The Hive

Outside the hive, venomous bees flew about in chaos. Well-concealed, the Spirit-Binding Cord went unnoticed by the venomous bees as it quietly approached the swarm from beneath the hive. Although the Ghosthead Bee had "bee" in its name, looked like a bee, appeared in swarms, and built nests resembling beehives, it was not a true bee, but an exotic insect. Its habits differed entirely from ordinary bee swarms; there was no queen bee, and they paired off in couples instead. If these venomous bees still retained the traits of Ghosthead Bees, Qin Sang would only need to capture a few pairs. The Spirit-Binding Cord lay lurking in the dark, awaiting an opportunity. A venomous bee danced around the hive, its flight circle widening until it finally strayed from the swarm. Like a spiritual serpent, the Spirit-Binding Cord snapped upward. The venomous bee was exceptionally alert. Just as the cord was about to wrap around it, the insect detected the danger; its stinger jabbed fiercely at the cord, and its three pairs of blood-colored wings buzzed violently, emitting a piercing screech. Once this screech carried out and alerted the other venomous bees, their only choice would be to flee for their lives. Fortunately, Qin Sang was well-prepared. The instant the bee made a move, the Spirit-Binding Cord accelerated abruptly, pouncing upon it to bind it tight before silently retreating. Carrying the venomous bee, the Spirit-Binding Cord returned to Qin Sang's palm. The bee was still not docile, struggling violently. However, the Spirit-Binding Cord could trap even a Foundation Establishment cultivator, to say nothing of a mere venomous bug. Avoiding its stinger, Qin Sang held the bee carefully to inspect it. Comparing several of its features, it was indeed remarkably similar to a Ghosthead Bee. He might as well call it a Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee for now. The others leaned in curiously, and the old man whispered, "Daoist Qingfeng, could you allow this humble one a look at this venomous bee?" Qin Sang knew the old man wanted to examine the Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee's traits to find a way to harvest the Blood Poison Flower. Qin Sang's capture had seemed easy only because this hive was on the outermost edge, the smallest in size, with a sparse swarm. Around the Blood Poison Flower, several immense hives were crowded together, venomous bees gathering in clouds that made one's scalp tingle just looking at them. It would be utterly impossible to catch them one by one like this. Unexpectedly, just as Qin Sang handed the Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee to the old man, a muffled pop resounded. A burst of foul blood sprayed out. Startled, everyone scrambled back. When they looked again, the Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee had actually self-detonated and died. The jade slip had indeed mentioned that Ghosthead Bees were ferocious and extremely difficult to tame. He had not expected these mutated Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bees to be even more extreme—having been captured and seeing no hope of escape, they would self-detonate. With a slight frown, Qin Sang repeated his trick and caught a few more, only for each to end the same way. In the end, Qin Sang caught all the remaining Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bees around that small hive, carefully retrieved the hive, and swept his spiritual sense inside. Sure enough, a cluster of Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee eggs lay inside. Could these larvae be tamed? After a moment of thought, Qin Sang placed the hive into his mustard seed bag and stopped there. For one, the others would not wait for him indefinitely. For another, the other hives were clustered tightly together; taking down a hive without alarming the swarm was impossible. He would only know the answer once the larvae hatched. Qin Sang nodded to the others, indicating they could set off. Seeing Qin Sang prepare to leave, the old man looked anxious. "Daoist, wait!" "What is it, Fellow Daoist?" Qin Sang feigned ignorance. "Please, Daoist, a word in private!" The old man drew Qin Sang aside, offered a deep bow, and said, "I saw that Daoist knows these venomous bees very well. Could Daoist please grant some guidance and share a few pointers?" Qin Sang looked thoughtful, neither agreeing nor refusing outright. Seeing this, the old man came to an understanding. He retrieved his share of the Cold Metal Ore Matrix from his mustard seed bag. "I possess nothing of great value; only this piece of Cold Metal Ore Matrix is presentable. I hope Daoist will graciously accept it." The man was quite generous; it seemed the Blood Poison Flower was truly vital to the master and disciple. Qin Sang spoke frankly: "To be honest with you, Fellow Daoist, this poor daoist does know a little about a type of venomous bee known as the Ghosthead Bee. In my estimation, these Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bees likely mutated from them. However, whether they still retain the traits of Ghosthead Bees after mutating under the influence of the blood miasma is something I cannot say for certain." Upon hearing this, disappointment crossed the old man's face, but he did not take back the Cold Metal Ore Matrix. Earlier, he had tried appealing to the others, but no one was willing to brave such danger and provoke the venomous bees for a piece of Cold Metal Ore Matrix. Helpless, the old man had to settle for the next best thing. Qin Sang nodded. Accepting the Cold Metal Ore Matrix, he extracted the description of Ghosthead Bee traits from his jade slip, copied it into another jade slip, and handed it to the old man. With the master and disciple staying behind, only five remained in the party. All five were experts. Traveling at full tilt, their pace was even faster than before. Before long, they had swept down to the foot of the mountain and pressed forward, their figures gradually vanishing into the depths of the blood miasma. Not long after Qin Sang and the others departed, a figure followed from behind. The figure stopped in place, glanced up toward the mountain, and then toward the direction Qin Sang's group had gone. Just as he hesitated, his gaze suddenly focused, as if having spotted something. Without hesitation, he activated his movement technique and darted forward. *** No further mishaps occurred along the way. Kong Xin dutifully guided them, successfully leading them out of the blood miasma's range. Within Wuya Valley, apart from certain specific areas, there was no blood miasma, meaning they no longer needed the Qingyang Demonic Fire to protect themselves. Qin Sang put away the jade pendant and observed his surroundings. Though all within Wuya Valley, the areas inside and outside the blood miasma were clearly two different worlds. To the naked eye, there were mountains and waters, flowers and grass, seemingly no different from the world outside Wuya Valley. However, the endless, cohesive blood-red clouds hovering unmoving in the sky and the bizarre, eerie roars echoing from afar at times constantly reminded everyone: this was Wuya Valley! These dark clouds were likely created by the mingling of ancient restrictions and ferocious blood-fiend energy. Perhaps spatial rifts were even hidden within them; in any case, flying high in the sky was best avoided. Kong Xin did not waste words. After briefly running through the key precautions, he took the lead once more. The first half of Wuya Valley posed little danger. So long as Qi Refinement stage cultivators found the proper route, even they could enter here to hunt for treasures. Only as one ventured deeper did the perils begin to thicken. As they traveled, weaving back and forth was common. Sometimes they had to detour multiple times just to find a safe route that avoided monster beast packs or unknown restrictions. This, too, was the result of strong insistence from Qin Sang and the others. After what happened in the underground cavern, it was difficult for Kong Xin to earn their unreserved trust. After every stretch of distance, they demanded that Kong Xin explain the route in detail, whereupon the group analyzed and voted on it together. This caused Kong Xin endless exasperation, yet he could do nothing about it. The journey proved safe and uneventful, and they successfully reached their destination. Crossing an earthen ridge, a jade-ribbon-like stream flowed out from a mountain ravine. Kong Xin perked up and said in a low voice, "We've arrived!" Qin Sang darted forward to keep up. While scanning the surrounding environment, he cast a discreet glance behind him, inwardly surprised. Along the way, he and Yunyouzi had remained on high alert and had deliberately left several openings. To their surprise, the stalker had never shown himself again, as if he had completely vanished.