Chapter Ninety-One: Slay the Queen Bee!

High above, the Heaven-Demon Bee Queen beat its wings and unleashed a thunderous roar that rolled across the sky.

The disciples of the Grand Origin Sect turned ashen. The force of that cry made their hearts tremble, and Lin Jun’s pulse hammered wildly. He bit hard into the tip of his tongue, formed a seal in the air with both hands, and then swept out a palm strike.

A terrifying surge of spiritual power condensed into a radiant art in midair. Spinning as it went, it slashed toward the bee queen’s waist, carrying a mighty, crushing force with it.

This technique had been driven by Lin Jun’s own essence blood. Its power was unfathomable and ranked among his strongest arts, displaying the full might of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator. It far surpassed the half-step Golden Core realm and could even clash head-on with ordinary Golden Core cultivators.

And yet Lin Jun’s eyes held no joy at all. He had never placed any hope in that attack. The moment he unleashed the technique, he drew a talisman from his storage pouch, flashed a glance, slapped it fiercely against his legs, and vanished into the distance like a streaking shadow.

Seeing even Lin Jun flee in such disarray, the other Grand Origin disciples lost all will to fight. Taking advantage of the brief moment when Lin Jun’s strike delayed the bee queen, they all cast their secret arts and retreated at full speed, as though they wished they had two fewer legs and could still run faster.

The Heaven-Demon Bee Queen, meanwhile, gave a violent shake of its wings and shielded its head, taking the blow head-on. Aside from a wisp of white smoke rising from its wings, it emerged utterly unscathed. After a brief tremor of its body, it resumed its pursuit.

Xu Ke and the others watching from nearby all looked grim. The bee queen’s strength had far surpassed their expectations. In just one exchange, it had driven the prodigies of the Grand Origin Sect into complete rout. Even the formidable Lin Jun was no match for it. If they went up now, they would only be throwing their lives away.

Turning to look at Wang Ran, who still stood where he was, unmoving, staring intently at the bee queen in thought, Xu Ke could not help growing anxious. “Senior Brother Wang, stop thinking and let’s withdraw. If that beast notices us here, we won’t be able to escape either!”

Xu Ke’s words echoed the thoughts of the others. With the bee queen this powerful, their original plan had likely gone up in smoke. There was no longer the slightest chance of success, but returning empty-handed was still better than losing their lives.

Zhao Xiaobai remained silent, a trace of unwillingness in his eyes. Like Wang Ran, he was deeply fixated on killing the Heaven-Demon Bee Queen. That five hundred thousand contribution reward was simply too tempting.

Yet Wang Ran remained motionless, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. Suddenly, he clapped his hands.

“I understand now!”

Everyone froze and turned to look. Wang Ran threw back his head and laughed, pointing at the Heaven-Demon Bee Queen that was still hunting the Grand Origin disciples in the distance. His bearing was sharp and commanding as he said, “This beast is mine to kill today!”

“Huh?” Xu Ke blinked, baffled. “Senior Brother Wang, it’s that strong. How are you going to kill it?”

The others were equally puzzled. After seeing the bee queen’s strength, shouldn’t they be running for their lives?

Zhao Xiaobai also could not make sense of Wang Ran’s plan and looked at him in surprise. Wang Ran only smiled faintly, wearing an expression as if every move had already been accounted for.

“Old Xu, this beast is far from invincible. Look at its movement range. Don’t you notice a pattern?”

Xu Ke followed his gaze. After Wang Ran’s reminder, he indeed saw something and quickly said, “It really is. This bee queen seems to be bound by something. It keeps circling in one place.”

Zhao Xiaobai stroked his chin as well. The Heaven-Demon Bee Queen had several opportunities to kill the Grand Origin disciples, yet each time it abruptly held back, as if its body were chained. It could only move within a certain range and did not dare leave casually.

Wang Ran shook his head and smiled. “Not bound. Reluctant to leave. Notice this: the closer the bee queen gets to the hive, the stronger its demonic aura becomes. But once it leaves the hive’s range and moves toward those fleeing Grand Origin disciples, its strength drops sharply.”

“So my guess is this: the reason the Heaven-Demon Bee Queen is so powerful is that something inside that hive boosts its strength. But once it leaves the area centered on the hive, it falls back to its original cultivation level.”

