Chapter 37: Qi Refining Fifth Level! (Please follow! Please collect!)

Click!

Click-click—

With a sound like tearing cloth, the bee eggs in the tree hollow began to hatch!

Seeing the dark red bee eggs split open, tiny-looking red bees with drooping wings stuck to their bodies struggled and strained, squeezing out bit by bit from the pupa.

Judging by appearance alone, they were almost identical to the Red Pattern Spirit Bee Queen, with entirely red abdomens, smaller bodies, making their wings seem proportionally larger; even when fully mature, they would not reach the fist-sized size of ordinary Red Pattern Spirit Bees.

Upon landing, the larvae surprisingly lunged at their own eggshells, and amid fine chewing sounds, the hatched larvae began collectively gnawing on the eggshell remnants.

Some larvae that hatched earlier and appeared slightly stronger would even snatch the eggs of those that hatched later and were relatively weaker.

Yunhe did not stop their behavior.

Actually, from this moment on, the 'selection of the excellent' among spirit insects had already begun.

However, what surprised him was that these newly born larvae already possessed demonic power, not inferior to that of Red Pattern Spirit Bees with three or four patterns.

From this alone, one could see that the potential of this newly hatched batch of larvae was greater than that of the Red Pattern Spirit Bees Yunhe had previously obtained through bee mutation, making them easier to grow and more valuable to cultivate.

Soon, all the bee eggs were completely gone.

The larvae's originally drooping wings became straight, and faint spiritual light flowed across their transparent wings.

Yunhe, who had been waiting nearby, pricked his fingertip, turning strands of blood into threads that sank into the larvae; after he activated the Blood Insect Control Technique with hand seals, a certain connection formed between him and the larvae.

This connection would only grow stronger in the future.

After establishing a connection with the larvae, he felt a hint of strangeness.

Buzz—

The larvae kicked their hind legs, straightened the slight curve at the tip of their wings, and then fluttered up unsteadily.

Moreover, dozens of larvae, as if sensing something, flew to Yunhe's side and buzzed around his waist pouch, as if craving and seeking something.

Yunhe thought for a moment, then sat cross-legged on the ground and gradually took out the items from his storage pouch.

Until.

He took out a firewood knife already rusted, and the larvae then shifted their attention to the blade.

This was the ordinary knife Yunhe used when facing bushes and branches before obtaining a magical artifact; later, after acquiring the Gold Killing Sword, it was gradually phased out.

Feeling the faint 'yearning' transmitted from the larvae, Yunhe loosened his restraint on them.

The next second.

Dozens of larvae swarmed onto the firewood knife.

What followed was an ear-piercing, teeth-grinding chewing sound.

Watching the bit being gnawed, the already dilapidated firewood knife became even more damaged.

They were actually treating metal as food?

Red Pattern Spirit Bees never did that; their main food is spirit honey and black-ring hornets.

Although ordinary metal is not inedible for Red Pattern Spirit Bees, after all, they can even bite through the golden light protecting the medium-grade talisman 'Diamond Talisman'.

Huh?

Yunhe narrowed his eyes, casually picked up a larva and placed it in his palm, then examined it closely.

He saw.

On the larva's dorsal abdomen, a fine line extending from the chest, faintly gleaming with a metallic sheen, was barely visible unless closely inspected.

Yunhe slightly circulated his spiritual power; the larva's tail in his palm twitched slightly, and then a thin, long stinger shot out.

This stinger's proportion was exaggerated compared to the wings, its length nearly equal to the abdomen, and it seemed to flow with metallic intent, the tip being extremely sharp.

The metallic thread originating from the chest seemed to connect with this stinger.

He then grabbed another larva, but no matter how he looked, he could not find that metallic thread on it, yet their stingers were almost identical.

He soon gradually understood.

This is the meaning of 'selection of the excellent'!

Larvae possessing a faint metallic thread were obviously more valuable to cultivate than those without.

