Chapter Thirty-Four: Icy Tail Venomous Bees

  Every three years, Nanman Mingyu appears in the midst of Nanman Forbidden Land.

  To find the entrance to Nán Màn's underworld, one must cross through vast forests where ferocious beasts roam, and entering the forbidden land is even more likely to encounter a powerful demon lurking in every corner, full of hidden dangers.

  Now, with the Southern Barbarian Dark Domain about to appear, the bustling streets of Songyan City have several times more pedestrians than before, crowded and noisy like a tidal wave.

  "Laurel City, Jade City, Luosha City... it seems that monks from all cities in the south have appeared. This time, the Southern Barbarian Trial is unprecedented!"

  "Alas, who says it's not? And I don't know what General Qin is thinking, actually allowing these foreign cultivators to participate, not to mention anything else, just for the sake of competing for the incredibly valuable Xie Pearl, this time's Nanman Mingyu trial will definitely not be peaceful."

  "This is not false, but I heard that most people seem to be coming not just for the sake of the pearl, but also to search for something in the Nán Màn Míng Yù, a Sword Immortal's cave mansion, who knows if it's true or false."

  "Jian Xian Dong Fu? Cut it out, don't joke around. The Southern Barbarian's Netherworld is depleted of spiritual energy, with malignant energy surging to the heavens. Which Sword Immortal would be so bored as to build their abode on that border?"

  ……

  All along the way, various rumors filled the streets and alleys, with a kind of ominous atmosphere that seemed to foretell wind and rain.

  "The Nánmán Míngyù will appear tomorrow and the entrance will only be open for three hours, so we must rush there overnight."

  As they approached the Nanman mountain range, Du Qingxi held a jade slip map and took a glance at it. With a serious expression, he said, "Everyone be careful, the Nanman mountain range is full of ferocious beasts at night, extremely dangerous, don't take it lightly."

  "Qingxi, don't worry, with the three of us, even if we encounter a powerful demon from the Purple Mansion, we can still kill it." Duansheng smiled slightly, his tone casual and ordinary, as if he was talking about something extremely simple.

  Kill the Grand Purple Mansion's Great Demon?

  Chen Xuan's heart skipped a beat, this guy dared to say such big words, his actual strength must have already advanced to the Purple Mansion realm, and Du Qingxi and that Song Lin must also be not far off.

  However, aren't Zifu monks unable to enter Nanman Mingyu? Perhaps they have another way of entering...

  This matter involves some privacy, and Chen Yu is not familiar with the three people, so he can't ask more questions, and can only secretly hide it in his heart.

  The night is shrouded in darkness, with sparse stars twinkling.

  Looking down from the sky, countless streams of people are like rows of ants rushing towards the Nanman Mountains, roughly estimated to be tens of thousands of people.

  "Huh? Am I seeing things? Tanmokusa, the genius-level figure known as the young ace of Ryūen Castle, has also come?"

  "It can't be wrong, that person is absolutely Du Mu Ze. It's said that he already has the cultivation of Zi Fu Four Stars and may become the next successor of the Du Mu family."

  "Wow, so he's the Du Mu Ze I've been dreaming about! He's indeed as handsome as the rumors say, too cool!"

  ……

  Just as Chen Yao and his three companions were about to enter the mountain, someone beside them recognized Duanmu Ze, instantly triggering a burst of gasps and admiring voices.

  Tan Mu Ze's handsome face revealed a hint of a smile, these scenes he had long been accustomed to in Longyuan City, and didn't think much of it, turning to Du Qingxi beside him with a smile: "I didn't expect to be recognized so quickly, these people are really boring."

  "Since we're bored, let's hurry up and go." Du Qingxi said, her expression as always cold and detached, as if nothing around her could spark her interest.

  Duanmu Ze was taken aback, shook his head and smiled, but in his heart he was secretly annoyed. This little girl from the Du family is really hard to deal with, do I have to force myself?

  He has been pursuing Du Qingxi, but Du Qingxi's temperament is too cold and he tried many methods to no avail.

  For someone like him, a young master from a noble family, there are plenty of beautiful women to choose from, but in Tuanmu Ze's eyes, those women were all mediocre and ordinary. In the entire Longyuan City, only a handful of people could match up to him, and Du Qingxi from the Du family was undoubtedly one of them.

  Du Qingxi's appearance is absolutely beautiful, and she is also extremely intelligent. More importantly, she is the only daughter of the Du family's master. If he marries her, not only can he have a beautiful wife, but he can also gain the support of the Du family. This is the result that Duanmu Ze wants the most.

  As the son-in-law of the Du family, he had the support of the entire Du clan. With this help, Duanmu Ze had 100% confidence that he could become the master of the Duanmu family.

  So at this time, although he was struck by Du Qingxi's cold attitude, Duanmu Ze would never extinguish his pursuit of Du Qingxi because of this.

  However, he still felt a bit uncomfortable in his heart, especially with Chen Tai standing by and watching.

  This kid is probably just laughing at himself in his heart for being overly sentimental.

  Duanmu Ze glanced at Chen Tai, but saw that this guy was distracted, with a look of being in a trance, completely not giving him the opportunity to pick a fight. For a moment, he hated it so much that his teeth itched, and he secretly thought that once they entered the mountain forest, he would take the opportunity to thoroughly teach this despicable servant a lesson!

  The night grew darker, like a layer of black ink covering the entire Nanman mountain range. From afar, came the sound of terrifying beast howls, adding to the eerie and murderous atmosphere.

  Facing this scene, even Song Lin, who had been drowsy all the way, opened his eyes involuntarily, with a piercing gaze that was exceptionally bright.

  "Let me remind you of one thing, if you dare to drag our hind legs, no matter what Qingxi thinks, I will definitely fix you up first."

