Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 794 Challenge Dungeon 49

Yun Chu waited patiently in the rock crevice for more than three hours, during which time she constantly observed the outside world through the shared vision of the Fire Iron Flying Ants.

Finally, the blizzard that seemed to be tearing the heavens and earth apart gradually weakened, turning from a furious roar into a low whimper. The snowflakes became sparse, and visibility improved to about 100 meters.

Through the compound eyes of the flying ants, she saw the "residents" beginning to move on the ice field.

The ice monsters came in all shapes and sizes. Some were humanoid creatures roughly made of broken ice, slow-moving but incredibly strong; others were like agile ice crystal lizards, gliding quickly across the snow; further away, several giant beasts that looked like small icebergs could be seen moving slowly.

However, these scattered monsters posed little threat to Yun Chu, who possessed a high-altitude view and a nimble mount.

Without further hesitation, she put away the simple formation and boarded a fire iron flying ant.

She piloted her Fire Iron Flying Ant, flying low and skillfully avoiding areas where monsters gathered, specifically targeting lone or small groups of Icefield monsters.

"Stone statue," she murmured to herself, activating her S-rank skill.

A grayish-white glint flashed in her eyes, and the humanoid monster that she had locked onto, which was wielding an ice spike arm, suddenly froze. Its body was covered with a hard grayish-white stone shell at a visible speed, and it remained frozen in place, maintaining its attack posture.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yun Chu commanded the fire iron flying ants to approach, easily piercing the vulnerable joints of the stone statue with the blade in her hand, or using explosive talismans to bombard it from a distance.

The moment the petrification occurs, the monster is often severely injured or even killed before it can regain its mobility.

Obtain 3 'Ice Core Shards'

[Obtained 'Rough Ice Crystal' x1]

[Obtain 2 'Frozen Monster Meat Chunks']

The system notifications sounded from time to time, mostly for basic materials, but little by little they added up.

At this pace, Yun Chu efficiently cleared the monsters within her line of sight while continuously exploring further afield, marking the terrain and potential resource points.

More than an hour flew by in focused combat and exploration.

Just as she was considering whether to return to the temporary base for a short rest, the Fire Iron Flying Ants transmitted new images—a fierce battle was taking place in an area filled with ice pillars ahead.

About fifty different types of ice monsters were attacking two female players.

One of them was tall and had striking red hair that stood out even in the snow. She wielded a long whip that burned with flames, and each strike left charred marks on the monster and caused a small explosion.

Her companion was a short-haired woman wielding dual blades, moving with lightning speed, constantly darting around to finish off enemies and fend off attacks from the flanks.

However, there were quite a few monsters, and they seemed to be attracted by the flames, constantly gathering from all around. The two of them were struggling to defend themselves and were forced to stand back to back.

Yun Chu immediately recalled the photos and posts about the red-haired woman on the challenge dungeon forum; the woman's name was Hou Fei.

She's the guild leader of the Thorn Rose Guild! Rumor has it she possesses three S-rank skills: a fire skill, a shielding skill, and one more skill whose origins are unknown to outsiders.

Xie Yipei once casually mentioned: "Hou Fei is a person who prioritizes profit but has solid abilities. If you encounter her in a dungeon, as long as your goals don't conflict, you can cooperate in the short term, which is better than most people who stab you in the back."

Now is clearly not the time for conflict. After observing the battle for a few seconds, Yun Chu quickly made a decision.

She rode her flying ants to the side and rear of the monster horde, while several crimson fire talismans shot out from her hands!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The fire talisman didn't directly attack the monsters, but instead exploded on the periphery of the monster horde and between them and Hou Fei, forming a discontinuous wall of fire. This not only scorched the monsters in its path but also temporarily divided the battlefield, disrupting the monsters' encirclement rhythm.

Hou Fei reacted extremely quickly, her flaming whip suddenly extending and taking advantage of the moment when an ice crystal lizard injured by a fire talisman was slowed down, she wrapped it up and flung it away, knocking down another monster that pounced on her.

Her sharp gaze swept across the direction from which the fire talisman had flown, and she saw Yun Chu riding on a strange, fiery red flying ant. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but it quickly turned into an even fiercer attack.

"Cooperate with me!" she whispered to her companion, and the flames on her whip surged as she charged towards a portion of the monsters that were blocked by the wall of fire.

Seeing that she understood his intentions, Yun Chu no longer held back.

She continued to roam the perimeter, sometimes using the Stone Statue skill to immobilize key agile monsters that were trying to ambush her, and sometimes using Fire Runes to provide remote support, precisely disrupting the battle.

