Having simultaneously acquired two soul-attribute talents and grasped Flame Intent, Qi Ping found that both his cultivation speed and his efficiency in nurturing spiritual herbs had reached unprecedented heights.
He seized this hard-won opportunity, pouring every ounce of effort into elevating the strength of both himself and his animal companions.
Reaching this level of cultivation speed had required immense focus and a series of hard-fought victories. Qi Ping was determined not to squander the conditions he had painstakingly secured. He wanted to reach Rank Two combat capability as quickly as possible.
In this state of focused exertion, three months flashed by in the blink of an eye.
During this period, Qi Ping sold the Spirit-Condensing Honey produced by the Brewer Pot-bellied Bees to Boss Gao, netting a profit of 5,316 spirit stones.
To keep things simple, he repaid Meng Yan five thousand spirit stones along with the heavy hammer, which still retained about ninety percent of its Flame Intent residue.
With more than half of his debt cleared, a heavy weight was lifted from Qi Ping's mind. Carrying such a massive financial burden had left him feeling psychologically unsettled.
As he settled the majority of the debt, Qi Ping noticed that his Dao-Heart Intent had grown even denser. He estimated it wasn't far from truly taking shape.
However, when he returned the items, he gave Meng Yan quite a shock.
It wasn't because of Qi Ping's integrity in keeping his promise—Meng Yan's intuition and perception had been sharp since childhood, and he had long ago deduced Qi Ping's character. Through his interactions with Ya Ya and their shared Dao-Heart resonance, he understood Qi Ping on a deep level. Thus, he wasn't at all surprised that Qi Ping returned the stones on time.
What truly stunned Meng Yan was that Qi Ping had mastered Flame Intent while only consuming ten percent of the hammer's residue.
When they had fought side-by-side last time, he clearly sensed that Qi Ping was still a considerable distance from grasping Flame Intent. He had estimated that Qi Ping would need to expend at least fifty percent of the residue to succeed.
Yet, Qi Ping had done it with only ten percent!
It seemed Qi Ping's talent for comprehension was even better than he had anticipated.
To see a rogue cultivator reach such a state compelled Meng Yan to feel a profound sense of admiration.
However, this was better for Meng Yan. Lately, he had developed a faint premonition that someone was preparing to move against him. Over the past six months, he had successively slain several groups of disciples from rival sects, and he was beginning to attract more and more attention.
Now that Qi Ping's cultivation had improved and he had mastered Flame Intent, his combat power was bound to explode. Combined with Qi Ping's hidden trump cards, they could break through any encirclement together, even if they were specifically targeted.
In fact, Meng Yan was no longer staying at his usual residence. He feared that he might be ambushed one day. Even Qi Ping had to use a transmission talisman to determine Meng Yan's current location.
Meng Yan had spoken to Qi Ping specifically about this matter. Qi Ping, naturally, expressed that he would provide full assistance. As long as the enemy wasn't at the Foundation Establishment stage, there was no need for concern.
Qi Ping's confident words helped alleviate much of the worry in Meng Yan's heart.
During this same period, with the help of the resources provided by Qi Ping, Nan Jie's cultivation had already broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refinement. She wasn't even far from the late stages now.
After returning from Meng Yan's place, Qi Ping recalled the description of the situation in the Qingtian Domain and couldn't help but sigh.
To put it simply, as the games between the sects grew more violent, some battlefields had turned into literal meat grinders. From time to time, talented sect disciples—those who were once looked up to by rogue cultivators—would perish.
While some disciples used the high intensity of life-and-death combat to soar to new heights, they were ultimately the minority. Most people simply died.
Meng Yan had even caught wind of a rumor that someone within the three great families of Qingshi had been persuaded by another sect and might defect to cause trouble. This could completely ignite the chaos within Qingshi County.
It wasn't even out of the question that Foundation Establishment cultivators would join the fray in Qingshi County in the near future.
