novelraw Chapter 186 : 【Bee Nest: lv2】
Chapter 186 : 【Bee Nest: lv2】
Chapter 186: 【Bee Nest: lv2】
【Bee Nest: lv2 (Upgradeable)】
【Spiritual Effect 1: Bee swarm reproduction speed +40%; bee swarm recovery speed +30%; bee swarm advancement probability +10%.】
【Spiritual Effect 2 (No Poison, No Bee): When the bee swarm attacks, it adds the “Beeswax Vein-Eroding” toxin, which can corrode the opponent’s spiritual power circulation and cause immense pain.】
【Upgrade Conditions: Middle-Grade Spirit Stones ×100; Queen Bee’s cultivation reaching Second Tier; bee swarm quantity reaching 10,000; Mid-Second-Tier Demon Core ×2; Blood-Disc Venom Bee corpse ×1. (Fulfilled)】
Ji Yuan glanced at the panel, and his heart immediately settled.
As expected, it could be upgraded.
Earlier, he had even managed to obtain the hardest-to-get Blood-Disc Venom Bee’s corpse by spending a huge amount of money.
What remained was only the Queen Bee’s cultivation level and the size of the bee swarm.
Spirit stones were what Ji Yuan lacked the least, and as for the mid-Second-Tier demon cores, Feng Zhi Tao had previously given him ten of them, and he had not even used them all.
After working away from home for more than half a year, waiting patiently for so long, he had finally arrived at the moment of upgrade.
Ji Yuan couldn’t help but feel somewhat happy.
After all, once these Spirit-Devouring Bees advanced to level 2, they could form combat strength and be of help to him.
With that thought, Ji Yuan headed to the dense forest on the west side of Misty Island.
Before he even got close, he heard the “buzz buzz buzz” coming from deep within the forest.
Unlike before, hearing this sound now made his eardrums sting slightly, and his chest feel a bit stifled.
Over ten thousand Spirit-Devouring Bees, plus a Second-Tier Queen Bee—this was no small force.
Ji Yuan released a trace of his aura, and instantly, a massive swarm of Spirit-Devouring Bees flew out from the forest.
Dense and overwhelming, blotting out the sky.
When they reached Ji Yuan, they circled around him continuously.
Even the Queen Bee flew out.
With a thought, Ji Yuan commanded the Queen Bee, and immediately, all the Spirit-Devouring Bees ceased their buzzing.
Only the “rustling” sound of their wings remained.
“Come, come, come.”
Ji Yuan casually tossed out fifty Middle-Grade Spirit Stones, and the swarm surged toward them.
Ten of them hadn’t even touched the ground before being completely devoured.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan’s heart suddenly produced a bold idea.
If he were to throw them into a spirit vein and raise them for decades or even centuries—
By that time… what kind of strength would these Spirit-Devouring Bees have?
Even a Nascent Soul cultivator might have to avoid them!
Unfortunately, without strength, he couldn’t seize any spirit veins no matter what.
Ji Yuan stepped forward, dispersed the swarm, and tossed the Blood-Disc Venom Bee’s corpse into the forest without even removing the demon core inside—he wanted absolute certainty.
He threw in two Mid-Second-Tier demon cores, followed by a lavish hundred Middle-Grade Spirit Stones.
With everything prepared—
Ji Yuan willed the upgrade to begin.
In an instant, it was as if a streak of blue light flashed deep in the forest, appearing and disappearing in a blink.
After that, no further unusual phenomena appeared.
From within the tens of thousands of bees before him, four or five Spirit-Devouring Bees suddenly began to change.
First, their bodies grew visibly larger, and then even their aura strengthened considerably.
They had clearly grown from mid-First-Tier demon beasts into late-First-Tier demon beasts.
If all the Spirit-Devouring Bees became Second-Tier demon beasts, what kind of sight would that be?
As Ji Yuan was thinking this, he saw the originally massive Queen Bee suddenly beat its wings, shrinking smaller and smaller until it was about the size of a fingertip, landing on the back of a late-First-Tier Spirit-Devouring Bee.
“This is…”
Shape-shifting at will—was this the Queen Bee’s ability, or the Second-Tier Spirit-Devouring Bee’s ability?
Thinking it over briefly, it should be an ability that Second-Tier Spirit-Devouring Bees could possess.
The Queen Bee and the Spirit-Devouring Bees, in essence, weren’t much different.
They were all bees, only the Queen Bee was the leader.
Once the entire swarm became Second-Tier demon beasts, it would be even more interesting… fingertip-sized Second-Tier demon beasts, in a swarm covering the sky—who could stop them?
In just a short while, Ji Yuan noticed over a hundred more Spirit-Devouring Bees flying out from deep in the forest.
