His eyes were fixed intently on the black tree's crown. There, Mu Chen vaguely saw a gray shadow, but after a closer look, he felt it wasn't; the gray shadow showed no human characteristics at all.
"What is it?"
Mu Chen frowned.
"Uncle Duan, I'll trouble you with this matter."
Mu Chen turned around and said softly.
"Young Master, what are your orders?"
Duan Wei immediately replied.
Mu Chen approached and whispered something into Duan Wei's ear. When the old man finished listening, his expression changed dramatically, turning pale with fright.
"Young Master, that matter is very dangerous."
Duan Wei advised anxiously. He couldn't understand why Mu Chen wanted to do something so perilous. That black tree was definitely the nest of the Spirit-Devouring Bees. If they swarmed him, death was certain.
"Uncle Duan, I know my limits. Just trust me."
Mu Chen whispered in a low voice. The handsome young man's face was particularly serious; his dark eyes showed no hint of recklessness, but were instead calm and resolute.
Seeing Mu Chen's persistence, Duan Wei could only sigh helplessly. He waved to the people beside him, leading them to quickly depart.
Mu Chen watched them go far away. He lowered his body close to the ground, hiding himself among the trees, his gaze still fixed on the large black tree in the valley ahead.
When Duan Wei's group had gone about 10 minutes away, some commotion was heard from afar. More than ten spirit beasts from the dense forest were fleeing in this direction.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz."
The quiet space of the beehive was broken by the stampeding spirit beasts. Instantly, countless bright red glows suddenly lit up. The air stirred, and buzzing sounds rang out in unison. Thousands of Spirit-Devouring Bees took flight from the nest, forming a dark cloud that swept towards the panicked spirit beasts.
"Graooo!"
The spirit beasts, fleeing headlong, suddenly realized the danger ahead. They roared even more frantically and miserably, turning back despite everything. The dark swarm of bees also quickly swept away, pursuing relentlessly.
The entire swarm of Spirit-Devouring Bees had mobilized. The black tree suddenly became bare and empty. Although a few remained in the nest, their numbers were sparse and not a concern.
Mu Chen instantly sprang into action, rushing straight towards the black tree over there. His toes continuously tapped the ground. Agile as a spirit monkey, he approached the dangerous area, aiming to climb the crown of the large tree.
While climbing the tree, a few Spirit-Devouring Bees occasionally rushed to cause trouble, but he easily dealt with their small numbers with a wave of his hand.
His speed was extremely fast; in just over ten seconds, he reached the treetop. The treetop was quite spacious, but it seemed very mysterious. Branches and leaves spread out, concealing the secrets within.
Time was pressing, and Mu Chen dared not hesitate. His gaze immediately fell upon the inside of the treetop, where the lush branches and leaves were. Indeed, there was a figure sitting cross-legged.
However, that person had no vitality left. Only a dry skeleton remained, with a tattered gray robe draped loosely over it.
Mu Chen, horrified and with goosebumps, looked at the skeleton sitting on the treetop. He carefully approached step by step. A moment later, seeing no movement, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Approaching the skeleton, he discovered that half of its body appeared to have been scorched black by fire. The burnt bone fragments also showed signs of decay and shrinkage.
This person must have suffered a very severe injury when alive.
Mu Chen glanced around. He suddenly noticed that there seemed to be writing on a branch in front of the skeleton. He swept his sleeve, clearing away the overgrown leaves, and focused his eyes on that spot.
"My name is Tian Chong. I come from the Spirit Bug Clan. I journeyed all the way here, and by chance, I found traces of the Nine Netherbird. Greed arose within me, and I strived towards it, expending much effort. Finally, as I wished, I discovered it..."
The subsequent writing became increasingly blurry, making it impossible to discern the characters. But at the end of the line, Mu Chen saw the character for "hatred" carved deeply and clearly. So this person had also once discovered traces of the Nine Netherbird. Moreover, it seemed he was on the verge of success, but at the very last moment, an unexpected turn of events likely occurred.
