The Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon was currently rooted in the very center of the spiritual land.
Its feet were plunged into the soil, and layers of faint purple energy continuously transferred from the roots of its feet throughout its entire body, making the whole demon exude an eerie aura.
Its unique eyes were tightly closed, as if it had fallen into a death-like sleep.
It wasn't until Qi Ping approached that the Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon opened its tightly shut eyes.
Within those purple, unique eyes, its expression shifted from confusion to delight, and then the entire demon shot up from the ground, quickly flying to Qi Ping's arm.
"Gulu gulu. (Hug me.)"
"Gulu gulu. (Play with you)"
Compared to two days ago, the little Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon was already able to express somewhat vague meanings.
At this rate, Qi Ping felt that it would be able to speak and communicate normally in the near future.
Although it was Qi Ping's first time encountering a situation where spiritual intelligence had just awakened, he didn't feel any inconvenience.
After all, the Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon was still young, and this was normal.
The main thing was that it didn't make Qi Ping worry; when it was hungry, it would run back to the spiritual land itself to absorb the Spiritual Qi and nutrients from it.
Just now, Qi Ping observed the Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon's aura and found that its strengthening speed was much faster than that of the Little Spirit Fox; even though Qi Ping hadn't used Plant Growth on the Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon for the past two or three days, its aura had still significantly increased compared to a few days ago.
Qi Ping was not clear about the reason for this and could only attribute it to the special nature of the Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon's juvenile human-like transformation.
Qi Ping smiled and pinched the Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon's chubby little face, only to find that its face was icy cold, completely different from the Little Spirit Fox's warm body.
After playing with the little Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon for a while, Qi Ping replanted this still somewhat silly little fellow back into the ground and once again used Plant Growth to Cultivate it.
With the Plant Growth skill effective, the Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon was currently the one Qi Ping had the best chance of quickly cultivating.
After Qi Ping's Divine Soul was enhanced, Qi Ping now only needed to expend a portion of his energy to meet his normal Cultivation needs.
With the remaining energy, when there was no need to Cultivate Bees, Qi Ping planned to use a portion of the remaining energy to prepare the Spirit Medicine honey needed for Crow's Breakthrough to Rank 2.
In this regard, both Fire Spirit Grass and fire jade fruit needed to be cultivated to have several hundred years of medicinal efficacy. Fortunately, Qi Ping had preserved the Fire Spirit Grass honey recipe and fire jade fruit honey recipe suitable for Crow's consumption, so he didn't need to waste time testing honey recipes.
Qi Ping naturally planned to use all of his remaining energy on the little Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon.
The chaos in the Qingtian Domain was intensifying. According to Meng Yan, more and more people were dying, including members of various Sects and local Families. It was only because Qi Ping stayed deep in the mountains, farming and raising Bees, that he avoided these troubles.
But Qi Ping also didn't know when these matters would affect him.
Because although Qi Ping was sufficiently cautious to outsiders, renting Area B spiritual fields, spending large amounts of Spirit Stones, and remaining unharmed in the current context where sixty to seventy percent of Loose Cultivators have been lost or died, if one were to scrutinize it closely...
Even if Qi Ping had suitable explanations for all of these to outsiders, once the major Sect forces reached a certain level of madness, Qi Ping would find it very difficult to avoid being affected, and might even attract Foundation Establishment Stage powerhouses.
Therefore, in this situation, if the Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon could be cultivated to Rank 2 as quickly as possible, it would be a huge guarantee for Qi Ping; a Rank 2 Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon plus ten thousand Battle Bee Species could definitely kill many Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators.
Qi Ping, who also possessed the Hundred-Eyed Demon Realm Talent, naturally knew exactly what level a Rank 2 Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon could unleash this Talent to.
Under the special energy of Plant Growth, the purple energy surrounding the Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon became increasingly dense, and the aura of the entire demon was rapidly strengthening.
"The effect is indeed not bad!"
Qi Ping looked at the quickly strengthening little Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon, naturally feeling very happy.
