Chapter 460: Six-Winged Venomous Bee, Signs of Demonization

The ground, covered in gravel, was difficult to traverse; originally a stone mountain, it had been leveled by powerful martial arts, shattering the rocks into countless fragments thinner and sharper than razor blades.

After the Wu people arrived, they released a large number of venomous insects that slithered through the gaps in the rubble, adding to the danger.

If a martial artist rashly intruded, eight out of ten would not make it out.

Just looking at the pools of blood and severed limbs scattered every few steps among the rocks—belonging to both martial artists and Wu people—one knew this place had become a death trap.

"Gugu gugu!"

The sound of a rooster crowing rang out, unexpectedly adding a touch of human warmth to this death trap.

"Da Jin, come back quickly, be careful the venomous insects don't bite you to death."

A delicate-looking youth shouted anxiously, watching helplessly as his pet rooster bobbed its blood-red comb, its colorful tail feathers swaying incessantly as it hopped about in the rubble.

Its claws scraped against the stones, sparking fire; if any venomous insect dared to show its head, the rooster's head would dart out as fast as lightning, snapping it up in its beak and crushing it to pieces.

The youth sat down and curled up behind a large rock, listening to the rooster's triumphant crowing.

He was somewhat well-known among the martial artists of Fucheng, though not for his strength, but rather for his unique hobby.

Kai Xulun loved chickens as if they were his own life; from childhood, he had been obsessed with cockfighting, and whenever he encountered a cockfighting bird he liked, he treated it as a treasure, even going so far as to eat and sleep with it, and sharing a blanket with the fighting cock.

People dubbed his hobby "Chicken Obsession."

Before Kai Xulun went to the battlefield, he concluded that this battle would be a narrow escape from death, so he brought his most beloved "Da Hong Pao" with him.

Da Hong Pao was that arrogant big rooster; its comb was as bright red as blood, its tail feathers were colorful, and its plumage was as brilliant as a red robe—it was a top-tier fighting cock.

"I love chickens as my life; if I am to die, I would rather die in the same place as my favorite fighting cock."

Kai Xulun took the big rooster into battle, but during the first wave of the charge, he was separated from his companions, leaving only the fighting cock Da Hong Pao by his side.

Although he was a Primary Martial Master, he had wasted his martial arts training by indulging in cockfighting, and he couldn't defeat anyone; after killing a few Qi-Blood Wu people, he fled in a sorry state to a remote, uninhabited area when faced with the menacing hunters.

Da Hong Pao, however, was in its element; the corpses of the venomous insects left behind by the Wu people were its favorite food.

The big rooster darted through the rubble, and whenever it encountered large venomous insects, it would snap them into its beak, whether they were dead or alive.

Strangely enough, the ferocious venomous insects, and even Gu, would go limp in front of the big rooster, becoming a delicious meal.

Kai Xulun rubbed his eyes, unsure if it was a hallucination, but his beloved chicken's feathers seemed brighter, and its claws sharper and sturdier.

Just now, hearing him call out, the rooster looked back, seemingly with a hint of mockery and disdain.

No, impossible, it must have been his eyes playing tricks on him.

"Gugu!"

The big rooster suddenly stopped, its comb engorged with blood and standing upright like a crown, the feathers on its neck bristling and spreading out.

It seemed to have encountered something extraordinary, displaying a range of emotions—surprise, anger, and wariness—in the blink of an eye.

Gu Insect, the Gu Insect had come.

As the battle with the Wu people grew more intense, this terrifying creature had become known to the martial artists.

Ordinary venomous insects were already formidable enough, with toxins of all kinds that specifically targeted the physical defenses of martial masters; once they touched flesh and blood, they acted with fierce speed, causing death in the blink of an eye.

Many martial masters had been caught off guard and met their end because of a moment of carelessness when a venomous insect got close.

Over time, their methods for dealing with venomous insects had increased, using Qi-Blood as a barrier to guard against the sudden sneak attacks of the insects.

However, above the venomous insects were the even more terrifying and powerful Gu Insects.

Gu Insects were the kings of venomous insects, the most ferocious and vicious exotic breeds selected through the secret arts of the Wu people by making them kill each other.