Once internal strife truly erupted in the county, it wouldn't be a matter of just one or two Foundation Establishment experts. Meng Yan had urged Qi Ping to be prepared, ideally breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage before that happened.
Hearing this news, Qi Ping felt incredibly fortunate.
'It's a good thing I didn't choose to join the Qingyuan Sect immediately after obtaining the Li-Fire Physique.'
'Otherwise, even if some old monster didn't find me suspicious and drag me off for vivisection, I would likely have been treated as cannon fodder and sent to various dangerous zones. After all, even someone like Meng Yan, who is the disciple of an elder, can't avoid it...'
In comparison, farming in the depths of the Cloud-Mist Mountain Range was far more comfortable.
So far, the only people who had shown hostility toward Qi Ping here were Qi Refinement cultivators. For the current Qi Ping, they posed no real threat.
This feeling of "watching the chaos of the Qingtian Domain while I obtain the foundations of immortality" was quite satisfying for Qi Ping.
As expected, for Qi Ping, staying low was king!
In the days that followed, Qi Ping didn't do anything special. He continued his routine of cultivation, nurturing spiritual herbs, and raising his animal companions.
However, the sense of urgency had heightened.
About another month passed—the fourth month since Qi Ping had contracted the little fox and the Flower Demon. Qi Ping's Explosive Flame technique and Wood-Flame Manual reached perfection one after the other!
Even his cultivation level was gradually approaching the ninth level of Qi Refinement!
'Qi Refinement becomes more difficult as you get closer to the end. Even with an abundance of resources, it still takes a long time to break through...'
Qi Ping didn't know how many spiritual herbs he had nurtured. He only knew that if he sold them all, the sum would be staggering.
'No wonder so many people get stuck at the late stages of Qi Refinement. It's impossible to break through with just one or two spiritual herbs. You either need a massive pile of herbs or to slowly grind it out over time.'
'But finally, my Explosive Flame and Wood-Flame Manual are both perfected!'
With these two techniques at the peak, Qi Ping couldn't wait to test them at the familiar rock pile.
'Sun-Fire Physique... Beast King's Flame... Flame Intent... Explosive Flame Movement!'
One powerful aura after another rose from Qi Ping's body. Then, amidst a terrifying roar, his figure shot out like a rocket.
Under Qi Ping's horrifying power, the ground was blasted into deep pits and jagged cracks!
His speed reached an absolute extreme. An ordinary late-stage Qi Refinement expert wouldn't even have the chance to match this pace.
After testing it for a while, Qi Ping looked at the cracks and pits behind him, stunned by the sheer power.
"This is insane!"
"Stacking Flame Intent and the Beast King's Flame makes the Explosive Flame Movement terrifyingly strong!"
No wonder Lin Qingzhu could slay a cultivator of the same rank from a hundred meters away with a single strike back then. Having grasped Sword Intent and mastered swordsmanship to such a deep level, what could an ordinary cultivator possibly do to stop her?
It was the same for Qi Ping now. Not only had he grasped Flame Intent, but he had also mastered the Explosive Flame technique to perfection. With the enhancement of the Beast King's Flame, the power was simply monstrous!
Fire-attribute energy was known for its explosive nature. The Explosive Flame technique allowed Qi Ping to push every fire-based power in his body to the absolute limit. It would be stranger if it wasn't terrifying.
'The only issue is this physical body...'
Feeling the strain on his body once more, Qi Ping helplessly used Healing Touch to mend himself.
During this period, he had consumed a lot of Fire-Glow Honey, and his physical strength had increased significantly. However, the surge from the Explosive Flame Movement was clearly even more intense.
Without a powerful physical body, one didn't even have the qualification to unleash this set of spells at full power.
'I'll have to find another way to address the body issue. For now, Healing Touch works well enough, but it makes long-drawn-out battles inconvenient...'
'Let's test the power of the perfected Explosive Flame Net and Explosive Fireball.'