Howling Wind Wolf

After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, they still had not walked out of the bamboo forest.

More than thirty green-furred demonic wolves rushed out from the bushes ahead, one of which was over a zhang long, its body covered in green bristles.

"Howling Wind Wolf!"

Shen Long recognized the origin of the green wolves.

The wolf king was at the late stage of the first rank, and there were over a dozen Howling Wind Wolves at the early stage of the first rank.

"Awoo!"

The wolf king let out a loud howl, opened its blood-red maw, and a half-zhang-long green wind blade shot out, heading straight for Shen Long and the other seven.

The other Howling Wind Wolves spat out green wind blades one after another, attacking the group.

Dense green wind blades whistled through the air, and a large number of green bamboo stalks were severed by the blades, crashing down.

Ye Yuqing cast a talisman flickering with green light, which transformed into a green wind wall a zhang high and a zhang long, blocking their path.

Green wind blades struck the wind wall one after another, all of them dissipating upon impact, leaving the green wind wall completely unscathed.

Led by the wolf king, the thirty-plus Howling Wind Wolves charged toward the group.

Ye Yuqing released her Green Wind Tiger while simultaneously casting a talisman flickering with yellow light, which sank into the ground.

More than twenty Howling Wind Wolves felt the ground beneath them soften as a massive sand pit appeared, causing them to sink into it.

Before they could struggle free from the pit, a yellow talisman flew over and transformed into a massive yellow light barrier, trapping the twenty-plus wolves inside; the wolf king and eight other wolves were not caught by the barrier.

"They are trapped by the Earth Prison Talisman and won't be getting out anytime soon. Let's quickly finish off the wolf king, and the remaining wolves will be easy to deal with."

After saying this, Ye Yuqing took out a banner flickering with green light; judging by its spiritual fluctuations, it was clearly a middle-grade magical tool.

She gently waved the green banner, and a dozen green wind blades, each a foot long, flew out toward the wolf king.

Xu Lei and the others launched their own attacks against the Howling Wind Wolves.

Xu Lei, Ye Yuqing, and Sun Yang dealt with the wolf king, while the Green Wind Tiger handled one Howling Wind Wolf on its own.

Shen Long and the other four were not idle, either, as they engaged the remaining wolves. Ye Yutang released a red falcon; with a gentle flap of its wings, over a dozen bowl-sized crimson fireballs flew out, smashing into one of the wolves.

She then brandished a feathered fan that shimmered with constant red light, and with a light wave, another dozen bowl-sized crimson fireballs shot out, slamming into another wolf.

Shen Long was responsible for one mid-stage first-rank Howling Wind Wolf. He cast his Black Tortoise Shield, which spun continuously around him, and with a flick of his right hand, a green light flew out and sank into the ground.

The Howling Wind Wolf opened its maw and spat out several foot-long green wind blades, all of which were blocked by the Black Tortoise Shield.

A green vine as thick as an adult's arm burst from the ground and wrapped around the wolf's hind leg. The wolf struggled violently but could not break the vine. It turned its head to bite at the vine, snapping it, but a vat-sized crimson fireball slammed into it at that moment.

With a thunderous boom, the crimson fireball exploded, and a wave of red flames engulfed the wolf's body.

Before the flames could dissipate, another vat-sized crimson fireball crashed into it.

Shen Long continued to launch crimson fireballs at the wolf, while the wolf attacked him with green wind blades, only to be blocked by the Black Tortoise Shield.

The wolf charged at Shen Long, but before it could get within five zhang, a thick green vine erupted from the ground and coiled around its hind leg. Almost simultaneously, a crimson fireball flew over and slammed into the wolf's body.

Crimson fireballs struck the wolf one after another, and before long, the creature was on its last breath, its body charred black and emitting a burnt odor. A Mystic Water Blade shot over and severed its head.

