Wait… I’m a Druid in a Cultivation World?! - Chapter 94

When the Queen Bee broke through the large golden cocoon and emerged, Qi Ping was stunned for a moment.

The change was immense!
First, her size had increased to about the size of a fist!

That was more than double her previous size!
A bee of that size, even a single sting, would be enough to cause serious trouble.

Secondly, her physical characteristics had also changed significantly.

The previous Queen Bee was mostly golden, with black-and-gold rings on her abdominal segments, and her wings had a faint, gilded golden hue.

But now, the colors were almost reversed. She was primarily black-gold, with only a few golden rings. The gilded color on her wings had disappeared, and the wings themselves appeared almost transparent.

Her overall appearance was more low-key than before, but her aura and imposing pressure were far more powerful!
With just one glance, Qi Ping could see the extraordinary lethal potential the Queen Bee now possessed.

Having seen many demonic insects over time, aside from a Demon Insect King, none could compare to the Queen Bee before him.

As for a Demon Insect King, that was something even a Nascent Soul venerable might not necessarily be able to cultivate; it was an aberration detested by heaven and earth, and naturally not something a normal spirit insect could compare to.

The Queen Bee before Qi Ping now should undoubtedly rank among the top of Tier-1 spirit insects.

Qi Ping’s subsequent conversation with the Queen Bee confirmed that his inference was correct.

“Congratulations on your successful mutation! How do you feel?”

“Bzzz… (Fantastic, Boss!)”

“Bzzz… (It’s all thanks to your full support, Boss, that I could complete my advancement so smoothly during this mutation!)”

The Golden Marrow Queen Bee’s tone was filled with joy as she communicated with Qi Ping.

Her advancement represented the most fundamental improvement for the entire bee colony!
It was truly hard to imagine that in such a short time following Boss Qi Ping, their colony had broken through to such a level.

In their eyes, Boss Qi Ping was truly incredibly powerful…
“Can you sense the changes in your bloodline abilities?”

“Bzzz… (Yes, I can, Boss!)”

“Bzzz… (The overall types of abilities haven’t changed much, but they’ve been enhanced across the board. The blade-wings, carapace defense, the strength of the stinger, and the potent venom – I’ve inherited all the characteristics of the four special bee strains. On top of that, attributes like strength, flight speed, and agility have all seen significant improvements.)”

“Bzzz… (The most enhanced is the honey-making talent. I estimate I currently have about seventy to eighty percent of a brewer Honeybell Bee’s capability. Next, the blade-wings primarily greatly increased my flight speed. The enhancements to the carapace defense and stinger are also very substantial…)”

Hearing the Queen Bee’s explanation, Qi Ping basically understood the outcome of her mutation. Given the Queen’s perception and understanding of her own kind, this assessment was almost certainly accurate.

The Queen Bee’s mutation could be summarized in one word: Exceptional!
It was simply too exceptional!
Not only did she directly inherit seventy to eighty percent of the brewer Honeybell Bee’s honey-making ability, but the inheritance of the blade-wings, armored carapace, and potent venom traits was also excellent!

She could almost be called the all-round warrior of the spirit insect world, with speed, attack, strength, and defense. there was hardly any weak point!

This level of mutation would be considered top-tier even according to the descriptions in the Demonic Insect Cultivation Manual.

More importantly, the offspring the Queen Bee would now produce – whether Armored Beetle Bees, Swiftcutter Bees, Venomsting Bees, brewer Honeybell Bees, or Harmonizer Bees – would all be enhanced due to her stronger bloodline!
This meant that the combat bees Qi Ping would ‘produce’ next would become even more powerful! Even surpassing the first generation by a significant margin!
If Qi Ping had previously doubted whether ten thousand combat bees could fight and kill an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was now completely certain that they absolutely could!

However, what pleased Qi Ping the most wasn’t this point, but the elevation of the bee colony’s potential!
Because the Queen Bee’s strength had reached this level, the future Harmonizer Bees she produced would also inherit her abilities and traits!
Then, when Qi Ping chose to subject these Harmonizer Bees, possessing the Queen’s powerful traits, to a second mutation, their potential and the forms they could mutate into would become even more powerful!
They would definitely be far stronger than those mutated from the original Harmonizer Bees!

“From today onward, this Queen Bee will be the absolute, irreplaceable treasure of this colony…”

“According to the Demonic Insect Cultivation Manual, an insect queen that mutates to such a perfect state is exceptionally rare…”

Once this bee colony completes its transition to Tier-2, the colony’s strength will absolutely experience a true explosive growth! By then, Foundation Establishment cultivators would no longer be mythical figures to Qi Ping, but entities that could be overwhelmed and worn down by the sheer numbers of his bee swarm.

Thinking of this, Qi Ping took a deep breath.

Steady… stay steady!

The closer one gets to such a point, the more cautious one must be. Every step must be stable, with no room for error.

“However, raising so many Tier-2 bees by then will require more and higher-tier spiritual herbs. So my own cultivation must keep up, and the number of times I can use Plant Growth must also increase. Otherwise, I simply won’t be able to cultivate the spiritual herbs needed for the Tier-2 bees’ growth.”

“So, I still need to proceed steadily, step by step. Follow the previous rhythm: first, build up the forces to possess strength capable of resisting Foundation Establishment level threats and ensuring self-preservation.”

“Researching the Hundred Spirit Honey formula, contracting new animal companions, developing honey suitable for late Qi Refinement stage advancement, continuing to improve Ya Ya’s strength… These all need to be handled step by step.”

Finally, after instructing the Queen Bee to pace the ‘unit production’ so his herb cultivation speed could keep up, Qi Ping returned under the ancient pine tree to quietly cultivate.

He calmed his mind and, once his emotions had completely settled, began planning his next steps and considering the potential risks inherent in each move.

The current situation in Qingshi County was chaotic, and Qi Ping had no desire to let a moment of carelessness ruin his steadily developing position…
With the Queen Bee’s mutation and the troop production problem resolved, Qi Ping returned to his peaceful life of cultivation and farming.

Because the Queen Bee had started mass-producing offspring, Qi Ping had to spend more time cultivating Blood Ginseng; otherwise, he simply couldn’t keep up with the production rate.

Fortunately, this situation would only need to last for about two months before it basically ended, as the naturally growing Hundred Spirit Grass would then be sufficient to sustain all the bees.

However, Qi Ping gradually began to notice another problem: the Fire Ginseng Honey and Fire Spirit Tempering Honey were slowly becoming inadequate for the demands of the late Qi Refinement stage.

“My cultivation speed has slowed down considerably compared to the mid Qi Refinement stage.”

Qi Ping had anticipated this, as they were only Mid Tier-1 spiritual herbs, after all.

Mid Tier-1 herbs naturally led to rapid progress during the early Qi Refinement stage, were just right for the mid-stage, and when brewed into suitable Wood Ginseng Honey, the cultivation speed remained quite good.

But for the late Qi Refinement stage, the effect was really not ideal; the spiritual energy intensity was simply too weak for late-stage needs.

“It seems it’s time to start looking for High Tier-1 spiritual herbs and research the corresponding honey.”

The High Tier-1 Red Lotus Fruit Qi Ping obtained from the black-robed talisman cultivator last time contained no seeds that could be planted, so he had to find another method for that…