“In other words, if we lure it away from the hive, we can still kill it!”

Everyone understood at once, then their expressions brightened with excitement. Zhao Xiaobai also showed a look of approval. Wang Ran’s composure in danger and his meticulous observation satisfied him greatly.

At that moment, Zhao Xiaobai smiled lightly, closed his folding fan in his hand, and stepped forward. “Old Xu, have the Black Tortoise disciples get ready. I’ll lure the beast out. Remember to help me absorb its attacks. The rest of you will use your arts to harass it from a distance and create an opening for Senior Brother Wang!”

“Understood!” The others nodded solemnly.

Their original plan had been the same, except that it had not been Zhao Xiaobai who would risk his life alone, but the Black Tortoise disciples attacking together.

But circumstances had changed. The bee queen was far too strong. Once Black Tortoise disciples entered the hive’s range, they would surely die with no chance of survival. Only Zhao Xiaobai had any hope of holding his own there for a moment.

“Be careful.” Wang Ran patted Zhao Xiaobai on the shoulder, then took out a packet of pollen and pressed it into his hand. “Remember to bring this with you.”

Zhao Xiaobai met Wang Ran’s eyes, smiled slightly, and put the pollen away. When he turned around again, his killing intent already surged sky-high, his blood energy roaring out in all directions. He transformed into a streak of light and shot toward the bee queen.

Wang Ran, meanwhile, quietly began accumulating power.

In truth, Zhao Xiaobai, Xu Ke, and the others were only bait. He was the one who would decide victory or defeat.

Before coming here, they had already studied countless records and analyzed the Heaven-Demon Bee Queen’s strength in detail. They had discovered that, as a Golden Core beast, its body was exceptionally tough, and the armor on its back was virtually indestructible, comparable to a spirit weapon. Its only weakness lay beneath its abdomen, where a soft spot could be found, and that spot was fatal.

After some discussion, they decided that Wang Ran would serve as their hidden trump card. Once an opening appeared, he would strike that weak point and kill it in a single blow, accomplishing the remarkable feat of a Foundation Establishment cultivator slaying a Golden Core beast.

Just as Wang Ran’s gaze flickered and power gathered within him, Zhao Xiaobai had already rushed into the bee queen’s attack range. The folding fan in his hand grew rapidly in the wind, becoming a broad weapon with sharp edges at the corners. With a light flick, it transformed again into a long spear.

This was Zhao Xiaobai’s spirit weapon, specially custom-made at great expense from an elder of the sect. In ordinary times it was only a modest folding fan, but once infused with spiritual power, it could switch into an offensive form. Opened wide, it became a golden wheel capable of cutting through anything. Closed again, it turned into a spear with unstoppable force.

Seeing Zhao Xiaobai descend from the sky with a spear in hand, the Grand Origin disciples were all stunned. What shocked them even more came next: the Self-Only Sect disciples they had once regarded as mere ants had all appeared together, attempting to attack the bee queen!

“My heavens, have they gone mad?” one Grand Origin disciple cried out in disbelief.

Lin Jun also widened his eyes. In his astonished gaze, he saw that the Self-Only Sect disciple wielding the spear had actually survived the bee queen’s attacks and was still relentlessly searching for chances to thrust at it.

“What are they doing? Are they tired of living?” Many of the Grand Origin disciples could not make sense of it at all. Zhao Xiaobai’s strength was simply too far below the bee queen’s. No matter how he attacked, it looked no different from an ant scratching at an elephant.

At that moment, the bee queen also grew furious. Apart from the human before it who kept provoking it, there was also the rich, sweet scent of pollen on him, which severely irritated its senses.

It wanted nothing more than to crush this human into fragments, then drink his blood and make him its meal.

And so, at last, the bee queen’s range of movement loosened. Under the repeated harassment of Xu Ke and the others, together with Zhao Xiaobai, it stepped beyond the hive’s perimeter. Its cultivation instantly fell to the early Golden Core stage. Because the demonic energy here was so dense, however, no one noticed.

But Wang Ran, who had been waiting for this chance, suddenly let his eyes blaze.

A tyrannical aura erupted from him in an instant, leaving everyone present momentarily dazed.

The bee queen was no different. Its body stiffened in midair.

Wang Ran seized that opening. He stomped on the ground and shot forth like a cannonball.

“Today, I will slay the bee queen!”