Green Bamboo Bees

"Brother Lu, if I find spirit herbs later, can I also trade them with you for pills?"

Wang Yuan's eyes lit up, and the others looked over as well. If they obtained spirit herbs, most of them could only sell them to the various pill shops in Moonwatch City that purchased such herbs, since they could not refine pills themselves. Then they had to buy pills from the pill shops, making for a great deal of trouble back and forth. Especially with only a few months left before the major immortal sects recruited disciples, the number of Rogue Cultivators risking their lives had increased, and pills in Moonwatch City had become scarce. It was not as though having spirit stones in hand guaranteed they could buy enough pills.

Spirit herbs could sometimes be underpriced by the black-hearted shopkeepers at pill shops, but a Qi-Gathering Pill could be traded for at least four spirit stones anywhere. In Moonwatch City, it could even fetch five.

"Of course." Lu Xiaotian nodded. The space within the barrier was still very empty, and stockpiling some spirit herbs might come in handy someday.

With Luo Qing's successful exchange for pills as an example, the others shook off their envy and raised their spirits as well.

"Haha, Old Zhang's luck is finally here." After descending the slope and just as they were about to pass through the bamboo forest, Zhang Guang spotted a fist-sized piece of copper essence ore and several low-grade spirit stones scattered between several lush green bamboo stalks. He was overjoyed, afraid someone else would beat him to them. After all, any spiritual treasures found along the way belonged to whoever found them.

However, everyone present was a cultivator, and their eyesight was razor-sharp. Almost as soon as Zhang Guang took his first step, the others followed his gaze and saw the scattered items amid the green bamboo.

"Careful, it's a trap!" Fan Qing's expression changed as he shouted sharply.

"Brother Zhang, come back!" Zheng Shiqi shouted as well.

Lu Xiaotian's heart jolted. With a whoosh from the bamboo forest, several sharpened spirit bamboo stalks shot out from amid the rustling bamboo leaves, streaking toward Zhang Guang.

"Brother Zhang, watch out!" Zheng Shiqi and Zhang Guang were as close as brothers. Seeing Zhang Guang in danger, Zheng Shiqi's face changed drastically, and he tried to rush forward to rescue him. To his surprise, Fan Qing hooked him back with his horsetail whisk.

"What are you doing?" Zheng Shiqi immediately turned on Fan Qing in fury.

"If we do not rush in to save Fellow Daoist Zhang, then as long as he holds on, he may still have a chance to live. This is clearly a trap. If we rush in too, then the injured Fellow Daoist Zhang will lose all support behind him—that would truly be a dead end. Look, what is inside the bamboo forest?" Fan Qing's face darkened. After releasing Zheng Shiqi, he pointed into the distance.

Lu Xiaotian and the others looked in the direction Fan Qing indicated and indeed saw figures shifting within the bamboo forest.

"What can a few bamboo stalks do to me?" Zhang Guang had also sensed the approaching danger, but he still roared stubbornly and drew the spirit saber at his waist. Yet he noticed that the sharpened spirit bamboo seemed somewhat off-target, flying several feet above his head instead.

Bang! The spirit bamboo seemed to strike something. Immediately afterward came a buzzing roar.

"Not good, Green Bamboo Bees! Everyone, retreat!" Hunchback He suddenly recalled a type of demon insect found in bamboo forests, and he shouted with a drastic change of expression.

Fan Qing no longer bothered stopping Zheng Shiqi. With a flick of his horsetail whisk, he swiftly turned and sprinted madly away from the bamboo forest.

Buzz.

As the struck spirit bamboo swayed, a massive beehive appeared. Fist-sized green bees with striped patterns across their abdomens poured out from it, most of them charging toward the nearest Zhang Guang.

In an instant, Zhang Guang's Fire-Spirit Barrier, gleaming with spiritual light, was nearly covered with Green Bamboo Bees. The fist-sized green bees repeatedly extended the stingers from their tails and stabbed furiously at Zhang Guang's Fire-Spirit Barrier.

