"Slow speed."
"Poor flexibility."
"Why does it look so dumb, as if its intelligence has decreased?"
"..."
"What the hell is this?"
Qi Ping was somewhat speechless.
Initially, Qi Ping felt that the Big Belly Bee's flexibility and speed were inferior to ordinary Gold Marrow Bees, which might not be a big deal; perhaps it had awakened some special Talent?
So Qi Ping began to communicate with the Big Belly Bee, wanting to know what special Talent it had mutated.
However, after Qi Ping communicated with it dozens of times, he found that its intelligence seemed to have decreased.
Even when Qi Ping communicated with it, its answers were sporadic, and its intelligence was far inferior to that of the Black Little Bee.
If it weren't for the solid Qi Refining Late Stage aura emanating from it, Qi Ping would have suspected that it hadn't truly achieved a Breakthrough.
"This is outrageous!"
"Could it really be the Big Belly Demon Insect described in the Demon Insect Breeding Handbook, which only one in ten thousand successfully Advanced in Rank?"
"..."
However, upon closer inspection, Qi Ping still felt something was off; this Big Belly Bee still felt very coordinated.
Its aura was also very stable and solid, without any instability, which indicated it should indeed be a genuine First-Order High-level Bee.
"What could be in its belly? Is it related to brewing honey?" Qi Ping began to actively search for answers.
bloodline mutation potion generally leaves traces; the mutations usually occur in things that the Demon Insect already possesses.
And the best Talent related to the belly for the Gold Marrow Bee is brewing honey.
So Qi Ping began to test in the direction of honey brewing.
About half a day later.
Qi Ping looked at the Spirit Medicine being fused by the Big Belly Bee and was completely stunned!
"Holy crap! Awesome!"
The Big Belly Bee was actually able to keenly discern how different Spirit Medicines should be proportioned to maximize their effects, and then brew them into honey!
This honey-brewing ability was immeasurably stronger than that of the Gold Marrow Bee!
"This is too strong!"
"The only slight pity is that the Big Belly Bee's intelligence seems to be very low; it can only instinctively distinguish and fuse the Spirit Medicine nectar placed before it, then create the combination that best utilizes the Spirit Medicine's medicinal properties, and then brew these combinations into honey."
"What a pity… if these Big Belly Bees had high intelligence, they would simply be natural Alchemists!"
Judging by the Big Belly Bee's condition, Qi Ping estimated that most First-Order Spirit Medicines could be perfectly processed by the Big Belly Bee.
And the honey brewed by the Big Belly Bee also had a much better effect than ordinary Gold Marrow Bees.
"In that case, it is possible to Cultivate a batch of Big Belly Bees in the Gold Marrow Bee hive specifically for brewing high-quality honey. In the future, we can also see if there are any other uses."
After multiple tests, the Big Belly Bee's attributes were finally mostly understood by Qi Ping.
[Species: Brewer Big Belly Bee (Gold Marrow Bee Mutation)]
[Bloodline: First-Order High-level]
[Talent: Grand Brewer]
Grand Brewer: Possesses a Talent for brewing honey that is superior to ordinary Gold Marrow Bees. It has an extremely keen spiritual sense regarding Spirit Medicine, able to keenly fuse Spirit Medicines and maximize their effects, then brew them into honey.
[Evaluation: Uniquely gifted in its sensitivity to Spirit Medicine, but consequently lost Talents such as Poisonous Stinger and Wind Speed, and even its intelligence has decreased as a result…]
"Actually, the Big Belly Bee's transformation is in some ways no less significant than that of the High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bee."
"With the Big Belly Bee, I shouldn't have to worry about resources for my Qi Refining Late Stage Cultivation."
If he used the Big Belly Bee to mass-produce Advanced honey, Qi Ping estimated he could make a fortune, the only fear being that a Foundation Establishment Stage expert would come knocking the very next day…
Qi Ping was certain that the value of the honey brewed by the Big Belly Bee could tempt even those in the Foundation Establishment Stage.
However, this also required sufficient Spirit Medicine. If the value of the Spirit Medicine was included, the profit margin wasn't actually that high, far from the exorbitant profits of an Alchemist.
After all, the Alchemy Legacy, which has been constantly refined since ancient times, cannot be compared to a Big Belly Bee with a Grand Brewer Talent.
