"Demon Insects?"
"How could they appear here so quickly?"
Qi Ping's brow furrowed deeply as he stared at the scattered corpses of the Demon Insects and his Golden Marrow Bees. He had not expected the threat to reach this remote location so soon.
Was it a coincidence? If not, what was the cause? An ominous feeling flickered in his heart.
Before untangling this mystery, there were urgent tasks his bees needed to perform. He issued several rapid commands:
"Take a detachment of the bee army and check on Old Man Zhou at the base of the mountain immediately."
"Have the Queen further accelerate the maturation of the High-speed Ring-cutter Bees. Spare no expense in spirit herbs and honey."
"Scout the neighboring peaks and look for any further traces of these fierce bugs."
Three orders were dispatched in an instant.
"Buzz buzz... (Understood, Boss!)"
"Buzz buzz... (The two-legged beast who loves to sleep is safe. we have been watching him. Reinforcements are already being sent...)"
"Buzz buzz... (We will arrange the other two tasks immediately...)"
Only after the orders were sent and he confirmed Old Man Zhou was safe did Qi Ping allow himself a small sigh of relief. He had already urged the Queen to speed up production yesterday, but the urgency of the situation had still outpaced his predictions.
Looking at the Demon Insect corpses, he quickly extracted the relevant data:
'Blood-Vein Locust. First-tier Mid-grade Demon Insect. Their strength and ferocity are significantly higher than that of a standard Golden Marrow Bee.'
[Blood-Vein Locust: First-tier Mid-grade Demon Insect. Armored body, high speed, terrifying bite force.]
The standard Golden Marrow Bees had already seen their combat power doubled through the consumption of Blood Ginseng. Yet, even with superior numbers, they had suffered a casualty ratio of nearly one-to-one against these locusts.
Fortunately, there were only about thirty locusts. If they had come in a massive swarm, forming a disciplined battle array, the consequences would have been unthinkable. The combat effectiveness of thirty locusts versus three hundred was a difference in kind, not just degree; at that scale, the casualty ratio would likely have shifted to one-to-three or worse.
Demon Insects, born for battle and slaughter, generally possessed a raw lethality that honey-gathering bees could not match. Only a specialized mutation like the High-speed Ring-cutter Bee, with its organ-level super-strengthening, could hope to rival or surpass a Demon Insect of the same tier.
Furthermore, these locusts provided Qi Ping with no sense of affinity whatsoever. As a Beast King Druid, he could essentially confirm that his Befriend Animal skill would have zero effect on them.
[Befriend Animal: You can lower an animal's hostility toward you and foster a sense of goodwill.]
What weighed more heavily on his mind, however, was the instinctual dread he had felt earlier. To a cultivator, such a premonition was never without cause.
'Why did the Blood-Vein Locusts appear here? Is it truly a coincidence... or is there something attracting them?'
Qi Ping could not help but wonder. According to the bees, the direction the locusts had been traveling was straight toward the Blood Ginseng plot. Combined with the strange anomalies beneath the soil, he had to consider the worst.
'I hope I am wrong.'
Until the Ring-cutter army was fully formed, the Blood Ginseng plot could not be lost!
"It seems we are entering a state of total alert. Every Black Little Bee and Golden Marrow Bee must maintain maximum vigilance against any potential Demon Insect intrusion."
"I must also remain at the spirit land to personally oversee the accelerated growth of the herbs. This way, I can triple our output. Simultaneously, if an irresistible foe appears, I will have enough time to harvest all the herbs and make a clean escape."
As for investigating the underground secret, Qi Ping decided not to act until his Ring-cutter army was ready. If the thing beneath the soil was not a treasure but a sealed nest of insects, and he accidentally broke the seal, the disaster would be total.
He would focus on mass-producing Blood Ginseng and Ring-cutters. With those two trump cards, even if he were forced to flee, he would have the capital to protect himself and rebuild elsewhere.
Aside from these measures, Qi Ping planned two more things during his breaks to recover spiritual energy. First, he had to persuade Old Man Zhou to take a portion of their resources and retreat to the secular world until the chaos subsided. If the old man stayed, his life would be at the mercy of fate. Qi Ping barely felt confident in his own survival, let alone protecting another.
In the secular world, the lack of spiritual energy meant there was nothing to attract Demon Insects. As long as a cultivator did not violate the Immortal-Mortal Code established by the righteous sects, they were generally safe. With Old Man Zhou gone, Qi Ping could focus entirely on resource gathering and colony expansion. Once he was firmly established, he would bring the old man back and help him break through to extend his lifespan.
The second task was to inform Sister Nan about the locusts and ask if her Crisis Warning talent had reacted. This would help him determine the scale of the coming threat. If it was a massive invasion, Sister Nan would find it difficult to stay uninvolved.
At the courtyard at the base of Peak 007.
Old Man Zhou lay on his purple bamboo lounge chair, listening to Qi Ping's report.
"Demon Insects? Is it truly that severe?" the old man asked in surprise.
"Yes. Qingshi County is about to become very dangerous. Even the Golden Marrow Bees might not be able to protect us."
"Brother Shan and Fatty Zhou have already sought out the Hongyun Merchant Guild to escort them back to the secular world. I want you to take some spirit stones and honey and go with them. Once the marauders and insects are dealt with, I will bring you back."
Qi Ping spoke carefully, having weighed his words many times. He was worried the old man might think of his former disciple, who had left for a great sect and never returned.
But his worry was misplaced. Old Man Zhou saw through his concerns immediately and laughed to comfort him.
"Rest easy. I know your temperament well, kid. I haven't been back to the secular world in many years. It might be good to go see it again."
With that, the old man nimbly hopped off his chair and went to his room to pack. Halfway there, he paused, a rare look of worry crossing his face as he turned back.
"You'd better stay alive, boy. Don't let me reach the age where I can't even walk without finding someone to buy me a drink."
"How could I? I'm not dying until I've married a few beautiful wives!" Qi Ping replied with a grin.
"You brat!" Old Man Zhou shook his head and continued packing. He was a man who lived life with an open heart; he didn't want to make things difficult for Qi Ping and knew this was the best path.
Watching the old man's back, Qi Ping's smile faded into an expression of resolve. This disaster carried immense risk, but with proper preparation, it could also be a grand opportunity. Even the corpses of Demon Insects were worth a fair amount of spirit stones.