Holding his saber tightly, Qi Ping advanced with caution. Using his heightened senses, he avoided thorns and hidden dangers. It didn't take long before he spotted a single Golden Marrow Bee hiding near the roots of a large oil pine.
'Found it!'
He let out a long sigh of relief. The journey hadn't met with any disasters. If some beast had jumped him, his Layer 1 physique wouldn't have held up.
He quickly stored his saber into his small storage bag to hide the killing intent of the blade, lest it startle the bee. The Golden Marrow Bee was busy gathering resin from the pine roots. Ancient oil pines produced a tiny amount of special resin that had the quality of a spirit herb. It wasn't worth Qi Ping's time to gather—it would take weeks to fill a bottle—but it was perfect for these bees.
Golden Marrow Bees didn't just use flower nectar; they gathered various spirit materials to blend into their honey, which was why their product was so superior.
As Qi Ping spotted the bee, it sensed him too. His heart hammered in his chest. Normally, when a bee encountered a 'two-legged beast' like a human cultivator, it would either attack or flee. Neither was good. These bees were as fast as a mid-layer Qi Refinement cultivator; if it ran, he'd never catch it. If it attacked, even a single worker bee would be a handful for him.
To his surprise, the bee didn't flee. It stopped gathering resin and watched him curiously, showing no hostility.
"It's working!"
He approached slowly. The bee remained still.
"Buzz... (Who... are you? Friendly!...)"
It flew in circles around him, its curiosity growing.
"I want to contract your hive," Qi Ping said directly and honestly. "I want you to be my animal companions. I can make your colony stronger than ever!"
In a bee colony, the prosperity of the hive is paramount, far outweighing individual will. Bees were willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the group. As a bee-keeper, Qi Ping knew this well. They would fight to the death against enemies or work themselves to exhaustion for the sake of the hive.
"Buzz... (Contract...? Colony stronger...?)"
"Yes, the colony will become stronger."
The bee seemed a bit confused, so Qi Ping repeated himself. After a few tries, the bee became visibly excited.
"Buzz... (Two-legged beast has no malice! Bee-bee trusts you! Must tell the others... tell the Queen!)"
"Good, lead the way."
Qi Ping breathed a massive sigh of relief. This was the hardest step! Because the temperament of a hive is usually uniform, if this one worker trusted him, the rest likely would too. The risk was now at its lowest. If the bee had been hostile, he would have bolted immediately, because a full swarm could kill a Layer 5 or 6 cultivator with ease.
"The Beast King Druid is truly incredible!"
He followed the bee for another two or three miles until they reached the nest. It was a mundane-looking thicket that showed no outward signs of life—a testament to their caution. Hidden under a layer of dead leaves was a small hole. If he hadn't watched the bee crawl inside, he never would have found it. Even with spiritual sense, it just felt like a common mouse hole.
A moment later, a massive swarm of golden bees poured out, circling Qi Ping. Some even landed on his shoulders. Any other cultivator would have been paralyzed with fear, but Qi Ping felt only peace. He could sense their total lack of malice.
Eventually, about a thousand bees were in the air. It was a smaller number than his Black Little Bee colony, but for a higher-tier species, a thousand was quite a lot. Higher bloodlines were harder to reproduce and required more spirit resources to sustain.
At the center of the swarm was a bee nearly the size of a half-clenched fist—three times the size of the workers. She was entirely golden, with dark-gold rings on her abdomen. Her mandibles were dark and hooked like axes, and her wings had a faint metallic gold sheen.
The swarm communicated with Qi Ping, centering around the Queen. The process was easier than he had imagined. He simply repeated his promise, and the colony accepted.
"Buzz... (We... are willing to become your animal companions!)"