"Put away the Snow Cloud Fox first! Don't let it escape, this creature is very cunning. I've heard that someone caught a Snow Cloud Fox, and it ran away halfway through."
Qin Qing suggested.
Ye Yuqing took out a Silver Talisman and slapped it on the head of the Snow Cloud Fox. The fox immediately stopped moving as if it had been frozen in place.
"Fairy Ye, what is this talisman? Isn't it very convenient for capturing first-order Monster Beasts?"
Shen Long asked curiously.
"This is a Suppressing Monster Talisman; it just temporarily immobilizes it, making it easier to put into a Spirit Beast bag."
Ye Yuqing explained.
With a pinch of her spell, the green net let go of the Snow Cloud Fox.
Ye Yuqing summoned a green Spirit Beast bag and released a burst of green rosy light that enveloped the Snow Cloud Fox and drew it into the bag.
After dealing with the carcasses of the Demon Insects, Ye Yutang pinched a spell, the blue water curtain shattered, and a dozen or so White Jade Bees flew towards the southeast. Shen Long and the others hurriedly followed.
In less than half an hour, they arrived at a dense black forest. The vegetation was lush, sunlight scarce, and the layer of fallen leaves on the ground was about a foot thick. They could smell a hint of decay.
The dozen or so White Jade Bees flew to a towering tree and headed towards the ground, only for the group to discover a huge hole there.
White Jade Bees flew in and out of the hole now and then, clearly, the beehive was inside.
Qin Qing picked up a stone and threw it into the hole; it took quite a while for any echo to be heard.
"Taoist Friend Qin, why don't you check it out?"
Sun Yang said.
"I don't have a Flying Artifact; how can I check it out? This hole extends down to the depths of the earth; only by flying can I explore it."
Qin Qing said with furrowed brows.
"I'll give you a Flying Heaven Talisman and a Golden Armor Talisman. You can go down and check it out. Even if you run into a second-rank White Jade Bee, as long as you don't attack, they probably won't harm you."
Ye Yuqing handed a Flying Heaven Talisman and Golden Armor Talisman to Qin Qing.
Qin Qing hesitated for a moment, then agreed.
Qin Qing took the two talismans and slapped the Flying Heaven Talisman onto his body.
With a flash of blue light, a pair of blue, light-glimmering wings appeared on his back, and with a light flap, Qin Qing flew towards the great hole.
Shen Long and the others waited outside with expectant expressions.
Less than half a quarter of an hour later, Qin Qing flew out, excitedly saying, "The Bee King is only at the first rank late stage, not very strong, and the beehive is huge."
"Great, let's go in and harvest the beehive."
Xu Lei brought out the Green Cloud Boat, stepped onto it, and Shen Long and the others quickly followed.
With a pinch of his spell, the Green Cloud Boat flew into the giant hole. The cave steeply descended for hundreds of yards before they finally reached the ground floor, appearing in a stone chamber about an acre in size.
In the lower right corner of the stone chamber was a huge white beehive; they could see a large number of White Jade Bees.
"Be careful not to damage the beehive,"
Xu Lei instructed as he took out a blue-feathered fan and gently waved it, sending out a swath of sharp blue wind blades that sliced through numerous White Jade Bees.
Shen Long and others summoned their Magic Artifacts and attacked the White Jade Bees.
The White Jade Bees weren't strong in attack and were no match for them.
They killed the first-rank early-stage White Jade Bees and captured the middle-stage and late-stage ones to sell for Spirit Stones.
It wasn't long before the battle was over.
Xu Lei packed up the beehive and planned to sell it and distribute the Spirit Stones earned from the sale.
"Fairy Ye's extensive knowledge is impressive; otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to find the beehive of the White Jade Bees,"
Qin Qing said with a smile.
If not for the Demon Attracting Incense leading them to the White Jade Bees, they wouldn't have been able to follow the trail and find the beehive.
