Chapter 243: Chapter 236 It’s Very Likely the Only One 1
It was unimaginable that a single plant had been maintaining the balance of an entire mountain. After the Ice Lotus was removed, the originally stable valley at the bottom of the cliff began to collapse, triggering a chain reaction.
This Ice Lotus was also the best herb Qin Niu had obtained from all the medicinal plants.
Its energy might not be comparable to the Ancient Banyan Tree, but its special abilities were in no way inferior to those of the Ancient Banyan Tree.
The Ancient Banyan Tree was too big and simply couldn’t be transplanted.
At least, with Qin Niu’s current abilities, he couldn’t transplant it.
The Ice Lotus, however, had no such restrictions.
As he ran forward, birds and wild bees occasionally flew up from the mountain, also scattering in escape. Yet, wild animals were rare in these mountains, even mice were seldom seen.
There were far too many wild bees, their presence severely threatened the safety of other animals.
Most of the beasts within this mountain area had been wiped out by the Steel-winged Wild Bees.
Even other insects were scarce.
There were rumors of various kinds of wild bees in these mountains, but they seemed a bit overstated.
In Qin Niu’s view, there were only two or three species.
The strongest were the Steel-winged Wild Bees, and the strongest among them were around Grade Five.
The ground underfoot trembled violently, making it difficult for him to stand steady.
In turn, he fled with even greater urgency and speed.
Still, there were several times he almost fell over.
But he got up and ran away immediately, not daring to pause for even a moment.
Boom! Loud thunderous noises!
As if the heavens had split and the earth had shattered, a large portion of the flat-top peak directly collapsed.
He too was toppled to the ground by the massive quake.
Looking back, what was once a flat-topped mountain peak had now collapsed by half, transforming into an inverted V-shaped pointed blade peak.
The valley had been completely filled in.
The cold pond, secret spaces, and Blood Pool inside were likely buried beneath the ground.
Whether the Green Demon that lay hidden in the Blood Pool was still alive, no one knew.
But in Qin Niu’s opinion, the Green Demon wasn’t as ‘pitiable’ as imagined. The Green Demon’s bee-rearing manual, written by the Green Demon itself, beautified its own image to some degree.
At least from the Green Demon’s actions, it definitely deserved the title of evil demon.
After the earth stopped shaking, Qin Niu got up and saw a faint light of dawn breaking through.
Daylight was approaching.
Airborne, a vast number of wild bees whirled and hovered.
The collapse of the mountain had rendered many formidable wild bees homeless, making them extremely irritable and angry. As soon as they spotted a target to attack, they would swarm it immediately.
Qin Niu was not afraid, but there was no need to incur their wrath unnecessarily.
So, he simply sat down beneath this large tree.
Then he took out an Advanced Contract Talisman.
He hesitated. The level of the bee egg was probably not high, and perhaps using a mid-level Contractual Talisman would be enough to subdue it.
After all, Advanced Contract Talismans were not easy to come by.
With this thought, he took out a mid-level Contractual Talisman and activated it with his power.
With his cultivation at the Innate Realm, using a Talisman no longer required him to bite open his tongue or fingertips.
Once the Talisman was activated, it turned into a beam of golden light that shot towards the bee egg.
A faint green glow appeared on the surface of the bee egg, like halo rings, resisting the invasion of the golden light.
Seeing this, Qin Niu showed a pleased expression.
He had always been worried that the bee egg had already been marked by the Green Demon, but now it seemed his luck was good.
Possibly after the Green Demon’s mishap, its physical body died, and it hadn’t managed to claim the egg.
Or it had other uses for this bee egg.
Regardless, the fact that the bee egg had not been claimed was a great boon.
It at least gave him this opportunity.
The golden light was still contending with the green glow, and the situation looked as though the golden light had little chance of winning.
But the resistance of the green glow was not as strong as imagined either.
Unperturbed, Qin Niu took out a second mid-level Contractual Talisman and activated it.
Another golden beam shot out, becoming one with the first.
Under such a powerful offensive, the green glow began to falter, its halo rings slowly being compressed.
Qin Niu’s lips curved into a slight smile.
He took out a third mid-level Contractual Talisman.
Without any hesitation, he activated it once again.
When the third golden light merged with the others, the bee egg’s resistance became futile.
The golden light tore through the green glow like pulling weeds, and penetrated into the bee egg.
“Become my servant, and 1 promise you’ll grow stronger!” Qin Niu communicated directly with it using spiritual power.
It remained unmoved, fiercely resisting.
But such resistance seemed more like a final obstinate struggle, more symbolic than anything, and there was no way it could withstand Qin Niu’s overwhelming assault.
“Even the Green Demon was defeated by me, what’s left for you to resist? Submit!” Qin Niu pressed down with his formidable spiritual power.
Its will to resist was clearly crumbling.
To all living beings, revering the strong is an innate trait.
Qin Niu had experience taming several pets before, even the Queen Bee with its steely will had been subdued by him.
The consciousness of this bee egg was still weak; under his formidable onslaught, it was subdued with just three mid-level Contractual Talismans.
And at the very moment when the contract was successfully formed between them, Qin Niu felt as though a cold wind was sweeping over from a distance.
He immediately gripped his Ink Blade and became vigilant.
If the Green Demon dared to come, he would not mind sending it off with a slash.
The cold wind blew for a while, but there was no follow-up.
Sound and fury, signifying nothing.
The Green Demon lurked in the shadows but didn’t dare to seek revenge on Qin Niu.
