The canyon was dark and eerie. The roadside was scattered with bones that emitted a faint green glow, and some bone piles even sprouted clusters of black mushrooms, like tumors on a diseased beast, making the scene all the more grotesque.

After nearly half an hour of walking, Luo Xiu and his party finally reached the end of the canyon.

At the end, beneath a steep cliff, there was a massive rock that looked like the skull of some mysterious creature from a distance. Atop this "skull" sat a strange, withered tree over a hundred meters tall with dense branches.

The entire tree was charred black, as if carbonized. It looked like an ordinary tree that had been burned in a fire many years ago—seemingly unremarkable, yet it gave off an extremely dangerous feeling.

Kuang Pi said to Luo Xiu, "Junior Brother, that must be the Thunderstrike Wood."

Luo Xiu nodded slightly, noticing three house-sized Bee Hives hanging from the Thunderstrike Wood, looking like three fruits the tree had borne.

Suddenly, Luo Xiu felt a pat on his shoulder.

Yao Yi had appeared beside him without notice. He whispered, "Young Master, those hanging from the Thunderstrike Wood are the Thundering Bees' Bee Hives. The Thunder Paste is inside."

Luo Xiu glanced at the hand on his shoulder.

With an embarrassed smile, Yao Yi quickly withdrew his hand and asked, "Master Chen, shall we make our move now?"

Luo Xiu glanced at the charred corpses scattered around the massive rock. Obtaining the Thunder Paste must be difficult; otherwise, so many people wouldn't have died. He said coolly, "So long as you're resigned to being cannon fodder."

Hearing this, Yao Yi chuckled to himself. Heh, your time is almost up. He then suddenly declared, "Let's move together! We must seize the Thunder Paste for the Young Master!"

At his command, the disciples of the Heavenly Gull Sect released their demonic power. Pristine white wings sprouted from their backs, and they transformed into streaks of afterimages, flying toward the Thunderstrike Wood.

As for the Disciples of the Jade Blade Sect, they appeared fierce but were actually just planning to hang back and let the Heavenly Gull Sect do the dirty work.

Luo Xiu was using the Jade Blade Sect as cannon fodder, while the Jade Blade Sect was, in turn, using the Heavenly Gull Sect as their cannon fodder.

Just then, a loud crack echoed out, followed by a piercing scream.

The Thunderstrike Wood glowed intensely, instantly releasing an electric net that sealed the space near the huge rock. One bolt of lightning struck a Heavenly Gull Sect disciple who failed to dodge in time. The disciple screamed and fell to the ground, his life extinguished.

The rest of the Heavenly Gull Sect disciples had no time for grief. They scattered quickly, flying toward the Thunderstrike Wood from several different directions.

Dou Dou, standing beside Luo Xiu, suddenly furrowed her brow and said, "Chen Shuisheng, Dou Dou thinks that Thunderstrike Wood is the real treasure here!"

With that, she held up her black umbrella for Luo Xiu to see. Luo Xiu noticed the black umbrella was trembling, though it was unclear if it was from excitement or fear.

Luo Ying then offered her analysis. "It's likely that a Cataclysmic Thunder is hidden within this withered tree. Using the tree as a Taoist Body and having gone through many years of arduous cultivation, it has now developed sentience."

"And judging by its reaction, it's probably protecting the Bee Hives."

Luo Xiu glanced over his shoulder and said, "Wait for the cannon fodder to wake the Thundering Bees. Then you can go for the Thunder Paste. But your own safety comes first. The lightning from that Thunderstrike Wood is probably strong enough that not even an Earth Immortal could withstand three strikes."

"Watch carefully. The Thunderstrike Wood can only attack one person at a time; it can't launch a wide-range attack. This means it has to concentrate its lightning power in one spot to be effective. You need to seize the opportunity to approach the Bee Hives in the interval while it's attacking the cannon fodder."