"Spirit Bug Clan..." Mu Chen murmured to himself. He vaguely recalled hearing this name before. It seemed to be a rather peculiar clan in the Great Thousand World, capable of controlling all manner of bugs and insects in the world. Therefore, people called them Spirit Bug Masters. These individuals possessed strange and formidable abilities, making them difficult to provoke. He never expected to find one of them withered and dead atop this tree.
Mu Chen pondered for a moment. His gaze suddenly fell upon the skeleton's hand. In that hand, there was a small black flute, about an inch long. The small flute was engraved with many patterns resembling insects. When the wind blew through it, it produced a clear and delicate flute sound.
"This object, could it be a Spirit Bug Flute?" Mu Chen mused. He had heard that every Spirit Bug Master possessed at least one Spirit Bug Flute, which could be used to control and nurture Spirit Bugs. Could this black flute before him be that very item?
"So the faint flute sound I heard was produced by the wind blowing through the Spirit Bug Flute..." Mu Chen was slightly startled. "It seems the swarm of Spirit-Devouring Wasps was attracted to this tree to build their nest precisely because of this faint flute sound." He couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. Spirit Bug Masters truly possessed strange abilities.
"Senior, your remains are about to dissipate. Please allow this junior to inherit this precious relic of yours." Mu Chen bowed slightly before the skeleton. He carefully and gently took the black flute from its bony hand. If he guessed correctly, this flute could indeed attract Spirit-Devouring Wasps. However, he dared not use it carelessly. After all, he was not a Spirit Bug Master and lacked the ability to control them. If he accidentally blew it and attracted swarms of Spirit-Devouring Wasps here without any means of control, wouldn't that be akin to inviting disaster upon himself?
Of course, even though he didn't know how to use it yet, Mu Chen was unwilling to leave empty-handed. If the black flute remained here, it would eventually be eroded by the passage of time. Conversely, if he kept it on him, it might prove useful someday.
After putting away the Spirit Bug Flute, just as Mu Chen was about to leave, his eyes suddenly caught a flash of light beneath the gray robe. He hesitated for a moment, then cupped his hands towards the skeleton once more before reaching out to pull aside the tattered gray robe.
It was unknown how long this person had been dead here. The moment his finger touched the robe, it instantly crumbled into scattered ash, revealing two transparent bottles beneath. The material of these two bottles was extraordinary, for despite the unknown passage of time, they remained as perfect as new.
Mu Chen reached out and took the two bottles. Inside the bottles was a black liquid, its purpose unknown. After a brief thought, he carefully unsealed one of the bottles. Unexpectedly, a strange, ancient scent diffused into the air.
"Buzz! Buzz!" The moment that strange scent spread through the air, Mu Chen distinctly felt the black tree tremble slightly. He looked down, and numerous black Spirit-Devouring Wasps emerged from within the tree trunk. Their two blood-red eyes turned upwards, and they rapidly flew towards the top of the great tree.
Mu Chen panicked, quickly put away the bottle, and swiftly stored it in his World Ring. This scent seemed to greatly excite the Spirit-Devouring Bees.
"I can't stay here any longer."
Mu Chen saw the commotion below and dared not linger. The spirit beasts that Duan Wei and his group had driven there would naturally find it difficult to hold out for long against the fierce swarm of Spirit-Devouring Bees. If he didn't leave now, once the Spirit-Devouring Bees returned and surrounded him, he wouldn't be able to escape even if he grew wings.
"Many thanks, Senior."
Mu Chen clasped his hands and bowed to the bone powder again, then without stopping, quickly leaped down from the black tree. The moment his feet touched the ground, he darted into the dense forest without looking back.
Mu Chen traversed the forest, and after covering a considerable distance, just as he was about to stop and wait for Duan Wei's group to catch up, a sharp, powerful gust of wind suddenly pressed down from above his head, startling him. He stomped his foot hard on the ground and shot sideways to evade it.
"Who's there?"
Mu Chen's eyes turned cold. He looked up at the tree trunk in front of him. On one of its branches, a familiar face was staring at him with indifferent eyes, locking onto him.
It was, of course, Liu Mubai!
Liu Mubai kept his cold, predatory gaze fixed on Mu Chen, then extended his hand and said casually:
"It seems you truly are a very fortunate person, finding treasures wherever you go. What were those things you found at the top of that tree? Hand them over to me!"