Immortal weapon refiner

Chapter 653 Ruby Beehive
Red magma erupted, the entire sky was covered with black smoke, and the light suddenly dimmed.

The volcano that had just erupted had a dark mountain covered with hot magma, which slowly flowed down, gradually cooled, and re-deposited into the charred surface of the ground.

On the snake-headed spirit boat, Li Qing waved his hand slightly, and the magic power in his body rippled out, blocking the rolling scorching breath in the air.

After watching the magnificent spectacle of the volcanic eruption, Li Qing turned his attention to the central area of ​​the volcanic group.

There is a huge pit surrounded by many volcanoes. It is bottomless and you can't see anything with the naked eye.

The entire cave entrance is very large, as wide as a giant mountain.

"Senior Li, this is the Fire Cliff Cave. Once you enter, you will see that the paths inside are interconnected and full of various dangers." Cao Xiu explained.

After observing for a while, Li Qing nodded silently.

"Well, let's go along the route recorded on your map and take a look."

Li Qing naturally would not fully believe the route recorded on the scroll, but entered the Fire Cliff Cave with an exploratory mindset.

However, he is now a cultivator who has reached the perfect Jindan stage. Even if there is some danger, he is confident that he can deal with it easily.

For example, the hive of fire jade bees would be fatally dangerous to other casual cultivators if they encountered it.

But if Li Qing saw it, he would definitely try to subdue the Fire Jade Bee Queen!

Naturally, he was extremely envious of this kind of spiritual insect. Once he really controlled it in his hands, it meant that he would have one more means to rely on in the future.

If he is trained carefully enough, he can play a significant role even if he becomes a Nascent Soul cultivator in the future.

In addition to fighting enemies, the Fire Jade Bee also produces a spiritual substance called Fire Source Paste, which is of great benefit to cultivators who practice fire techniques.

Of course, the quality of fire source paste is also divided into different levels, which is related to the strength level of the Fire Jade Bee.

If Li Qing could cultivate the queen of the Fire Jade Bee into a fourth-level or even fifth-level spirit insect, then the top-quality fire source paste brewed by it would definitely be a true treasure in the world.

Just like that, with these beautiful thoughts and ideas, Li Qing led Cao Xiu into the Fire Cliff Cave.

As soon as they approached the edge, they felt a surge of scorching heat rushing towards them.

Fortunately, with Li Qing's resistance, the scorching air was nothing.

Deep inside the Fire Cliff Cave, Cao Xiu took out the scroll he got from the secret auction and began to go deeper into it following the route recorded on it.

The darkness around them did not cause much hindrance to the two. Li Qing released his spiritual consciousness and easily took in the surrounding environment into his sea of ​​consciousness.

Before he had walked far, Li Qing had already experienced how complicated the paths inside the Fire Cliff Cave were.

Each passage inside is connected to the other three passages. Once you step into one of the passages, you will find three passages appearing in front of you again.

By analogy, this constitutes the extremely complex route of the entire Fire Cliff Cave. Even a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Stage would easily get lost if he entered it.

"If there is no clear route, you might even find yourself back at the cave entrance while walking." Cao Xiu sighed deeply.

Li Qing did not reply, he touched the surrounding cave walls with his hands.

These cave walls are not simple either. Unlike the rough stone walls imagined, the cave walls here are somewhat smooth, and the texture feels like touching a thick layer of warm jade.

Along the way, neither of them encountered any danger worth mentioning, but the temperature of the air around them became increasingly hot.

It seems that the route recorded on the map that Cao Xiu obtained from the secret auction seems to be correct.

Just as Li Qing was thinking this, suddenly, a buzzing sound came from the hole below!
Buzz!Buzz!
The sound sounds like a large number of bees flapping their wings at the same time, and the noise is extremely harsh!
"It's the Fire Jade Bee!" Cao Xiu subconsciously shrank his neck. The pain of being poisoned by the fire still lingered in his heart.

But Li Qing's eyes lit up. Wasn't the purpose of his trip just to get these spiritual insects?

So why would he back down?
Immediately, Li Qing strode towards the passage where the buzzing sound came from. He planned to use these fire jade bees to find the location of the hive.

As it turned left and right, the sound of the Fire Jade Bee's flapping wings finally became extremely clear.

The next moment, after turning around the passage in front of him, Li Qing found a large group of scarlet fire jade bees gathered together to form a red ball-like object.

