After bringing Sister Nan to the cedar tree, Qi Ping returned to the Blood Ginseng plot where his materials were waiting. With his eyes and ears everywhere on the mountain, he wasn't afraid of a sneak attack. Unless the enemy's strength vastly exceeded his, this was his home field.
After taking three deep breaths, he felt his state was ready and began refining. He started with the extraction of the common herbs. He hadn't refined in a while, so he had prepared extra materials to regain his feel for the process. This step was completed with ease.
"Not a single mistake?" He was surprised. He had expected to be a bit rusty.
Next were the spirit herbs. To be safe, he extracted some common Blood Ginseng first. After three or four successful attempts, he moved on to the century-old Blood Ginseng and the fifty-year-old Streaming Light Grass.
With fluid, practiced movements, he finished extracting all ten portions.
"A ninety-percent success rate. And if it weren't for my spiritual energy dipping at the very end, it would have been a hundred percent."
"The Grand Brewer talent is incredibly powerful!"
With his current sensitivity, the chance of failure was minimal. He felt a brief pang of regret for the Pot-bellied Bees; their intelligence was too low for them to be anything more than instinctive brewers. If he could train them as alchemists, he could make a fortune.
'I need to raise my cultivation level after this. Level 3 Qi Refinement is too low; my spiritual energy can barely keep up with extraction.'
'I hope the next companion I contract shares a cultivation-related talent. Otherwise, reaching Foundation Establishment will be a long grind.'
After extracting the essences, he used spirit stones to accelerate his recovery. Once finished, he began the fusion. Perhaps because he was in a good state, or perhaps because of the talent, he felt as if he were divinely aided. The process was fast, smooth, and perfect.
Out of nine portions, he succeeded nine times. A one-hundred-percent success rate! Compared to his previous attempt where he only succeeded five times, the difference was staggering.
"Amazing!"
Having experienced both talents, the gap between Brewing Artisan and Grand Brewer was clear. Without the former, he wouldn't have had enough practice to succeed at all. But Grand Brewer pushed his success rate near perfection. He estimated that any First-tier potion would be just as easy once he familiarized himself with the recipe.
"The potions are ready. Next: evolution and Druid experience."
[Druid Level: Lv2 (138/200)] -> [Lv2 (179/200)]
Over the past week, he had gained 41 experience points. He was only 21 points away from leveling up.
'The previous mutation gave me 47 points, so this should definitely be enough.'
His only surprise was the high success rate, resulting in enough potions for over ninety drones. However, excluding the variants, he only had seventy-eight standard drones left. He selected seventy-five for the mutation, leaving three to maintain the pure bloodline.
"Let's begin!"
"Buzz buzz... (Yes, Boss!)" the drones buzzed excitedly. They had missed out on the first mutation and had been longing for this chance. Seeing the power of the Ring-cutters and Balanced Bees had only intensified their desire.
Qi Ping watched as the seventy-five drones consumed the potion and landed in the clearing. As the blood-gold light began to glow, his anticipation surged—even more than the first time. This would determine if he could reach Level 3 and unlock Wild Shape.
Phase one: enduring the violent energy. Thirty drones exploded, while forty-five survived.
'The mortality rate is nearly fifty percent higher than the first time. Is it because the strongest drones were already picked?' He felt a flicker of worry. This was a bad start.
Phase two: organ mutation. In the previous batch, thirty-six survivors saw twenty-three deaths at this stage. Qi Ping's tension grew.
"Thirty dead! Only fifteen made it through!"
His face darkened. The death rate was still higher. Was this the result of using weaker drones?
Phase three: integration and rank advancement. This was the moment of truth.
'Four out of thirteen made it last time. I hope these fifteen yield at least four successes.'
After a period of agonizing waiting, four First-tier Late-stage auras stabilized.
"Four successes. Not bad!" Qi Ping felt like he might cry from relief. Even four was a victory.
Among them, two were Balanced Bees. They were standard, but having more for future breeding was a good thing. The real surprises were the other two.
One had a slender body and a sharp, powerful stinger. Without a doubt, it was the Toxic Bee he had been dreaming of!
"Finally, a Toxic Bee!"
The other one was entirely enveloped in a pitch-black hue...