CHAPTER 87: CHAPTER 87: FARMING BEES, ASH RAVENS

Qi Ping discovered the area and geographical advantages of the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth plots of land. Suppressing his inner excitement, he carefully observed again.

He also dispatched bees to check carefully once more.

Ensuring there were no issues, Qi Ping immediately rushed back to the Cloud Mist Hall.

"Back? How was it?" Steward Zhu smiled and asked as he saw Qi Ping return.

"Not bad, I’ll go with the Twenty-Ninth Spiritual Land!" Qi Ping replied.

"That’s good. As for the price, I’ll set it to the lowest base rent of four hundred and twenty Spirit Stones per year. Previously, the rent was five to six hundred Spirit Stones!"

Then Steward Zhu continued:

"However, I can’t exempt you from the thirty percent rent increase, so the total rent is five hundred forty-six Spirit Stones..."

"Additionally, there’s a ten percent tea fee, which is forty-two Spirit Stones. But since you already paid it this year, I’ll waive twenty-two for you. Adding that to the rent makes it five hundred sixty-six Spirit Stones..."

"You’ve also used the Number Seven Mountain Peak in Zone D for almost two months, which calculates to exactly twenty Spirit Stones..."

"The final total comes to five hundred eighty-six Spirit Stones..."

Hearing the final number of Spirit Stones, Qi Ping couldn’t help but twitch his eyebrows.

Good thing he sold the honey from the little black bee, otherwise, he wouldn’t even have enough for the rent, and would have to barter for it.

In the end, Qi Ping painfully took out five hundred eighty-six Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag... leaving him with less than twenty Spirit Stones.

But thinking of the benefits from mass planting Hundred Spirits Grass and cultivating the bee swarm, Qi Ping felt it was worth it!

Seeing Qi Ping’s pained expression and somewhat tight actions, Steward Zhu knew this was likely all of Qi Ping and Old Man Zhou’s savings.

So he could only offer words of comfort:

"There’s nothing to be done... Starting from Zone C, you need to pay rent upfront instead of using it for a year and then paying. Originally, in Zone D, the policy of using first and then paying was initially meant to attract loose cultivators, but it continued, and for intermediate-level Spiritual Lands, it’s impossible to support that..."

"But since you’ve made this choice, make sure to develop well on it this year, with good use, you can still make a few hundred Spirit Stones..."

"Recently, it’s been chaotic outside. With your strength, try not to wander out unnecessarily. Focus on cultivating and beekeeping, and if you need to sell or purchase a lot of things, I can help you run errands occasionally when I’m on my way..."

Last time I visited Number Seven Mountain Peak, I saw the yard covered in spider webs, and worried about Old Man Zhou and his apprentice for a while.

So, I feel like I should help a little. Being from one of the three big families, it’s generally safer amid such times.

"Thank you for your support..." Qi Ping said respectfully.

...

After completing the paperwork and obtaining the lease contract, Qi Ping bade farewell to Steward Zhu.

Having a good relationship with Steward Zhu would also reduce a lot of trouble in leasing this Spiritual Land.

At that moment, Qi Ping had to admire Old Man Zhou’s way of handling people.

Though not very powerful, he really had a lot of friends.

Whether it’s Sister Nan, Boss Gao, or Steward Zhu, these connections were all introduced and left to him by Old Man Zhou. Without him, Qi Ping might not have met such reliable friends and networks on his own.

Yet what Qi Ping admired most was that despite Old Man Zhou’s carefree life, he didn’t even have any enemies.

Qi Ping lived with Old Man Zhou for more than five years and never saw anyone causing him trouble. Instead, when there were troubles and dangers outside, many people would come to inform Old Man Zhou.

Which shows the greatness of Old Man Zhou.

Qi Ping actually also wanted to be such a person, peacefully cultivating, farming, beekeeping, and pursuing longevity, but unfortunately, he unknowingly found himself at the center of the vortex.

"At this point, I can only try to keep a low profile and hide myself, reducing the attention focused on me as much as possible..."

Qi Ping also knew that to achieve Foundation Establishment, condense the Golden Core, and pursue the Immortal Dao and longevity, competing for Core Techniques and Core Resources was inevitable, and entering the vortex for these things was unavoidable.

But these risks could be minimized, like always being cautious, using another identity to handle matters, and avoiding putting oneself at risk just to show off... and so on.

This was also what Qi Ping learned from Old Man Zhou’s way of life in the Immortal Cultivation Realm...

...

Holding the lease contract, Qi Ping quickly headed to Twenty-Ninth Spiritual Land with a mix of excitement and urgency.

The Twenty-Ninth Spiritual Land was deeper in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, about four to five times the size of Number Seven Mountain Peak, even Qi Ping would need to run for a long time to cover it.

"The area and size of mountains in the Immortal Cultivation Realm really can’t be compared to the concept of mountains in the previous life..."

Qi Ping couldn’t help but sigh again at the vastness of the Immortal Cultivation Realm; just Qingshi County alone was unimaginably large.

"The only pity is that although the area is large, the concentration of Spiritual Qi reaching the Spiritual Land level is not much and is too dispersed..."

In fact, the entire Cloud Mist Mountain Range was like this, with underground Spirit Veins distributed irregularly, some concentrated, some scattered.

The Twenty-Ninth Spiritual Land Qi Ping rented was precisely one of the scattered ones, which suited Qi Ping’s preference very well.

Because of such irregularity, it created a hidden-world style of Immortal Cultivation and Farming, where industries bloomed in prosperity.

At that moment, looking at the Twenty-Ninth Spiritual Land already covered in numerous weeds and vines, Qi Ping suddenly felt a surge of desire and pleasure for building a homestead and farmland.

"Partners! It’s time to get moving!"

Qi Ping released all the bees and Yaya, speaking with much excitement.

It was time to build a new home, but with such a large area, it would be too wasteful to rely solely on his own efforts.

So it was time for the animal companions to step up.

"Buzz buzz... (Boss, is this our new home?)"

"Buzz buzz... (The Spiritual Qi is so dense!)"

"It is your new home, but it’s not built yet!"

"Buzz buzz... (What do you want us to do, Boss?)"

"A lot of things, let me assign the tasks..."

"First, the High-speed Ring-cutting Bees are responsible for weeding and loosening the soil in these areas with high Spiritual Qi concentration..."

Qi Ping pointed to the Spiritual Land where the Hundred Spirits Grass could be planted.

"Buzz buzz... (Leave it to us, Boss, we’re the best at this)"

All the High-speed Ring-cutting Bees responded together; they were most skilled at this task, waving their little wings to get it done!

"Buzz buzz... (What about us, Boss?)" Other bees hurried to ask.

"Golden Marrow Bees and Highly Poisonous Bees are responsible for following the High-speed Ring-cutting Bees, picking up all the grass roots and seeds... then giving them to Yaya to burn into ash! Ink Armor Bees and Balanced Bees, with more strength, will use large gourd leaves to fetch water and follow behind to water and dampen the land..."

As for the Brewer Big Belly Bees... Qi Ping thought it best to keep them in the Spirit Beast Bag for now, lest they get lost and can’t be found!

"Buzz buzz... (We’ll complete the tasks!)" Other bee species promised.

However, Yaya on Qi Ping’s shoulder was a bit confused.

"Caw caw... (Burn grass to ash?)"

Now a Yang Fire Crow, a future super raptor that would soar across the heavens and earth, it was actually told to burn grass to ash?