Among the honeys Qi Ping gave Old Zhou, the most abundant were those that nourished the soul and body and improved aptitude.
The key reason that honey could improve aptitude was mainly the Ripple Wonder Tree.
The Ripple Fruit of the Ripple Wonder Tree was originally meant to boost the cultivation and water-attribute aptitude of water-attribute cultivators. But because the Ripple Fruit’s medicinal properties were so fierce, it wasn’t something a Qi Refinement cultivator like Old Zhou could consume.
However, after the bees’ research and dilution, they actually blended a honey that could improve wood-attribute cultivation aptitude!
Qi Ping had taken some of this honey himself, but more importantly, he saw hope here for Old Zhou to advance to Foundation Establishment!
So Qi Ping began cleansing and refining Old Zhou’s body, researching a cultivation method suited to Old Zhou’s wood spiritual root—and Old Zhou set foot on the path of cultivation once more.
“One day, I’ll find Old Zhou a spiritual medicine that can greatly boost his cultivation aptitude!”
Such a medicine might be hard for Qi Ping to obtain right now, but once he successfully reached the Golden Core stage, it would become much easier.
“Also, Sister Nan once mentioned that cave dwelling where I obtained the [Spirit Beast Breeding: Demonic Insect Volume], and she also mentioned an enemy that could only be dealt with at the Golden Core stage. Once I reach Golden Core, I’ll settle that debt of gratitude and grudge all at once!”
Qi Ping still remembered that Sister Nan had said this in a joking tone, so he guessed her enemy was at most at the Foundation Establishment level. Never mind after Golden Core—he could easily handle it right now.
But Qi Ping wasn’t in a hurry about that. After reaching Golden Core, things would be safer. He could handle both matters together then.
[Spirit Beast Breeding: Demonic Insect Volume] had played a pivotal role in his early growth. Not long after, even the blood-potion formula for devouring the Demonic Insect King’s bloodline came from it.
So for something he could easily resolve, Qi Ping naturally wouldn’t be stingy.
Once this matter was settled, his debt of gratitude to Sister Nan would be completely repaid.
After sharing a meal and drinks with Old Zhou in the Cloud Mist Mountains, Qi Ping set off for Starfall City.
Ever since he had beaten Lu Ming—the senior disciple of the law enforcement hall—in front of everyone in Starfall City and forcibly taken his life-bound sword, the atmosphere in Starfall City had become even more subtle.
The black-market forces that had still harbored some schemes now all lay low, so well-behaved they didn’t dare breathe too loudly. They could only turn to their backers for help again.
But compared to Starfall City, which posed no danger to Qi Ping, the most critical thing was that after Lu Ming was beaten by Qi Ping, the entire Qingyuan Sect had gone almost silent—while undercurrents began to surge.
The impact of the image captured on the recording stone was simply too shocking. Lu Ming, renowned throughout the sect as the law enforcement hall’s senior disciple, had been captured and beaten in just a few breaths!
Although Qi Ping also appeared seriously injured, the strength, combat instinct, decisiveness, and ruthlessness he displayed left almost all Qingyuan Sect disciples still at the Foundation Establishment stage terrified. Even the few genius disciples whose reputations rivaled Lu Ming’s found Qi Ping incredibly troublesome.
Even the two core disciples who had already condensed their Golden Cores were paying attention to this rising star, Qi Ping.
This time, Qi Ping’s fame within the Qingyuan Sect wasn’t just a matter of making a name for himself—he had thoroughly established an unshakable position among the sect’s many genius disciples.
But the most crucial thing now was the attitude of the Golden Core-level figures toward Qi Ping. That would completely determine his fate within the sect.
According to Qi Ping’s understanding, among the current Qingyuan Sect higher-ups, the core figure was a Nascent Soul-level grand elder.
As long as there were no other living Nascent Soul ancestors in the Qingyuan Sect, this grand elder was the sect’s highest decision-maker. However, Qi Ping’s current incident wasn’t significant enough to draw his attention. Sometimes even Golden Core-level matters might not prompt this grand elder to intervene—let alone something involving Qi Ping.
Among the Qingyuan Sect’s current Golden Core higher-ups, after years of development, three interest groups had basically formed: the Conservative Faction, the Neutral Faction, and the Radical Faction.
The Conservative Faction upheld Qingyuan Sect orthodoxy and was the faction with the purest hearts. They controlled the operation of Qingyuan Sect’s sect-protection formation and one of the most important sect-protection treasures.
The Qingyuan Sect’s sect-protection formation, passed down for over ten thousand years, could even slay a Nascent Soul cultivator at full power! But because it possessed extremely high spirituality and special restrictions, only those whose character passed layer upon layer of tests were qualified to wield it. Even the current Nascent Soul cultivators of the Qingyuan Sect were not qualified to control it.
The reason the Radical Faction didn’t dare violate sect rules was precisely because this faction existed.
This also directly prevented the Radical Faction from openly moving against Qi Ping. Because if they truly dared to do so, no one could predict what the Conservative Faction might do to uphold the sect rules.
