Wait… I’m a Druid in a Cultivation World?! - Chapter 90

“Finally, I can open this storage pouch without worry!”

Qi Ping was quite looking forward to this pouch.

He urgently needed spirit stones to rent the adjacent Spirit Land No. 28, and selling spirit herbs was far too risky.

So now, he could only hope that this eighth-level Qi Refining black-robed talisman cultivator had enough spirit stones inside.

Twenty days had passed now, and the bees had relayed that no cultivators had found the storage pouch or the body during this time.

Therefore, Qi Ping finally felt relieved.

“It seems the influence behind that black-robed talisman cultivator isn’t very significant, or he himself wasn’t that important. There also doesn’t seem to be anything in the pouch that could expose my tracks.”

After confirming this, Qi Ping had the bees carry the pouch to a location quite far from Peak No. 29. He then transformed into a bee and led a swarm there.

Once he had the pouch, Qi Ping first washed its surface several times with his Wood-Fire spiritual power before taking it in hand and imprinting his spiritual sense on it.

With his spiritual sense imprint placed, everything inside the storage pouch appeared in Qi Ping’s perception.

“The space is quite large, bigger than the storage pouch from that insect-controlling black-robed robber. Let’s see what’s inside.”

The first thing that caught Qi Ping’s eye was a large pile of spirit stones.

“Three mid-grade spirit stones, and eight hundred thirty-five low-grade spirit stones… totaling one thousand one hundred thirty-five low-grade spirit stones.”

“Not bad, not bad!”

The first gain, the spirit stones, pleasantly surprised Qi Ping. As expected of a talisman cultivator, one of the four auxiliary professions of cultivation; their assets were somewhat substantial.

Now, Qi Ping not only had the rent for the neighboring Spirit Land No. 28 covered, but he also had an extra five or six hundred spirit stones left over. Thinking about having less than twenty low-grade spirit stones on him before had been disheartening.

“The saying ‘murder and arson pay in gold’ really holds weight, especially for those skilled in one of the four cultivation arts. It’s just a pity the risk is so high. If you often walk by the river, your shoes are bound to get wet one day.”

For Qi Ping, even if earning spirit stones was slower, he didn’t want to engage in such dangerous activities.

Because even if you win a thousand times, you’re finished if you lose just once.

Most importantly, this wasn’t the path of cultivation Qi Ping wanted to walk.

After counting the spirit stones, Qi Ping turned his attention to the second pile of items.

It was a collection of talismans and knowledge related to talisman crafting.

Qi Ping looked them over carefully. Most were first-order mid-grade talismans, like Cleansing Talismans, Sword Qi Talismans, Fireball Talismans, etc. There were very few first-order high-grade talismans. The first-order high-grade Fire, Lightning, and Diamond Talismans the black-robed cultivator had used earlier weren’t seen, probably exhausted in the fight against the bee swarm.

There were quite a few methods for drawing various talismans, ranging from first-order low-grade to first-order high-grade, but Qi Ping had no interest in them.

Putting aside whether he had any talent for it, just cultivating spirit herbs and researching pill and honey recipes would take up the vast majority of his time. He had no extra time for other things.

Furthermore, even if he researched these talismans, they wouldn’t benefit him as much as his animal companions.

Focusing on farming and nurturing animal companions was the most suitable path of cultivation for Qi Ping.

“Although I have no use for these talismans and knowledge, selling them should fetch a few hundred to over a thousand spirit stones. I could sell them for even more if I find a rogue cultivator who needs them.”

“I’ll wait for the风波 (fēngbō – turmoil/stir) to die down, then find an opportunity to sell this stuff!”

This also counted as a very good gain.

After cataloging the talismans, Qi Ping soon found a third item that caught his interest:

“Red Lotus Fruit?”

They were two red fruits resembling blazing red lotuses, the entire fruits emanating a strong, scorching intent.

The Red Lotus Fruit Tree was a quite valuable first-order high-grade spirit fruit; a single fruit easily cost over a hundred spirit stones.

“Looks like they are ten-year Red Lotuses. I can use the Fire Spirit Honey recipe as a basis to experiment and create a Red Lotus Honey for Ya Ya. It could speed up her breakthrough to the second-order a bit.”

“I wonder if there are any seeds inside that could be planted into a Red Lotus Fruit Tree. If so, that would be a huge win.”

If Qi Ping could cultivate a Red Lotus Fruit Tree from it, he wouldn’t need to worry about his main cultivation resources during the late Qi Refining stage.

However, Qi Ping didn’t hold out much hope. The more precious the spirit herb, the harder it is to produce seeds, and the more expensive they are.

Sellers typically pick out fruits with seeds or destroy the seed viability to keep the spirit herbs exclusively in their own hands.

For example, many rare spirit herbs were monopolized by the Qingyuan Sect.

Never mind how difficult these herbs are to cultivate; most people don’t even get the chance to try.

“Regardless, it’s still a pretty good harvest!”

Qi Ping was quite satisfied with this part of the spoils.

However, after counting the spirit stones, talismans, and Red Lotus Fruits—these three main gains—there weren’t any other immediately high-value items.

There were some ordinary cultivation pills and miscellaneous items. Not a single cultivation manual was found. They could be sold for some money, but not much.

Perhaps because he was a talisman cultivator, there was only one mid-grade magical weapon; not a single high-grade magical weapon was found.

But one item among the miscellany did catch Qi Ping’s attention.

“Skyfire Pavilion disciple token!?”

“Why would a Skyfire Pavilion disciple come all the way here?”

Seeing the token’s appearance, Qi Ping was utterly shocked.

After all, the Skyfire Pavilion was an enemy sect of the Qingyuan Sect!

The conflict between the two sects had lasted for over a thousand years. They had fought no less than a hundred battles, large and small. ‘Sea of blood and deep hatred’ wasn’t enough to describe the animosity between them.

Yet now, a Skyfire Pavilion disciple had openly entered Qingyuan Sect territory!

Qi Ping didn’t believe the Qingyuan Sect’s intelligence network was incapable of uncovering this Skyfire Pavilion disciple’s identity.

“What is the Qingyuan Sect doing?”

If it were the mysterious Profane Devotees Alliance, that would be one thing, as its name was known throughout the cultivation world.

But allowing someone from an enemy sect, with whom they shared a blood feud, to enter was just absurd.

And the Skyfire Pavilion disciple entered Qingyuan Sect territory carrying his sect token—where did they get the nerve?

“And could that mysterious alchemist actually be from the Skyfire Pavilion?”

This is utterly ridiculous!
Qi Ping felt he understood the current situation less and less.

But he didn’t dwell on it too much, as long as it didn’t affect his farming.

With the bee swarm in hand and the Misty Cloud Mountains as his backdrop, if he transformed into a bee and scattered along with tens of thousands of bees, who could possibly catch him?
So, Qi Ping wasn’t particularly afraid.

After cataloging everything in the storage pouch, Qi Ping took out the valuable items and transferred them to his own storage pouch.

As for the black-robed talisman cultivator’s pouch, Qi Ping had bees carry it far away and discard it. He didn’t want the slightest connection to that Skyfire Pavilion disciple token.

After finishing all this, Qi Ping led the bees back to his Peak No. 29.

Upon returning, Qi Ping didn’t ponder the larger issues. Instead, he focused on refining the Fire Ginseng Honey and Fire Spirit Tempering Honey produced by the Master Brewer Potbelly Bees.

After this period of cultivation, and with a sufficient supply of honey, his cultivation had reached the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining. Breaking through to the late Qi Refining stage was a matter of these next few days.