After confirming that the Green-robed Woman had truly left, Qi Ping began to ponder his future development plans.
He was currently facing two issues:
The first was the escalating chaos in Qingtian Domain. Even the Green-robed Woman, a Qi Refining Stage ninth-level Cultivator from Qingyuan Sect, was severely injured, and a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator from the Murong Family had even died from Demon Insect poison.
The second was the question of how much patience the Green-robed Woman had left. The Black-Robed Robber must have something important on him. If this continued, the Green-robed Woman might mobilize forces for a large-scale search, leading to the exposure of the Blood Ginseng Growing Area.
Qi Ping had to be prepared to deal with both of these issues.
"First, the Fire Crow must be cultivated as quickly as possible!"
"The Fire Crow already possesses First Order Perfection strength, so as long as there are enough fire-attribute spiritual items, it might not reach Second Order, but it should recover to First Order Perfection very quickly, which can provide the most combat power in the short term."
The Fire Crow possesses a trace of the Golden Crow Bloodline, and its innate spiritual flame, the Dazzling Fire Flame, is very strong, making it the bane of most Insects and Demon Insects.
Most Insects and Demon Insects excel in high physical defense, high physical damage, high toxicity, and vast numbers.
High-intensity mental attacks, lightning attacks, and flame attacks all have a strong restraining effect on Insects.
The Fire Crow also has strong anti-toxic abilities, as most venoms cannot withstand the scorching of the Dazzling Fire Flame.
Now that Demon Insects are rampant, the secret beneath the Blood Ginseng Growing Area is also related to Demon Insects.
At this point in time, cultivating the Fire Crow offers many benefits and is extremely necessary.
As long as the Fire Crow can recover to First Order Perfection strength, coupled with the Gold Marrow Bee Bee Swarm, Qi Ping can essentially move unhindered in the Qi Refinement Stage.
When encountering other Qi Refining Cultivators, if the Gold Marrow Bees are suppressed, he can still use the Fire Crow as a trump card.
"Besides the Fire Crow, regarding the Bee Swarm, the High-Speed Ring-Cutting Bee has already reached a thousand in number. The Mo Jia Bee, Poisonous Bee, and Equilibrium Bees each having five hundred is almost enough. It will take about another month to complete."
Qi Ping has tentatively set the Bee Swarm numbers at this. Any more, and the nectar and spiritual items on this peak would not be sufficient.
This is even with mature Bees primarily feeding on ordinary golden marrow honey, and they are already competing with the Black Little Bee for ordinary nectar.
This Bee Swarm size is the limit for this area. To Cultivate more Bees, Qi Ping must acquire a larger area and more spiritual land to plant more flowers and Spirit Medicine to ensure the Bees' food supply.
It is already very difficult for Qi Ping to Cultivate high-quality Spirit Medicine using Plant Growth for himself and his Spirit Beasts. If the Bees' daily food also required him to Cultivate spiritual plants through Plant Growth, it would greatly hinder Qi Ping's Cultivation speed and his Animal Companion's growth speed.
Therefore, under such circumstances, acquiring a larger area and more spiritual land is imperative.
Currently, almost all spiritual lands in the entire Qingtian Domain are either controlled by Qingyuan Sect or by various Cultivator Families; there are no ownerless spiritual lands.
This situation is similar across most Human Race areas. Spiritual land, as the most core resource, has rarely been ownerless throughout history.
Even if there were any, once exposed, they would effectively cease to be ownerless and would quickly be divided by the rulers.
So, if Qi Ping wants to acquire more spiritual land, he must either buy it or rent it.
The Spirit Stones required to purchase spiritual land are over a hundred times the rent, making it unfeasible for Qi Ping. Therefore, Qi Ping's best option is to pay a large sum for rent and lease a larger mountain in Area B of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range with more spiritual land.
Among the four areas of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range—Area A, Area B, Area C, and Area D—a small portion of the land in Area D has a Spiritual Qi density approaching First Order Low-level spiritual land, suitable for raising a small number of barely-ranked Spirit Beasts.
For example, Black Little Bee, Black Spirit Duck, Golden Feather Chicken, and so on, used for consumption.
Area D has the most plots of land and is the choice of most Loose Cultivators.
Area C, on the other hand, has a certain amount of First Order spiritual areas, and places approaching First Order spiritual land are also more common, suitable for relatively larger-scale planting and breeding industries, typically for Loose Cultivators with stronger financial backing or some collateral Disciples within the Three Great Families.
Area B, compared to Area C, has more First Order Intermediate spiritual land, and First Order Low-level spiritual land is also present, with the overall Spiritual Qi density of the entire plot being much higher.
However, the rent for Area B is too expensive; only very powerful Loose Cultivators and Family Disciples can afford to operate there.
This is also why Qi Ping has always guarded the Blood Ginseng Growing Area. It's like paying the rent for Area D but enjoying the benefits of First Order Intermediate spiritual land like in Area B!
Except that the area is relatively small and the overall Spiritual Qi density is relatively low, which is also the reason limiting the number of Bees.
If he were in Area B, with enough space to plant Spirit Medicine and flowers, not only could natural cultivation meet the Bees' food needs, but it could also produce a large amount of sellable honey, earning Qi Ping more Spirit Stones.
This is also one of the reasons why Qi Ping is now considering exploring the secret beneath the Blood Ginseng Growing Area, because this area has already limited the overall development of the Bee Swarm.
Not only can it no longer earn Spirit Stones, but it can only sustain the Bee Swarm's consumption.
Therefore, to expand the Bee Swarm and generate income, leasing a better spiritual land is also an imperative.
Area A, on the other hand, contains First-Order High-level spiritual land, directly managed by Qingyuan Sect. Tenants are usually Loose Cultivators at Qi Refining Perfection or even Foundation Establishment Stage, or Elder-level individuals from the Three Great Families.
The top ten plots, with the enhancement of spirit gathering formations, even reached the level of Second Order spiritual land. Unless one is a core figure of Qing Shi County or a Disciple of Qingyuan Sect, it might be impossible to rent them even with Spirit Stones.
The location of the Legacy Immortal Cave Nan Jie provided to Qi Ping is on Area A, Peak Seven.
The rent in Area A is very expensive, and the difficulty of entering is also relatively high, which is why Qi Ping is currently considering Area B instead of Area A.
"I hope that whatever is beneath the Blood Ginseng Growing Area is something that can continue to provide me with Spiritual Qi after I reach Area B. This way, I might even be able to plant First-Order High-level Spirit Medicine in Area B!"
Of course, this is just Qi Ping's hope. What it actually is remains uncertain, and it could also be something extremely dangerous, yielding no benefits whatsoever.
If it weren't for compelling reasons, Qi Ping would truly only wish this was a simple spiritual land, allowing him to develop and grow steadily, rather than digging it up out of curiosity and ending up with nothing.
However, circumstances are pressing now. The Green-robed Woman may not leave Qi Ping much time; the Bee Swarm also needs a larger spiritual land to continue expanding.
"Let's tentatively plan this: restore the Fire Crow to First Order Perfection, then excavate the underground secret, relocate to a larger, more spiritually dense plot in Area B, begin large-scale cultivation of fast-growing flowers, and then expand the Bee Swarm to produce honey and earn Spirit Stones."
"Next, I will mainly Cultivate Fire Spirit Grass, then try to research the Fire Spirit Body Tempering Pill Bee Honey version, and try to figure out how to combine honey production to perfectly unleash the fire-attribute medicinal properties of the Fire Spirit Grass."
"The Fire Crow will consume both to quickly recover its strength, while I will use the former for Body Refining and the latter for Qi Refining."
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