The Thousand-Year Honey Hive

"Is this the ancestral land of the Ancient Wu Clan?"

Wu Ling looked over the gloomy expanse in surprise. Had their fight to the death with the Extraterritorial Evil Clan caused this?

"There's spiritual energy here! The Divine Contest Laws are still in effect, but my strength has recovered to the Spirit Wheel Realm!" Carrying Wen Qingxuan on his back, Yun Mo breathed in the abundant spiritual energy. The Spirit Wheel Realm might be the limit under the suppression of the Divine Contest Laws, but it was better than having no cultivation at all.

His words startled Wu Ling and Wu Yingying. They, too, felt their cultivation gradually returning. Wu Ling had already been in the Spirit Wheel Realm, while Wu Yingying was only in the Spirit Movement Realm.

"Have we left the Spirit Road?" Wu Ling asked.

"This should be something like the outskirts of the Spirit Road. The Mirror of Judgment's Blood-Colored Token hasn't disappeared, and we can still exchange it for things inside," Wen Qingxuan said softly, resting against Yun Mo's back.

"Huh? You're not drunk?" Yun Mo blinked and turned to look at her.

Their cheeks nearly touched, close enough to feel each other's warmth.

Wen Qingxuan rolled her eyes at him. "With spiritual energy, what does that little bit of Fruit Wine matter? I only have to circulate my spiritual power a little to dispel that tiny bit of drunkenness."

"And yet that tiny bit of drunkenness left you unable to even stand steady. All right, since you're fine now, get off my back."

Yun Mo released her thighs, intending to let her stand on her own.

"Hmph." Wen Qingxuan gave a soft snort and climbed down from his back. "Where do we go next?"

Yun Mo had no idea how to answer her question. This place was far too unfamiliar. Even he had no idea where to go for the moment.

"I think we should follow those Nocturnal Bees first. At least we can find their beehive." Wu Ling pointed at the buzzing swarm as he spoke to the other three.

"Sure."

Yun Mo and the two girls exchanged glances and agreed with Wu Ling. The ancestral land was vast, and they would need to explore it slowly. Having a destination might make things much easier.

The four sped along. In a world with spiritual energy, they could finally roam freely between heaven and earth. Though the Wu Clan Ancestral Land was much larger than the Spirit Road, it could no longer hinder their steps. Keeping up with the Nocturnal Bees was easier still.

It was a pity, though. Vast and boundless as this place was, it was just as utterly ruined as the remnants outside. In some ways, it was even more dilapidated.

On the Spirit Road, they could still see the blazing sun. Here, however, the entire sky was dark and overcast, filled with an oppressive gloom.

"Do you think the Great Thousand World will end up like this someday?" A rare sorrow appeared on Wen Qingxuan's face.

Yun Mo glanced at her. "How sentimental. You're just a little Spirit Wheel Realm cultivator. A mighty expert could kill you with a glare, yet you're worrying about the future of the Great Thousand World."

His words made Wen Qingxuan's expression freeze. Even the trace of sadness on Wu Yingying's face vanished instantly. The two girls shot him a look. "The same goes for you. A mighty expert could kill you with a glare, too."

After those few words, their expressions relaxed. The desolation had faded, and smiles returned to their faces.

"We're here. Those Nocturnal Bees came out of that place."

Wu Ling stopped and pointed at an abandoned palace nearby.

They looked over. Countless Nocturnal Bees swarmed there, enveloping the entire abandoned palace. There was no way to count them.

The Nocturnal Bees seemed to sense the presence of creatures unlike themselves and grew agitated. More and more flew out of the palace, intent on defending their hive.

Although the Nocturnal Bees were only ordinary demonic beasts, inferior even to the first-rank spirit beasts of the Spirit Road, the sheer number of them was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine. This had nothing to do with strength.

"Do we fight our way straight in? But if we do, all these Nocturnal Bees might die."

A little hesitation crossed Wu Ling's delicate features. These Nocturnal Bees were quite useful. All they did was gather nectar, and the nectar they gathered came from heavenly treasures. In truth, they posed no threat to the group.

The stingers on the Nocturnal Bees' tails carried venom meant to paralyze their enemies, but a barrier of spiritual energy would easily keep that venom out.

Even Wu Yingying could stand before the beehive without suffering a scratch.

Still, slaughtering them all would weigh on their consciences.

"It would be a waste to fight our way in. We only want their honey." Yun Mo shook his head. How could he keep harvesting sustainably if he killed them all? He took two lengths of Black Cloth out of his Storage Ring, wrapped one around himself, and tossed the other to Wu Ling.

"What's this?"

Wu Ling had seen Yun Mo use this Black Cloth during their fight with the Nightglow Netherworld Beast. He had been surprised even then that the cloth could block the needles fired by a seventh-rank spirit beast.

It was no worse than an ordinary defensive Spirit Artifact.

Wen Qingxuan's eyes flickered. She also took a length of Black Cloth from her Token and wrapped it around herself and Wu Yingying.

