Chapter Ninety: The Queen Bee Emerges

At the mere mention of Senior Brother Ling, all of them changed color. Their expressions grew grave, and even more so, reverent.

Senior Brother Ling was the most outstanding disciple of the Hongyuan Sect, the most flawless prodigy among them, the Hongyuan Prodigy of this generation. His status was lofty beyond measure, a towering figure of the sect.

This time, they had come to the Ancient Burial Grounds solely at his request, to retrieve a single item.

It was said that Senior Brother Ling had observed the movements of the heavens and surveyed the veins of the earth, and after spending a full hundred years of his lifespan, he had found this great opportunity. In order to seize that fortune securely, he had even used a secret art, sacrificing ten years of cultivation and a drop of his own heart's blood to forcibly bind it with karmic causation and seal it across the void. No one but him could take it away.

However, after all this was done, Senior Brother Ling had fallen into a weakened state and had to go into seclusion to recover. It was difficult for him to come personally and search for this great fortune.

With no other choice, he entrusted the matter to the disciple he trusted most, the blue-haired young man before them, asking him to help retrieve the item.

That thing was inside the hive, and to enter the hive, they first had to exterminate the queen bee.

The blue-haired young man was utterly loyal to Senior Brother Ling. He had never seen such a dazzling, peerless figure before, and so even though he was himself a heaven-defying genius at the peak of Foundation Establishment, he was still willing to submit wholeheartedly before Senior Brother Ling.

If there were a protagonist in this world, he believed it could only be Senior Brother Ling.

Thus, he would not allow the slightest mistake in this matter. Hearing his companion's low murmur, he turned cold-eyed and warned them, There are nothing but small fry behind us. The highest among them is only at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment. Ignore them. Keep your eyes on the hive in front of us. No matter what, we must get what Senior Brother Ling wants today.

At his words, everyone chuckled. They were all gifted disciples of top-tier sects, accustomed to arrogance, so they did not find anything odd in his tone.

Though from the looks of it, those small fry seem to be disciples of the Self-Sovereign Sect? one disciple asked with a teasing look, stroking his chin.

The Self-Sovereign Sect? Upon hearing this, the blue-haired young man turned his head and cast a distant glance at Wang Ran and the others. Then his eyes flashed and he let out a cold snort. So what if they are from the Self-Sovereign Sect? No one today can stop us from killing the queen bee. If they have any sense, they should stand aside. If they dare act recklessly, then they had better not blame me for being rude.

Heh, Brother Jun, rest assured. I don't think those people dare provoke us, the Hongyuan Sect disciples laughed. In their words, they clearly did not think much of the Self-Sovereign Sect.

That would be best.

The blue-haired young man was named Lin Jun. After nodding, he shifted his attention back to the hive before him and no longer bothered with Wang Ran and the others.

In his view, the strongest among Wang Ran's group had not even reached half-step Golden Core, while every one of their own people were elite half-step Golden Core cultivators from the sect. Compared with them, the disciples of the Self-Sovereign Sect were far too weak and simply not worth his attention.

It was like two elephants fighting—would they worry that the ants beneath their feet might rush out at the end to take advantage? So most of their attention remained fixed on the hive ahead.

At the same time, on the Self-Sovereign Sect's side.

Zhao Xiaobai narrowed his eyes and smiled. So they saw us, but still don't think us worth their attention.

The Hongyuan Sect's lofty attitude was indeed irritating. How contemptuous must they be to so completely ignore them?

Wang Ran was likewise displeased. After pondering for a moment, he said, No matter what, let the Hongyuan Sect clear the way for us. We'll just reap the benefits. Once the queen bee comes out, we'll still proceed according to the original plan.

There were many demonic beasts within the hive. With the Hongyuan Sect clearing them out in front, Wang Ran and the others were spared a great deal of trouble. Otherwise, with the strength of the Vast Path Alliance, eliminating all those beasts would likely be quite a struggle.

While Wang Ran and the others remained still, the battle in the distance was already nearing its end.

