Chapter 235: Chapter 228: Entering the Green Demon Forest 1

Listening to the meaning of the second brother’s words, even the merely formidable wild bees in the mountains possess night vision capabilities.

The real Green Demon Bees must be even stronger.

Even if it’s just an original Green Demon Bee, it must be an extremely terrifying entity.

Qin Niu brought 20,000 termites this time, more than 4,000 of which had the ability to control or attack the mind, and he also prepared an Advanced Contract Talisman. He was quite well-prepared and naturally would not settle for just catching any ordinary wild bee.

Heading out from the inn with the basket on his back, the street was indeed even busier than he had anticipated.

There were people browsing the night market everywhere.

There were also more stalls than during the day.

Everyone seemed to prefer the trading atmosphere shrouded in the cover of night.

Perhaps they felt it was more secretive, making it easier to purchase some ‘black market items’ that were hard to obtain during the day.

For example, goods obtained from murder and looting are difficult to dispose of during the day but can fetch a good price at night.

When Qin Niu was ready to leave, he planned to deal with his silver and gold notes.

Since he still did not know how many days he would stay, he naturally would not act rashly.

With the basket on his back, he strode toward the direction of Black Stone Village, not far from the market town.

Or rather, the center of the market town, after years of expansion, had already extended to Black Stone Village.

People bustled like smoke.

It’s not just market towns; even a city’s downtown can slowly shift over time.

The prosperity of Hundred Leaf Town was almost entirely driven by Black Stone Village.

Without these adventurers and ‘gold diggers,’ it would rapidly wither and become just an ordinary small town.

Along the way, Qin Niu could still see sparsely scattered stallholders.

Some were carrying oil lamps, while others fully emulated the Ghost Market, laying out their merchandise in pitch darkness. Some even simply sat there without displaying any goods.

What were these people doing?

To sell goods, one had to display them, right? Even writing a sign or shouting would be better!

Like Qin Niu, there were quite a few people carrying tools into the mountains to hunt for bees.

Some had formed small teams of two or three, or even up to five people.

Others were lone adventurers.

Those who were a bit slimmer and dressed head to toe in protective gear were mostly female adventurers.

Qin Niu did not wish to deal with anyone, for he had a treasure map and had no intention of sharing it with anyone.

Some adventurers had purchased expensive protective gear, covering their bodies with thorough protection.

Some held bee-catching nets in their hands.

Others were carrying large wooden barrels, apparently prepared to gather honey.

Hornets do not produce honey; it is only honeybees that do.

Looking at the attire of those carrying barrels, they were clearly locals. Surely the various raw honeys sold in the market town were harvested by these people from the mountains.

This meant that besides killer bees, there were also honeybees in the mountains.

After walking out of the market town’s streets, the road slowly became rough and uneven.

Weeds grew on both sides.

There were many paths leading into the mountains.

Some chose the less traveled paths, while others took the main path.

Since Qin Niu was here for the first time, he chose the main path. No other reason, just that it was more populated, with free guides.

Just as he was about to enter the mountains, a vast bamboo forest spread out before him.

People were entering the forest in droves.

Qin Niu, with hearing far superior to the average person, faintly heard the sound of wings flapping above the bamboo forest. Looking up, with the help of the dim moonlight, he could see several beehive-like structures.

It seemed that no one was interested in these ordinary wild bees; they simply pushed forward.

The conversation between two adventurers ahead was clearly audible to Qin Niu.

“Brother Wang, do you know why there are even more people entering the mountains to catch bees at night? If it were during the day, just trying to pass through this bamboo forest would be extremely difficult.”

“Is there something special about this bamboo forest?”

“This forest is home to at least a million poisonous bees. They can’t see at night, so as long as they aren’t provoked, there’s no problem. During the day, however, whether it’s humans or wild animals, passing through here is seen as an invasion. The bees will form swarms and launch their fiercest attacks on the intruders.”

“What’s to fear? I’ve bought a full set of protective gear, I’m covered head to

toe.”

H

Heh, many who think like you end up stung into a swollen mess. Protective nets costing less than ten silver money, no matter how well-promoted or sturdy the seller claims it is, can be easily torn apart by the sheer number of wild bees here. A single wild bee may not be formidable, but in the thousands, they can secrete venom that, sprayed onto the gear, can blind a person who gets it in their eyes in an instant.

If it gets on the skin, it can immediately cause blisters to form, more painful than boiling water burns.”

Cobras and other highly venomous snakes can also spray their venom to attack enemies.

Unexpectedly, these wild bees have the same ability.

The bamboo forest was much larger than he had imagined.

After traversing for over a quarter of an hour, they finally made it through.

Beyond the bamboo forest, they had entered the mountainous region.

Small rolling hills continued on, but according to the map’s description, there were larger mountains, not just one but a chain of them.

After passing through the bamboo forest, the adventurers began to go their separate ways.

Some lit oil lamps, ready to use them to find the wild bees.

Little did they know, as soon as the oil lamps were lit, the buzzing of bee wings resonated.

Multitudes of wild bees descended upon the source of light.

