Quick Travel to the Clouds

Silence returned to the tent, leaving only the cool scent of the ointment and the lingering, subtle sensation of his fingers on his feet.

Yun Chu curled her toes, staring at the top of the tent, the flames in her eyes flickering.

The night was as dark as ink, and the thick fog, carrying a pungent, fishy smell, flowed slowly through the forest, almost swallowing up the last bit of dim yellow light from the campfire.

Lu Ting stayed on guard during the first half of the night, vigilantly patrolling the perimeter of the camp, while Hu Lanqin leaned against her backpack, closing her eyes to rest and conserve her energy for the second half of the night's watch.

Xie Yipei leaned against a large tree, closing his eyes to rest.

Yun Chu did not fall asleep. She closed her eyes and focused her mind, her consciousness spreading around the camp like an invisible spider web through the fire iron flying ants.

Suddenly, a very faint rustling sound, different from the night breeze, came from the flying ants, followed by a rustling sound that rapidly approached from all directions, like the tide washing over withered leaves!

"Enemy attack!" Lu Ting's low shout and Xie Yipei's voice rang out almost simultaneously.

In an instant, the darkness surrounding the camp seemed to come alive!

Countless fist-sized, poisonous beetles with shells shimmering with a ghostly blue luster emerged from beneath the humus layer and from the crevices in the tree trunk, forming a dense, terrifying swarm of insects.

At the same time, several pairs of scarlet eyes lit up in the mist further away, accompanied by a low, bloodthirsty roar, as several ferocious beasts resembling cheetahs but covered in bone spikes slowly approached.

"It's the Bone-Eating Beetles and the Spiny Ridge Beasts!" Lu Ting's face darkened, and he quickly formed hand seals. Pale blue energy barriers spread out around the camp like ripples, attempting to block the insect swarm.

Hu Lanqin also stood up, waving her short staff, and a soft white light shone on her companions, creating a buff effect.

Xie Yipei's eyes were cold as he stepped out of the tent, his elemental energy instantly surging.

He did not use a wide-range skill, but instead made a fist with both hands, and two completely different forces, one ice and one fire, gathered and compressed in his palms.

They then transformed into countless tiny ice needles and sparks, precisely targeting the densest part of the insect swarm and the eyes, joints, and other vital organs of the spiny beast.

Ice and fire intertwined, bursting into clusters of dazzling yet deadly flowers of death in the darkness with extremely high efficiency.

The battle instantly became intense.

Lu Ting's barrier flickered under the onslaught of the insect swarm, Hu Lanqin's healing white light appeared and disappeared, while Xie Yipei, like the master of the battlefield, moved among the insects and beasts, reaping a large number of lives with each move.

However, no one noticed that in the shadow of an extremely tall and lush banyan tree behind the camp, a pair of bright, amber eyes were silently watching everything.

It was a small animal, no bigger than a house cat, with strange, flowing cloud-like patterns on its fur. Its limbs were lowered, its tail swayed gently, and a breeze surrounded it, almost blending into its surroundings.

Just as Xie Yipei turned to deal with a fierce spiky beast that pounced on him from the left, and Lu Ting and Hu Lanqin's attention was also drawn to the surging swarm of insects in front of them, a glint of light flashed in the little beast's eyes!

It raised one of its front paws and made a sweeping motion in the air towards Hu Lanqin and Lu Ting—

Woo!

Two almost transparent wind blades silently tore through the air at an astonishing speed and at an extremely tricky angle, aiming straight for the two people's relatively weak sides and shoulders!

Lu Ting reacted extremely quickly. Sensing the danger, he tried his best to turn to the side. The wind blade grazed his tactical vest, bringing with it a series of sparks and the sound of tearing fabric. A burning pain came from his side.

Hu Lanqin was unable to completely dodge the wind blade, which struck her arm holding the short staff, cutting a deep gash that exposed the bone. Blood gushed out immediately, and she groaned as her healing spells faltered.

