Chapter 663: Pursuing into the Mountain Area

Each egg was the size of a bucket, though tiny compared to the Thunderhorn Beast's massive body. The eggshells were covered with blue-green snowflake patterns, but they were now coated in sand and ash, obscuring their brilliant beauty.

This was the goal for which the Behemoths had gone to such great lengths!

They had somehow gotten wind of the Thunderhorn Beast's spawning and rushed here to raid it.

The Behemoth that died inside the Thunderhorn cub's stomach had likely disguised itself as a Thunderhorn Beast to infiltrate the nest and steal an egg. It was caught in the act and executed on the spot.

Unfortunately, the egg it stole shattered immediately.

The remaining two eggs were the reason for the ongoing desperate struggle between the two sides.

He Lingchuan keenly noticed that both sides were exhausted.

The Behemoths were far outnumbered by the Thunderhorn Beasts, and their individual combat strength was inferior to that of the Thunderhorn Lord. Therefore, they had driven the beast tide and used the sandstorm to exhaust and weaken the Thunderhorn clan. Their plan was to wear their opponents down to their level, then defeat them using their vast experience.

No, that wasn't right. The Behemoths' goal wasn't to defeat the Thunderhorn Beasts, but merely to steal the eggs.

However, the Thunderhorn Beasts' tenacity and resilience were unexpected. Even after the beast tide had surged through the rock formation, they had yet to be routed.

Both the beast tide and the sandstorm, the Behemoths' two main tactics, had disappeared. Now it was time for raw strength to speak.

However, the Thunderhorn Beasts' defense of the nest remained tight. The Behemoths circled and probed multiple times, but were repelled each time.

Just then, two whirlwinds swept past, indicating another shift in wind direction.

The Thunderhorn Beast, which had been roaring at the Behemoths, suddenly turned its head.

He Lingchuan followed its gaze and saw only the Jin family's team.

The Thunderhorn Beast's small eyes were bloodshot as it let out a furious roar.

Seven or eight Thunderhorn Beasts behind it received the command. With a flick of their heads, they charged frantically toward those individuals.

The Jin family's team was happily harvesting beast corpses when they paused, stunned, at the sound of the leader's roar. However, most hunters reacted quickly, turning to flee.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror clicked its tongue and said, "Oh my, what's going on?"

It was gloating, but He Lingchuan's mind raced.

What could the Jin family's team have done to suddenly draw the animosity of a Thunderhorn Beast that had been focused on its enemies?

The hunters, of course, scattered in all directions, but the Thunderhorn Beasts focused on only one person.

No matter how he turned or climbed, it was useless.

These Thunderhorn Beasts pursued only him, with remarkable single-mindedness.

He Lingchuan recognized him at a glance: wasn't this the hunter who had been cutting up the Behemoth corpses?

What unspeakable deed had he just committed?

However, with this unexpected diversion, seven or eight Thunderhorn Beasts guarding the nest were drawn away, leaving a gap in the defensive perimeter.

The Behemoths immediately seized this opportunity. Their leader roared, and two subordinates immediately charged toward the opening.

The Thunderhorn Beasts tried to intercept them urgently, but they were stretched thin; as soon as they blocked one spot, another opening appeared elsewhere.

Two more Behemoths specifically attacked the Thunderhorn cubs, diverting the attention of other adult opponents.

They often spewed frost to slow the Thunderhorn Beasts, but the effect was not very good.

Then, the Behemoth leader made its move.

Leading two subordinates, it personally launched an attack from the east.

All Thunderhorn Beasts, including their leader, focused their defense on the east side, leaving an opening in the rear.

At this moment, the fastest Behemoth suddenly emerged from behind the pile of corpses, darted into the beast nest in a flash, snatched an egg, and ran!

This ambush was incredibly agile. Before the Thunderhorn Beasts could react, one egg was gone, and the thief had already fled dozens of meters away, seemingly without its feet touching the ground.

He Lingchuan almost wanted to applaud.

The Thunderhorn Beast also realized it had been tricked, turned around, and let out a furious roar.

A bolt of lightning immediately struck from mid-air, landing precisely on the egg thief!

This lightning bolt was huge and thick, its diameter exceeding the Behemoth itself. When it hit the unfortunate creature, He Lingchuan saw blue-white sparks crackle all around its body before it was scorched.

The leader's wrath was not to be trifled with.

But the Behemoth leader also seized the opportunity, biting the Thunderhorn Beast's leg.

It used considerable force, tearing off a large chunk of hide and flesh.

The Thunderhorn Beast was forced to turn and deal with it. The Behemoth leader flung its head, discarding the chunk of hide and flesh.

This was not what it most wanted to eat.

As luck would have it, this piece of Thunderhorn hide flew about a hundred meters and landed a few feet in front of He Lingchuan.

A strange item had fallen from the sky, and he accepted it without hesitation.

The giant beast's hide was stiff, feeling like stone to the touch, though it had a slight elasticity.

He casually put it into his storage ring.

The egg thief fell, twitching a few times, but still clutched the egg tightly. Seeing several Thunderhorn Beasts pursue it, it got up and continued to flee.

Huh? It wasn't electrocuted into unconsciousness?

Even the bystanders were surprised; that lightning bolt had been incredibly powerful.

However, He Lingchuan noticed that the egg's surface was still flickering with electricity. Could it be that most of the lightning strike's power had been absorbed by the round egg?

Truly worthy of being a Thunderhorn Beast's offspring.

The egg thief scurried away, but twitched every few steps; clearly, the lightning's power had not yet subsided.

