Chapter 5

Things turned out contrary to expectation.

I thought only a black-ringed hornet came the day before yesterday, two came yesterday, and who knows, maybe a whole swarm of black-ringed hornets will show up today.

Who would have known.

Not to mention a swarm, Yunhe didn't even see a single black-ringed hornet while tending the bees all day.

Gazing at the sun about to be blocked by the mountains, he formed a hand seal and summoned all the spirit bees back.

Buzz—

A mutant spirit bee the size of half a fist, with three dark red stripes on its abdomen, hovered outside the hive; the entrance normally used for bees seemed a bit small for it.

Its demonic power has increased considerably again.

He opened his palm, and the mutant spirit bee steadied itself in his palm.

Immediately after, two more mutant spirit bees, each bearing two dark red stripes, hovered around his palm.

These were two other spirit bees that had each fed on a black-ringed hornet.

With the aid of the 'Source Refinement Method,' they likewise underwent mutation.

Given their current appearance and state, they should no longer be classified as ordinary spirit bees.

Let's just call them Red Pattern Spirit Bees.

The dark red stripes on their abdomen indicate the strength of their demonic power.

The first mutant already had three stripes, while the two that just finished mutating today have two stripes each.

With a light wave of his hand, the three Red Pattern Spirit Bees circled around his side.

He crouched down.

He opened the hive lid.

A faint honey fragrance wafted over him.

The spirit bees, like golden beans, stayed honestly inside the hive, and a thin layer of golden honeycomb had already formed on the brood base.

This is the foundation of spirit honey; simply take it, do a little processing to remove the dregs, and you have the most common spirit honey sold on the market.

This spirit honey is rich in nutrients and spiritual power, far more expensive than ordinary spirit rice, affordable only to those truly well-off.

But what he values most is the other side of the brood base.

In the corner lay a small piece of dark reddish honeycomb.

Indeed.

Yunhe's eyes flickered.

Although the Red Pattern Spirit Bees mutated via the 'Source Refinement Method' by consuming black-ringed hornets, they are essentially still spirit bees, so they can also produce spirit honey!

Red Pattern Spirit Honey is dark in color, yet its surface is crystal clear and translucent.

Yunhe carefully hooked a bit of that small piece of comb and put it into his mouth.

He savored it slowly, nodding from time to time:

It tastes slightly bitter at first, but the aftertaste is sweet; its spiritual power is richer than ordinary spirit honey. If one could long-term consume Red Pattern Spirit Honey, cultivation speed would surely increase greatly.

This is what he considers the greatest gain from the bees' mutation!

Even some high-grade spirit honey on the market can't compare; has Red Pattern Spirit Honey reached a ranked tier?

In the Hexi Stream market, most circulating spirit honey, spirit rice, spirit wine, and other agricultural products are unranked spirit foods.

Although the price is high, that is for a lowly cultivator like Yunhe.

What truly makes even late-stage Qi cultivators and Foundation Establishment cultivators feel the price is steep are the ranked spirit foods, since food is a daily consumable and a cultivator's requirement is not small.

It probably isn't that bad.

Yunhe lowered his eyes slightly.

But if the Red Pattern Spirit Bees could become a true demonic beast swarm, then

He could almost see a heap of spirit stones hurtling toward him.

Yunhe hurriedly covered the hive lid.

This will be his true foundation for establishing himself in the future; he cannot be careless.

Three days passed in a row.

Yunhe's demon beast body was either digesting the golden carp or on the way to digesting it.

Meanwhile, his cultivator body continued the tedious routine of beekeeping and cultivation day after day.

It seemed as if everything had reverted to the tedium he felt when he first arrived in this world a few months ago.

Fortunately, the demon beast body's demonic power slowly but steadily increased, and the energy fed back accelerated his cultivator body's training speed by who knows how much, making it plausible to expect reaching the third layer of Qi refinement.

And the output of spirit honey also stabilized.

As neighbor Pan Hongxiu said, this year is largely a bumper harvest.

However, limited by the number of Red Pattern Spirit Bees, the yield of Red Pattern Spirit Honey truly leaves Yunhe feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

At this rate, it's uncertain whether he'll be able to produce even half a jar of Red Pattern Spirit Honey at harvest.

That morning, after some contemplation, Yunhe shouldering his bamboo basket did not go straight to tend the bees but headed toward the market center.

Hexi Stream Market is named after the Hexi Stream because it lies between two great mountains, beside a large river flowing from the mountain valley, with verdant hills and clear waters, making it a relatively resource-rich area.

It is said that beneath it lies a concealed First Rank Spirit Vein; as cultivators gradually gathered to trade, the market formed.

Now, the spirit vein's aura, under the control of the market's overseer, the Wang Clan, is sealed by a formation and concentrated in several special cultivation spots.

These cultivation spots command steep daily rents.

Although called a market, its true core buildings number no more than what two hands can count; plus some low shops and makeshift stalls filling the gaps, they form a street.

It can be considered the most prosperous cultivator gathering place within a radius of several hundred li.

After submitting his beekeeper identification, Yunhe passed through the market's protective grand formation and entered the central district.

Mist swirled and spiritual energy abounded; this was truly the River Gully Market.

He didn't even glance at the buildings lining the street—Red Plume Pavilion, Alchemy Workshop, Hundred Forged Pavilion, Hundred Knowledge Pavilion, and the like.

Not entirely.

Those female cultivators on the Red Plume Pavilion, dressed flamboyantly and exposing large patches of snowy white skin, he still stole a few more glances at.

There was no other reason; he was simply in a good mood.

"A bunch of flirtatious hooves"

Muttering to himself, Yunhe walked toward the roadside stall.

