Spirit Devouring Bees

Chapter 13: Spirit Devouring Bees

On this day, Shi Yue lifted the gauze covering the jar, and six yellow bees the size of his fingernails flew out, landing on his palm.

Shi Yue could sense the connection between himself and the six Spirit Devouring Bees. With a thought, the six bees flew from his hand.

Each of the six Spirit Devouring Bees carried a faint ripple of spiritual energy; they were unmistakably spirit insects, capable of absorbing and refining spiritual energy on their own.

Scale Insects had no offensive ability, so Shi Yue wasn't worried they could harm the six Spirit Devouring Bees.

"Go! Wipe out those Scale Insects," Shi Yue said, pointing lightly at the Spirit Field. The six Spirit Devouring Bees fluttered their wings and flew toward the field.

Six Spirit Devouring Bees couldn't possibly eliminate all the Scale Insects in three acres of Spirit Field, but time in the Mysterious Space flowed ten times faster than the outside world, and the bees' reproduction rate was also ten times faster.

Shi Yue walked over to a Condensing Smoke Grass plant and saw a Spirit Devouring Bee land at its base, pull out a transparent Scale Insect from the root, and devour it in a few quick bites. Then the bee flew toward another Condensing Smoke Grass.

Seeing this, Shi Yue nodded in satisfaction and withdrew from the Mysterious Space.

Leaving the underground chamber, Shi Yue watered the Water Moon Flower, then returned to his residence to water the Spirit Rice in his field before leaving.

Shi Yue's days were full. Whenever he had time, he entered the Mysterious Space to hunt down and eliminate Scale Insects.

Under Shi Yue's efforts, the number of Scale Insects dwindled, while the Condensing Smoke Grass and Blazing Sun Grass grew increasingly well. The vacant acre of Spirit Field was also planted with Spirit Rice. In addition, he planted five Blood Qi Fruit trees and five Purple Luo Apricot trees.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

Half a month in the outside world meant half a year in the Mysterious Space. The Blood Qi Fruit trees and Purple Luo Apricot trees had grown over twenty feet tall, lush and full of leaves.

The six Spirit Devouring Bees had no natural enemies in the Mysterious Space, and with an abundance of Scale Insects to feed on, they quickly grew more than a size larger. They built a hive on one of the Blood Qi Fruit trees, and the hive's area kept expanding.

What pleased Shi Yue most was that the Spirit Devouring Bees had begun laying eggs. The six bees had multiplied into several hundred, a nearly hundredfold increase.

Shi Yue didn't need to bond with each newly born Spirit Devouring Bee; controlling the Queen Bee was enough to command all the others.

Though Spirit Devouring Bees were spirit insects, aside from their long lifespans, they differed little from ordinary bees. They were divided into three types: Queen Bee, Worker Bee, and Drone Bee.

The Queen Bee's main duty, besides eating, was laying eggs to produce more offspring for the hive. Drones mated with the Queen to reproduce; a drone mated only once in its life and died shortly after. Worker Bees were female bees lacking reproductive ability, responsible for gathering food, raising larvae, secreting royal jelly, cleaning the hive, building the hive, and defending it. The number of Worker Bees in a colony determined its rise or fall.

Hundreds of Spirit Devouring Bees danced among the Spirit Fields, some gathering nectar, others hunting Scale Insects, all busily at work.

As the number of Spirit Devouring Bees grew, the Scale Insects in the fields dwindled until they were nearly gone, filling Shi Yue with joy.

One day, after Shi Yue returned from watering his own Spirit Field, he found the young woman who had come looking for Uncle-Master Zhou Hong standing outside his courtyard, looking quite anxious.

"Disciple Shi Yue pays respects to Martial Aunt Murong." Shi Yue bowed respectfully.

The Great Void Sect had strict hierarchies; Qi Refining Stage disciples had to bow when encountering Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm or above.

"Mm. Has Senior Brother Zhou returned yet?" Murong Xiaoxiao nodded and asked with a frown.

"No," Shi Yue replied, shaking his head.

Hearing this, Murong Xiaoxiao looked disappointed. Suddenly reminded of something, she studied Shi Yue carefully and asked, "Besides watching over Senior Brother Zhou's cave dwelling, what else do you do?"

"Water the Spirit Fields?" Shi Yue answered truthfully.

"Watering? So you know about planting?" Murong Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up, and she looked at him expectantly.

"A little," Shi Yue said reluctantly, a bad feeling rising in his heart.

"Excellent! There's a problem with the spirit herbs I planted. Come take a look. If you can solve it, you'll be well rewarded." Murong Xiaoxiao said cheerfully.

Hearing this, Shi Yue's mouth twitched, and a troubled expression crossed his face. He wanted to slap himself twice. He didn't really know anything about planting spirit herbs; the only reason he'd solved the problems with his Condensing Smoke Grass and Blazing Sun Grass was by reading Uncle-Master Zhou Hong's manuals.

"What? You don't want to go? Or do you not know anything about planting, and you were lying to me just now?" Murong Xiaoxiao's face darkened, and her voice turned cold.

Shi Yue didn't know whether to laugh or cry. If he said he didn't want to go, he'd offend Martial Aunt Murong. If he said he didn't know planting, that would be deceiving an elder—an even greater offense.

