CHAPTER 73: CHAPTER 73: THE FIRST SUN BREAKS THE COCOON!

At noon, the sun blazed fiercely.

Just appearing under the sun, one could clearly sense a distinct heat.

Many small grasses and trees withered under this unbearable heat.

In such a stifling environment, only a black crow was filled with immense vitality and energy.

Its body was only slightly smaller than a hawk, yet it emitted a searing heat that even Qi Ping found lethal.

The fiery mark on its brow, faintly glowing with golden light, appeared extraordinarily mysterious.

After Qi Ping presented the centennial Fire Spirit Honey to the Li Fire Crow, the Li Fire Crow looked at him with gratitude.

It then, with determination and excitement, unhesitatingly devoured it all, even the remnants on the bottle’s wall were wrapped in spiritual power by the Li Fire Crow and swallowed into its belly.

It was unimaginable that after consuming so much honey, the Li Fire Crow’s small stomach showed no sign of swelling, but rather a terrifying fire attribute energy gradually spread out.

And this energy grew stronger and stronger, eventually to a point where Qi Ping could no longer withstand it and had to retreat.

As the fire attribute energy became more intense, a golden-red flame began to rise from the Li Fire Crow’s body.

Starting with small flames, they grew stronger and eventually covered the entire body of the Li Fire Crow, even causing the space to distort slightly.

Qi Ping had no doubt that if he stayed by the side of the Li Fire Crow at this moment, he would undoubtedly be burned to death.

Even though he also possessed the Fire Separation Body and cultivated fire attribute techniques, he couldn’t resist; the difference in power level was too great.

"No wonder the ancient texts recorded that flames are one of the nemeses of insect-type spirit beasts...."

"With the current strength of the Li Fire Crow’s lifebound spirit fire, if the spirit insects do not possess high fire attribute resistance, there are very few of the same level spirit insects that can withstand the burning of the Fire of Separation..."

Sensing the strength of the Li Fire Crow’s lifebound spirit fire, Qi Ping felt more confident about the hidden underground secrets where the Blood Ginseng grew.

Moreover, this should still be the normal state of the Li Fire Crow because at this moment it should have just recovered some of its bloodline power, and the true bloodline transformation has just begun.

Once it completes the bloodline breakthrough transformation, the strength of the Li Fire Crow’s lifebound spirit fire will surely ascend another level.

...

The state of the golden-red flame on the Li Fire Crow’s body did not last long. After reaching a near-extreme level, it was gradually retracted back into its body by the Li Fire Crow.

In no time, the lifebound spirit fire and fire attribute energy were all retracted back into the Li Fire Crow’s body without leaking the slightest bit of power.

If it weren’t for the increasingly powerful pressure and the even more mysterious fiery mark on its brow, it would seem no different from an ordinary black crow.

After the Li Fire Crow retracted all its power into its body, a sudden strong suction burst out from its body, causing the exceptional power of the Great Sun to continuously condense in the heavens and keep penetrating into the Li Fire Crow.

With the dense power of the Great Sun’s support, the pressure from the Li Fire Crow became increasingly intense, and its entire body was gradually surrounded by the power of the Great Sun.

The powerful bloodline pressure made the surrounding High-speed Ring-cutting Bees, who were watching, begin to tremble slightly, unable to bear it.

"Buzz buzz... (Boss, Yaya’s bloodline is so terrifying!)"

"Buzz buzz... (Yes, boss, I feel my body shaking!)"

....

The surrounding bees began to marvel one by one.

If they didn’t know that Yaya was also Qi Ping’s animal companion, they might have immediately fled with the swarm or hid away.

The inherent power of fire is already restraining to them, let alone such a fierce bloodline!

The Fire of Separation is absolutely their nemesis.

For instance, an Ink Armor Bee’s defense could likely withstand an ordinary Ninth-Layer of Qi Refining attack, but it definitely couldn’t withstand the Fire of Separation from the Li Fire Crow.