To be precise, the Big Belly Bee is an Alchemist with low intelligence and a high success rate in fusing Spirit Medicine. It has good value, but it's not exaggerated.
But such a bee-shaped Alchemist was just right for Qi Ping.
Qi Ping could accelerate the growth of Spirit Medicine, and the Big Belly Bee could brew honey suitable for Qi Ping to improve his Cultivation, or other honey with special effects like healing.
This state was very suitable for Qi Ping to quietly farm and improve his strength without having to engage in too many external conflicts.
Compared to a life of constantly risking life and limb in various dangerous Secret Realms and ruins for resources, Qi Ping preferred to farm and raise Bees on the mountain.
After testing the attributes of the three Bee Kings, Qi Ping was still very satisfied.
The frustration caused by the failed transformations of the Poisonous Bee and the Crimson Bee gradually faded away.
Overall, the effect of this bloodline mutation potion was excellent, even far exceeding Qi Ping's expectations!
"This time, I really owe it to Nan Jie. When there's extra golden marrow honey, I'll send her some. Given the value of [Ling Beast Cultivation: Demon Insect Chapter], only giving Nan Jie that little bit of honey before really isn't right."
Regarding such kindness, Qi Ping still believed in repaying favors, provided it didn't affect his own normal Cultivation.
Ultimately, Qi Ping was also a selfish person, but if he was capable, he would still be willing to do some things within his means, and this applied to both Old Zhou and Nan Jie.
After giving several instructions to the excited Gold Marrow Bees, Qi Ping returned to the ancient cedar tree, suppressed his excitement, and entered a state of full concentration on Cultivation.
His Animal Companion had grown stronger, so his own Cultivation couldn't fall too far behind. He hadn't even started Cultivating today!
After receiving Qi Ping's instructions, the Gold Marrow Bees no longer needed Qi Ping to worry about subsequent matters.
Whether it was cultivating the High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bee legion, or cultivating the Big Belly Bee, or the Equilibrium Bees…
The Gold Marrow Bees would Cultivate these things in the direction most suitable for strengthening their Bee Swarm, and they were even more attentive and excited about this matter than Qi Ping.
Next, Qi Ping only needed to quietly wait for the High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bee legion and the Big Belly Bee legion to be fully cultivated.
In the following days, Qi Ping entered a state of complete immersion in Cultivation.
The rent had already been paid, so Qi Ping didn't have to worry about anything for the next year.
After explaining to Old Zhou, Old Zhou didn't inquire further about these matters. He knew that with the Gold Marrow Bees, Qi Ping could generally solve things on his own, only reminding Qi Ping to be more cautious.
...
However, Qi Ping soon encountered a new problem: because he had consumed too much golden marrow honey, his Realm began to feel somewhat unstable…
Originally, he could almost Breakthrough to Qi Refining Fourth Layer now, but due to the unstable Spiritual Qi, if he rashly attempted to Breakthrough to Qi Refining Fourth Layer, the probability of failure and severe injury was not small.
If the Breakthrough failed, it would truly be a net loss.
Fortunately, Qi Ping estimated that it would take about half a month to completely stabilize his Realm, and then there should be no problem Breakthroughing to Qi Refining Fourth Layer.
Anyway, before the High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bee legion was cultivated, Qi Ping didn't plan to go to Qing Shi Market, and it didn't matter if Boss Gao had to wait an extra month.
Although Qi Ping now really wanted to see if Boss Gao had found the second Animal Companion he needed, he still suppressed this urge and decided to prioritize stability.
No matter what, there was no rush for this one month or so.
More than a month later, Qi Ping estimated he would have Breakthrough to Qi Refining Fourth Layer, and with the Tree Skin Art already leveled up to Rank three, his defensive capabilities would be sufficient to cope with more dangers by then.
However, just as Qi Ping had been quietly consolidating his Cultivation Foundation for a few days, someone Qi Ping found both a bit unexpected and within his expectations appeared.
Inside the courtyard at the foot of Peak Seven, Lin Chaoyang sat by the rosewood table, took a sip of tea, and excitedly said:
"Brother Qi, I've found out all the information about the Secret Realm. There's at least a seventy percent chance. Let's go together to seek Opportunity!"
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