"I succeeded in switching cultivation methods!"

The agony and grit of two days made Qi Ping involuntarily roar out at this moment.

The tone was filled with extreme joy and the thrill of succeeding after striving hard.

Immediately following, along with Qi Ping's actions, a surge of formidable spiritual power swept out!

A massive rock beside Qi Ping was shattered into fragments by this casually unleashed spiritual power!

Fourth-Layer of Qi Refining!

After switching cultivation techniques, Qi Ping's realm didn't decrease; instead, it became even stronger!

The same Fourth-Layer of Qi Refining, the same amount of Spiritual Qi, yet its might was several times more formidable than before the switch!

"Thanks to the Wood Flame Technique and the Fire Separation Body, my spiritual power is now several times stronger than before!"

"Furthermore, once I stabilize the foundation of the Fourth-Layer of Qi Refining and improve my control over spiritual power, its potency and combat strength can increase even more!"

Cultivation technique and special talent have a huge impact on combat power.

Just then, Qi Ping suddenly thought of something.

The last time when returning from Cyan Stone Marketplace, Sister Nan, at the Fourth-Layer of Qi Refining, nearly killed a Fifth-Layer, battle-hardened Tribulation Cultivator.

Now it seems that Sister Nan either cultivated a relatively strong cultivation technique or has special talent.

Qi Ping leans towards the former, because if Sister Nan had a special talent, her cultivation should have long been enhanced.

Subsequently, Qi Ping cast Healing Techniques a few more times to treat the injuries in his body caused by switching cultivation techniques.

Thus, this switch in cultivation techniques was completed perfectly.

"Now that the cultivation technique has successfully switched, the time for rapid progress in cultivation is next!"

"With my current talent, plus having both Blood Ginseng and Fire Spirit Grass as Spiritual Medicine, along with the Fire Spirit Body Tempering Pill Formula, the mid-stage Qi Refining should not hold me back for long..."

Now the speed of cultivating the Wood Flame Technique is more than ten times faster than the previous cultivation of the Wood Shield Technique, simply incomparable.

Whether it's the speed of absorbing Spiritual Qi, refining Spiritual Qi, or the degree of control over spiritual power, they all surpass the past by far!

After experiencing the current cultivation speed, Qi Ping felt that his previous cultivation was as slow as a snail.

Now this cultivation speed can only be described by Qi Ping as exhilarating.

However, just as Qi Ping removed the dirt and blood stains from his body with spiritual power and was about to return to the peak for a rest, a High-speed Ring-cutting Bee brought news that gave Qi Ping a headache.

"Buzz buzz... (Boss, that blue-clothed biped is here again...)"

"Buzz buzz... (There's over a day left!)"

"Buzz buzz... (The Golden Marrow Bees have all hidden according to Boss's instructions...)"

"That woman is here again?"

Upon hearing the news of the blue-clothed woman from Cyan Origin Sect at the Ninth-Layer of Qi Refining, Qi Ping was suddenly a bit troubled.

He couldn't understand why she was certain that the late-stage Qi Refining black-robed Tribulation Cultivator vanished here?

"Perhaps it's not just here, maybe that woman repeats her search in many places, and this is just one of them; it's just that the black-robed Tribulation Cultivator is too important to her..."

But, trouble or not, he decided to send that woman away first anyway.

After doing some preparations, Qi Ping handed over his important belongings to the High-speed Ring-cutting Bee to carry away and hide, then transformed into a bee himself, taking a long detour to return to Peak Seven.

For this blue-clothed woman, besides some headache, Qi Ping didn't feel particularly afraid now.

Because now the number of High-speed Ring-cutting Bees had reached the designated scale of a thousand, and many mature Ink Armor Bees good at defense and Highly Poisonous Bees skilled at venom had also been cultivated.

So his confidence was relatively strong now.

...

About an hour later.

When Qi Ping returned to Peak Seven with his straw hat, the blue-clothed woman was sitting cross-legged under the ancient pine tree, silently meditating and cultivating, her long black hair drifting gently with the evening breeze.

Not far from her was the location of the box of black bees. Due to the approaching nightfall, most of the black bees were gradually returning to their hive.

They lived a normal life of collecting and making honey according to Qi Ping's instructions, causing the blue-clothed woman to see no anomaly.

