The Insect Ball wasn’t something else, but the Mucus Swamp that Du You had unleashed in the sky. After catching a swarm of flying insects, it dropped down and formed a clump of mucus and insects.
Once ignited, a large amount of toxins quickly evaporated. Being unaccustomed to the poison, the insects stumbled around in a daze as the toxins were released from the mucus. Soon, they began to fall down.
More insects, due to their distance, did not descend but continued to chase after Du You.
Others were continuously harassed by the green bird and were now only thinking of escaping, no longer interested in troubling Du You. As the Insect Ball burned, the surroundings turned into a toxic environment.
Many insects susceptible to poison were unlucky. Originally gathered here to munch on other insects, their numbers dwindled as the toxicity intensified, and many were either poisoned, died, or fled.
Some insects were perched on top of the Insect Ball. The ignited flames burnt them to death in an instant. Not all insects were immune to fire, even some of the giant beasts here feared flames and dared not come close.
The Insect Ball, made up of insects, was quite large. Due to the thick layer, it would take longer to burn out.
A beast almost as tall as Du You that resembled a pangolin, about three meters long, paid no mind to the flames. It squatted nearby, sniffing slowly with its snout and the glint in its eyes seeming to grow brighter. It extended its claws into the flames, completely unaffected by the heat.
It raked through the flames a few times, exposing some roasted insects. It then extended its tongue and gave them a lick.
Next, it placed the insects in its mouth, chewing vigorously. It appeared to wear an expression that was close to a smile.
While other beasts kept their distance, this giant pangolin continued to feed on the spot. At first, it ate all kinds of insects indiscriminately but seemed to learn with time.
The pangolin only sought out the roasted insects to eat. Those that were either undercooked or burnt were promptly discarded to the side.
Feeling relaxed, Du You finally noticed this unusual pangolin. He stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief.
"So, even beasts prefer cooked food," Du You commented, puzzled.
Because of the pangolin’s actions, some beasts that were reluctant to approach the flames began to slow creep closer. Pallid insects discarded by the pangolin were swiftly scooped up and eaten.
Having tasted the food, the eyes of many beasts lit up. These creatures then joined the queue to find food from the fire. Some beasts that feared fire waited anxiously on the side, periodically crying out. They waited for other beasts to discard unwanted insects, which they then picked up and ate.
To the uninformed, this might have seemed like a barbecue party. Some beasts even started to fight over the food, which reassured Du You since there were no significant beasts nearby.
Most of these giant beasts were about Tier 7, and some were even only Tier 6. Du You originally thought that anything below Tier 7 would be considered an insect. It seemed that he had misunderstood something.
Similarly, the giant beasts here were relatively tame; at least, they did not attack or run away at the sight of him.
This was probably due to the unique circumstances of the valley and the abundance of insects, which ensured an ample supply of food. Hence, they didn’t usually attack each other for food.
Finally, the flames from the Insect Ball began to die down. The seemingly still hungry pangolin crawled over to Du You, gently tugging at his clothes, and pointed at another Insect Ball not too far away.
"Have they mistaken me for a free chef?" Du You was amused yet hopeless. The surrounding giant beasts stared at him, not daring to come closer. Some had fierce looks, while others seemed pitiful.
These creatures gave Du You a strange sense of amusement. "Alright, I’ll help. Xiaozi."
At Du You’s call, Xiaozi reluctantly cast a Thunder Light Orb at the distant Insect Ball. The orb was not very powerful, but the heat it generated was enough to ignite the mucus effortlessly.
Seeing another fire ball aflame, the giant beasts let out cheerful cries, rushing towards the fireball.
Shaking his head, Du You decided to camp and rest in this place. Not just because time was against him, but also because his Magic Power was almost depleted after the journey, hence he needed to rest.
In the end, when dealing with the flying insects, Du You had given his all, disregarding the consumption of his magic power. After landing, he realized that less than 10% of his Magic Power remained.
Xiaozi was littered with minor injuries. The electricity wrap around its body lasted for an extended period, consuming a lot of its magic power and leaving it in a poor state. Therefore, it was not suitable for Du You to continue forward; he needed to rest.
The surrounding giant beasts did not seem to have any intentions of attacking, so Du You had no intention of driving them away. Having these giant beasts around wasn’t a bad thing as most of them fed on insects. Any insect that scurried out from the surroundings would be devoured by these giant beasts. If he were to handle them himself, he wouldn’t be able to rest comfortably through the night. Newest update provıded by 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩
After igniting five Insect Balls in a row for these giant beasts, they were finally satiated. For the giant beasts further away, Duo You paid no mind, as their numbers were insignificant and posed no threat.
The surviving insects on the ground inevitably became snacks for the giant beasts and were systematically eliminated.
Looking up, the large green bird was already gone, and the flying insects were scattered, few of them remained.
"That was too dangerous. I can only press on, there’s no way to turn back."
Du You sighed. Retreat was impossible. There was a pool filled with dangerous Bloodthirsty Leeches on the ground which he couldn’t cross. As for the sky, he didn’t even need to consider - it was filled with flying insects. If he were to ascend again, he didn’t believe a large bird would come to his rescue.
There were no large birds outside the valley, or perhaps they were late, in which case he would be dead. Therefore, Du You could only proceed ahead, uncertain of what lay in wait for him.
The night passed without incident. Being in the middle of a critical mission, Du You had no bounty to arrange or deal with.
It wasn’t until close to noon the following day that Du You got up, for it was not until then that his Magic Power was fully restored. Most importantly, his basic Magic Power had increased by a tier and had reached Tier 4.
It seems that massive consumption of Magic Power followed by recovery is indeed a good way to enhance one’s Magic Power.