Before Li Qing could take any action, these fire jade bees pounced directly towards Li Qing.

"So violent that he stings everyone he sees?"

After seeing this, Li Qing raised his eyebrows slightly, and was also shocked by the temperament of these fire jade bees.

But he was not too panicked, instead he stretched out his left hand calmly.

From the palm of Li Qing's hand, balls of cold, white flames erupted, instantly forming a white wall of fire in front of him.

All the Fire Jade Bees were like moths to a flame, rushing towards the wall of fire formed by the Netherworld Cold Fire released by Li Qing without paying any attention.

Li Qing originally thought that these fire jade bees would be burned to pieces immediately, but the result was far beyond his expectations.

Every Fire Jade Bee stayed in the wall of fire and actually began to absorb and devour the Netherworld Cold Fire!
Soon, he thought of the records about the Fire Jade Bee in the "Records of Strange Insects in Heaven and Earth".

This bee feeds on spiritual objects containing fire essence. The true essence of monks who practice fire techniques is its favorite nutrient.

"It's quite interesting. It seems that these Fire Jade Bees have a strong inhibitory effect on cultivators who practice the Fire Dao technique."

Li Qing muttered to himself, and then sneered:
"But this is not an ordinary fire, but a netherworld cold fire that can directly kill spiritual consciousness and spirit bodies!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Qing clenched his hand.

boom!
The wall of fire formed by the Netherworld Cold Fire suddenly shrank, and its temperature and aura became even colder.

Then, a crisp sound came from the ground, like big and small pearls falling on a jade plate.

Crackling!

All the Fire Jade Bees that had just devoured the Netherworld Cold Fire fell to the ground, deader than dead.

The spiritual fire of heaven and earth is not so easy to refine. After the Netherworld Cold Fire was swallowed by it, it has not completely severed the connection with Li Qing.

Li Qing immediately mobilized these Netherworld Cold Fires to directly target the spirits of all the Fire Jade Bees, instantly wiping out the consciousness of all the Fire Jade Bees.

Just like that, a large number of Fire Jade Bees with their bodies intact were lying on the ground, but they did not move. They were deader than dead.

Li Qing casually picked up the corpse of a fire jade bee, and then exerted slight force with his fingertips.

Click!

The jade-like body of the Fire Jade Bee was shattered in an instant.

After all, they are just some low-level spiritual insects. No matter how magical they are, their bodies will shatter with just a touch.

"It seems that the Fire Jade Bee Queen in the hive is at most a second-level spiritual insect, otherwise the Fire Jade Bees that hatched out would not be so weak." Rumor has it that some powerful Fire Jade Bee Queens can even lay eggs that can hatch into Fire Jade Bee Kings. Each of them has extremely strong combat power and can even rival third-level monsters.

However, if you want to cultivate it to that level, you will have to spend a lot of resources and let the queen bee devour a large amount of high-quality fire spirit food.

After feeling a little relieved, Li Qing and Cao Xiu behind him continued to go deeper into the cave.

"Senior Li, the road ahead has already deviated far from the route recorded on the atlas," Cao Xiu said anxiously. He was worried that the two would get lost on the road.

However, Li Qing chuckled and said:

"The reason why it is so easy to get lost in the Fire Cliff Cave is because the peculiar cave walls here will assimilate all the spiritual power marks into one, and any spiritual power marks left behind will disappear immediately."

"But just now, I discovered that the cave walls here will not assimilate the fire I left behind."

Snapped!
After saying that, Li Qing snapped his fingers.

Along with the crisp sound of snapping fingers, on the road behind them, streaks of blazing white flames suddenly lit up, like bright white lights hanging along the way.

These are the Netherworld Cold Fire left by Li Qing. Once they are activated by his will, these fires will burn on their own.

After all, it is the spiritual fire of heaven and earth. No matter what, it will not be assimilated into one by the peculiar environment inside the Fire Cliff Cave.

Looking at the road behind him illuminated by white spiritual fire, Cao Xiu widened his eyes and felt even more in awe of Li Qing.

Snapped!
Li Qing snapped his fingers again, and the flames of the Netherworld Cold Fire behind him went out again, causing the passage behind him to return to darkness again.

After that, they just need to follow the passage illuminated by these dark cold fires to return to the route clearly recorded on the previous map.

With this guarantee, the two of them began to explore deeper inside more boldly and confidently.

