Qi Ping estimated that the reason his advancement to the ninth level of Qi Refining felt so natural was because his foundations—spiritual power, physical body, comprehension of laws and true intent, and so on—were already exceptionally solid.
The so-called difficulty of progressing through each later stage of Qi Refining was merely a result of unstable foundations or insufficient talent.
After step-by-step accumulating and building up his physical body, spirit, comprehension of laws, and innate gifts to an immensely profound level, the later stages of Qi Refining, once seemingly out of reach, were now broken through by Qi Ping as easily as walking on flat ground.
Therefore, Qi Ping was growing increasingly skeptical of the notion that one must seek life-or-death battles to find a breakthrough opportunity.
As long as he solidified his foundations thoroughly, he would always find the right moment to break through. Even the most elusive Dao Heart could be tempered within the mundane world; there was no need to actively seek out life-and-death experiences.
If possible, Qi Ping wished to avoid any life-threatening crises altogether.
After breaking through to the ninth level of Qi Refining, Qi Ping clearly felt his vitality increase significantly once more—more so than with any previous breakthrough.
Moreover, he sensed his body gradually approaching a state of completion. Once that perfection was reached, it would likely be the moment for him to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Through his recent efforts, Qi Ping was certain that the Foundation Establishment stage was no longer a bottleneck for him. As long as he fully comprehended the concept of Dao Heart, the barrier to Foundation Establishment would not be able to hold him back.
The only somewhat troublesome aspect was that, judging by his current cultivation speed, even with ample honey support, Qi Ping estimated it would take him over half a year to a year to reach the peak of Qi Refining.
The later one’s cultivation realm, the more it emphasized comprehension and accumulation. It wasn’t something that could be achieved by consuming one or two high-grade spiritual herbs. Otherwise, the descendants of Nascent Soul cultivators could break through to Foundation Establishment in just a few months…
……
During this period, the only thing that particularly concerned Qi Ping was a terrifying large-scale battle that erupted among the three major families.
Among the Liu, Zhu, and Murong families, the Murong family actually colluded with forces hostile to the Qingyuan Sect and launched a surprise attack on the other two families.
In addition, a group of black-robed cultivators controlling demonic insects also joined the Murong family’s side.
A bloody battle erupted almost instantly.
In Meng Yan’s description, this conflict could be summed up in two words: mountains of bones and rivers of blood…
Several Foundation Establishment cultivators perished, not to mention those at the Qi Refining stage.
However, the Qingyuan Sect had also laid contingency plans. Once the Murong faction launched their attack, countermeasures were immediately implemented.
The final outcome was the complete annihilation of the Murong family. Even the earthworms in their estate were dug up and cut in half—it could only be described as leaving neither chicken nor dog alive.
But the victorious Zhu and Liu families also won a pyrrhic victory, losing sixty to seventy percent of their clan members. The only members who remained relatively unscathed were those stationed in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.
On the surface, it seemed the Qingyuan Sect emerged victorious. However, with the three major families it relied on to control Qing Stone County reduced to such a miserable state, its control over the region sharply declined.
This might very well have been the true goal of those hostile sects.
After this battle, the situation in Qing Stone County became even more unpredictable.
……
After listening to Meng Yan’s account, Qi Ping couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Those three major families, which once seemed lofty, unattainable, and colossal in his eyes, had in an instant met with the fate of one being destroyed and the other two severely crippled.
Regarding this, Qi Ping could only lament the impermanence of worldly affairs.
It also made him feel even more that the deeper one’s connections within the world of cultivation, the more likely one is to become a pawn. A single misstep could turn one into cannon fodder, leading to demise…
Sect disciples are cannon fodder…
The three major cultivation families are cannon fodder…
And loose cultivators are even less than cannon fodder…
This made Qi Ping increasingly aware of the dangers of the cultivation world. In the eyes of those lofty, powerful cultivators, everything is merely a chess piece…
Once caught within it, it is extremely difficult to escape the fate of becoming a pawn.
Those powerful cultivators can foster prosperous economic development for the sake of spirit stone taxes, yet they can also manipulate life and death for their own purposes with ease.
