A Bountiful Return

Because Blood Flame Bees were exceptionally rare in the Jingyang Mountain Range, although he had known from the start that their honey could attract Red Gold Bears, he had never considered using it for that purpose.

Just when the mountains seemed to offer no way forward, a glimmer of hope appeared.

When he was about to give up, the situation suddenly took a turn, and he had actually stumbled upon a Blood Flame Bee hive.

With Blood Flame Honey, finding a Red Gold Bear would be a piece of cake.

That was why he had been so delighted when he discovered the hive.

However, he still needed to make some preparations first.

Although he wasn't afraid of the Blood Flame Bees' stingers, they posed a serious threat to Su Luoheng, who was only a Soul Grandmaster. Before taking the hive, he needed to make sure his disciple was safe.

"..."

Ran Yuming took Su Luoheng nearly a hundred li away from the ancient tree.

Even if the Blood Flame Bees went berserk after losing their hive, they would be unlikely to come this far.

That would give him room to act freely.

"Luo Heng, wait here. I'll go take down the hive."

At that, Su Luoheng frowned slightly, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes. "Teacher, can you handle a thousand-year Blood Flame Bee by yourself?"

Blood Flame Bees more than five hundred years old could threaten human Soul Ancestors. So what about a thousand-year queen?

His teacher had the strength of a Soul Douluo, but he was still a little worried.

"Don't worry, Luo Heng. These Blood Flame Bees can't hurt me."

Ran Yuming patted Su Luoheng on the shoulder and smiled calmly. "Don't forget, I'm not only a Level 7 Soul Engineer but also an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo. I can handle a swarm of bees."

At that, Su Luoheng came to his senses.

He had let his concern get the better of him and forgotten his teacher's true strength.

"..."

As they spoke, Ran Yuming gave Su Luoheng a few more instructions. He also left him several defensive Soul Tools as a precaution before hurrying toward the ancient tree bearing the Blood Flame Bee hive.

The thousand-year-old tree, its crown.

"Whoosh—"

With a faint rustle, Ran Yuming landed on a branch of the ancient tree.

At the sound, the Blood Flame Bees nearby seemed to sense a stranger's approach. They took flight in a flurry, their deafening buzzing filling the air.

There were an enormous number of Blood Flame Bees.

In an instant, countless tiny black eyes searched in every direction.

Their dark-red stingers glinted coldly, enough to make anyone shudder at a glance.

But faced with this dense, overwhelming swarm, Ran Yuming remained remarkably calm, despite being surrounded.

Then something unexpected happened.

Although Ran Yuming stood brazenly in front of them, the Blood Flame Bees seemed to have gone blind as a group and didn't notice him at all.

After a brief commotion, they settled down again.

It was as if Ran Yuming didn't exist. The bees went back to their duties, carrying on as before.

Some gathered pollen, some guarded the hive, and others made honey. Everything proceeded in orderly fashion.

Seeing this,

a smile appeared on Ran Yuming's face.

The blue bracelet on his wrist shimmered faintly. Clearly, the bees' strange behavior had everything to do with this peculiar bracelet.

It was a Level 7 Soul Tool: the Breath Concealing Bracelet.

It could conceal all of its wearer's aura, creating an effect similar to invisibility.

It sounded powerful, but it was still under development. In practice, it could conceal its wearer from Soul Ancestors, but anyone above that level would see through it. That was hardly enough for a Level 7 Soul Tool. Who would waste the resources required to make one just to deal with Soul Ancestors?

For now, it was still defective—or perhaps only half-finished.

But it came in handy here. Concealing him from these hundred-year Soul Beasts was more than enough.

As things stood, it was working splendidly.

Compared to forcing his way through, using a Soul Tool took far less effort.

"..."

Ran Yuming moved a few steps forward, drawing closer to the hive and the swarm.

He turned his wrist, revealing a silver Soul Tool shaped like a pistol, its surface engraved with intricate, unusual Soul Guidance runes. Anyone could see at a glance that it was a high-grade Soul Tool.

And indeed, it was.

It was a little gadget Ran Yuming had made himself. He hadn't expected to put it to use today.

A Level 4 Soul Tool: the Mental Pulse.

As the name suggested, it targeted the mind, disrupting a person's thoughts and rendering them unable to fight.

The Blood Flame Bees were highly poisonous, but their mental strength was weak—even weaker than that of human Soul Masters. One hit from a Mental Pulse would leave them badly injured.

Holding the silver pistol, Ran Yuming aimed at the swarm and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

With a muffled report, a beam of white light shot from the barrel.

It glowed a pearly white, enveloping every Blood Flame Bee.

The buzzing swarm stopped in midair, as if someone had pressed a pause button. They hung there, dazed, then dropped to the ground like kites with their strings cut.