Finally, the view ahead suddenly became clear.

This is a node of the Fire Cliff Cave. The space is very wide and connected to eight passages.

And above this node, a honeycomb that looked as crystal clear as ruby ​​but had complex holes appeared in Li Qing's sight.

"Yes, I remember this place. The hive of the Fire Jade Bee is right here." Cao Xiu spoke softly, fearing that a loud voice might disturb the Fire Jade Bee colony.

Without him telling, Li Qing knew what the ruby ​​beehive above was, because outside the hive, one fire jade bee after another was going in and out of the hive, looking very busy.

Many of the Fire Jade Bees flew up from a downward channel connecting this space, and then returned to the Red Jade Beehive.

"The Fire Jade Bee Queen should be inside, right?"

This beehive is very large, occupying half of the space above the cave. Obviously, there are a large number of fire jade bees living inside.

Rumble!
Just when Li Qing was about to take action and go to the Ruby Beehive to subdue the Fire Jade Queen Bee, a vibration sound suddenly came from a passage below.

"Hmm?" Li Qing looked in the direction of the voice.

In the passage that was making the vibrating sound, figures dressed in ancient costumes walked out.

However, the movements of these figures were sluggish and rigid, and every step they took was extremely stiff.

"Are these corpse puppets?"

Li Qing, who had been to the Great Wilderness, was no stranger to this kind of thing.

In the art of puppetry, there is a secret method to refine corpses into puppets. The puppets refined by this secret method are called corpse puppets.

The reason why Li Qing was so shocked was that the clothing styles worn by these corpse puppets were really too old.

He fell silent, trying his best to conceal the fluctuations of his breath, and just observed the actions of these corpse puppets in secret.

As for Cao Xiu standing aside, he could no longer conceal the fear in his eyes.

Because of the aura emanating from these corpse puppets, he felt a wave of heart-pounding pressure.

There are a total of five corpse puppets, two of which seem to be at the third level, and the other three are at the peak of the second level.

Five corpse puppets came out, each holding a stone basin. They seemed to have received some kind of order and came to the bottom of the Fire Jade Bee hive.

Soon, a large number of fire jade bees seemed to be stimulated. They swarmed out of the nest and directly attacked the corpse puppets.

But these are numb corpse puppets. Not only are their bodies strong, but they are also unable to feel any pain.

The attacks of these fire jade bees were like raindrops to these corpse puppets, causing no harm at all. Even the stings on their tails could not pierce the bodies of these corpse puppets.

After several corpse puppets stood still, as if they had rehearsed it many times, they stepped on each other's shoulders one after another, like a human pyramid.

The massive attacks from the Fire Jade Bee swarms could not hinder their movements.

The corpse puppet at the top actually used the stone basin in its hand to scoop up a light red thick liquid from the huge ruby ​​beehive.

Li Qing, who was watching all this secretly, recognized it at a glance.

These extremely thick liquids are all fire source paste!

"It's interesting. These corpse puppets seem to be acting under the orders of some existence. Are they sending the fire source paste somewhere?"

After obtaining enough fire source paste, each ancient corpse puppet, holding the stone basin filled with fire source paste in its hand, returned to the deep passage.

Li Qing, who watched the whole thing, fell silent again.

It seems that there are some secrets hidden in this Fire Cliff Cave that he doesn't know about.

"Originally I just wanted to subdue a queen bee of Fire Jade Bee and leave this place, but now it seems that this matter is not that simple." Li Qing whispered, his eyes flickering faintly.

Just as he was thinking about what to do next, Bailing Daojun finally spoke:

"I seem to sense a familiar aura. Let's go and take a look."

Li Qing was slightly stunned. Could this aura be familiar to Daojun Bailing?
Could it be that some old monster that was active in ancient times has survived to this day in the depths of this Fire Cliff Cave?

Do not!
This is almost impossible. Even for a cultivator in the Spirit Transformation Stage, his lifespan is only two to three thousand years at most. Even if he exhausts all methods of immortality, it is impossible to live that long in this kind of environment.

Unless he transforms into an existence like Bailing Daojun, only an obsession remains in the human world that can dissipate between heaven and earth at any time.

Once one's wishes are fulfilled during his lifetime, this obsession will disappear.

So, do you want to go and have a look?
Li Qing thought carefully in his heart.

(End of this chapter)