Chapter 128: Hand Over the Token

A black mist enveloped the entire estate, swirling as if alive, permeated with a putrid, bloodstained stench. From within the fog came a faint, chilling hiss.

After Bai Ying warned Yu Kong, only Hei Ying managed to escape the black mist alone.

This could only mean that the others were either trapped within the fog or had already perished...

With the distant rumble of thunder, the black mist churned violently.

In the next instant,

A massive black-scaled python, half its body submerged in the fog around the estate, suddenly collapsed with a thunderous crash, its body severed into two.

“Damn it!”

Bai Ying had just intended to call back the black-scaled python and the gray wolves but was a moment too late. The python was ambushed by someone concealed within the black mist and died instantly, causing his expression to darken as he cursed angrily.

Yet he grew more cautious. The python’s scales were incredibly tough, impervious to blades and swords; for it to be severed in a single strike indicated the attacker’s formidable strength. This was not to be taken lightly.

As the two gray wolves were summoned back,

The black mist gradually receded until it vanished, revealing a grim heap of white bones beneath the eaves—remnants of the members of the Twin Eagle Alliance who had gathered here, their deaths within the fog shrouded in mystery.

Seeing this, Hei Ying’s face turned as dark as a stormcloud. Scanning the estate with his spiritual awareness, he said coldly, “The puppet of Liu Fenglian is nowhere to be found. It must have been hidden.”

They had all heard of Liu Fenglian’s puppet, but in this vast, abandoned estate, a small puppet, if deliberately concealed, would be extremely difficult to locate.

“The ambusher has vanished as well. It’s very likely that...”

Bai Ying furrowed his brow and suddenly glanced at Hei Ying, exchanging a look only they could understand. In a low voice, he said,

“Let's go!”

Hei Ying nodded in agreement. Without hesitation, the two prepared to depart, summoning their treasures to fly. But just as they were about to leave, two streaks of lightning-sword radiance suddenly materialized beside them, carrying razor-sharp sword qi that cut at their bodies in an instant.

Buzz! Buzz!

Two protective light barriers flared up immediately, transforming into screens that firmly blocked the deadly sword strikes. At the same time, the jade necklaces each eagle wore dimmed—these were protective treasures the brothers had purchased at great cost, capable of withstanding only one fatal attack. Yet now, inexplicably, they had been consumed.

Both broke into cold sweats.

They had only intended to feign retreat to force their hidden enemy out, never expecting the attacker to silently approach and strike so lethally and swiftly that there was almost no time to react. Without these life-saving protections, they might already have been cut in two.

Hei Ying reacted swiftly. The moment the protective light appeared, he furiously swished his sleeve.

“Then don’t think you can run!”

Buzzing ominously,

In the dark night, a vast dark ocean surged towards the spot where the sword qi had appeared. Upon closer inspection, this dark sea was composed of thumb-sized demon bees.

These demon bees were grotesque, their twin wings dark gold like blades, mouthparts armed with razor-sharp fangs gleaming with a chilling light, reminiscent of sickles. Their eyes glowed with an eerie, blood-red hue, as if steeped in blood.

Man-eating bees!

A species of demon that even other beasts feared.

Wherever the swarm of man-eating bees passed, only bones remained. Except for scale-armored demons, most beasts would avoid them at all costs. The demon bees Hei Ying unleashed were potent, each reaching the peak of second-tier cultivation. Even ordinary third-tier beasts found it nearly impossible to escape their pursuit.

No matter the cultivation of whoever was hiding,

In the end,

They would be devoured by the swarm!

“There really are other means!”

Jiang Min, who had been stealthily attacking from the shadows, was startled to see the swarm of man-eating bees darkening the sky like a black cloud. Her expression turned grave as she activated her Wind-Thunder Body. Amid the roar of thunder, she tried to retreat, but the bees seemed able to track her aura, chasing her with the speed of a gale. Seeing no escape, she revealed herself, swinging her arm in a circular motion with her sword. In the next moment, a sphere of sword qi formed around her body with a sharp whistle.

