Chapter 713: Taming the Queen Bee

"Although Beast Scale Incense can dizzy spirit beasts, making the Thousand Ant Queen Bee unconscious... is still impossible!"

Watching this scene, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Beast Scale Incense has a special hallucinogenic effect; ordinary spirit beasts, even at the peak of the Mortal Transformation Seventh Layer, can hardly escape after sniffing it, but the Thousand Ant Queen Bee is different.

This creature can split its spirit to control tens of thousands of Thousand Ant Bees—how powerful its soul must be!

Making it unconscious is not that simple.

If he stayed any longer, once the Queen Bee came out, there would surely be trouble.

"I must obtain the Thousand Ant Hive. If they discover first that this is where the Queen Bee resides, getting the hive won't be easy..."

Zhang Xuan didn't care much about the safety of the two men; after all, since they could produce something as good as Beast Scale Incense, they might have even more powerful treasures.

What he was thinking about now was not letting them know what was inside!

This kind of spirit beast was extremely rare; even in the entire Hongyuan Empire, it might be hard to find a second one. Encountering it was already very fortunate. If it fell into their hands, getting it again would be nearly impossible!

Such a spatial treasure capable of holding life would never be sold by anyone.

"Should I knock them out?"

He stroked his chin.

To obtain the Thousand Ant Hive, the best way was to rush straight in. With these two blocking the cave entrance, if it came down to it, he would have to knock them out first.

"Forget it. Since it's an assessment, Elder Mi probably knows everything. If I'm accused of snatching, I might even fail the assessment—that would be a loss outweighing the gain..."

This thought turned in his mind, and he shook his head.

The abilities of a Saint were beyond his understanding. Since it was emphasized that snatching was not allowed, if he ran over, knocked them out, and took the spirit beast, once word got out, there would be plenty of trouble—a loss outweighing the gain.

"Doppelganger!"

With a thought, his doppelganger appeared before him.

He communicated his intentions to it through his mind, while he himself activated the Red Dust Heaven-Treading Step and, using the dense vegetation as cover, swiftly flew toward the cave.

No matter how well one maintained a light-body technique, touching the ground or leaves would inevitably make noise; flying had no such concern.

As long as he didn't want to be discovered, even if the other party had reached the Unity Realm, they might not know.

Before long, he reached a spot not far from the two men, only a few dozen meters from the cave, and hid himself.

...

"So much Beast Scale Incense smoke has gone in; it should have knocked out that spirit beast by now. How about we go in and take a look?"

Hearing Brother Yu's repeated confirmation, Feng Wu finally felt relieved. Thinking of obtaining the inner core of a Unity Realm spirit beast, he was so excited his face turned red.

Elder Mi had said earlier: an inner core at the peak of the Turbid Clarity Realm scores 1 point; early Harmonious Spirit Realm, 10 points; mid, 20; late, 30; peak, 40; early Bridge Heaven Realm spirit beast, 100 points; mid, 200... and so on. A Unity Realm spirit beast's inner core alone could exchange for 1000 points!

With so many points, equivalent to killing ten early Bridge Heaven Realm spirit beasts, even though most students were exceptionally talented, it would be enough to secure a very good ranking.

"Don't rush. A Unity Realm spirit beast, with all laws unified, has a stronger soul. Better wait a bit longer; don't be careless!"

Brother Yu was also excited, but he restrained himself better than the other.

Although he was confident in the Beast Scale Incense, it was still a Unity Realm spirit beast; caution was best.

"Alright!"

Feng Wu nodded, his eyes shining. "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 Ninth Layer spirit beast once, definitely won't have that many!"

Thinking of that Zhang Xuan, he felt frustrated.

Defeated by a single finger and repeatedly humiliated, his confidence had been shattered. If Brother Yu could win big this time and make him fail, it would greatly boost his own confidence.

"No matter how powerful a spirit pet is, you still have to find the spirit beast first! If you can't even find a spirit beast, how can you get points?"

Brother Yu sneered coldly, his face full of confidence.

A half-step Ninth Layer spirit pet? So what?

At most, it could find Bridge Heaven Realm spirit beasts. Could it find a Unity Realm one?

If it couldn't, its points couldn't surpass his!

"Yeah..." Feng Wu responded, about to continue speaking, when suddenly he heard wind sounds from outside the valley.

"Someone's here!"

Brother Yu's face darkened.

Feng Wu quickly looked over as well.

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

"It's a Unity Realm spirit beast... left traces!"

Just as they were on guard, the wind outside stopped, and a slightly deep voice sounded.

"Unity Realm spirit beast?"

Hearing the voice, both of them raised their eyebrows.

They had just found a spirit beast, and now someone else had discovered it. Could it be that they were here to snatch it?

Whoosh! Whoosh!

As they wondered, the wind sounds grew fainter, as if that master teacher had gone after the Unity Realm spirit beast.

"You watch the Beast Scale Incense; I'll go check it out!"

