Chapter 731: Taming the Queen Bee

"Although the Beast Scale Incense can make spirit beasts dizzy, it can't make the Myriad Ant Queen Bee unconscious!" Zhang Xuan watched the scene and shook his head.

The Beast Scale Incense has a unique hallucinogenic effect. Even ordinary spirit beasts at the peak of Transcendent Mortal 7-dan would be affected by just a whiff, but the Myriad Ant Queen Bee is different. This creature can split its consciousness to control thousands of Myriad Ant Bees; its soul is incredibly powerful! It wouldn't be easy to make it unconscious.

If they continued to stay, once the Myriad Ant Queen Bee emerged, they would face considerable trouble.

"I must get the Myriad Ant Hive. Once they discover that this is where the Queen Bee resides, it won't be easy to get the hive after that..." Zhang Xuan wasn't concerned about the two individuals' safety; after all, since they could produce valuable items like the Beast Scale Incense, it was hard to say they didn't possess more powerful treasures. What he was thinking about more now was preventing them from knowing what was inside.

This type of spirit beast is incredibly rare; it might be impossible to find another one in the entire Hongyuan Empire. Encountering it was already very fortunate. Once it fell into someone else's hands, it would be almost impossible to obtain it again! No one would be willing to sell such a spatial treasure capable of containing life.

"Should I act and knock them unconscious?" He stroked his chin.

To obtain the Myriad Ant Hive, the best method was to rush directly inside. However, with these two blocking the entrance, if it came down to it, he would have to knock them out first.

"Forget it. Since this is an assessment, Elder Mi would surely know if something went wrong. If it were classified as theft, I wouldn't even pass the assessment, and it wouldn't be worth it..." This thought briefly crossed his mind, then he shook his head.

The abilities of a Saint were beyond his comprehension. Since it was emphasized that no theft was allowed, going over, knocking people out, and taking the spirit beast would cause a lot of trouble if word got out, making it counterproductive.

"Clone!" With a thought, a clone appeared before him. He communicated his intentions to the clone through mental transmission, while he himself activated the Sky-Treading Red Dust Steps, using the dense vegetation as cover to quickly fly towards the cave.

Even the most perfected lightness art would inevitably make sounds upon touching the ground or leaves, but flying avoided such concerns. As long as he didn't want to be discovered, even if the opponent was at the Unity realm, they might not detect him.

Not long after, he arrived not far from the two, only tens of meters from the cave, and hid himself.

"So much Beast Scale Incense smoke has entered; it should have made that spirit beast unconscious, right? Shall we go in and check?" Hearing Brother Yu's repeated confirmations, Feng Wu felt much more at ease. The thought of obtaining a Unity realm spirit beast's inner core made his face flush with excitement.

Earlier, Elder Mi had stated that a Clear Turbidity realm peak inner core was worth 1 point; for Soul Harmonization realm, early stage was 10 points, mid-stage 20 points, late stage 30 points, and peak 40 points! A Heavenly Bridge realm early stage spirit beast was 100 points, mid-stage 200 points, and so on. A single Unity realm spirit beast's inner core alone could be exchanged for 1000 points!

Obtaining so many points was equivalent to slaying ten early-stage Heavenly Bridge realm spirit beasts. Even if most of the students possessed unparalleled talent, these points would be enough to secure an excellent ranking.

"Don't rush yet. A Unity realm spirit beast has all its methods unified, and its soul is even stronger. It's best to wait a little longer; don't be careless!" Brother Yu was also very excited, but he was more restrained than Feng Wu.

Although he was very confident in the Beast Scale Incense, it was still a Unity realm spirit beast after all, so it was best to be cautious.

"Alright!" Feng Wu nodded, his eyes gleaming. "As long as we hunt this one, Brother Yu's points will be close to two thousand. That Zhang Xuan, even if he can borrow a Half-Step 9-dan spirit beast once, he definitely won't have this many!"

Thinking of Zhang Xuan, he felt dejected. Defeated by a single finger from the opponent and then repeatedly humiliated, he had lost much of his confidence. If Brother Yu could achieve a great victory this time, causing Zhang Xuan to fail, it would greatly boost his own confidence.

"No matter how powerful a beast pet is, you have to find the spirit beast first! If you can't even find a spirit beast, how can you get points?" Brother Yu sneered, his face revealing strong confidence.

What if it's a Half-Step 9-dan beast pet? At most, it can only find Heavenly Bridge realm spirit beasts. Can it find Unity realm ones? If it can't, his points can't possibly surpass mine!

"That's right..." Feng Wu responded. Just as he was about to speak further, he suddenly heard a rustling sound outside the valley.

"Someone's here!" Brother Yu's expression darkened. Feng Wu also quickly looked over.

Having finally found such a powerful spirit beast, they certainly didn't want others to get involved.

"It's a Unity realm spirit beast, leaving traces!" While they were secretly on guard, they heard the rustling sound outside stop, followed by a slightly low voice.

"A Unity realm spirit beast?" Hearing the voice, both of them raised their eyebrows simultaneously.

They had just said they found a spirit beast, and now someone had already discovered it. Could it be someone coming to snatch it from them?

Whoosh! As they wondered, they heard the rustling sound move further and further away, as if that master teacher had gone to chase the Unity realm spirit beast.

"You watch the Beast Scale Incense, I'll go take a look!" Clenching his fist, Brother Yu could no longer hold back. He gave the instruction, stomped his foot, and rushed straight out of the valley.