But by this generation, the Conservative Faction had only three Golden Core cultivators left—the weakest among the three interest groups. However, because they controlled the sect-protection formation—that super-killer weapon—they held immense say in matters of sect rules and the sect’s long-term development.
The Radical Faction had an aggressive style. They would stop at nothing for resources, even killing the goose that laid the golden eggs—for example, disguising themselves as bandit cultivators to plunder cultivators of the Azure Sky Domain. All for the sake of pursuing immortality and the Dao!
The Radical Faction had a total of seven Golden Core cultivators and the largest number of disciples. They were currently the most powerful existence in the Qingyuan Sect, controlling three sect-protection treasures in total.
The Radical Faction was further divided into three sub-factions with considerable disputes among them. The ones who had framed Qi Ping belonged to the Radical Faction, and the people behind Starfall City also belonged to the Radical Faction.
The Neutral Faction controlled two of Qingyuan Sect’s sect-protection treasures. Their style was to sway with the wind—unwilling to collude with the three major factions, yet unable to maintain a clear and upright heart. They were daily weathervanes.
This faction currently had four Golden Core cultivators.
If they supported the Conservative Faction, the Conservatives would become stronger than the Radicals.
If they supported the Radical Faction, the Conservatives would become extremely weak.
But because currently only the Conservative Faction was qualified to control the sect-protection formation, if they were killed, Qingyuan Sect’s sect-protection formation would completely spiral out of control. This was a rule established at the sect’s founding to ensure the sect wouldn’t be harmed by villains or exploited by individuals.
It was precisely this rule that ensured the Qingyuan Sect’s survival for over ten thousand years! It was also the true trump card that kept the entire sect standing for millennia!
But as the Conservative Faction’s power continuously weakened, their influence steadily declined. Currently, most of the sect’s important positions were controlled by the Radical Faction, followed by the Neutral Faction. The Conservative Faction held the fewest positions.
The attitudes and compromises among these three interest groups determined the direction of the entire Qingyuan Sect’s policies. This was also why the Qingyuan Sect’s external actions couldn’t be completely unified.
Among them, the existence of the Conservative Faction was one of the sources of confidence behind Qi Ping’s plan.
And the reason Qi Ping had beaten Lu Ming—the law enforcement hall’s senior disciple—not long ago was precisely because he was certain that as long as he didn’t violate sect rules, the Radical Faction couldn’t do anything to him.
But if he chose to kill such a core figure, even the Conservative Faction might not be able to protect him.
Qi Ping also didn’t want his plans to fall apart over such a minor character.
Two months later, Starfall City.
Qi Ping, surrounded by yin-yang spiritual power, suddenly opened his eyes—a strong joy shining in them!
“The Yin-Yang Heaven Severing Formation has been successfully set up!”
Now he only lacked the Five Elements Birth-Destruction Formation!
After awakening, Qi Ping checked his message talisman, which contained recent information about the Qingyuan Sect.
After scanning through it, Qi Ping found that there was still no judgment regarding his beating of Lu Ming from the law enforcement hall.
“So much time has passed, and the sect has chosen silence regarding Lu Ming’s beating. It seems the three major factions have reached a temporary compromise.”
“But recently there have been rumors that the three major factions seem to have some unusual movements. I just don’t know if they’re aimed at me. To be safe, I should comprehend the Five Elements Birth-Destruction Formation as soon as possible. But the Yin-Yang Heaven Severing Formation can already be set up first—that way, even if something unexpected happens, I’ll have a trump card to respond with.”
“Hopefully I can hold out until I’ve fully comprehended the Five Elements Birth-Destruction Formation!”
Qi Ping was currently stuck in Starfall City, unable to advance or retreat. After beating up the law enforcement hall last time, he discovered that the forces behind Starfall City seemed to be joining hands with the people behind the Mission Hall to deal with him.
If Qi Ping sat and waited for death, all that awaited him was destruction—completely losing the hope of entering the Qingyuan Sect and obtaining knowledge about breaking through to the Golden Core stage.
So now, only one path lay before Qi Ping: blow the matter up, and use the Qingyuan Sect’s rules and his duty as a garrison envoy to successfully slaughter the city and kill a Golden Core cultivator.
But whether he could successfully kill the Golden Core cultivator who came, and whether the Conservative Faction would choose to keep playing turtle or protect him and let him soar—all of it was still unknown.
But at this point, if Qi Ping wanted to rise to the core of the Qingyuan Sect, there was no second choice. Without the Conservative Faction stepping forward, with the three major factions obstructing him, Qi Ping could never climb up—and thus could never obtain the cultivation knowledge he so desperately wanted. That was an indispensable part of his path to immortality.
But as long as he held fast to his original heart this time, strictly abided by sect rules, and cut down an important force of the three major factions—using it to demonstrate his extraordinary aptitude of killing a Golden Core at Foundation Establishment—he would have a greater chance of gaining the support of the Conservative and Neutral Factions to climb higher.
