I am the Holy Poisoner, the Empress advised me to calm down

"Well," Yun Shu smiled softly, "What I remember most clearly is the scene when you found the gem in the ice cave. At that moment, I felt that all our efforts were worth it."

"Yes," Lin Chen nodded in agreement, "The sense of accomplishment at that moment was unparalleled. But we still have a lot to do and we can't let up."

"That's right," Xiaohu patted the weapon in his hand, "We now have the artifact in our hands, and there will definitely be more challenges waiting for us next."

"That's right," Li Feng continued, "but I believe that as long as we unite as one, there will be no difficulties that we cannot overcome."

"By the way, who is that mysterious black figure?" Xiaomei asked with a frown. "Why does he always appear at the most critical moments? Could he really be connected to the artifact?"

"It's very possible," Yun Shu pondered, "but we have no idea right now, so we can only deal with it as it happens."

"No matter who he is," Lin Chen said firmly, "we can't let him ruin our plan. We worked so hard to obtain the artifact, and we can't let anyone else take it away so easily."

"Well said!" Xiaohu waved his fist. "Let's face everything together. No matter what the challenge is, we can overcome it!"

As they were talking, a slight noise was heard in the distance. Everyone stopped and looked around warily.

"It seems like someone is coming over there." Yun Shu said softly.

Lin Chen raised his hand to signal everyone to keep quiet, then walked cautiously in the direction of the sound. After a while, they saw a figure moving slowly in the snow.

"Hey, isn't this the old hunter in town?" Li Feng said in surprise.

The old hunter seemed a little surprised when he saw them, but he quickly regained his composure, walked forward, and his eyes swept over them, finally falling on the artifact in Lin Chen's hand.

"You... finally found it?" There was a hint of awe in the old hunter's voice.

"Yes," Lin Chen nodded, "We found all the artifacts."

The old hunter's expression grew complex, as if he were weighing something. Suddenly, he took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Young man, you don't know the true power of these artifacts. They are not just treasures, they are the key to your destiny."

"What do you mean by destiny?" Yun Shu asked curiously.

The old hunter was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "There are huge secrets hidden behind these artifacts. You must be careful, because there is a powerful force watching you closely."

"What power?" Xiaomei asked.

The old hunter smiled helplessly. "This force is incredibly powerful, even I can't fully comprehend it. But I do know that you've been drawn into a larger vortex. You must be careful, as every step you take could lead to unexpected dangers."

"We will be careful," Lin Chen said firmly, "Thank you for telling us this."

"You're welcome," the old hunter shook his head. "I just hope you're prepared. Your journey has just begun, and the future is full of uncertainties."

After saying that, the old hunter turned and left, leaving Lin Chen and his group standing there with complicated and heavy feelings.

"What does he mean?" Xiaomei asked puzzledly.

"I'm not sure," Lin Chen frowned, "but what we can be sure of is that there are huge secrets hidden behind these artifacts, and our journey is far from over."

"What should we do now?" Xiaomei asked.

Lin Chen pondered for a moment, then looked up at everyone: "We can't stand still, we must continue to move forward. But we must also be more vigilant, after all, there is an unknown force watching us in the dark."

"Well said!" Xiaohu clenched his fists. "No matter what dangers lie ahead, we must face them bravely!"

"That's right," Li Feng nodded in agreement, "We've come so far, we can't give up easily."

Yun Shu smiled softly: "Let's face it together, there is nothing we can't solve."

Just as they decided to continue moving forward, a cold wind blew, bringing with it a sense of the unknown. The surrounding environment became even more severe, as if foreshadowing the arrival of even greater challenges.

"The weather is getting colder and colder." Xiaomei rubbed her hands and breathed out to keep warm.

"We need to find the next shelter as soon as possible," Lin Chen said, "The temperature here is dropping very quickly."

They continued along the trail at the foot of the snow-capped mountains, their footprints gradually disappearing into the vast sea of ​​snow. Silence reigned all around, with only the occasional sound of the wind and the rustling of their footsteps.

Suddenly, Xiaohu stopped and pointed ahead: "Look, there seems to be a small wooden house over there."

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, and saw that there was indeed a simple wooden house not far away, which was particularly eye-catching in the vast snow.

"That's great! We finally have a place to rest." Xiaomei said excitedly.

"But we have to be careful," Lin Chen reminded, "This is a wilderness after all. We don't know if anyone lives here, or if there are any dangers hidden here."

"That's right," Li Feng nodded in agreement, "Let's get closer and see what's going on first."

They cautiously approached the cabin and found a tattered sign on the door, engraved with strange symbols. Yun Shu stepped forward to examine it carefully, frowning. "These symbols seem to be some ancient language, but I'm not sure what they mean."

"Anyway, let's go in and take a look first." Lin Chen pushed open the door of the wooden house, and a group of people walked in one after another.

The cabin was relatively warm inside, with some embers still burning in the stove. In the corners sat some simple furniture, revealing it had been lived in before.

"It should be safe here. We can rest here for a while." Lin Chen gestured for everyone to sit down.

Just as they were taking a short break in the house, they suddenly heard a slight sound of footsteps at the door. Everyone immediately became alert, holding weapons in hand, ready to deal with possible threats.

"There's someone outside!" Xiaohu whispered.

"Let's go out and take a look," Lin Chen said decisively, "but be careful."

They quietly walked to the door, gently opened the crack and peeked out. They saw several people in tattered cloaks standing outside the door, talking in low voices.

“I heard that this group of people found the artifact,” one of them whispered, “We must seize the artifact.”

"But that young man is very powerful. I heard that he can even fight a wild wolf alone." Another person hesitated.

"Humph, we are not vegetarians either," the leader sneered, "and we have helpers."

Hearing this, Lin Chen and the others exchanged glances, and immediately understood what these people were up to. It seemed they had been targeted and could no longer delay.

"What should we do?" Xiaomei asked nervously.

"We have no choice but to fight hard," Lin Chen said firmly, "Get ready to fight."