Honey, Moonlight Worm

The flowering season had just ended, and the Laurel Tree Forest was carpeted with a layer of withered laurel blossoms. The air was filled with fragrance, while several beehives buzzed high above, and Silver Worm Bees flew off into the distance.

Tang San explained, "Silver Ring Bees are named for the silver rings around their thorax and abdomen. The Silver Honey they brew is rich in energy, warm and neutral in nature, relieves pain, and detoxifies poison. It's an excellent tonic."

"But they're very fierce, and their tail stingers are highly venomous. Two or three hundred-year Silver Ring Bees could poison a Soul Grandmaster of the same level to death, so let's keep our distance."

Xiao Wu stared eagerly at the beehives, remembering how honey used to taste, but things were different now. She could not afford to provoke a swarm of Silver Ring Bees, so she could only avoid them from afar.

The sky gradually darkened, and the forest sank into gloom.

"Rest for a while. Moonlight Worms appear at night and draw in moonlight to cultivate. Don't stir up unnecessary trouble."

Gula was also a little greedy for honey. He had not had a chance to taste it in this life yet, but now was not the time to be gluttonous.

The three of them found an open space, set up their tent, and hid on the ground to avoid startling the Moonlight Worms.

When the moon climbed above the treetops, silver light spilled over the forest, draping the laurel trees in a layer of silver gauze. Beneath several broad leaves, a few silvery-white little worms crawled out and climbed onto the moonlit parts of the leaves.

The silvery-white little worms were Moonlight Worms. Unlike the ugliness and revulsion of other insects, Moonlight Worms had extraordinary bloodlines and looked excellent. Their silver skin was like a layer of gauzy clothing, giving them a hazy cuteness under the moonlight.

Gula circulated the Purple Demon Eye he had just begun learning and opened the God-tier Appraisal Eye. The two ocular techniques underwent a wondrous change, combining microscopic and macroscopic perspectives, and the information of all things entered his eyes.

"Near the beehives, the highest Moonlight Worm has a Five Thousand Year age. They seem to have formed a Symbiotic Relationship with the Silver Ring Bees."

"The Silver Ring Bees provide honey, while the Moonlight Worms draw in moonlight at night to help the Silver Ring Bee Queen cultivate."

Gula described the information he saw through the appraisal eye, raised his hand, and pointed at the top of a beehive two meters in diameter. A palm-sized Silver Ring Bee Queen was leaning together with a Five Thousand Year Moonlight Worm, releasing Soul Power Fluctuations from cultivation.

"The Silver Ring Bee Queen has mutated. Its antennae and down have turned silver. It should now possess the Moonlight Attribute."

Surprise appeared on Gula's face. "The Silver Ring Bee Queen has seven thousand years of cultivation, and the Moonlight Attribute it mutated fits perfectly as Xiao Wu's Third Soul Ring."

Tang San had not expected Gula to see so much information in just a few glances, and he could not help feeling somewhat ashamed.

He had thought that after reading so many books on soul beasts, he could surpass Gula. He had not expected himself to be so shortsighted. A momentary effort simply could not compare to Gula's talent.

"Big Brother..."

Tang San called out awkwardly, but who told him he could not beat Gula? For the foreseeable future, it would also be very hard for him to surpass Gula. He must accept the reality of being the second brother.

"We're no match for the Silver Ring Bee swarm. Should we remember the Moonlight Worms' locations and sneak attack the Moonlight Worms after they finish cultivating and relax?"

Gula originally wanted to say there was no need. Before Moonlight Worms reached a ten-thousand-year age, their combat power was average, and he was confident. But on second thought, safety came first in everything.

So he nodded and said, "That works. Tonight, we'll meditate instead of sleep. Before the moonlight disappears, pay attention to where the Moonlight Worms hide. We'll hunt for the soul ring tomorrow morning."

Thus, the three sat cross-legged inside the tent, ate Energy Cubes, and cultivated. The night passed without incident.

At dawn, the Star Dou Great Forest was utterly quiet. The moonlight was thin, and a smear of white in the east rose with unwavering determination.

