Wait… I’m a Druid in a Cultivation World?!

“Brother Meng, this…”

Seeing the hammer Meng Yan produced, Qi Ping noticed the clear, un-repaired marks of countless forgings on it.

The most astonishing thing was the lingering conceptual essence of Fire Intent surrounding it.

This kind of conceptual essence isn’t something easily preserved. It’s a special type of item that can only be born from long-term nurturing and the instantaneous moment of comprehending the law’s true intent.

That’s why items containing the conceptual essence of a law’s true intent are quite rare.

These special items generally record the entire process of the user’s comprehension of the true intent. Using them to gain insight into the law’s true intent can be even more useful than observing someone who has already comprehended it demonstrate that intent.

Furthermore, this conceptual essence gradually depletes and disappears as others perceive and comprehend it, which also leads to extremely high prices for such items.

Under certain circumstances, even offering a high price might not be enough to find one; they can be incredibly difficult to obtain.

In some ways, it could even be called an alternative type of Foundation Establishment Pill. Because once one comprehends a law’s true intent, reaching Foundation Establishment becomes as easy as walking on flat ground, and the resulting Dao foundation forged would be more solid and powerful than one built with a Foundation Establishment Pill.

This item held immense significance for Qi Ping. With it, his comprehension of Fire Intent was practically guaranteed.

But faced with such an object, Qi Ping was momentarily at a loss for words.

Before this, Meng Yan’s help and gifts to him had been within a normal range.

For example, things like the Flame Explosion spell technique and the pill formula were replicable. While precious to Qi Ping, for Meng Yan they were mere trifles, involving little to no loss on his part.

As for the spiritual herbs, if the quantity wasn’t large, Qi Ping was confident he could repay Meng Yan with spirit stones once he started mass-producing Nourishing Spirit Honey.

Or, he could repay by ensuring Meng Yan’s safety when he was in danger.

These kinds of ‘investments’ were still within a relatively normal scope.

But when this hammer imbued with Fire Intent was placed before him, Qi Ping fell silent.

In the ruthless world of cultivation, where life-and-death struggles were as common as eating and drinking, this gesture felt unreal to Qi Ping.

“Brother Meng, this is too valuable. You should keep it yourself. I cannot accept such a reward without merit; I would feel ashamed to take this.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Qi Ping still refused. He already felt indebted to Meng Yan for too many favors.

Besides, as long as he obtained a suitable soul-based comprehension talent, he was fairly confident about comprehending Fire Intent himself. It wasn’t absolutely necessary to incur this debt.

However, faced with Qi Ping’s refusal, Meng Yan responded with a hearty, straightforward tone:

“Brother Qi, please, take it and use it with peace of mind. It’s just a small trinket, hardly worth mentioning. In all my time in the Qingtian Domain, there aren’t many people Meng recognizes, but you are one of them!”

“Especially since the Dao Heart artistic conception you comprehend resonates with mine in a similar way. Having a fellow Daoist one can trust on the path of cultivation is far more important than these objects!”

“Besides, everyone faces trouble sometimes. Having an extra friend is always more important than having a few more spirit stones. Back in the Qingyuan Sect, I know a few senior brothers and sisters who I think you’d get along with. I’ll introduce you someday!”

When Meng Yan said this, the look in his eyes and the increasingly strong aura of his Dao Heart artistic conception showed not the slightest fluctuation.

Qi Ping could tell that these words came completely from the heart.

At this moment, Qi Ping found it hard to believe that he could encounter someone so genuine in the cultivation world.

Judging from a person’s Dao Heart artistic conception, one could indeed get a sense of their character.

It was true that a seeker of the Dao like this would find it easier to enlighten their Dao Heart and comprehend artistic conceptions.

And since Meng Yan had put it this way, Qi Ping decided not to refuse any longer.

He also agreed with Meng Yan’s sentiment: sometimes, having one more trustworthy friend was indeed more important than some spirit stones.

Just like Shopkeeper Gao, whose current strength was far below Qi Ping’s, had provided him with significant convenience at times, and was now even helping Qi Ping secure an outlet for his Nourishing Spirit Honey.