“Ouch… Ah… Somebody help!”

That adventurer was instantly in trouble, stung by the wild bees, and screamed in agony.

Instinctively, he picked up his oil lamp and started to run back.

Not realizing that this was a fatal mistake.

As soon as he entered the bamboo forest, he alarmed even more bee swarms, with each one assaulting him.

“Quick, extinguish the oil lamp and lie on the ground, don’t move.”

A local yelled at the adventurer.

The latter, enduring the severe pain, extinguished the oil lamp and lay on the ground.

A moment later, the swarm of bees slowly returned to calm.

The man staggered to his feet, humming as he ran towards the outside of the mountain. He must have been seriously injured.

Before entering the mountain to hunt for bees, he clearly hadn’t done his homework and ultimately paid a heavy price for lighting a lamp.

Fortunately, the wild bees outside, though highly poisonous, were not lethal.

Suffering some flesh wounds, he should be able to recover before long.

Qin Niu was already advancing quickly ahead, his goal quite clear, unlike other adventurers who were content with finding just a slightly more formidable wild bee.

He needed to capture the Green Demon Bee to obtain the treasure of the Green Demon.

Armed with his Innate Realm cultivation and long-term experience traversing the mountains, he soon left the other adventurers far behind.

In reality, adventurers were everywhere in the mountains.

Even in some dark corner, there might be an adventurer lying in wait.

Some would bring provisions and lie in wait for a powerful wild bee, motionless like a scout, at one spot.

Observing carefully, one would notice that Qin Niu’s steps were peculiar as he moved forward.

Indeed, he had started to learn the Misty Rain Traceless Step.

He was currently in the early stages of practice.

To master a martial skill, one must first learn the methods, that is, the theory, and understand its principles. Then, put it into practice.

After initially learning it, one must diligently practice to truly grasp the essence of the martial skill.

There are no shortcuts; it’s a matter of studying, practicing, pondering, and understanding more.

As he ventured deeper into the mountains, fewer and fewer adventurers could be seen.

With his keen hearing, he could still detect some adventurers lurking in trees and on the ground.

These people had their own goals.

After crossing the mountain ahead, a taller mountain rose imposingly before him.

More accurately, it was a mountain range.

“The destination is getting closer.”

According to the treasure map, beyond the mountain range ahead, another even larger mountain would appear.

That mountain was Broken Head Peak, with its cliff, and the treasure was at the bottom of the cliff.

Everything was going so well that it made him feel uneasy.

From his life experience, things that were too easy to obtain were either of poor quality or a trap.

He had come with great hope to take the treasure of the Green Demon.

Hopefully, nothing untoward would happen.

As he entered the taller mountain range ahead, the terrain became even more treacherous.

“Eh, why have these stones turned black?”

Upon entering the mountain range, Qin Niu noticed that visibility had worsened, and the light seemed to have darkened considerably.

Seeing the black stones, he couldn’t help but recall the warning from the young waiter.

However, he did not stop but continued forward, relying on his courage and mastery of his art.

After walking less than a hundred meters, he saw a stone tablet emblazoned with flax patterns.

“Enter with caution! Dangerous!”

Engraved beneath it were several images of wasps.

Past the stone tablet, his feet crunched on thick layers of dry branches.

He instinctively looked down to check.

“My goodness!”

Even with his boldness, he was startled and retreated repeatedly after seeing clearly.

The ground wasn’t covered with dry branches but with a thick layer of bones.

How many people must have died here?

Qin Niu suddenly felt this area was exceptionally bleak and frightening.

With so many people dead, how did they die?

He could only think of one possibility.

These people were probably stung to death by wild bees.

While looking around, he heard the buzzing of bees’ wings in his ears.

A large wild bee with yellow patterns covering its body dived towards him like a bomber.

Qin Niu quickly focused to face it.

This large wild bee was even thicker than an adult’s thumb.

It flew at an incredibly fast speed.

However, when it got to about five meters in front of Qin Niu, it suddenly stopped.

Fourth’s antennae were already aimed straight at the wild bee.

It seemed to have been successfully controlled.

Qin Niu scrutinized it closely; this wild bee was at most a Grade Three creature.

It fell far short of Grade Four.

Its wings were unusually sturdy, which is why they made a particularly deep sound when flapping.

“You’re of no use to me, Golden Toad, it’s yours.”

Qin Niu let the Golden Toad eat it straight away.

He moved forward cautiously, with such wild bees occasionally attacking him.

As the discussions had indicated, these wild bees possessed Night Vision capabilities.

This rank of wild bee posed a great threat to ordinary experts, but they couldn’t get close to Qin Niu. He didn’t even need to act personally; his pets would take care of the wild bees for him.

Through careful observation, he noticed that these wild bees’ nests were varied. Some were underground, some inside tree hollows, and some on branches.

And they belonged to different species.

Catching one and selling it in Hundred Leaf Town could fetch around a hundred copper coins.

But since there were many sellers, it was probably not easy to sell them.

He felt their poison must be quite potent, but their other abilities were rather common..