Chapter 51: Entering the Insect Valley

The viewers in the live streaming room were once again amused by Qin Chuan’s antics.

This guy Qin Chuan was truly mischievous, bullying Shen Gongbao to such a miserable extent.

The two of them no longer rode on Shen Gongbao's back, primarily out of disgust. Finding a small pond that happened to harbor a two-star monster, Qin Chuan gave Shen Gongbao a swift kick straight into the water and said, "Go take a bath."

A fierce battle subsequently erupted in the pond. Qin Chuan stood on the bank, eating a fruit with his hands on his hips, watching the monster brawl with great relish.

Shangguan Ruoyun: `(￣ェ￣;)`

In the end, Shen Gongbao emerged victorious, but the resentful look in its eyes clearly conveyed just how wronged it felt.

Countless netizens wanted to reply to Shen Gongbao: *We know your pain.*

Shangguan Ruoyun now took the initiative to lead the way. Ever since she realized that Qin Chuan had been navigating the forbidden zone entirely by letting Shen Gongbao wander around randomly, she stepped up to shoulder the responsibility of being the guide.

At the very least, she had far more experience than Qin Chuan. As a special forces soldier, her wilderness survival skills were undoubtedly genuine.

Compasses and similar devices from the planet Kyushu were utterly useless within the forbidden zone because the magnetic fields of every planet differed, nor could they tell whether the sun here rose in the east and set in the west. Still, Shangguan Ruoyun was confident that sticking to a consistent direction would generally keep them on the right path.

However, they soon noticed that the further they advanced, the more muggy and humid the climate became. Various venomous insects and ants began to appear, and the surrounding environment underwent a drastic transformation.

"This stretch of the forest doesn't look very promising; you can already spot these on the trees. Should we take another route?" Shangguan Ruoyun observed that continuing down this path would make the journey ahead extremely difficult.

"No need, we'll go right through here. I'll teach you a method to circulate your inner energy so you won't have to worry about a few bugs."

Qin Chuan extended a single finger and tapped Shangguan Ruoyun lightly on the forehead. A simple yet practical little spell was quickly mastered by her.

"Qin Chuan, exactly where did you learn all these tricks?" Shangguan Ruoyun asked, full of curiosity.

"I don't know. I was born with them," Qin Chuan replied.

She might as well not have asked. Shangguan Ruoyun certainly didn't believe that.

The viewers in the entire live streaming room didn't believe he was born with them either. Why weren't they born with such abilities?

With Qin Chuan's little spell at her disposal, Shangguan Ruoyun stopped worrying about the surroundings, but Qin Chuan advised, "Save it for when you actually need it; your current magical power is still far too scarce."

"Is that the energy circulation technique you taught me? So that was magical power," Shangguan Ruoyun realized with a start.

"The ambient energy of heaven and earth in the forbidden zone is dozens of times stronger than that of Kyushu. Cultivating here will be of much greater benefit to us."

Cultivation, at its core, was absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to strengthen oneself. The environment of the planet Kyushu had suffered far too much destruction and was entirely unsuited for cultivation. The forbidden zone was completely different; its natural energy remained utterly unpolluted, making it a supreme environment for cultivation.

"Understood."

The cultivation methods she practiced were all taught by Qin Chuan, and she still had countless questions she wanted to ask him. Consequently, she spent the entire journey pelting him with questions regarding cultivation.

Qin Chuan answered them one by one. While these elementary concepts were to him no more advanced than first or second-grade textbooks, for Shangguan Ruoyun—a beginner just stepping into "elementary school"—attentive listening was a must.

Yet, as they penetrated deeper into the region, the dangers multiplied. Colorful snakes and ants could be seen crawling about the trees with increasing frequency.

A few clueless venomous snakes hiding in the foliage lunged forward to bite the pair. With a casual wave of his hand, Qin Chuan easily killed the two serpents. These snakes didn't even possess a star rating; they were simply lethal due to their potent venom.

"What kind of snakes are these? They look rather troublesome," Shangguan Ruoyun remarked, inspecting the dead reptiles. She couldn't identify the breed, and no text prompts had appeared either.

They had already discovered that information would only pop up for monsters of one-star rank or higher, and even then, only upon the first encounter.

"With your current strength, you'd better avoid getting bitten by these snakes, or things could get very dangerous," Qin Chuan warned.

"And what about you?" Shangguan Ruoyun asked curiously.

"If I let one bite me, it would first need to be capable of piercing my skin," Qin Chuan replied.

Shangguan Ruoyun: "???"

Almost every few hundred meters, they encountered attacks from venomous creatures. Sometimes these took the form of repulsive, tiny bugs concealed beneath the leaves. Upon spotting passersby, the insects would drop from the foliage onto the travelers and burrow into their bodies to parasitize them.

Shangguan Ruoyun had already activated Qin Chuan's defensive spell, preventing the bugs from penetrating her body and nesting inside her. Even so, she felt a profound sense of revulsion and urged Qin Chuan to quicken their pace and leave the area.

They broke into a run for two full kilometers before finally emerging from the insect-infested zone. That place had been utterly agonizing to endure.

"Is this some kind of insect forest? We've walked less than ten kilometers and already encountered over a dozen venomous creatures."

"Why did they choose such a place crawling with venomous beasts? Wouldn't it have been better to pick another path?"

"Who knows how vast this forest is? Choosing any other path probably would have yielded the same result."

"Unless we turned back, but that would waste too much time. Besides, with Qin Chuan being so strong, what is there to fear?"

"Just looking at those gross bugs makes my skin crawl."

"Same here. This place just feels thoroughly unpleasant. Let's get out of this forest as soon as possible."

It was human nature to instinctively detest and fear insects and ants, and everyone was hoping Qin Chuan would get away from there.

However, they soon discovered that Qin Chuan had run into a new hazard.

*Buzz-buzz-buzz-buzz~~~!*

"What is that sound?"

Shangguan Ruoyun looked ahead, noticing that while the crawling insects had vanished, a completely different threat had manifested.

"Ah, little bees."

Qin Chuan gazed forward and spotted a swarm of flying creatures approaching. They turned out to be bees, each roughly the size of a thumb. When hundreds of them flew past together, they sounded like a cold gust of wind.

"Qin Chuan, let's hide. There are far too many of these bees, and they're huge."

Shangguan Ruoyun hurriedly pulled Qin Chuan to the side, taking cover behind a massive tree.

Once the swarm had flown past, she let out a sigh of relief and said with lingering fear, "These bees are massive! If there were any more of them, it would be terrifying."

"They're just a bunch of little bees, Sister Shangguan, no need to be scared," Qin Chuan said, utterly unfazed.

"It's better not to provoke them. Unlike other monsters, these bees come in massive numbers and fly everywhere, making them incredibly difficult to evade," Shangguan Ruoyun cautioned.

"I wonder if there are many more bees in this area," she added with a hint of worry.

"We'll find out once we go in and take a look," Qin Chuan replied.

The two of them and the leopard pressed forward once more, discovering that aside from the bees, this section seemed devoid of any other monsters.