Chapter 223: Stealing the Nest

Gao De's eyes brightened slightly.

To tell the truth, he was tempted.

And he was prepared to act.

If he had to kill that "guardian beast" to obtain the magical plant, Gao De would have considered it more carefully.

The problem was that "snow leopards," as carnivorous predatory magical beasts, generally did not have the habit of hibernating.

This meant that it still needed to engage in hunting activities daily.

And in the Dandong Snow Mountain, food in the conventional sense was not common.

Therefore, the "snow leopard" magical beast's activity range must be very extensive to obtain food, meaning there would inevitably be times when it was away from its cave for long periods.

"Only one big cat?" Gao De confirmed with Flora.

"Flora is very smart."

This meant she wouldn't have seen it wrong, much less counted wrong.

So it was a lone leopard. A lone leopard was good.

The selling price of a second-rank magical plant could reach over 70 gold coins, which was already equivalent to the value of a first-circle spell formula plus its corresponding spell potion.

Furthermore, "second-rank" was just a guess; it could even be a higher-rank magical plant.

After all, in a desolate place rarely visited by humans, it wouldn't be strange at all for a third or fourth-rank magical plant to appear.

For Gao De, who had always been very short on money, this temptation was too great.

Once the thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed.

"Where is the cave located?" Gao De asked.

Flora first pointed out the direction for Gao De, then lowered her voice.

"Mage, are you going?"

"Yes."

"The big cat is even bigger than you!"

"Don't worry, we'll wait for it to go out hunting before we act."

"Good idea!"

The cave was on an extremely steep cliff face; most people would choose to take a detour upon seeing this cliff.

And looking up from below, because of the protruding ice layers blocking the line of sight, it was also very difficult to discover the existence of the cave.

It was only because Flora could fly and had a curious nature that she was able to discover it.

Arriving near the cliff, Gao De did not get any closer.

He believed that if the "snow leopard" magical beast preparing to go out hunting discovered him, it definitely wouldn't mind eating some "grass by the nest."

What he had to do now was wait.

Gao De simply found a concealed position, first burying his luggage in the snow, then burying the majority of his body in the snow as well, leaving only half his head out to observe the situation.

From his current perspective, he still couldn't see the cave, but as long as the "snow leopard" came out, it wouldn't be able to escape his gaze.

In this low-temperature environment, burying the majority of his body in the snow for a long time was something only Gao De could do.

If it were anyone else, let alone a long time, burying themselves for an hour or so would turn them into an ice block.

Next was the long wait.

The hunting time of a "snow leopard" magical beast was usually flexible and not fixed.

To put it more simply, this creature generally didn't have any so-called planning; it went out hunting whenever it was hungry.

And when it was hungry depended on the situation of its previous hunt.

Therefore, there was almost no way to predict its movement trajectory and time; he could only wait it out.

It was hard to say whether it was good luck or bad luck.

After waiting for almost two hours, just as the sky was darkening, a lithe figure appeared in Gao De's line of sight.

Over two meters tall, its physique was lithe and agile, covered from head to toe in fur as white and flawless as freshly fallen snow, emitting a faint blue glow in the dim sky.

Its head was small and round, with ears that were pointed and erect.

Its mouth was wide, with sharp, pointed fangs on both the upper and lower jaws.

Good luck meant that this "snow leopard" magical beast, the moment it appeared in Gao De's line of sight, moved with lightning speed, leaping down the cliff as if walking on flat ground, then bolted toward the mountain below.

There was no doubt that it was going to the lower-altitude mid-mountain area to hunt.

It hadn't discovered Gao De hidden in the snow, much less that someone had designs on its old nest.

Bad luck meant that this "snow leopard" magical beast's appearance was too extraordinary.

Just by its appearance and the speed of its movement, Gao De could determine that its rank was far beyond the first circle.

The higher the rank of a magical beast, the more powerful the supernatural abilities it possessed. This meant that after "stealing the nest," there was a high probability that Gao De would be chased by this powerful magical beast, carrying immense risk.

After hesitating for a short while, Gao De still made his decision.

This job had to be done! Where in the world was there anything without risk?

With such a great opportunity right in front of him, being afraid of this and that would be better off just waiting at home to die.

The power of the "snow leopard" magical beast meant the risk increased, but it also meant the benefits increased.