Facing the admiration of the bees, Qi Ping did not deny it.

In the world of spirit beasts, the power of bloodline is crucial.

Although the High-speed Ring-cutting Bees are a rare transformation from superbly enhanced organs, in sufficient numbers, they could even wear down many late-stage Qi Refining or Qi Refining Perfection experts.

But no matter how they transform, the foundation of the Golden Marrow Bee is there, and the power of bloodline has a limit.

So when faced with a spirit beast like Yaya, which has transformed into a bloodline stronger than the ordinary Li Fire Crow, the innate gap is significant.

"Yaya’s bloodline is indeed strong, but you also have opportunities. In the future, I will find you stronger sources of bloodline power. When you successfully transform, your combat power may not be inferior to Yaya’s....."

"Buzz buzz... (Really? That’s great, boss!)"

"Buzz buzz... (Boss is mighty!)"

...

As for the Golden Marrow Bee, Qi Ping didn’t think their significance would diminish due to the Li Fire Crow’s role.

Not to mention that the Golden Marrow Bee still has a chance to devour other spirit beasts’ bloodlines for transformation. Even now, if nurtured to a quantity of tens of thousands, they might wear the Li Fire Crow to death.

The advantage of the swarm has never been their individual combat power, but their terrifying numbers!

Theoretically, as long as the swarm size is sufficient, it can overwhelm ninety-five percent of the same-level enemies.

The only disadvantage is that a large swarm requires a vast amount of resources.

Qi Ping is currently facing this dilemma, but fortunately, the Golden Marrow Bee has strong production capabilities. Once they reach a new place, he is confident that he can turn the swarm from deficit to surplus.

Moreover, the Demon Insect Cultivation Manual records a method of cultivating through devouring high-tier spirit beasts’ bloodlines. As long as high-tier spirit beasts’ corpses are found and paired with specific spiritual medicines from the formula, there’s a chance for spirit insects to devour and transform, advancing their foundational bloodline.

It’s just that this formula is not something Qi Ping can currently create; at least he needs to have the strength of Foundation Establishment to hope for success.

So the potential of the swarm is definitely not poor. As long as enough Metamorphosis Potion can be produced, the swarm can have a chance to gain the bloodline power of high-tier spirit beasts and achieve a leap in bloodline.

...

While Qi Ping was communicating with the bees, the Li Fire Crow gradually entered a deep transformation state.

The entire crow seemed wrapped in a cocoon formed by the power of the Great Sun, undergoing the most critical transformation.

Qi Ping gradually became unable to observe the Li Fire Crow’s appearance.

He could only feel a heartbeat growing stronger and more vigorous, along with an increasing life force.

This made Qi Ping sense that Yaya’s transformation this time might truly be extraordinary.

Because as time passed, Qi Ping could clearly feel his Fire Separation Body becoming stronger.

This strengthening wasn’t particularly fast, but it was persistent, with the process of becoming stronger never ceasing.

Moreover, the transformation time for the Li Fire Crow was unexpectedly long; from noon to sunset, there were no signs of the transformation ending.

If Qi Ping hadn’t been able to sense the Li Fire Crow’s good condition, he might have started to worry.

However, with the fall of night, Qi Ping also felt a tinge of concern, not for the Li Fire Crow, but for that green-robed woman who might reappear at any moment.

So he immediately placed the swarm on high alert.

If absolutely necessary, Qi Ping wouldn’t hesitate to consider striking; he wouldn’t allow anyone to interfere with the Li Fire Crow’s transformation.

This also made Qi Ping realize the importance of a stable environment for cultivation.

Thankfully, after a worrying night, nothing unexpected happened.

When the first light of dawn rose, a strand of golden sunlight and a hint of purple light shot into the Li Fire Crow’s body, and at this moment, the Li Fire Crow, which had been dormant all night, emerged from its cocoon!