Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Chapter 298 - 238: Worker Bee Queen

’What is this?’

Fang Qingyuan was baffled by the sight. Where did this glob of Blood Qi Pill Liquid in front of the Bee Queen come from?

When Fang Qingyuan’s spirit entered the Immortal Mansion and saw the bewildered Bee Queen, he immediately asked:

"What’s going on? Did you make this glob of Blood Qi Pill Liquid?"

From her little nest, the Bee Queen, Fang Ruoxi, replied in a timid voice that echoed in Fang Qingyuan’s mind:

"This stuff smells so good. Last time, you gave some to the others, but I didn’t get any. I wanted to eat some too, so I just followed that jade slip and tried refining it myself."

Fang Qingyuan looked at the jade slip on the ground and realized it was the one he had given the Bee Queen to amuse herself with after he finished reading it.

And next to the Bee Queen, there was also an open bottle of Sea Beast Essence Blood and some Ginseng Root.

Fang Qingyuan had always stored these materials in the Immortal Mansion. Subconsciously, he felt it was far safer and more reliable than his own storage bag.

A storage bag could be lost or stolen. And recalling his experience with the Teleportation Array, he knew the restrictions on a storage bag were completely useless against the Divine Sense of a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

Therefore, ever since obtaining the Immortal Mansion, Fang Qingyuan had kept all his important and valuable items inside it. The storage bag he carried was merely for show.

But he had never imagined that the Bee Queen would actually follow the alchemy techniques on the jade slip, add the various ingredients, and successfully refine the pill. And from the looks of it, she had even succeeded on her very first try.

"You know alchemy? Are Blood Qi Pills really this easy to make?"

Fang Qingyuan’s spirit wavered, revealing his profound shock.

A Spirit Beast that knew alchemy, and with a higher success rate than its own master, no less. The notion was just absurd.

The Bee Queen tilted her head, looking as if it were the easiest thing in the world. ’Isn’t alchemy something everyone knows how to do?’

"Refine it again. I want to watch."

Fang Qingyuan issued the command. At his instruction, the Bee Queen looked at the freshly refined Blood Qi Pill Liquid and asked softly:

"Can I eat this one then?"

Blood Qi Pills were filled with abundant Life Essence Qi, making them a great tonic for all kinds of Spirit Beasts. Naturally, the Bee Queen wanted to eat it.

"Eat it later. If you can successfully refine this Blood Qi Pill again, you can have as much as you want in the future."

Elated by Fang Qingyuan’s promise, the Bee Queen began her performance. She used her Divine Sense to lift the jade bottle of Sea Beast Essence Blood from the ground and pour it out into mid-air.

Then, she popped the Ginseng Root into her mouth, chewed it a few times, and mixed the pulp with the floating glob of Sea Beast Essence Blood.

The Bee Queen then sent a message to the Three-legged Golden Crow high above. An instant later, a stream of golden fire descended, plunging into the mixture of essence blood.

As various other ingredients were added, the glob of Sea Beast Essence Blood began to undergo a miraculous transformation in mid-air.

’That actually works?’

Without the aid of a Pill Furnace, the Bee Queen controlled everything using her Divine Sense alone.

A quarter of an hour later, as a rich fragrance began to fill the air, Fang Qingyuan’s entire perception of reality shattered and reformed.

When a glob of crystal-clear Blood Qi Pill Liquid appeared before him, Fang Qingyuan completely despaired of his own talent for alchemy.

"Can I eat it now?"

Unaware of the devastating blow she had just dealt to Fang Qingyuan’s psyche, the Bee Queen stared at the Blood Qi Pill Liquid wafting its tempting aroma through the air and couldn’t help but ask again.

"Go on, eat it. Eat as much as you want."

Fang Qingyuan sounded listless at first, but then his perspective shifted, and he began to grow excited.

’The Bee Queen is my contracted Companion Beast. If she can perform alchemy, doesn’t that mean I can too?’

’And with the Bee Queen handling the alchemy, it won’t consume any of my own time. Come to think of it, isn’t this even better?’

