[Species: Earth Cavity Golden Marrow Bee]
[Bloodline: Tier One Intermediate]
[Talent: Brewing Artisan, Highly Poisonous Tail Needle, Wind Speed]
Brewing Artisan: Possesses a natural talent in honey brewing, not only capable of turning pollen into honey but also able to brew some spiritual medicine into honey, enhancing the special effects of the medicine.
Highly Poisonous Tail Needle: The tail needle can release powerful toxins.
Wind Speed: The Earth Cavity Golden Marrow Bee is a wind and wood attribute spirit beast, it is relatively fast and its speed gets a boost in places with wind attribute energy.
[Evaluation: Shy by nature, highly aggressive, can pose a threat to late-stage Qi Refining when in sufficient numbers; will repel other bees and any potentially threatening creatures; extremely fast, loves brewing honey, and has high requirements for honey sources.]
Recalling the information about the Golden Marrow Bee in his mind, Qi Ping couldn't help but feel even more delighted.
The Golden Marrow Bee is a spirit beast that he couldn't afford even if he emptied his fortune, especially a tamed and breedable Golden Marrow Bee which is even more valuable!
The temperament of the Golden Marrow Bee makes it extremely difficult to tame and breed, at least ten times harder than the small black bee.
The success rate of taming a wild Golden Marrow Bee hive is well below ten percent!
So if Qi Ping could successfully contract a hive of Earth Cavity Golden Marrow Bees, it would truly be a stroke of great luck.
"I hope it really is a Golden Marrow Bee!"
"And also hope that the skills of the Beast King Druid are strong enough to help me successfully contract a Golden Marrow Bee as an animal companion!"
With such immense anticipation, Qi Ping began communicating with the small black bees about the location of the Golden Marrow Bee's hive.
"Where is the big bee?"
"Where is the Earth Cavity big bee?"
"Where is the golden big bee?"
...
Because the small black bees had low intelligence, communication was very difficult, so Qi Ping could only patiently repeat his questions to them.
After a while, some small black bees finally understood Qi Ping's meaning and pointed in a specific direction of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range with their small feet.
"Buzz... (There! There!)"
"Buzz... (Danger!)"
In the depths of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range?
Just as Qi Ping was about to ask for a more specific location, something unexpected happened. Two bold bees began leading the way for him.
"Buzz... (Follow me!)"
This surprised Qi Ping.
Generally speaking, the small black bees should be afraid of the Golden Marrow Bees, so how could they take the initiative to lead the way?
"Could it be that among so many bees, a few bold ones emerged?"
Just like among humans, diverse flocks of birds have all kinds; it's the same with bees.
However, this was actually a good thing. One must know that Golden Marrow Bees are extremely sensitive to their surroundings. Any slight disturbance can cause them to hide or attack.
Even cultivators find it difficult to locate their underground hives, which is one of the reasons why Earth Cavity Golden Marrow Bees are so rare.
...
Following the bold bees, Qi Ping gradually stepped deeper into the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.
Here, the trees were much taller, and there were many thorny vines and thickets.
Although Qi Ping was at the first-layer of Qi Refining, these thorny vines, thanks to spiritual qi, were more robust and hazardous than ordinary vines, with some even being highly poisonous.
In such an environment, it was nearly impossible for him to track down the Golden Marrow Bees on his own.
"Thankfully, you two are leading the way!" Qi Ping exclaimed with relief.
He also made a mental note to perhaps share some good things with the two bees once everything was gathered.
"The Jungle Druid is truly in its element in the forests..."
As he delved deeper into the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, Qi Ping noticed his perception becoming increasingly acute and powerful.
He could clearly sense movements from quite far away.
Besides this, Qi Ping felt that his body and spiritual qi had received a certain degree of enhancement, and the recovery speed of his spiritual qi had accelerated significantly.
Yet these were not reflected in the talent skills of a druid.
"It seems that skills and talents don't encompass the entirety of the druid profession. Some unexpressed traits need to be discovered by oneself..."
Like the enhancement buff a Jungle Druid receives in forests right now.
"If I encounter danger in the future, I should consider escaping into the forest."
"Cultivation can also be done in the forest, or I could plant some powerful spirit trees and spiritual medicines myself. My cultivation speed might just increase..."
The more he earnestly comprehended, the more joyous Qi Ping felt within.
The druid profession had indeed brought him more surprises. Although it couldn't compare to those sect geniuses with extraordinary talents and physiques, if utilized properly, his future achievements might not be inferior to those sect geniuses!
...
Qi Ping ventured deeper, while gradually perceiving various changes in himself.
His physique seemed a bit stronger than before. The increase in druid level also granted some growth in physical strength.
However, as he delved roughly ten miles deeper, Qi Ping's heart grew more anxious, for here he might encounter things that could threaten his life.
Such as highly poisonous plants, or toxic insects lurking in the dark.
Though the druid profession granted him an edge in the forest, it didn't make him invincible. Some intelligent spirit beasts or ferocious toxic insects might not buy into the druid status.
After all, this was the Immortal Cultivation Realm, not a game world Qi Ping was familiar with, and the exact effects of the druid profession still needed to be tested.
Cautiously parting a vine with toxic attributes, an overwhelming sense of danger began to rise in Qi Ping's heart.
"How much farther?" Qi Ping couldn't help but inquire.
He repeated his question several times before the two small black bees vaguely responded:
"Buzz... (Ahead, ahead, almost there, almost there!)"
Thus, Qi Ping had no choice but to brace himself and follow along.
If not for the strength provided by having the Jungle Druid and Beast King Druid professions, he wouldn't dare to venture here so easily.
Fortunately, after a while, the small black bees came to a halt.
"Buzz... (Here! Here!)"
"Buzz... (Danger!)"
Having reached this point, the two small black bees refused to proceed further, as if something terrifying lay ahead.
Qi Ping even noticed the slight trembling in the bees' bodies — a natural fear when confronted with a being of higher bloodline.
"You should go back. Be careful!" Qi Ping instructed.
The fact that these two led him here already showed exceptional boldness.
Upon hearing him, the two bees buzzed, circled Qi Ping a few times, and flew back.
Qi Ping also noted down the appearance of these bold bees.
After becoming a Beast King Druid, he could easily distinguish between bees that looked identical to others in the eyes of most people. This was one of the traits of the Beast King Druid.
Although their lifespan wasn't long, allowing them to indulge in some good things during their limited time was a way for Qi Ping to repay their assistance this time.
After taking a deep breath, Qi Ping tightly gripped the lower-grade magical artifact long saber in his hand.
This was a gift from Old Head Zhou.
Coming here alone was indeed an adventure for him.
But for the sake of contracting the Golden Marrow Bee, and being both a Beast King Druid and Jungle Druid, Qi Ping dared to risk coming to this place!