Her arrival greatly relieved the pressure on Hou Fei and her partner.

Half an hour later, the last massive Ice Hill Beast collapsed to the ground with a bang under the combined effect of Hou Fei's fiery explosion and Yun Chu's petrification and immobilization, turning into specks of light and dissipating, leaving behind a few items that shimmered with a faint light.

The battlefield returned to calm for the time being, with only the mournful sound of the cold wind sweeping through the icicles and the sizzling sound of flames burning the remaining ice.

Hou Fei put away her whip, and the flames went out. She was slightly out of breath, and after calming herself down, she turned her gaze entirely to Yun Chu, who had jumped down from the back of the flying ant.

She scrutinized Yun Chu for a few moments, especially noticing the strange fire-iron flying ants beneath her and the faint glow of the talisman in her hand, before revealing a cheerful yet scrutinizing smile.

"Thanks, friend. I'm Hou Fei, the president of Thorn Rose." Her voice was hoarse from the battle, but full of energy. "You're quite skilled, and your observation and timing are excellent."

"Have you joined a guild? If not, you can come to us. We really need players like you with special summons and strong crowd control skills."

Yun Chu patted the Fire Iron Flying Ant, letting it keep watch nearby on its own, then looked at Hou Fei and said in a calm tone, "Bai Yun Chu has already joined the Divine Travel Guild."

"Shenxing?" Hou Fei raised an eyebrow. "Xie Yipei's guild. What kind of benefits does he offer? Have you considered switching?"

Yun Chu shook her head. "I won't consider it."

"Alright then." Hou Fei changed the subject. "It's too much trouble to venture into this godforsaken place alone. How about we form a team? We can look out for each other, and split the spoils according to our contributions, how about that?"

She pointed to her companion who was quietly collecting loot, "This is Chu Ya, one of the guild's vice-handlers."

After a moment's thought, Yun Chu nodded in agreement: "Okay." Xie Yipei's evaluation and the teamwork she had just witnessed in the battle convinced her that Hou Fei was at least a reliable ally in the current instance.

"Okay!" Hou Fei acted decisively, immediately pointing north. "Aya and I came from that direction before. We vaguely saw some buildings reflecting light in the distance. It might be a safe spot or resource point in the instance. Shall we head north?"

Yun Chu shook her head. When she had previously used the Fire Iron Flying Ants to conduct a large-scale reconnaissance, she had already made a preliminary judgment on the environmental differences between the north and south directions.

“I don’t recommend going north for now.” She said gently but firmly. “My reconnaissance unit reports that the ice field there is open, but the crevasses are very well hidden, and there are groups of ice field monsters wandering around certain areas, like near some kind of nest.”

"The reflections on the buildings you see could be a mirage or an illusion."

“There are almost no high ground or shelters there. Once night falls and the snowstorm starts again, or if we encounter a large group of monsters, we won’t even be able to find a place to take shelter or buffer.”

She then pointed south: "To the south are continuous ice valleys and rocky areas. The terrain is complex, making it easy to hide and find natural caves or rock crevices to spend the night."

"Although the complex terrain may make the variety of monsters more troublesome, there are also more advantageous positions to take advantage of, giving us more room to maneuver."

After listening, Hou Fei did not immediately question how Yun Chu knew so much "detail".

In the world of endless dungeons, who doesn't have some secret reconnaissance or divination techniques?

Importantly, Yun Chu's reasoning was logically clear and consistent with common sense in extreme survival environments—prioritizing finding stable shelter.

Moreover, Yun Chu had just demonstrated her abilities and sincerity in cooperating.

“That makes sense.” Hou Fei readily changed her mind, clapping her hands. “Then we’ll go with you, heading south. In a place like this, having a reliable navigator is more important than anything else. Aya, are you ready? Let’s go!”

She didn't press Yun Chu about the specifics of her intelligence unit, nor did she delve into the absolute accuracy of that information.

This approach of not excessively prying into teammates' secrets and making quick decisions to maximize benefits based on the current situation is Hou Fei's style, which also confirms Xie Yipei's assessment that "cooperation is possible."

After a short rest, the three headed south towards the rugged, icy mountain valley.

Yun Chu and Hou Fei walked side by side, followed by Hou Fei's somewhat silent but sharp-eyed companion.

With a clear direction and the fire ants scouting ahead to provide early warnings, the travel efficiency increased significantly.

Yun Chu's stone statue skill demonstrates extremely high control efficiency when dealing with sudden small groups of ice monsters, while Hou Fei's S-level fire skill is incredibly powerful when attacking and clearing areas; wherever the flames pass, the ice monsters turn into rising white vapor.