For his second Animal Companion, Qi Ping originally most wanted an Animal Companion with high attack and high defense, capable of direct combat.
For example, a Brute Armored Bear or a Red Flame Tiger.
Their direct combat ability could very well compensate for Qi Ping's own lack of combat power, and when combined with the Gold Marrow Bees, their combat ability could also cause extremely terrifying damage.
For example, a Brute Armored Bear could directly engage and tie down an opponent, while the Gold Marrow Bees could use their speed advantage to release venom.
If Qi Ping had even better luck and could share the Physical Body Talent or Defense Talent of a Brute Armored Bear or Red Flame Tiger, coupled with the Wood Shield Skill, it would undoubtedly greatly enhance his defense and life-saving ability.
However, for Qi Ping, this type of Spirit Beast had a fatal flaw: their size was too large! And Qi Ping didn't have a Spirit Beast Bag, so keeping them by his side would be too conspicuous.
It would be like openly telling robber cultivators or other interested parties, 'I have good stuff here!'
Even if the robber cultivators didn't have malicious intentions, if they encountered enemies, such large pet beasts would easily be targeted and might even attract stronger enemies.
Therefore, before he acquired a Spirit Beast Bag, Qi Ping temporarily did not plan to consider this type of pet beast, unless he encountered a very good and suitable one.
As a second-best option, Spirit Beasts that were easy to conceal and possessed a certain degree of direct combat ability became Qi Ping's most suitable choice at present.
The first tier Qi Ping was currently considering were flying Spirit Beasts.
For example, a Green Cloud Crane or a Thunder Eagle.
Their size wasn't conspicuous, and they also possessed decent direct combat ability, working quite well in conjunction with the Gold Marrow Bee Swarm.
If no suitable flying pet beast was found, pet beasts like the Firmstone Hedgehog, Thick-Armored Tortoise, or Starlight Civet could also be considered.
"The current situation is too dangerous. After my Druid Level increases to Level Two, I should first quickly contract a second Animal Companion within my capabilities to improve my strength."
In the future, as his Druid Level increased, he would gain more Animal Companion contract slots, so he didn't need to pursue perfection with every Animal Companion. As long as it wasn't too bad, he could first get through the current crisis of rampant robber cultivators. Moreover, the Secret Realm news Lin Chaoyang mentioned also gave Qi Ping a bad premonition.
Perfect Spirit Beasts were too rare; if he truly pursued one, Qi Ping might not even encounter one before he died.
Qi Ping had never even dreamed of encountering a Divine Beast when he went out.
"What are you thinking about? You look so engrossed."
Nan Jie looked at the distracted Qi Ping and asked with a slight hint of curiosity.
"Nan Jie, I was thinking about the things I need to buy this time, and also what kind of wine Old Zhou wants to drink."
"That old fellow! Just buy him whatever, he might live a couple more years if he drinks less!"
From Nan Jie's words, it was clear that she and Old Zhou were very familiar with each other; otherwise, she would never speak in such a tone.
"Old Zhou just likes that one thing, what can we do? It's not like we haven't talked to him about it, but he said that if he can't drink, he might as well just let his Lifespan run out now."
"He's truly a wine worm. But what he said is also true, without Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, one's Lifespan is less than two hundred years. Just be happy, a few more or a few less years don't make much difference."
"So, just let Old Zhou be."
"Enough about that old fellow. It's getting late, we need to sell our things early, then buy what we need and head back soon, otherwise, it will be much more dangerous after dark than during the day!"
"Yes, I'll listen to Nan Jie!"
With that, the two of them wasted no time and walked towards the Zhishi Trading Company.
Although there were many small vendors setting up stalls on both sides of the road, there was nothing that attracted the two of them.
At least, nothing worth Qi Ping and the other person wasting Spirit Stones to buy.
On the way, Qi Ping also encountered the Market's guard team twice. These guards were all composed of Cultivators in the Qi Refining Middle Stage and Qi Refining Late Stage.
And these were only the overt forces, which was enough to show the defensive strength of Qing Shi Market.