Zhang Guang swung his spirit saber in alarm. Great sheets of flame erupted from the blade, and dozens, even hundreds, of Green Bamboo Bees that touched the flames were burned to death, falling to the ground with a scorched stench. Yet the tragic deaths of their kind only drove the other Green Bamboo Bees into a frenzy as they rushed at Zhang Guang. Releasing Primordial Yang Fire through the spirit saber consumed a tremendous amount of spiritual energy. Before long, a layer of Green Bamboo Bee corpses covered the ground, but the flames on the spirit saber gradually dimmed.

"Ah! Save—save me!" Zhang Guang's panic-stricken voice soon rang from within the Fire-Spirit Barrier wrapped in the swarm.

"Ah!" Wang Yuan, running at the rear of the group, cried out in alarm as well. She cast a Whirlwind Technique, sweeping dozens of charging Green Bamboo Bees away.

Lu Xiaotian ran at the front of the group. Only two Green Bamboo Bees clung to his Vajra Barrier and frantically jabbed it with the stingers in their tails. Lu Xiaotian knocked them down with the short sword in his hand. When he looked back, Zhang Guang had already collapsed to the ground, rolling about with miserable howls. Lu Xiaotian's heart turned cold. Whoever had designed this trap was truly sinister and vicious.

Fortunately, after pursuing them for a while, the Green Bamboo Bees realized they were getting farther and farther from the bamboo forest. They gave up the chase and flew back into the woods.

"Stop!" Fan Qing, running at the front, suddenly raised a hand. His face was as dark as water as he said, "Friends ahead, come out. You went to such lengths to create this spectacle. You truly put a lot of thought into it."

"As expected of Blood Sand Daoist Fan. Even this could not catch you unawares." On the small hill Lu Xiaotian's group had just passed, seven or eight Qi Refining cultivators appeared one after another. Their cultivation levels were similar to Lu Xiaotian's group, ranging from early to mid Qi Refining. Their leader was short and squat, with a forehead more prominent than normal, though his voice was exceptionally booming.

Fan Qing sneered. "So it is the Big Forehead Freak. I was wondering who had the nerve to ambush me, Fan. Since we have already forged this enmity, why not draw the line and settle it in a fight right now?"

"Right, let's take them on! I refuse to believe these bastards can do anything to us."

Having been ambushed for no reason, Luo Yuan was also burning with rage. Yet Lu Xiaotian could hear that Fan Qing did not truly seem to want a conflict with the other side. Wang Yuan, Hunchback He, Wang Ping, and the others showed little interest as well.

Though Zheng Shiqi was burning with fury, his mind remained on Zhang Guang, who was surrounded by the bee swarm. He had no desire to fight the other side to the death now.

"Forget it. We will not determine a victor anytime soon, so I will not waste time with you here. There will be plenty of chances in the future. Let's go!"

The Big Forehead Freak gave a dark chuckle, waved a hand, and led his team down another fork in the path. In the blink of an eye, they vanished from sight.

"The other side has already left. Let's go back and save Brother Zhang." Zheng Shiqi said anxiously.

"What's the rush? Who knows whether they have truly left?" Hunchback He snorted, clearly unwilling to provoke that swarm of rampaging Green Bamboo Bees again.

"What do you mean by that? Brother Zhang is in trouble, and you want to stand by and watch him die? We are one team. If we cannot even do this much, then I say we should disband the team outright." Zheng Shiqi glared at Hunchback He with bloodshot eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Zheng, there is no need to be so anxious. First, those people may indeed return. Had we not reacted quickly and escaped the Green Bamboo Bees just now without exhausting too much of our energy, the Big Forehead Freak definitely would not have let us off easily. Now that our strength remains intact, he is unwilling to fight us in a bloody battle and exhaust his strength for nothing. Second, there are a great many Green Bamboo Bees, several thousand at least. If we charge back now, not only will we fail to save Fellow Daoist Zhang, we will make the situation worse. If we enrage the swarm, it will become even more difficult to handle."

