Chapter 87: The Cocoon


    "I''ll take custody of this core for now. Any objections?" Chuck stepped forward and collected the magical beast''s core.


    A young man immediately protested, "Why should you keep it? The core belongs to all of us!"


    "Yeah! It belongs to everyone!"


    Han Ming watched as the group, who had previously shown respect to Chuck, now turned against him at the sight of treasure. It was almost laughable. This was human nature—when faced with great profit, everything else became irrelevant.


    The burly man who had always followed Chuck in silence, a fifth-tier earth-element warrior, suddenly struck out, punching the young man who had spoken up. The young man fell to the ground, and the burly man coldly asked, "Do you still have any objections?"


    The young man wiped the blood from his mouth, spitting out two teeth, and angrily retorted, "It belongs to everyone! What''s wrong with what I said? Why did you hit me?"


    This incident ignited the anger of the other weaker members, who began to voice their grievances against the burly man.


    Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Chuck quickly stepped in to mediate.


    "Everyone, calm down. I never said I would keep the core for myself. This core was earned with the lives of eight of our comrades. No one has the right to hoard it. We''ve only just entered the Savage Ice Plains, and there''s a long road ahead. I''m merely holding onto it for safekeeping. Once we leave, I''ll sell the core and distribute the proceeds equally among everyone. And let''s not forget, the two wood-element warriors deserve the most credit for killing the Sawtooth Fish. If anyone disagrees, I can hand the core over to them."


    With that, Chuck took out the core and handed it to the sixth-tier wood-element warrior, deliberately ignoring Han Ming.


    "Any more objections? We''re a team. If we start fighting now, we won''t get far."


    The group fell silent upon seeing the wood-element warrior take the core. None of them considered Han Ming''s crucial role in the victory. If not for Han Ming discovering the monster''s weakness, few of them would have survived.


    Han Ming chuckled inwardly. The wood-element warrior was clearly aligned with Chuck. Keeping the core with him was no different from Chuck holding onto it. But Han Ming didn''t voice this thought. Now wasn''t the time for further conflict.


    The appearance of the first spoils reignited the group''s hopes, burning brighter than ever.


    They seemed to see endless gold coins beckoning to them.


    Countless beautiful women, advanced combat manuals—it felt as if these treasures were already within their grasp.


    Seeing that no one objected, Chuck added fuel to the fire. "I believe this expedition will yield even more magical beast cores. When we return to the outside world, each of us will have our own beast soul! That day is not far off!"


    The group erupted into excited cheers once more.


    Han Ming looked at the crowd, who were being manipulated like puppets by Chuck, and sighed. They were a bunch of fools, blindly following orders, crying and laughing at Chuck''s whim. The promise of everyone having a beast soul was enticing, but only if they survived to see it.


    Han Ming had no words for these people. He could only shake his head in resignation.


    Together, they broke the ice and dug into the frozen ground, burying the remains of their fallen comrades. After a brief moment of mourning, they set off again.


    Over the next five days, the group encountered three more Sawtooth Fish. This time, knowing the creatures'' weakness, they managed to kill all three with only two severe injuries.


    However, to their disappointment, no more cores were found.


    Even though fourth-tier magical beasts had a higher chance of dropping cores compared to third-tier ones, they weren''t so easily obtained.


    The two wood-element warriors were now treated like gods, with some even offering them their private stash of delicacies as a gesture of goodwill.


    Han Ming simply turned a blind eye.


    After another day with no further gains, Chuck ordered the group to head straight for the next zone: the Savage Desert. While they might still find water-element cores here, their value paled in comparison to cores of other elements.


    The group changed direction, heading toward the Savage Desert.


    The journey was fraught with danger. Although they didn''t encounter any fourth-tier magical beasts, third-tier beasts appeared frequently—and in packs.


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    By the time they reached a mountain range marking the border between the Savage Ice Plains and the Savage Desert two weeks later, their numbers had dwindled to ten.


    Han Ming gazed at the mountain range in silence for a long time before speaking up. "Let''s detour around this area and enter the Savage Desert from another route."


    Chuck looked at Han Ming, puzzled. "Why? Don''t you know that danger lurks everywhere here? Taking a detour would add a significant distance. If a dozen third-tier beasts ambush us, how will you explain it to the fallen comrades?"


    Han Ming replied, "As a water-element mage, I can sense something terrifying within these mountains. We''re no match for it."


    What Han Ming referred to was the Profound Sky Ice Silkworm. During their journey, he had sensed that the group was heading straight for its territory. Despite his repeated warnings, no one had taken him seriously. Now, his concerns were dismissed once again.


    The Profound Sky Ice Silkworm was a terrifying creature capable of severely injuring even the Three-Colored Destruction Butterfly. Even with a few fourth-tier experts, venturing into its domain would be suicidal. Without gathering all the necessary materials, Han Ming had no intention of provoking it.


    "If you won''t listen to reason, then I''ll go my own way. I''ll take a detour alone."


    Chuck frowned deeply at Han Ming''s words.


    This kid had repeatedly tried to change the group''s direction. Chuck suspected Han Ming was challenging his authority, something he couldn''t allow.