Boss Gao's Zhishi Trading Company was located in a corner of the eastern district of Qing Shi Market. The location was not prominent, so naturally, there wasn't much customer traffic, and thus the rent and entry fees were correspondingly lower.
Because of this location, Boss Gao of Zhishi Trading Company mostly did business with regular customers.
...
When Qi Ping and Nan Jie arrived at the entrance of Zhishi Trading Company, they saw Boss Gao warmly seeing off a pair of customers.
Upon seeing Qi Ping and the other person, Boss Gao enthusiastically greeted them.
"Nan Jie, Brother Qi, long time no see! Please, come in quickly, I'll brew you a pot of tea first!"
A middle-aged man at the sixth level of Qi Refining so enthusiastically welcomed Qi Ping and the other person in. His service attitude was truly impeccable.
Boss Gao's shop had a poor location and relied on old regular customers to make money.
After a cup of tea, Nan Jie was the first to take out the thirty Yun Ling Fruits she had prepared.
"Boss Gao, please take a look at how many Spirit Stones these Yun Ling Fruits are worth."
Boss Gao's eyes were also very sharp. After a quick glance, he said:
"Five High Grade Class B, thirteen Medium Grade Class B. Nan Jie, your farming skills have improved quite a lot recently!"
Boss Gao finished speaking and looked at Nan Jie in surprise.
He knew that Nan Jie's cultivation land couldn't even be considered Spirit Land, yet she was able to cultivate so many High Grade Class B and Medium Grade Class B Yun Ling Fruits.
Many first-grade Spirit Lands might not even be able to grow High Grade Class B Yun Ling Fruits!
"Boss Gao, you flatter me. It's also thanks to you; the Spirit Fertilizer Materials you found for me were much better than what I could buy myself!"
"Nan Jie's request, I, Gao, will naturally do my best. This batch of Yun Ling Fruits generally sells for 67 to 69 Spirit Stones in those large trading companies. How about I offer you 72 here?"
Boss Gao spoke very frankly. The reason he had so many old regular customers was because of this frankness, and he earned Spirit Stones through a steady flow of business.
"No problem!" Nan Jie readily agreed.
Having cultivated Yun Ling Fruits for so many years, she was very familiar with the market price of Yun Ling Fruits. Gao Zhiyuan indeed did not deceive her.
Boss Gao quickly counted out 72 Low-Grade Spirit Stones and handed them to Nan Jie, then put away the Yun Ling Fruits.
Nan Jie's transaction was complete; next, it was Qi Ping's turn.
Qi Ping also didn't hesitate, taking out the eleven bottles of honey he had prepared.
"Boss Gao, please take a look!"
When these eleven bottles of honey appeared on the table, Boss Gao and Nan Jie both exclaimed in surprise at the same time.
"Four bottles of Low Grade Class A honey? Seven bottles of High Grade Class B honey?"
Boss Gao's voice held a hint of shock and astonishment.
Neither Boss Gao nor Nan Jie had expected Qi Ping to be able to produce Class A honey.
The difficulty of brewing Class A honey was no less than the difficulty of cultivating Class A Yun Ling Fruits.
Although Class A honey was not considered extremely valuable, being able to cultivate it in a place like Area D of the ordinary Cloud Mist Mountain Range was relatively rare.
"Brother Qi, your beekeeping skills have probably surpassed your master's!" Boss Gao praised.
Old Zhou had cooperated with him for so long, and the number of times he had produced Class A honey was extremely limited. He never expected Qi Ping to produce it today!
"My breeding experience has indeed made some Breakthroughs recently, but most of it was taught by Old Zhou, and it's also his old man's accumulated knowledge," Qi Ping humbly replied.
He naturally wouldn't say it was because of the golden marrow honey and abundant Spirit Flowers.
"That also shows Brother Qi's outstanding Comprehension Ability, to be able to master this skill in such a short time. I've met so many people and haven't seen many like you! The acquisition price at large trading companies here is generally between 53 and 56 Spirit Stones. How about I offer 59 Spirit Stones here?"
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