"We were just lucky. I didn't know there were White Jade Bees here. We owe it to the information Taoist Friend Xu gathered,"
Ye Yuqing said modestly.
"It's rare to come to the mountain, and since Fairy Ye also requires a formation, let's continue to explore. We might find even more first-rank Monster Beasts."
Qin Qing suggested.
This time, their gains had been substantial, not only enough to pay back Shen Long's Spirit Stones but also to turn a hefty profit.
"We should quit while we're ahead! We're only in the Qi Refinement Realm after all."
Shen Long said, as their haul was already not small.
Xu Lei looked toward Ye Yutang and said politely, "Fairy Ye, what do you think?"
"Both Taoist Friend Qin and Taoist Friend Shen make sense, but since it's rare for us to come out, let's continue to explore! As long as we are careful, we shouldn't encounter any second-rank Monster Beasts."
Ye Yutang said. She was stuck at a bottleneck, which was why she teamed up with Xu Lei and the others.
"Then let's do as Fairy Ye says, and continue to explore."
Xu Lei said.
No one opposed the idea; Ye Yutang had proven her strength.
With a pinch of a spell by Xu Lei, the Green Cloud Boat lifted everyone into the air, flying out of the cave and landing on the ground, as Shen Long and the others stepped down.
Xu Lei folded up the Green Cloud Boat and walked forward, with Shen Long and the others hurrying to keep up.
A day later, they arrived in a long, narrow valley with sparse vegetation, giving it a desolate appearance.
They wore expressions of caution on their faces and did not move quickly.
It wasn't long before they emerged from the valley to be greeted by an endless expanse of green bamboo forest ahead.
A loud explosion came from ahead, and a massive red flame lit up in the distance, startling everyone.
"It seems like someone is hunting Monster Beasts, or it could be Monster Beasts hunting for food. Qin Qing, go and scout it out."
Xu Lei said.
Qin Qing responded and ran toward the bamboo forest, his feet glowing with a green light.
Just then, a disheveled figure came flying toward them— it was Liu Jiao.
Liu Jiao's right arm was missing, her aura was weak, her face pale, and her eyes were filled with fear, as if she had encountered something terrifying.
"Madam Liu!"
Qin Qing exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Liu Jiao.
A shrill, ear-piercing screech sounded, and two huge Red Fire Centipedes chased after her.
The centipedes had purple patterns on their bodies, naturally formed, and wings on their backs.
"Not good, they're Purple Patterned Fire Centipedes! They rank on the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect List and have strong Divine Skills. We're no match for them, let's run."
Ye Yutang cried out in alarm.
These two Purple Patterned Fire Centipedes were only in the late stage of the first rank. Ranked 955th on the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect List, while relatively low, any Spirit Insect that made the list had exceptional abilities.
Qin Qing was the quickest to react, his feet glowing brightly with green as he sped back the way they'd come.
"Taoist Friend Xu, save me."
Liu Jiao called out for help.
Xu Lei turned a deaf ear, abiding by the principle of every man for himself.
He quickly brought out the Green Cloud Boat, boarded it, and Shen Long along with the other seven hurried onboard.
With another pinch of a spell by Xu Lei, the Green Cloud Boat shone with a green light and soared into the sky.
The two Purple Patterned Fire Centipedes each shot out thick red flames, aiming straight for Liu Jiao.
Liu Jiao quickly brought out a green shield with a dim Spiritual Light, riddled with fine cracks and scorch marks; it was badly damaged.
The two red flames struck the green shield, and raging flames engulfed it.
The Purple Patterned Fire Centipedes flew over, their scythe-like claws striking the shield, which shattered as if it were made of paper.
The claws of the Purple Patterned Fire Centipedes broke through Liu Jiao's defense and chopped her into bloody pieces, which they then devoured.
Shen Long witnessed Liu Jiao's grisly end and was secretly astounded; the Strange Bugs ranked on the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect List were indeed formidable.