Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion-Chapter 107 - 105: The Might of the Pigeon Poison

Mad bees. A swarm so dense it blotted out the sky, completely engulfing the Snake-faced Cultivator. From a distance, it looked as if there wasn’t an inch of empty space around him.

Fang Qingyuan had unleashed nearly three thousand Scorpion-tailed Poison Bees at once. Now, not a single Scorpion-tailed Bee remained within the Immortal Mansion.

Oh, no, there was one left. The Bee Queen was still fast asleep in the Immortal Mansion, sweetly dreaming as she guarded her Flower Nectar, completely unaware that Fang Qingyuan was about to squander her entire hive.

The ordinary Scorpion-tailed Worker Bees had already been a handful for the Snake-faced Cultivator. He could handle a few hundred Scorpion-tailed Bees, but he was outmatched by a thousand. Now, with three thousand Scorpion-tailed Poison Bees swarming him at once, he was utterly terrified.

"Get off me!"

The Snake-faced Cultivator roared as a Fiery Flame Talisman in his hand detonated, unleashing a ring of fire. In the ensuing CRACKLE, a hundred or so of the surrounding Scorpion-tailed Bees dropped from the air.

However, before the Snake-faced Cultivator could even sigh in relief, his eyes widened in shock. Of the hundred-odd Scorpion-tailed Bees that had been engulfed by the Fiery Flame Talisman, nearly half steadied themselves and wobbled back toward him.

A single Fiery Flame Talisman had yielded such meager results. The Snake-faced Cultivator’s heart sank. He poured his energy into maintaining his Protective Magical Artifact, letting the swarm crash endlessly against it. A vicious glint in his eyes, he charged toward Fang Qingyuan.

To defeat an army, one must first capture its general. The Snake-faced Cultivator understood that wrestling with the surrounding swarm was foolish. The top priority was to subdue the cultivator controlling the bees and the bear; otherwise, the poisonous insects would never stop their assault.

The Snake-faced Cultivator’s logic was sound, and his actions were decisive. But seeing him charge over, how could Fang Qingyuan possibly let him get his way? At Fang Qingyuan’s call, the Silver Treasure Bat sprang up from the ground, positioned itself beneath his feet, and carried him soaring into the sky.

Thus, a cat-and-mouse game began. If the Snake-faced Cultivator flew forward a few yards, the Silver Treasure Bat would retreat a few yards. If he tried to pull away from Fang Qingyuan, the bat would close the distance, always maintaining a safe gap.

The Snake-faced Cultivator was so frustrated he could have spat blood. He had to maintain his Protective Magical Artifact against the bees, pilot his Flying Magical Artifact to chase the Silver Treasure Bat, and simultaneously figure out how to break Fang Qingyuan’s Tier Two Lower Grade Turtle Shield. He was juggling far more than three tasks at once.

Earlier, the two of them had been able to catch the Silver Treasure Bat only because of their Tier One Upper Grade Jade Wood Flying Boat. But that Flying Boat was only for travel, not for combat. Now, relying solely on his own magical artifact, he simply couldn’t catch the Silver Treasure Bat.

"You Cowardly Turtle! If you’ve got any guts, come and fight me for real! What kind of hero hides like this?"

Fang Qingyuan remained completely unmoved by the Snake-faced Cultivator’s taunts. In fact, the corners of his mouth turned up in a slight smile.

’Whatever the enemy desperately wants, I must never let them have. Whatever the enemy hates, I must continue doing.’

Fang Qingyuan was controlling the swarm with his Divine Sense, but he held back the five hundred Scorpion-tailed Bees that possessed the Pigeon Poison Talent, not allowing them to join the assault.

Instead, he had these Pigeon Poison Scorpion-tailed Bees disperse and hide among the regular swarm, preparing to launch a single, decisive sneak attack once the Snake-faced Cultivator’s Body-Protecting Spirit Shield was nearly depleted. The odds of success would be much higher that way.

For now, the Snake-faced Cultivator’s Body-Protecting Spirit Shield was still thick, indicating he had abundant Spiritual Qi. After all, his cultivation was at the Late-stage Qi Cultivation, and the total Spiritual Power in his body was more than double Fang Qingyuan’s.

