"Crackling."
Appearing behind Jing Yuan was a humanoid cloud mass. Its cultivation wasn't strong, only at the late-stage Soldier rank, and Jing Yuan dispersed it instantly with a single punch.
However, before Jing Yuan could even catch his breath, he suddenly felt a damp sensation rushing toward his neck.
Jing Yuan pushed off the ground with force, dodging to the right.
"Buzz."
A whooshing sound swept past, and where Jing Yuan had been standing, a pale, indistinct figure materialized.
Compared to the monster Jing Yuan had scattered with a punch earlier, this figure was much more ethereal, even translucent, looking as if it could dissipate at any moment.
A Mist Monster.
The Cloud and Mist Monsters in the Cloud Sea Ruins are a general term; they are actually divided into Cloud Monsters and Mist Monsters.
Although they are similar in color and general form, Mist Monsters are much more illusory than Cloud Monsters, appearing as if they are simply aggregations of water vapor.
Furthermore, compared to Cloud Monsters, Mist Monsters are immune to physical attacks.
To attack a Mist Monster, one must use elemental power, although vital energy (Qi and blood) can also work.
The moment he saw the Mist Monster, Jing Yuan flicked his right hand, and a bolt of golden lightning shot out, piercing the monster directly.
This Mist Monster's cultivation was also low; after being struck by Jing Yuan's lightning, it dissipated immediately without offering any resistance.
After eliminating the two monsters, Jing Yuan could feel a faint trace of spiritual energy entering his body. It was very small—too negligible to count as an actual improvement.
Yet, Jing Yuan clearly sensed it, like the ripple caused by a single drop of water falling into the ocean.
And this was one of the unique benefits of this ruin: the Cloud and Mist Monsters' spiritual feedback.
In a way, the Cloud Sea Sect's experiment back then could be considered half successful.
That is, after transforming their bodies into Cloud Monsters and Mist Monsters, they indeed possessed a powerful affinity for the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Every Cloud Monster and Mist Monster contained extremely pure spiritual energy within its body.
When a professional kills one of these Cloud or Mist Monsters, the spiritual energy inside them feeds back to the professional who defeated them.
It was essentially grinding monsters for experience points.
Moreover, because the Cloud Sea Sect's experiment involved integrating this spiritual energy into the self, the spiritual energy released by these Cloud and Mist Monsters was incredibly docile, as if it had been artificially refined.
It placed absolutely no burden on the body.
Roughly two weeks passed between the discovery of these ruins and their opening to the outside world.
Distributing the resources and legacies within the Cloud Sea Sect ruins would have taken the major powers three days at most. The reason it was delayed for so long was naturally for the sake of the Cloud Monsters and Mist Monsters within the ruins.
As everyone knows, cultivation becomes increasingly difficult the higher one goes, but here, simply killing a Cloud or Mist Monster of the same rank could noticeably boost one's cultivation.
With such temptation, who wouldn't be moved?
Therefore, after roughly exploring the ruins, the major families also captured Cloud and Mist Monsters of various stages, hoping to find a way to give them regenerative abilities.
Like NPC monsters in a game, they wanted to kill them and then wait for them to regenerate after a period of nourishment.
Of course, as of now, there has been no progress.
For Jing Yuan and his companions, besides the excellent cultivation environment, the Cloud and Mist Monsters were the other main objective for entering the ruins this time.
This was also the confidence behind Yan Lin's bold claim that he would break through three meridians in a row—as long as he killed enough of them.
"Time to go fishing."
After slaying the Cloud and Mist Monsters, Jing Yuan mobilized the spiritual energy in his body. Streams of golden electricity burst forth from him, transforming into fine golden threads that surged out in all directions.
Cloud and Mist Monsters possess transformation abilities, and due to their elemental nature, they are excellent at concealing their presence; once they hide in the tree canopy, they are usually very difficult to spot.
Therefore, searching for Cloud and Mist Monsters in the forest wasn't the best option, but Jing Yuan had another method.
It relied on the humidity in the forest, which was much higher compared to the open plains.
Since Cloud Monsters and Mist Monsters inherently contain water elements, the areas where they reside are slightly more humid.
In the boundless plains, the wind would quickly disperse this slight humidity, making it hard to sense, but the forest retained moisture.
The electric threads he released were meant to sense where the humidity differed from the surrounding areas, as that location would likely harbor a Cloud or Mist Monster.
This principle was called Electro-Sensing.
On the other side, compared to Jing Yuan, the female body, Gu Xiao, had a much easier time.
Once she activated the Gale Body, whether they were Cloud Monsters or Mist Monsters, no matter where they hid, as long as they were within a certain range, they would all be sucked toward her.
While others had to search bit by bit, Gu Xiao only needed to run quickly in a sweeping pattern.
In the vast forest, a graceful figure transformed into a streak of cyan light, weaving through the trees. Around her, gales converged to form a small tornado.
Wherever Gu Xiao passed, the Cloud Monsters and Mist Monsters were all drawn in by a massive suction force.
Furthermore, since the Cloud and Mist Monsters lacked intelligence, her large commotion easily attracted monsters from a slightly further distance.
And as soon as they approached, they were immediately sucked into the vortex created by the Gale Body.
In just a short time, more than twenty Cloud and Mist Monsters were circling above Gu Xiao's head.
Sensing the increasing number of Cloud and Mist Monsters gathering above her, Gu Xiao increased her momentum, speeding up her traversal through the forest.
"Swoosh!"
A streak of cyan light flashed through the dense forest, the wind howled, and the tremendous sonic boom sounded like a clap of thunder.
The powerful winds generated around Gu Xiao as she moved caused nearby trees to sway wildly, like drunkards stumbling.
For trees she passed closely, the leaves on their crowns were stripped away by the hurricane surrounding Gu Xiao, leaving only bare branches swaying in the wind, making them the most conspicuous trees in the forest.
The cyan streak swept past, leaving a long, faint cyan trail in the air.
Near the edge of the forest bordering the center of the ruins, a graceful figure suddenly shot out—it was Gu Xiao, who had been acting like a human weed whacker in the woods earlier.
By now, the Cloud and Mist Monsters trapped by the Gale Body numbered over a hundred, though most were at the Soldier and Scholar ranks, with only a handful at the Lieutenant rank.
"Hah!"
Gu Xiao raised her hand and clenched it tightly; the surrounding hurricane instantly constricted, forming the continuously circling Cloud and Mist Monsters above her head into a single sphere.
Then, she violently swung her right hand forward, slamming the hurricane-wrapped sphere of Cloud and Mist Monsters directly into the ground, creating a large crater.
Immediately afterward, Gu Xiao leaped upward. Clear wind gathered to lift her into the air, and she pulled out a longbow from her storage ring.
She had selected this from the Jing family's armory, keeping it ready for any contingency.
Aiming, drawing the bow, an arrow condensed entirely from hurricane force wind formed.