Chapter 747: Wooden Luminescent Bee

The Grand Shaman and the Demon Lord.

These two Soul Formation cultivators, peak experts in the world, appeared together in the Seven Kills Hall, casting a shadow over everyone's hearts. The good news was that the Demon Lord disappeared in a different direction from where they were headed.

Everyone wore different expressions, still immersed in the lingering effects of the Dark Celestial Fiend's divine light.

Only Qin Sang remained unaffected by the divine light. He thought, "The Jade Buddha seems to be able to counter the Dark Celestial Fiend's divine light, so it had no effect on me. However, for it to be called the 'Number One Divine Light of Canglang Sea,' it shouldn't be so simple. If I ever encounter a disciple of the Demon Lord in the future, it's better to be cautious."

Still, his mood remained heavy, as the Dark Celestial Fiend's divine light had disappeared in the direction of the Heavenly Tower.

"Xiang Yi said the Demon Lord's appearance here was an accident, likely aimed at the Witch Clan to tie down the Grand Shaman. With so many secret locations in the Seven Kills Hall, it can't be a coincidence that they're all converging at the Heavenly Tower, can it?"

Qin Sang mused, his gaze serious, but there was nothing he could do.

With so many top experts entering the Heavenly Tower, even if he went now, he couldn't change anything. It would be better to wait until the Demon Lord and the Grand Shaman left before investigating alone, to avoid getting involved in trouble.

As for the ancient teleportation array, he wasn't overly concerned.

More than one Soul Formation cultivator had entered but failed to discover the ancient teleportation array.

Either its location was extremely well-hidden, or, like the Sword Testing Hall in Ziwei Palace, it had special restrictions outside requiring specific conditions to be met; otherwise, even profound cultivation would be useless.

Qin Sang suspected the latter was more likely.

In Canglang Sea, only he and Qing Zhu had cultivated the 'Soul-Nourishing Sword Chapter.'

With Qing Zhu missing, only he could activate the ancient teleportation array.

The sword-carrying youth and Cui Ji, having recovered about seventy to eighty percent, were urged to get up.

Xiang Yi raised a hand, pointing towards the ancient forest at the edge of the barren land, and gave the order to depart.

The barren land was very calm, with no apparent dangers.

After a period of rapid movement, they quickly reached the edge of the barren land.

They hadn't fully realized it until they arrived near the forest, but the ancient trees within were excessively tall, with even the smallest requiring more than ten people to encircle its trunk.

Their canopies blocked out the sky and sun, making the forest dark. Strange, eerie sounds, accompanied by green lights, echoed intermittently, making it unclear whether they belonged to demonic beasts or something else.

As they stood there, the ancient trees seemed to come alive, transforming into monstrous giants with bared fangs and claws, looming over them and exerting immense pressure.

"Once inside the forest, it's best not to fly," Xiang Yi warned.

Xiang Yi landed on the ground, his expression serious. "Not only are there vast areas with flight restrictions, but some of these ancient trees are also living creatures in disguise. If you fly and get entangled by tree vines, others might not have time to help before you're instantly dragged deep into the forest."

"Living creatures? Are they some kind of camouflaged demonic beast, or tree imps? If they are tree imps, I, Pan, possess a treasure that can effectively counter such wood spirits," the man with the half-mask said in a hoarse voice.

This man, surnamed Pan, had been even more taciturn than Qin Sang throughout their journey, keeping to himself and rarely interacting with others. His willingness to speak up and take on the responsibility of dealing with tree imps surprised everyone.

"I don't know," Xiang Yi replied. Xiang Yi shook his head. "The living creatures here are incomparable to those outside; they cannot be measured by the standards of demonic beasts or wood spirits. Even the spiritual insects here are completely different from those in the outside world. They have been affected by something unknown to become this way; you will understand once you see them. The Merchant Alliance has already prepared countering treasures for us. Fellow Daoist Pan's treasure can serve as a backup. As long as you follow me closely, you have nothing to worry about."

With that, Xiang Yi took out several pouch-like objects and tossed them to them.

Qin Sang took one, squeezed it, and found it seemed to contain some kind of spiritual herb powder. When held to his nose, however, he couldn't detect any scent.

"Everyone, wear these pouches on your person," Xiang Yi explained. "They contain a powder refined from a spiritual flower that is odorless to us. However, to some vicious insects in the forest, it's like a foul stench to you and me—something they instinctively avoid. It will not only mask our scent and blind their senses but also make them retreat far away."

Hearing Xiang Yi's explanation of the pouches' purpose, everyone unhesitatingly hung them from their waists.

Fifteen minutes later.

Everyone hid beneath the ancient trees' massive root systems, holding their breath, only daring to peek out through the gaps in the roots.

Strangely, apart from them and the ancient trees, there were no other living creatures in sight.

They had already delved deep into the forest, where the layered branches and leaves high above blocked out all light.

*Buzz, buzz, buzz...*

A buzzing sound suddenly came from a distance.

"The Wood Glow Bees are coming! Don't make a sound, and absolutely do not use your spiritual sense!" Xiang Yi warned via telepathy.

Everyone held their breath and soon saw a large mass of green light flying out from within the gaps. As it drew closer, they realized the green light was composed of countless individual glowing points, like a swarm of green fireflies.

Upon closer inspection, these were not fireflies at all, but clearly a group of ferocious, venomous bees!

These bees were slender-bodied and entirely emerald green, even transparent, including their wings, resembling green jade. From a distance, they looked beautiful, and their name, Wood Glow Bee, was also pleasing.

However, upon closer inspection, they were far from beautiful. The venomous bees had grotesque appearances, with long, sharp stingers, looking like demonized creatures that sent shivers down one's spine.

Wood Glow Bees possessed incredibly keen senses; they could even detect cultivators' locations from a distance through spiritual sense fluctuations, instantly sending them into a frenzy.

According to Xiang Yi, there was once a peak Core Formation cultivator who was unfortunately surrounded by several swarms of Wood Glow Bees and was ultimately reduced to nothing. These bees were among the most dreaded vicious insects in the forest.

Earlier, Xiang Yi, using some unknown method, detected a swarm of Wood Glow Bees approaching, forcing everyone to hurriedly hide beneath the tree roots.

It wasn't that they were truly afraid of the Wood Glow Bees; rather, in a perilous forest, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

The Wood Glow Bees flew closer and closer.

Qin Sang clearly saw the appearance of the Wood Glow Bees.

It was said that even Witch Clan cultivators couldn't explain what kind of spiritual insect the Wood Glow Bees had evolved from.

Qin Sang's mastery of insect control was no less than that of Witch Clan cultivators, but after frowning and pondering for a while, he truly couldn't think of any spiritual bee whose characteristics matched those of the Wood Glow Bees.

The Seven Kills Hall was isolated from the world, and the creatures within had undergone unknown changes; the Wood Glow Bees were just one example.

*Buzz, buzz...*

The Wood Glow Bees flew past an ancient tree next to them.

After they disappeared, everyone's expressions relaxed. They silently emerged from beneath the tree roots and swiftly moved away from the problematic area.

Xiang Yi seemed quite familiar with the area, his destination very clear. Except when forced to take cover from danger, they almost always advanced straight ahead.

The forest was vast, and its environment was constantly changing. Despite their caution, they still nearly stumbled into a field of man-eating flowers.

Along the way, they encountered two wooden houses, but the treasures in these peripheral areas had clearly already been plundered.