Chapter 87: Solo Journey
Black Poisonous Bees continuously emerged from Wang Hong's sleeves. Initially, he could have them appear directly in the air, but that would be too abrupt.
Eagle-nosed Man watched as Wang Hong released over ten thousand Spirit Bees. However, in his eyes, it was just a desperate struggle from someone on the brink of death.
Ordinary Spirit Bees didn't possess formidable individual strength; they relied on their numerical advantage. If there were over a hundred thousand, he might have turned and fled. Currently, there were only about ten thousand, and he didn't take them seriously.
Taking a swig of Spirit Wine, Eagle-nosed Man continued to command the golden bricks to rain down from Wang Hong.
The power of the Spiritual Weapon was indeed formidable. If the opponent didn't rely on elusive body techniques and had accomplished Body Refining, one strike could end their life.
However, the consumption of a Spiritual Weapon was immense. Even with his complete Qi Cultivation, he couldn't wield it many times.
Fortunately, he had obtained two bottles of high-tier Spirit Wine from a cultivator's storage bag earlier. Otherwise, he wouldn't dare to casually use the Spiritual Weapon.
When Wang Hong saw the Spirit Wine bottle in his hand, he felt a pang of regret. The bottle even had the emblem of his Immortal Spirits Wine Pavilion.
After suffering a setback, Wang Hong no longer dared to directly confront the golden brick Spiritual Weapon. Relying on his swift body movements, he dodged and occasionally intercepted attacks from the Flying Sword Magical Weapon.
Simultaneously, he commanded the Poisonous Bees to swarm towards the battlefield where Senior Brother Gao and others were engaged. A cultivator raised a Flying Sword, intending to strike Senior Brother Gao, but suddenly a group of Spirit Bees surged towards him. Before he could evade, they covered his entire body.
Then, he felt as if millions of needles were piercing his flesh, accompanied by a numbing sensation. Soon, he lost control of his Spiritual Energy, feeling it solidify throughout his body. He also lost control of his limbs, and gradually, his consciousness plunged into eternal darkness.
Senior Brother Tian, who thought his death was inevitable, suddenly saw a swarm of Spirit Bees attacking the cultivator across from him. They quickly covered his body, and the Flying Sword fell to the ground.
A few breaths later, the opposing cultivator lost vitality, falling to the ground like a stiff piece of wood.
Senior Brother Tian, who narrowly escaped death, quickly stuffed a healing Elixir into his mouth. Through this time of fighting together, he realized Wang Hong had become quite powerful.
With his robust Body Refining cultivation and mysterious body techniques, Wang Hong could easily deal with ordinary Qi Cultivation cultivators. Unexpectedly, he still held such a powerful trump card.
After killing this cultivator, the situation greatly improved for Senior Brother Tian and the other two. Though still at a disadvantage, it was no longer as precarious as before.
The swarm of black Poisonous Bees took flight again, heading towards another cultivator. This cultivator had witnessed the prowess of the Poisonous Bees before and hastily summoned a protective barrier.
The swarming Poisonous Bees instantly covered the protective barrier, forming a black sphere around the cultivator.
However, now, thanks to Wang Hong's dedicated cultivation, the individual strength of the Poisonous Bees was comparable to Qi Cultivation. Faced with the onslaught of thousands of them, how long could his protective barrier hold?
Wang Hong commanded the Poisonous Bees while skillfully dodging the attacks from Eagle-nosed Man and his companions. If he could kill two more people, he could reverse the current situation.
As for the cultivator besieged by the Poisonous Bees, seeing them relentlessly attacking, his protective barrier was already on the verge of collapse. Learning from the fate of the previous cultivator, fear gripped him, and he desperately shouted for help.
In the face of imminent death, how many people could remain composed? He came to the secret realm seeking opportunities, not to court death.
The terrified cultivator shouted for help while using his Flying Sword to slay Poisonous Bees. He rolled on the ground, but the hooks on the bees' feet firmly clung to the protective barrier.
After a moment, the protective barrier finally gave way under the strain. The Poisonous Bees instantly covered his entire body.
"Save me!"
"Help!"
"I surrender!"
...
The cultivator managed to utter a brief cry for help before falling silent.
The remaining members of Hunyuan Sect, witnessing the formidable nature of the Poisonous Bees, wore expressions of fear. Their attacks slowed down, and their gazes turned towards Eagle-nosed Man.
Eagle-nosed Man also noticed the situation. If they continued, they might suffer significant losses. He decisively shouted, "Retreat!"
He led the escape, and the other four quickly followed, fearing that Wang Hong's Poisonous Bees would catch up.
Wang Hong didn't pursue; there were still five opponents. Senior Brother Tian and the others were heavily injured, and he couldn't take them all on alone without help.
