Tightly gripping the long saber in his hand, Qi Ping began to cautiously advance.
Using his keen perception, Qi Ping avoided various thorns and dangers, moving forward carefully.
Fortunately, it didn't take Qi Ping long; after advancing for a while, he found a Golden Marrow Bee hiding at the base of a centennial pine tree.
This was thanks to the Jungle Druid's keen perception in the mountains and forests, otherwise, it might not have been possible to discover this Golden Marrow Bee in the dense forest.
"Found it!" Qi Ping felt a surge of joy within him.
Things were going relatively smoothly, with no unexpected occurrences.
Seeing the silhouette of the Golden Marrow Bee, Qi Ping couldn't help but breathe a huge sigh of relief.
If something unexpected had appeared halfway, his current small frame at the First-Layer of Qi Refining wouldn't withstand it.
At the same time, Qi Ping quickly stored the saber into his space-saving storage bag, to avoid the killing intent from disturbing the Golden Marrow Bee.
The Golden Marrow Bee was collecting the pine sap from the root of the pine tree.
Pine trees over a hundred years old produce an extremely small amount of special pine sap, which can reach the quality of Spiritual Medicine.
However, the quantity is too scarce; for Qi Ping, it would take half a month to barely fill a bottle, not to mention handling the dangers in the mountains, making the yield far less than breeding black little bees.
The Golden Marrow Bee is a relatively special kind of bee, significantly different from ordinary bees.
The reason they collect pine sap is that their honey-making process is not limited to nectar; many Spiritual Medicines become their collection targets, subsequently mixed with nectar to make honey.
This is one reason the honey quality of the Golden Marrow Bee is superior.
Just as Qi Ping discovered the Golden Marrow Bee, it also sensed Qi Ping's presence.
Qi Ping felt a bit of anxiety in this moment.
Normally, when Golden Marrow Bees encounter human cultivators, they typically have two choices:
Either choose to attack or choose to run and hide!
Either way, neither is good news for Qi Ping.
The Golden Marrow Bee's speed and venom are formidable, its speed is almost equal to a Mid-stage Qi Refining.
Qi Ping simply cannot catch up if it runs away.
If he fights, it would be worse for Qi Ping; even facing just an ordinary small worker bee would be difficult for him to handle.
After a moment of trepidation, Qi Ping noticed that the Golden Marrow Bee did not flee; instead, it paused its sap collecting actions and curiously eyed Qi Ping, showing no signs of hostility.
Qi Ping could not help but feel a bit delighted.
"There's hope!"
Thus, Qi Ping carefully and expectantly approached, and true to his hope, the Golden Marrow Bee did not flee.
"Buzz... (Who are you... friendly...)"
The Golden Marrow Bee, seeing Qi Ping approach, vaguely communicated its thoughts, circling around Qi Ping curiously.
"I wish to contract with you, to make you my Animal Companion. I can help make your community stronger!" Qi Ping stated honestly and directly.
For the bee community, the propagation and strengthening of their species is more important than individual will. For matters beneficial to their community, they choose to sacrifice fearlessly.
This is all too familiar to Beekeeper Qi Ping.
Against strong enemies, they can sacrifice their lives to attack. Encountering good Spiritual Medicine or nectar, they gather diligently, regardless of danger.
As long as their community can continue and grow stronger, even in death, it is considered honorable for them.
This is why Qi Ping chose to communicate with them with their community in mind.
As a Beast King Druid, he has full confidence in accomplishing this.
"Buzz... (Contract... strengthen the community...?)"
"Yes, strengthen the community..."
The Golden Marrow Bee's mind seemed to struggle to comprehend, so Qi Ping repeated his words.
After several repetitions, the Golden Marrow Bee finally understood Qi Ping's meaning and became very excited.
"Buzz... (Two-legged beast... no malice... Bee trusts you! I must tell the Bee King...)"
"Alright, lead me there!"
Hearing the Golden Marrow Bee's affirmative response, Qi Ping thoroughly exhaled in relief!
This was the hardest step!
Indeed, the most difficult part was here.
Since the nature and temperament of the entire bee community are consistent, if this Golden Marrow Bee easily trusts Qi Ping, likely the whole community will too.
In this way, the risk of Qi Ping's trip is minimized, and the likelihood of a successful contract is high.
If the Golden Marrow Bee had shown hostility and distrust, Qi Ping would certainly have fled.
As it would indicate that the whole bee community might be hostile towards him.
Facing an entire swarm of Earth Cavity Golden Marrow Bees, even Mid-Stage Qi Refining cultivators could fall, not to mention Qi Ping at First-Layer of Qi Refining.
Luckily, the most difficult barrier had been crossed; the Golden Marrow Bee not only showed no hostility but demonstrated an unusual level of trust!
"The Beast King Druid is truly impressive!"
Qi Ping couldn't help but sigh.
Following the Golden Marrow Bee's lead, Qi Ping eagerly followed.
This time, Qi Ping walked with more confidence, the Golden Marrow Bee's living trajectory proving it to be relatively safe.
...
After traveling about two or three miles, they finally arrived at the Golden Marrow Bee's hive location.
It seemed like an ordinary small grove, indistinguishable from other groves.
There seemed to be no sign of the Golden Marrow Bee's habitation, illustrating their level of caution.
Within the grove, a small hole covered with dead leaves was hidden; if not for seeing the Golden Marrow Bee burrowing inside, Qi Ping would never have found the hive entrance.
A scan with Divine Sense would only detect an ordinary mouse-like hole, common throughout the forest.
A moment later, a large group of Golden Marrow Bees buzzed out, congregating around and inspecting Qi Ping.
Some bold bees even landed on Qi Ping.
Any ordinary cultivator witnessing this scene would be half scared to death.
But Qi Ping felt no fear, as he could perceive the Golden Marrow Bees' lack of malice.
As time went on, roughly a thousand Golden Marrow Bees emerged.
This number was much smaller compared to the nearly ten thousand black little bees, but it was already a considerable number for Golden Marrow Bees.
The higher the bloodline rank of the bee community, the more difficult the breeding; and they require more Spirit Flowers and Spiritual Medicine to sustain a large community.
Among the Golden Marrow Bees before Qi Ping, at the center was the largest Golden Marrow Bee, about half the size of a fist, roughly three times bigger than other worker bees.
It was wholly golden, with black-golden rings on the abdomen and stout black-golden mandibles that looked extremely formidable, its wings tinged with a faint layer of gold.
The male bees were slightly smaller than the Bee King, with especially prominent sharp mandibles.
After the Golden Marrow Bees all emerged, they communicated with Qi Ping centered around the Bee King.
The process was much easier than Qi Ping had imagined; he only repeated his earlier conversation with the worker bee, and the entire community agreed to be his Animal Companions.
"Buzz... (We... are willing... to become your Animal Companions!)"