Chapter 87: Wang Yaoqing

A valley covered in flowers and plants contained a huge cave, from which fist-sized azure bees occasionally flew in and out.

Outside the valley, Wang Yaoqing and his three companions lay prone behind a large boulder, their eyes fixed on the cave.

They had originally been a group of six, but earlier, they had encountered two high-grade first-tier demonic scorpions, resulting in the tragic deaths of two clan members.

Although demonic beasts were powerful, they were merely formidable wild animals without intelligence. Cultivators could set traps to deal with them, but in a direct confrontation, cultivators might not be a match for them.

The deaths of the two clan members deeply pained Wang Yaoqing. However, he did not leave the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range; instead, he remained to continue hunting demonic beasts.

The four clan members were Wang Yaoqing, Wang Mingyi, Wang Minghao, and Wang Changhui.

"Thirteenth Uncle, should we do this?" one asked. "There are certainly a lot of demonic bees, but we don't know if there are any second-tier demonic bees."

Wang Yaoqing pondered for a while. "If only we had known there was a beehive here," he began, "we wouldn't have separated from Twelfth Brother. With just the four of us, we'll have to rely on strategy. First, we'll kill the demonic bees outside the cave. Then, I'll set up a demon-binding net at the cave entrance, and we'll light a fire outside to smoke them out. Most demonic bees have low attack power and weak defenses. If there truly is a second-tier demonic bee, we'll all attack it together. If that doesn't work, I'll activate a second-tier Yin Thunder Talisman; that should be enough to kill it."

Wang Yaoqing released an ape puppet to attract the attention of the demonic bees outside the cave, then unleashed his spirit artifact to kill them.

Most of the demonic bees flying in and out of the cave were low-grade first-tier, and demonic insects generally had weak defenses. Soon, Wang Yaoqing and his three companions had almost eradicated the bees outside the cave.

They threw some dry branches into the cave and took out a large golden net, several zhang in size. Using eight long yellow nails, they secured the golden net to the cave entrance. The golden net was a high-grade spirit artifact. If any demonic bees flew in or out of the cave and hit the golden net, they would surely die.

After securing the demon-binding net, they lit the dry branches and fanned the smoke into the cave from outside. Soon, thick smoke billowed into the cave, and a buzzing sound erupted. Large numbers of demonic bees rushed out of the cave, collided with the demon-binding net, their bodies cut into several pieces, and fell to the ground.

As time slowly passed, more and more demonic bees crashed dead into the demon-binding net, and Wang Yaoqing and his companions watched, delighted. In less than a quarter of an hour, over a hundred demonic bees had crashed dead into the demon-binding net.

Over a dozen streaks of azure light shot out from inside the cave, striking the demon-binding net. The demon-binding net was refined from silk spun by high-grade first-tier golden silk silkworms. It was not only extremely sharp but also highly resilient, so the azure lights failed to destroy it. One azure wind blade after another struck the demon-binding net, causing it to sway violently.

"The second-tier demonic bees are out!" Wang Yaoqing shouted. "Get ready to move!"

Wang Yaoqing took out a palm-sized red gourd and infused it with a spell. The red gourd spun, rapidly expanding to about a zhang in size, its opening pointed towards the cave entrance.

Wang Mingyi activated an egg-sized yellow orb. It flew above his head, emitting a yellow light that transformed into a thick yellow barrier, enveloping the four of them. Wang Minghao and Wang Changhui each unleashed a short azure sword and a yellow flying knife, preparing to face the enemy.

Not long after, the demon-binding net was shredded by two giant, door-sized wind blades, and hundreds of watermelon-sized azure demonic bees surged out.

"Attack!" Wang Yaoqing roared, infusing the red gourd with a spell. The red gourd immediately glowed with red light, spitting out a thick stream of crimson flames that incinerated over a dozen demonic bees into ashes. Wang Minghao and Wang Changhui controlled their spirit artifacts, striking at the azure demonic bees. They had planned beforehand and coordinated well; dozens of demonic bees were killed by them, most of them low-grade first-tier.

Three massive azure demonic bees surged out from the cave: one low-grade second-tier and two high-grade first-tier. In addition, hundreds of mid-to-low-grade first-tier demonic bees also appeared.

The three larger azure demonic bees could unleash wind blade techniques. The low-grade second-tier one, in particular, with a fierce flap of its wings, sent two giant, door-sized wind blades shooting out, striking the yellow barrier. The yellow barrier swayed slightly, and its light dimmed considerably.

