Striking

Chapter 14: Making a Move

"Go back and fetch it quickly. Don't keep me waiting too long," Murong Xiaoxiao said, her expression somewhat displeased as she urged him on.

"Disciple obeys. May I ask Martial Aunt Murong to escort me out, so that I do not trigger the restrictions here?" Shi Yue nodded and spoke respectfully.

"Escort you out? There's no need for such trouble. I'll lift the anti-flight restriction, and you can just fly out on your artifact. When you return, land directly," Murong Xiaoxiao said indifferently.

With that, she flipped her hand and produced a palm-sized circular array disk, gesturing over it for a moment.

"Alright, I've lifted the anti-flight restriction. Go quickly and come back—don't keep me waiting too long," Murong Xiaoxiao urged.

Shi Yue nodded, released his green leaf artifact, stepped onto it, and flew up into the sky.

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

Shi Yue spent thirty Contribution Points to purchase the lowest-grade Spirit Beast Bag from the Deacon Hall.

Back at his residence, Shi Yue immediately entered the Mysterious Space. He approached the beehive and, with a thought, an egg-sized yellow bee flew out from within—it was the Queen Bee.

The Queen Bee was plump in build, followed by hundreds of nail-sized yellow bees.

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

He tightened the bag's mouth, tied the Spirit Beast Bag to his waist, and withdrew from the Mysterious Space.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Shi Yue appeared above Murong Xiaoxiao's courtyard. He controlled the green leaf and slowly descended before her.

"Hurry up and release your spirit insects! See if they can eliminate these black beetles," Murong Xiaoxiao urged.

Shi Yue nodded, slapped the Spirit Beast Bag at his waist, and a buzzing sound rang out as hundreds of Spirit Devouring Bees flew out, hovering before Shi Yue.

"Go, eliminate those black beetles," Shi Yue pointed at the Golden Luo Flower and commanded.

As soon as the words fell, the hundreds of Spirit Devouring Bees rushed toward the Golden Luo Flower in a frenzy.

Shi Yue strode forward quickly and crouched before a withered yellow Golden Luo Flower. Several black beetles were gnawing at its petals, while seven or eight Spirit Devouring Bees landed on the flower and began tearing into the black beetles.

The black beetles fought back fiercely, but it was to no avail. Before long, they were defeated.

Seeing this, Shi Yue nodded in satisfaction. It seemed his choice of Spirit Devouring Bees had been the right one.

As time passed, one black beetle after another fell. Their corpses were scattered across the spirit field. Of course, the Spirit Devouring Bees also suffered casualties. A dozen or so larger black beetles surrounded three or four Spirit Devouring Bees and, relying on their numerical advantage, killed them.

Shi Yue examined the corpses of the fallen Spirit Devouring Bees and found they were small in size, apparently not long hatched, and weak in combat, which was why the black beetles had managed to kill them.

Murong Xiaoxiao also walked over. Seeing the spirit field littered with black beetle corpses, a hint of joy appeared on her delicate face.

Although Shi Yue controlled the other Spirit Devouring Bees through the Queen Bee, the mental energy consumed was still considerable.

Half an hour later, Shi Yue's mental energy was mostly depleted, and he felt dizzy and lightheaded. He had no choice but to recall all the Spirit Devouring Bees into the Spirit Beast Bag.

"What's wrong, Junior Nephew Shi? Have all the black beetles been eliminated?" Murong Xiaoxiao asked curiously upon seeing this.

"No, my mental energy is too depleted. I must sit and rest for a while. I'll continue once it's recovered," Shi Yue shook his head and explained.

Hearing this, Murong Xiaoxiao nodded. Her gaze shifted as if something occurred to her, and she asked, "Junior Nephew Shi, it seems the spirit insects you've tamed are natural enemies of these black beetles. Can they eliminate all of them?"

"Eliminate them all? I'm afraid it will take several rounds of extermination. One or two times won't be enough to wipe them out completely. As you've seen, these black beetles are small, and some like to burrow into the soil. They may have laid eggs underground. One or two attempts likely won't achieve total eradication," Shi Yue said after a moment's thought. Then, recalling something, he hesitated briefly before continuing:

"If Martial Aunt Murong is interested in the Spirit Devouring Bees, this disciple would be willing to gift you some."

"No need. I have no interest in raising a swarm of bees. They're only good for dealing with these little bugs—hardly any help in combat," Murong Xiaoxiao shook her head and refused.

Hearing this, Shi Yue's expression showed some disappointment. To be honest, he didn't want to keep running over every few days to do pest control for this Martial Aunt Murong.

"How about this? Come here every few days to exterminate the pests. Once all the black beetles are gone, I'll give you twenty spirit stones. What do you think?" Murong Xiaoxiao's beautiful eyes shifted as she made the offer.

"No problem. Leave it to me." Shi Yue's eyes lit up at this, and he agreed readily.

Twenty spirit stones—that was ten times what Uncle-Master Zhou Hong had offered. At that moment, Shi Yue found this Martial Aunt Murong much more agreeable.

"This is the array disk for controlling the spirit field's protective formation. The jade slip records the method for operating it. Keep both of these for now. From now on, you can land here directly on your artifact, responsible for watering the Golden Luo Flowers and exterminating pests. Mm, the Golden Luo Flowers need watering once every five days. I've already watered them today, so you can water them again in five days." With that, Murong Xiaoxiao took out a palm-sized silver array disk and a silver jade slip, handing them to Shi Yue.

Shi Yue nodded and accepted the array disk and jade slip.

Once his mental energy recovered, Shi Yue released the Spirit Devouring Bees again, letting them continue exterminating the black beetles.

An hour later, Shi Yue recalled all the Spirit Devouring Bees into the Spirit Beast Bag. He cast a hand seal onto the silver array disk, and with a flash of silver light, a massive silver light screen suddenly appeared, covering the spirit field where the Golden Luo Flowers grew.

After doing all this, under Murong Xiaoxiao's watchful gaze, Shi Yue flew away on his artifact.

Returning to Uncle-Master Zhou's cave dwelling, Shi Yue immediately entered the Mysterious Space. He released all the Spirit Devouring Bees, letting them gather nectar and build nests as they pleased.

Reflecting on the day's events, Shi Yue felt a sense of relief. If Martial Aunt Murong had come back with him, the secret of the blue bead might have been exposed.

This incident served as a warning to Shi Yue: he needed to be more cautious in the future and, ideally, keep his distance from Foundation Establishment cultivators to avoid revealing any flaws.

Over the next half month, Shi Yue was kept extremely busy.

During the day, he studied the Planting Classics on the wood shelf, and at night, he cultivated. Every two days, he had to water the three acres of Water Moon Flowers, then rush back to his own residence to water the Spirit Rice, and then head to Murong Xiaoxiao's cave dwelling to 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 tend to the spirit herbs and Spirit Rice inside the Mysterious Space.