But what puzzled him was that neither the Red Pattern Spirit Bee Queen nor the earlier ten-pattern Red Pattern Spirit Bee male had this ability, so why did the queen's offspring exhibit such a change?

If one were to say the Red Pattern Spirit Bee's stinger resembles metal, it's because the black-ring hornet's stinger also resembles metal.

Moreover, I myself have a metal-water attribute spiritual root, and by controlling the insects with the Blood Insect Sacrifice Technique, their bodies inevitably carry some of my traits, right?

Yunhe, chin resting on his hand, muttered to himself.

Actually, one cannot say the Red Pattern Spirit Bee Queen doesn't eat metal, for when it devours black-ring hornets and even their queens, it consumes the whole body and stinger together.

Furthermore, with the aid of the 'Source Refining Method' for digestion.

Source Refining Method!

Yunhe's eyes lit up.

If one were to ask what is truly special, it is only the 'Source Refining Method' awakened by the Demon Beast Body.

It seems this demon beast technique, which looks simple and crude with a single effect, is not as simple as he imagined.

Thus, his direction and plan for cultivating Red Pattern Spirit Bees would need to change.

Loosen control over the larvae.

Actually, by now he gradually came to understand.

'The larvae gnawing on metal is merely because they regard it as a kind of food.'

'But each individual differs; some simply want to eat, while others unconsciously 'cultivate'.'

'If I take out these larvae, cultivate them through selection, continue breeding, and continually purify the hive's traits, could the future hive all possess this ability?'

He looked at the firewood knife about to be completely gnawed and the satisfied larvae, and a name suddenly popped into his mind.

Gold-Eating Insect!

He immediately shook his head with a self‑mocking gesture.

'You're thinking too far ahead; gold‑eating insects are ancient exotic species, probably extinct by now. Moreover, this insect is innately a mutant, not something that can be cultivated after a few later adjustments.'

Ancient exotic insects are naturally gifted beings, eating heaven's fare; if they could be cultivated by constantly selecting the best, everyone would be raising insects.

However, gold‑eating insects cannot be cultivated, but one can still get close in this regard.

At least, if one could achieve even ten percent similarity, Yunhe's bee swarm would be absolutely an extremely terrifying existence, making people flee at the mere mention.

Days passed one by one.

For Yunhe, life seemed to have returned to its original dull state.

Each day he either cultivated or tended the bees.

Besides tending the bees, he one by one cleared the black‑ring hornet nests entrenched outside the Fang Market Safety Zone, using them to cultivate his own spirit bees; in effect, he alone took on the duty of the Extermination Team.

And the Extermination Team disbanded due to Wei Qingfei's disappearance, leaving only Zhou Shouxin with a few members, who took payment to deal with the black‑ring menace for some spirit‑bee farmers.

Zhou Shouxin also stopped bothering Yunhe, and the two sides tacitly agreed not to interfere with each other.

However, in the seemingly peaceful days, Yunhe still sensed some signs of turmoil.

Price fluctuations in the Fang Market rose, and the Wang Clan's demands on spirit‑bee farmers and spirit‑farm tenants became higher and more frequent.

Most importantly, the Fang Market Patrol Team shortened its patrol intervals, causing some large shops' supplies to become insufficient.

But these changes had little impact on the vast majority of cultivators, and most people might not even have noticed these detailed changes.

And although Yunhe noticed them, he merely kept them in mind, devoting most of his energy to his own cultivation.

Cultivator Body and Demon Beast Body trained together, aided by elixirs, the progress of his cultivation base was maintained at a not‑slow pace.

During that period, the Spirit Nourishing Pills he bought were used up, and he went to buy them several more times.

However, the effect of the Spirit Nourishing Pills on him kept diminishing.

What frustrated him most was that the Cultivator Body's 'Three Yang Heavy Water' had still not been completed.

He had purchased the Lesser Yang Flower needed to make 'Lesser Yang Water' and the Late Heart Chrysanthemum needed to make 'Ultimate Yang Water'.

Only the Noon Day Bamboo needed to make 'Pure Yang Water' remained unavailable.

