254: Chapter 254 The Queen Bee Perishes, Devouring the Demon's Body!

...

After finalizing the surrender of the Canglan Turtle clan, Shi Jian suddenly remembered something:

“Old Mr. Wanxiang, you mentioned before that Queen Bee Mingshui doesn't recognize her own kin, and would even eat her own larvae if she found them displeasing?”

“That is indeed the case.”

“Then what if she dies?”

Wanxiang froze for a moment: “For those low-intelligence Yao creatures of the insect clan, once the mother insect dies, they will naturally scramble for the position to vie for the title of Insect Queen.”

“In the insect clan, there can usually only be one Insect Queen.”

“Once the old queen dies, the Foundation Establishment mother insects of the clan will slaughter each other until only one remains, who will then become the new queen.”

“During the struggle for succession, is the swarm defenseless?”

“More than just defenseless.” Wanxiang narrowed his old eyes: “They will first descend into utter Chaos themselves. The insect clan relies on the Bee Queen's Divine Soul connection to maintain order. Once the Bee Queen dies and the Divine Soul connection is severed, the lower insect soldiers become like headless flies.”

“To fight for the position, each Foundation Establishment mother insect will lead her own swarm to clash with the others. This is far more devastating than an invasion by external enemies.”

Hearing this, Shi Jian smiled.

That palm strike of his, combined with the full-force blow of his Thunder Sound Divine Ability, was not something easily endured.

Queen Bee Mingshui's Sea of Consciousness was likely mostly shattered. Even if she was lucky enough to make it back alive, how much longer could she survive?

Back then, he was able to defeat the Golden Crocodile in a single move, leaving him on the brink of death.

Thus, Mingshui, whose strength was average and not much different from the Golden Crocodile, might have had a slightly stronger Divine Soul, but it certainly wouldn't be by much.

Moreover, she had taken a solid hit from his claw. That move was naturally aimed at her life, so she was likely on the verge of collapsing...

...

Sure enough, he didn't have to wait long.

In less than three months, an extremely chaotic fluctuation of Spiritual Qi suddenly rippled from the direction of the Evil Water Marsh's Eastern Region.

Immediately after, a Golden Core perished.

A majestic wave of Spiritual Qi suddenly dissipated into the heavens and earth. Queen Bee Mingshui's Divine Soul shattered, and she succumbed to her heavy injuries, perishing within her clan!

Following that, countless insect Yao in the Eastern Region began to slaughter one another.

With the Bee Queen dead, twenty-three Foundation Establishment mother insects began to fight for the throne. The battle was so fierce that the sky and earth turned dark. The entire Eastern Region was transformed into an Asura arena, with insect corpses covering the land and lakes in an incredibly tragic scene!

...

In the Eastern Region of the Evil Water Marsh, the civil war among the insect Yao was even more brutal than Shi Jian had anticipated.

Of the twenty-three Foundation Establishment mother insects, most were dead within three days, with over a dozen of them falling in battle one after another to become food.

The insect clan's rules for succession were simple and brutal: fight until only one remained.

There were no negotiations, no compromises, and no respect for seniority. The weak were eaten by the strong, and the strong were besieged by the even stronger.

By the fifth day, only seven mother insects remained fighting on the battlefield.

By the seventh day, only five were left.

At this moment, Shi Jian made his move. Leading Shi Yin and the Golden Crocodile, three Golden Core Great Yao in total, they headed straight for the core Hive of the Eastern Region!

The Hive was built deep within the heart of the only mountain range in the Eastern Region, a massive honeycomb-shaped structure over several hundred zhang tall.

It was constructed from a mixture of countless insect wax and Spirit Stone powder. From afar, it appeared grayish-white, its surface covered in a dense array of hexagonal holes.

By this time, insect corpses had already piled up like mountains around the outskirts of the Hive.

Fragments of various colored shells and broken wings were scattered all over the ground.

The air was filled with a pungent, sour stench—the smell of decaying insect blood. The remaining five Foundation Establishment mother insects were still fighting fiercely both inside and outside the Hive.

Each leading hundreds to thousands of bee soldiers, they formed small insect swarms, tearing at each other within the Hive's tunnels and the open space outside.

The scene could only be described as a state of Chaos.

When the three Golden Core figures, led by Shi Jian, descended above the Hive, the mother insects below did not notice them at all, still self-indulgently devouring one another!

“As expected, insect Yao have low intelligence; even the mother insects are ruled by instinct.”