By this time, Xu Lei and the others had also finished their battles. The wolf king was no match for the three of them, especially given the sheer number of first-rank talismans Ye Yuqing possessed and the power of her magical tools.

Shen Long made a rough calculation: at market prices, the talismans Ye Yuqing had used were worth nearly two hundred spirit stones. It was incredibly extravagant; Shen Long and the others relied solely on magical tools and spells to kill the wolves.

The twenty-plus wolves had yet to escape, and the group attacked them. In less than half a quarter of an hour, the battle was over, and all thirty-plus Howling Wind Wolves had been slain.

"Satisfying, haha!"

Qin Qing laughed heartily.

In the past, whenever they encountered a pack of demonic beasts, they could only flee for their lives. This time, they had wiped out the entire pack, and Ye Yuqing deserved much of the credit.

"It's all thanks to Fairy Ye using the Earth Prison Talisman to trap most of the wolves, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to pick them off one by one."

Sun Yang said with a smile.

A single Earth Prison Talisman cost one hundred spirit stones, enough to purchase a low-grade magical tool, and it was a one-time consumable.

"I didn't expect Fairy Ye to also raise a Li Fire Falcon."

Xu Lei said with a tone of envy, a flicker of wariness passing deep within his eyes.

Ye Yutang and Ye Yuqing each raised a Li Fire Falcon and a Green Wind Tiger respectively, and the power of their magical tools was significant enough to challenge Xu Lei's status, though they had no such intentions.

"It is merely a first-rank spirit bird; Fellow Daoist Xu could raise one as well."

Ye Yutang's tone was indifferent, as if raising a first-rank spirit bird were a trivial matter.

"Fairy Ye jokes. I previously raised an Ice Crystal Scorpion, which consumed a great deal of my cultivation resources. How could I possibly have the resources to raise a spirit bird as well?"

Xu Lei sighed.

There were thirty-seven Howling Wind Wolves in total: one late-stage first-rank, nine mid-stage first-rank, and the remaining twenty-seven were all early-stage first-rank.

The wolf king went to Xu Lei, while Ye Yutang and Ye Yuqing each took two mid-stage wolves. Shen Long and the other four took one each. Additionally, Shen Long and Sun Yang each received three early-stage wolves, while Qin Qing, Xu Wen, and Xu Wu received two each.

In the world of cultivation, strength dictates everything. Since Shen Long had reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, he was able to claim a larger share when distributing the spoils.

After resting for half a quarter of an hour, they continued forward and disappeared into the bamboo forest.

Half a day later, they appeared in a narrow, long valley, moving at a slow pace.

A small stream flowed through the valley, its water murmuring as it ran.

According to Xu Lei, once they passed through this valley, they would reach the nest of the Fire Cloud Toad.

A deafening explosion erupted from up ahead, startling the group and causing them to stop immediately.

Shen Long was the first to manifest the Black Tortoise Shield, while Ye Yuqing held several Fire Snake Talismans, ready to unleash them at any moment.

"Qin Qing, go and scout the area, but be careful."

Xu Lei commanded.

Qin Qing nodded, cyan light erupting from his feet as he dashed forward with great speed.

After a while, Qin Qing returned, saying excitedly, "It's Chen Xiong. There are nine of them in total; they've recruited a few new teammates."

A cold glint flashed in Xu Lei's eyes. When they had encountered Chen Xiong while hunting spirit beasts last time, Liu Xin had been killed, and his spirit insect, the Ice Crystal Scorpion, had also been destroyed. The tables had turned, and now they had caught Chen Xiong in the middle of hunting spirit beasts.

Xu Lei looked at Ye Yutang and said, "Fairy Ye, this group has a grudge against us. If we don't kill them, they will certainly attack us if they spot us."

"What does Fellow Daoist Xu intend to do?"

Ye Yutang asked.

"We set up an array here and use it to wipe them out. If they try to escape on their artifacts, we will all strike together to finish them off."

Xu Lei laid out his plan.