However, since Meng Yan had gone to such lengths, Qi Ping naturally couldn’t offer nothing in return.
The problem was, he possessed very few things that would be valuable to Meng Yan. His various types of honey paled in comparison to the marvelous pills and medicines available within Meng Yan’s sect.

After thinking it over, Qi Ping realized there was truly nothing in his storage bag that Meng Yan would likely fancy.

Thinking back and forth, Qi Ping remembered the strangely shaped jade pendant he had obtained from killing the insect-controlling black-robed robber cultivator and the mysterious altar that bred the Demon Insect King.

However, the matter of the Demon Insect King involved a Nascent Soul Venerable. Until he had sufficient strength, Qi Ping absolutely could not reveal anything about it.

But the insect-controlling black-robed robber cultivator that Lin Qingshu was investigating posed a controllable risk for Qi Ping.

It would be better to hand over the secrets and credit related to that to Meng Yan, as a form of reciprocation for his kindness.

Additionally, he could use Meng Yan’s channels to understand the hidden aspects of this matter. Being constantly investigated by Lin Qingshu made him uneasy.

Knowing the causes, effects, and potential risks involved would allow him to prepare and respond timely.

Thus, Qi Ping proactively spoke up:

“In that case, thank you, Brother Meng. But before that, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Please, go ahead, Brother Qi!”

“Brother Meng, are you acquainted with someone named Lin Qingshu?”

“We’ve crossed paths, but I’m not very familiar with her. However, she is one of the notable figures in the Qingyuan Sect. I heard she recently even managed to turn misfortune into fortune and comprehended Sword Intent. Her talent and brilliance surpass even mine. Do you know her too, Brother Qi?”

“Merely seen her, can’t say I know her. It seemed some time ago she was persistently investigating the traces of a black-robed robber cultivator. And, by a twist of fate, I ended up killing that black-robed cultivator…”

Qi Ping’s words caused a wry, amused expression to appear on Meng Yan’s face.

“In that case, Brother Qi, you’d better keep that secret well guarded. Otherwise, she’s sure to come looking for you to settle accounts. She had intentionally left that black-robbed cultivator alive, planning to use him to uncover a major secret. Who would have thought you’d kill him midway…”

“So that’s how it was!”

An equally wry and amused expression appeared on Qi Ping’s face. All this time, he had thought there was something exceptionally important on that black-robed robber cultivator.

But through Meng Yan’s words, Qi Ping gained a general understanding of the hidden situation.

That black-robed insect-controlling cultivator was the only one who had used demon insect cultivators to search for the Demon Insect King’s location. Lin Qingshu’s goal was likely the same.

If he hadn’t intervened, Lin Qingshu might indeed have succeeded in tracking it down through that method. Therefore, revealing this matter to Lin Qingshu was absolutely out of the question for Qi Ping.

“Besides that, I also found a bronze token on that black-robed robber cultivator. It looked roughly like this…”

“An Evil Descendants Alliance Silver-grade Token?”

Hearing this, a trace of surprise flashed across Meng Yan’s face. It seemed that black-robed robber had some background, to actually possess a Silver-grade token.

“It did indeed have the character for ‘Descendant’ engraved on it. What is the function of this token? Could there be any risk associated with killing someone who has one?”

This was Qi Ping’s primary concern. Now that he finally had someone he could ask, he wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip by.

“As long as you don’t proactively reveal it, there should basically be no issue. However, that token is made from a special material. The material itself might be worth around a thousand spirit stones. Also, the Qingyuan Sect is collecting these tokens, offering a premium price of up to two or three thousand spirit stones. So it holds some value…”

Hearing this, Qi Ping breathed a sigh of relief. He finally had a clearer picture regarding the matters connected to the black-robed robber cultivator.

“I understand. Thank you for informing me, Brother Meng. Regarding that token, I’ll bring it to you next time as a small token of my appreciation…”

After a brief conversation, the two each took their share of the items and returned home.

Meng Yan had smoothly and successfully completed the mission assigned by his sect without any alarms, even obtaining an ancient stone talisman the sect required.

As for Qi Ping, his gains were even more substantial. With such a plentiful harvest, all he wanted now was to return quickly, go into seclusion, and diligently work on cultivating the spiritual herbs and boosting his cultivation level.