The moment the ceremony began, Qi Ping knew which talent he had shared. Golden Stone Physique!
A long time later, when Qi Ping finally opened his eyes, his mind was filled with insights regarding the Golden Stone Physique. Because the contract had taken quite a while, the little Stone Spirit had already fallen asleep beside him. Its penchant for slumber was truly unmatched—it could outsleep even the little spirit fox.
Seeing it sleeping so soundly, Qi Ping didn't wake it. Instead, he placed several spirit stones and minerals around it. While dormant, Stone Spirits could autonomously absorb energy and mineral essences from their surroundings. Sure enough, soon after the items were placed, strands of spiritual energy and mineral essence were drawn into the little spirit.
Perhaps it sensed no danger, or perhaps the covenant allowed it to feel Qi Ping's presence; the slight movements nearby did not rouse it. The little spirit fox, however, was intensely curious about the newcomer, circling the sleeping stone for a long time. A talking rock was a novelty in its eyes. Seeing that it was asleep, the fox decided to wait until it woke up to play.
It had no idea that without a specific reason or a call from Qi Ping, the Stone Spirit wouldn't wake up even if the world outside was in chaos—as long as it sensed no immediate threat.
After petting the fox, Qi Ping focused on his new shared talent. Although the Golden Stone Physique was now his, he was far from proficient with it. He spent the next two days sensing and testing the ability. Since he was out of spiritual energy to nurture herbs, he had nothing else to do but focus on his new power.
"What a terrifying metal-attribute talent!"
Once he fully understood the Golden Stone Physique, he was stunned by its potency. First was the affinity and control of metal spiritual energy; it actually surpassed Ya Ya's Solar-Fire Physique! He estimated that Ya Ya would need at least one more bloodline evolution to catch up in that regard. He marveled at the Stone Spirit's nature as a rare primordial entity.
However, the Golden Stone Physique offered much more. With a thought, several stones and metallic weapons nearby floated into the air, performing complex and precise maneuvers under Qi Ping's command.
"This level of manipulation is frightening!"
He felt that if a sword-cultivator possessed this talent, their combat ability would skyrocket. It wouldn't just enhance the power of their flying sword; it would allow them to disrupt an opponent's weapon. Even a split-second of interference could be lethal in a high-stakes battle.
The emergence of the Stone Spirit and the Golden Stone Physique also gave Qi Ping a viable idea for his Life-Bound Treasure. Previously, he had struggled with the idea of an artifact. For a cultivator, not having a Life-Bound Treasure was unconventional, but powerful ones were hard to find, and ordinary ones offered little help. Most artifacts were weaker than his bare hands.
But things were different now.
'If I use the secondary minerals generated by the Stone Spirit as raw materials, I can refine thousands upon thousands of metallic scales to form a unique set of Mineral Scale Armor.'
'This armor could be manipulated to provide full-body defense or layered onto specific areas to block localized attacks!'
'Defense is only one aspect. I could also command the scales to act like flying swords, splitting into thousands of offensive strikes!'
'My soul strength and the Golden Stone Physique are more than enough to handle such complex maneuvers. Finally, I can etch defensive and offensive arrays onto each scale, allowing the armor to form specialized formations at will!'
'As for upgrading the scales, as long as the Stone Spirit has enough energy and ore, it will generate more companion minerals. I just need basic refining techniques to turn them into scales suitable for array-etching. I don't need a fully-formed static artifact; I just need the quality to be high.'
Basic refining and tempering methods were easy to find. Meng Yan was a master of smithing; Qi Ping only needed to ask.
"Excellent. With the Stone Spirit, I effectively have a unique artifact that can be continuously refined and upgraded!"
'In the future, if I gather all five elements, I could even refine it into a Five-Element Artifact!'
The armor he envisioned was versatile—capable of offense, defense, and growth, perfectly matching his talents. Once fully realized, he couldn't imagine how powerful it would be. Of course, it was a weapon only he could use; no one else had the specific combination of talents required.
He was delighted with the harvest, but he soon faced a harsh reality: he was out of spiritual energy! His territory was currently barely surviving on the Star-Spirit Wood's gathering ability. He couldn't cultivate, grow herbs, or nurture companions.
"It seems obtaining a Spirit Vein Essence and contracting more spiritual trees is imperative. Otherwise, I can only spend my time sensing laws and studying arrays."
But how was he to get a Spirit Vein Essence? He wrestled with the problem for a while before deciding to try multiple channels. He sent messages to Meng Yan and Hong Li of the Ningshan Family, asking if they could source one. With Natural Perception providing safety, he felt a bit more confident in making such inquiries.
Still feeling it wasn't enough, he set his sights on the black market—not a common one, but a legendary, mysterious organization said to be able to find anything, provided the price was right.