Senior Brother Tian and the others, bearing severe injuries, had barely managed to support themselves through the earlier life-and-death struggle. Now, with the main enemies gone, they collapsed to the ground.
Senior Brother Tian bore the heaviest injuries. His old wounds hadn't healed, and new ones were added. One arm was already gone, making him a one-armed cultivator. Unless he could obtain a divine medicine capable of regenerating limbs, a rare find indeed, he would remain in this state.
The two female cultivators fared slightly better than Senior Brother Tian, their Spiritual Energy depleted, and their meridians damaged. The three of them consumed healing Elixirs, mending their injuries on the spot.
The formation trapping Senior Brother Gao seemed formidable. Regardless of how he attacked from within, it proved futile.
Wang Hong circled the formation, unable to discern its weakness. The only option was the most straightforward one: deplete the Spiritual Energy sustaining the formation, causing it to collapse naturally.
The operation of any formation required the support of Spiritual Energy. Some smaller formations could draw from the Spirit Qi of the heavens and earth to run indefinitely.
However, for temporary setups like this, designed to trap individuals, relying solely on the Spirit Qi of the heavens and earth was insufficient. They required Spirit Stones as a power source to maintain the formation's operation. The more powerful the formation, the more Spirit Stones it consumed.
Large Formations, such as those protecting sect mountains, relied on Spirit Veins as their primary source of Spiritual Energy, supplemented by Spirit Stones where necessary.
Wang Hong directed the Poisonous Bees to swarm the formation's barrier, aiding Senior Brother Gao in attacking the formation. It took the better part of an incense stick's time to deplete the formation's Spiritual Energy, finally releasing Senior Brother Gao.
Once the formation was shattered, several array plates were revealed: one main array plate and five auxiliary array plates. The Spirit Stones embedded in them had turned to ashes. Counting the slots, it would take at least two hundred Spirit Stones to set up such a formation.
Although Senior Brother Gao had been trapped inside the Restriction Formation, he could witness the external battle. What seemed like an inevitable demise turned into a reprieve thanks to Junior Brother Wang's release of the Spirit Bees.
Qingxu Sect seemed to have produced such a formidable cultivator, and they had never heard of him before.
Wang Hong had, once again, saved their lives. Senior Brother Gao immediately handed the array plate to Wang Hong, and the other three also agreed to let him take all the array plates.
The three Storage Bags they obtained were also declared Wang Hong's share, with no division among the four.
Wang Hong felt a bit guilty. They all took the beating together, yet all the benefits now went to him alone.
Although he was the one who killed the three cultivators, this kind of battle required teamwork to distract the enemy. If he had faced the attack alone, he would have been the one taking a beating. Therefore, he could only claim the primary credit during distribution, but the others also deserved a share.
"Since you insist, I won't be overly modest. Fortunately, I have some friendship with the manager of a Spirit Wine shop in Azure Void City. I obtained some Spirit Wine from him, so I'll give each of you a bottle."
He took out several bottles of Spirit Wine, originally top-grade first-tier Hundred Fruits Brew. Aged for over two hundred years in his space, the quality was now close to second-tier Spirit Wine. Just sipping half a mouthful could fully restore the mana of a late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator.
After smelling the aroma, the three quickly closed the bottle caps, feeling their Spiritual Energy recovering. They couldn't help but sigh. Having connections was indeed beneficial. They would have struggled to obtain even a top-grade first-tier Spirit Wine.
They settled the injured three in a mountain cave, placing the newly acquired array plate at the cave entrance. If anyone intruded recklessly, they would be trapped by the formation.
Wang Hong and Senior Brother Gao searched the surrounding area for Spiritual Medicine.
In the three newly acquired Storage Bags, Wang Hong found over twenty Foundation Establishment Pill primary herbs. It seemed these four had looted quite a few cultivators.
He now possessed over a hundred Foundation Establishment Pill primary herbs, but of the thirty-six types, he only had thirty-one. The remaining five were still elusive. During sect training, it was mentioned that they grew in several places in the central region.
He had to visit those places. However, this time, he planned to go alone. Time waits for no one, and if someone got there before him, obtaining those Spiritual Medicines would become difficult. The recovery of the three heavily injured cultivators would also take some time.
Unlike other cultivators who only needed to hand over Spiritual Medicine for contribution points and exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills, he had to collect all primary herbs. Not only did he need Foundation Establishment Pills for himself, but he also had to cultivate a large number for his future subordinates.
As his cultivation level increased, his subordinates' cultivation level needed to keep pace. In the future, if he wanted to sell higher-tier Spiritual Objects, relying solely on Qi Cultivation wouldn't be enough to control the situation.
Seeing Wang Hong about to leave alone, Senior Brother Gao and the others felt some reluctance, but they couldn't stop him. Everyone had their own tasks.
Before leaving, Wang Hong left behind the newly obtained array plates for the three injured cultivators to use for protection.
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