Since the Green Demon could sense it as Qin Niu claimed ownership of the bee egg, it indicated a certain connection between the Green Demon and it.
Qin Niu, having successfully claimed it, couldn’t wait to check the properties of the bee egg.
Green Demon Bee (Bee Egg)
Grade: Grade Three Hymenoptera Insect, Upgrade Experience 1000/10000
Lifespan: 70 years
Energy: 10000
Skills: None Yet
Talent: Night Vision, grows stronger by absorbing Yin-cold energy and the blood of living beings.
Why do its attributes seem a bit evil?
Its talent to have Night Vision wasn’t surprising.
Its ability to grow stronger by absorbing Yin-cold energy or the blood of living beings looked like the path of evil regardless of how one saw it.
As for its skills, Qin Niu wasn’t worried at all.
Because it was already a Grade Three insect even just as an egg.
If it hatched and became a Queen Bee, it could at least rise to Grade One.
That was without any special cultivation, and its grade was already higher than that of a War Bee Queen Bee.
If it were properly nurtured, it could at least become a Grade Five insect.
As of now, only the Ant Queen had reached that level.
The Green Demon Bee’s grade seemed to be quite close to that of the Green Silk Worm.
But in terms of growth potential, the Green Demon Bee was clearly much stronger.
If it could grow by consuming the blood of living beings, was the Green Demon planting it inside itself to deliberately nurture it with its own essence blood?
It was entirely possible.
The Green Demon and Old Master Huang both raised insects within their bodies; both were madmen among Insect Masters.
To raise more powerful insects, they would sacrifice everything.
Both were absolutely ruthless.
Qin Niu tried biting his fingertip and squeezed out a drop of fresh blood to wrap around the bee egg.
It seemed to be slowly absorbing the fresh blood.
Now, Qin Niu was an Innate Realm powerhouse, and his fresh blood contained a significant amount of energy.
It was greatly beneficial for the hatching of the bee egg.
By this time, the sky was already bright.
Qin Niu could also clearly see the scenery in the mountains.
The mountain behind him had collapsed to a great extent, and the rolling stones and soil had formed a new slope.
The cliff he risked his life crossing last night, including the valley at the bottom, had completely disappeared.
It had all been filled in.
The forces of nature were truly frightening.
If he had escaped any slower yesterday, he might have ended up buried at the bottom of the cliff.
It was good that the cliff was destroyed, so the Green Demon couldn’t harm anyone else.
The multitude of white bones scattered throughout the Black Stone Mountain were the end of numerous living beings.
By destroying this place, Qin Niu had accumulated vast merit.
Wild bees could still be seen flitting about in the mountains.
But when they flew near Qin Niu, they seemed to revere him, restraining their ferocity and not daring to be presumptuous in his presence.
Faced with this strange scene, Qin Niu was momentarily taken aback.
Not long ago, these wild bees had been highly aggressive towards him, but now they had become docile upon nearing him. Could it be due to him subduing the bee egg of the Green Demon Bee?
Just subduing a bee egg had such an effect; once it hatched, wouldn’t all bees submit to it?
In this mountainous region, even in the depths of the cliff, Qin Niu had not discovered the legendary Green Demon Bee.
Either it had been wiped clean by the Immortal Master from the Hundred-Tempering Immortal Sect,
Or it had been captured by the continuously arriving adventurers.
If the Green Demon Bee had indeed been eradicated by the Immortal Master, Qin Niu’s bee egg would be the only Green Demon Bee left in the world.
It was also the Green Demon’s sole reliance for turning the tables and seeking revenge.
He was truly looking forward to the skills of the bee egg once it hatched; they were bound to be astonishing.
After realizing that the wild bees in the mountains no longer dared to attack him, Qin Niu dashed straight ahead. He was executing the Misty Rain Traceless Step.
This martial skill had enabled him to survive amidst grave dangers and was proving remarkably effective.
Having tasted the sweetness, Qin Niu naturally practiced it whenever the opportunity arose.
Every step he took increased the skill’s proficiency by at least o.oi, and he believed that with perseverance, he could master this movement skill in just a few years.
Besides, he had made a significant breakthrough in his Slash Martial Skill during the previous night’s battle.
He checked subconsciously.
Martial Skill: Critical Chop (Minor Achievement) 1022/10000 (30% chance of Critical Chop, 10% chance of Rupture, using the Ink Blade there is a 50% chance of Critical Chop.), Sweeping Strike (Beginner) 7.12/10, Misty Rain Traceless Step (Proficient) 23.4/100 (Speed increased by 30%, agility improved by 10%)
Indeed, it was almost what he had speculated, the Slash Martial Skill had advanced.
It had progressed from little achievement to minor achievement.
The chance of a Critical Chop had increased to a terrifying 30%, and it now possessed the new Rupture effect.
The viciousness of Rupture was something he had witnessed himself.
The vortex of liquid ice had been difficult to break.
Yet, when his Slash Martial Skill broke through and he grasped Rupture, he was able to tear the vortex apart with a single strike.
If this was used on an enemy, regardless of the strength of their defense, they might be torn apart.
As for how effective it truly was, he would have to wait until he faced an enemy with a hard shell to test it out.
Qin Niu ran swiftly through the mountains, very pleased with his gains from this venture.
The risks taken this time were also considerable.
He had faced the risk of death several times, but luckily, with his calm wit and the help of his numerous pets, he had managed to overcome the crises step by step..