“Heaven and Earth’s Favor? That’s pretty damn impressive!”
Qi Ping stared at his newly evolved talent—transformed from [Heaven and Earth’s Blessing] into [Heaven and Earth’s Favor]—completely dumbfounded.
Faster comprehension of natural laws. Increased chance of sudden enlightenment. Greater command over natural energy. And a comprehensive boost to his physique, comprehension, soul, and spiritual affinity—all across the board!
While each individual increase wasn’t exceptionally dramatic, the combined effect was nothing short of remarkable.
And this kind of holistic enhancement was exactly what Qi Ping needed!
The talents he shared with his animal companions were somewhat specialized on their own, but a full-spectrum amplification would elevate his overall capabilities significantly.
Beyond those, the last two effects were particularly delightful surprises.
“Any attempts at divination or curses targeting you will be weakened by heaven and earth.”
This one went without saying—it was precisely what Qi Ping needed!
His greatest concern right now was divination-based abilities, which was precisely why the Tree-man Clone’s earlier foray had to end in its own destruction.
“Now, with Heaven and Earth’s Favor layered on top of Curse Immunity, most ordinary curses probably won’t affect me at all. As for divination… I’ll need to test that out.”
The real head-scratcher, though, was the fortune energy.
“A sliver of fortune’s power… Unfortunately, nothing I’ve learned so far covers the details of fortune energy, so I can’t tell exactly what this does.”
“Still, fortune energy is ultimately a good thing—a nice bonus!”
This heavenly baptism was a completely unexpected windfall for Qi Ping. With Heaven and Earth’s Favor on his side, his cultivation journey ahead would be considerably smoother.
After the baptism ended, Qi Ping settled down to cultivate in peace, ignoring the chaos of the outside world.
The spiritual energy within his territory was now quite rich. Even without consuming spiritual herbs, he could maintain a decent cultivation speed—not blazing fast, but certainly not slow either.
For now, his primary goal was to nurture the Bloodflame Garment to its growth limit, allowing Crow to undergo its bloodline transformation. After that, once the dust from recent events settled, he’d head outside to collect his spoils and exchange them for spiritual herbs that would rapidly boost his cultivation!
“At this rate, it should take about two years for the Bloodflame Garment to reach its maximum growth potential!”
The Bloodflame Garment resembled a burning mushroom, its entire form wrapped in a sanguine, flame-like energy. Under Qi Ping’s care, it had now grown to the size of a human head.
Standing beside it, Qi Ping could even feel his own physical body yearning for the Bloodflame Garment.
So now he was more certain than ever that it would help his Yang Fire Physique reach new heights!
And he was even more eager to see just how far Crow’s bloodline would evolve after consuming it!
Once Crow’s bloodline and constitution underwent another metamorphosis, his own fire-attributed physique would improve in tandem, accelerating his cultivation speed even further—making every bit of effort twice as rewarding.
Sensing the increasingly alluring aura of the Bloodflame Garment, Qi Ping felt a surge of motivation!
Two years was nothing—he’d spend that time diving into formations and spells, and it would fly by!
But just days after the Bee Daoist incident, Meng Yan came to chat with Qi Ping about the Bee Daoist and the Immortal Alliance.
Meng Yan: “Brother Qi! Have you heard about the huge commotion that happened recently in our Azure Sky Domain?”
“A Foundation Establishment cultivator named Bee Daoist has wiped out Foundation Establishment forces under the Immortal Alliance. He not only killed a bunch of Foundation Establishment mid and early stage cultivators, but also self-destructed and took a late stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with him. He’s too fierce!”
“Someone with that much talent and conviction, and yet he ended up dying in a self-detonation… what a shame I never got the chance to meet him.”
“If he’d only had more time to grow, who knows how far he could have reached!”
As Meng Yan spoke to Qi Ping, his voice was filled with genuine admiration and regret.
Qi Ping couldn’t help but find the whole thing a bit absurd.
Isn’t the Bee Daoist… me?
“If Brother Meng ever found out that not only did the Bee Daoist survive, but he’s actually standing right in front of him, his jaw would probably hit the floor!”
Of course, Qi Ping could only keep his mouth shut. Whether it was the Bee Daoist’s true identity or the fact that the Bee Daoist would walk the world again—he couldn’t reveal a word of it to anyone.
Aside from that, Meng Yan also told Qi Ping about the Immortal Alliance—turns out that was the name of the organization that refined infants into blood-food!
“The Immortal Alliance, huh? What a grand name for such an organization…”
In Meng Yan’s account, the Immortal Alliance was a mysterious underground power in the cultivation world with deep roots, and they’d been hunting down people with special constitutions or exceptional cultivation aptitudes.
The organization’s origins were extremely secretive, and it was backed by terrifyingly powerful beings.
So he urged Qi Ping not to provoke them rashly until his strength was sufficient.
But when Qi Ping tried to dig deeper, Meng Yan said that was all he knew—he had no further details.
No statistics like how many people the Immortal Alliance captured each year had ever been made public.
If Qi Ping hadn’t seen with his own eyes the dense rows of infants turned into blood-food, and if he hadn’t felt that mournful cry from heaven and earth, he probably wouldn’t have known just what the Immortal Alliance was really up to.
Two years passed in the blink of an eye.
Not too long, not too short.
During this time, the buzz around the Bee Daoist in the Azure Sky Domain gradually faded. Occasionally, it would still come up over drinks or in idle chatter, but that was about it.
And in that time, Qi Ping’s cultivation, formation mastery, and understanding of spells all made steady progress.
Of course, what excited and thrilled him the most was that the Bloodflame Garment was finally fully cultivated!
A tier-two, mid-grade Bloodflame Garment! Eight hundred years of medicinal potency!
This was the absolute limit of Qi Ping’s plant cultivation!
Once the Bloodflame Garment reached eight hundred years of potency, just breathing in the spiritual energy it released made his Yang Fire Physique stir with eagerness!
Because the Bloodflame Garment had grown to the size of two heads, there was a generous amount of it. Qi Ping had recently sliced off a small portion and handed it over to the Apothecary Bees, to see if they could whip up something pleasantly surprising.
“Caw caw! (Boss! This one right here—it’s about forty to fifty percent more effective than consuming the same amount of raw Bloodflame Garment!)”
After a careful round of testing, Crow quickly identified the best batch.
“Good, good! Stick with this recipe for brewing!”
Qi Ping nodded with satisfaction at the result.
Forty to fifty percent better than direct consumption—not a huge leap, but accounting for the one-twentieth used in testing, it roughly equated to consuming about 1.4 whole eight-hundred-year Bloodflame Garments.
“Crow, get ready. Once the honey’s brewed, we’ll start your transformation immediately!”
“Caw caw! (No problem at all, boss—I’m ready whenever!)” Crow’s tone brimmed with confidence.
Ever since awakening the Great Sun Physique, its absorption of solar power had skyrocketed. With the help of the Blazing Sunwood and Sun Essence later on, its transformation had sped up even further.
By now, although its cultivation realm remained at tier-two, mid-stage, its foundations were incredibly deep. Every single feather radiated scorching, dense solar power.
Even its pitch-black feathers had begun turning gold!
If Qi Ping hadn’t asked it to wait, Crow could have started its independent transformation long ago.
But when it came to Qi Ping’s orders, Crow naturally trusted and obeyed them unconditionally. Awakening even more bloodline power was something it desperately craved!
And just now, after tasting the honey made from the Bloodflame Garment—feeling that power surging through its entire being, setting every fiber ablaze—it saw the hope of becoming even stronger!