Clenching his fists, Brother Yu couldn't hold back any longer. He gave instructions, stamped his foot, and dashed straight out of the valley.

Could there be another Unity Realm spirit beast elsewhere? Was that person chasing after it? Could it be such a coincidence?

When he reached outside the valley, he indeed saw a figure dashing straight up the mountain, but it was already far away and hard to make out!

As for the so-called spirit beast and 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, Zhang Xuan, hidden to one side, smiled lightly. With a "whoosh," he darted straight into the cave.

The voice and the fleeing figure were naturally his doppelganger.

His aim was to divert their attention and then find a way into the cave; this had now been accomplished.

As for why he didn't use his own voice, it was to avoid being implicated if they discovered the trick.

Whoosh!

Ignoring the doppelganger outside and the two men, Zhang Xuan, once inside the cave, immediately activated his Insight Eye and looked around.

The cave was dark and cold, its depth unknown. The ground was covered with a layer of Thousand Ant Bees, apparently all knocked out by the Beast Scale Incense.

Beast Scale Incense could even knock out spirit beasts at the Mortal Transformation Sixth or Seventh Layer, so ordinary savage beasts naturally couldn't resist.

Floating slowly through the air, he advanced for a while, then his eyes lit up.

Not far ahead, there was indeed a football-sized hive hanging on the rock wall, looking as if made of jade—clearly no ordinary item.

Beside the hive was a fluffy, snow-white spirit beast, the size of a person, plump and round, looking from afar like a snowman.

"Is this the Thousand Ant Queen Bee?"

Zhang Xuan was startled.

He had only read about this creature in books and never seen one; there was no detailed description. He had imagined it would be like the Thousand Ant Bees, with many claws and ferocious, but it turned out to look like this.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

As he wondered, he couldn't control his true qi, and a wisp leaked out. The snow-white Queen Bee seemed to sense something and fixed its eyes on him.

Swoosh!

In the next instant, it was right in front of him, its claws slashing at Zhang Xuan.

As expected of a Unity Realm spirit beast, its attack was astonishing. Before the claws even reached him, they gave a fierce sense of pressure, as if about to shatter the air.

Unity Realm: all laws unified, power more simple and pure, more in harmony with nature, and soul power also becomes stronger.

This claw looked simple but combined essence, energy, and spirit into one, giving a sense of being hard to resist.

"Hmph!"

Knowing he couldn't hide, Zhang Xuan no longer concealed himself. He stretched his body and, while in midair, threw a punch to meet it.

His peak Bridge Heaven Realm strength surged wildly, combined with his physical and soul power, comparable to the Mortal Transformation Eighth Layer.

Crack!

Fist and claw collided. Before the Queen Bee could react, its snow-white body flew backward, crashing straight into the wall and smashing a large pit.

In a pure contest of strength, it was far inferior.

If not for the spirit beast's special physique, it would surely have been killed on the spot.

Buzz!

Knocked flying by the punch, the Queen Bee seemed to realize the power of the man before it. It shook its body, charged out of the wall, and flew straight toward the hive, as if sensing the danger and wanting to take the hive and escape.

"Trying to leave?"

Knowing that if it took the hive, catching it would be difficult, Zhang Xuan stamped his foot, executed his Heavenly Way Movement Technique, and with a "whoosh," appeared in front of the hive, blocking its path with his palm.

True qi writhed in his palm, sealing the surrounding air.

With his cultivation at the peak of Bridge Heaven Realm, his aura was like a rainbow; even if the opponent was a Unity Realm expert, breaking through would be hard.

"Buzz! Buzz!"

Seeing that this human wouldn't let it take the hive, the Queen Bee grew anxious, opened its mouth, and revealed sharp teeth.

"Can't get entangled with it..."

Knowing that a prolonged fight would bring trouble, especially with the ground full of Thousand Ant Bees that, once awake, would be hard to handle even with his high cultivation, he raised his brows, fully activated his power, and struck down with a palm.

Bang!

The Queen Bee took a heavy blow, crashed into the wall again, and coughed up large mouthfuls of blood.

This time Zhang Xuan used immense force; even with its spirit beast body and strong defense, it was severely injured.

"Submit to me, become my spirit pet, and I can help you improve your strength and heal your injuries; otherwise... die!"

Having severely injured it with one move, Zhang Xuan clasped his hands behind his back, moved his throat, and spoke in the ancient beast language.

As he spoke, a stream of true qi surged out—pure Heavenly Way true qi, like a stream, giving a feeling of all pores opening.

"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"

Seeing the purity of this true qi and feeling its injuries, the Queen Bee knew that if it hesitated any longer, the man would surely kill it. After a moment's hesitation, it said something more.

"Alright, let's contract."

Knowing that it understood his resolve and had voluntarily submitted, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

With the Heavenly Way true qi and the beast language combined, taming spirit beasts was easier than before, requiring no unnecessary words.

"This..."

Before long, the contract was completed. Zhang Xuan exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, looked up at the hive before him, and his expression was full of bewilderment.