Refining elixirs was an extremely time-consuming affair. The more time he spent in front of the Pill Furnace, the less time he had for his own cultivation.

At this thought, Fang Qingyuan’s mindset shifted. ’With an Alchemist as talented as the Bee Queen, why should I waste my own effort?’

The Bee Queen greedily devoured the fresh Blood Qi Pill Liquid, her large eyes narrowing in bliss.

She decided to demote Golden Jade Flower Honey a spot in her personal food rankings. This glob of Blood Qi Pill Liquid was now her number one delicacy.

After the entire batch of Blood Qi Pill Liquid was in her stomach, the Bee Queen’s normally pale belly began to radiate a faint red glow.

The Sea Beast Essence Blood was increasing the Bee Queen’s vitality. Long-term consumption of Blood Qi Pills could allow a Spirit Beast to enter its transformation phase sooner.

At this moment, under the effects of the Blood Qi Pill Liquid, the Bee Queen felt woozy, as if she were drunk.

She had secretly sampled Fang Qingyuan’s fine wine before, and the feeling was exactly the same. Of course, she hadn’t dared let him know about that particular incident.

Seeing the Bee Queen’s condition, Fang Qingyuan went over to examine her. He found that nothing was wrong; she had simply overeaten.

The batch of Blood Qi Pill Liquid the Bee Queen had refined was enough to produce eight Blood Qi Pills. Having eaten it all in one go, it was no surprise she felt a bit bloated.

However, since the Bee Queen had already advanced to Foundation Establishment, consuming eight Blood Qi Pills at once was not a problem.

"Ruoxi, it seems you really like these Blood Qi Pills. How about this: from now on, you’ll be in charge of refining them for us. I won’t short you, either. For every bottle you refine, I’ll give you one pill in return."

Easily swayed by Fang Qingyuan’s sweet talk, the Bee Queen dazedly agreed. She even felt that her master was being very considerate of her.

So, when the Bee Queen woke up the next day, she began refining Blood Qi Pills with a serious expression. Meanwhile, Fang Qingyuan, having stowed away his Pill Furnace, was outside, lazily basking in the sun.

’This is the life.’

....

「One month later.」

Fang Qingyuan looked at the hundred-odd bottles of Blood Qi Pills before him, overjoyed.

The Bee Queen’s success rate at refining Blood Qi Pills was many times higher than his own. He would only succeed with two batches out of ten, while she would fail, at most, twice in ten attempts.

A bottle of Blood Qi Pills contained six pills and sold for three hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. The hundred-odd bottles before him were worth over thirty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

The cost of materials, however, was only ten thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones. And that was after he had wasted a third of the essence blood and ingredients at the very beginning; otherwise, the yield would have been even higher.

This success rate was even higher than that of a Tier Two Alchemist.

Seeing the Bee Queen still hard at work in the Immortal Mansion, Fang Qingyuan thought for a moment, gathered up all the elixir pills, changed his appearance, and left his estate.

It was time to sell these elixir pills and buy another batch of Sea Beast Essence Blood. At this rate, the previous batch wouldn’t last more than a few days.

Returning to the familiar docks, Fang Qingyuan walked up to the ship ’Tu Feng’ and found the Qi Refining Broker, expressing his interest in making a purchase.

Seeing the Foundation Establishment Cultivator return, the Qi Refining Broker wisely went to inform his employer, Shen Wan Jun.

"Fellow Daoist Jia, we meet again. I trust you were satisfied with your last purchase?"

Shen Wan Jun served tea as she asked softly. Fang Qingyuan responded with a calm smile:

"The purity of the essence blood was very high, and its medicinal power was abundant. For the price, it was truly top-grade. That’s why I’ve come again."

"Then how many bottles does Fellow Daoist Jia intend to purchase this time?"

"The same as last time, twenty bottles. But besides the essence blood, I’d also like to buy some other spiritual materials."

"Oh? What might Fellow Daoist Jia be looking for? As long as we have it on board, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed."

"I’m looking for a few sea beast souls. Do you have any here?"