CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 33: OPEN FOR BUSINESS, BUT NOT FULLY OPEN! (SEEKING INVESTMENT AND FOLLOWERS)

Adhering to the principle that a beehive must be sheltered from wind and rain, Hong Yuan stepped into a lush bamboo forest, bursting with green.

The verdant bamboo swayed gracefully, and the morning sun shone through the leaves, casting speckled patterns on the ground.

Strolling along the muddy path in the bamboo forest, it felt as though he was floating on a light boat in a sea of green. Breathing in the air, scented with the fragrance of bamboo leaves, all worries were drowned, leaving him refreshed and clear-minded.

But here, to his surprise, Hong Yuan found a swarm of bees.

The Earth Dragon Bee, one of the most venomous among the Wasps.

Ten ferocious Earth Dragon Bees could poison a bull to death!

To find Earth Dragon Bees here is truly unexpected, Hong Yuan mused with a sense of realization.

Hong Yuan did not flaunt his presence as he had with the Black Small Honey Bee Tribe and the mutated Tiger Head Bee Tribe previously; the environment here was already an area where second-order Demon Beasts roamed, and he could not afford to be careless.

Hong Yuan took out a bloodstained arrow from his quiver, aiming at the yellowed Earth Dragon Bee hive within the bamboo forest.

TWANG!

The bowstring released with a sound like a thunderclap.

In the blink of an eye, the arrow pierced through the beehive, causing the Earth Dragon Bees from one of the hives to swarm out, searching for the scent and charging towards Hong Yuan.

Hong Yuan turned and sprinted, leading this batch of Earth Dragon Bees away from the bamboo forest.

「An hour later.」

The number of bees under Hong Yuan’s control had increased to nine hundred.

The Earth Dragon Bees accounted for half, with the Black Small Honey Bees and the mutated Tiger Head Bees making up the other half.

With his new bee army, Hong Yuan continued on his quest to hunt down the Qingmu Deer.

He truly didn’t believe he wouldn’t be able to find even a single Qingmu Deer!

As the sun was about to set, Hong Yuan finally encountered three Qingmu Deer drinking at a lake, which filled him with immense joy.

He carefully observed the area, and after noting nothing unusual, he urged five Sting Bee Worms into action.

Apart from the Earth Dragon Bees at his side, Hong Yuan dispatched all his other bee forces.

At this moment, the three Qingmu Deer were drinking by the reeds of the lake, vigilantly scanning their surroundings as if ready to bolt at the slightest disturbance.

Hong Yuan reached for his quiver, nocked an arrow, and drew his bow, his target locked firmly on the largest Qingmu Deer.

Once the five Sting Bee Worms reached their designated positions, he would immediately shoot!

The wind blew gently across the surface of the water, creating ripples.

The sight of Qingmu Deer and other small animals drinking formed a harmonious picture.

Just then, a sound like thunder from a plucked string startled the air, and the three Qingmu Deer leaped up, ready to dash into the woods.

However, an arrow pierced the head of the largest Qingmu Deer, and it fell beside the reeds, bleeding profusely.

The other two Qingmu Deer cried out mournfully and instantly fled toward the bushes in the forest.

But the five Sting Bee Worms rushed from their assigned positions, leading the Black Small Honey Bees and mutated Tiger Head Bees to cut off the two Qingmu Deer’s escape path, preventing them from running.

TWANG! TWANG!

Two more bowstrings sounded, and the remaining two Qingmu Deer fell to the ground.

The Earth Dragon Bee swarm followed Hong Yuan closely as he quickly walked towards the three Qingmu Deer.

Hong Yuan took out a storage bag and swiftly gathered the three Qingmu Deer into it.

Finally, I’ve caught the Qingmu Deer, Hong Yuan inwardly sighed in relief. After a whole day of work, he had only managed to capture three Qingmu Deer. The efficiency was too low, far too low!

Seeing the sun begin to set, Hong Yuan quickly led his bees away.

「On the other side of the lake.」

Zhang Tianyuan, hidden behind a tree, watched silently as Hong Yuan left.

He had hurried over upon hearing the loud buzzing of the bees.