On the other hand, the Demon Beast Body, though its days were even more dull than the Cultivator Body's, had already refined a palm‑sized clump of Three Yang Heavy Water, its power beginning to show.

Moreover, its tempering effect on the body became increasingly evident.

Originally he thought the Cultivator Body would refine Three Yang Heavy Water faster, but he hadn't expected that the Demon Beast Body's gradual accumulation would be more solid and stable.

Furthermore, the Demon Beast Body's Turtle Breath Body Forging Technique and Earth Escape Technique had both been initiated, further strengthening his self‑preservation ability.

Besides that, Yunhe also made some breakthroughs in the talisman way, with Liu Hongyong's half‑knowledgeable 'pointer', plus diligent practice of both bodies; after the Dust Avoidance Talisman, he successively succeeded in drawing the Evil Repelling Talisman and the Guidance Talisman.

They are auxiliary talismans, yet Liu Hongyong often sighs that Yunhe's talent in talismancraft, while not as good as his elder brother Liu Hongyuan's, is still a bit higher than his own.

Hmm, just a bit higher.

Finally, the day came five months later.

Yunhe, sitting quietly in the rented cultivation cave of the Fang Market, suddenly felt an abnormal surge of spiritual power within his body.

He hastily took three Spirit Nourishing Pills, and his spiritual power surged again.

He circulated his spiritual power using the Gold Water Element Classic; after several cycles, the restless spiritual power gradually became smooth and satisfactory, and as it flowed, everything seemed to fall into place naturally.

At a certain moment's instant.

Yunhe's body suddenly twitched slightly; the last hint of stagnation in his spiritual power circulation was smoothed away.

He slowly opened his eyes, letting out a long sigh with a hint of emotion.

He could not contain his joy.

'Finally, fifth layer!'

Feeling that his internal spiritual power had increased by fifty to sixty percent, he had, in that single burst, completed a breakthrough in both cultivation base and technique.

Qi Refinement Fifth Layer!

After polishing for nearly half a year, his cultivation base finally underwent another qualitative advance.

He glanced at the modest cave, clicked his tongue, and let out a light sigh.

'This must be the true spiritual qi that a first‑rank spirit vein ought to have, right?'

He also sensed a loosening in his cultivation base in the dark, and thus directly rented this cave for a day.

Fortunately, his cultivation progress went smoothly.

'If I could stay here continuously, my cultivation speed could at least improve by another thirty to forty percent.'

Unfortunately, his spirit stones were running low, and renting the cave for such a long time would inevitably attract attention, which is not a good thing.

'This time the Cultivator Body should nourish the Demon Beast Body.'

He rose and brushed off the dust on his body.

He pushed the door open and walked out.

Outside the door, a middle‑aged cultivator in the Wang Clan steward's robes stared at a sundial nearby; hearing the door's movement, he secretly curled his lip.

The timing, however, was spot on.

After just another three quarters of an hour, it would be counted as two days' time.

Although he complained inwardly, the steward still smiled and asked:

'Fellow Daoist, has your cultivation base improved?'

Yunhe returned the bow, then sighed and said:

'The spiritual qi in the cave is indeed abundant, but my aptitude is truly poor; my cultivation base has improved little, so I can only save up some spirit stones before coming back.'

The steward wasn't surprised by this; abundant spiritual qi ultimately must be absorbed and refined to be one's own.

But hearing Yunhe say he'd come again next time, the steward was still pleased, and his smile grew a bit richer.

'Fellow Daoist, don't underestimate yourself; come a few more times and you'll surely benefit greatly.'

"Exactly, exactly." Yunhe agreed offhand.

After wandering around the market for a few laps, Yunhe entered a narrow alley and shed his disguise.

He walked out of the alley.

He tightened the bamboo box on his shoulder.

"Cultivation base breakthrough—time to find a strong beehive to celebrate!"

A friend complained about the cover, so I changed it; hope everyone can get familiar with it again~~three thousand five hundred words presented~~

(End of chapter)