Spirit land is simply too vital for the growth of spirit plants.
Thus, Qi Ping moved the Concentration Grass and the Water-Glimmer Flower to his Blood Ginseng plot. On his rented peak, only the Blood Ginseng patch and the area where he grew Moon-Sleeper flowers could barely support these two spirit plants.
To his surprise, testing revealed that these two plants could also absorb the mysterious underground spiritual energy, just like the Blood Ginseng. With the abundant energy and the help of his Plant Growth skill, the Concentration Grass and Water-Glimmer Flower quickly returned to their peak state. In fact, their effective age was steadily increasing.
Qi Ping had essentially gained two new high-quality spirit plants! This was a nice little profit; if he ever lacked spirit stones, he could sell them without much risk.
At the same time, this made him even more curious: what exactly was under this land? To support so many spirit plants at once, the thing beneath the soil was definitely no ordinary object!
However, he suppressed his urge to explore. His strength was currently in a period of rapid growth, and he didn't have a pressing need for new "opportunities." Sometimes, knowing when to stop was the better choice. Especially when the risks and rewards were unknown; if something capable of leaking so much spiritual energy was dangerous, it would be fatal to him.
Qi Ping decided to wait until his strength hit a bottleneck, or until he needed to plant higher-grade herbs that this land could no longer support, before exploring the secrets beneath.
"After a month of cultivation and refining the enhanced Golden Marrow Honey several times, my realm broke through to the third level of Qi Condensation a few days ago. I believe I'll catch up to Old Man Zhou in just a few more months..."
Qi Ping smiled as he summarized his progress. Overall, his growth was extremely pleasing.
First, regarding his cultivation realm: after refining four batches of honey made primarily from Blood Ginseng, his level had officially moved from the start of the second level to the third level of Qi Condensation.
It had to be said that the medicinal effect of the Blood Ginseng and the honey-making ability of the bees were incredibly potent. Specifically, as Qi Ping accelerated the growth of the Blood Ginseng, its potency grew as its age increased. Since Blood Ginseng was already a top-tier herb among First-Order Mid-Rank plants, the result was powerful.
This allowed a cultivator with such low talent to jump from the first level to the third level of Qi Condensation in less than two months. Under normal circumstances, Qi Ping would have been lucky to complete this transition in twenty years.
But he had done it in less than two months!
This demonstrated the sheer power of the Blood Ginseng and the Golden Marrow Bees. For a cultivator in the early stages of Qi Condensation, this was essentially a "dimensional strike" in terms of efficiency. Of course, the various bonuses of being a Jungle Druid played a role as well; otherwise, both his plant growth and cultivation efficiency would have been halved. The Druid class provided the fundamental and essential boost to everything he did.
Beyond his breakthrough to the third level, Qi Ping's Wood Shield Art had also reached the "Small Accomplishment" stage. He could now easily form a highly defensive spiritual power shield at any point around his body.
Based on his tests, the attack power he could generate with his spirit saber couldn't break the Wood Shield in the short term. This spoke volumes about the technique's defensive power.
The more he tested it, the more he felt the Wood Shield Art was extraordinary—certainly stronger than average techniques. Defensive arts suited his style perfectly; since the bees had much higher combat power than he did, his job was to keep his defenses up so high-level cultivators couldn't target him as a weak point.
Aside from his realm and techniques, his progress in the Druid class was also very satisfying.
[Name: Qi Ping]
[Level: 1 (83/100)]
[Class: Beast King Druid (Primary), Jungle Druid (Secondary)]
[Talents: Animal Companion, Nature Affinity]
[Animal Companion: (1/1) Golden Marrow Bee]
[Skills: Level 1 Plant Growth (47/100), Level 1 Beast King's Grace (7/100)]
[Passive Skills: Animal Speech, Beast Friend]
His Druid level was only 17 XP away from Level 2! The proficiency for Plant Growth had increased by nearly half. Beast King's Grace was growing relatively slowly, with only 7 XP gained, but this didn't surprise Qi Ping; it was consistent with his expectations from his previous life. Although it was slow to level, its effect was undeniable. Even at Level 1, once he had more animal companions, the cumulative boost would be terrifying.
"I'll reach Level 2 soon. Not only can I contract a new animal companion then, but I can also choose two more Druid skills!"
Looking at his near-level-up, Qi Ping felt a surge of intense anticipation. The benefits of leveling up were just too great! Even putting aside the two new skills, the additional contract slot was incredibly attractive.
A new partner meant sharing another animal talent. One only had to look at the Golden Marrow Bees to see the impact: powerful combat strength, high vigilance, and extraordinary honey production. Every aspect was vital! As long as the next partner was strong, Qi Ping's power would leap forward again. There was so much room for imagination...
"Overall, the improvements this month have been excellent!"
"This peak is very suitable for my growth, so I must pay the rent on time. It would be a problem if someone else rented this plot."
The mysterious energy beneath the Blood Ginseng patch was something Qi Ping absolutely could not afford to lose. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to find another spirit land capable of supporting Blood Ginseng unless he spent a fortune renting First-Order plots.
Two days later, Qi Ping began preparing for his trip to the Fusheng Society and the Qingshi Market.
"The Black Little Bee honey I'm selling this trip is ready. The quality is quite good this time. I have eleven bottles in total—they should fetch a good price!"
Thanks to the Golden Marrow Honey's effect on the common bees and the increased nectar from the spirit flowers, the honey's quality was at least two grades higher than before.
"Next, the most important thing is to ensure my own safety..."
"Over a month ago, Old Man Zhou said marauders were rampant in Qingshi County again. I don't know the current situation..."
For his own safety, he had to bring the Golden Marrow Bees. However, carrying them without being discovered was a challenge. Hiding them on his person wasn't hard, but he might not escape the spiritual sense of other cultivators. Entering the Qingshi Market usually involved a spiritual sense inspection. There was also the risk of being scanned by malicious cultivators.
"What should I do?" Qi Ping felt a bit troubled.
"It would be so much better if I had a Spirit Beast Bag..."