Chapter 54: Venom and Potions
Within the trial zone, a total of 4,900 demon beasts were distributed across three major areas, searching for any possible stragglers that had slipped through.
The trial zone had been occupied by Nagi Jia for three days, but they had only split the supply crates from the first two days. This morning, on the sixth day, the newly dropped supply crates were all snatched away by the Gourmand.
The Gourmand's feigned death had been very successful, but Su Xiao felt that this guy was probably planning an even more ruthless scheme.
The war between the insect race, the Tiger Bee Clan, and the Dia Tribe was likely to derail the Gourmand's plan, which was why he had rushed to the trial zone and made his move to seize this morning's supply crates.
Su Xiao wasn't regretful about losing this morning's supply crates. From now on, he was confident he could seize every single supply crate. The only purple supply crate and the Holy Spirit Rank Set: Night Walker Set (4/4) were the two most valuable supply drops in this entire survival trial.
Besides, last night was the critical time for negotiations between the 'Dia Tribe' and the 'Tiger Bee Faction.' Both sides had deployed most of their combat power to the border of their territories for cooperation talks. If Su Xiao had mobilized the insect race at that time, he wouldn't have been thinking about breaking through the Death Forest; he would have had to fight both sides at once. Eliminating those two factions before even getting a chance to touch the trial zone would have been impossible.
Su Xiao never thought either the Tiger Bee Faction or the Dia Tribe was easy to deal with, let alone now that they had allied. For these two to become the dominant powers of this world, they must have their own formidable strengths.
Su Xiao's biggest worry was being bogged down by those two factions before he could occupy the trial zone, which would severely cut into his profits in this world. Now, most of that concern had been resolved.
After occupying the trial zone, Su Xiao would show a very resolute attitude. Whoever dared to touch the trial zone, he would order the insect race to beat that faction to death, almost to the point of targeting them specifically.
If the Tiger Bee Faction came for the trial zone, Su Xiao would temporarily ignore the threat of the Dia Tribe and beat the Tiger Bee Faction to death until they started questioning their own existence.
The rainy season's dense forest wasn't hot. Su Xiao sat on the back of the Demon Flame Dragon, Barbatos. A gentle breeze blew in his face as Barbatos descended, revealing a beehive ahead.
When he first entered this world, Su Xiao thought Bee Queen Afra's hive was huge. But after seeing the hives of the Tiger Bee Faction, Afra's ten-meter-tall hive seemed rather small.
With a loud crash, Barbatos landed in front of the hive, crushing large patches of shrubs and broadleaf plants.
The distinctive wing-beating sound of Tiger Eye Bees came from within. Tens of thousands of Tiger Eye Bees surged out of the hive, charging straight at Barbatos.
These Tiger Eye Bees weren't even enough for Barbatos to toast with a single breath of dragonflame. Besides, these thumb-sized Tiger Eye Bees looked rather miniature.
A wave of mental energy emanated from within the hive. All the Tiger Eye Bees immediately turned around and flew back inside. Clearly, the controller of these Tiger Eye Bees had chickened out, especially since, besides Barbatos, two other Demon Flame Dragons were circling high above.
Su Xiao jumped down from Barbatos's back and walked towards the hive, with Bubu Wang following closely behind. If Su Xiao was swarmed by Tiger Eye Bees inside, the three Demon Flame Dragons, including Barbatos, would immediately tear the place apart.
As soon as he entered the hive, a few Tiger Eye Bees flew over. For some reason, Bee Queen Afra had no Tiger Bee Clan members under her command. Even the Tiger Eye Bees she controlled were much smaller than those outside.
After winding through the hive's tunnels for a few turns, Su Xiao arrived at Bee Queen Afra's dwelling. The bee cocoon was still in the center, but the front had opened a crack, like curtains drawn to the sides.
Afra was sitting at the very back of the cocoon, hugging her knees. Hearing footsteps, she peeked at Su Xiao.
"Meeting again."
Afra's expression was normal, clearly unaware that Su Xiao had already gone to war with the Tiger Bee Faction. She had been exiled from the clan, and no Tiger Bee had mentally transmitted the news of the war to her.
"Haven't found the Black Scale."
Su Xiao sat down in front of the bee cocoon. He had been locked in a fierce battle with the Tiger Bee Faction for the past few days and hadn't had any time to look for the Black Scale.
"Then... then I won't give you the ancient elven books."
Afra said the toughest words in the meekest tone, like a stubborn little donkey girl.
"I'll substitute it with something else. If I get the Black Scale later, I can pay you then."
"Really?"
Afra seemed a bit hesitant.
"Of course."
"Well... okay."
Afra placed her dozen or so ancient elven books in front of her legs and continued, "As promised, you can only choose one. These are my treasures. And you promised you'd give me the Black Scale."
"Woof?"
Bubu Wang's expression was a bit dazed. It didn't expect Afra to believe him so easily.
"..."
Su Xiao tossed a very thick book to Afra. It was written by a Worker. That Worker liked to investigate strange events and legends in Primordial Worlds and compiled them into books. Su Xiao bought this purple-quality book to learn about Primordial Worlds he might enter in the future.
Afra caught the book, which was about 20 centimeters thick and nearly half a meter long. When she opened it, the text seemed to detach from the page. Afra was amazed to find that, although she had never seen these characters before, she could understand their meaning through mental resonance.
Before long, Afra was captivated by the stories and legendary events from various worlds. Just as she was reading about 'Detective Upin and the Case of the Stolen Ring of Resonance,' Su Xiao reached out and snatched the oversized book away.
"You... you're so mean."
Afra, being a homebody, only had books to pass the time. The appeal of this book, filled with strange tales, was immense. It almost made Afra forget the power gap and lunge at him.
"Consider this a temporary payment."
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm."
Afra nodded frantically like a chick pecking at rice, seemingly forgetting all about the Black Scale.
Ignoring Afra, who was now hugging the oversized book and reading intently, Su Xiao spread out the dozen or so ancient elven books. Most were records about life and history, their content chaotic and not worth the time to read.
The words 'Venom and Potions' in Second Era script caught Su Xiao's eye. This script was peculiar. You could understand it at a glance, but when the characters were connected, it was completely indecipherable. This was the script used by Second Era Alchemists. Since Su Xiao possessed the Alchemy Codex, he could naturally read it.
[Tip: You have obtained 'Venom and Potions (Holy Spirit Rank).' Do you wish to use this item?]
[Prerequisites: Alchemy Pharmaceutics Lv.40 or above, True Intelligence Attribute 170 points.]
Su Xiao chose to use it. The book in his hand gradually became worn and tattered as a vast amount of knowledge about alchemical poisons and antidotes flooded into his mind. Poisons made up one-third, and antidotes two-thirds.