3/10

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When the Qilin Pavilion group arrived, Qin Zhou and the others had just escaped the giant rock beast’s ambush.

With their bags full of the grass, this trip had been a bountiful success—all thanks to the Snowflake Pavilion’s people.

Seeing the Snowflake Pavilion guards all clutching their knees, gasping for breath, Qin Zhou thought to himself.

“Young Master Qin… you’re in pretty good shape, huh?” someone remarked in surprise. Hadn’t they all run out together? Logically, as the weakest alchemist in the group, shouldn’t Qin Zhou be the most exhausted?

Why did he seem even more energetic than them?

Qin Zhou nodded. “I do some farm work in my spare time.”

Snowflake Pavilion members: “…”

Farm work? What kind of farm work could possibly make an alchemist’s physique look better than theirs, who were constantly on the move?

What they didn’t know was that Qin Zhou was an alchemist who loved farming.

The village’s fields kept expanding, and Qin Zhou had little help. Sometimes he had to carry well water alone to irrigate the entire back mountain, making dozens of trips a day. When tired, he’d just take a pill. He could have installed a water pipe, but he figured it was good exercise.

During peak farming seasons, he’d often go days without sleep.

Thus, he was likely a relatively robust alchemist.

“Someone’s coming!” The guard captain suddenly shouted, his tone sharp with alertness.

Everyone turned toward the sound and frowned simultaneously—

It was people from Qilin Pavilion.

What were they doing here?

Qin Zhou’s eyes immediately locked onto the cage in Liu Rui’s hands. That was…

The Nine-Sting Queen Bee.

Even Qin Zhou couldn’t help but frown.

These people had actually brought the Nine-Sting Queen out.

Liu Rui gave a slight nod of his chin, signaling to the men behind him.

Uncertain of Liu Rui’s intent, the others instinctively raised their weapons, shielding Qin Zhou in their center.

The Qilin Pavilion men obeyed the signal, immediately hurling the prepared ‘sphere’ toward Qin Zhou and his companions.

Whoosh.

Something shot into the air, exploding mid-fall.

Golden liquid splashed directly onto the group, its sweet scent instantly filling the air.

This is…

“Honey!”

“Honey? No!” Someone realized the danger and cried out, but it was already too late.

Liu Rui set the cage containing the queen bee on the ground and lifted the cage door.

With a slight wave of his hand, the alchemist, receiving his signal, immediately extinguished the last of the dry grass in their hands.

As the smoke dissipated, the queen bee inside the cage seemed to sense something.

It fluttered its wings a few times, its eyes showing signs of opening.

“You said it yourselves—if we couldn’t handle it, we’d come to you. Now, this Nine-Sting Queen is your problem.“ Liu Rui smiled, his eyes flashing with a cold, almost tangible malice.

Today, every last one of these Snowflake Pavilion scum will die here!

”Liu Rui, we should leave.“ The alchemist, who had been monitoring the queen bee’s condition, frowned and spoke.

”Leave!”

“This bastard wants to use the Nine-Sting Queen in its berserk state against us!” The Snowflake Pavilion guards, covered in sweet-smelling substances, were furious. As they came to their senses, their eyes turned bloodshot. “We can’t let them leave! If we die, we die together!”

With that, they all charged forward to block their path.

Suddenly, Qin Zhou reached out and grabbed two more back.

“Young Master Qin, you…”

“They won’t get away,” Qin Zhou declared, his gaze fixed on the awakening Nine-Sting Queen.

Snowflake Pavilion members: ?

Qin Zhou’s tone held an inexplicable authority that calmed the group’s fury.

Even Liu Rui and his companions, who had been about to leave, paused at his words.

“Don’t listen to him! He’s confusing the issue! If we don’t leave now, it’ll truly be too late!” The alchemist from Qilin Pavilion couldn’t help but shout. “You may want to die, but I certainly don’t!”

Annoyed by the commotion, Liu Rui snapped, “What are you afraid of? The honey from the hive is on their bodies! If anyone dies, it’ll be them first!”

“You…”

“Who told you the Nine-Sting Queen’s hatred mechanism works like that?” Qin Zhou finally managed to interject.

His words left everyone stunned.

What kind of nonsense was this?

“Once the Nine-Sting Queen enters a frenzy, she only remembers the scent of the first person who pulled out her stinger.”

No sooner had Qin Zhou finished speaking.