Yun Mo's Black Cloth had actually been refined from silk produced by a demonic beast called the Courtyard Silkworm. Apart from its extraordinary defensive power, it could also conceal one's presence.

"Just how many good things do you have in that Storage Ring?" Wu Ling could not help asking.

Yun Mo glanced at him, then turned and slowly shuffled toward the palace without answering.

The Nocturnal Bees almost seemed to display human emotions now. Discovering that the presence which had put them on high alert had vanished, they circled above the palace, seemingly at a loss.

They also noticed the Black Cloth creeping along the ground, but no trace of anyone's presence escaped from beneath it.

Just like that, the four slipped inside the palace right under the swarm's eyes.

This was where the Nocturnal Bees' hive lay, and there were far, far fewer bees inside.

"I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Flushed with excitement, Wu Yingying quietly lifted a corner of the Black Cloth and exclaimed at the sight of the beehives inside the hall.

"I think we hit the jackpot!"

Wu Ling swallowed, his eyes filled with delighted surprise.

From where they stood, they could see the entire palace. An endless expanse of beehives covered its ceiling, stacked layer upon layer until every gap was filled. It was a magnificent sight.

The excess Nocturnal Honey above had even gathered into a stream, flowing down the palace pillars into the Honey Pool below.

Their eyes were not deceiving them. Beneath the beehives lay a Honey Pool gleaming with golden light, its sweet fragrance permeating the air.

The Nocturnal Honey in this Honey Pool had been made by countless Nocturnal Bees gathering the essence of heavenly treasures, then refining and blending it. Its value was already beyond measure.

Yun Mo led the others forward, crouched beside the Honey Pool, and scooped some Nocturnal Honey into his mouth.

Instantly, a sweetness without a hint of cloying richness burst across his tongue. A faint floral fragrance lingered around his nose, refusing to fade.

Yun Mo closed his eyes and savored it carefully. After a while, his whole body tingled, and a surge of spiritual energy rose within him. Both his physical strength and cultivation began to stir toward a breakthrough. The Nocturnal Honey here no longer served only for body tempering; it could also heal injuries and aid cultivation.

"These Nocturnal Bees must have been here for at least a thousand years. Only then could this Nocturnal Honey have undergone such a qualitative transformation," Yun Mo murmured. His persistence in pursuing the Nocturnal Bees had not been wasted.

"There's so much Nocturnal Honey here. How are we supposed to take it all away?" Wu Yingying tasted some as well, savoring its lingering flavor. But when she saw the pitiful storage space in her Token, dismay spread uncontrollably across her face.

"Let's only take what's in this Honey Pool and leave the beehives alone. Use your remaining spirit points to exchange for some bottles and jars, and fill as many as you can. Afterward, I'll empty the Honey Pool."

Yun Mo rubbed the Storage Ring on his hand. Fortunately, he had cared deeply about storage space since childhood, and his ring held quite a few treasures.

"Your Storage Ring actually has that much room? Remember, a quarter of what's inside belongs to me," Wen Qingxuan said, narrowing her eyes.

"A quarter belongs to me, too!"

"Hurry up and fill your containers. Be careful the Nocturnal Bees overhead don't notice you."

A short while later, once Wen Qingxuan and the others had filled all the space in their Tokens, Yun Mo took a gourd from his Storage Ring.

He lowered the gourd into the Honey Pool. A terrifying suction immediately emerged from its mouth, drawing in all the Nocturnal Honey, which had barely diminished until then.

Envy filled the others' eyes. Each silently resolved to obtain a storage treasure with enough space in the future.

But when the flowing Nocturnal Honey disappeared and exposed what lay at the very bottom of the Honey Pool, they could no longer contain themselves.

"Royal Jelly! Nocturnal Bee Royal Jelly!"

If the transformed Nocturnal Honey could rival a demigod herb, then the Royal Jelly could absolutely be called a divine herb-and one of the finest at that.

"At least a fifth of this pool is Royal Jelly, isn't it?" Wu Ling was numb with shock. He had never expected to stumble upon such a windfall as soon as they entered the Wu Clan Ancestral Land.

Their Tokens were full now. If they encountered something similar again, would they not have to leave empty-handed?

"I don't care! Big Brother Yun Mo, a quarter of what's in your Storage Ring belongs to me!"

"Get lost!"

Yun Mo glanced at Wu Yingying's antics and said flatly, "I'll give you a tiny bit at most. If you want more, trade something of equal value for it. One divine herb for one bottle of Royal Jelly."

After collecting everything in the Honey Pool, Yun Mo and the others promptly left the ruined palace.

They stood on a hillside and pulled off the Black Cloth, unable to suppress the smiles on their faces.

"Same as before. Let's find somewhere to attempt a breakthrough first. If we can't advance our cultivation, we'll improve our physical strength. Even if this is the Wu Clan Ancestral Land, it's still an unknown place. That doesn't mean it's free of danger."

Yun Mo shared his thoughts with them, mindful of danger even in times of safety.

"Sure!"