The swarm of bees forming specialized battle formations caused the black-robed cultivator's expression to change drastically!
'These are bees controlled by a cultivator!'
Only spirit insects controlled by a cultivator could possibly arrange themselves into such battle formations. Furthermore, it had to be an extremely formidable beast-taming cultivator!
Even he was unable to achieve such precise control and training over demon insects.
A spirit insect stronger than his own demon insects combined with a beast-taming cultivator more powerful than himself—the inherent danger didn't need to be stated.
What made him even more terrified was that he had yet to discover where that beast-taming cultivator was!
Did this mean that the other cultivator's strength might far exceed his own?
Everything pointed to the fact that he had kicked an iron plate this time.
The black-robed cultivator could not understand how such a powerful existence—a beast-taming cultivator, no less—could be in a trashy place like Sector D of the Cloud-Mist Mountain Range.
But he had no more time to react.
The swarm of bees had already launched their attack!
Arranged in battle formations, they perfectly exploited their own advantages and avoided their weaknesses.
Under the cover of these formations, the Blood Grudge Mosquitoes and Putrid Water Flies were struck by the bees regardless of the angle from which they attacked!
In the next moment, a scene that made the black-robed cultivator's eyes turn blood-red appeared!
"Dammit!"
Under the High-speed Ring-cutter Bees' battle formation—with ten bees per squad—they pounced into the army of Blood Grudge Mosquitoes and Putrid Water Flies like tigers entering a flock of sheep.
Under the bees' Blade-wings, one demon insect after another was swiftly sliced into pieces. Their proud venom and piercing mouthparts were utterly useless against the Ring-cutter's Blade-wings, having been perfectly countered.
Watching this scene, the black-robed cultivator's heart bled!
These were demon insects he had spent a great deal of money and effort to contract, and they were being slaughtered so easily!
One must know that even a ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivator would have to respond with caution when facing these two types of demon insects together, yet they were like lambs before these bees!
A single bee against multiple demon insects shouldn't have been a guaranteed victory, as he could sense that the bees' defenses could be broken by his demon insects. However, the bees in battle formation perfectly avoided their own weak points and utilized the power of their Blade-wings to the fullest.
Even though killing intent boiled in his heart, he did not dare to recall his demon insects but instead turned and fled.
He feared that if he didn't run now, he wouldn't have another chance!
That beast-taming cultivator hadn't even made a move yet!
But would Qi Ping give him the chance to escape?
"Want to run? No way!"
At Qi Ping's command, two hundred High-speed Ring-cutter Bees immediately split off and gave chase.
It had already been confirmed that these two first-tier, late-stage demon insects posed no threat to the Ring-cutters in battle formation.
A disorganized mob could not compare to a regular army, and on an individual level, they were already countered by the High-speed Ring-cutter Bees.
Even with only two hundred bees left to deal with the remaining demon insects, it was more than enough.
As for the seventh-level Qi Refinement black-robed cultivator, Qi Ping would not choose to let a tiger return to its mountain. Who knew if he would bring back even more powerful enemies?
Disposing of the body and eliminating all evidence was the only correct path!
At Qi Ping's order, the two hundred High-speed Ring-cutter Bees rapidly caught up.
Given their speed, it didn't take long for them to overtake the seventh-level Qi Refinement black-robed cultivator.
"Front, back, left, right, top—surround and attack from all angles with no dead zones! Those in the front, pay attention to dodging attacks..."
Under Qi Ping's command, the High-speed Ring-cutter Bees did not immediately attack but instead completed a seamless encirclement.
Being a cultivator himself, Qi Ping knew best where the weaknesses of human cultivators lay. He also knew that an average cultivator always had some hidden trump cards. This mysterious black-robed cultivator might possess a trump card capable of causing lethal damage to the High-speed Ring-cutter Bees.
Thus, a full-range encirclement without any dead zones was the best option.
"Groups of fifty, attack from all directions!"
At Qi Ping's command, fifty High-speed Ring-cutter Bees launched an assault from every side.
The black-robed cultivator was clearly flustered. Being surrounded by such an array, even if he possessed a powerful offensive trump card, he would have no chance of escaping alive.
Facing the attack, he sacrificed five flying swords, forming a Five Elements Sword Formation to strike at Qi Ping's bees.
'He actually knows sword-kinesis and even a sword formation!' Qi Ping was internally shocked.
Fortunately, he had transformed into a bee and was hiding at a distance; otherwise, it would have been dangerous if he were discovered by this cultivator.
Even though the High-speed Ring-cutter Bees' defenses were not afraid of flying swords, they could not possibly block a flying sword aimed at Qi Ping himself. The difference in strength due to their size was too great.
For safety's sake, Qi Ping had even specifically had several other bees hide alongside him to minimize his own uniqueness.
'I'm glad I transformed into a bee and hid!' Qi Ping felt extremely lucky.
Otherwise, if a late-stage Qi Refinement sword formation were aimed at him, he wouldn't be able to block even a single strike!
'But if this black-robed cultivator only has this much, it's time to end the battle!'
Flying swords were indeed powerful, but the speed of a seventh-level Qi Refinement flying sword was currently unable to keep up with the High-speed Ring-cutter Bees, nor could it defend against their multi-directional assault.
The outcome was self-evident.
The black-robed cultivator's sword formation could only defend against attacks from one direction. Soon, under the Ring-cutters' assault, deep and hideous wounds began to appear all over his body.
His spiritual energy shield and physical body were unable to withstand the high-speed cutting of the Blade-wings.
After a period of intense struggling, the black-robed cultivator finally became a corpse covered in gruesome wounds. His neck, in particular, had been a primary target for the bees, and half of it had been sliced open.
'However, this sword formation technique is quite extraordinary.'
Despite the fact that the black-robed cultivator had not fully mastered it, the formation had still managed to unexpectedly kill about a dozen High-speed Ring-cutter Bees.
'No matter how extraordinary it is, it's mine now!'
Repressing his internal joy and excitement, Qi Ping first had the bees check the surroundings to ensure no other cultivators had been drawn in. Only then did he revert to his human form, quickly collecting the black-robed cultivator's corpse and belongings, along with the floor full of demon insects. Even the traces on the ground were gathered up using spiritual energy to avoid discovery by the guards patrolling the Cloud-Mist Mountain Range.
The only slight downside was that Qi Ping had experienced his first moment of nakedness across two lifetimes. Fortunately, no one saw.
After returning, Qi Ping found a deep pit and buried the black-robed cultivator's corpse and miscellaneous items before excitedly counting the spoils of this encounter.
First were the five mid-grade flying swords used by the black-robed cultivator. These were a set of mid-grade artifacts!
Based on the price of a mid-grade set of flying swords, this single harvest was enough to make Qi Ping wealthy!
Furthermore, the corpses of over a thousand demon insects could also be worth quite a few spirit stones.
However, something even more shocking followed. After painstakingly erasing the divine sense imprint left by the black-robed cultivator on the storage bag, Qi Ping was completely stunned by the contents inside!
'Now, the spirit stones for buying a high-grade spirit beast are accounted for...'