“When my personal territory is fully established, I can finally arrange to bring Old Man Zhou back. That lazy old coot’s eyes will probably pop right out of his head when he sees it.”
As Qi Ping grew more adept with illusion and concealment arrays, he knew that day was fast approaching.
Old Man Zhou had been in the mortal realm for a long time. Given how thin spiritual energy was there, his lifespan would shorten once his resources ran out.
Therefore, as long as the territory could guarantee Old Man Zhou’s safety, he could be brought back.
Qi Ping absolutely did not want any accident causing Old Man Zhou to pass away alone in the mortal realm. Such a thing would haunt Qi Ping with guilt for a lifetime.
Old Man Zhou had already been betrayed by one disciple like that. If Qi Ping did the same, even with Old Man Zhou’s generally easygoing nature, he would likely be utterly devastated.
Thinking of this, Qi Ping’s research into array formations became even more urgent.
However, just as Qi Ping was diligently studying a mid-level tier-one illusion array, an uninvited guest arrived.
A stunningly beautiful woman, dressed in resplendent red robes and exuding nobility in her every gesture, descended upon Qi Ping’s mountain peak, accompanied by several maidservants.
The moment Qi Ping laid eyes on this beautiful woman, he recognized her identity:
That mysterious alchemist who had once used Soul-Nurturing Pills as bait to gather information all over Bluestone Market!
The reason Qi Ping could recognize her was because Boss Gao had later shown him a portrait of this mysterious alchemist.
Red robes, peerless beauty—in Bluestone County, there was likely only this one person.
Qi Ping couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
This group had finally tracked him down. Boss Gao’s earlier worries and warnings were now coming true!
The trail left behind from purchasing Ya Ya had finally come back to haunt him at this moment!
However, Qi Ping felt little panic in his heart.
The highest cultivation level among the visitors was only at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, posing little threat to his current strength.
His [Nature Sense] talent detected no danger, further proving the other party lacked the capability to threaten him.
Yet, what puzzled Qi Ping most was that his [Nature Sense] talent faintly perceived an impending fortunate event!
This piqued Qi Ping’s curiosity.
Otherwise, he would have already transformed into a bee and made his escape, not even entertaining thoughts of killing and looting.
Even if the other party was a wealthy alchemist, it was the same. Unless absolutely necessary, Qi Ping preferred not to engage in life-or-death conflicts with others.
Of course, if there was a compelling reason to fight, or if someone provoked him, Qi Ping would never hold back… and he never had.
As for killing and looting corpses, while it might lead to a sudden windfall, the appeal was still too limited for Qi Ping.
Besides the high risks, the fundamental reason was that Qi Ping simply preferred accumulating spirit stones through farming.
And being a Druid was perfectly suited for earning money and accumulating spirit stones!
The current challenge was that the production of Nourishing Spirit Honey was nearing its limit. It wasn’t that Qi Ping couldn’t expand further, but increasing output any more would bring disproportionately high risks.
Qi Ping had no desire to attract the attention of high-level cultivators for this reason.
Therefore, the safer approach going forward was to produce and sell other items, and not honey. Honey production needed to be maintained at a level commensurate with his demonstrated strength, ensuring any enemies attracted could be dealt with with absolute certainty.
Fortunately, Qi Ping had awakened the Tree Warden profession and could utilize the [Tree Spirit Covenant] ability to contract and cultivate spirit trees capable of producing Moon Essence, Spirit Liquid, Ore Essence, and similar resources. He could then sell these different types of resources to earn spirit stones.
As long as Qi Ping sold these items under a disguised identity, he wouldn’t attract the attention of powerful high-level cultivators by earning too many spirit stones.
He just needed to find a way to obtain the corresponding spirit trees and techniques. Currently, the only suitable ones for Qi Ping to contract were Starwood and its corresponding technique, Spirit Gathering Art.
Spirit Gathering Art could greatly enhance Starwood’s ability to gather spiritual energy, continuously creating a spirit-rich land.
However, what Qi Ping was most curious about right now was why this woman in red before him triggered his [Nature Sense] talent to perceive an imminent fortunate event.
