Chapter 78: The Ice Bee Demon Den

It takes ten years to travel from Earthly Hidden Star to the Hundred Ice Star System.
Ten years later, Xiang Qing led twenty members of his team to Qingchi Star in the Hundred Ice Star System.
On Qingchi Star, there are two equally large “8”-shaped oceans in the eastern and western hemispheres, with land occupying the rest of the area. These Eastern Eight Oceans and Western Eight Oceans have turquoise waters, resembling pools in the middle of the land, which is why the planet is named Qingchi Star.
At this time, the territory of human cultivators on Qingchi Star was limited to a few islands within the Eastern Eight Oceans and Western Eight Oceans. The entire landmass had been occupied by ice bee demon beasts, and most ordinary people and cultivators had been killed by them.
Ten years ago, a huge ice cave appeared suddenly in an area of the planet’s Arctic, from which countless ice bees flew out. These ice bees were as large as human bodies, and with each flap of their eight pairs of white ice wings, they could cover thousands of meters. Even more terrifying was that among them were many ice bee leaders at the level of Human Soul Immortals. These leaders, along with various ordinary ice bee demon beasts, advanced relentlessly, killing anyone they encountered, and quickly slaughtered all the ordinary people and cultivators.
Only a small number of human cultivators managed to escape to the islands.
Xiang Qing and his twenty team members landed on Qingshi Island in the Eastern Eight Oceans and were discussing the situation with the cultivators stationed there.
The ten cultivators in front of Xiang Qing were all at the level of Human Soul Immortals, with only one named Husu at a higher level, that of Upper Human Soul Immortal.
Husu was explaining the situation of the ice bees.
“Elder, those ice bees operate in groups. Each group has one ice bee leader at the level of Middle Human Soul Immortal, along with ten ice bees at the level of Lower Human Soul Immortals, and hundreds at the level of Human Soul Beasts. The rest are just ordinary ice bee demon beasts.”
“Elder, those ice bees at the level of Upper Human Soul Immortals seem to stay together. Whenever they receive information that one of the groups is in trouble, they send a few of their own over.”
“Elder, the cultivators of Qingchi Star are convinced that there must be a queen bee in that Arctic ice bee den, and her strength must be at the level of Earthly Soul Immortal.”
…
As Husu spoke, his mood grew increasingly sad.
Xiang Qing listened expressionlessly, while his twenty team members also listened quietly, each forming their own hypotheses.

Qingchi Star is just a medium-sized planet. It originally had several Earth Soul Immortals, but they were caught in a sudden mass attack by ice bees and had no way to escape. The insane ice bees used self-destruction to drain all their immortal energy, killing them all.

After discussing it, the remaining dozens of Human Soul Immortals estimated that there were at least a billion ice bees on the land of Qingchi Star, with thousands of them being at the Human Soul Immortal level.

Upon hearing this information, Xiang Qing, Zhu Bao, and the other team members felt uneasy. The twenty-one of them were only at the upper level of Human Soul Immortals, yet they were facing an army of ice bees capable of killing Earth Soul Immortals. For them, fighting these ice bees was tantamount to seeking death.

“Husu, wait here for now. I’ll go discuss this with the team members,” Xiang Qing said calmly as he stood up.

Zhu Bao and the other twenty understood what he meant and immediately flew outside the attic.

What could Husu and the others do? Knowing that Xiang Qing and his group couldn’t agree to fight the ice bees right away, they must first assess the risks before giving them a reply.

Although the twenty-one of them had accepted the mission, they also had the right to abandon it. After all, the Youhan Sect ruled over countless planets in the Youhan Star Cluster. Even if Qingchi Star were completely destroyed, it wouldn’t make any difference to the Youhan Sect. Therefore, the main purpose of taking on this mission was to allow the sect’s disciples to face various trials and strengthen their abilities.

The twenty-one arrived over the East Eighth Ocean.

“Everyone, you now know the situation on Qingchi Star. Let’s discuss—do you still want to continue with this mission?” Xiang Qing asked with a smile.

Zhu Bao and the other twenty were stunned for a moment before becoming determined.

“Captain, there are too many of those ice bees. The twenty of us can’t resist them.”

“Yes, even Earth Soul Immortals were killed by those ice bees. As Human Soul Immortals, we’re likely to be wiped out the moment we encounter them.”

“I think we should give up this mission. There are plenty of points; we can take on other missions instead.”

“Although this mission offers a lot of points, the danger is too great. I don’t intend to fight those ice bees.”

……

All twenty of them spoke so firmly.

Xiang Qing listened quietly until they finished speaking. Then his expression darkened, and he said coldly, “Everyone, are you really that timid? Also, in this mission, I am the captain, and you must follow my orders.”