Every time a Gu Insect appeared, it caused heavy casualties, and only secret treasures could restrain them.

Kai Xulun was just a martial master of common origin; besides Da Hong Pao, he only had an ordinary Qi-Blood divine weapon.

"Rustle, rustle!"

A golden six-winged venomous bee circled and arrived in the rubble, suddenly opening its mouth to emit a shrill, baby-like cry. Kai Xulun felt his heart nearly shatter; what kind of monster was this!

After the six-winged venomous bee appeared, it turned into a golden thread and headed straight for the place where Kai Xulun was hiding; it had discovered him long ago.

"My life is over!"

Kai Xulun was terrified and raised his Qi-Blood divine weapon to block, but upon being struck by the venomous bee, the weapon was snapped in two at the waist.

The next moment, the rock he was hiding behind was also smashed to pieces.

Do not be fooled by the fact that the six-winged venomous bee was only the size of a fist; its strength exceeded its size by a hundred or a thousand times, and it was terrifying to the extreme.

Just as the golden thread was about to pierce his forehead and devour his brains, the proud crowing of Da Hong Pao rang in his ears.

"Gugu gugu, gu!"

The big rooster, draped in its blood-red robe, flew over, its cry carrying such power that it actually caused the six-winged venomous bee to pause for a moment.

Once the six-winged venomous bee paused, Kai Xulun seized the opportunity and rolled away from its attack range.

Next, the chicken and the bee began to fight.

Da Hong Pao flapped its wings violently, leaping up and down, its neck extending and retracting with ease, its steel-like beak and claws never leaving the six-winged venomous bee.

The venomous bee's six pairs of wings vibrated so fast they were almost transparent, and it tried to circle around several times.

After fighting for a long while, Da Hong Pao's eyes suddenly turned red, and it coughed up two drops of blood foam from its beak.

Its strength surged suddenly, and it pecked the six-winged venomous bee, swallowing it into its mouth before it could struggle.

"Da Hong Pao!"

Kai Xulun was overcome with excitement and stepped forward to see if it was injured, but the big rooster ignored him, snatching his broken Qi-Blood divine weapon and crunching it into pieces to swallow.

As the fragments entered, the peristalsis and pressure of the rooster's throat gradually ground the life force of the six-winged venomous bee to nothing.

"Gugu gugu!"

Da Hong Pao stood on the highest stone mountain, letting out a proud and triumphant crow toward the sky.

Kai Xulun looked at his beloved fighting cock and suddenly had a premonition that his beloved bird was about to leave him.

"Where did that chicken crowing come from?"

Zhou You flicked his wrist, and a white shadow spun around the back of his head, *clack*, knocking a streak of golden thread to the ground.

Swish, a figure flashed past, bringing with it a whistling gale.

Zuo Lv held his blade with both arms and struck the ground with all his might, causing the surrounding earth to shake twice.

Looking under the blade's edge, a six-winged venomous bee had been cleanly sliced in two.

He confirmed the venomous bee was thoroughly dead, picked up the insect carcass, and counted the number in the cloth bag.

"Master of the Hall, there were eighteen Gu Insect venomous bees in total; you killed seventeen, and the whereabouts of one remain unknown."

Zhou You nodded, "Perhaps it strayed; this swarm of Gu Insects is quite formidable."

"If not for the Master of the Hall, this Disciple would certainly not have survived encountering this swarm of Gu Insects."

Zuo Lv spoke these words with sincere conviction; the Gu Insects that others would avoid at all costs were being slaughtered by Zhou You as if they were dry twigs.

With his own strength, even if he exhausted all his efforts, he could only manage to end up in a mutual defeat with a single six-winged venomous bee.

The Shaman people's methods of raising venomous insects are indeed formidable, but what is truly formidable is the weapon technique of Hall Master Zhou You, whose strikes are as earth-shattering as a thunderclap.

Zhou You thought to himself that the Golden Money Scorpion loves eating the carcasses of venomous insects, and Gu Insects are an even greater tonic; he should not waste the venomous bees killed this time and should feed them to the Golden Money Scorpion after returning.

Before leaving, he took another look at his surroundings; that crowing of a rooster seemed like an auditory hallucination, as it never appeared again.

(End of this chapter)