Gripping his long knife tightly, Qi Ping began advancing cautiously.
With his keen perception, he navigated through thorns and potential dangers, moving carefully forward.
Fortunately, it didn’t take him long—after just a short while, he spotted a Golden Marrow Bee hidden near the roots of a large pine tree.
This discovery was thanks to the heightened senses of a Jungle Druid in the wild; otherwise, he might never have noticed the Golden Marrow Bee in such dense foliage.
“Found it!” Qi Ping thought excitedly.
Things had gone smoothly so far, without any unexpected setbacks.
The sight of the Golden Marrow Bee made Qi Ping heave a quiet sigh of relief.
If sothing had ambushed him along the way, his current frail body—only at the first level of Qi Refinent—wouldn’t have been able to handle it.
At the sa ti, he quickly stowed his knife into his small spatial pouch to prevent the weapon’s killing intent from startling the bee.
The Golden Marrow Bee was busy collecting resin from the pine bark.
Centuries-old pine trees produced an extrely small amount of special resin, which could reach the quality of a dicinal spirit herb.
However, the quantity was so scarce that even after half a month of gathering, Qi Ping wouldn’t have been able to fill a single bottle. Combined with the dangers of the forest, the effort simply wasn’t worth it compared to raising Black Dwarf Bees.
Golden Marrow Bees were a rather unique species, quite different from ordinary bees.
They didn’t just gather nectar from flowers—many spirit herbs also served as their collection targets, which they then mixed with nectar to brew honey.
This was one reason why Golden Marrow Bee honey was of higher quality.
Just as Qi Ping spotted the bee, it also sensed his presence.
At this mont, Qi Ping felt a flicker of nervousness.
Normally, when Golden Marrow Bees encountered human cultivators—or “two-legged beasts,” as they might see them—they had two choices:
Either attack or flee and hide!
Neither option was good news for Qi Ping.
Golden Marrow Bees were fast and highly venomous, their speed matching that of a mid-stage Qi Refinent cultivator.
If it chose to flee, Qi Ping wouldn’t be able to catch up.
And if it chose to fight? That would be even worse. Even the weakest worker bee could make his life miserable.
After a tense mont, however, Qi Ping noticed that the bee didn’t flee. Instead, it stopped gathering resin and curiously observed him, showing no signs of hostility.
This lifted Qi Ping’s spirits.
“There’s a chance!”
With cautious hope, he slowly approached, and sure enough, the bee didn’t fly away.
“Buzz… (You… who? Familiar…!)”
The Golden Marrow Bee expressed its thoughts in a vague, buzzing manner, circling Qi Ping as if studying him with growing curiosity.
“I want to form a contract with your kind, to make you my animal companions. I can help your colony grow stronger!” Qi Ping said honestly and directly.
For bees, the prosperity of their colony took precedence over individual will. If sothing benefited the hive, they would willingly sacrifice themselves without hesitation.
As a beekeeper, Qi Ping understood this well.
They would fiercely attack threats to protect the hive, and they would tirelessly gather nectar and dicinal herbs, even at great risk, as long as it strengthened the colony.
To them, even death was honorable if it served the hive’s survival and growth.
That was why Qi Ping chose to appeal to their collective instincts.
And as a Beastmaster Druid, he had full confidence in his ability to deliver on his promise.
“Buzz… (Contract…? Colony stronger…?)”
“Yes, your colony will grow stronger.”
The bee seed a little slow to process this, so Qi Ping patiently repeated himself.
After a few exchanges, the Golden Marrow Bee finally understood, buzzing excitedly.
“Buzz… (Two-legs an no harm… Bee trusts you! Must tell others… inform Queen!)”
“Good. Then lead to them.”
Hearing the bee’s affirmative response, Qi Ping finally relaxed completely.
This was the hardest step.
Yes, the hardest part was right here.
Because the temperant of an entire bee colony was usually uniform—if this Golden Marrow Bee trusted Qi Ping so easily, the rest of the hive would likely feel the sa.
This ant the risk of his mission had dropped significantly, and the chances of a successful contract were high.
If this bee had shown hostility or distrust, Qi Ping would have turned and fled imdiately.
That would have ant the entire colony was likely hostile.
Facing an entire underground hive of Golden Marrow Bees? Even a mid-stage Qi Refinent cultivator might not survive, let alone Qi Ping, who was still at the first level.
Thankfully, the hardest hurdle was now behind him. Not only had the bee shown no hostility, but it had also displayed an unusually high level of trust!
“Beastmaster Druids are truly amazing!”
Qi Ping couldn’t help but marvel.
Following the Golden Marrow Bee, he moved forward with eager anticipation.
This ti, he walked with more confidence—since the bee’s trail was safe, the path should be clear.
After traveling about two or three li, they finally arrived at the Golden Marrow Bees’ nest.
It was an unremarkable thicket, indistinguishable from any other.
There were no obvious signs of bee activity—proof of the Golden Marrow Bees’ caution.
Hidden beneath the thicket was a small hole covered by dead leaves. If Qi Ping hadn’t seen the bee slip inside, he would never have noticed the entrance.
Even scanning with spiritual sense would only reveal what seed like an ordinary rodent burrow—common throughout the mountains.
A mont later, a large swarm of Golden Marrow Bees erged, buzzing as they inspected Qi Ping.
So of the braver ones even landed on him.
An ordinary cultivator would have been terrified by this sight.
But Qi Ping felt no fear—he could sense no hostility from them.
As ti passed, nearly a thousand Golden Marrow Bees flew out.
This number was much smaller than the tens of thousands of Black Dwarf Bees he had raised, but for Golden Marrow Bees, it was a sizable colony.
The higher a bee species’ bloodline rank, the harder it was to reproduce, and the more spirit flowers and herbs were needed to sustain a large population.
At the center of the swarm was the largest Golden Marrow Bee—the Queen—about half the size of a fist, three tis larger than the worker bees.
Her body was a lustrous gold, with black-gold rings along her abdon. Her axe-like mandibles looked formidable, and her wings shimred faintly with a tallic sheen.
The drones were slightly smaller than the Queen, with notably sharp mandibles.
Once the entire swarm had gathered, they communicated with Qi Ping through a series of buzzes, centered around the Queen.
The process went much more smoothly than Qi Ping had anticipated. After repeating the sa offer he had made to the worker bee, the colony agreed to beco his animal companions.
“Buzz… (We… agree to be your animal companions!)”
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