"The transition is a success!"
After two days of agony and perseverance, Qi Ping couldn't help but let out a low roar. His tone was thick with intense joy and the thrill of success following hard work.
Immediately following his exclamation, a powerful surge of spiritual energy swept outward with his movement! A massive boulder near him was directly pulverized into fragments by this casually released wave of energy.
The fourth level of Qi Refinement!
After transitioning his technique, Qi Ping's realm had not dropped; instead, he had become even more powerful! He was still at the fourth level with the same total amount of energy, but its potency was several times stronger than before the transition!
"Thanks to the Wood-Flame Manual and the Li-Fire Body, my spiritual energy is several times more powerful than before!"
"And once I stabilize my foundation at the fourth level and improve my control over the energy, my potency and combat strength will increase even further!"
The influence of techniques and special talents on combat strength was truly immense.
Just then, another thought occurred to Qi Ping. Previously, when returning from the Bluestone Market, Sister Nan had almost killed a battle-hardened rogue cultivator at the fifth level while she was only at the fourth level. Looking back, she either practiced a powerful technique or possessed a special talent. Qi Ping leaned toward the former; if she had a special talent, her cultivation would have likely risen much faster.
Qi Ping cast Healing Touch several more times to treat the internal injuries caused by the technique transition. With that, his transition was perfectly complete.
"Now that the transition is successful, it's time to surge ahead in my cultivation!"
"With my current talent, plus the Blood Ginseng and Fire Spirit Grass, and the Fire Spirit Tempering Pill formula, the mid-stage of Qi Refinement won't hold me back for long."
His current speed of practicing the Wood-Flame Manual was more than ten times faster than when he practiced the Wood Shield technique; there was simply no comparison. Whether it was the speed of absorbing spiritual energy, refining it, or controlling it, everything was far superior to before! After experiencing his current speed, his previous progress felt like a snail's pace. He could only describe it with one word: Awesome.
However, just as Qi Ping used his spiritual energy to clear the stains and blood from his body and prepared to return to the peak for rest, a High-speed Ring-cutter Bee brought news that gave him a headache.
"Buzz, buzz... (Boss, that blue-clad two-legged beast is back...)"
"Buzz, buzz... (She's been here for over a day!)"
"Buzz, buzz... (The Golden Marrow Bees have all been hidden according to your instructions...)"
'That woman is back again?'
Hearing the news of the ninth-level inner disciple of the Qingyuan Sect, Qi Ping felt a pang of frustration. He couldn't understand why she was so certain the black-robed rogue cultivator had vanished here.
'Maybe it isn't just here. She likely visits many places repeatedly, and this is just one of them because that rogue cultivator was too important to her.'
Frustration aside, he decided he had to send her away once and for all. After mentally preparing his cover story, Qi Ping once again handed over his important belongings to the bees to hide while he transformed into a bee himself, taking a long detour to return to Peak No. 7.
Regarding this blue-clad woman, Qi Ping was annoyed but no longer particularly afraid. His swarm of High-speed Ring-cutter Bees had reached the target size of one thousand, and he had also nurtured a significant number of mature Ink-Armor Bees and Toxic Bees. His confidence was quite high.
About an hour later.
When Qi Ping, wearing his straw hat, returned to Peak No. 7, the woman in blue was sitting cross-legged under the ancient pine, eyes closed as she regulated her breathing. Her pitch-black hair swayed gently in the evening breeze.
Not far from her was the location of the hive of little black bees. As night approached, the bees were returning to their nest one after another. They followed Qi Ping's instructions, living a normal life of nectar collection and honey brewing, showing no abnormalities to the woman.
This harmonious scene left Qi Ping speechless. If he didn't know better, he would have thought this was her home...
However, he quickly noticed something that made him uneasy.
The woman in blue was injured! Her face was pale, her breathing unsteady, and her realm even seemed on the verge of dropping. This was clearly a severe injury, likely one that ordinary healing pills couldn't fix. Faint bloodstains were even seeping through the clothes at her abdomen.
This made Qi Ping uneasy. Who was this woman? A ninth-level inner disciple of the Qingyuan Sect! This was the sect's territory; who would dare to injure her so badly? And who could injure her to this extent?
'I haven't paid attention to outside news for half a month. Has the world become this chaotic?' Qi Ping wondered. He knew Bluestone County's situation would continue to deteriorate, but this was happening far too fast!
What annoyed him more was that instead of returning to her sect to heal, what was she doing here? She might bring her enemies right to his doorstep. Whoever could wound her like this was definitely not someone to be trifled with, and Qi Ping had no desire to face such a monster! Even if he won, losing half his swarm would be a devastating loss.
He had to get her to leave quickly! Qi Ping steeled himself and, pretending to have just noticed her, hurriedly ran toward her but stopped at a respectful distance, cupping his fists.
"Your highness!"
The reason he didn't approach too closely was because she was injured; if he moved too fast, she might think he was trying to ambush her, which would be disastrous.
"You're back?"
"Yes, your highness. I went to..." Qi Ping answered according to his prepared script.
The woman didn't seem to care about his answer, however, and asked directly about the rogue cultivator. "Is there any news of that black-robed rogue cultivator?"
Qi Ping shook his head. "Reporting to your highness, I have been the only one on the mountain during this time. No one else has appeared here." This was the truth; even Sister Nan hadn't visited for a long time.
"He never appeared?" The woman's brow furrowed tightly at his answer. Though she had expected this, she was still disappointed.
Qi Ping took the opportunity to ask the question on his mind. "Your highness, after all this time, could he have already fled?"
"I placed a special tracking brand on him. He vanished after his last appearance here. He either entered a secret realm or died here. Those are the only two possibilities."
After she spoke, she gave Qi Ping a deep look. She was certain that the three great families and the Qingyuan Sect hadn't acted, so who could have killed that rogue cultivator? There were some old fellows on Peak A who had the strength, but she had already investigated them, and it almost certainly wasn't them.
So who could it be? If the rogue cultivator wasn't dead, he was in a secret realm, but there were no traces of a secret realm here.
"Continue to watch. You don't necessarily have to see a person; if you find anything unusual, inform me immediately. Spirit stones and heavenly treasures will not be lacking!"
The woman didn't wait for his reply. Leaving those words behind, she dragged her injured body onto her flying sword and departed. Qi Ping stood there, watching her silhouette vanish into the sky, lost in thought.
The two possibilities she mentioned weren't good news for him. If the rogue cultivator was dead, Qi Ping would likely be suspected. If he were alive, wouldn't that point directly to the secrets beneath the Blood Ginseng patch? That place would eventually be exposed.
'I need to make plans soon...'
Qi Ping felt that the woman might have already started to suspect him. After all, he appeared just like this both times; even the most perfect excuse wouldn't help. In these situations, evidence wasn't needed, only suspicion. The Qingyuan Sect was the law here. He was just a minor rogue cultivator, and the woman's politeness was already rare. Who knew if she would eventually launch a large-scale search?
'I need to find an escape route in advance...'
'Furthermore, I must find a chance to explore the secrets beneath the Blood Ginseng patch. With my current foundation, I have enough to find a new mid-grade spirit land; I don't have to stay here forever.'
'And I need to see how chaotic the world has become. My strength must increase quickly...'
'At the very least, the Li-Fire Crow must reach first-tier perfection as soon as possible.'