"Of course not. It's just that this disciple's experience with spirit herb planting isn't very rich. I'm afraid I might not be able to cure Martial Aunt Murong's herbs," Shi Yue explained carefully after a moment's thought.

"We'll only know if it can be cured after you've seen them. Since Senior Brother Zhou trusts you to watch his cave, you must have some skill. Don't refuse—come with me!" With that, Murong Xiaoxiao released her Lotus Magic Tool and stepped onto it.

"Skill? The truth is Uncle-Master Zhou's reward was too low, and no one else wanted the job, so it fell to me." Hearing her words, Shi Yue's mouth twitched as he thought to himself.

Despite his reluctance, Shi Yue had no choice but to release his Leaf Magic Tool and step onto it.

Before long, Shi Yue followed Murong Xiaoxiao to a wide valley.

Outside the valley stood a stone tablet about ten feet tall, engraved with three silver characters: "Peach Blossom Valley."

Inside the valley, a thick White Mist obscured the view, but the air carried a faint floral fragrance, suggesting many flowers and plants grew within.

"Follow me. If you trigger the formations, it'll be troublesome," Murong Xiaoxiao warned Shi Yue.

"This disciple understands." Shi Yue nodded.

Murong Xiaoxiao flipped her hand and produced a white Square Token. She waved it toward the valley, and a beam of White Light shot out, vanishing into the mist.

The mist churned and roiled, then dissipated, revealing a vast peach blossom forest before Shi Yue's eyes.

The Peach Blossom Forest was dense, stretching as far as the eye could see. As they walked, wherever Murong Xiaoxiao stepped, the peach blossoms parted to form a path. After Shi Yue passed, they moved back into place, as if controlled by some unseen force.

Half an hour later, the two emerged from the Peach Blossom Forest, and an ornately decorated courtyard appeared before them.

The courtyard was vast, filled with pavilions, towers, gardens, and winding corridors.

Shi Yue was momentarily stunned. He took a deep breath and was surprised to find that the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy here was even richer than at Uncle-Master Zhou's residence.

This Martial Aunt Murong had reached Foundation Establishment at a young age, and her cave dwelling was not only lavishly decorated but also very spacious. She must have some background.

Thinking this over, Shi Yue's face showed a hint of gravity—someone of such high birth was not someone he could afford to offend.

Under Murong Xiaoxiao's lead, Shi Yue walked through one winding corridor after another, passed three small courtyards, and crossed five white marble arched bridges before finally arriving at their destination: a vast expanse of spirit fields.

By Shi Yue's estimate, the spirit field before him was at least ten mu in size.

Divided according to the types of spiritual herbs, the field was split into three sections. On the left was a large patch of foot-tall green grass, covered by a huge transparent light screen. In the middle was a wide stretch of blue flowers several inches long, enclosed by a massive blue light screen. On the right was a patch of golden flowers, most of which had withered.

It seemed the problem lay with the golden flowers.

"Junior Nephew Shi, starting a month ago, the Golden Luo Flowers began withering for no apparent reason. Take a look and see what's going on. If you can cure them, you won't lack for a reward," Murong Xiaoxiao said, pointing at the golden flowers as she explained slowly.

Shi Yue nodded and stepped toward the golden flowers.

He stopped before a withered yellow Golden Luo Flower, crouched down, and noticed traces of insect bites on its surface.

Seven or eight black beetles the size of fingernails flew brazenly past Shi Yue, landed on one of the Golden Luo Flowers, and began gnawing at it. Soon, a petal of the flower was devoured.

Shi Yue circled the spirit field where the Golden Luo Flowers were planted and found that many of them bore signs of insect damage.

He returned to Murong Xiaoxiao's side, thought for a moment, and asked, "Martial Aunt Murong, isn't this patch of Golden Luo Flowers usually protected by a formation?"

"Not exactly. Except when Shi Yu waters them, there's always a formation in place," Murong Xiaoxiao shook her head and replied.

"I've looked carefully. The Golden Luo Flowers all have bite marks, and there are many black beetles in the field. I suspect that when you removed the formation to let Shi Yu water them, these bugs took the chance to fly in," Shi Yue analyzed.

"I know those black beetles are the culprits, but do you have a solution? These beetles are too small, and some even burrow into the soil. I can't kill them all. Junior Nephew Shi, do you have a way?" Murong Xiaoxiao nodded, frowning.

"Disciple has a type of spirit insect that might be able to deal with these black beetles," Shi Yue said, hesitating slightly and speaking haltingly.

To be honest, whether the Spirit Devouring Bees could handle these black beetles, Shi Yue himself wasn't sure.

"Oh, that's great! Hurry up and release your spirit insect to give it a try," Murong Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up as she urged.

Shi Yue nodded and reached his right hand into his chest, but then a thought struck him—he didn't have a Spirit Beast Bag. The Spirit Devouring Bees were usually kept in the Mysterious Space.

Now, in front of Murong Xiaoxiao, he certainly couldn't enter the Mysterious Space, nor could he take out the blue bead, or else the secret of the bead would be exposed—something Shi Yue didn't want to happen.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you didn't bring your Spirit Beast Bag with you?" Murong Xiaoxiao's brows furrowed, and she spoke with some displeasure.

"Uh, yes, I left it at Uncle-Master Zhou's cave dwelling," Shi Yue nodded, feeling a bit guilty.