Seeing the team's morale wavering, Fan Qing hurriedly explained.

"So we just watch Brother Zhang suffer under that swarm?" Zheng Shiqi knew Fan Qing was right, but he still refused to yield verbally.

"Green Bamboo Demon Bees are wood-element demon insects. The stingers in their tails are especially sharp and carry a measure of poison, but they are not fatal in the short term. Once they calm down, they will naturally return to their hive. We will first patrol the surrounding area to prevent the Big Forehead Freak from causing trouble again. After the swarm calms down, we will rescue Fellow Daoist Zhang. I also have several spirit herbs here that can be used to refine Blood-Clearing Pills. I simply do not know whether Little Friend Lu can refine them now. The Green Bamboo Bees' poison is not strong, but Fellow Daoist Zhang has suffered too many attacks. If the poison accumulates in his body for too long, it will indeed become a serious problem."

Fan Qing turned his gaze toward Lu Xiaotian.

"Brother Lu, I'm begging you. As long as you can save Brother Zhang, I'll do anything you ask of me in the future." Zheng Shiqi looked at Lu Xiaotian pleadingly.

"Brother Lu, what do you think? Brother Zhang is a straightforward man. Though he is somewhat rash, he is truly someone worth befriending," Luo Yuan said as well.

This man surnamed Fan had been able to make Luo Yuan, whose cultivation was comparable to his own, take second place and become the team leader. He truly had some ability. From the moment of the ambush until now, he had remained unruffled in the face of danger. Although Zhang Guang's recklessness had led to a grave mistake, and Wang Yuan, Hunchback He, and the others were unwilling to rescue him, if Fan Qing as the leader could not produce an effective solution, the team members would inevitably become divided. Now, Fan Qing had shifted everyone's attention onto Lu Xiaotian. The price he needed to pay was merely a few spirit herbs, yet he could resolve this crisis and test Lu Xiaotian's capabilities at the same time. His schemes ran deep indeed. Lu Xiaotian thought to himself before replying calmly.

"I also want to help him, but I do not have the formula for the Blood-Clearing Pill. I simply do not know how to refine it."

"Since I proposed the Blood-Clearing Pill, I naturally came prepared with its formula." Fan Qing broke into a smile. With a stretch of his right hand, he took three spirit herbs and a sheet of yellow paper from his storage bag. Written on the yellow paper was precisely the method for refining the Blood-Clearing Pill.

"Daoist Fan truly came well prepared. In that case, I'll give it a try."

In the cultivation world, Lu Xiaotian had grown accustomed to deception and mutual scheming. He greatly admired the bond between Zhang Guang and Zheng Shiqi, who stood by each other through hardship. Even if Fan Qing had not brought it up, he would have helped.

Thus, Lu Xiaotian did not decline any further. In truth, he had already prepared dozens of antidotal spirit pills within the barrier, including Blood-Clearing Pills. Some had been refined by him, while others had been purchased before setting out. They were all antidotes for common poisons found around the outskirts of the Moonwatch Mountains. Lu Xiaotian did not believe no one else in the team had prepared any; they simply were unwilling to take them out.

Fan Qing had spoken with absolute certainty, and Lu Xiaotian had wanted to test him. He had not expected Fan Qing to be so thoroughly prepared. Yet for someone who was not a pill refiner to possess not only a pill formula but also prepared spirit herbs was rather thought-provoking. They might well have been spoils seized from killing and plundering others.

After hearing this, Zheng Shiqi repeatedly thanked him. Soon, the team split into several groups. Fan Qing coordinated from the center, Lu Xiaotian was responsible for refining pills, and the Luo siblings, Wang Yuan, and Hunchback He stood guard in several directions to prevent another team from tripping them up.

A short while later, Zheng Shiqi went into the bamboo forest. Taking advantage of the rampaging Green Bamboo Bees having returned to their hive, he secretly carried out Zhang Guang, whose body had been stung black and blue and who had long since fainted.