Chapter 54: A Bountiful Return

Seeing this, Ran Yuming's lips curled into a smile.

With the Mental Pulse and the Breath Concealment Soul Guidance Device working in tandem, he had wiped out the Blood Flame Bees without breaking a sweat.

A moment later, the dust settled.

Every Blood Flame Bee in the tree had been dealt with, and the ground was piled with their corpses.

"That should be about it. Only the queen is left..."

Ran Yuming murmured to himself. He brushed his wrist to switch off the bracelet's concealment and walked steadily toward the hive.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

An angry, piercing shriek suddenly rang out.

At the same time, a dark-red shape shot from the mouth of the previously silent hive. A red Blood Flame Bee the size of a basketball emerged. It was the queen of the swarm!

As the Blood Flame Bees' queen, it had already sensed that its subjects were dead.

But the concealed aura of the Breath Concealing Bracelet had kept it from finding the culprit. For its own safety, it had hidden deep in the hive and waited for its chance.

And now, the opportunity had finally come!

Ran Yuming had deactivated the Breath Concealing Bracelet himself. At last, the Blood Flame Bee King could see the culprit who had killed its entire colony!

As the saying went, when enemies met, their eyes blazed red.

The Blood Flame Bee King bared its sharp stinger and lunged furiously at Ran Yuming's chest!

"I've been waiting for you!"

Ran Yuming, already prepared, let out a cold laugh. He twisted to the left, dodging the Blood Flame Bee King's thrust, and brought down the long blade in his right hand with a fierce slash.

"Splurt!"

A spray of blood burst forth.

The Blood Flame Bee King had been cut clean in half at the waist. Its body slammed heavily toward the ground.

The thousand-year Blood Flame Bee King was dead!

Ran Yuming's expression remained calm.

Blood dripped from his long blade. With a casual flick, he shook it all off.

Luring the snake out of its hole—that had been his plan all along.

He had guessed from the start that the Blood Flame Bee King was hiding in the hive. To avoid damaging the Royal Jelly inside, the best way was to draw it out.

That was why Ran Yuming had dropped his disguise and exposed himself to the Blood Flame Bee King.

It would be hard to deal with the queen while it was hiding inside. So he had lured it out to its doom.

Sure enough, it couldn't resist the bait and attacked. A thousand-year poisonous bee stood no chance against Ran Yuming.

A Soul Master's methods could be effective too.

He put away his long blade and checked the area again.

After confirming there were no other Blood Flame Bees, Ran Yuming finally reached the hive.

This was the first time he had ever gotten such a close look at an entire hive. It was dark red from end to end, nearly a meter long and at least two meters deep. Its surface was covered in complicated, strange patterns. From a distance, it looked like the entrance to a bottomless abyss, tempting anyone to explore within.

Seeing the entire hive, Ran Yuming couldn't help but gape in astonishment.

This was a genuine giant hive!

When he had first spotted part of it, he'd already thought it was big. But its actual size far exceeded his expectations.

He had heard of thousand-year hives before.

But one this big was truly rare, even somewhat abnormal. If he hadn't just killed the thousand-year queen, he would have wondered whether the hive belonged to a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast.

But the queen's corpse below made everything clear.

Since he couldn't figure it out, he could only chalk it up to the Blood Flame Bees being a special case. After all, few people had ever discovered honey from this kind of bee.

It also proved that the Royal Jelly inside must be extraordinary!

And that was exactly right. As soon as he reached the hive, a rich honeyed scent wafted toward him. Its sweet, concentrated fragrance sank into his heart and lungs, almost impossible to resist.

And that was with him still near the entrance. It seemed the hive's enormous size had its reasons.

Ran Yuming was startled, then delighted. This Royal Jelly is definitely high quality. It'll be perfect for luring that Red Gold Bear.

Thinking of Su Luoheng's Second Soul Ring, he didn't waste any time.

The most precious part of the hive was the Royal Jelly, and that was what Ran Yuming wanted to collect.

He located the Royal Jelly and carefully cut an opening with his blade. Before any honey had even begun to flow, a fragrant, sweet scent spread through the air, bringing an indescribable sense of pleasure and satisfaction.

Then the Royal Jelly began to flow: golden and transparent, crystal clear, thick and sweet.

The Royal Jelly made in such a special hive was different from the usual kind.

Ran Yuming didn't waste time. He quickly brought out the jade bottles he had prepared and caught every drop of the slowly flowing Royal Jelly.

The first bottle was soon full.

Then came the second, the third, the fourth...

One bottle after another, the Royal Jelly flowed at a steady pace, as if it would never run out. This giant hive really did have a huge stock!

It took nearly a quarter of an hour for the Royal Jelly to run dry.

In the end, he had collected twenty bottles.

As for what remained of the hive...

Though it wasn't as valuable as the Royal Jelly, it was still a rare treasure.