As dawn broke and the air became crisp and clear, each breath carried a hint of sweet, icy fragrance.
Lin Feng stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window of the main house, holding a cup of meat soup made from the last piece of giant sheep spine. The essence of the marrow had been completely infused into the soup.
One sip and your whole body feels warm and cozy.
Outside the window, Chasing the Wind and Chasing the Moon, these two Radiant Falcons, already displaying the majesty of divine beasts, were preening their increasingly full and beautiful radiant feathers in the open space.
Each feather seems to be a crystallization of ice and light, refracting a dreamlike rainbow of light under the rising sun, making their figures appear sacred and extraordinary.
The mornings at the shelter were as peaceful and serene as ever.
The women's laughter and chatter, like a clear mountain spring, drifted from the nearby wooden sheds and textile workshops.
They are weaving warmth and hope for the future of this new home.
However, Lin Feng frowned slightly as he looked at the Chasing Wind and Moon before him.
The growth rate of the Radiant Falcon is astonishing; from hatching to their current majestic appearance, it only takes a few months.
Proportional to this growth rate is the amount of meat they consume daily, which is also an astonishing figure.
The sanctuary's meat reserves, accumulated from previous hunts of the giant black sheep, are dwindling rapidly at a visible rate.
The meat strips hanging on the smoked meat rack are becoming sparser day by day, and more than half of the frozen meat in the storage room has been consumed.
Although the population of black giant sheep is huge, Lin Feng is well aware of the principle of "draining the pond to catch all the fish".
Overhunting the same species will not only disrupt the fragile ecological balance of the area, but may also lead to unknown and higher-level troubles.
Every link in the ecosystem is closely interconnected, and the collapse of any link could trigger a chain reaction that could be as devastating as an avalanche.
More importantly, although the meat of the Black Giant Sheep is delicious, the energy it contains is at best "coarse food" to eat, which is only enough to fill the stomachs of beasts like Chasing Wind and Chasing Moon, whose life levels have already begun to leap.
To keep them in peak fighting condition and even allow them to continue to grow and evolve in the future, they need a higher quality and purer energy source.
"It's time...to meet those real big shots."
Lin Feng muttered to himself, a hint of fervor flashing in his deep eyes.
In his mind, a more detailed regional map, which had been drawn countless times before, slowly unfolded.
Ten kilometers to the north of the shelter lies a vast, relatively flat ice basin, which he named "Crystal Corner Plains".
There, he witnessed more than once, during reconnaissance, a giant herbivorous creature several times larger than the black giant sheep.
Crystal-horned snow yak.
That was one of the most visually striking and oppressive herbivorous creatures Lin Feng had ever seen on this frozen planet.
Their bodies are covered with thick, long, snow-white fur that reaches the ground. When they run, they look like thousands of piles of snow, and when they stand still, they look like moving snow mountains.
What is most striking and awe-inspiring are the two enormous, majestic horns on their heads, which look as if they were carved from natural crystal.
In the past, Lin Feng had considered hunting them.
Their snow-white fur is undoubtedly the world's finest material for keeping warm, enough to allow all members of the shelter to wear warmer, lighter winter clothes to withstand any severe cold.
Their massive, mountain-like size means that successfully hunting one is equivalent to killing several or even a dozen black giant sheep.
As for those mysterious crystalline horns, Lin Feng knew with a grain of salt that they must contain extremely pure elemental energy far exceeding that of ordinary flesh and blood, which would be of immeasurable value to both Chasing the Wind and the Moon and to his future research.
But every time this thought arose, he quickly suppressed it himself.
Because he had personally witnessed the terrifying fighting power displayed by a lone, aged Crystal Horned Snow Yak when facing an attack from three hungry, top-tier ice field predators, creatures comparable in size to prehistoric saber-toothed tigers.
With just one ferocious charge and an extremely simple head shake, it pierced one of the predators with its crystalline horn, then exerted tremendous force, propelling it tens of meters into the air.
The ferocious predator tumbled helplessly in the air like a rag doll, and was eventually torn to pieces.