They were all early-First-Tier, very small, some even wobbling in flight, looking as if they had just crawled out of the 【Bee Nest】.
Ji Yuan glanced at the panel.
A level 2 【Bee Nest】 had a reproduction speed increased by 40%, so more bees appearing was only natural.
Then what about a level 3 【Bee Nest】?
Ji Yuan looked further down.
【Bee Nest: lv3 (Not Upgradeable)】
【Spiritual Effect 1: Bee swarm reproduction speed +50%; bee swarm recovery speed +40%; bee swarm advancement probability +15%.】
【Spiritual Effect 2 (Spirit-Devouring Armor): Spirit-Devouring Bees can transform into armor, devouring all surrounding spiritual energy, undetectable by cultivators.】
【Upgrade Conditions: Middle-Grade Spirit Stones ×900; Queen Bee’s cultivation reaching Third Tier; bee swarm quantity reaching 80,000; Third-Tier Demon Core ×3; Demon Spirit Bee corpse ×1. (Unfulfilled)】
Spiritual Effect 1 was still a standard upgrade.
Spiritual Effect 2… now that was a proper sinister weapon!
Armor formed from Spirit-Devouring Bees that could swallow all surrounding spiritual energy—that would create a state of having no spiritual presence.
Combined with the 《Breath Concealment Art》, the opponent wouldn’t be able to find him no matter what.
Simply an essential tool for going out!
Unfortunately, for now, the 【Bee Nest】 was still only level 2.
As for the upgrade requirements—truth be told, they were somewhat difficult.
The spirit stones weren’t a problem, but having the Queen Bee reach Third Tier and the swarm reach 80,000—that was the hard part.
It would have to be raised slowly.
As for the swarm, that was manageable; with the 40% boost to reproduction speed, the numbers would naturally rise.
It was the Queen Bee’s cultivation reaching Third Tier that would be the challenge.
Difficult or not, it would have to be done slowly.
After upgrading the 【Bee Nest】, Ji Yuan rewarded them with another fifty Middle-Grade Spirit Stones.
In any case, at least now they counted as a proper fighting force.
Unlike that Ice Flood Dragon, which spent its days eating and drinking yet still hadn’t advanced to Second Tier!
After returning to the east side of Misty Island, Ji Yuan first took from Tu Yue the harvest of the past half year.
Whether or not it was valuable, the storage pouches were all stuffed full.
The most valuable was naturally the Millennium Illusory Spirit Grass Tu Yue had dug up.
With this, at least three Foundation Establishment Pills could be refined.
And among them, there was guaranteed to be one Two-Pattern Foundation Establishment Pill.
As for the rest, they were all the “basic guaranteed” products from various buildings.
Tu Yue had also kept plenty of Spiritual Pigs, Spiritual Chickens, and Spiritual Eggs, and had dug up all the Tempering Aperture Pearls—over a hundred of them.
Even after achieving Foundation Establishment Physique, Ji Yuan hadn’t stopped consuming them.
Even if not used for tempering apertures, Tempering Aperture Pearls were excellent for boosting vital energy alone.
The only problem was that without a suitable body cultivation technique, the digestion of vital energy was a bit slow.
It took ten days to half a month to consume one.
Looking at the Spiritual Eggs in the storage pouch, Ji Yuan couldn’t help but think of the Three-Colored Spiritual Egg—he still had to get that as soon as possible.
The reason he had returned with Hua Yaoyue this time was precisely to upgrade the 【Chicken Coop】 as well.
The other matter was the Wishful Wine.
The ones Ji Yuan had stored earlier had already been given to Hua Yaoyue, and most of the 【Wine Cellar】’s building effects had been activated on Misty Island.
Thus, all the Wishful Wine produced had naturally been collected by Tu Yue.
Now, several hundred jars of Wishful Wine filled a storage pouch.
Perfect—he had wine to present to his master again.
Afterward, Ji Yuan patrolled Misty Island a few more times; a few more Corpse Servants had crawled out from the 【Grave Mound】—both young and old—and they were now busily farming on a sunny hillside.
A scene of thriving activity.
Aside from that, those Spiritual Pigs running all over the mountains were quite an eyesore.
If the formation’s coverage wasn’t so limited, Ji Yuan would have already opened up a separate island just for raising pigs.
Wuyou Island could actually be used, but since it was for receiving guests, it wasn’t very suitable.
After wandering around, Ji Yuan didn’t wait any longer. He immediately piloted his flying boat out. Without going far, he turned right upon leaving and arrived in front of Dong Qian’s Fox Moon Island.
He lightly touched the formation—no one was home.
Ji Yuan looked at the Four-Direction Water-Shifting Formation before him. It was one he had set up himself. Even though it was under Dong Qian’s control… if he wanted to enter, he could do so with ease.
