Chapter Forty-Four: The Harvest

Ignoring the pool, the senior sister leading the team approached the enormous bee’s corpse with a wary expression. Contrary to what they’d imagined, no unusual situation occurred—the body lay there in silence, its features faintly peaceful, with only the gutted abdomen betraying the violent upheaval it had endured.

Seeing there was no danger, the group dispersed to look for clues. Chen Qi, too, walked over to the black pool, curious about the substance exuding such an enticing allure.

The moment his gaze met the pool, the “Budding Space” issued a prompt:

[Large quantity of Black Jade Royal Jelly discovered]

[Black Jade Royal Jelly]

Origin: Cangxing Continent

Quality: Blue

Type: Consumable

Requirements: Constitution 15, Strength 12

Effect: Nourishes blood and qi upon consumption, increases constitution, and with long-term use can slightly extend lifespan, prevent various cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and enhance bone marrow hematopoiesis.

Rating: 166

Description: A product secreted by Blood God Bees using the flesh of their prey, this is the most precious treasure of their hive. Its effects make it the finest tonic short of legendary treasures—mild in nature, it replenishes and sustains the body.

Price: 1,350 universal points

Note: Consuming this item does not affect the absorption of legendary treasures.

...

Although the “Budding Space” only provided attributes for this black semi-solid, Chen Qi gleaned enough information to reconstruct the entire scene:

The Blood God Bee Queen and worker bees left behind had learned of the demise of their hunting party. Knowing disaster had struck, they took some of the Black Jade Royal Jelly and fled.

As for the queen’s death, it was likely due to her reproductive, machine-like body offering little combat ability. For the sake of their race’s survival, the worker bees cut open her abdomen and removed the eggs she had yet to lay, hoping for a new queen to emerge...

Combining these facts, the portion of royal jelly taken away became the starting capital for those eggs—perhaps enough to ensure the continuation of their kind.

This also explained why the Blood God Bee Queen’s final expression was tinged with peace.

Soon, the group gathered again, piecing together the clues with their various observations. The conclusion was just as Chen Qi had surmised.

At this point, Chen Qi also revealed that the black semi-solid in the pool was the royal jelly produced by the Blood God Bee colony, its effects vastly superior to the honey used for nest building.

He made no attempt to conceal this find—knowing it would be impossible to hide from the perceptive, and feeling that, after all they’d endured together, everyone deserved a share of the spoils.

Sure enough, upon hearing his words, the senior sister nodded and gave Chen Qi a gentle, approving look, as if surprised by the breadth of his knowledge.

The news of their harvest somewhat dispelled the gloom cast by their losses. One by one, the group produced containers from inside their robes or from storage rings, each filling them with the black, viscous royal jelly.

This left Chen Qi, who had not brought a container, in an awkward spot—fortunately, Sun Ruohai lent him an empty wine jar, and he claimed his rightful portion.

Only the one-armed disciple surnamed Ao remained motionless. He stood apart, changing into a new robe. The fresh sleeve on his right fluttered in the wind, but there was nothing within it now.

He gazed at the others in silence, his eyes hollow—devoid of joy or excitement, as if nothing in the world could rouse his interest.

Understanding passed unspoken among the group; they set aside a portion of the royal jelly for him. But as the mood grew heavy, another disciple quickly pulled him away.

By this time, darkness had fallen, and the red glow within the cavern had dimmed to a dusky crimson. The group began pitching tents, choosing a spot beside the hive.

This idea came from the senior sister, who reasoned that, given the Blood God Bees’ power, they must have been the undisputed rulers of this cave. With their lingering presence, no other beasts would dare disturb them during the night.

Everyone agreed with this logic.

Chen Qi stood to the side, watching them pitch their tents in a daze. As this was his first time camping in the wilderness, he had, of course, brought nothing with him!

Luckily, Sun Ruohai’s tent was large enough. Chen Qi slipped in with practiced ease, earning a raised eyebrow from Sun Ruohai.

With a mischievous glint in his eye, Chen Qi joked, “Sun, your eyebrows seem to have a life of their own.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Sun Ruohai reddened and reached for his sword, causing Chen Qi to hastily drop the subject.

Lying side by side in the tent, Sun Ruohai’s lips moved as if to speak, but he finally swallowed his words. The two exchanged glances, silent.

At midnight, unable to resist temptation, Chen Qi opened his eyes.

Tonight, the night watch was being handled in shifts by three inner disciples, which meant he could remain in the tent undisturbed.

A sly grin spread across his face as Chen Qi focused his thoughts on his storage space, where four treasure chests lay in wait—two blue, two green—the fruits of this life-and-death ordeal.

Notably, as soon as the wine jar filled with royal jelly entered his storage space, some mysterious force divided it into six units.

Though it wasn’t his first time opening treasure chests, Chen Qi’s heart pounded like that of a groom on his wedding night.

Rubbing his hands in excitement, he started with the green chests. The two were distinctly different: one glowed with a faint green light, like phosphorescent material on Earth; the other shimmered with a deeper, richer green, reminiscent of a certain type of hat some people wore. (Struck through)

[You have opened Green Chest *2 and obtained the following items:]

[800 universal points]

[Blood God Bee Poison Sac]

[Ominous Blood]

...

[Blood God Bee Poison Sac]

Origin: Cangxing Continent

Quality: Green

Type: Special Consumable

Effect:

Usage 1: One use can coat a weapon with poison for three minutes. When the weapon wounds an enemy, there is a chance to inflict poison, causing 5-25 points of toxic damage, stackable up to three layers. Each layer increases the initial poison damage by 50%. When all three layers have accumulated, the enemy’s nerve reflex speed is reduced by 5-30%.

Current uses: 2/2

Usage 2: Can be used as a forging material to give weapons a chance to gain a venomous trait, or to imbue armor with poison resistance.

(Using method 1 invalidates method 2.)

Rating: 75

Description: The poison sac of the Blood God Bee. Almost no one can remove it intact, as these creatures fight to the bitter end, often tearing themselves apart.

Price: 800 universal points

...

[Ominous Blood]

Quality: Green

Type: Material

Rating: 80 (the upper limit for green-quality items)

Description: A drop of mysterious blood exuding an ill omen, though the power within seems to wane over time.

Price: 500 universal points

...

Looking at the pigeon-egg-sized poison sac in his storage space, Chen Qi was quite pleased. He had firsthand experience with the effects of triple-stacked Blood God Bee venom, and this would certainly add a useful trick to his arsenal.

As for this [Ominous Blood], Chen Qi was a bit perplexed. It was his first time acquiring a material-type item, and “Budding Space” gave no further details on its use.

Still, the vague description and top-tier green rating made clear it was no ordinary thing.

After all, as the saying goes, an item rated 80 isn’t worth only 80 points—rather, 80 is the maximum for green-quality items.

Seeing the two blue-glowing chests remaining, Chen Qi immediately opened them.

Both chests cracked open at once—one with a normal blue glow, the other shimmering with blue-violet light, the purple quickly devouring the blue until a dazzling violet brilliance nearly blinded Chen Qi.