Its terrifying defensive capabilities, brute force, and the deadly power of its pair of crystal horns all reached a chilling level.
Moreover, snow yaks live in herds. A complete snow yak herd can consist of anywhere from dozens to hundreds of animals.
Once such a herd of beasts launches a mass charge across the icy plains, its power is enough to flatten all the hills and forests in its path. Even Lin Feng, riding his most trusted White Moonlight, dared not easily approach this white torrent capable of crushing steel.
But now, the situation is completely different.
He was no longer fighting alone. He now possessed the dominion of the skies—the Wind Chaser and the Moon Chaser.
Lin Feng put down the empty bowl of meat soup, turned around and walked out of the main house. The cold morning wind blew the corner of his clothes and also dispelled the last trace of hesitation in his heart.
As he entered the courtyard, Bai Yueguang and Bai Feicui immediately sensed the fierce fighting spirit emanating from him, which was different from usual. They rushed over and affectionately nuzzled his body with their heads.
Lin Feng patted the smooth, cool scales of the white jade, his eyes filled with absolute trust.
The White Moonlight is superior in speed and explosiveness during short sprints, but it is not as good as the White Emerald in terms of endurance for long-distance runs. Therefore, the White Emerald is undoubtedly the best mount for this expedition.
"Today, let's go fight a big one."
Lin Feng's voice was calm, but Bai Feicui understood the weight in his words.
It raised its head and let out a deep, penetrating roar, its eyes blazing with fighting spirit, its four hooves pawing the ground restlessly.
Not far away, Chasing the Wind and Chasing the Moon also heard their master's call.
They stopped preening their feathers and walked steadily and gracefully to Lin Feng. With their noble heads, one on each side, they gently touched Lin Feng's shoulders. The cool touch brought a sense of reassurance.
"Get ready, today we're going on a real hunt."
Lin Feng stroked the smooth, silky feathers on Zhui Feng's neck and said excitedly.
He didn't disturb the women who were starting their day. This operation was no small matter, and there was no need to worry them until he was absolutely certain of success.
He returned to the workshop alone and began making final preparations for this epic expedition.
He chose for himself a heavy hunting bow made of century-old ironwood for the bow body, with the giant sinew of an adult ice python as the bowstring, and which had been reinforced several times.
Next, he selected a whole quiver of specially made armor-piercing arrows, with arrowheads made of refined steel mixed with a small amount of exotic animal bone powder. The fletching of each arrow was made of the toughest feathers to ensure stable flight.
He also brought with him an extremely sharp skinning knife, a spare short-handled battle axe, enough water for three days, and some high-calorie smoked jerky.
When he walked out of the workshop, another team had already assembled.
Wangcai is now the absolute king of the wolf pack. It sits majestically on the snow, its posture as upright as a pine tree.
Behind it, a dozen or so of the most robust and fierce-looking horned wolves lay quietly in the snow.
Their muscles were bulging, their breathing was steady, and they didn't make the slightest noise.
They were like a group of disciplined and fierce soldiers, quietly awaiting the orders of their lord.
Everything is ready.
Lin Feng took a deep breath, flipped over, and straddled Bai Feicui's broad back.
This colossal beast, as if carved from white jade, moved with steady and powerful strides.
Beside him, the more agile Bai Yueguang let out a low growl and followed him, acting as a flank support.
Wangcai, leading its elite pack of wolves, silently dispersed and ran like ghosts to the front of the group. They would be the ground vanguard and trackers for this operation.
"Chase the wind, pursue the moon, take off! Stay above me and obey my commands!"
"Chirp!"
Two clear, resonant, and powerful cries, capable of piercing through clouds and splitting rocks, broke the tranquility of the shelter in the early morning.
Chasing Wind and Chasing Moon suddenly flapped their enormous wings that blotted out the sky, stirring up a storm of snow and air currents, like two silver-white lightning bolts, soaring straight up into the clouds!
They circled gracefully in the air, their enormous forms casting two moving shadows on the ground, and then, one on the left and one on the right, like the most loyal aerial guards, hovered hundreds of meters above the white emerald.