But such a thing could not be done.
He took out Dong Qian’s Messaging Talisman, “Senior Sister, are you in the sect?”
Ji Yuan had been away for over half a year; most likely, Dong Qian had also gone out to carry out a mission. Counting it all, it had already been over a year since she formed her Foundation.
Sure enough, after the message was sent, it was like a stone sinking into the sea.
She wasn’t in the sect.
Ji Yuan had planned to ask how her shop was doing. If things were suitable, he would have her handle the pills and talismans he had made in his spare time over the past half year.
With the building effects supporting him, whether refining pills or drawing talismans, Ji Yuan’s success rate was far from ordinary.
Over time, the accumulation was… considerable.
But since she wasn’t there, Ji Yuan had no choice but to go to Everything Island himself to take care of it. It would just take a bit more effort and time.
Three or four days later, he finally finished dealing with the accumulated goods. During that time, he also visited Tai’an Island to see Du Wanyi.
She had broken through later, so she hadn’t yet received a task from the sect master.
From her, Ji Yuan learned Dong Qian’s whereabouts—she had also gone to guard a city. Generally speaking, a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s first task was this.
Simple and easy to adapt to.
The city wasn’t bad either—Maple Leaf City, near the sea to the east of the Water Dragon Sect.
Compared to the cities in the northwest and south, the east was relatively stable.
After that, Ji Yuan met with Li Changhe on Mountain and Water Island for a chat, learning about the situation in Eastern Shang.
For matters within the sect, Du Wanyi was enough to ask, but for Eastern Shang, he had to go to this second-generation cultivator. After asking around, he could only say… things were alright.
The demonic cultivators in Western Shang hadn’t launched a full attack yet, and everything was still within controllable limits.
At most, various places were being infiltrated by the demonic path, with unrest flaring up here and there.
But all still within suppressible range.
According to the Six Immortal Sects of Eastern Shang, the war could probably be delayed for another ten or twenty years. Overall, things were fine, and Ji Yuan could rest easy.
As long as there wasn’t a large-scale war, he could cultivate in peace.
After learning the situation, Ji Yuan waited another two days before finally receiving a message from Hua Yaoyue.
From the moment he received it, he hurried straight to Forgotten Worry Island.
However…
Ji Yuan looked at the piece of Corrupt-Firefly Yin Locust in his hand, no larger than a palm, and felt a bit numb. Just this much—smaller than a fist—how could it be enough to build a 【Chicken Coop】?
Even if it was cut as thin as paper, it still wouldn’t be enough!
Perhaps seeing his dazed expression, Hua Yaoyue took the initiative to explain.
“Righteous cultivators rarely have this material. I found this in the sect’s storeroom. Though it’s little, it’s more than enough for you to refine a few furnaces of pills.”
Indeed, for pill refining, even a finger-sized piece of Corrupt-Firefly Yin Locust was enough for one furnace.
Damn, if I’d known, I would have said weapon refining instead!
But even if I had, Master probably could only have found this much.
Her first words, “Righteous cultivators rarely have this,” probably meant she had asked a few Golden Core cultivators, found none, and finally located this piece in the sect’s storeroom.
And for someone like him who “refined pills,” it really was enough.
“Yes, it’s indeed enough. This disciple thanks Master.”
Ji Yuan could only cup his hands in thanks helplessly.
After all, he couldn’t say it wasn’t enough and make Hua Yaoyue go look for more… She was his master, not a servant.
To find more of this material, he would likely have to deal with demonic cultivators.
After leaving Forgotten Worry Island, Ji Yuan kept thinking about how to find demonic cultivators. As for the piece in his hand, he would at least try.
When he returned to Misty Island, he used his flying sword to cut the dark, smoke-shrouded wood into thin slices.
But even as thin as possible, each was still palm-sized.
Using these few boards to build a chicken coop would only produce something palm-sized at most—that was definitely no good. So Ji Yuan thought of first building a slightly larger 【Chicken Coop】 with ordinary wooden fencing, then once the panel recognized it, attaching the Corrupt-Firefly Yin Locust boards to it to see if he could cheat the system into granting recognition.
Such a subtle matter, Ji Yuan naturally had to do himself.
An hour later—
After much testing, Ji Yuan finally managed to barely build a 【Chicken Coop】.
It was the smallest chicken coop the panel would recognize, but even so… Ji Yuan estimated it could fit two basketballs inside.
Any smaller, and even with decoration, the panel wouldn’t acknowledge it as a 【Chicken Coop】.
“Risky.”
Ji Yuan looked at the 【Chicken Coop】, then at the Corrupt-Firefly Yin Locust boards in his hand. With a casual toss and under the control of the Object Manipulation Technique, he evenly attached them to the existing wooden boards.
