Buzzing...
Those faint, bone-chilling sounds of wind tearing through the air emanated from deep within the dark, dense forest, causing Mu Chen's heart to involuntarily clench.
The Black Underworld Abyss was rife with peril everywhere; death could descend upon one at any moment. And within the Black Underworld Abyss, there was a creature that struck fear into the hearts of all who heard of it.
Even though it was merely a low-level spiritual beast, named Spirit-Devouring Bees.
Spirit-Devouring Bees were only about the size of a palm, and their strength barely reached the early-stage Spirit Movement Stage. However, no one considered themselves lucky when facing these Spirit-Devouring Bees within the Black Underworld Abyss, for it was one of the most terrifying and horrifying occurrences.
Given the strength of the Spirit-Devouring Bees, naturally, if it were just one, no one would be afraid; any powerful expert here could easily crush it to death. However... they never traveled alone. Each time they left their nest, they mobilized an army numbering... in the tens of thousands.
They swarmed in such vast numbers that one might mistake them for an approaching black cloud. Wherever they passed, no matter if it was a spiritual beast or any other creature, even if its strength had reached the late-stage Spirit Wheel Stage, only white bones would remain in the blink of an eye.
Even powerful high-level spiritual beasts in the Black Underworld Abyss, if they unfortunately heard the sound of a swarm of Spirit-Devouring Bees, would likely have to temporarily get out of their way.
"Father! Hurry, a swarm of Spirit-Devouring Bees!"
Mu Chen's knowledge was not bad, and his hearing was exceptionally sharp, all honed during his time on the Spirit Road. He immediately identified the source of those faint "buzzing" sounds and hastily warned Mu Feng.
The moment his words left his mouth, Mu Feng and his men immediately changed expression, their eyes filled with terror. He made a swift decision and waved his hand, shouting:
"Get out, quickly, leave this place!"
He immediately led his team, rushing towards a direction within the Black Underworld Abyss, disregarding Liu Qingtian and his men who were lying in wait, eager to devour them alive. If they were caught by the swarm of Spirit-Devouring Bees, even if he himself had the ability to escape, the soldiers of the Mu Territory would undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties.
The entire group of a hundred men left instantly, leaving the men of the Liu Territory on the other side wide-eyed and slightly stunned, completely bewildered. Liu Qingtian frowned, his expression subtly shifted, and his complexion quickly changed as well.
"It's Spirit-Devouring Bees, go!"
Liu Qingtian likewise shouted, leading the men of the Liu Territory towards a different direction without a second of hesitation. Naturally, he also knew full well how formidable a swarm of Spirit-Devouring Bees was.
The two groups, who had just been poised for battle, immediately retreated at full speed. The tense atmosphere in that forest clearing returned to normal in an instant, with not a single person remaining.
A moment later, from the dark depths of the forest, a massive, seemingly endless black cloud swiftly swept forth, its "buzzing" sounds vibrating through the air, filling the space and grating on the ears.
Rumble rumble rumble...!
As the colossal black cloud swept past, the ground in the open forest clearing suddenly trembled and burst open. A pitch-black spiritual beast, somewhat resembling a rat, burrowed out from the earth and fled in panic.
However, the speed of the black cloud was too great, swiftly engulfing the spiritual beast. Miserable roars echoed through the silent forest, gradually fading away.
The black cloud dispersed, returning to the sky, leaving behind a stark white skeleton on the ground.
Upon closer inspection of the colossal cloud, it was, of course, countless palm-sized black bees, each bee possessing two rows of ferocious fangs in its mouth, fresh blood still splattered on their terrifying mandibles.
The forces from both the Liu Domain and the Mu Domain retreated extremely quickly, yet they still underestimated the speed of the Spirit-Devouring Wasps. A short while later, the cloud dispersed, and more than ten people from both sides were slowly left behind, their tragic screams echoing as the cloud enveloped them.
With fresh blood awakening their killing instincts, the swarm of Spirit-Devouring Wasps further split into smaller groups, like a black flood surging through the forest, pursuing the two struggling groups of people.
—Quick, dodge!
Mu Feng saw a black streak pierce through their formation and urgently shouted.
The team immediately split apart, creating a large distance between them. The two sub-teams glanced at the ferocious black flood, gritting their teeth, not daring to delay as they fled through the forest.
—Little Mu!
Zhou Ye saw Mu Chen separated from them by the black streak, his expression drastically changed, and he intended to forcefully charge through the swarm of Spirit-Devouring Wasps, but fortunately, Mu Feng stopped him.
—Don't worry, that kid isn't as weak as you think, and Old Duan and his group are with him. First, let's escape this swarm of Spirit-Devouring Wasps; they'll surely know where to regroup.
Mu Feng stared at his son's figure, which was being isolated further and further by the black flood, and softly spoke to reassure Zhou Ye.
