"As expected!"
Hearing Zhou Pangzi's reply, Qi Ping felt that he was starting to grasp something.
"Ling Beast Cultivation: Demon Insect Chapter, blood ginseng, Blood Nectar Insect poison, flowing light grass, Black Spirit Duck."
One or two things might not explain much, but so many coincidences gathered together made Qi Ping have to suspect the hidden secrets behind these things.
Qi Ping suspected that perhaps long ago, a beast-controlling or insect-controlling Sect once appeared in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range!
The reason Qi Ping had such a guess started with the Druid skill [Animal Communication].
[Animal Communication: You can understand animal languages and communicate with animals.]
Through this skill, Qi Ping heard many key pieces of information from the Black Spirit Duck's intermittent quacks:
"Quack quack… (Big blood-colored insect!)"
"Quack quack… (Uncomfortable!)"
"Quack quack… (Need glowing grass! Detox!)"
If Qi Ping hadn't obtained the [Ling Beast Cultivation: Demon Insect Chapter] before, he probably would have only known they were poisoned and would have had to spend a long time to find information about flowing light grass.
It would have been even more impossible to know about the Blood Nectar Insect poisoning and the deeper connections behind it.
But after getting the Demon Insect Breeding Handbook, Qi Ping remembered that in the introduction to Blood Nectar Insect breeding, there was a hint that a special toxin would appear in places where Blood Nectar Insects lived.
This special toxin would cause farmed Spirit Beasts like Black Spirit Ducks to fall into a state of refusing to eat and slowly depleting their Qi and blood.
The simplest way to remove this toxin was to boil water with flowing light grass; just a little bit would easily solve this special toxin.
In Qi Ping's impression, Black Spirit Duck farming has been relatively popular in Qing Shi County since ancient times. If an insect-controlling Sect had appeared here before, then the special mention of Black Spirit Ducks in the breeding handbook would be understandable.
And the mountain stream where Zhou Pangzi was located has always been one of the places with the most Black Spirit Ducks.
Therefore, in this situation, the possibility of flowing light grass growing where Blood Nectar Insects appear is also very high.
And as long as flowing light grass appears here, it can also corroborate the authenticity of Qi Ping's guess.
"That's right, blood ginseng, flowing light grass, Demon Insect Breeding Handbook, Blood Nectar Insect, Black Spirit Duck, the main ingredients of the bloodline mutation potion are also hundred-year blood ginseng and fifty-year flowing light grass…
"All these factors combined further prove that this is definitely not a coincidence!"
"There are even Gold Marrow Bees; they, like the Blood Nectar Insects, seem to have appeared recently. Also, the mysterious Spiritual Qi continuously emerging from under the blood ginseng plot, and even the Secret Realm that Chaoyang mentioned is about to appear… Are these all coincidences? Or is this a prelude to a major event about to happen?"
Connecting all these clues made Qi Ping's heart suddenly feel a sense of unease.
Because if a major event were to occur, that level of disaster and slaughter was definitely not something he, a small figure, could easily face and contend with.
A slight misstep could lead to utter destruction!
This made Qi Ping feel a sense of urgency in his heart.
"I must improve my strength as soon as possible!"
He already possessed blood ginseng, and as for flowing light grass, he could buy two from Zhou Pangzi, saving him the trouble of going to Qing Shi Market to buy them.
This would not only be much safer but also allow him to start cultivating Gold Marrow Bees earlier.
Once the Gold Marrow Bees were successfully cultivated, his Druid Level should have already reached Rank 2.
At that time, he would quickly complete the contract for his second Animal Companion.
However, after learning that there were Blood Nectar Insects here, Qi Ping had more considerations and hesitations regarding his second Animal Companion.
"First, I'll observe the Gold Marrow Bees' transformation after consuming the bloodline mutation potion, and also consider the pet beast information provided by Boss Gao, then make a comprehensive decision on the choice of the second Animal Companion."
Qi Ping was not troubled by this; having more options was good. The Blood Nectar Insect is a First Order Intermediate Insect, and its overall combat power is subtly higher than that of Gold Marrow Bees, also possessing good cultivation potential.
What the Blood Nectar Insect lacks is a honey-making method similar to Gold Marrow Bees, but its combat methods and flexibility are superior to Gold Marrow Bees.
At the same time, there is another issue: although Blood Nectar Insects are vegetarian, their temperament is relatively violent. Qi Ping was also somewhat uncertain whether his identity as a Beast King Druid would allow him to successfully contract a Blood Nectar Insect.