Shi Jian took a glance and shook his head slightly.

This was also why he had never enlightened any insect Yao Beasts; even after transforming into Yao, their intelligence remained undeveloped.

Even upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, the mother insects only possessed a modicum of wisdom.

Only mother insects at the Golden Core level could fully awaken their intelligence and reach the level of an ordinary human, which was much slower compared to ordinary Yao Beasts.

If he wanted to directly cultivate a mother insect with awakened intelligence,

it would likely require more than ten Enlightenments at once. Ten opportunities for Enlightenment meant ten years of time, which was enough for Shi Jian to nurture several Genius Yao Beasts.

The harvest was disproportionate to the effort, which was why Shi Jian had always been unwilling to enlighten the insect clan.

Then, Shi Jian broke through the shell from the top of the Hive and entered.

Under his claw, the dome of the hundred-zhang Hive shattered directly, creating a large hole. Debris flew everywhere as sunlight poured inside.

The eight mother insects currently fighting all looked up in unison.

They saw a ball of purple-gold thunder-light suspended above the dome, silently looking down at them. The Spiritual Pressure of a Golden Core bore down overwhelmingly.

The mother insects froze on the spot, and the insect soldiers that were still fighting all prostrated themselves on the ground.

Insect Yao Beasts were even more sensitive to powerful Spiritual Pressure than other Yao Races. Under the absolute suppression of Realm, they could not even muster the thought of fleeing.

Shi Jian did not waste any words, not even bothering to speak.

He directly released a wave of Divine Soul. His Nascent Soul-grade Divine Sense instantly invaded the Sea of Consciousness of the five mother insects, planting slave brands within them!

When dealing with these insect Yao Beasts, Shi Jian was not so soft-hearted.

Enslaving them directly was the best management measure. In the future, once a new Golden Core Great Yao was born among them,

he could simply transfer control of the swarm to her.

Having dealt with these mother insects, Shi Jian felt somewhat uninterested. He then turned to explore the depths of the Hive; he had come here to find something else!

In the deepest part of the Hive, within a sealed chamber,

the corpse of Queen Bee Mingshui lay.

The giant bee's remains had already turned black and stiff. Two of her three pairs of wings were broken, and her dark blue carapace was mostly shattered, revealing the grayish-white insect flesh inside.

She had died in a pathetic state, her body curled into a ball with her six legs clutched to her chest—an instinctive reaction of insects in extreme agony.

It appeared she had been severely tortured before her death.

Shi Jian walked up to the remains, looking down to inspect them for a moment.

The Yao core of a Rank Five Yao General was a great supplement for Shi Jian. Having been stuck in the Mid-stage Golden Core for many years...

this single Yao core could greatly accelerate his advancement and breakthrough!

With one claw strike, he shattered the Bee Queen's breastplate and dug out the dark blue Yao core from the insect flesh. The Yao core was the size of a fist, with fine patterns flowing across its surface, emitting a faint, cold spiritual glow.

Shi Jian swallowed the Yao core in one gulp, refining the essence within.

He then nudged the Bee Queen's remains. These remains were also an Opportunity; the flesh and blood of a Golden Core Yao Beast was something he simply had to taste!

Counting it up, this was the second Golden Core Yao corpse he had devoured.

Devouring the Sea Ape Beast's corpse back then had saved him at least thirty years of bitter cultivation, allowing him to rapidly advance to the Mid-stage Golden Core.

Obtaining this insect corpse now was where his Opportunity lay.

Shi Jian tore the entire remains of the Bee Queen into pieces and swallowed them into his stomach.

As for the taste of the insect flesh...

It could only be described as complicated—fishy, bitter, astringent, and carrying a sour stench. But after all, it was the corpse of a Golden Core Yao insect, packed full of essence!

Even after devouring only a portion of the remains,

the spiritual power from the Yao core and the essence from the Bee Queen's remains slowly circulated within Shi Jian's body, eventually merging into his Dantian and Sea of Consciousness.

A warm current of Qi rose from his abdomen, spreading throughout his body along his Meridians, and his aura began to increase at a rate visible to the naked eye!

Shi Jian closed his eyes, focusing entirely on feeling the changes within his body.

The Divine Soul essence within the Yao core was being slowly absorbed by his Sea of Consciousness, like trickling streams flowing into the ocean, continuously replenishing his physical body!

It was simply a supreme tonic!

...