CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: THE BIRTH OF THE DEMONIC INSECTS? BLAST SOLDIER!

"Chaoyang is dead?"

"Yes, he died in the secret realm. Brother Shan has already confirmed it. Someone saw Chaoyang’s body in the secret realm, and it seems his heart was gnawed through by some kind of insect..."

Sister Nan, dressed in plain clothes, stood on the seventh peak, looking into the distant scenery with a complex expression on her face. In the end, she still couldn’t dissuade Lin Chaoyang...

Qi Ping, upon hearing this news, also fell into sudden silence.

Although he had somewhat expected this, actually hearing the news still stirred complicated emotions in him.

A week ago, he tried persuading Lin Chaoyang for a long time, but he still couldn’t change Lin Chaoyang’s firm decision to go.

It truly is fortune that makes you, and fortune that breaks you!

Lin Chaoyang, in the end, didn’t have enough blessings; just finding an immortal cultivation method exhausted all his luck.

In Qi Ping’s view, from a certain perspective, venturing on a quest for fortune is akin to gambling. Many people always think that as long as they win once, they will always be able to keep winning.

Never considering, if they lose, it could truly cost them their lives...

Except for the blessed few, who can guarantee they will always win?

A familiar friend just perished like that, leaving Sister Nan and Qi Ping, both as loose cultivators, with a sense of bereavement.

Without the protection of the Cyan Origin Sect, loose cultivators are like weeds in a chaotic world.

Though this time, Lin Chaoyang went voluntarily, it was, in a way, a helpless choice as there was no path ahead...

After adjusting her mood, Sister Nan continued:

"Now there is an even bigger problem; many demonic insects have run out from that secret realm..."

"Demonic insects? How many are there? How strong are they?" Qi Ping asked urgently.

Demonic insects and spirit insects are different; spirit insects, like the Golden Marrow Bees, usually have their own territory and generally won’t attack cultivators as long as they are not provoked.

But demonic insects are different; they are brutal, bloodthirsty, and insidious, making them extremely dangerous to human cultivators.

The "Spirit Beast Cultivation: Demon Insect Chapter" also describes the terrifying combat power and brutal nature of demonic insects.

Moreover, Qi Ping had a premonition that these demonic insects likely fall outside the contractable range of the Beast King Druid.

"Not exactly sure, just that there are a lot, just at the secret realm many early and mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators died, several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators died as well..."

"It likely won’t take long before these demonic insects spread to Qingshi County, Baiyun County, and even the entire Qingtian Realm..."

At this point, Sister Nan’s eyebrows were tightly knitted together. She naturally knew the terror of demonic insects.

And with late-stage Qi Refining cultivators dead, how many of them loose cultivators could survive encountering them?

"How could there be so many? Any response from the Cyan Cloud Sect?"

Qi Ping was shocked to hear about the number of demonic insects.

Even late-stage Qi Refining cultivators are dead; if they encounter terrifying numbers of demonic insects, could the High-speed Ring-cutting Bees withstand them?

More critically, the High-speed Ring-cutting Bee legion still needs at least half a month before they can be nurtured, and ordinary Golden Marrow Bees probably wouldn’t fare well against the demonic insects...

"The exact number is unknown, the only certainty is there are indeed plenty. I heard over the past two days, many cultivators in Qingshi County were attacked and killed by demonic insects..."

"The Cyan Cloud Sect and the three major families have taken action to exterminate a fair number of demonic insects; but still, even more demonic insects have hidden, making it very difficult for even Foundation Establishment cultivators to search effectively..."

Hearing this, Qi Ping furrowed his brow even tighter, he didn’t expect the situation to have deteriorated to this extent in just a week!

"Now the Fusheng Association is preparing to hold a general meeting tomorrow to exchange information and discuss countermeasures. Let’s go take a look together tomorrow!"

"Okay!" Qi Ping nodded in agreement.