Although the mid-to-low-grade first-tier demonic bees were numerous, they were no match for Wang Yaoqing. One after another, the azure demonic bees were either incinerated by the crimson flames or cut down by the spirit artifacts. Hundreds of azure demonic bees landed on the yellow barrier, attacking it with their sharp stingers. "Thirteenth Uncle," Wang Mingyi said, his brow furrowed and face pale, "to catch the bandits, first catch their king. We need to kill the second-tier Bee King first, or I won't be able to hold out much longer."

"Alright," Wang Yaoqing agreed, "let's kill the second-tier demonic bee first."

Wang Yaoqing changed his spell, and the red gourd spewed a giant fireball, about a zhang in diameter, which hurtled towards the Bee King. The azure short sword and yellow flying knife, from the left and right sides, struck towards the Bee King. The Bee King flapped its wings, sending two giant, door-sized wind blades shooting out to meet them. The two high-grade first-tier azure demonic bees also released two azure wind blades, though these were smaller. The several wind blades shattered the giant fireball. As for the two spirit artifacts, they couldn't even touch the agile azure demonic bees; their flight speed was extremely fast, and the spirit artifacts could only follow behind them.

Wang Minghao and Wang Mingyi exchanged glances, nodded, and each unleashed a black orb. As soon as the two black orbs came within five zhang of the Bee King, they burst open, sending a large spray of black liquid flying. Some of the liquid splattered onto the Bee King and the two high-grade first-tier demonic bees, immediately causing a wisp of green smoke to rise and a greenish liquid to ooze from their bodies. The black liquid was called Corpse-Eroding Fluid, formulated from century-old Corroding Heart Grass combined with various poisons, and was highly corrosive. Demonic insects' defenses were inferior to those of demonic beasts, so when the Corpse-Eroding Fluid touched their bodies, several pits immediately corroded into their surfaces. However, demonic insects had extremely strong vitality, and the Corpse-Eroding Fluid did not take their lives.

This action enraged the Bee King. It flapped its wings and darted straight towards Wang Yaoqing and his companions, while the two high-grade first-tier azure demonic bees attacked from the left and right sides. Wang Yaoqing changed his spell, and the red gourd sprayed a large expanse of flames onto the yellow barrier, incinerating the azure demonic bees that had landed on it. Before the second-tier demonic bee could reach them, two giant wind blades shot out, striking the yellow barrier in a flash. The yellow barrier swayed twice, its light flickering.

Thirty zhang, twenty zhang, ten zhang... Wang Yaoqing's gaze was fixed on the second-tier Bee King, his left hand clutching a black talisman. When the Bee King was less than five zhang away from him, the two high-grade first-tier demonic bees were less than ten zhang from them. Wang Yaoqing immediately activated the black talisman in his hand, which transformed into a large expanse of black lightning, enveloping the second-tier demonic bee.

"Swish! Swish!" Two faint whooshing sounds reached Wang Yaoqing's ears. Several foot-long azure wind blades shot out from within the black lightning, attacking the four of them with lightning speed. The azure wind blades were extremely fast, appearing before them in a flash and striking the yellow barrier. With a muffled "crack!", the yellow barrier shattered, and the yellow orb broke apart.

Almost instinctively, Wang Yaoqing pushed Wang Mingyi and Wang Changhui away from him with both hands, as several azure wind blades pierced through his chest. Wang Yaoqing's legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Twelfth Grand-Uncle, are you alright!" Wang Changhui cried out, his eyes red and brimming with tears, as he quickly supported Wang Yaoqing. "Don't just stand there!" Wang Mingyi cried, his eyes reddening. "Quickly give Twelfth Uncle a Hemostasis Pill and a Rejuvenation Talisman!"

Wang Changhui hastily reached for the storage pouch at his waist, but Wang Yaoqing stopped him. "I... I'm finished," Wang Yaoqing stammered. "Don't... don't waste the pills. You... you must take... take a bottle of Purple Jade Spiritual Water... back... back to the clan, Changfeng..." Wang Yaoqing spoke intermittently, but before he could finish his sentence, he drew his last breath. Wang Changhui hastily took out a pill and placed it in Wang Yaoqing's mouth, crying out, "Twelfth Grand-Uncle, wake up! I'll take you back to Qinglian Mountain! Wake up! We'll go home together..."