Inside the Red Plume Pavilion there weren't only female cultivators; of course there were also mortal women, or descendants of fallen cultivators, or women who had lost their footing, all so that these low‑rank cultivators would have a chance to spend.

Thinking back to when he first arrived in this world, he coughed—cough.

It's just curiosity; there's nothing to be done.

"Fellow Daoist, interested in buying a talisman?"

The voice from the stall made Yunhe withdraw his gaze and gather his thoughts.

"Fellow Daoist, you have great taste! You don't know, but my stall is the only place in the whole market where you can take in the entire Red Plume Pavilion at a glance—I even queued up outside the market at the fourth watch just for this spot."

The talisman‑selling cultivator said this while flashing a smile that said, "We're kindred spirits."

Yunhe: "."

Hearing that, Yunhe felt speechless inside, yet secretly gave the cultivator a thumbs‑up for his persistence.

Selling talismans while glancing at the building, he really wasn't wasting any time.

"Fellow Daoist, would you like to go together to the Red Plume Pavilion at sunset?" Seeing that Yunhe still hadn't spoken, the overly familiar talisman seller invited him.

"Cough." Yunhe gave a low cough, straightened his gaze, and said, "Fellow Daoist, don't joke—I'm studying the Spring and Autumn Annals."

Spring and Autumn?

The talisman seller stared.

Could it be that…

"How much for this 'Defense Talisman'?" Yunhe pointed at a talisman on the stall and asked.

Although it's just a small stall, the variety of Talisman Script there is truly not small.

The "Dust Avoidance Talisman" for cleaning clothes, the "Evil‑Repelling Talisman" for warding off evil, the "Defense Talisman" for self‑protection, and so on.

There are also offensive talismans like the "Arrow‑Water Talisman", "Flame Talisman", and "Ice Talisman", and the like.

However, most of these talismans are low‑grade first‑stage.

When asked about the talisman's price, the seller instantly focused, smiling: "My 'Defense Talisman' can block a strike from a third‑layer Qi Refining cultivator, and it's quite cheap—just five spirit crystals."

Third layer Qi Refining?

Yunhe raised his eyebrows slightly, his expression a touch teasing, and asked: "A full‑force strike?"

"That… this… ahaha."

Having been nailed on the key point, the talisman seller hemmed and hawed, unable to explain himself.

Seeing this, Yunhe let out a snort of laughter.

"Three spirit crystals per sheet—I'll take five."

As if he had never seen the world, not knowing the depths of this talisman pool?

"Fellow Daoist, the price isn't like that."

After some haggling, Yunhe finally spent eighteen spirit crystals to obtain five low‑grade first‑stage "Defense Talismans".

This gave him at least a modest ability to protect himself.

"Fellow Daoist, take a look at my 'Evil‑Repelling Talisman' and 'Flame Talisman'—they're quite good, and they're my specialty talismans."

Seeing that Yunhe didn't leave right away and having witnessed his financial means, the talisman seller kept pitching, exhausting himself for tonight's moment of spring pleasure.

But then Yunhe suddenly asked:

"How much does your 'Crimson Flame Talisman' cost?"

This is a medium‑grade first‑stage talisman, and one of the few medium‑grade talismans on the stall.

If a low‑grade first‑stage talisman equals the spell of an early‑stage Qi Refining cultivator, then a medium‑grade first‑stage talisman's power is comparable to that of a mid‑stage Qi Refining cultivator!

The talisman seller blinked slightly, then became a bit excited and said:

"The power of this 'Crimson Flame Talisman' is not small; Fellow Daoist, if you truly want it, one Low-grade Ling Stone."

Having said that, he didn't forget to add a line.

"No second price."

"Your 'Crimson Flame Talisman' is obviously somewhat aged; its Spiritual Power."

Yunhe wanted to argue a bit more, but the talisman seller cut him off directly.

He waved his hand and said: "Fellow Daoist, I can tell you know the talisman market, so I won't feed you nonsense. This 'Crimson Flame Talisman' is indeed a bit old, but the flow of Spiritual Power on it is absolutely fine; its power is at most reduced by ten percent. Otherwise, could a Low-grade Ling Stone really buy a medium‑grade first‑stage talisman?"

Yunhe, however, knew he wasn't speaking nonsense.

He pressed his lips together and swept his gaze over the stall.

After a long pondering, he gritted his teeth and said: "Add this 'Evil‑Repelling Talisman' as well!"

Clutching a 'Crimson Flame Talisman' comparable to a strike from a mid‑stage Qi Refining cultivator, five 'Defense Talismans', and one 'Evil‑Repelling Talisman', Yunhe left the stall with a face full of pain.

The reason he suddenly came to the market to buy these talismans was that he planned to take the initiative and go look for the Black‑Ring Hornets!

Of course, he wasn't going to charge out of the Fang Market Safety Zone to get himself killed.

If he happened to encounter only a First Stage Middle demon beast or a rogue cultivator, he wouldn't be able to escape even if he wanted to.

He simply planned to release the bees before night fully fell, and at the edge of the Fang Market Safety Zone tried to find any trace of the Black‑Ring Hornets.

Naturally, it would be best to encounter one or two of them, as that would speed up the cultivation of the spirit bees; if he really can't find any, there's nothing to be done.

However, before attempting to search, one must still prepare their own safety defenses.

As for that first‑grade middle‑quality Scarlet Flame Talisman, it is meant as a precaution.

If one's luck is truly that terrible and they encounter the queen of the black‑ring hornets, or even a cultivator who ignores the market's rules, at least they would have a way to retaliate.

Of course, bandit cultivators also have sense; they wouldn't ignore market rules just for a completely penniless early‑stage Qi Refining cultivator like him.

So the main thing to guard against is still the queen of the black‑ring hornets.

(End of chapter)