The only thing that made Qi Ping a little uncomfortable was that his recently enhanced Divine Soul was somewhat insufficient again.
Originally, after Qi Ping obtained the Bewitching Immortal Divine Seal Talent and his Divine Soul was enhanced, cultivating the Spirit Medicine needed for himself and Crow was more than enough, and he could even spare more energy for Cultivation.
But now that he also had to Cultivate the Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon, his Soul Power suddenly became stretched thin.
"Still need to be frugal!"
"I need to be like before, under the premise of not affecting my own Cultivation and comprehension, try to use Plant Growth to consume more Soul Power, and then wait for the Soul Power to recover before continuing to use Plant Growth, to most efficiently avoid wasting Soul Power."
Originally, Qi Ping had considered whether to contract more plant-type Spirit Beasts in the future, but now it seems he needs to reconsider.
When the advantage is not great, it is better to make a comprehensive decision based on one's own Talent needs, as well as the strength and Talent of the Spirit Beasts found.
"Forget it, don't complain so much, it's actually already very good!"
"Now, the Spirit Medicine cultivated by Plant Growth can not only meet my needs, but also Cultivate the Spirit Medicine most needed by my Animal Companion based on the situation. Compared to other Cultivators, my advantage is already very high."
Just like Spirit Stones, no amount is ever enough.
Before, when Qi Ping calculated that the two spiritual lands he currently rented could earn over ten thousand Spirit Stones, he was overjoyed.
But now, Qi Ping directly spent seventeen thousand Spirit Stones to purchase the Little Spirit Fox and the little Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon, and he still owes ten thousand Spirit Stones in external debt. Even with the aid of Qi Ping's Plant Growth skill, it is estimated that it will take half a year to pay it off.
This means that Qi Ping will have no assets for the next six months.
However, after more than half a year, Qi Ping's Druid Level will also be almost ready to upgrade, and his cultivation is estimated to reach Qi Refining Rank 9. At that time, he will need to purchase new Spirit Beasts, and also figure out how to purchase Foundation Establishment Cultivation Techniques, Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment knowledge, etc. How to safely earn Spirit Stones will again be a huge challenge.
Desire is endless; once you reach a new stage, you will want more!
"So, one must calm down and steadily utilize the resources at hand. As strength improves, and one slowly finds ways to accumulate, one will always have what is needed!"
"The path of immortal Cultivation is long, and one will always encounter various difficulties. Only by comprehending one's Dao Heart and steadily taking each step suitable for oneself is truly the most important!"
Thinking of this, the slight annoyance that had just arisen in Qi Ping's heart disappeared, replaced by determination and calmness.
Immortal Dao longevity was still an elusive, illusory concept for Qi Ping. For the current Qi Ping, planning and doing every current task well was the most important.
Raising Bees and brewing honey, cultivating Spirit Medicine needed by Animal Companions, comprehending the Flame Burst Spell and Wood Flame Art to Perfection, elevating his cultivation to Qi Refining Perfection, and safely earning Spirit Stones... many things needed Qi Ping to do them diligently.
"The main goal next is to prepare the fire-attribute honey needed for Crow's Breakthrough to Rank 2, and to quickly Cultivate the little Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon to Rank 2 using Plant Growth."
"For the rest of the time, I need to comprehend and Cultivate both the Flame Burst Spell and Wood Flame Art to Perfection. This will give me greater assurance when Breaking Through to the Foundation Establishment Stage. Now that I have already comprehended the Essence of Fire and my Divine Soul has greatly enhanced, Cultivating the Flame Burst Spell and Wood Flame Art to Perfection should not take too long."
"Finally, I need to wait for the Plant Growth skill to Breakthrough to Rank 4. At that time, I will be able to Cultivate blood ginseng with five hundred years of medicinal efficacy. The Bee Swarm has been at Rank 1 for so long, it's almost time for them to undergo transformation and Breakthrough to Rank 2. The most excellent Equilibrium Bees Male Beess can also be arranged for selective breeding by the Bee King starting now."
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