Qing Stone County alone witnessed so many deaths, let alone the colossal Qing Tian Domain!
Even describing it as “corpses lying in the millions” might be an underestimate.
This further solidified Qi Ping’s resolve to create a hidden, private sanctuary belonging solely to himself!
To live and cultivate in peace, he must stay away from the vortex and hide himself.
Because once caught in the vortex, no matter how careful one is, it’s possible to fall victim to the schemes of those powerful cultivators.
Even with the experience of two lifetimes, Qi Ping didn’t believe his intelligence and strategic thinking could match those monsters who had lived for a thousand years or even longer.
This was evident from the previous prosperity of Qing Stone County and the Qing Tian Domain. Their economic management models and administrative levels were even better than what Qi Ping had experienced in his previous life!
A single county was so prosperous, not to mention the entire Qing Tian Domain.
This alone could be described as those old monsters possessing “near-demonic strategizing.”
The only method Qi Ping could think of to escape the schemes of these old monsters was to conceal his own existence!
Because one cannot scheme against something one doesn’t know about.
In the end, it’s best not to harbor any hostility or adversarial thoughts either, because the cultivation world has arts of divination and fate reading.
Once hostility is directed toward such individuals, it’s possible for karma to be calculated, leading to being tracked down and eliminated. The probability might not be high, but it’s still a risk to guard against.
Qi Ping found that the more he learned about the cultivation world, the more he sensed the great terror it contained!
This danger is limited for ordinary people, and manageable for ordinary geniuses. But for those carrying great secrets, countless eyes would undoubtedly be watching—especially for anomalies like Qi Ping who defy convention.
Regarding the great battle among the three families, Qi Ping specially went to the Zhu family to check on his old friend Wang Shan, to see if there was any opportunity to help.
To Qi Ping’s surprise, not only was Wang Shan alive and well, but occasionally, when no one was around, a look of joy would flicker across his face.
Clearly, in this conflict, Wang Shan not only emerged unscathed but likely gained considerable benefits, accumulating substantial resources for his child’s future cultivation path.
While feeling relieved for his old friend Wang Shan, Qi Ping couldn’t help but marvel at Wang Shan’s capabilities.
Amidst the heavy casualties suffered by the three major families, Wang Shan not only survived but also reaped significant rewards. One had to admit, his survival skills were pretty impressive.
Returning to his mountain peak, Qi Ping paid no further mind to the external chaos and instead devoted all his energy to the study of formation arrays.
After successfully researching the first-tier, low-grade Skyfire Formation, Qi Ping went on to develop other fire-attribute formations like the Sea of Flames Formation and the Nine Flames Formation, making rapid progress in his formation mastery.
Qi Ping’s biggest goal now is to create a private territory where he can stay away from the chaos and trouble.
Initially, a first-tier, intermediate-grade illusion formation and a concealment formation would suffice. Without careful inspection, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator passing overhead wouldn’t detect them.
That would basically be enough. After all, what Foundation Establishment cultivator would have nothing better to do than meticulously scan a godforsaken place with their spiritual sense? Unless Qi Ping actively provoked such big shots, prompting them to search the mountains.
Qi Ping planned to gradually improve the formation arrangements on his territory as his formation skills advanced. His ideal state was for his territory to have multiple layers: illusion formations, grand concealment formations, killing formations, defensive formations, interference formations… turning his territory into an impregnable castle.
Another forty days passed. Qi Ping’s formation skills improved once more, and he successfully set up a set of first-tier, intermediate-grade formations.
By standard measures, Qi Ping could now be considered a first-tier, intermediate-grade Formation Master, although he currently only knew how to set up fire-attribute formations.
However, this wasn’t what made Qi Ping happiest. What excited him the most was that after over half a year of effort, his Druid level had finally risen to five!
“I’ve grinded for over half a year, and my level has finally increased!”
“I can now choose the Druid’s advancement!”
[Druid Level: lv4 (289/800)] → [Druid Level: lv5 (1/1600)].
