Holding the long saber tightly in his hand, Qi Ping began to advance cautiously.
Using his keen perception, Qi Ping carefully advanced, avoiding various thorns and dangers.
Fortunately, it didn't take Qi Ping long; after advancing for just a while, he discovered a Gold Marrow Bee hidden at the roots of a large pine tree.
This was thanks to the Jungle Druid's keen perception in the mountains and forests; otherwise, he might not have been able to find this Gold Marrow Bee in the dense woods.
"Found it!" Qi Ping was pleasantly surprised internally.
Things were going smoothly, without encountering any accidents.
Seeing the figure of the Gold Marrow Bee, Qi Ping couldn't help but let out a huge sigh of relief.
If something had suddenly appeared halfway, his current small body at Qi Refining First Level couldn't handle it.
At the same time, Qi Ping also quickly put the saber into that small spatial storage bag, lest the killing intent from the saber disturb that Gold Marrow Bee.
That Gold Marrow Bee was collecting pine resin from the bark at the roots of the pine tree.
Pine trees over a hundred years old produce a very small amount of special pine resin, which can reach the quality of Spirit Medicine.
It's just that the quantity is too scarce; for Qi Ping, it would take half a month to not even gather a full bottle, and he would also have to deal with the dangers in the mountains and forests. The return is far less than raising Black Little Bees.
Gold Marrow Bees are a relatively special type of bee, quite different from ordinary Bees.
The reason they collect pine resin is that their honey production is not limited to nectar; many Spirit Medicines also become their collection targets, which are then mixed with nectar to produce honey.
This is also one reason why the quality of Gold Marrow Bee honey is higher.
Just as Qi Ping discovered the Gold Marrow Bee, the Gold Marrow Bee also sensed Qi Ping's appearance.
Qi Ping's mood also became a bit uneasy at this moment.
Under normal circumstances, when Gold Marrow Bees encounter two-legged creatures like human Cultivators, they generally have two choices:
Either choose to attack, or choose to flee and hide!
Neither option was good news for Qi Ping.
The speed and toxicity of Gold Marrow Bees are very strong; their speed is no less than that of Qi Refining Middle Stage.
If it fled, Qi Ping couldn't catch up at all.
If he fought, Qi Ping would be even worse off; even if this was just the most ordinary small worker bee, it would be enough to give Qi Ping a hard time.
After Qi Ping felt uneasy for a while, he found that the Gold Marrow Bee did not flee. Instead, it stopped collecting pine resin and curiously observed Qi Ping, showing no hostility in its actions.
This couldn't help but make Qi Ping a little happy.
"There's a chance!"
So, with an expectant mood, Qi Ping cautiously approached. The Gold Marrow Bee indeed did not flee.
"Buzz buzz... (Who... are you? Friendly!...)"
Seeing Qi Ping approach, the Gold Marrow Bee vaguely expressed its meaning, while circling around Qi Ping, observing him with increasing curiosity.
"I want to contract you, to make you my Animal Companion. I can make your tribe stronger!" Qi Ping said frankly and directly.
For the Bees as a tribe, the reproduction and growth of their tribe are above individual will. For matters beneficial to the tribe, they can choose to sacrifice themselves without fear.
This was something Qi Ping, as a beekeeper, was most familiar with.
When facing strong enemies, they can risk their lives to attack. When encountering good Spirit Medicine nectar sources and Spirit Medicines, they can also collect tirelessly and without regard for danger.
As long as the tribe can survive and become stronger, even death is glorious to them.
That's why Qi Ping chose to communicate with it using its tribe as the reason.
As a Beast King Druid, he was also completely confident in doing this.
"Buzz buzz... (Contract...? Tribe stronger...?)"
"Yes, the tribe will become stronger."
The Gold Marrow Bee's mind seemed a bit slow, so Qi Ping repeated it again.
After repeating several times, that Gold Marrow Bee finally understood Qi Ping's meaning, and the entire bee became excited.
"Buzz buzz... (The two-legged creature has no ill will! Feng Feng trusts you! Need to tell companions... tell Bee King adult)"
"Okay, then lead me there!"
Hearing the Gold Marrow Bee's affirmative answer, Qi Ping completely relaxed!
This was the most difficult step!
Yes, the most difficult step was here.
Because the character and temperament of the entire Bee Swarm are basically consistent, if this Gold Marrow Bee is willing to trust Qi Ping so simply, then basically its entire tribe will be similar.
This way, the risk of Qi Ping's trip would be minimized, and the probability of a successful contract would also be high.
If this Gold Marrow Bee had shown hostility and distrust towards Qi Ping, Qi Ping would definitely have turned and run.
Because that would indicate that the entire Bee Swarm would likely be hostile towards him.
Facing an entire Underground Gold Marrow Honey Bee Bee Swarm, even a Qi Refining Middle Stage Cultivator has a chance of falling, let alone Qi Ping, this rookie at Qi Refining First Level.
Fortunately, the most difficult hurdle had passed. The Gold Marrow Bee not only didn't show any hostility towards him but also displayed extraordinary trust!
"Beast King Druid is really amazing!"
Qi Ping couldn't help but exclaim.
Following the figure of this Gold Marrow Bee, Qi Ping followed with full anticipation.
This time, Qi Ping walked with more peace of mind. The Gold Marrow Bee's path of life proved it was relatively safe.
After walking about two to three miles, he finally reached the location of the Gold Marrow Bee's nest.
It was a small shrub that looked very ordinary, appearing no different from other shrubs.
There wasn't even any trace of Gold Marrow Bee life visible, which showed the level of caution of the Gold Marrow Bee.
Inside the shrub was a small hole covered by fallen leaves. If he hadn't seen that Gold Marrow Bee crawl in there with his own eyes, Qi Ping would never have discovered that there was a Gold Marrow Bee cave there.
Even scanning with his Divine Sense, he could only perceive a cave similar to a mouse hole, and such caves were everywhere in the mountains and forests.
A moment later, a large swarm of Gold Marrow Bees buzzed out, circling around and observing Qi Ping.
Some bolder ones even landed on Qi Ping.
If an ordinary Cultivator saw this scene, they would definitely be scared half to death.
But facing this scene, Qi Ping didn't feel any fear because he could sense that these Gold Marrow Bees had no ill will towards him.
As time passed, finally about a thousand Gold Marrow Bees flew out.
This number was much less than the nearly ten thousand Black Little Bees, but for Gold Marrow Bees, it was already quite a lot.
The higher the Bloodline grade of the Bee Swarm, the greater the difficulty of reproduction, and it would also require more spirit flowers and Spirit Medicines to support a large tribe.
Among the Bee Swarm in front of Qi Ping, the one at the center was the largest Gold Marrow Bee, almost half the size of a fist, about three times the size of the other worker Bees.
Its body was golden overall, with black-gold rings on the dorsal plates of its abdominal segments. Its knife-axe-shaped black-gold mandibles looked extremely mighty, and its wings also had a faint layer of gilded gold.
The Male Bee's size was a bit smaller than the Bee King's, with particularly prominent sharp mandibles.
After all these Gold Marrow Bees flew out, centered around the Bee King, they communicated with Qi Ping by buzzing.
The process was much easier than Qi Ping had imagined. He just repeated the conversation he had with that little worker bee earlier, and the Bee Swarm agreed to be his Animal Companion.
"Buzz buzz... (We... are willing to become your Animal Companion!)"
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