Having possessed the [Nature Sense] talent for so long, this seemed to be the first time it had been triggered in this manner.
But Qi Ping, his heart full of curiosity, nearly lost his composure the very next second.
“How dare you not come immediately when my mistress wishes to speak with you!” a maidservant barked at Qi Ping.
As she spoke, the spiritual power of the ninth layer of Qi Refining instantly surged towards Qi Ping, intending to seize him and bring him over for questioning.
Witnessing this, Qi Ping’s face immediately darkened.
A fortunate event?
This was the impending fortunate event?
Could it be that the Nature Sense talent also had its moments of failure?
Yet Qi Ping had tested this talent many times and was fairly certain it had no issues.
So how to explain the current situation?
Just as Qi Ping’s eyes sharpened, preparing to take action, the maidservant’s move was interrupted.
“Xiao Lan! Mind your manners!”
With a light but stern command from the noblewoman in red, she immediately acted, intercepting the spiritual power of the ninth-layer maidservant.
Then, she delivered a heavy slap to the maidservant’s face.
The maidservant named Xiao Lan was immediately struck, spitting out blood mixed with teeth, one side of her cheek swelling grotesquely.
This series of actions also caused a slight jolt of surprise in Qi Ping’s heart.
This woman in red was extraordinary!
Both at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, yet she acted later but intercepted the attack first. This level of skill might be on par with Meng Yan’s. No wonder Boss Gao said even Meng Yan was quite wary of this woman.
After striking the maidservant, the woman in red turned to Qi Ping and bowed slightly.
“My handmaiden was rude and ignorant, offending Young Master Qi. I offer her apologies on her behalf. Please, young master, do not hold it against her.”
As she spoke, the woman in red retrieved a special jade box from her storage ring. Then, using her spiritual power, she gently placed both the jade box and a jade slip on the ground at a safe, respectful distance from Qi Ping.
This was the customary safe distance for exchanging items between unfamiliar cultivators, as one could never be sure if what was offered might be dangerous.
“These are two stalks of Soul-Nurturing Grass, a local specialty of my family. Please accept them as an apology for my handmaiden’s rashness. I sincerely hope you will take them.”
The woman in red finished speaking and bowed to Qi Ping once more, while subtly observing him with a hint of surprise in her gaze.
She hadn’t acted out of pure kindness. The moment her maidservant made a move, an immense sense of dread and crisis had instantly enveloped her heart.
That’s why she immediately halted the maidservant’s action, punished her, and promptly offered the quite valuable Soul-Nurturing Grass. Seeing Qi Ping’s demeanor, he seemed like someone who enjoyed cultivating spiritual plants, so she chose two still-living stalks of Soul-Nurturing Grass rather than pre-made pills.
Her choice proved correct. Only after presenting the Soul-Nurturing Grass did the sense of crisis gradually fade from her heart, allowing her to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
Good heavens, she had almost died!
The meaning of the jade slip was also clear: an offer of friendship.
Her family’s foundation was commerce, and they excelled at befriending promising talents far and wide. This was key to her family’s prosperity.
Qi Ping was younger than her, yet could evoke such a severe sense of crisis in her. That alone made him worthy of her efforts to build goodwill.
As for the secrets Qi Ping might possess, she harbored no covetous thoughts. One of her family’s teachings was to never make enemies of people like Qi Ping. If accidentally offending them, one must immediately apologize and strive to build a friendly relationship.
If the other party remained hostile, then the family should be notified to formulate a response—deciding whether to continue appeasing or to eradicate the threat completely!
These were lessons distilled from generations of her family’s mercantile and people-reading experiences, key reasons for their enduring prosperity.
Looking at the Soul-Nurturing Grass suddenly presented before him, Qi Ping felt some surprise.
This apology was undeniably sincere.
However, while Soul-Nurturing Grass was precious, it hardly seemed significant enough to trigger his Nature Sense talent’s premonition. He could obtain such things through Meng Yan as well.
“Could it be because of this jade slip?”
Having read many books, Qi Ping naturally understood this signified a desire for friendly relations and future communication.