"Set off!"
At Lin Feng's command, White Emerald let out a deafening roar, then took off on all fours, like a white phantom, galloping towards the vast snowfield in the north.
The ground trembled slightly under its iron hooves, and the splashed snow left long trails behind it.
An epic hunt targeting the planet's top food chain has officially begun.
The army marched out with overwhelming momentum.
The vision of Chasing the Wind and Chasing the Moon far exceeds the limits of humankind, and even surpasses any known technological creation.
They can easily spot every single white hair on a snow hare running in the snow from thousands of meters in the air.
At this moment, guided by Lin Feng's will, they were like two highly sophisticated biological radars, conducting a fan-shaped, carpet-like search to the north, centered on the shelter.
The white jadeite has amazing endurance; it races across the snowfield at a constant high speed without getting tired.
The mountains, frozen valleys, and desolate forests along the way all rushed past beneath it.
After running for about two hours, the wolf pack, which had been moving at a steady pace, suddenly let out a low howl from Wangcai.
Lin Feng immediately reined in the white jade, which came to a steady stop as its four hooves carved deep furrows in the snow.
"Wangcai, what did you find?"
Wangcai quickly ran to Lin Feng's side, gesturing ahead with its head and making "woof woof" sounds in its throat. Its nostrils twitched constantly, clearly indicating that it had smelled something unusual in the air.
The wolves also stopped, lowered their bodies, and stared warily in the same direction.
Almost at the same time, the Wind Chaser in the sky also let out a low cry, conveying the message "target detected" to Lin Feng.
"Did you find it?" Lin Feng's heart stirred, and he focused his mental energy highly, following Zhui Feng's gaze to look into the far distance.
At the horizon, in a vast, flat, snow-white basin that stretches to the horizon, tiny, wriggling white dots are slowly moving.
Even with Lin Feng's eyesight, he could only see a blurry outline.
"Get closer, maintain altitude, and don't disturb them," Lin Feng calmly ordered his companions in the air.
Zhui Feng understood immediately. With a slight flap of its wings, it adjusted its angle and, using the high-altitude airflow, glided silently in that direction.
As the distance rapidly closed, the wriggling white dot expanded quickly in Lin Feng's field of vision, and its magnificent fullness finally became clearly visible before him.
It was a scene that would drive any biologist on Earth crazy and terrify any general.
Hundreds of crystalline snow yaks converged to form a flowing, pristine white ocean.
They either lower their heads and nibble at the incredibly tough frozen tundra covered with thick snow with their hard lips, or gather in twos and threes, leisurely swishing their long tails.
The morning sunlight shines on the huge crystal bends on their heads, refracting thousands of dazzling rays of light, as if countless diamonds are set on this flowing white carpet.
Each adult snow yak is like a small, mobile war fortress, with a shoulder height generally exceeding three meters and a body length approaching seven meters.
Their bodies are covered with thick, long white fur that reaches the ground, making them appear larger and more majestic than their actual size.
With each breath they exhaled, large plumes of white mist billowed into the frigid air. The combined breaths of hundreds and thousands of snow yaks enveloped the entire herd in a hazy, ethereal steamscape.
At the very center of the herd, a colossal beast of particularly terrifying size surveyed its kingdom like a supreme emperor.
Its size is at least one-third larger than that of its adult counterparts around it, resembling a majestic, living snow-capped mountain.
Its pair of crystalline horns were even more extraordinary, not only thicker and larger, but also with a faint, visible pale blue light slowly flowing within them, as if sealing away thunder and storms. A terrifying, immense energy fluctuation was emanating from these two giant horns.
This is undoubtedly the absolute core of this vast tribe—the Yak King.
"Good heavens..." Even Lin Feng, who was mentally prepared, couldn't help but gasp when he saw this scene with his own eyes.
This is no longer just a simple hunting target. This is a well-trained and heavily armed legion!
One can imagine how devastating such a force would be if it were disturbed and launched a mass charge, enough to crush any obstacle in its path into dust.
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