’But now, I have the Silver Treasure Bat for mobility and the bee swarm for offense. I only need to expend Spiritual Power to maintain my Turtle Shell Shield for defense. My consumption rate is far lower than his.’

The Snake-faced Cultivator couldn’t resist loosing a few more Talismans toward him. Without any command from Fang Qingyuan, the Silver Treasure Bat executed a complex, high-difficulty spin, effortlessly dodging the attacks.

Slightly surprised by the Silver Treasure Bat’s agility, Fang Qingyuan silently took out a Spirit Stone and held it in his palm. Then, he sat cross-legged on the bat’s back and actually began to meditate to regulate his breathing.

This act made the Snake-faced Cultivator’s anger boil over. He stealthily took out a small, jade-green boat and cupped it in his palm. The next moment, it abruptly expanded into a vessel about ten feet long.

In a flash, the Snake-faced Cultivator boarded the small boat, still covered in Scorpion-tailed Bees, aimed it at Fang Qingyuan, and shot forward with incredible speed.

Seeing its speed, Fang Qingyuan’s eyes narrowed. He instinctively expanded his Turtle Shell Spirit Shield to its maximum size, placing it in front of the Silver Treasure Bat to guard against the impending attack.

The Flying Boat was incredibly fast, and Fang Qingyuan didn’t think the Silver Treasure Bat could dodge it. He had, however, underestimated his companion. A few months ago, the Silver Treasure Bat absolutely would not have been able to evade something at this speed. But after months of participating in racing competitions with Zhang Yuan, it had improved immensely.

The Silver Treasure Bat was no longer the greedy, slacking "fat fish" of the past. It had diligently practiced its flying techniques in order to cozy up to the female rays, and its agility had been greatly enhanced.

The Silver Treasure Bat shot the Snake-faced Cultivator’s Spiritual Boat a look of disdain. In its eyes, the magical artifact was fast, but it could only travel in straight lines, completely lacking finesse.

With a powerful flap of its bat-like wings, the Silver Treasure Bat tilted its head up and shot steeply into the sky. Under the Snake-faced Cultivator’s control, the Spiritual Boat followed close behind, mirroring its ascent.

The Snake-faced Cultivator glared at the "fat fish" ahead, his anger intensifying. ’When I catch that thing,’ he thought, ’I’m going to carve off a few pieces of its flesh and roast them.’

The Spiritual Boat was fast, and it was about to overtake the Silver Treasure Bat. But before a smile could even form on the Snake-faced Cultivator’s face, he watched, wide-eyed, as the "fat fish" jinked to the side and vanished from right under his nose.

’How is that possible?’

The Snake-faced Cultivator was shocked. He quickly scanned the area with his Divine Sense, but at their current flight speed—a hundred meters in the span of a breath—even the Divine Sense of a Late-stage Qi Cultivation expert couldn’t lock onto a distant enemy. At a time like this, the naked eye was more useful.

Damn these poisonous bees! The Snake-faced Cultivator’s vision was obstructed by the Scorpion-tailed Bees, making it even harder to track the Silver Treasure Bat. Being an experienced fighter, his first instinct was to use another Talisman to blast them away. But when his Divine Sense swept through his storage bag, he discovered he had already used up all his offensive Talismans.

He had used over a dozen Talismans, yet had only eliminated fewer than a thousand of the insects. The Snake-faced Cultivator was horrified. ’What kind of poisonous bees are these? How can they be so resilient? Are they mutated?’

’Fine,’ the Snake-faced Cultivator thought. ’No more Talismans.’ He began to cast a Fire Element Technique instead. ’I still have over half my Spiritual Power left. That’s more than enough to deal with a Mid-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator.’

After a sea of fire blasted the area clear, the Snake-faced Cultivator finally spotted Fang Qingyuan. He was sitting calmly on the Silver Treasure Bat’s back and, upon seeing him, even gave him a nod, as if he had been waiting for some time.

