Wait… I’m a Druid in a Cultivation World?! - Chapter 99

“With talents like Heaven and Earth’s Blessing, Nature’s Affinity, and Yang Fire Constitution… if I could add a Soul or Comprehension talent to these, comprehending the True Meaning of Fire should be within reach.”

“Especially since I’ve already grasped a fragment of the True Meaning of Fire. I’m not starting completely from scratch anymore.”

Those who comprehend concepts like Sword Intent or the True Meaning of Fire are exceptionally rare, even among the gatherings of geniuses in cultivation sects.

The difficulty of achieving such comprehension before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage is incredibly high. So high, in fact, that the vast majority would rather fight desperately, even risk life and limb, for a single Foundation Establishment Pill than attempt to comprehend a Law’s True Meaning.

Perhaps many have tried to comprehend it, but ultimately, in despair, they all ended up walking the path of competing for the Foundation Establishment Pill.

This path is so difficult that Qi Ping himself had subconsciously never seriously considered it as an option. It was only after sensing Lin Qingshu’s Sword Intent that he realized he had, unexpectedly, already stepped one foot onto the path of comprehending a Law’s True Meaning!

“My mind is made up. Now that I have this opportunity, I will undoubtedly walk the path of Foundation Establishment through True Meaning. Whether it’s for greater combat strength or a more solid foundation!”

“To be safe, I’ll form a contract with another animal companion specializing in Soul or Comprehension. Gaining one more Soul or Comprehension talent would give me absolute confidence…”

The use of a Comprehension talent goes without saying. Those who can comprehend a Law’s True Meaning before the Qi Refinement stage are almost universally individuals with extraordinary comprehension.

Soul talents have a similar effect. The stronger one’s soul, the better one can perceive the existence of a Law’s True Meaning. This is also why many cultivators begin to slowly comprehend Law’s True Meanings only after reaching the late stages of Foundation Establishment.

“So, starting now, I’ll work on earning spirit stones while also gathering information about Soul or Comprehension-type spirit beasts here in Qingshi County…”

“That Illusion Moon White Fox is a good candidate, but if there’s a better one, I should naturally choose a beast with greater bloodline potential. Just like with Ya Ya, as long as there are sufficiently powerful fire-attribute spiritual materials, the probability of continued evolution and awakening is very high.”

And if Qi Ping had spiritual land and seeds, the last thing he’d lack is powerful fire-attribute spiritual herbs.

“Alternatively, maybe I should pay a visit to Meng Yan?”

As an inner sect disciple with connections to a Qingyuan Sect Elder, and also an artifact forger with a wide network, finding information about a Soul-type spirit beast should be no difficulty for him.

Qi Ping had also specifically asked Ya Ya about Meng Yan’s character and reputation. The answer he got was that this person’s character was indeed quite good; there were no instances of him being two-faced. This basically proved he could be tentatively trusted.

“The problem is how to get him willing to help…”

No matter what, since he had this opportunity to utilize these channels and connections, for the sake of his cultivation path, Qi Ping was determined to use them.

He wouldn’t mind spending a few extra spirit stones for it.

Having determined his next steps, Qi Ping settled down to focus on accelerating the growth of the Blood Ginseng.

He also remained highly vigilant. If anyone came looking for trouble because of the man and woman in white, Qi Ping would immediately transform into a bee and be ready to escape.

Fortunately, after several days passed, there was no sign of anyone showing up at his door. This allowed Qi Ping to quietly breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed Lin Qingshu had likely handled the trouble cleanly.

After all, on the surface, Qi Ping was just an inconspicuous beekeeping rogue cultivator. Normally, no one would pay him any special attention.

However, the thing Qi Ping prioritized most these past few days was his attempt to comprehend the True Meaning of Fire. This was, after all, the foundation of his cultivation path. It was fine if the bee colony’s growth slowed a bit for now, but comprehending the True Meaning of Fire was absolutely essential.

So, during these days:

• While practicing the Wood Flame Art, he strained to recall and perceive that unique Fire Intent within heaven and earth.

• While nurturing the Fire Spirit Grass, he would also contemplate the unique fire-attribute energy within it.

• He occasionally had Ya Ya summon some Yang Fire for him to perceive and refine.

However, the effects of these efforts weren’t particularly significant.

Although Qi Ping felt his insights and understanding of fire-attribute energy were growing, he still had no clue regarding the crucial point of the True Meaning of Fire. It just went to show that the extreme difficulty of comprehending a Law’s True Meaning was no exaggeration at all.

Yet, Qi Ping felt no discouragement whatsoever.

He had long been mentally prepared for the difficulty involved and had never expected to comprehend the True Meaning of Fire easily.

All his recent efforts—perceiving the Fire Spirit Grass, the Yang Fire, the Wood Flame Art, and the fire-attribute energy between heaven and earth—were merely about accumulating foundational knowledge for a future moment of sudden enlightenment and true comprehension.

Through these efforts, he had genuinely gained many new insights about fire-attribute energy in his mind.

He believed that if he continued accumulating understanding like this, the day would eventually come when he could comprehend the True Meaning of Fire.

He also hadn’t forgotten his [Heaven and Earth’s Blessing] talent, which increased his chances of sudden enlightenment.

Therefore, as long as he focused on accumulation now, he would certainly be able to achieve sudden enlightenment regarding the True Meaning of Fire one day.

Especially if he could share a Soul or Comprehension talent from an animal companion, a moment of mental clarity might coincide with his sudden enlightenment of the True Meaning of Fire.

But the prerequisite for that was having sufficient accumulated understanding. Only by accumulating enough foundational insight through daily perception could he provide the necessary basis for that future moment of enlightenment.

This is often how ‘breaking through after substantial accumulation’ works.

Take his impression of Lin Qingshu, for example. She seemed like a very single-minded person, probably extremely focused and persistent in her sword practice. For someone like that, achieving sudden enlightenment of Sword Intent in a life-or-death situation wasn’t particularly surprising.

Comprehending Sword Intent especially emphasizes one’s mental state, and life-or-death situations are the ultimate test of one’s true heart and a catalyst for mental fortitude.

However, concepts like the True Meanings of the Five Elements laws of heaven and earth don’t place such high demands on mental state. They rely more on understanding and comprehending the laws of nature themselves. This suited Qi Ping’s temperament and approach much better.

Quietly researching and utilizing the essential laws of heaven and earth was something Qi Ping greatly enjoyed.

While Qi Ping’s mind was fully occupied with studying the True Meaning of Fire, time flew by.

Before he knew it, the first batch of Hundred Spirit Grass was ready for harvest.

However, since most of it needed to be combined with the various pollens and spiritual materials his bees gathered from all over the mountains to make bee rations, only a small portion of this first batch could be used to brew Spirit Nurturing Honey for sale.

Qi Ping was gradually discovering an advantage of this location: being deep within the Misty Cloud Mountain Range, most areas remained untouched by other cultivators. This allowed him to confidently send his bees out to search for various pollens and spiritual materials usable as rations.

Some bees had even discovered a few small patches of spiritual land within the mountains.

Although they couldn’t even be considered low-grade rank-1 spiritual land, the benefits were no rent and hidden locations. He could still plant a few, or even a dozen or so, Hundred Spirit Grass plants there.

So, Qi Ping gave some Hundred Spirit Grass seeds to the bees to plant. Providing them with a little extra food was always good.

During this time, Qi Ping also made a trip to Sister Nan’s place and bought about forty spirit stones’ worth of Spirit Nurturing Fruits.

And just as Qi Ping was about to harvest the first batch of Hundred Spirit Grass, something happened that made him particularly happy.

His Druid level had reached 4!