Lin Jun stepped forward, and from his sleeves flew a chaos of flying swords, streaking through the air in all directions. In one sweep, he killed dozens more bee-type demonic beasts at the Foundation Establishment stage. Soon after, the others also finished their fight, wiping out the beasts around the hive's perimeter in one clean stroke.

Heh, a bunch of country bumpkins.

The Hongyuan Sect disciples glanced sidelong at Wang Ran and the others behind them, their expressions full of disdain. In their minds, after seeing how easily they had slain nearly a hundred demonic beasts, those people should be shaking in fear by now.

The Self-Sovereign Sect naturally had no interest in paying attention to the Hongyuan Sect's thinly veiled display of strength.

Buzzzzz!

Just then, a sharp buzzing suddenly rang out from the sky. Immediately after, a graceful shadow shot out from within the hive in an instant. After a series of sonic booms, it came to rest in midair.

It was a gigantic demonic beast, three to four meters long, with a pair of wings spread wide enough to blot out the sky. Its eyes were crimson, its ferocity so intense that no one dared look directly at it. The mouthparts beneath its face were even sharper still, as though they could pierce through anything in this world.

The Heavenly Demon Queen Bee!

At that moment, whether they were from the Hongyuan Sect or the Self-Sovereign Sect, all the disciples turned solemn and looked gravely toward the shadow in the sky.

Lin Jun even pressed his lips together, his gaze heated. A vortex of spiritual energy gathered in his palm. As long as he killed this beast, he would complete the task Senior Brother Ling had entrusted to him!

At the thought of Senior Brother Ling, his heart began to pound faster, and his killing intent toward the Heavenly Demon Queen Bee grew heavier.

Buzzzzz!

At that same moment, the Heavenly Demon Queen Bee seemed to sense the ill will of the humans before it. Its wings beat violently, and an invisible aura erupted forth at once, rumbling in all directions. The entire valley was swept up in a gale, and under that terrifying demonic energy, huge boulders instantly shattered into pieces. Even the ground itself was torn open by a gaping black fissure.

The scene was like the end of the world. Sand and stones flew through the air, dreadful and terrifying.

Something's wrong!

Wang Ran's eyelid twitched from not far away. He and Zhao Xiaobai shouted at nearly the same time, and the other disciples also sensed the problem. This Heavenly Demon Queen Bee's strength was a little... beyond their expectations.

According to the records held by the sect, the Heavenly Demon Queen Bee should only be at the early Golden Core stage. Yet the aura it now displayed had clearly far surpassed that boundary, already resembling the mid Golden Core stage.

How is that possible!

Everyone's hearts lurched. The Hongyuan Sect disciples were equally shaken, and Lin Jun's face froze instantly. Under the Heavenly Demon Queen Bee's gaze, he even felt too frightened to move.

A mid Golden Core demonic beast was absolutely impossible to defeat!

This sudden turn of events caught everyone completely off guard, but the beast gave them no time to react. A claw descended from the heavens, instantly crushing one Hongyuan Sect disciple into fragments. At the same time, its long mouthparts whipped out and stabbed into another disciple's head, draining his brain and blood to the last drop.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. The horrifying scene made nearly everyone present go numb with terror, and Lin Jun even screamed aloud.

Damn it, why is the strength of this beast different from the intelligence report!

With spiritual power surging beneath his feet, he retreated again and again.

At the same time, Xu Ke drew a sharp breath and said in a trembling voice, Senior Brother Wang, the situation has changed. Let's retreat too.

Wang Ran let out a soft sigh in his heart. He had never expected fortune to play them such a cruel joke. The greatest variable was not the unexpected appearance of the Hongyuan Sect disciples, but the Heavenly Demon Queen Bee itself. Its cultivation far exceeded everyone's expectations.

Just as he too felt that this trip would end in empty hands, his gaze suddenly froze upon the Heavenly Demon Queen Bee. Light flickered in his eyes, as though he had discovered something.

Wait a moment. This Heavenly Demon Queen Bee... seems a little off.