Wait… I’m a Druid in a Cultivation World?! - Chapter 41

“Demonic insects?”

“How could demonic insects appear here so quickly?”

Qi Ping frowned deeply as he stared at the corpses of the demonic insects and Golden Marrow Bees scattered on the ground.

He hadn’t expected demonic insects to show up in this place so soon.

Was it a coincidence?

If not, then what was it?

A faint sense of foreboding crept into Qi Ping’s heart.

But before he could dwell on the question, there were a few urgent tasks he needed the Golden Marrow Bees to handle first. Without delay, he issued his orders:

“Send a squad of Golden Marrow Bees immediately to check on Old Man Zhou down the mountain…”

“Tell the Bee Queen to accelerate the breeding of High-Speed Cutter Bees—expend more spirit herbs and honey if necessary…”

“And scout the nearby peaks to see if there are any more traces of these vicious insects…”

Three commands in quick succession.

“Buzz… (Yes, Boss!)”

“Buzz… (The sleepy two-legged creature down the mountain is safe. We’ve been watching him and have already reinforced the patrols…)”

“Buzz… (As for the other two tasks, we’ll arrange them right away…)”

Only after issuing the orders and confirming Old Man Zhou’s safety did Qi Ping allow himself a brief sigh of relief.

He had already instructed the Bee Queen yesterday to speed up the breeding of High-Speed Cutter Bees, but the urgency of the situation had still caught him off guard.

He never imagined demonic insects would appear this soon!

Examining the demonic insect corpses before him, Qi Ping quickly identified them:

“Blood-Striped Locusts—mid-tier first-stage demonic insects… Their strength and ferocity far surpass that of Golden Marrow Bees.”

[Blood-Striped Locust: Mid-tier first-stage demonic insect. Armored body, high speed, and terrifying bite force.]

It was worth noting that the current ordinary Golden Marrow Bees had their combat power doubled by Qi Ping’s use of Blood Ginseng.

Yet despite this enhancement—and despite outnumbering the Blood-Striped Locusts—the bees had suffered nearly a one-to-one casualty ratio!

Fortunately, there were only about thirty Blood-Striped Locusts this time. If their numbers had been greater, forming a proper battle formation, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Thirty Blood-Striped Locusts were vastly different from three hundred. The casualty ratio wouldn’t have remained one-to-one—it could have been one-to-three, or worse.

Blood-Striped Locusts, born for combat and slaughter, were naturally far more formidable than Golden Marrow Bees, whose primary role was honey-gathering.

Only an exceptionally mutated variant like the High-Speed Cutter Bee—with its hyper-enhanced offensive organs—could hope to match or even surpass a demonic insect of the same tier.

Moreover, these Blood-Striped Locusts evoked no sense of kinship in Qi Ping, a Beastmaster Druid. This suggested that his [Beastfriend] skill likely had no effect on them whatsoever.

[Beastfriend: You can reduce hostility from animals and make them more amiable toward you.]

But what truly unsettled Qi Ping was the ominous feeling that had arisen earlier. For a cultivator, such intuition was never baseless.

“Why did Blood-Striped Locusts appear here? Coincidence… or is something drawing them?”

It was no wonder Qi Ping thought this way. According to the Golden Marrow Bees’ report, the locusts had been heading straight for the Blood Ginseng’s growing site!

Combined with the anomalies beneath the Blood Ginseng patch and his earlier premonition, Qi Ping couldn’t help but worry.

“I hope I’m wrong…”

Until the High-Speed Cutter Bee army was ready, the Blood Ginseng site could not afford any mishaps!

“It seems we’ll need to be on full alert from now on. Both the Black Minor Bees and Golden Marrow Bees must enter a state of hyper-vigilance to watch for any sudden demonic insect incursions.”

“I’ll also have to station myself at the Blood Ginseng site most of the time to maximize cultivation. That should at least triple the previous output. And if an unstoppable enemy appears, I’ll still have time to gather all the spirit herbs and make a swift escape.”

As for investigating the underground anomaly—after this incident, Qi Ping wouldn’t act recklessly until the High-Speed Cutter Bees were fully bred.

If what lay beneath wasn’t treasure but a sealed nest of insects, and if he accidentally broke the seal… the consequences would be catastrophic.

For now, his priority was to cultivate large quantities of Blood Ginseng and raise the High-Speed Cutter Bee army. With these two trump cards, even if forced to flee later, Qi Ping would still have the means to survive and rebuild elsewhere.

Beyond these preparations, Qi Ping planned to do two more things during breaks in his spirit energy recovery.

First, he would persuade Old Man Zhou to take a portion of resources and return to the mortal world temporarily, coming back only after the situation here stabilized.

Staying now would mean risking his life.

Qi Ping wasn’t even confident in his own ability to survive, let alone guarantee Old Man Zhou’s safety.

In the mortal world, where spiritual energy was scarce, demonic insects would have no interest. As long as cultivators abided by the Righteous Sects Alliance’s Code of Conduct for Cultivators in the Mortal Realm, they were generally safe.

Once Old Man Zhou left, Qi Ping could focus entirely on resource gathering and army-building.

He intended to bring Old Man Zhou back only after firmly establishing himself here, helping him break through further and extend his lifespan.

The second task was to inform Sister Nan about the Blood-Striped Locusts and ask if her crisis premonition talent had triggered. This would help gauge the scale of future demonic insect attacks.

If the threat was large-scale, even Sister Nan would struggle to remain unaffected.

He would also advise her to prepare. Whether she chose to leave or stay, however, would be her own decision.

…..

At the foot of the Seventh Peak, in the courtyard…

Old Man Zhou reclined on his purple bamboo lounging chair, listening as Qi Ping explained the demonic insect situation.

“Demonic insects? It’s that serious?” Old Man Zhou asked, surprised.

“Yes. The coming days in Qing Stone County will be extremely dangerous. Even the Golden Marrow Bees might not be able to protect us.”

“Brother Shan and Brother Fat have already gone to the Fortune Trade Guild to arrange passage out of Qing Stone County and back to the mortal world. So I’d like you to take some spirit stones and Golden Marrow Honey and go with them. Once the rogue cultivators and demonic insects are dealt with, I’ll bring you back.”

Qi Ping spoke carefully, having rehearsed these words many times. He worried Old Man Zhou might think of his former disciple, who had joined a major sect and never returned.

But his concern proved unnecessary.

Old Man Zhou immediately sensed Qi Ping’s hesitation and smiled reassuringly:

“Don’t worry about me. I know your character well enough…”

“It’s been years since I last visited the mortal world. A trip back might do me good.”

With that, he hopped off the chair with surprising spryness and headed inside to pack.

But halfway there, he paused—an unusual hint of worry crossing his face—and turned back:

“You’d better survive, kid. Don’t leave this old man without someone to buy him wine when his legs can’t carry him anymore.”

“Of course! I won’t die before marrying a few beautiful wives!” Qi Ping replied with a grin.

“You rascal!”

Old Man Zhou shook his head and resumed packing.

He had always been pragmatic about such matters. He didn’t want to burden Qi Ping and knew this was the wisest choice.

As Qi Ping watched his retreating figure, his smile faded, replaced by quiet resolve.

This calamity carried great risk—but with proper preparation, it could also be an opportunity. Even demonic insect corpses were worth a fair amount of spirit stones…