Panda Xiong had already reached the later stage of Crystal Formation, and Lin Jichen planned to take this opportunity to help it break through to the Golden Core Realm in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
An Iron-Eating Beast at the Golden Core Realm would undergo a qualitative transformation, evolving wings and gaining the ability to fly.
This way, Lin Jichen wouldn't need to waste time meditating to recover mana while traveling. Once his mana was depleted, he could simply ride on Panda Xiong and recover his mana on its back.
As the man and bear traversed through the dense forest, a wolf's howl suddenly echoed.
Immediately, a dozen black wolves sprang out from the forest, surrounding Lin Jichen and Panda Xiong.
Lin Jichen remained unfazed. The Hundred Thousand Mountains were teeming with beasts, evil spirits, exotic beasts, and demonic cultivators, making it one of the most chaotic leveling spots.
However, in the outer regions, one usually only encountered weaklings, nothing to worry about.
These dozen wolves were all at the Crystal Realm, with only the wolf king possessing early-Golden Elixir strength.
Lin Jichen instantly summoned the Dark Night Sword, targeting the wolf king, while Panda Xiong dealt with the wolf minions.
It didn't take long for them to dispatch the entire pack of black wolves.
Lin Jichen climbed back onto Panda Xiong's back and continued their journey.
Along the way, they were frequently attacked by beasts, but Lin Jichen and Panda Xiong easily dealt with them.
Lin Jichen calculated the distance; it would take at least five days to reach the location of the Violet Illusion Spirit Incense.
By now, it was noon, and Lin Jichen decided to log off for a meal.
He led Panda Xiong to find a relatively safe place to log off.
Spotting a cave, Lin Jichen had Panda Xiong go in to scout.
As soon as Panda Xiong entered, it came rushing out, followed by a swarm of bees, each larger than a human fist.
These bees were massive, their bodies a brownish-green, with sharp, densely packed teeth, looking fierce and menacing. Each had a horn on its head, a long, thin tail, and a black stinger at the tip that gleamed ominously, making one's scalp tingle.
Lin Jichen immediately recognized these bees as Poison-Horned Stinger Bees, one of the notorious beasts in the outer regions of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
Alongside Bloodthirsty Mosquitoes and Fire Armored Ants, they were among the three most troublesome outer-region beasts.
These three types of beasts were different; each group consisted of at least hundreds or thousands, with some larger groups gathering in the tens of thousands.
Individually, they weren't strong, but in large numbers, they were nearly invincible within the same realm.
Moreover, they were fearless, relentlessly pursuing their target until death.
Lin Jichen couldn't believe his luck in encountering such a troublesome beast so soon.
Fortunately, he noticed that this swarm wasn't too large, only about a hundred or so, not too difficult to handle.
Given the opportunity, Lin Jichen decided to deal with them.
He aimed to raid the Poison-Horned Stinger Bees' hive, as their honey was a miraculous healing remedy, more effective than most Mysterious Grade elixirs.
Seizing the chance, Lin Jichen drew his sword!
A wave of frosty sword Qi swept out, striking a dozen Poison-Horned Stinger Bees, causing a flurry of damage:
Some of the bees were frozen and fell from the sky, while others had their speed drastically reduced, their bodies covered in frost.
[Beast: Poison-Horned Stinger Bee]
[Level: Common Grade]
[Strength: Early-Golden Elixir]
[Vitality: 35750/40000]
Lin Jichen's actions thoroughly enraged the Poison-Horned Stinger Bees. The largest bee buzzed loudly, seemingly issuing commands.
The remaining bees swarmed madly towards Lin Jichen.
A rain of poison needles shot from their tails, all aimed at Lin Jichen.
Lin Jichen didn't dare take these needles head-on. Using Phantom Step, he dodged, his long sword flashing as it lit up!
A sword formation encircled nearly half of the Poison-Horned Stinger Bees, sword shadows raining down, executing the bees within!
A flurry of damage numbers appeared.
Not wanting to waste time, Lin Jichen gathered his sword energy, and a storm of feather-like sword Qi flew out!
With two skills unleashed, the bees' health rapidly dwindled.
Lin Jichen focused on the bees with the lowest health, eliminating them, which refreshed the sword formation, continuing the slaughter of the remaining bees.
Before long, the bees within the sword formation were all dead.
The largest Poison-Horned Stinger Bee seemed furious, charging at Lin Jichen, launching a barrage of poison needles from its tail before even getting close.
"Poison Needle Rain!"
Lin Jichen dodged in time but was still hit by a few needles.
[-2600x3! Bee Poison!]
[Bee Poison: Lose 300 health per second, lasts for 10 seconds.]
Lin Jichen looked at the swollen spots where the needles had struck his arm, silently cursing his carelessness.
He had underestimated this bee king.
[Beast: Poison-Horned Stinger Bee King]
[Strength: Late-Golden Elixir]
[Vitality: 65000/65000]
[Skills: Poison Needle Rain, Sleep Pollen, Illusionary Flight, Absolute Bee Formation]
Lin Jichen adjusted his mindset, his eyes sharp.
"Panda Xiong, hold off the other bees for me. I'll take care of this bee king."
Panda Xiong was reluctant, disliking the bees' painful and itchy stings that also caused bleeding.
But it had to obey Lin Jichen's command.
Panda Xiong activated Absolute Defense, clapping its bear paws in the air, successfully drawing the attention of the other bees.
Lin Jichen focused on the bee king.
The Dark Night Sword transformed into a long rainbow, striking towards the bee king.
Although the bee king tried to fly away, Lin Jichen could also fly, catching up and slashing at it!
The bee king was quickly struck, but retaliated with more poison needles.
However, these individual needles were easily dodged or deflected by Lin Jichen's sword.
The bee king, now forced into close combat, was continuously slashed, accumulating sword wounds.
Frustrated, the bee king's eyes turned red, and it suddenly spat out a cloud of yellow pollen.
A confident smile appeared on Lin Jichen's lips. As the pollen approached, he flashed away!
[Mist Piercing Charge! Stun removed! Success!]
Dodging the Sleep Pollen, Lin Jichen pulled back a bit, forming a sword seal with his hand, causing the Dark Night Sword to hum.
[Heavenly Light Slash! Bleed! Silence!]
A beam of heavenly light split the sky, hitting the bee king's head precisely.
[Critical Hit! -8900!]
[Bleed: Lose 5% of current health over 30 seconds.]
[Silence: Unable to use skills for 10 seconds.]
The terrifying damage made Lin Jichen exclaim in satisfaction. This was how a Sword Cultivator's skills should be!
The critical hit was crucial, otherwise, the damage wouldn't have been so high.