They could only barely cover one full loop; the other half remained exposed.
Once done, Ji Yuan stared at the boards.
【Chicken Coop: lv2 (Not Upgradeable)】
【Upgrade Conditions: Cultivation reaching mid-Foundation Establishment, Middle-Grade Spirit Stones ×50, chicken coop made from Corrupt-Firefly Yin Locust (Unfulfilled)】
After waiting a long time, the panel remained unchanged.
Ji Yuan knew the trick wouldn’t work. To upgrade the 【Chicken Coop】, not only was this small piece insufficient—double the amount still wouldn’t be enough.
For such locust wood, at least a large section from the whole tree would be required.
And where could he find so much locust wood?
He could only go to the demonic cultivators.
Things eventually returned to the original problem—Ji Yuan had no fear about seeking out demonic cultivators, only the question of where to find them… Great Love City, Ghost-Seeking Pit.
The only place Ji Yuan knew for sure had demonic cultivators left was this one.
The opportunity that had allowed the Yin Ghost to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage had also come from this Ghost-Seeking Pit. If he went again this time, he could also take the chance to see if there were any other Yin-type items.
Foundation Establishment cultivator corpses—no, immortal materials—should be plentiful there as well. Perhaps he could harvest another round.
Walking back and forth across Misty Island, Ji Yuan had already made up his mind.
Go take a look.
The main reason Ji Yuan wanted to visit the Ghost-Seeking Pit was, of course, to obtain Corrupt-Firefly Yin Locust to upgrade the 【Chicken Coop】 to level 3, thereby obtaining the Three-Colored Spiritual Egg to boost his strength.
In addition, there was another important reason why Ji Yuan wanted to deal with demonic cultivators.
That was the righteous–demonic war that could break out at any moment.
According to Hua Yaoyue’s account, combined with the information Ji Yuan already knew, the chance of the demonic path breaking through Shang Mountain in this war was very high, and when that happened, all of Eastern Shang would be thrown into chaos.
At that time, what identity would be the safest?
Naturally, one needed a flexible baseline for one’s identity.
If encountering righteous cultivators, then he was Ji Yuan, disciple of the Water Dragon Sect.
If encountering demonic cultivators, then he was the ruthless figure of the demonic path… Qiu Qianhai.
But such an identity wasn’t just words—someone had to be willing to vouch for it. Even without a backer, at the very least he needed to know a thing or two about the demonic path.
So, in order to better ensure his own survival, Ji Yuan felt it necessary to make early contact with the demonic path.
As for whether pretending to be a demonic cultivator would trouble his conscience—
Why assume it was pretending to be a demonic cultivator? Couldn’t it be said that he was only pretending to be righteous?
With his plan set, the first problem was to request a long leave. For now, going to Liancheng Mountain was certainly out of the question—he needed to find someone to take his place.
That meant he had to speak to Real Person Xuan Shui…
Without delay, Ji Yuan made some brief preparations and immediately set off.
A day later, he arrived at Water Dragon Island and met Real Person Xuan Shui.
“Oh? You have urgent business that requires you to go out for a while?”
“Exactly.”
Ji Yuan cupped his hands. “This disciple returned together with Master this time. The matter is urgent… I ask Martial Uncle to understand.”
Sure enough, upon hearing that Ji Yuan had returned with Hua Yaoyue, Real Person Xuan Shui’s face, which had shown a trace of hesitation, revealed more of a smile.
“How come Senior Sister went to Liancheng Mountain?”
Real Person Xuan Shui seemed to ask casually.
Ji Yuan also replied casually, “Master heard there’d been a death over there and came to take a look.”
In any case, Real Person Xuan Shui was unlikely to go and confirm it in person, and even if he did, Ji Yuan believed Hua Yaoyue would help cover for him.
“Senior Sister treats you quite well.”
Real Person Xuan Shui sighed with emotion.
Ji Yuan only smiled without speaking.
“Very well. In that case, go take care of your matter first.”
Real Person Xuan Shui waved a hand. “As for Liancheng Mountain…”
He calculated briefly. “Has your Senior Sister Feng Zhi Tao also returned? If she has, then let her watch over Liancheng Mountain for now. How about that?”
Real Person Xuan Shui knew how to arrange things well. This round of Liancheng Mountain’s stationing was originally meant for the lineage of Real Person Wangyou.
Now that Ji Yuan had matters to attend to and couldn’t go, the arrangement still had to stay within that lineage.
Thus, Feng Zhi Tao, who had just returned, was a perfect fit.
“All arrangements are at Martial Uncle’s discretion.”
Naturally, Ji Yuan had no objections.
“Good. Then go handle your matter first. I’ll have your Senior Sister take your place at Liancheng Mountain.”
“Yes. This disciple takes his leave.”