    "We''re a united team. No one is allowed to act selfishly. If you want to leave, fine. But you''ll have to leave an arm behind. Otherwise, you''re sowing discord." Chuck''s face darkened, and his four lackeys glared menacingly at Han Ming.


    "What''s that!"


    Just as tensions were about to boil over, someone shouted, pointing at a massive cave in the mountain range.


    Han Ming turned to look and saw a cave about five to six meters wide, covered in a thick layer of deep blue ice. It stood out starkly against the endless white landscape.


    "Let''s check it out!"


    Chuck ordered in a low voice, no longer paying attention to Han Ming. He led the group toward the cave, moving cautiously.


    Han Ming initially considered leaving but then changed his mind.


    He might as well see if the Profound Sky Ice Silkworm was still severely injured. With so many people around, he could always escape and let the fools serve as cannon fodder. After all, wasn''t that their role?


    With that thought, Han Ming hung back, following the group from a distance as they approached the cave.


    When they were about a hundred meters away, someone shouted again, "Look! That''s... a cocoon!"


    Han Ming was startled and quickly looked over. Indeed, deep within the cave hung a massive, snow-white cocoon.


    What is this? Han Ming thought in alarm. The Profound Sky Ice Silkworm couldn''t possibly be this large. Was it evolving? How could that be?


    Han Ming quickly checked the tracking mark in his mind and was horrified to confirm that the enormous cocoon was indeed the Profound Sky Ice Silkworm.


    What was going on? Could the Profound Sky Ice Silkworm form a cocoon? If so, what would it become after emerging? Would the formula for dealing with it still work?


    Han Ming was utterly stunned.


    "Ah! Him!"


    Someone screamed.


    Han Ming''s thoughts were interrupted as he looked ahead. The person at the front, about fifty meters from the cave, had suddenly frozen. A thin layer of white ice rapidly covered his body. He struggled to turn his head and call for help, but his neck only twisted halfway before he became completely immobilized.


    "Go see what''s happening," Chuck ordered the fifth-tier water-element warrior beside him. "Be careful. If anything seems off, retreat immediately."


    In such an intensely cold environment, it was best to send someone with water affinity, as they had the highest resistance to cold.


    The water-element warrior nodded solemnly, enveloping himself in combat energy as he cautiously approached the frozen man.


    When he reached the man, he didn''t sense anything unusual. He coated his hand with dense combat energy and gently tapped the frozen man''s shoulder. With a series of cracking sounds, the man''s body developed several fissures, which rapidly expanded until his entire form shattered into countless pieces, scattering across the ground.


    At that moment, a faint white mist drifted out from the cave.


    Han Ming''s eyes were fixed on the cocoon. He noticed that the mist emanated from it in slow, rhythmic pulses, as if synchronized with the cocoon''s breathing.


    The water-element warrior, sensing danger, quickly retreated. But the mist had already reached him.


    His combat energy surged out to resist the mist, and he leaped backward, covering more than ten meters in a single bound. He landed beyond the mist and ran toward the group, clutching his left arm.


    The mist dissipated after drifting a short distance.


    "What happened?" Chuck hurriedly asked, only to see that the water-element warrior''s left arm had turned completely white.


    "Don''t move! Rook, help him melt the ice," Chuck ordered, fearing the warrior''s arm would shatter like the frozen man''s.


    Rook, a sixth-tier fire-element warrior, stepped forward. He channeled his combat energy, slowly melting the ice on the water-element warrior''s arm. But what they saw next horrified everyone.


    "It''s... crystallized!"


    The warrior''s arm had completely lost its flesh-and-blood form, turning into a transparent, glass-like crystalline substance. No matter how much Rook increased the temperature, the arm''s temperature rose, but it didn''t revert to its original state.


    "Don''t touch it!" Chuck warned as the water-element warrior reached for his crystallized arm, but it was too late.


    With a soft *clink*, the crystallized arm shattered into countless pieces at the slightest touch.


    The water-element warrior gritted his teeth, staring at his shattered arm in silence.


    "Dammit! I want to see what this thing is!"


    Chuck roared, gathering magical energy in his right hand. The sound of rushing wind filled the air.


    "Go!"


    With a wave of his hand, a magical eagle, formed from condensed wind energy, shot toward the cave. As a third-tier wind-element mage, Chuck''s attack was formidable. Han Ming knew well the power of such a beast soul—a fifth-tier wind mage''s eagle had nearly killed Li Chengfeng, a wind-element warrior, in a single strike. Chuck, though two tiers lower, was not to be underestimated.


    The wind-element eagle soared toward the massive cocoon in the cave, letting out a piercing screech.


    But what happened next left everyone dumbfounded.


    The eagle slowed as it flew, its semi-transparent form gradually turning white. When it was about ten meters from the cave entrance, a puff of white mist enveloped it. The eagle froze solid, falling to the ground and shattering into pieces.


    No one could speak.


    That was a beast soul—a form of magical energy. How could it be frozen?


    ...


    "Detour!"


    After a long silence, Chuck finally gave the order in a low voice.