Wait… I’m a Druid in a Cultivation World?! - Chapter 36

“Slow.”

“Clumsy.”

“And it looks downright stupid—like its intelligence dropped.”

“…”

“What the hell is this?”

Qi Ping was at a loss.

At first, he thought the potbelly bee’s lack of speed and agility compared to ordinary golden marrow bees wasn’t a big deal. Maybe it had awakened some special talent?

So he tried communicating with it, hoping to uncover its mutated ability.

But after dozens of attempts, he realized its intelligence seemed to have degraded.

Even when Qi Ping spoke to it, its responses were sporadic and disjointed—far worse than even Little Black Bee’s mental capacity.

If not for its unmistakable late first-order aura, Qi Ping would’ve wondered if this “breakthrough” had been completely pointless.

“This is ridiculous!”

“Could it really just be a potbelly demon insect from the demon insect manual—one that somehow, against all odds, advanced in rank?”

“…”

Yet upon closer inspection, Qi Ping still felt something was off. The potbelly bee’s body had a strange sense of harmony to it.

Its aura was stable and solid, not fluctuating at all. This should be a genuine late first-order bee.

“What’s the deal with its belly? Maybe it’s related to honey production?” Qi Ping decided to investigate proactively.

Bloodline mutation elixirs usually followed logical patterns—mutations tended to enhance existing traits.

For golden marrow bees, the most notable belly-related talent was honey production.

So Qi Ping began testing its brewing capabilities.

About half a day later…

Watching the potbelly bee seamlessly blend medicinal herbs, Qi Ping was utterly floored.

“Holy shit! This is insane!”

The potbelly bee could instinctively determine the perfect ratios for different herbs to maximize their effects—then brew them into honey!

This brewing ability was leagues beyond ordinary golden marrow bees!

“This is unreal!”

“The only downside is its low intelligence. It can only passively analyze and blend the nectar and herbs placed in front of it, instinctively creating the most potent combinations before fermenting them into honey.”

“What a shame… If these potbelly bees were smarter, they’d basically be natural alchemists!”

Based on its performance, Qi Ping guessed it could flawlessly process most first-order medicinal herbs.

And the honey it brewed would far surpass anything ordinary golden marrow bees could produce.

“In that case, I could raise a batch of potbelly bees in the hive specifically for high-quality honey production. Maybe they’ll have other uses later too.”

After thorough testing, Qi Ping finally pieced together the potbelly bee’s attributes:

[Species: Master Brewer Potbelly Bee (Golden Marrow Bee Mutation)]

[Bloodline: High-tier First Order]

[Talent: Grand Brewer]

Grand Brewer: Possesses honey-brewing abilities far beyond ordinary golden marrow bees. Exhibits extraordinary sensitivity to medicinal herbs, instinctively blending them to maximize efficacy before fermenting them into honey.

[Evaluation: Gifted with unparalleled herb-synergy intuition—but at the cost of losing Venomous Stinger, Wind’s Velocity, and even suffering a drop in intelligence…]

“Honestly, in some ways, the potbelly bee’s metamorphosis is just as impressive as the high-speed cutter’s.”

“With these bees, I shouldn’t have to worry about cultivation resources until at least late Qi Refining.”

If he mass-produced high-grade honey using the potbelly bees, Qi Ping could make a fortune—though he’d probably get a visit from a Foundation Establishment expert the very next day…

He was certain the honey’s value could tempt even Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Of course, that would require a steady supply of medicinal herbs. Factoring in herb costs, the profit margin wouldn’t be that high—nowhere near the exorbitant gains of alchemy.

After all, the meticulously refined art of alchemy, perfected over millennia, wasn’t something a dim-witted bee with good herb intuition could replace.

To put it bluntly, the potbelly bee was essentially a low-intelligence apothecary with high blending success rates. Useful, but not world-shaking.

Yet for Qi Ping, this bee-shaped “alchemist” was perfect.

He could accelerate herb growth, while the potbelly bees brewed honey tailored to his cultivation needs—or even specialized variants with healing or other effects.

This setup let Qi Ping quietly farm and strengthen himself without unnecessary conflict.

Compared to risking his life in treacherous ruins for resources, he much preferred tending his mountain apiary.

After testing all three mutated bees, Qi Ping was thoroughly satisfied.

The disappointment from the venomous bee and blood-red bee’s failures faded.

Overall, the bloodline mutation elixir had performed far beyond expectations—maybe even too well.

“I really owe Nan-jie for this. Once I have extra golden marrow honey, I’ll send her some. The value of [Beast Taming: Demon Insects] makes my previous gifts seem laughably inadequate.”

Qi Ping believed in repaying debts—within reason, of course, and without hindering his own cultivation.

At his core, he was selfish. But when possible, he’d do what he could—for Old Man Zhou and Nan-jie alike.

After excitedly instructing the golden marrow bees, Qi Ping returned to the ancient fir tree, calming his excitement to focus on cultivation.

His animal companions had grown stronger—he couldn’t fall too far behind. He hadn’t even started today’s training!

With Qi Ping’s orders given, the golden marrow bees needed no further oversight.

Whether raising a high-speed cutter swarm, breeding potbelly bees, or expanding the balanced bee population…

The hive would handle it all, optimizing for the colony’s strength. If anything, they were more eager than Qi Ping himself.

Now, he only needed to wait quietly for the high-speed cutter and potbelly bee armies to take shape.

In the following days, Qi Ping immersed himself in cultivation.

With his rent paid, he had a full year of peace ahead.

After explaining things to Old Man Zhou, the old man didn’t pry further. Knowing Qi Ping had the golden marrow bees, he trusted the youth could handle most issues—though he still cautioned extra vigilance.

……

Soon, however, a new problem arose.

Due to overconsumption of golden marrow honey, Qi Ping’s foundation had grown unstable.

He was nearly ready to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining—but with his spiritual energy in this fluctuating state, attempting it now carried a real risk of failure or even backlash.

Failing a breakthrough would be disastrous.

Fortunately, Qi Ping estimated just half a month of consolidation would stabilize his foundation, making the breakthrough far safer.

Since he wasn’t planning to visit Blackrock Market until the high-speed cutter swarm was ready, letting Merchant Gao wait another month didn’t matter.

Though curious whether Gao had found his second animal companion, Qi Ping suppressed the urge—prioritizing caution.

What was one more month, anyway?

By then, he’d likely have reached the fourth layer, and his Bark Armor Technique would be at level three, drastically improving his defenses.

But just as Qi Ping settled into foundation-stabilizing training…

An expected—yet still surprising—visitor arrived.

Seated in the courtyard at the foot of Peak #007, Lin Chaoyang sipped tea excitedly and declared:

“Brother Qi! I’ve got all the details on that secret realm—at least a 70% chance of success! Let’s go claim our fortune together!”