Wait… I’m a Druid in a Cultivation World?! - Chapter 89

“Currently, over five hundred Hundred Spirit Grasses are planted here. Normally, a first-order spirit land matures once per season.”

“In areas with richer spiritual energy, maturity can be reached in just over two months. In poorer areas, it takes about four months. On average, it’s roughly a bit over three months per maturation cycle.”

Qi Ping was currently calculating the specific carrying capacity of his spirit land.

He had taken two mature Hundred Spirit Grasses for the bees to try making honey. Tests showed that the honey produced from one Hundred Spirit Grass could sustain about fifty combat bee strains for one month.

This meant the honey from one hundred Hundred Spirit Grasses could support five thousand combat bee strains for a month. For three months, he would need three hundred plants.

“However, because I’ve planted over ten thousand ordinary flowers, plus more than a hundred Moonrest Flowers and Sun Essence Flowers, combining them with the Hundred Spirit Grass should easily double the carrying capacity…”

“So, three hundred Hundred Spirit Grasses, plus the flowers on the mountain, can support nearly ten thousand combat bee strains for three months at maximum capacity, using about sixty percent of the Hundred Spirit Grass yield…”

“Then the honey made from the other two hundred Hundred Spirit Grasses, along with some morning dew and other spirit materials collected daily by the bees, counts as pure profit…”

“So, how many bee strains should I actually cultivate?”

Qi Ping was hesitant about the number of bee colonies to breed.

A larger number of bee colonies would mean higher combat strength, but it would also mean earning fewer spirit stones.

After thinking for a long time, Qi Ping finally made his decision:

Ten thousand!

He would cultivate ten thousand combat bee strains!

• 4,000 High-Speed Cutter Bees!

• 2,000 Black Armor Bees!

• 2,000 Venomous Bees!

• 2,000 Balanced Bees!

• 3,000 Master Brewer Potbelly Bees!

That made eight thousand pure combat strains, three thousand pure honey-making strains, and two thousand strains capable of both fighting and honey-making!

Ten thousand combat bee strains was the number Qi Ping wanted. They could usually be responsible for collecting pollen and spirit herbs to give to the honey-making strains.

Five thousand honey-making bee strains would focus solely on producing honey. This number was more than enough to handle the spirit herbs and nectar from Spirit Land No. 29.

However, if he included the adjacent Spirit Land No. 28, he would need at least five thousand honey-making bee strains to process the large output of Hundred Spirit Grass from both lands.

Once he secured Spirit Land No. 28, the honey produced from its Hundred Spirit Grass would be pure profit for Qi Ping!

Currently, Qi Ping’s planned total of various bee strains exceeded thirteen thousand, plus the initial one thousand ordinary Golden Marrow Bees. Their daily needs would consume about eighty percent of the output from Spirit Land No. 29.

Therefore, only by possessing both Land No. 28 and No. 29 could Qi Ping maximize the efficiency and profits generated by the bee colonies!

“Decided! This is the number! Thirteen thousand first-order, high-grade bee strains!”

Among them, ten thousand strains possess powerful combat prowess!

“I just wonder, can ten thousand [combat bees] kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator?”

This doubt arose in Qi Ping’s heart.

Among these ten thousand combat bee strains were the High-Speed Cutter Bees with incredibly sharp, blade-like wings, whose speed was no less than a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator, perhaps even superior.

There were also the Black Armor Bees with super strong physical defense and powerful bite force.

And the Venomous Bees possessing extremely potent toxicity!

The Balanced Bees were no slouch either in various attributes, also boasting combat power not inferior to other first-order, high-grade spirit insects.

“Judging from past results, neither the seventh-level Qi Refining black-robed robber who used a sword array, nor the eighth-level Qi Refining black-robed talisman cultivator, could offer much resistance against the bee swarm’s coordinated attacks. They only managed to kill several dozen to a hundred bees before falling. The difference against a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator shouldn’t be too great…”

“Although the Foundation Establishment stage is significantly stronger than Qi Refining, it hasn’t reached the point of completely ignoring ninth-level Qi Refining cultivators. This means, theoretically, ten thousand combat bee strains have a real chance of killing an ordinary early Foundation Establishment cultivator…”

After careful consideration, Qi Ping concluded that the probability of ten thousand special combat bee strains succeeding in a fight to the death against a Foundation Builder was not small. However, the losses to the swarm would undoubtedly be enormous.

Depending on the strength of that Foundation Establishment cultivator, losses could range from several thousand to potentially the entire ten thousand bees.

And it would take Qi Ping at least several months to possibly cultivate that many combat bee strains again.

Therefore, unless engaging a Foundation Establishment cultivator promised rewards great enough to cover the swarm’s losses, it was best to avoid conflict, especially considering the risk of failing to kill a powerful Foundation Builder.

“But you can choose not to use a trump card; you absolutely must not lack one!”

“With ten thousand combat bee strains, not only can I possess the strength to resist Foundation Establishment, but if I want to escape, an average Foundation Builder definitely couldn’t stop me.”

After solidifying his resolve, Qi Ping focused most of his energy on the Blood Ginseng in the following days.

For the Fire Spirit Grass cultivation, he temporarily planned only to grow enough for his personal needs for Fire Ginseng Honey and Fire Spirit Tempering Honey. His other efforts would primarily support the rapid expansion of the bee population.

Once this population boom was complete, Qi Ping estimated he would have reached the late Qi Refining stage. As his cultivation improved, his speed in nurturing spirit herbs would also increase significantly.

Later, he could gradually consider promoting the bees to the second-order or helping Ya Ya break through to the second-order.

However, these were not goals achievable in the short term; otherwise, Foundation Establishment cultivators and second-order spirit beasts wouldn’t be so rare within Qing Shi County.

Therefore, increasing the bee swarm’s numbers was the fastest way for Qi Ping to gain strength capable of rivaling a Foundation Establishment cultivator within a few months.

The swarm size he had now decided upon was also what Qi Ping considered optimal for managing both Land No. 28 and No. 29. It balanced maintaining powerful combat strength with allowing Qi Ping to earn a substantial income of spirit stones.

As for exactly how many spirit stones he could earn, that depended on the results of the Master Brewer Potbelly Bees’ honey production from the Hundred Spirit Grass.

The sun rose and the moon set. The moon set and the sun rose.

Cultivation warps one’s sense of time. In the blink of an eye, days passed one after another.

Peak No. 29 also changed day by day.

First, all the trees and shrubs on the mountain, except those Qi Ping instructed to keep, were cleared away by the bees. The debris was burned to ash by Ya Ya and mixed into the soil.

The entire mountain, aside from those preserved trees and thickets, was covered in soft, dark yellow earth, devoid of any visible green.

Yet it didn’t appear desolate. Instead, it brimmed with boundless hope, like fields during the sowing season.

On this dark yellow land, numerous bees labored diligently—weeding, sowing seeds, watering…

Gradually, as the days passed, specks of green began to dot the dark yellow soil, spreading across the entire peak.

These specks of tender sprouts grew into vibrant green seedlings.

Subsequently, these seedlings grew rapidly.

Some of the faster-growing ordinary flowers, nourished by the rich spiritual energy, quickly developed lush leaves and branches, soon blooming into a riot of colorful, splendid flowers…

In between his own cultivation and tending the spirit herbs, Qi Ping carefully observed and contemplated every slight change on the mountain, seeking to comprehend the principles of Heaven and Earth contained within.

On the twentieth day after entering Peak No. 15, having confirmed that the slain black-robed talisman cultivator hadn’t brought any danger or powerful enemies his way, Qi Ping finally had the bees retrieve that storage pouch.