But he had hardly arrived when Hong Yuan had already finished dealing with the Qingmu Deer and turned to leave.

Zhang Tianyuan looked at the swarm of bees buzzing above Hong Yuan’s head, gritting his teeth in secret.

Damn it, why is it always a Disciple of Spirit Beast Hall? These guys are really intent on targeting the Qingmu Deer herd, aren’t they?!

Zhang Tianyuan was extremely angry.

That morning, he had been scared off by a Disciple of Spirit Beast Hall; he hadn’t expected the afternoon to be the same.

If this continued, would he even be able to hunt Qingmu Deer anymore?

A fierce look gradually surfaced in Zhang Tianyuan’s eyes.

「The next morning.」

Hong Yuan continued to lead his bees in pursuit of Qingmu Deer.

With meager gains, Hong Yuan had no choice but to include other first-order Demon Beasts in his hunting range so as not to leave his two storage bags empty.

Sword Stabbing Tiger, Cloud Mountain Sparrow, Big White Python...

Gradually, one of Hong Yuan’s storage bags filled with the corpses of Demon Beasts.

Unfortunately, due to continuous combat, the Black Small Honey Bees had completely withdrawn from his team.

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Now, his team consisted of half mutated Tiger Head Bees and half Earth Dragon Bees.

Although his combat power had greatly increased, his reconnaissance capabilities had weakened somewhat.

「The third day, at noontime.」

Hong Yuan encountered other Martial Artists. One of them was a young man carrying a Longsword, his dashing figure almost identical to the handsome Sword Immortal Hong Yuan had imagined.

With just a glance, Hong Yuan and the sword-carrying young man silently went their separate ways, not interfering with each other.

Disciples who dared to venture into Firefly Forest alone were surely the elites of their respective halls!

Even so, Hong Yuan still did not find any sign of Qingmu Deer that day.

At this point, Hong Yuan was not very keen on hunting Qingmu Deer. He planned to hunt other Demon Beasts and then use Energy Stones to buy Qingmu Deer from the various large firms.

He would lose out significantly this way, with the price difference being pocketed by the firms twice. But at least this approach offered a clear path forward!

Furthermore, Hong Yuan was also looking for herbs in the resource-rich land of Firefly Forest and searching for high-quality Eagle Demon Beasts. He needed to prepare for crafting the second-order Rapid Bee Worm.

[Rapid Bee Worm: Second-order Worm, agile in form, ...]

[Crafting method: Combine first-order Sting Bee Worm with Energy Stones, Eagle Feathers, fierce tiger hearts...]

With this change in direction, although Hong Yuan hadn’t accomplished much in hunting Qingmu Deer, he made rapid progress on the other two fronts.

On his fifth day in Ten Thousand Beast Cave Heaven, he only needed Eagle Feathers as the last component before he could start crafting the Rapid Bee Worm!

Hong Yuan shifted his focus from hunting Qingmu Deer to capturing first-order Eagle Demon Beasts.

Often, one finds that meticulously tended flowers refuse to bloom, while casually planted willows grow to offer shade. This was precisely Hong Yuan’s situation now.

In the grassy plains before him, a large herd of Qingmu Deer had suddenly appeared, more than twenty of them. For some reason, they were all running towards the mountains at an astonishing speed!

GULP. Hong Yuan gulped.

Hong Yuan hesitated no more and led his swarm of bees toward the mountains.

From concealed bushes, a pair of lurking eyes watched Hong Yuan leave.

When he saw Hong Yuan indeed head towards the mountains, a smile—as if everything was under his control—touched the corners of his mouth.

That person was Zhang Tianyuan.

Go fight. Once I’ve finished hunting the other Qingmu Deer Herd elsewhere, I’ll come and clean up the mess for you! Zhang Tianyuan thought with sly, hidden glee.

Originally, Zhang Tianyuan had not intended to involve Hong Yuan. However, the Spirit Beast Hall Disciples, Xu Haisheng and Xiao Youjun, had pushed him too hard, leaving him no choice but to make a trade-off.

Fine, let’s go big!

After all, he had a safety net—