He certainly wouldn’t miss such an opportunity to gain a large amount of information.

After discussing the secret realm and demonic insects, Qi Ping shifted the topic back to Sister Nan:

"Sister Nan, have you broken through to the fifth layer of Qi Refining?"

"Thanks to you, I have broken through!"

Sister Nan released the Breath Concealment Technique, revealing the aura of the fifth-layer of Qi Refining.

The joyful expression on her face also expressed her happiness at that moment.

The boundary that troubled her for a long time was finally broken through, and her excitement could be imagined.

"Sister Nan is amazing!" Qi Ping praised.

Originally, Qi Ping planned to give Sister Nan some of the Golden Marrow Bees, but in light of the current rampant demonic insects, Qi Ping thought it would be better to keep them for the High-speed Ring-cutting Bees to use for blast soldiers.

At worst, he could dispatch some Golden Marrow Bees and High-speed Ring-cutting Bees to look after the fifth peak, ready to assist in times of need.

At the same time, Qi Ping also told Sister Nan to always pay attention to her crisis warning talent, and if anything unusual happened, to come to him immediately so they could prepare for battle at any time...

...

As he watched Sister Nan’s silhouette disappear, Qi Ping couldn’t wait to return to the forest to check on the cultivation status of the High-speed Ring-cutting Bees.

The sooner the High-speed Ring-cutting Bee legion is cultivated, the sooner Qi Ping could have a trump card against the demonic insects.

Golden Marrow Bees were fine for dealing with ordinary mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, but against those demonic insects born for slaughter, they probably wouldn’t have a good outcome.

Facing these demonic insects, the only effective method Qi Ping thought of was blast soldiers!

If a hundred High-speed Ring-cutting Bees couldn’t defeat the demonic insects, then five hundred!

If five hundred couldn’t, then a thousand! Or even more!

As long as those demonic insects weren’t at Foundation Establishment, the High-speed Ring-cutting Bees should still have a fighting chance.

Demonic insects are born for war, but so are the High-speed Ring-cutting Bees; whose stronger only time will tell...

But if the strength gap isn’t too big, then naturally, numbers will decide the winner!

At this point, it’s no longer a concern whether nurturing a large bee swarm could lead to excessive consumption of spiritual medicines and Golden Marrow Honey.

Now, the most important thing is to ensure survival in the face of the demonic insects calamity!

"No longer worry about the consumption of spiritual medicines, I must grow the High-speed Ring-cutting Bee larvae as quickly as possible!"

"Buzz buzz... (No problem, boss!)"

"Buzz buzz... (In at most half a month, the first batch of two hundred High-speed Ring-cutting Bees will all mature!)"

"Good! When the time comes to face the demonic insects, it’ll be up to you if we can win!"

"Buzz buzz... (Don’t worry, boss! Leave it to us!)"

...

Learning that in just half a month, a legion of up to two hundred High-speed Ring-cutting Bees could be cultivated, Qi Ping’s tense mood slightly relaxed.

But he immediately arranged for many Golden Marrow Bees and little black bees to pay close attention to any movements nearby to prevent any intrusion by demonic insects.

Subsequently, Qi Ping hurried to accelerate the growth of Blood Ginseng.

Based on the previous amount, Blood Ginseng in supporting the normal expansion and daily consumption of the bee colony could also support him and Old Man Zhou’s normal cultivation, with even a bit left over.

So back then, Qi Ping focused more on improving his own cultivation level.

But now, to support the High-speed Ring-cutting Bees with blast soldiers, Qi Ping must put more effort into cultivating Blood Ginseng, otherwise relying solely on the spiritual medicines and nectar collected by the Golden Marrow Bees would be completely insufficient to support such a large consumption.

What surprised Qi Ping somewhat was that, just that evening, the Plant Growth skill was finally upgraded thanks to his efforts!

[Plant Growth lv1 (99/100)] → [Plant Growth lv2 (0/200)]!