After witnessing the potential of a Tree Shepherd in the world of immortal cultivation, Qi Ping became increasingly certain that he could forge his own path to eternal life through cultivation, even without relying on a sect or major power. Could someone truly be unable to achieve immortality without those powerful spirit veins and influential forces? Qi Ping felt that wasn’t necessarily the case.
Despite all sorts of difficulties, relying on the two professions—Beast King Druid and Tree Shepherd—he could still carve out a path to invincibility and immortality!
Moreover, Tree Shepherd and Beast King Druid were not the end; there were still opportunities for further advancement!
He turned his attention back to the Starlight Spirit Tree, with which he had just formed a tree spirit contract. Guided by his master-level Spirit Gathering technique, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was continuously drawn in by the tree.
At the base of the Starlight Spirit Tree’s roots, liquid spirit essence had already begun to form. This essence was an invaluable treasure for cultivation.
Once enough had been gathered, it could be sold for a considerable number of spirit stones.
However, Qi Ping currently had no plans to sell it.
“This liquid spirit essence can be saved. When I’m low on spiritual power during breakthroughs or exhausted in battle, it will serve as a top-grade spiritual item to quickly restore energy and save my life.”
If he collected a substantial amount later on, selling some would certainly be feasible.
Near the Starlight Spirit Tree, the soil had gradually reached the standard of a first-tier low-grade spirit field. The earth closest to the tree was even approaching first-tier mid-grade!
Qi Ping was confident that once the Starlight Spirit Tree fully matured, a vast expanse of spirit field would emerge because of it.
“The only issue is that spiritual energy from outside the illusion array is also starting to be drawn in…”
Considering the potential risks involved, Qi Ping frowned slightly. He then cast the Art of Wind-Riding Flight and made his way outside the illusion array.
The Art of Wind-Riding Flight was considered an advanced spell. Out of sheer interest in flying, Qi Ping had taken the time to learn it.
After all, who hasn’t dreamed of soaring through the skies? Upon discovering this technique, Qi Ping naturally couldn’t resist learning it. Although he wasn’t yet proficient, basic aerial movement was well within his ability.
Once outside the illusion array, Qi Ping carefully sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations in several locations.
After a long while, his furrowed brow finally relaxed.
“Given the current level of spiritual disturbance, unless someone comes close and examines it carefully, they probably won’t notice anything unusual. And Qingshi County is far too distant for that…”
“I was worrying too much. Creating a real commotion would require a spirit-gathering array of at least tier three. The Starlight Spirit Tree is still far from that.”
After some thought, Qi Ping decided to let the Starlight Spirit Tree continue gathering spiritual energy. Over time, this would steadily build up a substantial amount of spirit essence and convert more of the black soil into spirit soil.
Most importantly, this required no cost or effort on his part.
“This means I can now plant the Spirit-Infusing Fruit Tree that Sister Nan gave me, without wasting the spiritual power stored in the Spirit Origin Stone Pillar.”
The spiritual energy within the Spirit Origin Stone Pillar was limited. It served as the foundation for Qi Ping’s breakthrough to Foundation Establishment and could not be frivolously spent on trivial matters.
Now, the Starlight Spirit Tree had conveniently solved that problem.
“Still, though the risk is small, it mustn’t be ignored. I need to have the bee swarm monitor the surrounding area at all times.”
“If any unusual activity is detected externally, I’ll immediately use the formation to cut off the Starlight Spirit Tree’s absorption of outside spiritual energy.”
“I should also prepare several concealed escape tunnels. If it comes down to it and I have no other choice, I can flee through these paths.”
Unless absolutely necessary, Qi Ping would never abandon his territory. Especially in the future, once he acquired the skill [Sanctuary of Nature] and established his sanctuary here, abandoning it would result in an even greater loss. Still, having an escape route was essential—even if it was never used.
If Qi Ping could currently set up formations like teleportation arrays, he would have done so without hesitation. He was certain that, in the future, teleportation arrays would be not only his lifeline but also his gateway to the greater domains and his search for high-level spiritual treasures.
But teleportation arrays were still far beyond his reach. For now, steady and solid growth was the priority.
Returning inside the illusion array, Qi Ping looked at the Starlight Spirit Tree with satisfaction. It functioned like a spirit-gathering array—in fact, it even outperformed ordinary ones.
After applying Plant Growth to the tree several times, Qi Ping resumed his cultivation.
His primary goal now was to break through to Foundation Establishment. Next came nurturing a tier-two bee swarm. He continued tending to the little flower spirit daily, though there was still no sign of it advancing to tier two.
“To achieve Foundation Establishment, the only remaining condition on my part is to reach the peak of Qi Refining. Now that I’ve comprehended the [Essence of Fire] and the [Field of Farming], there’s no real threshold left for me to overcome. Unlike others, I don’t need to seek out a Foundation Establishment Pill.”
Not needing a Foundation Establishment Pill had saved Qi Ping a tremendous amount of trouble.
Acquiring such a pill was several times more difficult than obtaining a Foundation Establishment cultivation method. Its rarity was at least ten times greater, making it a tightly controlled resource within the Qingyuan Sect—especially under the current wartime conditions.
Under these circumstances, the price and difficulty of obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill had skyrocketed to unimaginable heights.
If Qi Ping had been forced to rely on obtaining one, his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment would have been delayed by who knows how long.
Fortunately, he had completely freed himself from that constraint.
“Next, in terms of external preparations, I’ll need high-aged fire-attributed honey for the breakthrough, and I must thoroughly study the Foundation Establishment technique, the ‘Golden Flame Art.’”
Qi Ping had given careful thought to his choice of Foundation Establishment cultivation method.
His options included a pure fire-attributed method, a dual wood-fire method, or a five-element method.
But after careful analysis, he set aside the latter two.
The five-element method, while the most powerful, was also the hardest to cultivate and the most difficult to obtain.
Qi Ping estimated that breaking through to Foundation Establishment using a five-element method would take at least a decade—perhaps longer. That was absolutely unacceptable. It would delay his progress far too much, and remaining in the Qi Refining stage for that long carried its own risks.
He was far more confident in the dual wood-fire method, and it wouldn’t require as much time. Still, such methods were hard to come by, and his talent in fire far exceeded that in wood.
Ultimately, he decided to establish his foundation using the path of fire. Later, if he acquired five-element talent and higher comprehension, he could always switch to a five-element path and pursue that route.
For now, this was the better choice.
“Time to start studying the ‘Golden Flame Art.’ Once I reach the peak of Qi Refining, I’ll be ready to break through!”
