“They’re starting to get closer… looks like they’re about to make their move.”
After traveling about twenty-some li from the market, and receiving word from the rear that the trailing cultivator was preparing to strike, Qi Ping immediately ducked into a thicket of trees by the roadside.
He swiftly released his combat swarm, numbering over two thousand strong, along with the Yang Fire Crow.
Although he had lost over three hundred High-Speed Cutter Bees during the fight with the Demon Insect King, his combined forces of Venomous Bees, Ink-Armor Bees, and High-Speed Cutter Bees still totaled more than two thousand.
Next, Qi Ping used his Wildshape ability to transform into an Ink-Armor Bee and blended into the swarm.
For Qi Ping, transforming into the defensively strong Ink-Armor Bee was suitable for commanding battles, while the fast High-Speed Cutter Bee was better for escaping.
Once the bee swarm and the Yang Fire Crow were deployed, Qi Ping didn’t hesitate. He immediately ordered the swarm to reverse direction and charge back, surrounding the Qi Refining eighth-level cultivator who had been following him.
Now, Qi Ping got a clear look at the pursuer.
“Why is he dressed in black robes again? Well, I suppose it’s normal for this kind of shady business. Looks like a decent magical artifact though…”
“First, I’ll test his strength with a battle formation of two hundred bees mixed from the three combat types. If this guy’s strength is truly only at the eighth level of Qi Refining, I’ll kill him outright. If he’s a hidden Foundation Establishment expert, I’ll make a quick escape.”
Once decided, Qi Ping directly issued the command through his special mental link with his animal companions.
Upon receiving the order, the bee swarm instantly split off a group of two hundred bees, forming a battle formation and launching their attack. There was no chaos or hesitation in their movements.
This demonstrated the absolute combat quality of the swarm—well-trained, obeying commands strictly, and fearless.
The black-robed cultivator who had been tailing Qi Ping was completely stunned when he saw the overwhelming bee swarm.
He was just following a guy who appeared to be at the first level of Qi Refining, probably not even mid-stage at best. How did he provoke so many bees, each radiating the aura of the late first-rank?
Every single one of these late first-rank bees felt dangerous!
But what made his heart sink even more was that this massive, sky-blotting swarm seemed to be composed of three different types of bees, and they appeared to be coordinating, forming some kind of powerful battle formation!
Without a doubt, there had to be a powerful insect-controlling cultivator behind these bees.
All of this made the black-robed cultivator’s heart turn cold, and he smelled the strong scent of death.
“What to do… what to do?”
“Right! Break through back to the market! I must get back to Greenstone Market and call for help to survive!”
Faced with this situation, the panicked black-robed cultivator immediately chose to turn and flee.
But would Qi Ping give him that chance?
Not only had the two hundred bees already charged forward, but his escape route had also been blocked off by the rest of the swarm.
A life-or-death struggle was imminent!
Facing the incoming bee swarm, the black-robed cultivator didn’t hesitate. He immediately pulled out several talismans from his storage bag, each radiating powerful fire-attribute pressure.
“A Talisman Master?” Qi Ping, watching this, frowned slightly.
Fire-attribute talismans could indeed pose a certain level of threat to his bees at this stage.
“But if that’s all you have, it’s not enough.”
“Disperse and surround him! Kill him!”
Under Qi Ping’s command, the bee swarm quickly dispersed, maintaining distance from each other, and launched assaults from all directions—front, back, sides, above—simultaneously!
In this life-or-death crisis, the black-robed cultivator activated three fire talismans in succession. Three violent fire snakes roared across the battlefield! Simultaneously, a golden protective shield shimmered into existence around him.
The wild, oppressive pressure of the flames made even Qi Ping, transformed into an Ink-Armor Bee, feel a lethal threat.
The bees struck by the fire snakes perished under the terrifying power.
However, with the bees dispersed, the three fierce fire snakes only managed to kill twenty or thirty bees. The High-Speed Cutter Bees had dodged away the moment the talismans were activated.
More bees swarmed the cultivator’s spiritual energy shield from all directions.
Almost immediately, the golden shield around the black-robed cultivator began to dim noticeably.
“A Talisman Master… Fire talismans, defense talismans…”
“His strength is decent, but it still won’t change the outcome—death!”
“Swarm, heed my command! All units, attack!”
At Qi Ping’s order, the overwhelming bee swarm surged towards the black-robed Talisman Master. In almost the blink of an eye, the protective golden light around him rapidly faded.
Seeing this, the black-robed cultivator frantically activated several more defensive talismans, but none held for long.
Soon, the black-robed cultivator, poisoned and covered in numerous fine cuts, collapsed to the ground.
It didn’t take long for him to die completely.
The only success the black-robed Talisman Master had was managing to activate a few thunder and fire talismans when the bees were densely clustered, killing nearly seventy bees.
Qi Ping could have chosen to slowly wear down the Talisman Master’s resources using kiting tactics, but considering they were only twenty-odd li from Greenstone Market, he opted for a swift resolution to end the fight quickly.
“Talisman Masters truly have remarkable combat power, but that’s all.”
Qi Ping felt not an ounce of pity for the black-robed Talisman Master lying dead on the ground.
After killing him, Qi Ping had some bees crawl into the cultivator’s robes to check for anything valuable. Finding nothing of note, he ordered the bees that had touched the body to drag it away and dispose of it.
He instructed them to fly off in all directions to hide and conceal themselves after disposing of the body, not returning for eight to ten days.
These bees numbered less than two hundred, so their temporary absence wouldn’t significantly impact Qi Ping.
He also decided not to touch the cultivator’s storage bag immediately for safety. Instead, he commanded a squad of bees to take the storage bag to a river, wash it thoroughly, then bury it deep underground to be retrieved later.
Qi Ping wasn’t in a hurry for the items inside the Talisman Master’s storage bag. Safety was the priority, and he had the patience to wait.
Once all traces were cleared, Qi Ping—who had never revealed his true form—flew away from the area with the Yang Fire Crow and his own storage bag.
It would be impossible for any enemy to track him by scent. Not only did the bees leave almost no discernible scent, but even if an enemy had incredible means to detect faint traces, they’d be baffled to find hundreds of similar scent trails leading off in different directions.
Qi Ping didn’t dwell much on the death of the black-robed Talisman Master.
As long as he wasn’t surrounded by Golden Core or Foundation Establishment experts, he felt reasonably confident in his ability to escape.
As for the storage bag, for safety’s sake, waiting ten days to half a month before retrieving it was fine.
Right now, Qi Ping felt the most important task was to rent a suitable plot of spiritual land to plant Hundred Spirit Grass, expand his forces, and earn spirit stones.
So, upon returning to the Misty Cloud Mountains, Qi Ping headed straight for the Misty Cloud Main Hall, which handled business management for the area.
The Misty Cloud Main Hall was jointly established by the Green Origin Sect and the three great families of Greenstone County. It specialized in leasing spiritual land in the Misty Cloud Mountains and surrounding areas, maintaining order, and other management tasks. Here, one could find information on all currently available plots for lease.
“I hope a decent spot has opened up,” Qi Ping thought to himself.
Many people had left the Misty Cloud Mountains recently, so perhaps more options were available.
For this next location, Qi Ping hoped to establish a true Druid sanctuary suitable for his development, a place to manage and grow his beekeeping enterprise. Therefore, he had considerable requirements regarding area, location, spiritual energy density, and privacy.
