Wait… I’m a Druid in a Cultivation World?! - Chapter 119

This was ten thousand mutated bee strains!

According to Qi Ping’s earlier estimates, ten thousand combat bees were more than enough—about eighty to ninety percent certain—to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Especially since the bee strains cultivated later, under the powerful bloodline of the Queen Bee after her advancement, had become even stronger!

Feeling the pressure emanating from these ten thousand combat bees, Qi Ping’s heart was filled with an immense sense of security.

This kind of security was incredibly rare in such a chaotic environment.

Now, within the Misty Cloud Mountain Range, as long as Qi Ping didn’t actively stir up trouble, and with his [Nature’s Perception] talent, even a Golden Core expert might not be able to catch him!

Because the moment Qi Ping’s Nature’s Perception detected any approaching danger, he would immediately transform into a bee, grab his essentials, and make a quick escape.

With ten thousand bees scattering in all directions, who could possibly catch him?

“It took nearly four to five months, consuming so much energy, but I’ve finally finished cultivating the bee swarm completely!”

Although he hadn’t spent all his time on the bees during this period, raising the swarm had indeed taken a significant amount of his effort.

So, even though the swarm now had a chance to kill an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, Qi Ping had no plans to test them against one.

Because if the swarm suffered heavy losses, it would mean starting right back from the beginning. Cultivating such a large number of bees again would be exceptionally difficult for Qi Ping.

His purpose in raising ten thousand combat bees wasn’t to fight Foundation Establishment cultivators head-on. It was to ensure his own safety, to grant him the power to either kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator or escape from one if absolutely necessary.

This security was what Qi Ping valued most!
“Now I can finally stop worrying so much about my safety and focus wholeheartedly on improving my own strength!”

Because for the next step—transforming the bee swarm into the second rank—he needed to cultivate the Blood Ginseng to a five-hundred-year maturity level.

Based on his estimates, his current Level 3 Plant Growth skill could only cultivate the Blood Ginseng to just over three hundred years. To reach five hundred years, he would likely need to achieve at least Level 4 in Plant Growth.

For spirit plants, as their age increases, their medicinal efficacy grows stronger and stronger, sometimes even breaking through rank limits.

For example, a single low-grade, first-rank Glowing Grass with a hundred-thousand-year potency would undoubtedly be far more effective than a third-rank spirit herb.

However, in terms of cultivation difficulty, a hundred-thousand-year Glowing Grass is much harder to grow than a third-rank spirit herb. This is also why the mid-grade, first-rank Blood Ginseng, at five hundred years, can trigger the evolution of the bee swarm to the second rank.

Furthermore, with his current Plant Growth cultivation speed, Qi Ping simply couldn’t support the rapid production (“burst breeding”) of second-rank bee strains.

So, before breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage himself, Qi Ping held little hope of cultivating a second-rank bee swarm.

Right now, the only one with hope of reaching the second rank before Qi Ping was Ya Ya.

However, Ya Ya was currently at the first-rank perfection stage. Despite diligently absorbing and refining Solar Essence every day, there were no signs of an imminent breakthrough to the second rank.

Qi Ping knew he couldn’t rush this.

Although spirit beasts, before reaching their bloodline limit, can break through relatively quickly by consuming large amounts of spirit herbs, feeding them too frequently can lead to side effects similar to those faced by cultivators who overuse pills—though generally less severe for spirit beasts.

But once a spirit beast reaches its bloodline limit, lacking extensive cultivation and tempering experience almost certainly dooms it to fail in breaking through that bloodline shackle to reach a new level.

Qi Ping had high hopes for Ya Ya’s future and would naturally never do something so short-sighted as forcing growth.

Therefore, during this period, Qi Ping only occasionally gave Ya Ya some fire-attribute honey. The rest of the time, he let Ya Ya meditate on and absorb Solar Essence independently.

In their current situation, nothing was more suitable for Ya Ya than comprehending Solar Essence. It was also the highest level of power Ya Ya could currently access.

Qi Ping was waiting for the day Ya Ya would proactively tell him:
“Caw caw… (Boss! I’m about to break through, I need lots of fire-attribute honey!)”

When Qi Ping heard those words, that would be the moment he would frantically cultivate fire-attribute spirit herbs to help Ya Ya shatter the shackles of the first-rank perfection stage.

With the super bee swarm fully formed, Qi Ping’s mind was largely at ease.

Every day, he focused without worry on cultivating spirit herbs and his own cultivation.
When occasionally bored or restless, he would plant some flowers, water them.

Sometimes he would stroll around the Misty Cloud Mountain Range, seeking enlightenment from ancient trees that had grown for over a thousand years, or observing the myriad strange and wonderful plants of the cultivation world.

If he came across plants or flowers he liked, he would bring them back to plant on his mountain peak.

Slowly, peaks #28 and #29 became increasingly furnished and vibrant.

He even encountered many small animals—like little squirrels, small mountain finches, and little white cranes. Because they seemed quite fond of Qi Ping, he brought some of them back.

They weren’t spirit beasts, just ordinary animals with a bit of spiritual energy—their physiques only slightly stronger than mundane wild beasts. They couldn’t even defeat the weakest of the black dwarf bee colonies.

Qi Ping didn’t form contracts with them either, simply letting them live their lives there freely.

They found their own food, requiring no extra effort from Qi Ping.

They only occasionally came to play with Qi Ping during his spare time.

“It really feels more and more like home!”

Looking at the increasingly lively and rich mountain peaks, a feeling of home gradually grew in Qi Ping’s heart.

From unfamiliar to familiar, every single part of this place was built up by Qi Ping and his animal companions. He was intimately familiar with almost every corner.

“Now all that’s missing is bringing Old Man Zhou back!”

With such a lively mountain peak, adding a small courtyard, preparing some good wine and food—Qi Ping felt Old Man Zhou would really like it here.

It would be a nice place for him to enjoy his remaining years in peace.

“It’s just a shame the times are so chaotic. Bringing Old Man Zhou back now would bring danger, not blessing. I just hope this turmoil ends quickly within a year or two!”

Qi Ping had initially considered sending some bees or some health-nourishing honey to Old Man Zhou, but he didn’t know where the old man was now.

When he originally sent Old Man Zhou back to the mortal world, they had agreed that Old Man Zhou would stay far from prying eyes, lay low in remote parts of the mortal world, and try not to let anyone track him down.

“Still, he took a fair amount of spirit stones and honey with him originally. That should last him four or five years without problem. Given the current intensity of the conflict, I estimate the battlefield chaos should mostly be over in two or three years at most!”

Thinking this, Qi Ping felt somewhat less worried.

During this time, Sister Nan did visit Qi Ping once, to deliver ripe Spirit Nurturing Fruits.

When she arrived, she was immediately surprised by the lively and comfortable atmosphere on his mountain peak.

She never imagined that in such a short time, Qi Ping could have managed this new peak so methodically.

Many things on the peak and the cute little animals made her exclaim in admiration.

During this period, the Fire-Glow Honey Qi Ping had been researching was being brewed batch after batch.

With no bee swarm cultivation occupying his energy, the supply of Fire-Glow Honey was very plentiful.

Under the ample supply of Fire-Glow Honey, Qi Ping’s physical body strength began to climb rapidly.

In just half a month, it increased to the point where the Flame Burst spell no longer caused backlash damage to his body. His strength was growing swiftly along with it.

On the fiftieth day after Qi Ping returned to his peak after killing the Black and White Twin Witches, Meng Yan finally sent a message:

[Brother Qi, I’ve gathered all the information you requested on spirit beasts of the soul type!]