Shao Xuan used two days to recover his strength. With his recovery speed, two days was considered very slow if he didn't suffer any serious internal or external injuries. In the past, he only needed a night's rest to regain his energy when he hunted, but this time, he was too exhausted. He couldn't recover in one night. Plus, they had to be well prepared to go to the top of the mountain to search for answers. If they couldn't keep up, it would be too late for regrets.
In these two days, Gan Qie wasn't interested in anything else. He only asked Shao Xuan about Yi Xiang. After learning that Yi Xiang was indeed very strong, Gan Qie stopped asking and stared at the top of the mountain all day long. No one knew what he was thinking.
Yi Zong and Yi Qi were still heavily injured and couldn't walk. Yi Qi especially didn't wake up after he fainted. The slaves were so worried that they cried all day long.
"Let's go." Shao Xuan jumped onto the eagle's back and patted Chacha's back gently.
Gan Qie was also on Chacha's back. Chacha reluctantly chirped before flying up.
Chacha rested a few times while carrying two people on his back. The higher they went, the thinner the air and the lower the temperature. The invisible pressure also became stronger.
Gan Qie didn't like places that were too cold. The people of the Han tribe had always lived in hot deserts. Although their living habits had changed a lot after they became like this, he was still the same. Places full of ice and snow would restrict his movements. He didn't like this kind of environment at all.
However, for the alluring smell of blood, Gan Qie was willing to take the risk.
The higher they went, the fainter Gan Qie's breath became. He tried to minimize his presence. Firstly, the pressure from above made him nervous. Secondly, he wasn't used to the cold. He felt like a hibernating beast. Breathing wasn't necessary for him to begin with. Now that he stopped breathing, he looked like a stone statue, motionless on the eagle's back.
After passing through layers of clouds, the water vapor in the air turned into ice particles and hit their faces. A layer of white appeared on their hair and clothes.
"Wait! Go over there. "Shao Xuan pointed in a direction and motioned for Chacha to fly over.
After finding a suitable landing point, Shao Xuan jumped down from the eagle's back and stood on a protruding rock. He pushed aside the thick layer of snow on the rock and dragged out a white worm skin.
The white worm's skin was the same color as the snow. At first glance, it was impossible to tell the difference. If it wasn't for Shao Xuan using his special vision, he wouldn't have been able to find it.
When Shao Xuan first came here, he also picked up a few white worm skins to make protective clothing. White worm skins had good defensive properties and could be used in a fight. At the same time, there was something else that the Yanjiao people valued the most – it could protect them from the core seed.
When Shao Xuan first came to Eagle Mountain, most of the white worm skins he brought back were already damaged. There weren't many of them to begin with. Every time they entered the cave where the core seed was stored, only a limited number of people could enter. The tribe had also discussed what to use as a replacement for the white worm skins. After all, it wasn't easy to come to Eagle Mountain and they might not be able to find white worm skins. It would be great if they could find a replacement. Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to find a suitable replacement.
Now, Shao Xuan could bring back more worm skins.
Shao Xuan touched the worm skins in his hands. He didn't know when the worms had thrown them down, but Shao Xuan guessed that it shouldn't have been too long ago.
Shao Xuan rolled up the worm skin and tied it to his belt. He looked around and found a second worm skin nearby. He rolled it up and brought it along with him. He couldn't find a third worm skin within his field of vision. Shao Xuan did not search further. The most important thing now was to see if the worms above had any other secrets. He would search for the other worm skins after he was done with his urgent matters.
After a short rest, Chacha flew up again.
Shao Xuan could feel that Chacha was facing a lot of resistance, but Chacha was happy to fly like this. Even though it wasn't going to enter Eagle Mountain this time, it was still excited to fly like this in a place like this.
As it flew up, it raised its head. It was rare for it to be expressionless, but its eyes flashed with a red light.
"We're close!"
They were getting closer and closer to the peak.
"Over there!" Gan Qie pointed in a direction.
Shao Xuan gestured for Chacha to fly over. They weren't at the peak yet, but he knew that even though the worms dared to steal from the giant mountain eagles' territory, they wouldn't dare to build their nests on the icy plains. They would keep a safe distance from the peak, so they didn't need to continue flying up to find the worms.