Dou Dou suddenly held up her black umbrella and declared confidently, "Dou Dou isn't afraid! My black umbrella can absorb lightning."

Luo Xiu, however, just ruffled her hair. "You're the weakest one here right now. You're completely outmatched, so you should stay back."

Hearing this, Dou Dou pouted. "What? You're looking down on me, Dou Dou!"

Yaya placed her hands on her hips and said proudly, "I knew it! Besides Sister Luo Ying, I'm the strongest one here."

Kuang Pi chuckled. "Hey, Little Whale, are you just going to ignore me?"

"Big Dumb Bear, you want to fight to see who's stronger?"

"Forget it. I won't bicker with a little girl."

"Stop arguing," Luo Xiu said. "It's time to move."

The disciples of the Heavenly Gull Sect were indeed efficient. Using their natural advantage in flight, they had already broken through the electric net and were nearing the Thunderstrike Wood.

Without a word, Luo Ying flashed forward.

Not to be outdone, Kuang Pi dropped to all fours and charged ahead, wreathed in crackling lightning. He seemed incredibly excited, like a groom about to enter the bridal chamber. Luo Xiu watched him and suddenly recalled that bears love honey, which explained Kuang Pi's current excitement.

"Everyone, be careful!"

Yao Yi, who was slacking within the crowd, suddenly let out a deafening shout. His voice was like a clap of thunder, clearly intentional.

BUZZ… BUZZ… BUZZ…

The moment his voice fell, an unsettling buzzing sound echoed through the canyon, making everyone's head throb and eardrums ache. Luo Xiu frowned slightly. The sound was bizarre, capable of inflicting direct mental damage, almost on par with Su Shanyue's Void Zen Sound. An ordinary person would have no way to withstand it. This was likely a natural ability of the Thundering Bees.

Then, Luo Xiu saw balls of lightning of various sizes fly out of the Bee Hives. The Thundering Bees, each encased in lightning, flew madly toward the Heavenly Gull Sect disciples who were approaching the Thunderstrike Wood.

In an instant, a series of harrowing screams echoed through the canyon.

Although the Heavenly Gull Sect disciples were fast and agile fliers, they were still no match for the speed of the Thundering Bees. Horrified, the disciples silently cursed Yao Yi's entire family tree.

That treacherous old dog! He obviously shouted to wake the Thundering Bees on purpose! Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have woken up so easily at night. We have no idea what that old dog is plotting!

However, to everyone's surprise, the dense swarm of Thundering Bees soon changed its target. It stopped attacking the people near the Thunderstrike Wood and instead flew in droves toward Luo Xiu's position.

Seeing the swarm blotting out the sky as it flew toward him, Luo Xiu remained unfazed. With a faint flash of light in his left eye, he opened a spatial rift to the Land of Lawlessness. He wasn't surprised that the Thundering Bees were targeting him.

Yao Yi and Yu Qingfeng weren't surprised, either.

Dou Dou jumped in fright. "Who can even understand this? Why are all these bees flying our way?" With that, she grabbed Luo Xiu's wrist with her small hand and darted toward the spatial rift.

"Hey, Chen Shuisheng, don't just stand there!"

"Let's scram!"

As Luo Xiu and Dou Dou entered the Land of Lawlessness, the dense swarm of Thundering Bees followed them right in.

Meanwhile, in another part of the crowd, it was chaos.

In the darkness, Yao Yi's lips curled into a smirk as he spoke to Yu Qingfeng. "That kid was too overconfident. I didn't expect him to fall for it so easily. Now there are only three left."

With that, he flicked his wrist, tossing a small porcelain bottle toward Luo Ying on the other side.

"Disciples of the Jade Blade Sect, retreat now!"

After throwing the bottle, he led the Jade Blade Sect disciples to retreat under the cover of chaos, and they quickly vanished into the pitch-black night.

"Hahahaha… Chen Shuisheng, today is the day you all die!"

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