Clang! Clang!

An immeasurable force of thunder-fire sword qi immediately shaped the massive sphere, protecting her. The man-eating bees collided against the sword qi, producing metallic clangs!

Clink! Clink! Clink!

Countless demon bees were sliced open by the sword qi and fell from the sky, yet more continued to rush forward like moths to a flame, dying beneath the sword’s edge.

“Thunder-fire sword qi! I remember now—this person is a thunder-fire sword cultivator who has comprehended sword intent, but no one knows her name!”

High above,

Bai Ying suddenly said with a smile, “Perhaps she’s the one who hid the token. With her strength, she can’t be unknown.”

Upon hearing this, Hei Ying frowned coldly.

“Then she must be killed!”

He looked at Bai Ying.

The latter wore a confident smile as he nodded.

In the next moment,

Amid the swarm resembling a black cloud, an unremarkable little grub hidden within endured the tightly sealed layers of thunder-fire sword qi, burrowing straight into the sword qi sphere. The sword qi capable of cutting through gold and jade struck the grub, only sparking bursts of flame.

The instant the grub passed through the sword qi, Jiang Min felt a sudden chill run down her spine.

Taozhi sensed… food had entered.

“What is that?”

Jiang Min’s expression darkened as she immediately activated her Heart Protection Mirror. Simultaneously, within the sword qi sphere illuminated only by sword light, a shadow darted like lightning toward her brow.

Jiang Min raised her hand.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Taozhi, resembling a bracelet on her wrist, burst forth, extending countless thick branches to grasp the grub. As the branches closed, they swallowed it whole. A powerful devouring force exploded, consuming the grub entirely.

“The brain-eating worm is dead?!”

In the air,

Bai Ying’s expression froze, his smile stiffening into disbelief and shock.

Impossible!

The brain-eating worm he had nurtured for a century was a third-tier demon beast—how could it have died at her hands?

Bai Ying immediately judged and said sternly to Hei Ying,

“Run! We can’t defeat her!”

Hei Ying understood and nodded.

“I’ll use the man-eating bees to hold her off. Go!”

The two immediately took to the skies and fled.

Inside the sword qi sphere, a vast ocean of pure, refined spiritual energy flowed back to Jiang Min like a river.

Rushing sound!

“Third-tier demon beast?!”

Jiang Min frowned.

This spiritual energy was surely wasted, unable to be refined on the spot. But discovering a third-tier demon among the man-eating bees shocked her deeply. If not for her Heart Protection Mirror, which safeguarded her, Tao妖’s ability to consume all things might have meant she fell victim to the ambush.

“They want to run? Then it must be a quick battle.”

Jiang Min raised her left hand and drew out a Bagua Plate. This was a superior-grade treasure obtained from Jia Fugui. Though not top-tier, its myriad mystical transformations rivaled the finest artifacts.

With Jia Fugui’s memories, she had long since refined and comprehended the Bagua Plate, including a technique perfect for countering this swarm of man-eating bees.

Jiang Min poured all her spiritual power into the Bagua Plate. A patch of dark light emerged from the sword qi sphere, coalescing into a vast, sticky black swamp.

The Kan Water Swamp!

Splash!

As the sword qi sphere vanished, the viscous, thick black swamp surged outward in all directions, engulfing the sea of man-eating bees. The bees, fluttering their sharp wings, immediately became trapped in the sticky marsh. Though not fatal, escape was rendered impossible.

A flash of lightning streaked from the swamp.

Boom!

The rumble of wind and thunder echoed deeply in the night as the lightning shot forward at a breathtaking speed, catching up to Hei Ying and Bai Ying within moments.

Jiang Min raised her long sword, her voice calm and steady, carrying on the wind and spreading far and wide.

“Gentlemen, hand over the tokens.”