"Senior Sister, be careful!"
On the hundred-zhang cliff, Zhao Ling'er lightly pushed off with her foot and leaped from a slightly protruding rock on the cliff.
She flew along the cliff face, covering a distance of three zhang, and landed steadily on another protruding rock three zhang away.
This protruding rock was very small, barely enough for one foot to stand on.
Clang...
The clear ring of a sword being unsheathed.
As Zhao Ling'er landed, she drew her sword and plunged it into the adjacent rock face.
This double safety measure ensured she wouldn't fall.
Behind her, Tian Xiaoqing, Xu Kunlun, and He Pingsheng leaped one by one, following the path Zhao Ling'er had just taken.
Don't let Xu Kunlun's large build fool you; he moved with surprising agility at this moment.
"Senior Sister, do you see it?" Xu Kunlun shouted.
Zhao Ling'er, who was ahead, turned her head and said, "I see it... There's about fifty zhang left. I just need to find a few more landing spots to cross... There's a mountain crevice over there!"
"This whole hive of bees is in that mountain crevice!"
As Zhao Ling'er spoke, she pushed off lightly with her foot, leaped up again, and landed on a protruding section of the cliff ten zhang away.
When she leaped, the others followed suit.
After seven or eight such leaps, all four individuals reached a mountain crevice.
The foothold here was large enough to accommodate all four of them.
Looking inside the mountain crevice, it was pitch black, and nothing could be seen.
Buzz buzz...
Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz...
Every now and then, large golden bees would fly from a distance and then enter the mountain crevice.
Or fly out from this crevice.
Some flew towards Zhao Ling'er and the other three, only to be decisively cut down by her.
"Remember this, all of you!" Zhao Ling'er said with a serious expression, "Once we enter this cave, each of you must activate your defenses!"
"The Tiger-striped Golden Bee is a Level 1 Yao Beast, but it's not inherently terrifying!"
"Its attack power is also very weak!"
"It's even weaker than a Qi Refining Cultivator of the second or third level, but their true danger lies in the poisonous stinger on their tails!"
"This poison is extremely potent; if stung, even a Cultivator at the Qi Refining Stage Twelfth Level will perish here!"
Zhao Ling'er extended two fair fingers and said, "Our goal this Time is to collect tiger-striped golden bee honey. It's great if we get it, but don't be too disheartened if we don't!"
"But there are two points you must all remember!"
"First, if the bee swarm attacks in large numbers, immediately stop collecting the treasure and return... return... escape!"
"Do you understand?"
She didn't rush to say the second point but instead looked at the three people in front of her.
He Pingsheng, Xu Kunlun, and Tian Xiaoqing nodded.
Zhao Ling'er continued, "Second, if we are surrounded by a large swarm of bees and cannot escape, please immediately crush the jade talisman in your hand. Do not hesitate, do not hesitate, do not hesitate..."
As she spoke, Zhao Ling'er even took out her own jade talisman: "Did you hear me?"
The three in front of her responded in unison, "We heard you!"
"Good!" Zhao Ling'er said, "Follow me..."
Bang...
Zhao Ling'er waved her hand and took out a silver shield.
She activated three Restrictions on this shield with her magical power; it was actually a High Grade Magical Artifact.
A spherical silver shield enveloped Zhao Ling'er entirely.
Even so, she still kept one hand free, holding a jade tablet.
"Bang..."
"Bang bang..."
Beside her, He Pingsheng, Xu Kunlun, and Tian Xiaoqing also activated their respective shields.
He Pingsheng's shield was activated using the top-grade Magical Artifact, the Green Wood Shield.
With four Restrictions, He Pingsheng's shield was the sturdiest among theirs.
Back on Xiuzhu Peak, when he was ambushed by Linglong and almost died to the Golden Python, He Pingsheng had once activated the Green Wood Shield, a top-grade Magical Artifact, for defense.
So, bringing it out now didn't seem out of place.
Everyone knew he possessed a top-grade defensive shield.
This item was considered an unparalleled treasure in the eyes of Qi Refining Stage Disciples, but in the eyes of Foundation Establishment Stage and Golden Core Stage Disciples, it was worthless.
Therefore, no one would truly covet it.
The four entered single file, stepping into the cold and damp cave.
The cave was neither too big nor too small, with a diameter of about one zhang.
Buzz buzz buzz...
Soon, Tiger-striped Golden Bees flew over.
A single wasp suddenly landed on He Pingsheng's light barrier.
However, it was not a problem; this single bee would not affect the light barrier.
"Hurry..." Zhao Ling'er said, "They've already discovered us. We need to get in and out quickly..."
The four of them started running inside the cave.
But from that moment on, an endless stream of Tiger-striped Golden Bees began to fly in.
At first, there were only one or two.
But after about twenty breaths, swarms of golden bees began to arrive.
Buzz buzz buzz...
Hundreds of them, in fact, swarmed towards the four light barriers.
The activated light barriers felt heavy.
"Senior Sister, this isn't going to work..." Tian Xiaoqing said, "We don't know how much further it is, but these golden bees are getting more and more numerous. What should we do?"
"I can barely hold on!"
Zhao Ling'er's face also looked grim. She said, "We miscalculated. We didn't expect there to be so many golden bees inside!"
"Alright... we can't continue to venture further..."
"Let's get out first..."
"Once outside, we'll figure out a way to lure them away!"
"First, we need to find a way to draw the golden bees out of this cave, and then we can come back in to get the honey!"
Zhao Ling'er was a decisive person. After speaking, she immediately turned and left.
The other three followed closely behind.
However...
Something unexpected happened to the four of them!
Buzz buzz buzz...
Countless golden bees flew out of the cave like a golden cloud.
They swept over like a flowing stream.
"Holy crap..." Xu Kunlun blurted out a curse, saying, "Senior Sister, run... There are too many, we can't hold them off..."
The four of them accelerated, like the wind, and in just a few breaths, they shot out of the cave with a whoosh!
The bees behind them weren't very fast.
But as soon as they exited the cave, the four of them were immediately stunned.
Outside the cave, there was only a platform about a zhang in size, and beyond the platform were only cliffs.
Although the four were Cultivators, they had not yet reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, so it was naturally impossible for them to fly away on swords.
What to do?
They could only follow the original path, leaping off the cliff to escape.
This was going to be difficult.
"Paper cranes... Paper cranes..." Zhao Ling'er shouted, "Quickly activate the paper cranes!"
But no sooner had she spoken than, before they could even take out the paper cranes, they saw countless golden bees swarming towards them.
Buzz buzz...
All four light barriers were completely covered by golden bees.
Tens of thousands of them, a sight that made one's scalp tingle.
At this point, even if they took out and activated the paper cranes, what good would it do?
These golden bees would only need a very short Time to completely devour this layer of defensive light barrier!
By then, even if they were on the paper cranes, they would still be stung by the golden bees' poison.
What to do?