Could there be another Unity realm spirit beast elsewhere? And this person chased after it? It couldn't be such a coincidence!

Arriving outside the valley, he indeed saw a figure rushing straight up the mountain. However, the figure had already gone far and was a bit unclear. As for the so-called spirit beast and its traces, he searched for a long time but saw nothing.

"Good opportunity..." Seeing Brother Yu at the valley entrance and Feng Wu also focusing his gaze outside the valley, Zhang Xuan, hidden to the side, gently smiled. With a "whoosh!", he darted straight into the cave.

That previous remark and the fleeing figure were naturally the clone. His objective was to attract their attention and then find a way to enter the cave, which he had now accomplished.

As for why he didn't use his own voice, it was so he could distance himself if the other party discovered they had been tricked.

No longer paying attention to the clone outside, or Brother Yu and Feng Wu, Zhang Xuan immediately activated his Eye of Insight as soon as he entered the cave, looking around in all directions.

The cave was dark and cold, its depth unknown. The ground was covered with a layer of Myriad Ant Bees, seemingly all knocked out by the Beast Scale Incense. If the Beast Scale Incense could knock out Transcendent Mortal 6-dan and 7-dan spirit beasts, some savage beasts naturally couldn't resist it.

He slowly flew further inside. After a while, his eyes suddenly lit up. Not far away, there was indeed a beehive the size of a football, hanging on the rock wall. It gave off a feeling of being carved from jade, clearly no ordinary item. Next to the hive was a fluffy, snow-white spirit beast, human-sized, plump and white, resembling a snowman from a distance.

"This is the Myriad Ant Queen Bee?" Zhang Xuan was surprised.

He had only read about this creature in books and had never seen it, nor were there detailed descriptions. He had originally thought it would resemble the Myriad Ant Bees, with many claws and a menacing appearance, but he didn't expect it to look like this.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Feeling a strange sensation, a trace of his zhenqi uncontrollably leaked from his body. The snow-white Myriad Ant Queen Bee before him seemed to have discovered something and immediately fixed its gaze on him.

The next moment, it appeared before him and lashed its hoof-like claw at Zhang Xuan. As expected of a Unity realm spirit beast, its attack power was astonishing. Even before the claw reached him, it exerted a powerful pressure, as if it would shatter the air.

In the Unity realm, all methods become one, and power becomes more natural, pure, and aligned with nature, while soul power also grows stronger. This claw strike appeared simple, yet it integrated essence, qi, and spirit, giving an overwhelming sense of irresistibility.

"Hmph!" Knowing he couldn't hide any longer, Zhang Xuan no longer concealed himself. His body stretched out in mid-air, and he met the attack with a punch. His Heavenly Bridge realm peak strength circulated wildly, combined with the power of his physical body and soul, making him comparable to a Transcendent Mortal 8-dan expert.

Crack! Fist and claw collided. Before the Myriad Ant Queen Bee could react, its snow-white body was sent flying backward, crashing straight into the wall and creating a large crater. In a pure clash of strength, it was far too inferior.

If not for the special physique of spirit beasts, it would surely have been killed on the spot by that strike.

Being sent flying by a punch, the Myriad Ant Queen Bee seemed to realize the strength of the person before it. Its body shook, and it darted out from the wall, flying straight towards the hive. It seemed to know that this person was dangerous and wanted to take the hive and escape.

"Trying to leave?" Knowing that if it snatched the hive, it would be difficult to catch it again, Zhang Xuan stomped his foot on the ground and activated the Heaven's Path Movement Art. With a "whoosh!", he arrived before the hive and blocked its path with a palm strike.

Zhenqi pulsed in his palm, sealing off the surrounding air. With his cultivation at the Heavenly Bridge realm peak, his aura was like a rainbow. Even if the opponent was a Unity realm expert, breaking through would be very difficult.

"Buzz, buzz!" Seeing that the human wouldn't let it take the hive, the Myriad Ant Queen Bee was filled with anxiety. It opened its mouth, revealing sharp teeth.

"I can't get into a prolonged fight with it..." Knowing that a prolonged fight with this creature would cause considerable trouble, especially if the Myriad Ant Bees on the ground woke up—even with his profound cultivation, he would find it hard to contend with them—he immediately raised an eyebrow, circulated his full power, and struck down with a palm.

The Myriad Ant Queen Bee received a heavy blow, crashing into the wall again and spitting out large mouthfuls of blood. This time, Zhang Xuan used immense power; even though it was a spirit beast with extremely strong defenses, it still suffered severe injuries.

"Submit to me, become my beast pet. I can help you improve your strength and recover from your injuries, otherwise... death!" Having severely injured it with one move, Zhang Xuan put his hands behind his back, his throat moving as he spoke in the ancient beast language.

After speaking, a stream of pure Heaven's Path zhenqi surged out, like a flowing stream, giving a sensation as if all pores on the body were opening.

"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!" Seeing the purity of the zhenqi and feeling its own injuries, the Myriad Ant Queen Bee knew that if it hesitated any longer, the other party would absolutely dare to kill it. It hesitated for a moment, then spoke further.

"Good, form the contract!" Knowing that the other party understood his resolve and was voluntarily submitting, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction. With the Heaven's Path zhenqi and beast language working together, taming spirit beasts was even easier than before, requiring no extra effort.

Not long after, the contract was completed. Zhang Xuan exhaled a breath of turbid air and looked up at the hive before him, his expression filled with strangeness.