The sky was azure, with branches interlacing above their heads.
As they continued forward, Zhenjin and Zi Di both felt the temperature in the air rapidly decreasing.
In one open area, Zhenjin gazed into the distance and unexpectedly discovered a trace of snow.
"That's a snow mountain. Dammit, there's actually a snow mountain on this island!"
According to the Pig Kiss's route, this island was clearly located in the tropics; a rainforest was the most normal landscape. But here were not only forests but also snow mountains. According to Huang Zao's previous description, there was even a desert.
"My Lord, look, there are Huang Zao's footprints here!"
Zi Di made a new discovery.
After inspecting, Zhenjin nodded and confirmed, "We are close to finding him. Besides him, we might also find other members of that exploration team."
They had adjusted their walking direction.
On this journey, they had found not only Huang Zao's footprints but also markers left by the exploration team.
In front of them, Song Luo blocked the way, Zhenjin raised the long-handled scythe in his hand, severing the long, almost ground-reaching threads hanging from the branches, and continued forward.
This long-handled scythe was made from a curved spider leg.
Additionally, with Zi Di's assistance, Zhenjin had crafted several spider war spears and a spider longsword.
These newly made weapons were extremely sharp and had brought enormous convenience to Zhenjin and Zi Di along the way.
The battle with the spiders had significantly enhanced Zhenjin's weaponry and equipment.
The texture of the steel longsword couldn't compare to the spider longsword.
In the past, Zhenjin would have been very happy, but now he didn't care much.
These days, he had been pondering the mutation that had occurred not long ago. His hands had suddenly mutated into the claws of a monkey-tailed brown bear. Piercing the eight-legged spider with these claws had caused the Silver-Level fierce beast to burn from the inside out, killing it instantly!
Afterward, he hadn't told Zi Di the truth, offering a rather clumsy excuse.
But Zi Di hadn't pressed for details.
This understanding from his fiancée made Zhenjin feel deeply appreciative inside.
But what exactly was going on?
Zhenjin first thought of the transformation spell.
Druids could transform into wolves, bears, or even dragons, and mages had the Sheep Transformation, while thieves had the Disguise Skill.
"Could it be that I'm not just a Holy Temple Knight but have another role?"
This speculation was immediately dismissed by Zhenjin.
Because no spell could be cast without a casting process.
But his sudden hand mutation was very natural, there was no unconscious casting.
Not to mention, the entire island prohibited the use of Low-level magic and fighting energy.
"So, is it a bloodline awakening?"
Nobles possessed bloodlines that surpassed the ordinary, and these bloodlines often came with distinct traits.
For example, the Holy Emperor's bloodline was the Holy Temple Bloodline. Those of his direct family, including the Holy Emperor, had silver-white pupils and grew snowy wings.
Half-Elves, with their elf and human race lineages, had pointed ears.
Human nobles with demon or devil bloodlines usually had horns on their heads.
"But why did my hands transform to resemble a monkey-tailed brown bear?"
Did Zhenjin awaken the brown bear bloodline?
Putting aside the question of whether such a bloodline existed, everything seemed too coincidental.
"So, is it the potion Zi Di made to save me in an emergency situation?"
Zhenjin speculated that the potion produced during that unrepeatable rescue might be a kind of transformation potion!
At that time, Zi Di had infused a large amount of monkey-tailed brown bear blood into Zhenjin's body.
Blood was a primary material for a different type of transformation potion.
While Zhenjin was saved, the potion's effect also lay dormant in his body. It wasn't until he faced the eight-legged spider, at the brink of death, that the potion's effect exploded.
Zhenjin thought this was the most plausible explanation, and subsequent guesses became more numerous.
"Does the effect of this transformation potion still exist?"
"Can it erupt a second time?"
"If it erupts again, how long will it last?"
Zhenjin hoped it could erupt again, that this transformation could happen once more.
Because this was a trump card.
This trump card's value was enormous; Zhenjin had directly killed a Silver-Level fierce beast with it!
Various favorable factors were involved, but the claws' terrifying attack power couldn't be denied.
As for the potential strength erosion or bloodline pollution caused by consuming this transformation potion, Zhenjin could only put those concerns aside for now.
For now, he couldn't care about these things!
Everything had to ensure survival.
These hidden threats could be purified by finding Holy Temple priests later on when things were stable.
The wind picked up.
Trees rustled as the forest produced a mixed green symphony of deep, dark, and light greens.
The wind seemed to blow from the direction of the snow mountain, causing the air temperature to plummet rapidly.
This didn't bother Zhenjin and Zi Di much.
Although their clothes were thin, they carried many pieces of heating ore.
Following the trail, they continued forward.
A gurgling mountain spring appeared before their eyes.
"This should be groundwater," Zhenjin observed and guessed, "The spring water here is very clear and very cold."
Though their water reserves had already dropped to a critical level, he didn't rush to drink.
Drinking water in the wild wasn't always safe. Drinking rashly could cost one's life.
"There are many animal tracks here. It should be safe." Zi Di pointed to the soil around the spring, then her expression suddenly changed, "Wait, Lord Zhenjin, look here."
On the other side of the spring, they saw numerous human footprints.
These footprints surrounded the spring. Apparently, many people had squatted here to collect groundwater.
"Excellent, some footprints are still fresh. It seems we are very close to that exploration team. For now, let's fill our empty water bags," Zhenjin said.
They began collecting the water source.
Luckily, they had found water bags. Without containers to store water, exploring in the wild would have been very inconvenient.
Zi Di squatted, extending her arms, opening the water bag's small mouth as wide as possible, and lowered her head to pour water.
Zhenjin's water-fetching manner, however, was very meticulous.
He didn't bury his head in the water but kept lifting his head, his eyes flickering around, scouting his surroundings while collecting water.
In the wild, many beasts specially used water sources to ambush prey. If prey lowered its guard while drinking, those beasts would pounce lightning-fast, killing their target.
Human military also trained similarly.
When drinking or fetching water, one must always raise their head to avoid being ambushed by enemy troops.
Thus, when the enemies appeared, Zhenjin first noticed and loudly alerted Zi Di.
Both quickly stood up.
One, two, three…
Some emerged from the forest, some stood up from higher rocks, some were hidden in the grass.
Soon, the young man and woman found themselves surrounded.
Most of these people wore sailor's attire, with sun-darkened skin, each armed, mainly with scimitars but also sharp swords, long spears, and even bows and crossbows.
A Bronze-Level elite stepped forward from the crowd, approaching Zhenjin and Zi Di.
Seeing this person, Zhenjin's eyes flashed sharply.
Zi Di's face changed slightly, displeased, she said, "It's you! Hmph, we finally caught you, Huang Zao."