Meanwhile, another wind blade shot towards Yun Chu's tent, just before it touched the tent flap.

It was as if it had struck an invisible, tough membrane, producing a very slight "ding" sound before dissipating into turbulent airflow that couldn't even tear the curtain.

It was the defensive talisman that Yun Chu had affixed to the tent that came into play.

Inside the tent, Yun Chu suddenly opened her eyes, a cold glint flashing in her peach blossom eyes.

Through the fire-iron flying ants, she "saw" the whole process, and also "saw" the little beast hiding in the shadows of the trees, which quickly retreated after its successful attack, preparing to look for another opportunity.

interesting.

Not only can it control wind blades, but it also knows how to lurk and ambush, so its intelligence is obviously not low.

With a slight thought, Yun Chu sent a fire iron flying ant, which had been lurking in the branches and leaves of the banyan tree higher up, silently drifting down like a speck of dust and precisely attaching itself to the base of the downy hair on the back of the neck of the small beast with flowing cloud patterns.

The little beast seemed to sense something and shook its neck in confusion, but the fire iron flying ant was too small and light, and it did not notice anything unusual.

Meanwhile, the battle outside was gradually coming to an end after Xie Yipei intensified his elemental attacks.

The insect swarm was repeatedly baptized by ice and fire, and almost all of them died or were killed. The Spiny Beasts were also killed one by one.

Lu Ting clutched the wound on his side, while Hu Lanqin, pale-faced, cast a healing spell on her arm, but the effect was greatly reduced due to the residual wind energy in the wound.

Xie Yipei glanced at the battlefield and his injured teammates, his gaze cold and stern.

He walked to Hu Lanqin's side, a point of pure aquamarine light gathered at his fingertips, and gently touched her wound. The stubborn wind-attribute energy melted away like ice and snow, and Hu Lanqin's healing spell immediately became smooth, and the wound began to heal rapidly.

She looked at Xie Yipei with a mixture of surprise and delight, her eyes flashing with gratitude and a deeper, more complex emotion.

"Clean up the battlefield and check for anything missed," Xie Yipei ordered briefly, then walked over to the corpses of several Spiny Beasts, seemingly wanting to examine something.

Just then, Yun Chu lifted the tent flap and came out.

Her face was expressionless, even somewhat indifferent. Her gaze swept over the mess and the injured Lu Ting and Hu Lanqin, finally landing on Xie Yipei.

"I'll go collect the bodies." Her voice was calm, devoid of emotion. "You're injured, treat your injuries first, and rest."

Lu Ting and Hu Lanqin were both stunned. They didn't expect this pampered girl who had always been lazy to take the initiative to do some work.

Xie Yipei paused slightly, his deep eyes looking at her, as if trying to discern something beneath her calm expression.

Meeting his gaze, Yun Chu added, "The smell of blood will attract more things, so it's best to get rid of it sooner rather than later." Her reasoning was sound.

Xie Yipei looked at her for a few seconds and nodded: "Don't go too far." It was tacit approval.

Yun Chu said no more and turned to walk towards the nearest Spiny Beast corpse. Her movements seemed a little clumsy, but she remained calm.

Under the cover of moving the corpse, she gradually moved away from the firelight and disappeared into the deeper shadows of the nearby trees.

As soon as she was out of the three people's sight, Yun Chu immediately contacted the fire iron flying ant attached to the small beast through her consciousness and issued a command.

Suddenly, the little beast with flowing cloud patterns stiffened, as if gripped by an invisible force, its four paws leaving the ground.

Struggling but unable to make a sound, it was lifted by a gentle but irresistible force, quickly passing through the gaps in the forest, and silently delivered to Yun Chu's side.

The little beast's amber eyes were filled with terror and confusion. It tried to struggle and unleash its wind blades, but found that it could not even sense the slightest breeze, and its power was completely suppressed.

Yun Chu looked down at the strange little beast in her hand, not wasting any time.

She took out the Contract Array and set it up.