This type of typical predatory creature generally wouldn't have a fixed habitat, adjusting its activity range according to the prey situation.

Since it chose to use the cave as its old nest, it could only indicate that the magical plant in the cave was extremely precious and exceptionally important to the "snow leopard," enough to make it change its living habits.

Seeing that the "snow leopard" magical beast had been away from the cave for over ten minutes, confirming that it was truly out hunting and wouldn't return in the short term, Gao De leaped out from the snow pile.

"Must hurry."

He couldn't predict the time of the "snow leopard's" return.

Because even the "snow leopard" itself probably wasn't sure when it would be able to catch prey.

Arriving at the bottom of the steep cliff, Gao De took a deep breath, and a flash of magical power flickered in his hands.

Subsequently, his fingernails became sharp and hard, shimmering with the luster of magic.

【Cat's Claw】! Using an ice pick was too wasteful of time; in this time-sensitive situation, spells were the most reliable.

Under the augmentation of 【Cat's Claw】, Gao De's hands were as if transformed into the claws of a wolverine, easily capable of being inserted into the solid ice wall.

Crack! Crack! Without hesitation, Gao De embedded these sharp "claws" deep into the ice wall, each exertion accompanied by the spraying of ice chips and the crisp sound of fracturing.

He used both hands and feet, his movements agile and powerful, like a nimble cat leaping between cliffs, climbing upward on the cliff face with a swift and steady posture.

The cold wind whistled slightly, seemingly urging him to quicken his pace.

About thirty seconds later, Gao De braced his palms against the edge of the wall, leaped up, and landed steadily on the protruding ice layer.

"Done." Standing on the ice layer, he panted slightly; the pitch-black cave entrance was now right before Gao De's eyes.

Gao De didn't dare waste time, quickening his pace to enter the cave directly.

"So stinky!" As soon as he entered the cave, a thick, fishy stench rushed toward him, almost knocking him out.

This smell, mixed with decay, blood, and the "snow leopard's" own body odor, was as thick as substance, almost wrapping around him.

This "snow leopard" looked cold and bright on the outside, yet its nest was actually this foul-smelling—Gao De secretly slandered in his heart, his tense nerves relaxing slightly.

"Where is that magical plant?" He scanned the dim cave, and soon discovered the location of the magical plant.

One reason was that the cave itself wasn't large, and the other was that the magical plant was too eye-catching; no wonder Flora discovered it from so far away.

It was a strange magical plant flashing with a faint blue fluorescence, like a blue lotus blooming in a dark abyss.

Its leaves were slender and sharp, the edges seemingly containing a sharp edge, swaying gently as if capable of cutting through the air.

Even more strange was that its petals were crystal clear, like gemstones, each one emitting a faint blue light, reflecting the cave's ice walls into a dreamlike state.

Such a strange magical plant, even hidden in a cave, was hard to conceal its light.

"Mage, it can only grow here; picking it will make it lose its value."

Flora had already flapped her small wings and approached the magical plant, sensing its condition.

Gao De frowned upon hearing this.

Looking closely, he discovered that this magical plant was rooted in a solid block of ice.

And within this block of ice, there were actually flowing blue liquids.

Clearly, what was even more extraordinary were these liquids.

Magical power appeared in Gao De's hands again.

【Cat's Claw】.

Then he would "take the roots and the soil" and pack it all away! But this time, the hitherto invincible 【Cat's Claw】 was not as effective as before.

The sharp claws touched the ice layer as if hitting a thick sheet of metal, emitting a faint and crisp clashing sound, unable to penetrate even an inch.

He couldn't pick it, and this ice block was strange; he couldn't cut it, and he didn't dare linger here... Gao De felt unwilling.

Just when Gao De felt somewhat desperate, thinking he would have to return empty-handed this time, Flora seemed to have discovered Gao De's predicament, and her crisp voice suddenly rang out.

"Mage, bite it!"

"Huh?" Gao De was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, hesitated, but ultimately chose to trust Flora, trusting this seemingly absurd instruction.

He bent down, leaned toward the magical plant, aimed at the crystal-clear stem of the magical plant, and bit down gently, biting it off directly.

Subsequently, Gao De swallowed that entire "lotus" into his stomach without hesitation.

(End of chapter)