The Nine-Sting Queen’s bulbous eyes suddenly turned blood-red.

Its thick, infant-sized body suddenly became agile, transforming into a blur as it charged straight at Liu Rui.

“Aaaah!!!” A piercing scream echoed through the forest. The next second, Liu Rui’s entire arm was torn off.

How terrifying is a Golden Core-stage rampaging spirit beast?

Though it could have ended him with a single strike, the Nine-Sting Queen seemed intent on inflicting greater cruelty.

Starting from his limbs, one after another, they flew off.

Liu Rui’s features contorted completely. Pain and terror robbed him of any capacity for resistance. He could only watch as half his body was torn away, blood blurring his vision.

Resistance? Nonexistent.

Qin Zhou frowned at the scene. As he had said before, once the Nine-Sting Queen entered its berserk state, it was invincible to anyone below the Golden Core stage.

Everyone from Qilin Pavilion was frozen in horror by the sight before them.

Rescue?

Rescue my ass!

Liu Rui was their leader, the most powerful cultivator among them. Yet now… he was utterly powerless to resist.

The alchemist’s legs trembled. His hands shook as he tried to reignite the poison smoke.

“Useless,” Qin Zhou’s words sounded like a demon’s whisper.

“A Nine-Sting Queen in Berserk Mode is no longer affected by Stone Dry Grass poison smoke.”

The alchemist’s eyes widened. Qin Zhou’s words felt like a death sentence pronounced upon them.

Immediately after, Qin Zhou added, “After killing the first person, the Nine-Sting Queen will transfer its hatred onto the bearer of the Nine-Sting Needle, pursuing them relentlessly until death.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Nine-Sting Queen seemed to sense something. Her wings flapped with a buzzing sound, as if she already intended to move away from Liu Rui’s mangled corpse.

Without hesitation, the alchemist fumbled the Nine-Sting Needle from his pouch and rushed toward Qin Zhou. “Save me! Please save me! I don’t want the Nine-Sting Needle anymore! Take it! Just take it, okay?!”

“Hey!” The Snowflake Pavilion guards snapped to attention, panic rising. Don’t bring that Nine-Sting Needle over here!

Qin Zhou looked at the alchemist, now visibly shaken, considered for a moment, and actually accepted the needles, tucking them into his Cosmos Bag.

Snowflake Pavilion Guards: ?

Young Master Qin, you, you, you!

“Young Master Qin, can you truly handle it?” the guard captain asked gravely.

Qin Zhou: “We’re covered in honey. There’s no escaping.” Escape was futile. After the Nine-Sting Hornet’s carrier was killed, it would be their turn—those drenched in honey.

In the blink of an eye, the Nine-Sting Hornet Queen, eyes red with fury, refocused her gaze on Qin Zhou.

Qin Zhou’s reflexes were lightning-fast. He drew the whistle summoning Tunfeng and blew it without hesitation!

The piercing shriek instantly split the heavens.

Almost the moment the whistle sounded, the Nine-Sting Queen realized he was calling for backup. Flapping her wings furiously, she lunged toward Qin Zhou!

“Young Master Qin!”

Qin Zhou barely dodged. He swiftly drew a dagger from his Cosmos Bag.

This was taken from Shisi. His strength wasn’t enough to activate a Golden Core-level weapon, but he only needed this dagger to pierce the Nine-Sting Queen’s armor!

Just as the Nine-Sting Queen lunged at him, Tunfeng arrived.

Tunfeng collided head-on with the incoming Nine-Sting Queen. Two bursts of spiritual light clashed—

With a single hoof strike from Tunfeng, the Nine-Sting Queen flew straight backward before everyone’s eyes.

Huh?

It flew away?

Everyone’s eyes widened. No, it really flew away!

The Nine-Sting Queen slammed heavily into a tree trunk. Its bloodshot eyes flashed a hint of confusion, as if asking, What just happened?

Even Qin Zhou was momentarily stunned.

This wasn’t quite what he’d imagined.

But… well.

The towering horse snorted once, as if asking Qin Zhou, What’s going on here?

“Tunfeng, restrain it!”

“Buzz—” The Nine-Sting Queen flapped her wings again. In her frenzied state, she couldn’t sense the imposing presence of the black-and-white horse before her. That kick had completely enraged her!

She was going to…

“Thud.” A hoof, seemingly without boundaries, landed squarely on her head.