Shao Xuan saw a worm nest on the mountain. It was the same as the one he saw the first time he came here. The worm nest was made from worm silk.
"They're changing."
Shao Xuan looked at the hive. Because he had experienced it once, he knew very well that the white worm no longer left the hive. Instead, it stayed inside, quietly evolving.
"It's a full moon tonight." Shao Xuan looked at the sky. The sun hadn't set yet, so the surroundings were still bright.
Gan Qie jumped down from the eagle's back. Perhaps it was because of the low temperature, his movements were a little stiff and not as smooth as usual. The surrounding environment and the thick layer of snow made Gan Qie very uncomfortable. However, the worm blood helped him endure the discomfort.
To Shao Xuan's surprise, Gan Qie stopped after taking a few steps towards the worm nest.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem? "Shao Xuan asked.
"No." Gan Qie stared at the worm nest.
"What did you find? You're not going to do anything? "Shao Xuan asked again.
"It's not time yet." Gan Qie stood in the same spot, staring at the worm nest.
"It's not time yet?" Shao Xuan didn't understand why Gan Qie said that. However, he was sure that what attracted Gan Qie was the white worms.
Since it wasn't time yet, he would wait.
Shao Xuan and Chacha went up the mountain to eat some ice. Shao Xuan hadn't eaten the ice pillars in a long time and missed them.
There were no giant mountain eagles on the mountain so Shao Xuan didn't have to hide.
Gan Qie didn't like the ice so he didn't eat much. He only had eyes for the white worms that were still changing.
As time passed, the sun gradually set. However, the sky didn't turn dark. Two moons that had mostly overlapped appeared in the night sky.
Gan Qie became more and more excited. His hands trembled and his eyes turned red.
That night, under the overlapping moons, everything was as bright as day. Every year, when the two moons coincided, both the human tribes and the beasts in the forest would be affected. For the beasts that were more seriously affected by the moonlight, this night of the year was also the night they were most afraid of.
However, there were no other beasts near the top of the mountain. Faint roars of beasts could be heard from afar. Even though they were near the top of the mountain and far from the ground, they could still hear the roars. One could imagine how loud the roars would be if they were on the ground.
Tonight, the beasts would be especially excited. He wondered if Yi Zong and Yi Qi at the foot of the mountain would be able to avoid them.
Creak creak —
A soft sound could be heard. Shao Xuan stopped thinking about other things and looked towards the worm nest.
Just like last year, Shao Xuan saw a white worm that looked like a butterfly without wings. It had two antennae on its head. The soft sound was the sound it made when it crawled out of the nest and on the snow.
Shao Xuan looked at Gan Qie. Although Gan Qie was very excited, he did not move. If not for the red light in his eyes, he would still look like a statue. His presence was very weak.
After the white insect crawled out of the nest, it headed towards a protruding rock. With a flash of white light, two long wings began to grow on both sides of the insect's body. Compared to the two outstretched wings, the insect's body was much smaller.
The two wings were completely formed. As they flapped, there was a white fluorescence. The wings were like the many butterflies in the forest. After a slight pause, they flapped fiercely and left the snowy ground, flying into the distance.
Star butterflies. This was the name that the people from the Royal City mentioned. The night of the full moon was the only starlight under the bright sky.
In the night sky, the two moons had completely overlapped. The world under the sky was as bright as day. Under such a sky, some white spots were not overshadowed by the moonlight at all. They flew up from the mountain. Those were the star butterflies from other parts of the mountain.
The white worms that crawled up from the foot of the mountain had completed their transformation. Tonight, they all turned into star butterflies.
The wind at the top of the mountain was very fierce. It was like a knife cutting across people's faces. Countless snowflakes were swept up and blown away. However, those flying Star Butterflies ignored the fierce cold wind and continued to fly higher and further. No one knew where they would fly to in the end.
The first time he came here, Shao Xuan stared at the star butterflies for a long time. However, this time, he only shifted his attention after the star butterflies flew up.
