A Beekeeper in a Magical World

Chapter 30: The Living Wood and the Enlightenment Heart

The tree demon's "arms" were composed of multiple intertwined branches, extending over ten meters in length. Although they appeared slender, they were as thick as a wine barrel.

Swoosh!

The tree demon's right arm sliced through the air, pointing directly at Hua Mi.

Hua Mi needed to stay close to control the bee swarm effectively, at least within visible range. Otherwise, the connection of consciousness would gradually weaken until it completely broke.

"I might get quite a bruise from this," Hua Mi muttered to himself, trying to ease the tension.

He then focused his attention and controlled a portion of the segmented bees, forming a bee chain that flew toward the tree demon.

"No one can stop me from collecting honey!"

With a flying speed four times that of regular bees, the bee chain reached the root of the tree demon's right arm in just a couple of seconds.

The bee chain spiraled around the tree demon's right arm, rapidly approaching its base.

That was the part connected to the tree trunk.

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The bee chain instantly transformed, forming a bee ring that smoothly accelerated to its maximum speed. When the bee saw touched the tree demon's right arm, Hua Mi immediately noticed the difference between the tree demon's "flesh" and ordinary wood. In simple terms, it was not as hard and had a bit more resilience. However, under the sharp chainsaw of the segmented bee, it was as easy to cut through as slicing bread. The tree demon's right arm suddenly sank and then, with a cracking sound, it broke off from the base, falling to the ground with a splatter of pale green tree sap.

The tree demon swayed and almost lost balance, taking a few steps backward with its two remaining legs before stabilizing itself.

With only a small portion of its right arm remaining, the wooden face on its body appeared confused. Despite its intelligence, it couldn't immediately determine the nature of the attack it had just endured.

After standing still for a few seconds, it extended its left arm toward Hua Mi.

Crack!

The left arm also broke off and fell to the ground. Now, the tree demon could no longer pose any threat to Hua Mi.

Next, it was nothing more than a piece of wood, no different from the motionless ordinary trees in the vicinity.

"Impale My Great Owl's Head Technique!"

The segmented bee swarm surged toward the tree demon. Hua Mi believed the part where the wooden face was located was the tree demon's head. With a splatter of green liquid, it fell to the ground.

Even while in the air, the tree demon's green eyes flickered briefly and then extinguished completely.

With its head gone, the tree demon's life force didn't immediately reach zero. Its only vital spot was the location of the Enlightenment Heart.

Other areas, even if damaged, would not kill it. Given enough time, they could even regenerate. However, Hua Mi didn't intend to give it that time.

Taking advantage of the tree demon's loss of vision and halted movement, Hua Mi controlled the bee ring to continue cutting layer by layer.

Green liquid splashed everywhere as chunks of living wood fell to the ground. When it reached a particular point, the tree demon's legs finally gave way, and it fell to the ground with a thud, completely lifeless. Unfortunately, with the colossal creature falling, it also crushed a considerable number of feathered flowers.

Hua Mi watched, his heart aching.

In the distance, Xiao Huang and Xiao Zi exchanged glances, both with looks of astonishment.

"He did it?"

"He did it!"

"It's the first time I've seen something like this," Xiao Huang commented.

Both of the little creatures, thinking they had lived through everything, had clearly been mistaken. They had never seen anything like this before.

"So, you mean..." Xiao Huang's eyes gleamed.

"We can..." Xiao Zi's face lit up.

"Collect honey!" they exclaimed in unison, hugging each other with joy.

Hua Mi called back the segmented bee swarm, rubbed his temple, and refocused his attention. Controlling a bee swarm in real combat required an intensity beyond regular training. The mental exertion was at least two or three times greater, so even though the battle hadn't lasted long, he was feeling a bit drained now.

Hua Mi walked up to the nearest piece of the tree demon's remains, squatting down to examine it. Once a tree demon underwent the Enlightenment Heart process, its body transformed from ordinary wood into what was known as living wood. A gentle poke revealed a slight elasticity, though nowhere near that of animal tissues. By examining the cross-section, he could see a network of pale green conduits resembling a circulatory system, with main and smaller channels through which the green liquid coursed, much like blood vessels in the human body. The green liquid had a faint grassy scent, and when it splashed onto the petals of the feathered flowers, Hua Mi watched as it slowly permeated and was absorbed entirely.

The petals that absorbed the green liquid became noticeably more vibrant, full of life. Even some drooping flowers perked up.

"Could the tree demon's green fluid be beneficial for flower growth?"

Regrettably, he had no suitable containers for the liquid, and most of the liquid from the tree trunk had already seeped into the soil, making it impossible to recover. He pondered if it was possible to keep a tree demon in captivity to collect its green fluid whenever needed, which could greatly aid his cultivation efforts. However, he had experienced the tree demon's brutality and predatory nature; taming it was nearly impossible.

The idea of maintaining a constant supply of green fluid wasn't entirely impossible. He could take a more forceful approach. For instance, severing the tree demon's limbs and immobilizing it like a regular tree, then cutting an opening in the trunk to insert a sap collector. But he understood that it wasn't as straightforward as he was imagining.

"I should collect some of this living wood and take it back in the magic box."

The Black Forest Adventure Guide mentioned living wood as a rare material, but it didn't specify its uses. "I'll cut up the lower part of the tree demon's body into smaller pieces for easier transportation. Regardless of its purpose, it's always a good idea to have it stored. You never know when it might come in handy."

Hua Mi was lost in thought when his attention was suddenly drawn to a piece of living wood emitting a faint green light.

Walking over, he observed the wood, which had an exceptionally dense network of conduits and a subtle green hue throughout. At its center was a fist-sized luminous fluorite, with all the conduits connected to it.

"It's the Enlightenment Heart!"

Two pseudo-flower spirits had flown over without him noticing and immediately recognized it as the Enlightenment Heart—the object that bestowed intelligence upon the tree demon.

"This thing must be quite valuable, right?" Hua Mi was captivated by the external beauty of the Enlightenment Heart. It resembled a sparkling gem.

"Once a tree demon dies, the Enlightenment Heart gradually loses its glow and turns into an ordinary stone. So, it's not very valuable."

"Oh, I see."

That was a shame. Hua Mi had thought it was something precious. He removed the Enlightenment Heart, held it in his hand, and felt its density, which was similar to that of an ordinary stone. The only difference was that it emitted light.

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