28: Chapter 28 Lin Xuan Gains Benefit

Lin Xuan noticed that as the battle continued, the spiritual energy fluctuations became increasingly violent. The nests of those venomous bees began to tremble slightly.

"Almost time," he thought to himself, quietly retreating. Using the cover of the fog, he circled toward the rear side of the beehive.

The battle on the slope entered a white-hot state. The Foundation Establishment Cultivator forced Wang Zhen back with a blade strike, though he himself received a bloodstain on his chest.

He panted heavily and roared, "Wang Zhen! If we keep fighting, we will both be injured, and no one will get the wind bell flower!"

Wang Zhen's face was also pale, his spiritual energy significantly depleted, but he remained stubborn, "That depends on who can't hold on first!"

Just then, a low buzzing sound arose.

Everyone was stunned.

They saw the grey beehives among the vines trembling violently, and immediately after, countless black venomous bees the size of thumbs surged out!

Their wing beats emitted a scalp-numbing hum, and faint grey mist swirled around their bodies.

"Venomous bees! Retreat!" Wang Zhen's expression changed drastically.

But it was too late. The swarm, thoroughly enraged by the intense battle and spiritual energy fluctuations, pounced toward the center of the battlefield like a black torrent!

"Ah!" A female Disciple from Sharp Metal Peak took the brunt of it. Her arm was stung by several venomous bees, and she cried out in pain as the arm swelled up at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Foundation Establishment Cultivator was also in a miserable state. The fire magic he had just cast had the highest temperature, making him a priority target for the swarm.

Dozens of venomous bees swarmed around him, stinging wildly. He could only swing his short blade to hack randomly, but there were too many venomous bees, and he could not defend against them.

"Use the insect repellent powder!" the short Disciple hurriedly took out a small paper packet and scattered it. Yellow powder filled the air, temporarily forcing back some of the venomous bees, but the effect was limited.

Wang Zhen, while swinging his sword to cut down venomous bees, shouted sternly, "Join forces to deal with the swarm first! Otherwise, no one will be able to leave!"

This made sense, but all five were already in such a panic that they could hardly coordinate.

The stings of the venomous bees carried a numbing effect. Although not fatal, the pain and their gradually stiffening bodies made their movements increasingly sluggish.

It looked like they were on the verge of total defeat.

Lin Xuan had already circled to the side and rear of the beehive. He calculated the wind direction—it was currently a southeasterly wind, blowing exactly toward the battlefield.

He took the warm sun powder given by Chen Hao from his bosom and poured about one-third into his palm. After thinking for a moment, he separated a strand of extremely fine Thunder Spiritual Energy and carefully blended it into the powder.

The Thunder Spiritual Energy could not be too much, or it would alarm the swarm, nor could it be too little, as it needed to act as a stimulant.

He took out a most ordinary "Wind Control Talisman"—this was left over from a previous mission. Its grade was very low, only able to stir up a light breeze. But it was enough.

Lin Xuan held his breath and placed the warm sun powder mixed with Thunder Spiritual Energy onto the Wind Control Talisman, then activated his spiritual energy!

"Whoosh—"

The breeze picked up the powder and floated it along the wind direction toward the area between the beehive and the battlefield.

The warm sun powder, stimulated by the spiritual energy, immediately turned into a faint golden mist, emitting a warm yet scorching aura.

The Thunder Spiritual Energy blended within it was as thin as a silk thread, dancing in the light mist and emitting an almost imperceptible crackling sound.

The swarm was indeed stimulated!

They instinctively avoided the direction of the heat source—which was where Lin Xuan was located—and instead attacked the five people in the center of the battlefield even more crazily.

That cluster of warm sun powder carrying Thunder Spiritual Energy seemed to have become a catalyst, making the venomous bees incredibly manic and doubling their aggression.

"Why are there more and more of them?!" The Foundation Establishment Cultivator screamed, his body already having a dozen swollen spots.

"Damn it! What are these beasts going crazy for?!" Wang Zhen was also in a sorry state, his thin sword dancing impenetrably, but the venomous bees were pervasive.

The formation of the five completely collapsed, each fighting their own battle, facing precarious situations.

Lin Xuan saw his Opportunity and darted out like a civet cat. He operated his Breath Concealment Technique to the limit, his aura achieving complete Fusion with the surrounding environment.

Using the chaos of the venomous bees and the battle as cover, he reached the side of the wind bell flower patch in a few leaps.

Without a hint of hesitation. With a jade blade in hand, his movements were fast and steady, picking only the fullest and most blooming wind bell flowers.

Every cut precisely severed the flower stalk without damaging the roots of the vine.

One, two, three...

His heartbeat was steady, his hands as stable as a rock. Behind him was the chaotic battle and the buzzing of bees; before him was the pale blue sea of flowers.

Between the two, he found the perfect balance point.

Twelve of the most mature wind bell flowers were placed into a jade box.

Lin Xuan stopped, leaving four smaller ones that were still some time away from maturity—that was the vitality left for those who came later.

The entire process took less than twenty breaths.

He closed the jade box, turned around without any attachment, his figure once again hidden in the fog, and sped off in the direction completely opposite to where he came from. He did not look back at the battle, not a single moment of hesitation.

Vague, furious roars came from behind:

"Where are the flowers?! Why are the wind bell flowers fewer?!"

"Who?! Who stole the flowers during the chaos!"

"Wang Zhen! Is it your people playing tricks?!"

"Fart! All my people are here!"

The arguments, buzzing, and cries of pain mixed together, gradually swallowed by the fog.

Lin Xuan was already at least two hundred zhang away from that area.

He stopped, leaned against a rock to catch his breath, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The twelve wind bell flowers in the jade box were of excellent quality. If he took them to exchange, they would be worth at least one hundred and fifty contribution points.

More importantly, three of them were already close to the "bell-ringing" state, with the wavy patterns on the edges of the petals complete and clear—wind bell flowers of this quality were excellent materials for refining the barrier-breaking pill, and were worth a lot.

"Two-thirds of the warm sun powder are left, I can use it next time." He checked the paper packet in his bosom and carefully put it away.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse poked its head out of the Storage Pouch, its black bean eyes full of pride, as if to say: Look, the place I found was good, right?

Lin Xuan stroked its head, conveying a feeling of praise through their contract.

That he could succeed this time was largely due to the Herb-Seeking Mouse's sensitivity to spiritual plants and its discovery of the locations of those beehives.

He unfolded the map again and made a mark at the location of the wind bell flower slope: "Harvested, has swarm, enter with caution."

After doing this, he identified the direction and continued toward the water-condensing stone mine area in the northwest.

The fog remained thick, but Lin Xuan's steps were steady.

The second day, the harvest was plentiful, and he had not exposed himself, had not clashed with anyone, and had not used his trump cards.

It would be good if this rhythm of exploration could be maintained.

As for what happened to the Foundation Establishment Cultivator and Wang Zhen later, whether the swarm dispersed, or who won—these were not important.

What was important was that he had obtained the resources he wanted without leaving any traces.

The canyon was still large, and the days were still long.

Lin Xuan's figure gradually disappeared into the milky white fog, as if he had never appeared.

Only the twelve pale blue wind bell flowers in the jade box in his bosom quietly told the story of the wonderful drama of "the snipe and the clam fight, and the fisherman gains" that had just occurred.

And in the true depths of the canyon, there were more Opportunities and dangers, quietly waiting in the fog.