Confusion flared once more in the Nine-Sting Queen’s blood-red eyes.

It struggled to flap its wings, emitting a warning buzz.

The next second, Qin Zhou charged forward.

With lightning speed, he raised his dagger and plunged it directly between the Nine-Sting Queen’s two blood-red eyes.

With a wet thud, its brain matter splattered, blood spraying half his body.

One strike, one kill.

A deathly silence descended upon the surroundings.

The alchemist from Qilin Pavilion slumped to the ground, utterly stunned. Setting aside that horse that looked formidable just by sight, what about Qin Zhou himself… Wasn’t this man an alchemist?

What had he just done?

He grabbed his dagger and charged forward without hesitation, stabbing the beast right through the back of the head? And with such a clean, one-hit-kill technique?

The alchemist, still reeling from the shock and relief of surviving, looked at the Snowflake Pavilion members with disbelief.

You… who among you is the alchemist, and who are the guards?

Snowflake Pavilion members: “…”

An alchemist who does farm work has plenty of strength and resourcefulness.

Only then did Qin Zhou calmly explain, “To kill the Nine-Sting Queen, you must strike it dead in one blow. Otherwise, if it activates its death mechanism, it will summon swarms of Nine-Sting Beasts.”

“Once the Nine-Sting Queen enters a berserk state, the point between its eyes becomes its sole weakness.”

The alchemist from Qilin Pavilion froze upon hearing this. “So we should have killed it outright while it was paralyzed by the poisonous smoke, then retrieved the Nine-Tailed Needle.”

Qin Zhou shook his head. “Before it enters berserk mode, the Nine-Sting Queen cannot be killed with a single strike.”

A Golden Core boss still has its own mechanisms.

Qin Zhou sheathed his dagger and said, “Besides, if you killed it in the nest, you wouldn’t be able to use it against us.”

The alchemist’s face flushed crimson.

True—they were the ones who’d brought this Nine-Sting Queen here.

Liu Rui was dead, but what about the rest of them…

“Hand over what’s in your Cosmos Bag, and I’ll spare your life.” Qin Zhou spoke without glancing at the alchemist. He raised his dagger and swiftly began dissecting the Nine-Tailed Queen, harvesting whatever usable parts he could find.

It still couldn’t compare to the game. The thick, pungent smell of blood made him feel queasy. But most of the treasures came from the Golden Core boss.

Qin Zhou was a frugal and thrifty village chief.

The alchemist glanced at him. Tunfeng still stood by Qin Zhou’s side. He shook his hand, then obediently emptied everything from the Cosmos Bag.

“Sir… what about us…” The others from Qilin Pavilion finally reacted, now addressing Qin Zhou as ‘Sir’.

“You hand yours over, too.”

With a clatter, the group emptied their Cosmos Bags. The guards mostly had equipment. The alchemist from Qilin Pavilion, however, had quite a few valuable items in his pouch.

Numerous alchemical ingredients.

“Are there any honey balls left?” Qin Zhou suddenly recalled something.

“Yes, yes, there are.”

After surrendering everything, the group cautiously glanced at Qin Zhou. Seeing that he showed no intention of stopping them, they immediately prepared to flee.

The alchemist, seeing this, scrambled to his feet and chased after them. “Wait for me!”

“Young Master Qin, are we just letting them go?” asked a Snowflake Pavilion guard.

Qin Zhou glanced up at them, his hands never stopping their work. He hummed in acknowledgment. “Unless absolutely necessary, I dislike killing.”

Had it not been for Tunfeng, many lives would likely have been lost on this journey.

Wen Jue had gifted him a fine horse.

Lost in thought, Tunfeng lifted a hoof and nudged the Cosmos Bag at Qin Zhou’s waist.

It was asking for a reward.

Qin Zhou glanced down and shook his head. “Not the Core Stabilizing Pills.”

Tunfeng snorted.

Then, Qin Zhou scooped a handful of low-grade precious-grade pills from his waist pouch.

Tunfeng’s eyes lit up slightly, and he swallowed them all in one gulp.

Qin Zhou patted the horse’s head.

The Snowflake Pavilion people: “……”

Just now, they seemed to have seen Qin Zhou grab a handful of spirit pills and feed them to the horse.

Those spirit pills looked… so much like their Snowflake Pavilion’s newly launched product—low-grade precious-grade pills!