Shao Xuan was the only one left on the vast ice field.
It was very quiet all around.
Although the surroundings were usually covered in fog and he couldn't see far, from time to time he could still hear the cries of eagles of different sizes, or the sounds of giant beasts walking back and forth, or the sounds of them gnawing on the icicles.
But now, the sounds that he had heard every day in the past had all disappeared.
Shao Xuan had a feeling of isolation.
However, even without those giant eagles, he still wanted to take a good look at the ice field. After coming here, he didn't dare to wander around because of the giant eagles. Now that the eagles had flown away, he didn't have to worry about them.
Even if his vision was limited, he had already memorized the rough terrain within his field of vision while the fog was dispersing.
As long as he was careful, there shouldn't be any problems.
Shao Xuan walked on the ice field at the top of the mountain. Because of his usual habit, he walked very quietly, and now that the surroundings were very quiet, Shao Xuan subconsciously slowed down his movements.
Although he was cautious, his speed wasn't slow.
In front of him was the abyss of the cliff where the eagles flew down. Shao Xuan naturally didn't walk forward, but instead walked horizontally along the ice field.
In order to avoid accidentally falling into the abyss, Shao Xuan kept a distance from the edge.
He already had an idea of the length of the abyss, but he didn't know how far it was horizontally. Even when the fog was dispersing, Shao Xuan still couldn't see the edge.
There were some large footprints on the ice field, and the icicles were full of pecking marks. Some of the marks were large, some small.
Along the way, Shao Xuan saw a few gigantic icicles. These gigantic icicles would naturally attract the attention of the larger giant eagles. Just look at the marks on the icicles. Most of the pecking marks were on top of the icicles, and it was hard to see further up. Closer to the ground, there were only a few small pecking marks or no pecking marks. The giant eagles wouldn't always lower their heads to bite.
Shao Xuan was walking when he suddenly heard a hissing sound. It wasn't loud, but because the surroundings were too quiet, the sound was more obvious.
This wasn't the sound of the giant eagles walking. When the giant eagles walked here, most of them had a heavy feeling and were very generous, not avoiding anything. But at this moment, this sound made Shao Xuan feel a sense of caution.
The sound was getting closer and closer. Shao Xuan hid behind a huge icicle, carefully paying attention to the creatures in the fog that were getting closer and closer.
Gradually, Shao Xuan saw a long figure in the fog.
Snake?
No, it wasn't a snake.
It was not as long as a snake, and the way it moved was different from a snake. It looked more like a worm.
Stone worm?
Stone worms were commonly seen in mountainous and rocky areas.
But soon, Shao Xuan knew that he was wrong.
This wasn't a stone worm, but a fleshy worm that was very similar to a butterfly's larva.
This worm was thicker than Shao Xuan's thigh. It was nearly four meters long and snow-white. It had a round head and a constricted "neck" between its head and body.
It didn't look any different from other butterfly larvae except for its larger size. But if one looked closely, they would find many differences.
Many butterfly larvae that Shao Xuan had seen in hunting grounds had three pairs of thoracic feet, four pairs of abdominal feet, and one pair of tail feet. But the one in front of him had three pairs of thoracic feet, three pairs of abdominal feet, and three pairs of tail feet. The thoracic feet and tail feet were very similar, but the abdominal feet were different.
The thoracic feet and tail feet had hooks at the front, while the abdominal feet had suction cups. The hissing sound that Shao Xuan heard just now was the sound of it crawling on the ice field.
It was a very strange worm.
Shao Xuan didn't expect to see such a creature in such a cold place. Generally speaking, they should live in warmer areas.
Shao Xuan didn't know if this worm had any attack power. He just stood quietly behind the icicle, observing the snow-white worm that was crawling closer and closer.
It crawled for a while, then stopped. Then it used its abdomen and tail feet to prop itself up, as if it was trying to identify something. Then it determined a direction and continued crawling.
At this time, it was heading in Shao Xuan's direction.
Was he discovered?
Shao Xuan was vigilant, his hand silently reaching for the hilt of his sword.
But the worm stopped in front of the icicle, and then Shao Xuan heard a small crunching sound.
Feeling the vibration from the icicle, Shao Xuan knew that the worm was gnawing on the icicle.
Its target was only the icicle, and it didn't notice Shao Xuan.
Shao Xuan and the worm, one was on one side of the icicle, the other was on the other side. Shao Xuan didn't stick his head out to observe. He just relied on his hearing and the vibration from the icicle behind him to judge the worm's general behavior.
The crunching sound lasted for about two hours. The worm changed its location and went to look for other icicles. Shao Xuan quietly followed. Sometimes, without the icicle's cover, as long as Shao Xuan was careful, the worm wouldn't notice Shao Xuan. In its eyes, it didn't seem to care about anything else. It was only focused on looking for food.
