Cultivation begins with forming a bond with a spirit bee.

After announcing the results, he looked at Hu Si, his tone somewhat impatient:

"More than four months ago, didn't I tell you to take good care of this spirit steed and feed it more spirit herbs and spirit rice? How come it's even worse than before?"

"If this happens again, you can forget about being a spirit contract worker. Pack your bags and get out!"

Hu Si's lips trembled slightly, but he didn't say anything. He lowered his head, led his horse, and stepped aside.

Zhao Haiqiong looked at Hu Si, then turned to another person and said something, a mocking smile on her lips.

Hu Si lowered his head even further, his fists clenching quietly.

"Do these two have some kind of conflict?"

Qu Ye observed this scene and silently speculated about it.

After Hu Si returned to the crowd, Hou Youde announced loudly, "Alright, that concludes this competition."

"After the inspection, the usual procedure will be followed. Tomorrow, the Fiery Cloud Steed will be handed over to the disciple who comes to receive it, and then the corresponding spirit stones will be collected."

"The new foal will be delivered in a month. You are free to allocate them as you see fit during that time."

After saying that, he waved his hand, signaling everyone to disperse.

Finally, I got my wages!

After the evaluation, the spirit workers returned to their respective horse farms, each with a smile on their face.

Except for Hu Si.

Qu Ye followed behind the crowd, walking slowly.

As he passed by Hu Si, he glanced over casually and saw the man with a gloomy face, clenched teeth, and cursing something in a very low voice.

Ouch, get away from me.

Qu Ye quickened his pace and walked to the front of the group.

Zhao Haiqiong was walking side by side with another person when she saw Qu Ye. She greeted him warmly, "Fellow Daoist, I heard you just arrived at the Spirit Horse Farm? How are you adapting?"

Qu Ye waved his hand: "It's alright, I can barely adapt."

Zhao Haiqiong smiled after hearing this: "That's good. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us."

Qu Ye nodded and chatted casually with the others for a few more minutes, thus becoming somewhat familiar with them.

He then separated from the crowd at the fork in the road.

After walking a distance, Qu Ye vaguely heard Zhao Haiqiong's deliberately amplified laughter, as well as some fragmented words.

"...Don't be like someone...a defective product..."

Hu Si must have heard it; you could see him standing there, motionless, from a distance.

What grudge could they possibly have?

Qu Ye shook his head.

It has nothing to do with him, as long as it doesn't affect him.

After thinking it over, Qu Ye walked towards the courtyard while recalling all the details of the spirit steeds he had noticed during the evaluation.

……

Back in the courtyard, Qu Ye first checked on the condition of the iron-clawed crab.

When he arrived at the pond, the crab was holding a piece of waterweed in its mouth, slowly feeding it.

Sensing the movement, it paused, quickly crawled to the crevice in the rock, and quietly observed the outside world.

"Still so timid."

Qu Ye took out some minced meat, fed it to the iron-clawed crab for a while, and then returned to the cultivation room to control the bee swarm to guard the yard.

He then activated the restriction, closed his eyes, and began cultivating again.

The next day, the Hou family disciples arrived as promised to receive the Fierce Cloud Steed.

Most of the spirit contract workers chose to go to the market in groups after receiving the spirit stones.

Some went to spend time with their wives and children, some went to buy things, and others went to "Spring Street" to indulge in some shopping.

Only Qu Ye, Hou Youde, and two other solitary cultivators remained in the horse farm.

For a moment, the Spirit Horse Arena seemed much quieter, and its defenses were greatly reduced.

However, Qu Ye was not worried about his own safety.

Because during this period, it is actually safer than usual.

With the Fierce Cloud Steed gone and nothing else of value around, and the thief not being stupid, he probably wouldn't do something so thankless.

As for Red Hare, it was a spirit steed cub specially allocated by Hou Fangping, and the probability of it being known by the thief cultivator was very low.

So Qu Ye fed the Red Hare and the Iron Claw Crab every day, and occasionally took the Queen Bee's Essence.