The harmonious scene left Qi Ping rather speechless; anyone would think it was her home...

However, Qi Ping soon discovered something that made him somewhat uneasy.

The blue-clothed woman was injured!

Pale complexion, unstable aura, and even a faint feeling of her realm about to decline.

This was clearly a severe injury, possibly beyond what regular Healing Elixirs could mend.

A trace of blood faintly seeped through the clothes on the blue-clothed woman's abdomen.

This made Qi Ping feel a bit uneasy.

Who is this blue-clothed woman?

Ninth-Layer of Qi Refining, Inner Disciple of Cyan Origin Sect!

On Cyan Origin Sect's territory, who dares to wound her so severely? Who can?

"In the half month I've ignored outside information, has the world turned this chaotic already?" Qi Ping was somewhat puzzled.

He knew the situation in Qingshi County would continue to get chaotic, but this was too sudden!

What troubled Qi Ping more was that the blue-clothed woman, injured as she was, didn't go back to the Sect for healing but came here.

She shouldn't attract enemies here.

Anyone capable of wounding the blue-clothed woman so critically surely isn't someone to mess with, and Qi Ping doesn't want to face such a fierce enemy!

Even if he wins, losing half the bee colony would be a huge setback for Qi Ping.

So, it was best to send this woman away quickly!

Thus, Qi Ping, putting on a brave face, pretended to accidentally see the blue-clothed woman and hurried in front of her from a considerable distance, cupping his hands and saying:

"My lady!"

The reason for not approaching the blue-clothed woman was because she was injured; rashly approaching her might make her think he intended to attack.

"You're back?"

"Yes, my lady, I went....." Qi Ping replied as he had prepared beforehand.

However, the blue-clothed woman didn't seem interested in Qi Ping's answer and directly asked about the black-robed Tribulation Cultivator:

"Any news of that black-robed Tribulation Cultivator during this time?"

To this, Qi Ping shook his head and said:

"To report to my lady, during this time it's only been me here on the mountain, and no second person has appeared here..."

Qi Ping was being completely truthful, as even Sister Nan hadn't been around for a long time.

"Not appeared at all?" Hearing Qi Ping's answer, the blue-clothed woman's brows furrowed deeply.

Though half expected, she was still somewhat disappointed.

Qi Ping took this opportunity to voice his doubts:

"My lady, after so long, might he have already fled?"

"I placed a special tracking mark on him. He vanished after appearing here last, meaning he either entered a Secret Realm or died here, it's down to those two possibilities."

After finishing, the blue-clothed woman cast a deep glance at Qi Ping. She could confirm no actions from the three great clans or Cyan Origin Sect. So, who could have killed the black-robed Tribulation Cultivator?

The old folks in Zone A of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range might have such power, but she'd investigated, and it was likely not them.

So who could it be?

If the black-robed Tribulation Cultivator weren't dead, it means he entered a Secret Realm, yet there seem to be no traces of a Secret Realm here.

"Keep watching. It's not necessary to see someone; notify me of any unusual spots, and you'll be rewarded with Spirit Stones and rare treasures."

Not waiting for Qi Ping to respond, the blue-clothed woman left this message and sword-controlled herself away despite her injuries.

Qi Ping watched her disappearing figure, lost in thought.

The two possibilities the blue-clothed woman shared were bad news for him.

If the black-robed Tribulation Cultivator is dead, he might not escape suspicion.

If alive, does it point straight to the underground secrets where Blood Ginseng grows? That place will likely be exposed sooner or later.

"Seems I need to make plans in advance..."

Qi Ping felt the blue-clothed woman might already suspect him.

Since he appeared like this twice, no excuse, however seamless, could work.

Here, evidence was often unnecessary; just suspicion sufficed because Cyan Origin Sect was the law here.

After all, he was just a loose cultivator. The blue-clothed woman treating him courteously was rare.

As time goes on, who knows if she'll mobilize forces for a thorough search?

"Must prepare an escape route in advance..."

"And find a chance to explore the underground secrets of the Blood Ginseng growth site, as with my current resources, finding a new Tier One Intermediate Spiritual Land to develop doesn't mean clinging here..."

"Also, with the current chaos outside unknown, strength must be increased quickly..."

"At the very least, let the Li Fire Crow swiftly regain Tier One Perfection..."

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