"Chirp chirp!"
Upon seeing the blood, the Blood Condor's eyes blazed with excitement, and it let out a sharp cry.
A bloody radiance surged from every part of its body.
At the same time, vast quantities of blood gushed from the Serpent-Necked Tortoise's neck like a fountain, condensing in midair until it formed clumps of congealed blood, which the Blood Condor swallowed whole.
Riiiip! The Blood Condor then extended its razor-sharp black talons and effortlessly pried open the shell on the tortoise's back, carving the choicest flesh into strips and feeding them into its mouth. Its movements were fluid and unhurried — it actually began eating right in front of the entire flock of Serpent-Necked Tortoises, utterly brazen.
Slaughter and elegance, both embodied in this terrifying behemoth.
"Moo... moo..." Watching their companion meet such a gruesome fate, the surrounding Serpent-Necked Tortoises wailed in anguish, yet not a single one dared leave the lake.
Leylin watched the scene in silence, his expression blank.
This was merely one of nature's most common and ordinary sights. Before one evolved to the point of no longer needing to consume energy to survive, this kind of hunting and predation for the sake of survival carried no good or evil, no right or wrong — only adherence to and reverence for the laws of nature.
"That kind of bloodline control ability!" On the contrary, Leylin was quite fascinated by the Blood Condor's power to manipulate blood.
Moreover, unlike the Serpent-Necked Tortoises, every adult Blood Condor had reached at least tier three — right at the minimum standard for purifying ancient bloodlines! Leylin was also deeply curious about the origins of this bloodline creature.
"But... should I go or not?" Leylin rubbed his chin.
The Blood Condor King could very well be a Morningstar. Under the perception of such a terrifying being, many of his stealth techniques would be rendered useless. But if the Blood Condor King was still within the third-tier Wizard realm — even at the peak of Crystallisation — then he was confident in his concealment abilities!
"So many of life's choices are just this troublesome!" Leylin sighed, feeling as though he stood once more at a crossroads of fate, shrouded on all sides by a veil of fog.
In truth, everyone faced this kind of choice many times over. The choices each person made were different, and the outcomes ranged from good to bad.
"So then — go, or not go?" A strange look flickered across Leylin's face.
Clang!
A dark-gold coin flipped into the air and landed steadily on the back of his hand.
The pattern of the Lucky Bird appeared before Leylin's eyes.
After waiting a long while, the coin itself showed no signs of damage, and Leylin let out a long breath of relief.
"Since the Fate Gold Coin suffered no backlash, that means the Blood Condor clan has no king who has reached the fourth tier. I can take the risk!" Flames kindled in Leylin's eyes.
The Fate Gold Coin was Leylin's greatest harvest from the Dark Extreme Region. Although it carried the drawback of being unable to predict Morningstar-level power — otherwise the user would suffer a backlash — it had still brought him tremendous help.
Now, using the Fate Gold Coin to make a prediction, not a single crack had appeared on its surface. At the very least, that proved no existence within the Blood Condor nest exceeded Morningstar strength. That was enough. Faced with the chasm of a Morningstar, no matter how desperately Leylin tried, it would be futile!
And as long as their enemy lacked Morningstar power, Leylin was willing to take the gamble!
"Screech!"
By now, the Blood Condor on the ground had finished eating. Leylin watched in surprise as it gripped the leftover carcass of the serpent-necked turtle, rose into the air with powerful wingbeats, clearly intending to carry the remains back to its nest.
"Now's my chance!" Leylin's eyes flashed. He activated Shadow Stealth to its fullest, melting his figure into the fissures of shadow before stealthily clinging to the turtle's corpse.
The rushing sound of wind was constant. The Blood Condor climbed rapidly, and the violent friction of the air currents actually produced tiny sparks against the corpse.
Fortunately, once they reached a certain altitude, the air currents stabilized.
The condor's flight speed was immense. Leylin watched the landscape below blur past. After only a dozen minutes, they arrived at their destination.
Leylin looked at the massive dark silhouette ahead, undisguised shock written across his face.
Before him stood a colossal, solitary mountain rising from the plain. Its surface was devoid of vegetation, gleaming with a dark, metallic sheen as if forged from some unknown ore.
In numerous places, huge cavernous holes dotted the rock face, and from within them, the enormous heads of countless Blood Condors emerged, crying out ceaselessly.
The combined cries of so many condors were not only ten times more piercing than before, but they also caused an abnormal sensation within Leylin's Comorin bloodline. It felt as if his very essence was being drawn outward—a terrifying illusion that vanished as soon as he suppressed it with his gaseous Spiritual Power.
"The Blood Condors' bloodline domination ability... truly terrifying," Leylin murmured.