"Hmm, flowing light grass should be able to solve the Black Spirit Duck problem!" Facing Zhou Pangzi's question, Qi Ping nodded affirmatively.
"Good, then you two follow me!" Zhou Pangzi said, somewhat overjoyed.
Then, Qi Ping and Nan Jie, led by Zhou Pangzi, quickly crossed a large area of rugged rocks and arrived at a very secluded spot in the mountain stream.
There, three small grasses, emerald green with a hint of golden yellow, grew, with strands of golden light emanating from their leaves.
They were undoubtedly First Order Low Rank flowing light grass.
However, compared to the nourishment of blood ginseng, these few flowing light grasses looked a bit malnourished and small, perhaps due to a lack of Spiritual Qi.
"This is it. I saw they weren't growing very well, so I didn't pick them, thinking I'd wait until they grew bigger to pick them," Zhou Pangzi explained, pointing at the three flowing light grasses.
"It's fine if they haven't grown big. Just pick a small leaf, boil it in water, and then feed a little to each Black Spirit Duck."
"Okay, do you want to pick more?" Zhou Pangzi asked, a little worried.
"No need, a small piece about the size of a pinky finger is enough. More would probably be a waste."
The cultivators moved quickly. In a short while, the three of them reappeared at the duck farm with the medicinal water boiled from flowing light grass.
Upon reaching the duck farm, Zhou Pangzi eagerly used his spiritual power to envelop about two spoonfuls of water and poured it into the Black Spirit Duck's mouth. He was truly afraid that his precious ducks would starve to death.
After that Black Spirit Duck swallowed the medicinal water, the three of them stared intently.
Especially Zhou Pangzi, his anxious expression was almost comparable to when his wife was giving birth.
Fortunately, after the three anxiously waited for a while, the result did not disappoint them. That Black Spirit Duck began to struggle to stand on its trembling legs, laboriously walked to the feed, and started eating heartily.
"Quack quack… (Saved! So hungry!)"
And seeing this scene, Zhou Pangzi, like a two-hundred-pound child, shed tears.
Who could understand his worry and anxiety these past few days?
If all the ducks died, such a huge loss, what would he use to support his family in the future?
Especially if he couldn't pay the rent, he really might be dragged away to mine. If he were alone, it would be fine; death would be the end of it. But now he had a family. If he left, how would his two wives and four children live?
However, the most urgent task now was to save all the ducks first.
So, Zhou Pangzi, ignoring his inner excitement, continued to feed the medicinal water.
Qi Ping and Nan Jie also didn't just stand by; they immediately stepped forward to help.
In a short while, all the ducks were swiftly rescued by the three of them.
Looking at the trembling Black Spirit Ducks eating, Zhou Pangzi's eyes were once again blurred with tears.
After a good while, he walked to Qi Ping and Nan Jie, and bowed solemnly:
"Xiao Qi, Nan Jie, thank you both so much this time!"
"Xiao Qi, you saved the lives of Brother Pangzi's entire family this time."
The following scene was too emotional, making Qi Ping feel a bit uncomfortable, but Zhou Pangzi's personality was just like that, and Qi Ping and Nan Jie had already anticipated this scene.
Regarding the reward, Qi Ping only requested one flowing light grass, but Zhou Pangzi gave Qi Ping two, saying that if he needed more in the future, he could buy them from the market again.
Then Zhou Pangzi also brought a bag of Spirit Stones and several Black Spirit Ducks for Qi Ping, and he also prepared a share for Nan Jie, though it was not as generous as Qi Ping's.
However, both Qi Ping and Nan Jie refused these.
Zhou Pangzi had just encountered this troublesome matter, and he must have already spent a lot. Plus, with a family to support, he would likely have to sell Black Spirit Ducks or other things to gather the rent, so his situation was not optimistic.
And Qi Ping and Nan Jie had just gained a lot from the robber cultivators, so they naturally refused the Spirit Stones and Black Spirit Ducks that Zhou Pangzi himself desperately needed.
Especially for Qi Ping, having two flowing light grasses was already an unexpected pleasant surprise.
The two main ingredients for the bloodline mutation potion, blood ginseng and flowing light grass, were now gathered.
Next, he only needed to cultivate the age of the two Spirit Medicines to a hundred years and fifty years respectively using the Plant Growth skill, and then he could start preparing the potion to cultivate Gold Marrow Bees…
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