Gan Qie entered the worm's nest first. When Shao Xuan went over, he saw Gan Qie squatting on the ground. There was a puddle of something that looked like ice water where the white worm had been.
Gan Qie stretched out a finger and drew on the puddle of ice water. Then, he put the finger that was soaked in the 'ice water' into his mouth.
"This is it!" Gan Qie's low voice was filled with excitement.
This is it?
This ice water?
Looking at the puddle of ice water, Shao Xuan remembered the first time he came here. He had wondered where the shell of the pupa went when the white worms were transforming. At that time, Shao Xuan didn't see it. He thought that the star butterflies didn't have pupa shells when they were transforming. Now, it seemed that the pupa shells had disappeared when Shao Xuan came here.
The 'ice' in the puddle of 'ice water' could be the pupa shells!
Moreover, the 'ice' was melting quickly and the 'water' was evaporating.
Without thinking too much, Shao Xuan took out a piece of worm skin and tied a simple knot to make a simple leather bag. He didn't have a bag that could hold liquids so he could only use worm skin. Moreover, since it was from the star butterflies, it would be safer to use worm skin to store it.
Regardless of whether it was related to forging or not, he would collect it first. Anything that caught Gan Qie's attention was definitely not ordinary. Plus, the white worm had too many secrets. The worm's skin and silk were all very useful. The blood stains that Gan Qie found mysterious would definitely be a surprise to him.
"Are you in a hurry to drink it? If not, help me. "Shao Xuan handed Gan Qie a bag made of worm skin.
Gan Qie didn't say anything. He took the bag and left to look for the next nest. He didn't have Shao Xuan's special vision but he could accurately find the next nest with his sense of smell.
Since he had found his target, he wasn't in a hurry to consume it. Just like Shao Xuan said, he should collect as much as he could. He was in a hurry so he had to collect as much as he could.
After collecting the ice water into the bag and tightening the opening, Shao Xuan realized that the 'ice water' in the bag had stopped melting. This was exactly what Shao Xuan wanted. He let out a sigh of relief. He was afraid that the ice water would continue to melt and vaporize in the bag. In the end, there would be nothing left in the bag.
Shao Xuan and Gan Qie split up and collected the 'ice water' that hadn't melted from the nests into the bag. If it had completely melted, they would collect the water. If it had completely evaporated, then there was nothing they could do.
Chacha also helped to look for nests. Once it found one, it called out for Shao Xuan to come over.
Although Shao Xuan and Gan Qie were fast, they couldn't find all the nests. After going through ten nests, they only found a small puddle of water. After a few more nests, there was nothing left.
Shao Xuan couldn't do anything about this. Luckily, he had already collected the 'ice water' from ten nests.
After tightening the opening of the bag, Shao Xuan put the bag aside and asked Chacha to guard it. He then went to collect the worm silk from the nests.
If he didn't collect it in time, the worm silk would slowly fall off the rocks and be blown away by the wind.
The worm silk used to make nests was stuck tightly to the rocks. However, as long as he poured in his totemic power, he could easily pull the worm silk off the rocks. Shao Xuan had done this before, so it was easy for him to do it now.
The worm silk was very light, much lighter than the worm skin. Moreover, it had many uses. Shao Xuan had already used up all the worm silk he collected. Now was the time to collect some more. It would be useful for setting up traps and hunting in the future.
Gan Qie didn't know why Shao Xuan collected the worm silk, but he still helped. After all, if it wasn't for Shao Xuan bringing him up the mountain, it would have been difficult for him to climb the mountain alone. The environment on the mountain severely restricted his movements. He was only able to obtain the mysterious' worm blood 'this time because of Shao Xuan's help. Therefore, if Shao Xuan wanted to collect worm skin and worm silk, of course he would help.
The worm silk was fine. It was light and easy to carry. However, the worm skin was too heavy and difficult to find. The white worms liked to kick the skin down the mountain. This time, Shao Xuan found close to twenty before he stopped and continued his search.
With the mysterious "ice water", as well as the worm silk and worm skin, Shao Xuan went down the mountain. He was already very satisfied with the harvest from this trip.
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