He Lingchuan was not far from it. He then waved his hand and threw a small object, which accurately struck it and shattered.

But it caused no damage.

One companion turned to escort it, while the remaining Behemoths continued to besiege the Thunderhorn Beast nest.

Their division of labor was very clear, and their minds were exceptionally sharp.

If they retreated, the Thunderhorn Beast would certainly pursue them. But if the Behemoth leader remained, the Thunderhorn Beast, needing to protect the last egg in the nest, would be unable to split its attention.

He Lingchuan even saw a hint of greed in the Behemoth leader's eyes.

It wanted to steal even the last egg!

In He Lingchuan's opinion, this was not a good idea.

The Thunderhorn Beast seemed to realize this too. After its initial fury, it became cunning and roared backward. A female beast received the command, slipped back into the nest, and lay down on the last round egg.

This was a standard incubation posture.

But hunters familiar with Thunderhorn Beasts knew that the female beasts did not incubate eggs like a mother hen. The eggs primarily hatched by having an adult beast spray lightning onto them once every three *shichen*. After half a month of this, the young beasts would hatch.

However, this egg-hugging posture was undoubtedly the best defensive stance right now. If the other Behemoths wanted to steal the egg, they would have to drag away the several-thousand-pound female beast and dig the egg out from under her belly.

He Lingchuan glanced at the battlefield, determined there was no immediate opportunity there, so he retreated, using the scattered rocks and piles of corpses as cover to pursue the two fleeing Behemoths.

He kept in mind that his goal was Frost Pills.

He hoped that the Behemoths could also yield this item.

The biggest problem was that the two Behemoths had fled southwest, which was the direction the sandstorm and beast tide had advanced.

He Lingchuan had barely taken two steps when his teammate's soft call came from behind him: "Lord He, you can't go that way!"

Going southwest, the possibility of finding *Shuzhu* was minimal; how was that any different from walking to one's death?

"The Behemoths might have what I need." He Lingchuan took out a *Shuzhu*, placed it in his mouth, and told him, "You can collect for another quarter of an hour and then leave. Don't wait for me."

"Well..." his teammate hesitated, then pulled out a bag from his embrace and poured three *Shuzhu* into He Lingchuan's hand. "Lord He, take these. They can save your life at a crucial moment!"

Three beads meant three quarters of an hour of life. He Lingchuan was moved as he took them, saying solemnly, "Thank you. Your name is Dylan, isn't it?"

His teammate nodded, "Good luck, I'm leaving now. We'll meet again at the Southern Camp, or in the human world!"

"Take care!" He Lingchuan high-fived him, and then they parted ways.

Heading southwest meant leaving the plains and entering the mountains.

The terrain gradually rose. He Lingchuan moved swiftly among the mountains, always remembering to regulate his breathing and conserve energy.

He also held a pill under his tongue, allowing its medicinal power to slowly diffuse.

In the F-Realm, *Shuzhu*, pills, and water were the three essentials for human visitors to survive.

After running for less than two *li*, He Lingchuan seemed to remember something and stopped.

The mirror curiously asked, "What's wrong? Aren't we in a hurry?"

He Lingchuan started running again. As he ran, he took off his leather armor, looked it over repeatedly, and even brought it close to his nose for a few sniffs.

He asked the mirror, "Do you remember that person named Hu touching me?"

"Touching? Do you mean physical contact?" It was a mirror with an exceptional memory; how could it forget? "Earlier, when we left the camp! Yes, I remember. He patted you on the shoulder."

"The shoulder?" He Lingchuan brought the shoulder of the leather armor closer and sniffed twice, but detected nothing unusual. Alas, human sense of smell was limited after all. If only Fu Shanyue were here.

Or at least Jiao Yu.

Seeing his actions, the mirror also caught on: "You suspect he tampered with something on you?"

"Otherwise, why would the Behemoth leader have come straight for me earlier?" He Lingchuan had been thinking about this. "Most likely, I had something on me that attracted it. Fortunately, it was clever and wasn't completely blinded by scent."

"Perhaps he also set up some tracking methods at the same time; otherwise, how would he always appear near me?" He put his leather armor into his storage ring and continued forward. "These Behemoths have an excellent sense of smell. I think the Thunderhorn Beasts suddenly pursuing the unfortunate guy from the Jin family's team was also because he stepped on egg fluid. He really should have taken off his shoes before running away."

By running like that, leaving a scent trail, the Thunderhorn Beasts wouldn't let him go.

That person wasn't going to have a good end.

Ordinarily, he would have found a nearby place to hide and seen if Hu Bin would follow.

But time was most precious now, and he couldn't waste it on such experiments.

The limited *Shuzhu* were like a sharp sword hanging over everyone's head.

The two Behemoths were very cunning, consistently choosing the most difficult routes, likely to shake off the Thunderhorn Beasts. The massive bodies of those giant beasts were not suited for climbing high peaks.

He Lingchuan followed closely, and the distance between them steadily decreased.

Although the Behemoths were agile, his own movements were not slow, especially after he had mostly adapted to the F-Realm's gravitational conditions.

Many cultivators from Beijia entered the F-Realm, not solely for the Floating Stones, but also to temper their bodies using the harsh environment here.

This, too, counted as passive cultivation for him.

He needed suitable terrain for an ambush; fighting on the plains would be difficult.

After tracking them for over thirty minutes, the distance between him and the Behemoths was reduced to just over a hundred meters.

He had just smashed a tracking bee pupa on one of the Behemoths. After that, he had been using a compass to track his prey, saving time and effort and avoiding detours.