Without a word, the Snake-faced Cultivator turned the Spiritual Boat and charged at Fang Qingyuan again. The result, however, was identical to the last time. Just as he was about to ram the Silver Treasure Bat, it executed a serpentine maneuver and vanished from right under his nose.

After this happened several more times, the Snake-faced Cultivator gave up the futile effort. Piloting the Spiritual Boat consumed a massive amount of his Spiritual Power, and he also had to constantly defend against the pestering bees. His Spiritual Power reserves had already dropped to a dangerous level.

Looking at that "fat fish" of a bat, the Snake-faced Cultivator finally understood. They had completely misjudged their target. They thought they had hooked a big one, and they had, but this fish was far too slippery to land. They could see it, but they couldn’t touch it.

’If this continues, not only will we fail to catch this big fish, we might get knocked unconscious by a slap of its tail. That would be like a warship capsizing in a gutter.’

At this thought, the Snake-faced Cultivator felt a strong urge to retreat. He stopped staring at Fang Qingyuan and turned his gaze toward his companion.

’The Chicken-faced Cultivator’s cultivation is a bit higher than mine,’ he thought. ’He must be about done with that wild bear by now. If he can lend a hand, the two of us together can still win this.’

He had assumed that a Late-stage Qi Cultivation expert like himself dealing with a Mid-stage one would be an easy victory. He never expected it would come to the point where they’d need to team up. If word of this got out, the two of them would be a laughingstock for the next six months.

His mind raced with wild thoughts, and for a moment, he couldn’t calm himself. He turned his gaze to the Chicken-faced Cultivator, and suddenly, his heart leaped so violently it felt like it stopped for several breaths.

The Chicken-faced Cultivator, who had been full of vigor just moments before, was now coughing up blood as he struggled to fend off the giant bear’s attacks.

The Chicken-faced Cultivator’s Protective Magical Artifact was now a pile of scrap scattered across the gravel. His Daoist Robe was in tatters, and the few Protective Arrays inscribed on it had long since been depleted.

Now, the Chicken-faced Cultivator was wielding a Magic Sword, resorting to the Swordsmanship he had practiced as a mortal just to struggle against the giant bear. The sight made the Snake-faced Cultivator break out in a cold sweat.

’How is this giant bear so strong? Isn’t it just Tier One Lower Grade? How is it overwhelming a Late-stage Qi Cultivation expert?’

’And the Chicken-faced Cultivator is in such a sorry state, yet the bear looks practically unharmed. Could it be that this bear isn’t Tier One Lower Grade, but Tier Two Lower Grade, with strength equivalent to the Foundation Establishment realm?’

Countless questions exploded in the Snake-faced Cultivator’s mind, leaving him frozen with indecision. At that very moment, a ring-shaped Jade Pendant at his waist abruptly shattered, releasing a Calm Heart Spell that enveloped him and instantly forced him to cool his head.

’Something’s wrong. Why am I so anxious and paranoid? This is the middle of a battle! Why am I acting like this?’

The Snake-faced Cultivator was startled, realizing that his current mental state was completely off. He was acting like a completely different person compared to his usual self in battle.

He looked over at Fang Qingyuan, who still wore that same blank expression, but the slight curve of his lips seemed to be mocking him.

Seeing this, the Snake-faced Cultivator clenched his jaw. His gaze swept over the poisonous bees swarming around him, and in a flash of insight, he realized what was happening. Poison. He had been poisoned.

’But the bees haven’t even broken through my Spiritual Power Shield. How could I have been poisoned?’

The Snake-faced Cultivator had no time to ponder the question. He fished a bottle of Antitoxic Pills from his storage bag and, without a second glance, dumped the entire contents into his mouth.

Seeing this, a cold smile formed in Fang Qingyuan’s mind. ’Pigeon Poison isn’t so easily cured. Who says it requires skin contact to be effective?’

’While the Snake-faced Cultivator had his guard down, those five hundred Pigeon Poison Scorpion-tailed Bees secretly released their venom onto his Spiritual Power Shield.’

’As he circulated his Spiritual Power, he drew a large portion of the Pigeon Poison into his body. By now, the venom has thoroughly mixed with his Spiritual Power. He’s beyond saving!’