Having devised the strategy of blending Spirit-Nurturing Fruit with Hundred-Spirit Grass for his honey recipe, Qi Ping no longer dwelled on the matter. He boldly christened the product "Spirit-Nurturing Honey."
Externally, he would claim it was brewed by bees using Spirit-Nurturing Fruit and various other precious medicinal herbs, possessing a pure spiritual essence and medicinal properties that nourished one's inner energy. It was perfectly suited for the early stages of Qi Refinement and still offered decent results for those in the mid-stage. At a price of six spirit stones per portion, he was certain he could easily carve out a market.
'There are about twenty days left until the first batch of Hundred-Spirit Grass matures. That harvest won't be massive; I can simply buy what I need from Sister Nan for now.'
'But when the large-scale harvests arrive in two or three months, Sister Nan's production of Spirit-Nurturing Fruit won't be able to keep up.'
'I could buy it directly within the Cloud-Mist Mountain Range to get the lowest price, but that might invite unwanted suspicion and expose me.'
'Buying from Boss Gao might cost more, but it's more convenient and offers better privacy.'
After some thought, Qi Ping decided he would continue to take whatever Spirit-Nurturing Fruit Sister Nan produced. When the subsequent batches of Hundred-Spirit Grass matured, he would supplement his supply through Boss Gao while simultaneously selling his finished Spirit-Nurturing Honey to convert it back into spirit stones.
'If I want to lower the costs even further in the future, I'll have to rent more land to grow the Spirit-Nurturing Fruit myself—or perhaps rent a plot and hand it over to Sister Nan to manage. She already has the experience, and her specialized liquid fertilizer techniques could be very useful.'
Cultivating spirit herbs was never a simple task. Every species had its own ideal environment and required specific resources, demanding immense effort to manage. This was precisely why the Three Great Clans and the disciples of the Qingyuan Sect didn't bother with direct farming. Sometimes, the spirit stones earned by rogue cultivators were truly "hard-earned money"—a pittance that wasn't worth the time and focus of a sect disciple. Collecting rent was far more efficient.
Qi Ping's farming was only "simple" because his Plant Growth skill was too powerful. It allowed him to bypass the specific environmental requirements and energy needs of various herbs. Without it, he would struggle to cultivate herbs that required specific fire-attributed energy or beast blood.
However, Plant Growth wasn't an omnipotent fix. His energy and time were limited. He was already stretched thin providing for himself and his animal companions; he couldn't waste his legendary skills on a purely commercial crop like Spirit-Nurturing Fruit. To use a divine technique for such a mundane task would be nothing short of foolish.
The Hundred-Spirit Grass was the exception. It was unpretentious, growing anywhere with sufficient spiritual energy. Its muddled medicinal properties usually relegated it to fodder for spirit cattle, but Qi Ping had accidentally unlocked its true value through the Brewer Pot-bellied Bee. It had become his most profitable, low-risk industry. It was far better than manually cultivating rare herbs to sell, which carried higher risks and consumed his precious skill-time.
With his supply lines planned, Qi Ping didn't rush to Sister Nan's. Instead, he stayed focused on his cultivation and accelerated the production of Blood Ginseng to support the Queen's massive swarm expansion. With the current state of Qingshi County, it was better to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary. Once his combat swarm grew larger, he could venture out with true peace of mind. With his spirit beast bags, carrying ten thousand bees was a simple matter.
However, a few days later, before Qi Ping could even think of stepping out, trouble found him.
On the mountainside of Peak 29.
"Senior, might I ask what brings you both here?"
Qi Ping, having just stashed some mid-grade first-rank herbs into his storage bag, stood trembling before two late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators. His voice wavered with apparent terror.
The pair—one male at the ninth level and one female at the eighth—bore the air of sect disciples, behaving like senior and junior from the same master. They wore white silk robes of high quality, making it impossible to tell their origin. Qi Ping couldn't even be certain if they were from the Qingyuan Sect.
What truly unsettled him was the hostility his bees sensed radiating from them. With their keen instincts, the bees couldn't be wrong. These two had come with ill intent.
However, since their malice wasn't overwhelming yet, Qi Ping intended to figure out their identities and motives first. If he could avoid a fight, he would. To lose his burgeoning industry now would be a massive loss. If he fled, what would his thousands of bees eat? He couldn't exactly have them live on nothing but wind and dew.
"Tell me," the man said, his face etched with arrogance. He stood atop a flying sword, looking down at Qi Ping from the air. Simultaneously, he exerted the spiritual pressure of a ninth-level cultivator.
An ordinary early-stage cultivator might have been forced to their knees by such pressure. Qi Ping, playing the part, suppressed his own strength and made his body shake violently.
"In response to the Great One... this humble one is indeed Qi Ping," he answered through chattering teeth.
"I will ask, and you will answer. If you dare to lie, I will sense it, and I will kill you on the spot," the man said coldly, his words laced with killing intent.
"Please, Great One, ask whatever you wish..."
Before Qi Ping could finish, the man noticed that Qi Ping was still standing. A flash of annoyance crossed his brow, and he intensified his spiritual pressure.
This act finally snapped Qi Ping's patience. Did this man expect him to crawl in the dirt?
'It seems this won't end peacefully today. Since you seek your own doom, I shall grant it,' Qi Ping thought, a cold resolve hardening in his heart.
With his current strength, did he really have to kneel and wag his tail like a dog just to survive? What would be the point of cultivation then? Most cultivators held a core of pride; the more talented they were, the more this was true. A humiliating memory could turn into a terrifying inner demon, leading to their eventual downfall.
The man's attempt to force Qi Ping to his knees—even if he didn't intend to kill him—was an act of extreme malice. Qi Ping hadn't minded the initial intimidation, but in this moment, he truly intended to kill them. He only hoped the loot they carried would be enough to compensate for the potential loss of this territory.
Just as Qi Ping was about to strike, a flash of blue sword light streaked across the sky.
In the next heartbeat, the white-robed man's head flew high into the air!
As the head spun, the man was still conscious. He saw his own neck gushing blood and caught a glimpse of the owner of that blue sword light...