  A faint voice echoed in his ear, Chen Xiao looked up to see Duanmu Ze smiling at him with a face that seemed to suggest the previous words had never left his lips.

  Faced with such aggressive disdain and threat, Chen Xiao chose to directly ignore it.

  Drag one's feet?

  Who knows who will be holding back whom when the time comes.

  Recalling the scenes of fighting against those ferocious and sinister demons every night for three months, Chen Xiao felt a pang of sympathy for Duanmu Ze. What about the Zifu cultivators? Those demons were not to be trifled with, each one was cunning and venomous, with a hundred different tricks up their sleeves...

  After entering the mountain, in order to show off his gentlemanly demeanor, the team leader was Du Mu Ze, wearing a white robe and holding a sword as he walked forward. With that handsome and elegant smile of his, it's indeed enough to make many women fall in love at first sight.

  Du Qingxi did not object, Song Lin trailed behind the team with a sleepy expression, and Chen Tang was also unlikely to compete with this flashy young master for attention.

  So all the way, Duanmu Ze took himself as the leader of the team, Chen Tang suggested several times to change the route, but was rejected by him. In his words, "We sword cultivators, even if there is no road, we must use our swords to kill a path out, taking a detour is not the style of a sword cultivator..."

  Chen Cui didn't say much more, when someone is destined for bad luck, no one can stop it.

  Then in a lush and verdant part of the forest, a swarm of ice-tailed poisonous bees, just as Chen Xuan had expected, came rushing forth.

  As a Zifu Four Star Realm Sword Cultivator, Duanmu Ze was not afraid of these small things. He immediately drew his sword and rose up. The sword light splashed out, and the sharp sword energy shot out like a crossbow arrow. In just an instant, hundreds of Ice Tail Poisonous Bees died cleanly.

  "It was just a swarm of small bees, what a disappointing opponent."

  Du Mu Ze's face was filled with emotion as he uttered a sentence, and just as he was about to put away his sword, his expression suddenly froze, and a hint of astonishment flashed in his eyes.

  His face and hands suddenly broke out in red, swollen bumps, and his handsome face became as ugly as a roasted pig's head.

  "Ah!"

  Duanmu Gongzi let out a shrill cry of despair, his face and the back of his hands itching unbearably, causing him to forget all about dignity as he scratched at his face with both hands.

  "What's going on?" Du Qingxi's heart skipped a beat as he looked at Duanmu Ze scratching his back in an awkward posture, and his mind was filled with doubts.

  "Huh, Duanmu brother, are you practicing Monkey Fist?" Song Lin opened his sleepy eyes and mumbled: "I remember you hated Monkey Fist the most, saying it's too ugly, affecting aesthetics and demeanor."

  "He may have killed the Ice-tailed Wasp, but his cheeks and hands were stung by its tail needle, that's why he's so itchy." Chen Tai said with a frown, but secretly delighted.

  These ice-tailed poisonous wasps are the size of a thumb, with a glossy black body and a slender tail like cow hair, crystal clear. When the stinger pierces human skin, it's as if the ice melts into water, impossible to guard against. Moreover, the venom will penetrate the blood in an instant, causing the skin to erupt in red blisters and severe itching.

  "You knew it all along, why didn't you say so earlier?" Du Qingxi gazed over coldly, her tone carrying a hint of blame.

  "I advised him, but he said as a swordsman, one must rely on the sword in their hand..."

  Before Chen Tai finished speaking, Duanmu Ze, who was scratching his ears and cheeks in the distance, suddenly bellowed: "You little brat, shut your mouth!"

  "Let's go, I'm fine." Tuanmu Ze took a few deep breaths, suppressing the itching all over his body, and got up, walking forward with a trembling figure.

  "Alas, Duanmu brother is the one who values demeanor the most. In Longyuan City, if we're talking about who has the best demeanor, Duanmu brother would undoubtedly be the first without a doubt. Now that things have turned out like this, he must be feeling quite bad inside?"

  Song Lin lazily let out a sigh, his eyes inadvertently glanced at Chen Tai, and then he raised his eyelids again, falling back into a drowsy state.

  "Oh, if I had known he was so afraid of itching, I should have advised him again and all this wouldn't have happened." Chen Xiao said with an innocent face.

  This sentence fell into Duanmu Ze's ears, causing the evil fire in his heart to surge up even more. Especially when he thought of the ugly appearance that had just fallen into Du Qingxiu's eyes without a trace, he was so angry that he almost spat out blood, and roared in his heart: "Damn it, this guy must be on purpose, not reminding him properly, but saying cold words at the right time, you wait, I'll make you look good!

  "Du Mu Gongzi, there are still some not-so-formidable demonic beasts ahead, do you want to change the route?" Chen Tai asked with concern, as if he had just discovered his conscience.

  Du Mu Ze's body stiffened for a moment before he viciously retorted: "Thanks, but no thanks!"

  As he spoke, seemingly to vent the anger in his heart, Endo Tatsuya quickened his pace, his long sword waving incessantly, and the tangled vines and weeds that blocked his way were instantly reduced to flying ash.

  "You seem quite familiar with this place?" Du Qingxi asked with a frown.

  Chen Ting nodded and said, "I've been here for a while before."

  "Why didn't you bring a map?" Du Qingxi pressed tightly.

  Chen Yu looked at Duanmu Ze in the distance and didn't say much, but his meaning was clear.

  "Lead the way next," Du Qingxi said in a tone that brooked no argument.

  "Good!" Chen Quan nodded.

  Ah...

  Just then, from a distance, Tanigawa's shrill scream echoed again, with endless anger and terror in his voice, as if he had encountered something terrifying.