Cultivation is Creation

The swirling mist parted to reveal a beast that was impressive…impressive in the way that made you wish you were anywhere else.

Unlike her smaller kin, which were merely the size of my forearm, the queen wasp was as large as a horse. Her jet-black carapace seemed to absorb the light around us and the air distorted around her massive stinger.

Dozens of smaller wasps orbited around her in perfect formation, their movements so synchronized it was almost beautiful – in a terrifying, probably-about-to-kill-us kind of way. Their smaller stingers pulsed with the same strange energy as their queen's.

Lin Mei's sharp intake of breath told me she recognized them before I did. "Voidneedle Wasps," she whispered. "Most are at stages three and four, with only three at stage five. But the queen..." she trailed off, staring at the massive insect.

"Stage six," I finished for her, watching the swarm draw closer.

Lin Mei nodded. "Their stingers are infused with void energy, they drain qi with each strike, and they can work together to trap prey in a qi-blocking cocoon. Their hive mind lets them coordinate perfectly." Her eyes narrowed. "The good news is they're weak against fire attacks. The bad news is, none of us use fire."

"Void energy at the qi condensation realm?" I directed the thought to Azure. "That seems... unusual."

"Not for species that evolved in void-touched areas," Azure explained. "These wasps likely originated in a region where reality had worn thin, allowing void energy to seep through. Over generations, they adapted to channel it naturally."

I made a mental note to have Azure add every little piece of information he could from the beast lore section of the library after this. Not knowing basic information about local threats was the kind of oversight that could get you killed in a cultivation world. It was something I should have done sooner.

The queen's many eyes fixed on me, and I felt a chill run down my spine. There was an intelligence there that went beyond normal beast instinct. She knew I was the biggest threat, and she was evaluating how best to eliminate me.

"Wei Lin, Lin Mei," I said, not taking my eyes off the queen, "I need you two to take turns powering the formation.”

"What about you?" Lin Mei asked, though I think she already knew the answer.

I smiled, probably looking a bit crazier than I intended. "I'm going to give our royal friend here something else to focus on."

"You can't be serious," Wei Lin protested as I took a step outside the formation's boundary. "That's suicide!"

"Actually, it's strategy." I kept my voice light. "The formation will last much longer if it's not trying to block stage six attacks. I'll lead the queen and the stage fives away – you two can handle the lower-stage wasps from behind the barrier."

Our conversation was interrupted as the queen let out a piercing buzz that seemed to reverberate through my bones. The entire swarm tensed, like arrows nocked in invisible bows.

Perfect time for a dramatic exit.

I activated Blink Step and reappeared a moment later few metres away, already midstride.

Behind me, I heard the distinctive sound of dozens of wings beating in perfect synchronization as the queen and her elite guards gave chase, leaving the lesser wasps to deal with my friends.

The forest blurred around me as I pushed my body to its limits, weaving between trees with trunks wider than I was tall.

The Symphony Shield formation could handle attacks from a Stage 6 beast – I'd designed it that way. With both of them powering it and only facing lower-stage opponents, they'd be fine.

"Are you certain about this, Master?" Azure asked as I dodged between trees, the angry buzzing growing closer.

"They'll be okay," I assured him. "Lin Mei's water techniques are perfect for area control, and Wei Lin's ability to absorb and redirect energy into different elements will let them wear down the weaker wasps. The formation will keep them safe even if they can't kill every attacker."

"And your plan is...?"

"Simple," I replied. "All I need to do is kill their boss."

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The queen was faster than I'd expected, already closing the distance despite my head start. Her stage five guards spread out in a perfect hunting formation, trying to cut off potential escape routes.

I allowed myself a small grin. Perfect.

Pushing off a thick branch, I suddenly reversed direction, launching myself straight at the nearest stage five wasp. The creature's compound eyes widened – if wasps can look surprised, this one definitely did – as I activated Hawk Eye mid-leap.

The world sharpened into crystalline clarity, and I could now see the subtle shift in its wing position that telegraphed its next move.

When it darted forward, stinger aimed at my chest, I was already moving. A quick activation of Blink Step put me above and behind it. Before it could react, I called forth the Leaf Storm, directing a whirlwind of razor-sharp leaves to slice through its wings.

The wasp dropped like a stone, but I couldn't celebrate yet. The other two stage fives were already moving to flank me, while the queen descended from above.

