Ahhhhh, high-altitude survival!

Chapter 164, Transparent Outline

Seeing this, Lin Yue breathed a long sigh of relief, her tense nerves finally relaxing. She quickly told everyone to carefully collect the spoils that hadn't been cleaned up yet, and then she simply used five mulberry wood stones to exchange for a pot and a stove from Han Weiyi.

She collected all the dead mushrooms, washed them, then mixed them with chopped snake meat, added water, lit a fire, and started cooking soup.

Lin Yue knew that there were quite a few bats on this floor, and everyone was exhausted from the battle. Moreover, they had no idea what the situation was on the second floor, and going up rashly would likely lead to even more danger. Therefore, she decided that everyone's condition had to be at its best before going upstairs.

Amidst everyone's expectant gazes, the soup was finally cooked. Its rich aroma instantly filled the entire space, making everyone's stomachs rumble.

After each person ate two bowls of hot soup, they felt a warm current spreading from their stomachs to their whole body, making them feel much more comfortable. Before long, they broke out in a good sweat, and their fatigue dissipated considerably.

After everyone had finished getting ready and were in top condition, they carefully stepped onto the stairs leading to the second floor of the Black Tower.

The ascent was uneventful, but the calmer it was, the more wary everyone became. This mysterious black tower was shrouded in eeriness, and no one knew what they would encounter next. Finally, they reached the last step, and everyone instinctively gripped their weapons tightly.

Xiao Shu, usually the boldest and most agile, was assigned by Lin Yue to lead the way. He crouched low, tiptoed out first, and quickly scanned the surroundings. After a moment, he turned back and whispered to the others, "It seems there's nothing there."

The voice was kept extremely low, as if afraid of disturbing any lurking, unknown dangers. Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief and stepped onto the ground of the second level one after another.

But just as everyone was standing steadily on the second floor, the stairs that had come up suddenly and silently disappeared, as if they had never existed, leaving them alone on this strange and mysterious second floor with no way out.

However, having learned from the experience of the first floor, the group quickly came to their senses and immediately dispersed to carefully search for clues in every corner.

Sure enough, just as Xiao Shu had said, the walls on this floor were completely empty, the smooth surface devoid of anything, eerily quiet.

Everyone was filled with unease, and just as their doubts grew and their curiosity deepened, a semi-transparent outline suddenly appeared in the air without warning. The outline was blurry, like a wisp of mist, easily overlooked, yet it exuded a dangerous aura that commanded respect.

Before anyone could react, the shapeless object rushed toward the young man from the Shadow Thief Clan who was closest to it at lightning speed.

Fortunately, everyone was on guard. The young man reacted quickly. When he heard the wind in the air sound a bit strange, he suddenly ducked down, like a nimble monkey, and narrowly avoided the sudden wave of congratulations.

Immediately, he didn't dare to linger. He pushed off with his feet and dashed away into the distance, instantly creating distance and escaping the attack range of the transparent outline.

Only then did everyone realize that the transparent shadow was extremely fast and appeared and disappeared intermittently, making it very difficult to pinpoint its location. The little mushrooms that had shown their prowess on the first level were now proving to be of very limited use against it; their sprayed sap could hardly hit the ghostly figure.

Just as everyone was on high alert, pondering how to deal with this troublesome fellow, the transparent silhouette circled in the air once, and then once again chose Lin Yue as its target, rushing towards her like an arrow.

Lin Yue's eyes narrowed, and she took out a purple "man-eating flower" from her bracelet.

As soon as this "man-eating flower" appeared, it yawned as if it had just woken up, its wide-open mouth full of sharp teeth, which looked quite frightening.

Before its mouth could fully close, the transparent outline crashed into it as if it had walked right into a trap.

Well, just like millet running into a chicken's arms, the "man-eating flower" immediately grabbed the transparent outline and swallowed it a few times like a gluttonous beast that had been starving for a long time, taking the entire transparent outline into its mouth.

Then, something surprising happened.

Lin Yue saw the petals of the "man-eating flower" begin to bulge out in all directions. The petals were sometimes raised and sometimes sunken, as if they were being beaten up by Princess Iron Fan, who was causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace by Sun Wukong. She looked quite disheveled.

Lin Yue couldn't help but feel a little worried for the "man-eating flower." She secretly wondered if its petals would be pierced through from the inside, given its appearance.

Fortunately, although the stem of this large purple flower looks slender and fragile, as if it could be broken easily, its petals are actually quite sturdy and durable.

Despite the relentless and frantic attacks from the transparent outline inside its belly, it stubbornly withstood wave after wave of assaults, showing no sign of being breached. Not only did it withstand the onslaught, but this "man-eating flower" seemed to have been spurred on, noticeably increasing its chewing speed and engaging in a fierce tug-of-war with the transparent outline within its body.

Each thud of the petals seemed like a contest of strength between the two sides, making the whole scene quite thrilling.

Lin Yue and the others formed a circle, their eyes fixed intently on the silent battle. Each person's heart pounded with the fluctuations of the "man-eating flower's" petals, as if they themselves were caught up in the fierce confrontation.

Time ticked by, and the battle dragged on for quite some time. Only when Lin Yue was starting to feel exhausted did the scales of victory begin to tip. Each bite of the "man-eating flower" dealt 40 points of damage, and in those ten-odd minutes, it had chewed hundreds of times. Lin Yue quickly estimated that, wow, several thousand health points had been slowly devoured by it.

Even so, the transparent outline was remarkably tenacious and was not completely destroyed; it simply seemed to have run out of energy to struggle and smash the petals inside. Gradually, the fluctuations of the "man-eating flower's" petals diminished, and the commotion slowly subsided, as if the battle was finally coming to an end.