The Moonlight Worms ended their day of cultivation, ate the honey delivered by the Silver Ring Bees, and their mouthparts wriggled as they drank the dew on the surface of their skin. Then they crawled back to the underside of the leaves and returned to the wormholes in the darkness.

"Move!"

Gula gave a low shout, and his psychokinesis blasted out.

The huge leaf carrying a three-thousand-eight-hundred-year Moonlight Worm snapped off, and the silvery-white little worm and the huge green leaf flew through the air.

Gula used psychokinesis to restrain the Moonlight Worm. With over a thousand kilograms of force, he suppressed the Moonlight Worm's struggles.

Tang San threw out several pellets. They struck the trees and burst open, releasing yellow smoke.

The pungent smell made the Moonlight Worms and Silver Ring Bee swarm dizzy, temporarily disabling the keen senses they relied on to survive.

"Go!"

Gula's psychokinesis turned into needle-like stabs, severely injuring the Moonlight Worm.

Xiao Wu quickly put away the tent and was the first to flee into the distance.

Gula followed close behind, while Tang San took up the rear.

He continuously threw out Smoke Bombs he had refined during his spare time while making medicine, disrupting the soul beasts' vision and senses, and splashed Scent Agent around to confuse the Silver Ring Bee swarm.

With thorough preparation, the three of them successfully escaped the bee swarm's pursuit and reached the vicinity of a river.

This was the escape point they had chosen in advance. The bee swarm could not go underwater, so it could serve as a backup plan.

After sprinting wildly for over ten minutes, Gula's face was not red, and he was not panting. He tossed out the dying Moonlight Worm. "Third Sister, it's yours."

Xiao Wu had already prepared herself mentally. Without hesitation at striking down one of her own kind, she took out a dagger from her Storage Soul Tool and decisively killed the Moonlight Worm.

A Purple Soul Ring slowly condensed, floating above the silvery-white insect corpse.

Seeing that it was so simple, Xiao Wu complained, "It feels so easy. Can such a weak soul beast really provide a Soul Skill that helps my Martial Soul Evolution? Gula, are you reliable or not?"

Gula lightly flicked Xiao Wu on the forehead and said irritably, "Call me Big Brother."

After Xiao Wu unwillingly called him Big Brother, Gula said seriously:

"The vast majority of insect-type soul beasts don't possess powerful battle strength, but they are the soul beasts with the greatest numbers and varieties. With such an enormous base, a few anomalies will always be born."

"Moonlight Worms are exactly that kind of anomaly. By controlling moonlight, they can attack, defend, control, and heal. They have almost no shortcomings. Their only flaw is that their bloodline is too powerful, making it difficult for them to reproduce."

"And so, through the evolution of the ages, Moonlight Worms gradually appeared with a trace of Moonlight Worm bloodline. Before reaching a ten-thousand-year age, this kind of soul beast is extremely weak in battle. It could be called the shame of soul beasts."

"But this is merely the Moonlight Worm accumulating power. After reaching a ten-thousand-year age, it will borrow the mysterious abilities of moonlight to purify its bloodline and cultivate by reverting toward the Moonlight Worm ancestor."

"Theoretically speaking, every Moonlight Worm has the possibility of becoming a Moonlight Worm. Once it cultivates to a Fifty Thousand Year age and undergoes five transformations, it can almost stably revert to become a Moonlight Worm."

Gula spoke at length. This was hidden information he had only seen through Appraisal Eye after personally laying eyes on the Moonlight Worm.

Tang San listened with great interest, deeply curious about the inheritance Gula had obtained.

The inheritance would only be unsealed when he encountered a specific thing. No one knew why such a restriction existed.

Xiao Wu did not take it seriously and found a loophole:

"If it has no combat power, how could it possibly cultivate to Fifty Thousand Year Level? With the way it cultivates by storing moonlight, I'm afraid not long after it reaches Ten Thousand Year Level, other Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts would eat it like Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures."

Not everyone was like her and her mother, Ah Rou, who had saved the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape when they were young. With those two protecting them, they had cultivated safely to the Hundred Thousand Year Level.