Zhou Ye heard this, and though he hesitated slightly, he nodded firmly. Although Mu Chen was young, his performance was very reassuring. Even though the Black Underworld Abyss was extremely dangerous, if he was careful, there probably wouldn't be any major problems.
Mu Feng waved his hand, leading the people behind him towards a direction deep in the forest, swiftly like the wind, distancing themselves from the fierce and bloodthirsty swarm of Spirit-Devouring Wasps.
—This is bad.
On the other side of the black flood, Mu Chen saw everyone separated and could only helplessly shake his head. He obviously wasn't foolish enough to charge through the swarm of Spirit-Devouring Wasps to rejoin the other team; instead, he quickly changed direction and fled, needing to get as far away as possible from this black cloud of death.
—Young Master, be careful.
Duan Wei and a few others followed closely behind Mu Chen. Now separated, as a general of the Mu Domain, he had to protect Young Master Mu Chen well; otherwise, if anything happened to him, he would truly have no face to meet Mu Feng again.
Mu Chen nodded, his gaze darting behind him, and he suddenly shivered, for the black flood was rapidly heading straight towards their location.
—Go quickly!
Mu Chen shouted softly, dark spiritual energy surging through his body, accelerating to his utmost limit. If caught by the swarm of Spirit-Devouring Wasps, death was certain.
Duan Wei also clearly perceived the danger, quickly sticking close to Mu Chen, not saying another word.
Although their speed wasn't slow, the swarm of Spirit-Devouring Wasps was even faster. Everyone clearly noticed the Spirit-Devouring Wasps getting closer and closer, rapidly approaching their group.
—Damn it!
Duan Wei had already noticed the precarious situation, angrily cursed aloud, and was about to grit his teeth and turn back to intercept them.
Just as Duan Wei paused, Mu Chen immediately grabbed him and pointed behind them:
—They seem to be retreating...
Duan Wei looked back in astonishment. Indeed, the swarm of Spirit-Devouring Wasps suddenly stopped their pursuit. They circled in one spot, then abruptly swept towards the northwest like a gale.
Mu Chen also watched in considerable surprise, then suddenly frowned, faintly hearing a clear flute sound carried from afar...
The small, clear flute sound was strange; it wasn't coming from the Spirit-Devouring Wasps.
—Could it be that this swarm of Spirit-Devouring Wasps is being controlled by someone?
Mu Chen suddenly had a terrifying thought. The sound of the flute must not have occurred naturally.
"Young Master, these creatures have finally retreated. We should quickly regroup with the Domain Lord's party." Duan Wei, seeing that they had escaped the fangs of death, suggested to Mu Chen with a sense of relief.
Mu Chen heard this, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he suddenly said softly:
"Uncle Duan, how about we chase after the swarm of Spirit-Devouring Bees and see?"
Duan Wei was startled and quickly said:
"Young Master, this is very dangerous!"
"It's fine, as long as we don't get too close to them. If we encounter any danger, we'll retreat immediately." Mu Chen mused, "If this swarm of Spirit-Devouring Bees is controlled by that person, could it be that they also have information about the Nine Netherbird?"
Seeing Mu Chen's resolve, Duan Wei could only shake his head helplessly and grit his teeth, saying:
"Alright, then we'll follow and observe. However, if anything goes wrong, I will immediately take the Young Master away."
"Mm, thank you, Uncle Duan." Mu Chen smiled, no longer hesitating, and led the group to chase after the swarm of bees. Duan Wei quickly moved closer to him.
The swarm of Spirit-Devouring Bees flew extremely fast. Fortunately, Mu Chen carefully followed from a distance, and the black cloud was too large and too conspicuous, so they didn't lose track of it along the way.
As they continued to follow, Mu Chen's expression grew increasingly uncertain and surprised, because the extremely faint sound of the flute became clearer and clearer.
"Young Master, the Spirit-Devouring Bees have stopped!" Duan Wei nervously looked into the distance and suddenly said in a low voice.
Mu Chen also saw it, his gaze sweeping forward. Ahead, a small valley suddenly appeared. In the valley was a small hill, and on the hill stood a strange black ancient tree. Its trunk was covered in layers upon layers of Spirit-Devouring Bees.
The strange flute sound seemed to emanate from the black tree, but it was very faint, very subtle. If one didn't listen carefully or possess extremely keen hearing like Mu Chen, it would be impossible to detect.
Mu Chen carefully scanned the entire area, still not seeing a single person, which made him even more perplexed. Could he have guessed wrong?
Mu Chen frowned, looking towards the black tree, his gaze slowly moving upwards. When his eyes swept to the treetop, his pupils contracted.
There, he vaguely saw a gray shadow, appearing and disappearing.
"Is there really someone here?"