“This is really good news!” Among the various aspects of cultivation, the cultivation of one’s Dao heart is the most elusive and the hardest to improve. It can only be gradually comprehended on one’s own.
Qi Ping didn’t have a clear solution either. All he could do was earnestly reflect on his own path of cultivation and everything he had experienced. What he might encounter along the way wasn’t something he could control.
Fortunately, as Meng Yan said, he possessed an extraordinary discerning mind, giving him a nice advantage in terms of understanding the Dao heart.
Based on the state of his Golden Core, it seemed he wouldn’t need to worry about an unstable Dao heart even when he reached the Golden Core stage.
Next, Qi Ping tested out the enhanced power of his Farming Domain.
The final results left him very satisfied.
“At this rate, among those also at the early Foundation Establishment stage, very few should be able to hurt me. Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators probably can’t even harm me at all!”
The Farming Domain, combined with various other techniques, had raised Qi Ping’s defense to an incredibly formidable level.
After testing the Farming Domain, Qi Ping had originally planned to tend to his territory, properly arrange the Spirit Vein Essence and the four Tier 3 spirit tree seeds, and get to know the little tricolor deer a bit before forming a contract. However, the little tricolor deer noticed that it was the only one not yet contracted to Qi Ping, while all the others were already his animal companions.
So, as soon as the tricolor deer saw Qi Ping was free, it eagerly ran over. If Qi Ping hadn’t been asleep for those ten days, it would have come to him much sooner.
Of course, the most important reason was that its impression and fondness for Qi Ping were through the roof.
To begin with, Qi Ping’s [Beast Befriending] talent worked extremely well on young spirit beasts, which already made it very fond of him.
Moreover, the divine beast Nine-Colored Deer is known as the Child of the Forest. The tricolor deer, possessing the Nine-Colored Deer’s bloodline, naturally shares this trait.
Qi Ping’s identity as a Treeman Shepherd is remarkably similar to that of a Child of the Forest. Coupled with his Beast King Druid nature, he had maxed out the tricolor deer’s affection for him.
Adding to that, the little spirit fox and the little flower fairy had been singing Qi Ping’s praises for ten days straight, which further deepened this positive impression.
It could be said that, out of all the animal companions Qi Ping had contracted, the one with the highest initial affection was this little hopping tricolor deer right in front of him.
“Yoyo~ (Can I form a contract with you? I want to be your animal companion too!)”
“Yoyo~ (Fox and Fairy both said they’ve contracted with you!)”
After saying this, the little tricolor deer stood somewhat nervously in front of Qi Ping, its uniquely shimmering eyes full of anticipation as it looked at him.
It had no idea if Qi Ping would refuse, and that would be just too heartbreaking for a deer!
As for Qi Ping, looking at this snowy white, sacred little creature radiating a special forest aura, he felt a deep fondness for it and naturally couldn’t refuse.
Especially since his goal all along was to contract the tricolor deer as his own animal companion.
“Of course you can!” Qi Ping said with a smile and a nod.
“Yoyo~ (Hooray!)”
“Yoyo~”
Immediately afterward, an ethereal and joyful deer call rang out across the territory.
The tricolor deer’s cry was very unique, almost like the language of the forest itself. Wherever the call spread, the forest plants and trees it touched seemed to resonate with the deer’s voice.
“Even the plants and trees are resonating with the tricolor deer?”
Qi Ping was stunned by the sight.
He knew that the tricolor deer, possessing the Nine-Colored Deer’s bloodline, had a high affinity for forest plants and trees, but he hadn’t expected it to reach such a level.
“Maybe this particular tricolor deer is exceptionally talented!”
That possibility existed. A very small number of individual spirit beasts have talents far exceeding those of others with the same bloodline, or possess extremely unique gifts.
“If one were to choose the most suitable spirit beast for a Druid contract in the world of cultivation, the Nine-Colored Deer bloodline would definitely be on the list!”
“Yoyo~ (Let’s start quickly!)” the little tricolor deer urged, noticing Qi Ping staring blankly at it.
“Alright!”
Qi Ping responded and hesitated no longer.
With Qi Ping’s practiced ease, a contract formation slowly took shape at his summoning.
“The three main talents of the tricolor deer are all quite good: Soul, Comprehension, Wood… No matter which one I get, it’ll be useful!”
“But ideally, I’d get the Comprehension talent. Otherwise, creating my own cultivation technique later on would be quite challenging with just Soul talent and cultivation talent alone.”
[Species: Tricolor Deer]
[Bloodline: Tier 3 Low]
[ Talents: Forest Soul, Tricolor Spirit, Forest Heart]
Forest Soul: The bloodline is blessed by the forest, granting high affinity with forests, and the soul becomes more stable and powerful as a result.
Tricolor Spirit: Possesses a small portion of the Nine-Colored Deer’s bloodline, granting the soul special spirituality. This unique spirituality bestows extremely high comprehension, allowing one to perceive the power of the forest and command the strength belonging to the forest.
Forest Heart: Possesses extremely high talent for Wood-element cultivation. The spiritual energy cultivated through this talent has potent healing properties, which are very effective at repairing physical injuries of flesh-and-blood creatures, and also has some effect on healing soul injuries.
[Evaluation: A spirit beast that dislikes conflict and is naturally drawn to forests, blessed and favored by them. Its combat ability within a forest is greatly enhanced. As the tricolor deer grows, it can continuously learn and master various powers of the forest.]
Forest Soul!
Tricolor Spirit!
Forest Heart!
It must be said, the Nine-Colored Deer bloodline truly lives up to its reputation as the Child of the Forest. Even the tricolor deer, with only a portion of that bloodline, clearly displays these characteristics.
With Forest Soul and Forest Heart, the tricolor deer can possess remarkably high Wood-element cultivation talent and can cultivate faster within a forest.
And Tricolor Spirit is the deer’s core talent!
With this talent, the tricolor deer can attempt to learn and master nearly any power belonging to the forest!
One could say that a mature tricolor deer raised in a forest is a terrifying opponent when fighting within it, with very few peers able to challenge it there.
In terms of raw strength as a spirit beast, the tricolor deer’s combat power and potential within a forest far exceed that of the Tianyin Dream Warbler.
Yet their market prices in the cultivation world aren’t that far apart.
A major reason is the tricolor deer’s significant limitations.
Without a forest environment or the guidance of a previous generation tricolor deer, its combat power and growth potential drop drastically.
But this isn’t a big issue for Qi Ping. For one, his identity as a Treeman Shepherd means he naturally prefers to stay in the forest.
Additionally, given Qi Ping’s good communication and rapport with the tricolor deer, he can gradually teach and guide its learning and growth.
All in all, buying a tricolor deer for less than sixty thousand spirit stones was a fantastic bargain for Qi Ping.
The contract formation took a good while to fully materialize.
Once it did, Qi Ping didn’t hesitate at all and directly merged the contract formation into the little tricolor deer’s brow.