And so, more than half a month passed by in this leisurely manner.

Hou Youde found Qu Ye again at noon that day.

"Qu Ye, there's a middle-aged cultivator waiting for you at the entrance of the Spirit Horse Ranch. He says he's an acquaintance of yours, his name is Wang Meng."

"Outsiders are not allowed to enter our horse ranch, so I've come to inform you."

"Do you think you know him?"

Qu Ye was holding a bowl, eating spirit rice with the roasted bear meat.

Upon hearing Hou Youde's words, he quickly wiped his mouth and walked out of the courtyard.

"Uncle De, he is indeed someone I know. I'll go out and take a look."

When Qu Ye walked out of the Spirit Horse Arena, he saw a middle-aged cultivator, looking travel-worn, standing by the roadside.

It was Wang Meng, whom I hadn't seen for a long time.

Wang Meng's clothes were covered with a few leaves and dirt, and he had a leather bag slung over his shoulder. The bag was empty and didn't look like it contained anything.

Qu Ye walked in and smelled a faint scent of blood on the other person.

"Young Qu, you're here?" Wang Meng grinned, but there was a hint of fatigue in his smile.

Qu Ye nodded and spoke with concern:

"Uncle Wang, how's the harvest lately?"

"Sigh, what a wasted trip." Wang Meng put the animal skin bag on the ground, plopped down on a roadside stone, and let out a long sigh.

"After searching for several days, I finally found a low-grade red-feathered bird. There wasn't much meat, and only the feathers were worth something, barely enough to break even."

That's how monster hunting is; whether you find good prey depends entirely on luck.

Qu Ye changed the subject, "Let's not talk about that. Speaking of which, Uncle Wang came this time..."

After hearing this, Wang Meng looked around and then called out to Qu Ye, "Hey kid, come closer."

When Qu Ye approached, he lowered his voice and said, "Didn't you ask me to keep an eye on the monsters for you?"

"Since I can use it myself, I drew a simple map and marked all the monsters I encountered on it. Take a look and see if there's anything that interests you."

After saying that, Wang Meng took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it in his hand for Qu Ye to see.

Qu Ye stepped forward and looked at the crooked lines and strange symbols on it, feeling quite troubled.

I can't understand this at all.

Wang Meng seemed to sense Qu Ye's embarrassment and chuckled, "Can't understand it, huh? That's right."

"Sometimes it takes me a while to understand it myself."

Qu Ye rubbed his forehead. "Uncle Wang, you should just tell me directly."

"become."

Wang Meng didn't waste any time. He pointed to the marks and began to explain their meanings to Qu Ye one by one.

"Look at this, doesn't it look like a pig's snout? This is a porcupine I saw from afar last time I went into the mountains. It was with two piglets, and it looked very dangerous."

"Look at this one, all crooked and twisted. This is the first red-banded snake I've ever encountered. I've already killed it, and I'll use its gall to help Xiao Bao improve his cultivation."

"This is incredible; it's the territory of a late-stage demonic beast. I don't know exactly what kind it is, but I was scared away by its imposing aura as soon as I got close."

"As for this, well, I need to think about it carefully..."

He stared at the oval-shaped line drawn on the cardboard, lost in thought.

Qu Ye waited silently.

After a long pause, Wang Meng looked as if he had just realized something: "I remember now, it seems to be related to the Spirit Plague Worm."

Spirit Worm!

Qu Ye, who had finally heard information that interested him, immediately perked up.

"Uncle Wang, are you sure?"

He had heard of the Spirit Worm; it was a rare, mid-grade first-tier spirit worm that fed exclusively on spirit flowers and fruits, accumulating only essence within its body, which was highly beneficial to demonic beasts.

They rarely appear in the market, and when they do, the Hou family buys them at a high price.

This is because the Spirit Insect is different from the Breakthrough Pill that Spirit Pets take. While improving cultivation, it can also slightly refine the bloodline of demon beasts!

If I could catch one and feed it to the queen bee, it would most likely help her break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, and some unknown changes might occur.