Lin Chaoyang is dead?
"Yes, he died in the Secret Realm. Brother Shan has already confirmed it. Someone saw Lin Chaoyang's corpse in the Secret Realm; his heart seemed to have been gnawed through by some kind of Insects."
Nan Jie, dressed in plain clothes, stood on Peak Seven, gazing at the distant scenery with a complex expression. In the end, she couldn't dissuade Lin Chaoyang.
When Qi Ping heard this news, he suddenly fell silent.
Although he had somewhat anticipated it, his emotions were still a bit complicated upon truly learning the news.
He had tried to persuade Lin Chaoyang for a long time a week ago, but he still couldn't change Lin Chaoyang's firm resolve to go.
It truly is: success due to Opportunity, failure also due to Opportunity!
Lin Chaoyang ultimately lacked sufficient Luck; encountering a Dao of Cultivation exhausted all his Luck.
In Qi Ping's view, seeking Opportunity through adventure is, to some extent, similar to gambling. Many people always think that as long as they win once, they will assume they can keep winning.
They never consider that if they lose, people can truly die.
Except for Sons of Luck, who can guarantee they will always win?
A familiar friend had died just like that, which inevitably made Nan Jie and Qi Ping, both Loose Cultivators, feel a sense of shared sorrow.
Without the protection of the Qingyuan Sect, Loose Cultivators were truly like weeds in a chaotic world.
Although Lin Chaoyang went voluntarily this time, it was also a helpless choice born from having no path forward.
After adjusting her mood, Nan Jie continued:
"Now there's an even bigger problem: many Demon Insects have escaped from that Secret Realm."
"Demon Insects? How many are there? How strong are they?" Qi Ping pressed.
There is a distinction between Demon Insects and Insects. Insects can generally also be called Spirit Beasts, usually like Gold Marrow Bees, which have their own territory. As long as they are not provoked, they generally do not actively attack Cultivators.
However, Demon Insects are different; brutality, bloodlust, and treachery are their characteristics. They are extremely dangerous to human Cultivators.
"Spiritual Beast Cultivation: Demon Insect Chapter" also describes the terrifying combat power and brutal nature of Demon Insects.
Moreover, Qi Ping had a premonition that these Demon Insects were very likely outside the scope of what the Beast King Druid could contract.
"The exact number is unclear, only that there are many, many of them. Many Qi Refining Early Stage and Middle Stage Cultivators have died just at the Secret Realm, and several Qi Refining Late Stage Cultivators have also died."
"It's estimated that it won't be long before these Demon Insects spread throughout Qing Shi County, Baiyun County, and even the entire Qingtian Domain..."
At this point, Nan Jie's brows were tightly furrowed; she naturally knew the horror of Demon Insects.
And even Qi Refining Late Stage Cultivators had died; how many of them, as Loose Cultivators, could survive if they encountered them?
"How can there be so many? What is the Qingyuan Sect's reaction?"
Qi Ping was startled upon hearing the number of Demon Insects.
Even Qi Refining Late Stage Cultivators had died. If they encountered a terrifying number of Demon Insects, could the High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bee hold them off?
More importantly, the High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bee legion would take at least half a month to Cultivate. Ordinary Gold Marrow Bees facing Demon Insects would likely not have a very optimistic outcome.
"The exact number is unknown, the only thing that can be confirmed is that there must be many. I heard that many Cultivators in Qing Shi County have been attacked and killed by Demon Insects in the past two days."
"The Qingyun Sect and the Three Great Families did take action this time, eliminating a large number of Demon Insects; but even more Demon Insects have gone into hiding, making them extremely difficult to search for, even for Foundation Establishment Cultivators..."
Upon hearing this, Qi Ping's brows furrowed even tighter. He hadn't expected the situation to reach such a point in just one week!
"Now the Fusheng Society is preparing to hold a general meeting tomorrow. Everyone plans to exchange information and discuss countermeasures. Let's go together tomorrow!"
"Good!" Qi Ping nodded in agreement.
He naturally wouldn't miss such an Opportunity to obtain a large amount of information.
After discussing the Secret Realm and the Demon Insects, Qi Ping shifted the topic to Nan Jie:
"Nan Jie, have you Broken Through to Qi Refining Fifth Layer?"
"Thanks to you, I have already Broken Through!"
Nan Jie withdrew her Concealment Art, revealing her Qi Refining Fifth Layer Realm.
The joyful expression on her face also conveyed her current delighted mood.
The Realm bottleneck that had troubled her for so long had finally Broken Through. Her excitement was understandable.
"Nan Jie is amazing!" Qi Ping praised.
Originally, Qi Ping intended to give Nan Jie some Gold Marrow Bees, but in the face of the current Demon Insect rampant situation, Qi Ping felt it was better to save them for the High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bee's rapid expansion.
At worst, he could send some Gold Marrow Bees and High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bees to watch over Peak Five, ready to provide timely assistance if needed.
At the same time, Qi Ping also told Nan Jie to constantly pay attention to her Crisis Warning Talent. If there was any abnormality, she must come to him in time to be prepared for battle at any moment...
After watching Nan Jie's back disappear, Qi Ping eagerly returned to the dense forest to check on the Cultivation status of the High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bee.
The sooner the High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bee legion was Cultivated, the sooner Qi Ping would have a trump card against the Demon Insects.
Gold Marrow Bees were decent against ordinary Qi Refining Middle Stage Cultivators, but if they faced Demon Insects born for slaughter, the outcome would likely not be good.
Facing these Demon Insects, the only effective method Qi Ping could think of was to rapidly expand his forces!
If one hundred High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bees couldn't defeat the Demon Insects, then it would be five hundred!
If five hundred still couldn't defeat them, then it would be a thousand! Or even more!
As long as those Demon Insects hadn't reached Foundation Establishment, the High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bee should still have a fighting chance.
Demon Insects are born for battle, but so are High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bees. Only by clashing will they know who is stronger or weaker...
But if the strength difference is not significant, then naturally, whoever has more numbers wins!
At this time, it was no longer a concern whether cultivating too many Bee Swarms would lead to excessive consumption of Spirit Medicine and golden marrow honey.
The most important thing now was to ensure his own survival when facing the Insect Calamity!
"Now, don't worry about the consumption of Spirit Medicine. We must make the High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bee larvae grow as quickly as possible!"
"Buzz buzz. (No problem, boss!)"
"Buzz buzz. (In half a month at most, the first batch of two hundred High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bees will all mature!)"
"Good! When we encounter Demon Insects, whether we can win depends on you!"
"Buzz buzz. (Don't worry, boss! Leave it to us!)"
Knowing that a legion of up to two hundred High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bees could be Cultivated in just half a month, Qi Ping's anxious mood relaxed slightly.
However, he immediately arranged for many Gold Marrow Bees and Black Little Bees to constantly monitor any movements nearby, to prevent the intrusion of Demon Insects.
Afterward, Qi Ping immediately went to accelerate the growth of the blood ginseng.
According to the previous amount, the blood ginseng, after supplying the Bee Swarm's normal expansion and daily consumption, could still support his and Old Zhou's normal Cultivation, with even a slight surplus.
So at that time, Qi Ping put more effort into improving his own Cultivation.
But now, if he wanted to support the rapid expansion of the High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bee, Qi Ping had to put more effort into Cultivating blood ginseng; otherwise, the Spirit Medicine and honey collected by the Gold Marrow Bees themselves would be completely insufficient to support such a huge consumption.
To Qi Ping's pleasant surprise, that very night, the Plant Growth skill finally leveled up under his efforts!
[Plant Growth lv1 (99/100)] → [Plant Growth lv2 (0/200)]!
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