge Eagle. Confirming repeatedly that it was indeed the Ice Ridge Eagle, he reached out and swept the eagle's corpse into his Ring of Holding.
After all, Li Lanhao had to bring the entire Ice Ridge Eagle back to ensure that its gall bladder remained fresh and unaltered.
Just as he was standing there foolishly grinning down at his Ring of Holding, the corner of his eye caught a flash of red robes. Li Lanhao quickly raised his head to look—and at that very glance, he instantly turned to stone on the spot.
"Thump-thump-thump-thump, thump-thump-thump-thump!"
Li Lanhao's blood boiled, his deep eyes staring straight ahead. His heart pounded at an unprecedented frequency, and the handsome youth stood frozen entirely in place.
What was it that Li Lanhao saw? Could there actually exist such an earth-shatteringly stunning woman in this world? Could there really be a woman in the mortal realm even taller and more imposing than himself?
"Gulp, gulp."
Li Lanhao involuntarily swallowed hard. You really couldn't blame the young man for lacking self-restraint; it was simply that the Blood Demon Empress possessed breathtaking good looks and a figure that was overwhelmingly sexy and alluring.
That's right—Wusha was actually half a head taller than Li Lanhao. Because of her height advantage, her jade-like arms were even thicker and sturdier than Li Lanhao's large hands, while her bust and hips were vastly larger than his by a whole circle.
And you had to keep in mind that Li Lanhao was by no means a scrawny guy! He was a robust, tall young man standing a full one meter eighty-eight centimeters.
Li Lanhao had never once entertained the thought of marrying and having children, but at this very moment, he desperately wanted to fulfill his parents' dying wishes.
Just as Li Lanhao's mind was racing with a thousand thoughts, suddenly—