I released Hawk Eye before the strain could build too much, trusting my normal senses to track the multiple threats. Leaves swirled around me in a defensive sphere as I landed on a thick branch, buying time to assess the situation.

The first stage five was down but not dead – I could see it struggling to right itself on the forest floor. The remaining two circled warily, probably realizing I wasn't going to be easy prey. The queen hovered above, and I swear she looked annoyed that her perfect formation had been disrupted.

"The queen is gathering energy," Azure warned. "A lot of it."

I barely had time to reinforce my leaf barrier before a massive wave of void energy slammed into it. The leaves held for a fraction of a second before disintegrating, but that moment was enough for me to Blink Step to another tree.

The blast continued past where I'd been standing, carving a perfect circular hole through three massive trees before dissipating. I swallowed hard. Direct hits were definitely out of the question.

The stage fives took advantage of my distraction, attacking from opposite sides. Their coordination was impressive – one aimed high while the other went low, forcing me to choose which threat to address first.

I chose neither.

Instead, I dropped straight down, using Vine Whip to snag a lower branch and swing myself away from both attacks. As I released the vine, I conjured more leaves, sending them in tight spirals around each stage five wasp.

The wasps were fast, darting through gaps in the leaf patterns, but that was fine. I hadn't expected to hit them – I just needed them to focus on defense for a moment.

That moment was all I needed to activate Vine Whip. Three glowing vines shot from my right hand, weaving through the air like snakes.

The first two vines wrapped around one of the stage five wasps before it could react, pinning its wings. The third vine I used to anchor myself to a nearby branch. The wasp's stinger plunged into the vine construct, attempting to drain qi, but since I powered the technique with red sun energy, it might as well have been trying to drink from an empty cup.

A small, glowing seed materialized from my index finger and shot towards the trapped wasp.

The queen chose that moment to dive, her massive form casting a shadow over me. I used the anchoring vine to pull myself out of the way just as her stinger struck the branch where I'd been standing. The bark around the impact point turned grey and lifeless as its qi was drained away.

The seed I'd launched detonated with a thunderous crack, catching the previously trapped stage five in the blast. It spiraled away, its flight erratic but still airborne.

A warning buzz from behind was my only alert as the free stage five attacked. I twisted in mid-air, leaves swirling to intercept its strike, but I wasn't quite fast enough.

The stinger grazed my left arm, and I felt a portion of my qi simply... vanish. It was a disconcerting sensation, like someone had suddenly drained all the blood from that limb.

The wasps seemed confused when I didn't immediately show signs of weakness – they didn't know I powered my techniques with the red sun's energy rather than qi.

"Ten percent qi loss from that glancing hit," Azure reported. "Your runes may run on red sun energy, but—"

"But I still need qi for enhanced movement," I finished as my eyes narrowed on my target.

The injured stage five had recovered from the explosion, though its movements were slightly sluggish. Either the blast had damaged something important, or the concussive force had rattled its coordination with the hive mind. Either way, I'd take any advantage I could get.

I created another wave of leaves, but this time with a lethal surprise – half were my conjured blades, half were natural leaves, and scattered throughout were several explosive seeds masquerading as normal foliage.

The swarm scattered as expected, their perfect formation breaking apart as they tried to figure out which leaves were truly dangerous.

The moment their formation fractured, I focused on the injured stage five. It was favoring its right side, its damaged wing causing it to list slightly with each wingbeat. Perfect.

Activating Hawk Eye, I could see every detail of its erratic flight – the way its good wing was beating harder to compensate, how it had to constantly adjust its balance, the exact moment when it would need to bank left to maintain altitude.

The other wasps were already moving to regroup, but they wouldn't make it in time.

The moment the injured wasp began its banking turn, I struck.

Blink Step put me directly in its path while my prepared explosive seeds detonated behind me, the shockwave further disrupting the other wasps' attempts to interfere.

The injured wasp's eyes registered my presence too late – its attempt to pull up was hampered by its damaged wing, leaving it completely exposed.

Leaves condensed around my hands into razor-sharp blades as I struck. The impact sent vibrations up my arms as the edges met chitin, but enhanced by Titan's Crest, my strike cleaved through the wasp's armored carapace like paper.

The wasp's body convulsed violently as its link to the queen was severed.

Then, like a puppet with cut strings, it plummeted toward the forest floor. Its remaining wing twitched once, then stilled as the last traces of void energy flickered and died.

One down, two stage fives, and a queen left.

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