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"Go back and get them quickly. Don't keep me waiting too long," Murong Xiaoxiao said, displeasure showing on her face as she urged him on.

"This disciple will obey. I ask Martial Aunt Murong to send me out, so I don't accidentally trigger the restrictions here," Shi Yue said respectfully, nodding.

"Send you out? There's no need for all that. I'll remove the Anti-flight Restriction, and you can just fly away on your artifact. When you come back, simply land here," Murong Xiaoxiao said coolly.

As she spoke, she flipped her hand and took out a round array disk about the size of her palm, then made a series of gestures over it.

"All right, I've removed the Anti-flight Restriction. Go quickly and come back. Don't keep me waiting too long," Murong Xiaoxiao urged.

Shi Yue nodded, summoned his Green Leaf artifact, hopped onto it, and flew into the air.

He did not return to Uncle-Master Zhou's cave abode. After leaving Murong Xiaoxiao's residence, he flew straight to the Deacon Hall.

Shi Yue spent thirty Contribution Points at the Deacon Hall to buy the cheapest Spirit Beast Bag available.

After returning to his residence, Shi Yue immediately entered the Mysterious Space. He went to the beehive, and with a thought, a yellow bee the size of an egg flew out. It was the Queen Bee.

The Queen Bee had a plump body, and hundreds of nail-sized yellow bees followed behind it.

Shi Yue took out the Spirit Beast Bag and opened its mouth. With a thought, the Queen Bee flew into the bag, followed by hundreds of yellow bees.

He tied the bag shut, fastened it to his waist, and left the Mysterious Space.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Shi Yue appeared above Murong Xiaoxiao's courtyard. He controlled the Green Leaf and slowly descended in front of her.

"Quickly, release your spirit insects! Let's see if they can get rid of these black beetles," Murong Xiaoxiao urged.

Shi Yue nodded and slapped the Spirit Beast Bag at his waist. A buzzing filled the air as hundreds of Spirit Devouring Bees flew out and circled in front of him.

"Go. Wipe out those black beetles," Shi Yue ordered, pointing at the Golden Luo Flowers.

As soon as the words left his mouth, hundreds of Spirit Devouring Bees rushed toward the Golden Luo Flowers.

Shi Yue strode forward and crouched beside a withered Golden Luo Flower. Several black beetles were chewing on its petals, while seven or eight Spirit Devouring Bees had landed on the flower and were biting and grappling with them.

The black beetles fought back with all their strength, but it was useless. Before long, they were defeated.

Seeing this, Shi Yue nodded in satisfaction. It seemed choosing Spirit Devouring Bees had been the right decision.

As time passed, one black beetle after another fell. Their corpses littered the Spirit Field. Of course, the Spirit Devouring Bees suffered losses too. Ten or so larger black beetles had surrounded three or four bees, and, relying on their numbers, killed them.

Shi Yue examined the dead Spirit Devouring Bees and saw that they were small. It looked like they had only recently hatched and were weak in battle, which was why the black beetles had killed them.

Murong Xiaoxiao came over as well. Seeing black beetle corpses scattered across the Spirit Field, a hint of delight appeared on her pretty face.

Although Shi Yue controlled the other Spirit Devouring Bees through the Queen Bee, doing so still consumed quite a bit of his spiritual sense.

Half an hour later, Shi Yue's spiritual sense was more than half depleted. His head swam and his vision blurred, so he had no choice but to recall all the Spirit Devouring Bees into the Spirit Beast Bag.

"What's wrong, Junior Nephew Shi? Have you killed all the black beetles?" Murong Xiaoxiao asked curiously when she saw this.

"No. I've used up too much of my spiritual sense and need to meditate for a while. I'll continue once it has recovered," Shi Yue explained, shaking his head.

Murong Xiaoxiao nodded. Her gaze shifted, as if she had thought of something, and she asked, "Junior Nephew Shi, it seems the spirit insects you raise are the black beetles' natural enemies. Do you think they can wipe them all out?"

"Wipe them all out? I'm afraid it'll take several rounds of extermination. One or two won't be enough. You've seen how small these black beetles are, and some of them like to burrow into the soil. They may even have laid eggs underground, so I doubt one or two rounds will get rid of them all." Shi Yue considered this before answering. Then he seemed to remember something, hesitated briefly, and continued, "If Martial Aunt Murong is interested in Spirit Devouring Bees, this disciple would be willing to give you some."

"No need. I have no interest in raising a swarm of bees. They're only good for dealing with these little bugs; they're hardly any help in a fight," Murong Xiaoxiao said, shaking her head and declining.

Hearing this, Shi Yue looked a little disappointed. To be honest, he did not want to keep coming over every few days to exterminate bugs for Martial Aunt Murong.

"How about this? Come here every few days to exterminate the bugs. Once all the black beetles are gone, I'll give you twenty Spirit Stones. How does that sound?" Murong Xiaoxiao suggested, her beautiful eyes shifting.

"No problem. Leave it to me," Shi Yue readily agreed, his eyes lighting up.

Twenty Spirit Stones—that was ten times what Uncle-Master Zhou had given him. At that moment, Shi Yue found Martial Aunt Murong much more likable.

"This is the array disk that controls the defensive formation around the Spirit Field. The Jade Slip records how to operate it. Keep these two items for now. From now on, you can fly straight here, take care of watering the Golden Luo Flowers, and exterminate the bugs. The Golden Luo Flowers need watering every five days. I watered them today, so you can water them again in five days." As she spoke, Murong Xiaoxiao took out a palm-sized Silver Array Disk and a Silver Jade Slip and handed them to Shi Yue.

Shi Yue nodded and accepted the array disk and Jade Slip.

After his spiritual sense recovered, Shi Yue released the Spirit Devouring Bees again and had them continue exterminating the black beetles.

An hour later, Shi Yue recalled all the Spirit Devouring Bees into the Spirit Beast Bag, then formed a Hand Seal and sent it toward the Silver Array Disk. Silver light flashed, and a huge Silver Light Screen abruptly appeared, covering the Spirit Field where the Golden Luo Flowers grew.

Having finished all this, Shi Yue flew away on his artifact under Murong Xiaoxiao's gaze.

After returning to Uncle-Master Zhou's cave abode, Shi Yue immediately entered the Mysterious Space and released all the Spirit Devouring Bees, letting some gather nectar and others build their hive.

Thinking back on what had happened that day, Shi Yue felt lucky. If Martial Aunt Murong had come back with him, the secret of the Blue Pearl might have been exposed.

The incident had served as a warning to Shi Yue. From then on, he needed to be more careful and, preferably, keep his distance from Foundation Establishment Cultivators, lest they spot something amiss.

For the next half month, Shi Yue was kept busy.

During the day, he studied the Planting Classics on the Wood Shelf, and at night, he cultivated. Every other day, he had to water three mu of Water Moon Flowers, then hurry back to his residence to water the Spirit Rice. Right after that, he had to go to Murong Xiaoxiao's cave abode and release the Spirit Devouring Bees to exterminate the black beetles. Every five days, he also had to water the Golden Luo Flowers.

At the same time, he had to look after the Spirit Herbs and Spirit Rice in the Mysterious Space.