Shao Xuan found that the worm chose the thick icicles. Because the thick icicles were mostly long, the larger giant eagles gnawed on them. Most of them were gnawed on the top of the icicles, and the ones near the ground were rarely gnawed. And the worm's target was the thick icicles near the ground, where the giant eagles didn't gnaw on them.
Was it a neat freak, or was it afraid of the smell left behind by the giant eagles?
Shao Xuan didn't know.
However, after figuring out its preferences, Shao Xuan became more skillful when following it.
Looking at the traces left by the worm on the icicles, Shao Xuan found that the worm ate much faster than he did. Its bite force didn't lose out to the giant eagles. It was just that each bite was very small and it ate quickly, so the crunching sounds were very dense.
When the surrounding light became dimmer and dimmer, and it was almost dusk, the worm stopped looking for food and went back to where it came from.
Shao Xuan still followed it.
The further they went, the thinner the fog became. There was basically no fog in the ice field.
At this time, Shao Xuan could see the white worm more clearly.
Where did it come from? Where was it going now?
When the worm reached the edge, it arched its slender body, then moved along the steep slope, stretching the front part of its body downwards. Then it moved the back part of its body so that the two ends touched. When it moved, it bent and stretched, looking like an arch bridge.
Its hooked thorax and tail feet were tightly hooked on the ice and rocks, so that its body wouldn't slide down the steep slope. Shao Xuan looked down. The worm's movements were very fast and stable. For it, such a steep slope was like flat ground.
Looking at the sky, Shao Xuan didn't follow it down. Instead, he turned back and leaned against an icicle. After eating some ice, he fell asleep.
The next day.
Shao Xuan saw the white worm again. It followed the same path as yesterday and crawled back to the ice field, starting the same journey to find food.
Shao Xuan continued to follow it. Shao Xuan didn't see any other creatures on the ice field. It was rare to encounter such a strange creature, so Shao Xuan planned to observe it more.
Every day, not long after the sun rose, the white worm would climb up the ice field and look for the thick icicles that hadn't been pecked by the giant eagles. It would gnaw on one third of each icicle's cross section, but it wouldn't break the icicle.
After observing the white worm for five days, Shao Xuan decided to follow it down the mountain to take a look.
Shao Xuan could handle such a steep slope.
The situation on the steep slope was much better than on the ice field at the top of the mountain. There wasn't as much fog. Even if there was fog close to the mountain walls, it was very thin. Most of the time, it could directly touch Yang Guang.
To be safe, Shao Xuan stayed away from the white worm and followed it closely. But soon, Shao Xuan found that the white worm was much faster than him. It was much faster than when they were on the ice field. Before long, Shao Xuan was left far behind.
After thinking about it, Shao Xuan returned to the ice field.
He changed his strategy. When the white worm climbed up the ice field the next day, Shao Xuan didn't follow it. Instead, he walked down the steep slope.
The white worm would leave tracks on the rocks and thick layers of ice. Shao Xuan only needed to follow these tracks to know where it went down the mountain.
On the steep slope, there would be deep holes in the ground where the white worm passed. There were also traces of hooks at the bottom of the holes.
Looking at the length of the white worm and following its walking pattern, he could quickly find it. In addition, Shao Xuan went down the mountain during the day, so it wasn't hard to find those holes.
Shao Xuan kept going down. From the top of the mountain, a strong wind would blow from time to time. Many small ice particles would directly hit Shao Xuan's body. Shao Xuan could only hold on and hold on tightly to the rocks or the hard layer of ice covering the rocks. If he was careless, he would directly fall. If he fell from here, he would undoubtedly die.
When they flew up the mountain, Chacha and the big eagle took almost half a day. But now, Shao Xuan had used more than half a day, but he hadn't even reached a third of the way up.
However, at this point, the white worm's tracks stopped descending. Instead, it followed the horizontal line and went to other places.
Shao Xuan followed the tracks and continued to search. Finally, beside a protruding rock, he saw a nest made of silk.
Shao Xuan knew that some meat worms would spit out silk and sew the two sides of leaves together to build a "leaf nest". Or they would pull a layer of silk in a sunken area to build a simple nest. When they rested, they would hide in such a nest. When it was time to move, they would come out and look for food.
In the few hills around the tribe, this kind of situation was often seen. Sometimes, when one peeled off a rolled up leaf or a folded leaf, one would find a worm hiding inside.
And now, what Shao Xuan saw was the white worm's nest.
The silk was very transparent. What was strange was that it didn't reflect light. If Shao Xuan hadn't followed the tracks and was blocked by this layer of silk, he wouldn't have found it.
After touching and pulling it, Shao Xuan's first thought was that this kind of silk was perfect for making traps. He just didn't know how long it would last.
However, for now, Shao Xuan wouldn't touch these silk threads. He would first observe the white worm. Otherwise, it wouldn't be good to alarm it.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
