About half a shichen later, the Magma Crocodile King let out its final miserable cry, and then fell silent. ////
Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing then heard the sounds of the Xuan Yuan Divine Chicken pecking at its food.
However, the Xuan Yuan Divine Chicken had a huge appetite. A single Magma Crocodile King was clearly not enough to satisfy its hunger.
Neither Fang Yuan nor Bai Ning Bing slept that night.
After the Magma Crocodile King's dying screams, they heard the mournful cries of the White Apes, the alarmed shrieks of the Venom Swallowing Frogs, and the buzzing cacophony of swarming bees. Most prominent, however, were the piercing cries of the Xuan Yuan Divine Chicken.
Not until daybreak did the Xuan Yuan Divine Chicken soar into the sky. In the air, it traced a brilliant, multi-colored rainbow of light.
Only after the tail of that rainbow had completely dissipated in the sky did Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing dare to leave the cave.
The two arrived at the original valley.
The valley was completely unrecognizable, mostly collapsed. The Magma Crocodile King lay on its back, belly up, dead as a doornail.
Its belly had been pecked open by the Divine Chicken, and the flesh and organs inside were all devoured. Only a tattered skeleton, propped up by its dark red crocodile hide, remained.
The two searched for a while.
They soon found pieces of red glazed fragments. These were the remains of the Blazing Armor Gu.
Clearly, the Magma Crocodile King had activated the Blazing Armor Gu to defend itself, but the Divine Chicken had forcefully smashed through the defense, destroying the Gu.
As for the other Magma Explosion Gu and the Ash Accumulation Gu, there was no trace of them.
This was not surprising.
Once the host dies, the Gu worms residing on the beast, as if losing their home, will actively leave and wander again.
The Ash Accumulation Gu was an ideal healing Gu, perfect for Fang Yuan's current situation.
But things rarely go as one wishes.
Not getting the Ash Accumulation Gu was within Fang Yuan's expectations. However, the two were not without gains.
Some flesh and blood remained in the Magma Crocodile King's corpse.
The Divine Chicken had eaten the lion's share, but it still left some scraps and cold soup for Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing.
The two worked hard all morning, cutting up the crocodile meat and storing it in the Doushuai Flower.
"This crocodile meat is enough to feed the Crocodile Strength Gu for another three months. Let's go check out other places."
Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing arrived at the territory of the White Ape clan.
It was originally a dense and lush forest where the White Apes played and frolicked.
Now, broken trees lay everywhere, mixed with the severed limbs and remains of White Apes. Some of the old, weak, and young White Apes guarded the corpses of their kin, whimpering softly. The entire forest was filled with an atmosphere of sorrow and misery.
Last night, the Divine Chicken had brought a crushing disaster to this White Ape troop, which had numbered in the thousands. Now, only two or three hundred remained, along with a few Beast Kings, all of which were injured.
Bai Ning Bing's eyes lit up. "This is when the White Ape troop is at its weakest. Should we make a move?"
Fang Yuan stopped her.
It wasn't that he pitied the White Apes. He knew that, in a certain sense, the White Ape troop was even more dangerous right now.
"A cornered beast will fight to the death. Don't provoke these White Apes. If we do, they will attack in a furious rage and won't stop until they kill us. Those few Beast Kings, despite their injuries, are more than a match for you alone."
Hearing this, Bai Ning Bing glanced at Fang Yuan and ultimately gave up the idea of attacking.
The two then headed to the decaying swamp in the southwest.
The swamp was completely transformed, turned upside down by the Divine Chicken.
The living environment had been massively damaged, and the power structure of the swamp had been reshuffled. Although the Divine Chicken had flown away, the swamp was far from peaceful. All kinds of poisonous creatures were fighting and scurrying about.
Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing stood at the edge of the swamp and, in just a short while, witnessed three conflicts in the distance.
The first was a battle between two colorful venomous snakes. One eventually swallowed the other. But shortly after, a crab-sized scorpion came and stung the snake to death.
The second involved a Poison Powder Moth and a dark blue toad. The battle erupted suddenly. The toad's tongue shot out, retracting and pulling the moth into its belly. Then, moments later, the moth suffocated in the toad's stomach, while the toad was also killed by the poison powder.
The third was a black spider, the size of a washbasin, rolling out of the mud. Its body surface was covered in ants. In a short while, the ants emerged victorious, devouring the spider completely on the spot.
Seeing this chaotic scene, Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing turned around and left.
Finally, they arrived at the hive of the Mad Stinger Bees.
The hive, once the size of a house, had completely collapsed. The surroundings were eerily quiet, with not a single Mad Stinger Bee left.
The two approached.
Soon, a sesame-like fragrance drifted into Bai Ning Bing's nose. She sniffed. "What's that smell?"
"It's the smell of the honeycomb. Mad Stinger Bees don't make honey. Their honeycomb is a top-tier auxiliary material for refining Gu. At the same time, it's also a type of food that humans can eat directly," Fang Yuan said, reaching out to break off a piece of the honeycomb inside.
Crack.
The honeycomb fragment was a dull yellow color.
Under Bai Ning Bing's curious gaze, he put the honeycomb into his mouth, bit down, chewed a few times, and swallowed it.
The taste of the honeycomb reminded him of the taste of biscuits on Earth. It was fragrant and crispy.
Without a doubt, this natural food was much tastier than biscuits. It had a hint of sweetness, was not at all greasy, and instead had a refreshing quality.
"Hmm, not bad!" Bai Ning Bing also broke off a piece and ate it. She immediately felt her mouth water. The sweet taste unconsciously relaxed her brow, which had been slightly furrowed.
"Our jerky and dry biscuits are almost gone. Why not collect some of this honeycomb and store it in your Doushuai Flower?" Bai Ning Bing suggested.
Fang Yuan glanced back at the sky, a hint of worry on his face. "I was just thinking the same thing, but we better hurry."
"Are you worried that the blood scent from the Magma Crocodile King and the White Ape corpses will attract other beasts? Don't worry. There's no wind today. It will take a while for other beasts to be attracted here. That should be more than enough time for us," Bai Ning Bing said with a smile.