In Xiang Qing’s mind, it meant he must take on this task. Xiang Qing had infiltrated the Punishment Institute with the aim of accessing the Origin Spirit Veins of the Youhan Sect to carry out destructive activities. To enter those Origin Spirit Veins, task points were necessary, and every task was highly valued. Especially since this was the first time Xiang Qing was leading a task as captain—if he failed, it would be difficult for him to become a captain again in the future. The points a captain earned were twice that of ordinary members. Wanting to accumulate as many points as possible, Xiang Qing wouldn’t miss any opportunity. Although this time he faced a swarm of ice bees, giving up after just one encounter wasn’t in his nature. “Captain, you can’t say that. Although you’ve been appointed as captain for this task, major decisions still need to consider our opinions as members,” said a burly-looking member dissatisfiedly. Xiang Qing glanced at him, studied him for a moment, then smirked coldly and called out, “He Lu, you’ve been dissatisfied with me since we came here from Earthly Nether Star. It seems you don’t regard me as the captain of this task.” He Lu immediately glared back, his face filled with anger, and retorted, “Xiang Qing, don’t slander me. Just because you became captain doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.” At that moment, Xiang Qing smiled. Suddenly, a wooden sword appeared in his hand, and boots appeared on his feet. The Wood Element Xian Yuan flowed, instantly turning Xiang Qing into a blur as he appeared right in front of He Lu. With a swing of the wooden sword, He Lu’s head flew off. At the same time, Xiang Qing’s body returned to where he had stood before. He Lu’s head floated through the air for a long distance before stopping, and below it, his body slowly reformed using the Earth Element Origin Stone. Xiang Qing hadn’t killed He Lu—his purpose was merely a warning. “Xiang Qing, what do you want?” Zhu Bao and the other nineteen people fearfully drew their immortal weapons and shouted angrily. Undoubtedly, these members also understood Xiang Qing’s warning, but thinking of the power he had just demonstrated, they were all terrified, fearing he might do the same to them. Xiang Qing smiled and said, “Everyone, there’s no need to worry. As long as you follow my orders, I won’t harm you.” Disobey, and you’ll be killed? He Lu flew back angrily. Hearing Xiang Qing’s words and recalling what had just happened, his heart suddenly turned cold as he realized Xiang Qing had the power to kill all twenty of them.

Zhu Bao and the twenty others immediately fell silent. Seeing their expressions, Xiang Qing smiled again and said, “Everyone, we actually have an opportunity. Since those ice bee swarms have already emerged from the demon lair, why not go straight in? As long as we destroy their nest, I believe their strength will gradually decline.” Generally, ice bee monsters have a queen bee and a queen. If those are killed, the core of their command is severed, causing the swarms to lose control and fall into chaos, allowing human cultivators to take advantage and defeat them one by one. Hearing Xiang Qing’s words, Zhu Bao and the others thought carefully and found the plan feasible. “Okay, I agree with this plan,” Zhu Bao suddenly said. The other nineteen members stared at him in confusion, not understanding why he had changed his mind so quickly. Xiang Qing nodded with a smile and then looked at the others. He Lu and the nineteen others exchanged glances before nodding in agreement. Thus, Xiang Qing led his team back to Qingshi Island, where they met the Soul Immortals like Hu Shu. “Everyone, our Youhan Sect has decided to take on this task to help you eliminate the ice bee swarms,” Xiang Qing declared as soon as he landed. Oh! Oh! Oh! The human cultivators let out excited cries, with many even shedding tears. Xiang Qing and his team immediately flew into the air and headed north over the Eastern Eight Seas. Initially, the twenty-one of them thought there would be countless ice bee swarms patrolling the Arctic region. But as they flew north, they didn’t see a single ice bee—seemingly vanished overnight. There were no incidents along the way. Even when they reached the Arctic ice fields, they still found no trace of ice bees or any strange signs. It wasn’t until they reached the entrance of the ice bee demon lair—a massive ice cave thousands of meters wide—that they noticed some ice bee corpses left on the ground. Bravely, they flew inside the lair and found only corpses everywhere; nothing else moved. It seemed someone had already been there and killed all the queen bees. As they explored the lair, a speck of dust flew out. That dust was, of course, a Dimensional Ball.

At this moment, Qu Yi, inside the Dimensional Ball, was lying on a soft chair, laughing heartily. “God of Instruments, we’re really lucky this time—we’ve got a group of Ice Bees. From now on, if we suddenly bring out a billion Ice Bees, I guess anyone who crosses our path will die.” Right beside Qu Yi, there were two giant Ice Bees as big as mountains, lying on the ground.